She squeezed her eyes tight. But it was too intimate, too personal.

Kissing, to her, was an emotional act, not a physical one. And it didn't belong in the arrangement they had. So she curbed her desire to feel Reese's lips on hers, to feel Reese's tongue slip into her mouth. Instead, she relished that tongue now as it bathed her ear, mimicking Reese's kisses. She moaned again as Reese moved her hips, thrusting gently against her, each stroke bringing them together, matching the rhythm her tongue had set. Morgan felt on fire and she opened her legs wider, welcoming Reese as she slammed against her c.l.i.t, bringing her closer and closer to the edge as her tongue continued its a.s.sault. She heard herself grunting with each thrust of her hips but she didn't care. She was too close, too near climax to be concerned with the sounds Reese was pulling from her.

Harder and faster they rocked, Reese panting now in her ear as their hips slammed together, the slick wetness of their pa.s.sion mixing, the smell of s.e.x and desire nearly overwhelming. So close, she could feel it, could taste it, could feel herself trembling, then tumbling over the edge, her hips jerking hard against Reese, trying to hold out, waiting for her. But she couldn't hold it another second and she exploded, her scream filling the bedroom, her last thrust against Reese bringing her over the edge as well as Reese groaned loudly in her ear, s.h.i.+fting so that they lay pressed together, their wetness soaking each other as their throbbing c.l.i.ts still touched.

"I thought I was going to pa.s.s out," she whispered.

"Me too," Reese said. "That was fantastic."

But before Morgan could recover, Reese slid her hand between their bodies, her fingers moving through her wetness, then slipping deep within her.

"Oh, G.o.d, no," Morgan murmured. "I can't, not this soon."

But her hips moved, taking Reese inside her. She gripped Reese hard, holding on as she pounded into her, effortlessly bringing her again to o.r.g.a.s.m, and Morgan bit down on Reese's shoulder as she climaxed for the second time in a matter of minutes.

Morgan collapsed on the bed, her arms limp at her side, her eyes shut. "You're trying to kill me."

"Hardly."

Morgan rolled her head to the side and opened her eyes, finding Reese there, her mouth only inches away. Her lips parted, waiting. Morgan pulled her gaze away, finding Reese's eyes instead. "No," she whispered.

"I just want to kiss you."

"No." Morgan forced herself up, smiling. "But I do want to kiss you," she whispered. Without ceremony or preamble, she cupped Reese's hips-bringing her to her mouth-and buried her face in her wetness, feasting on Reese as if she were starving.

She took her hard, her tongue moving quickly across her c.l.i.t, then sucking her fully into her mouth, suckling her as Reese squirmed beneath her.

She felt Reese's hands in her hair, her fingers twitching as Morgan took her to the edge again. Morgan held on tight as Reese rose off the bed, her hips held high before collapsing in o.r.g.a.s.m.

Morgan lifted her mouth away, letting herself be pulled up into Reese's arms. They lay together, holding each other as their breathing returned to normal. No words were spoken. Morgan felt her eyes sliding closed and knew she should get up, knew she should leave.

In a little while, she thought as she settled against Reese, her eyelids heavy.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE.

Morgan wasn't sure she was happy to see Reese or not when she spotted the Sheriff's Department truck waiting for her at the trailhead the next morning. She'd already decided that if Reese wasn't there-it was five minutes after their agreed upon time already-she was leaving.

But no. A ski trip seemed inevitable as Reese smiled broadly at her.

"You're late."

Morgan arched an eyebrow. "And very tired. You must be too. Maybe we should call it off," she said.

"No, no. I feel great. Invigorated, in fact."

"How nice."

Reese came closer. "Don't you feel invigorated, Morgan?"

"I got home at three a.m. No, I don't feel invigorated. I need more than three hours sleep."

"I asked you to stay," Reese said. "Besides, you slept some with me, didn't you?"

"I slept briefly. And how would I explain getting home at six?""It's winter. Who's out at that hour?"

"Randy c.u.mmins works in Gunnison and is on the road by six, for one."

"Well, if someone saw you, you could always say you were up and on patrol early."

"Right. Like you said, it's winter." She pulled her pack from the back of her truck. "Even Googan takes it easy in the winter."

She frowned as Reese stood there holding her skis. "Where's your gear?"

"What gear?"

"Your fis.h.i.+ng gear."

Reese shook her head. "I don't have any fis.h.i.+ng gear."

Morgan glared at her. "I'm out here at daybreak to take you fis.h.i.+ng and you don't have any gear? Are you kidding me?"

"You're a little cranky this morning."

"You think?"

"Well, I thought, as the fis.h.i.+ng guide, you would provide the gear," she said with an exaggerated smile.

"Fis.h.i.+ng guide? You want a fis.h.i.+ng guide, you hire Ed Wade and pay him a hundred bucks an hour to get up at daybreak,"

Morgan said loudly as she stomped around to the side of her truck for her skis. "Didn't bring gear," she mumbled. "Figures."

"What?"

"You heard me."

"You're going to try to throw me in the water, aren't you, Zula?"

"I wouldn't turn your back on me if I were you, Clarice."

Reese met her eyes. "Funny. Last night you wanted me to turn-"

Morgan held up her hand. "Don't go there."

Yes, last night she had wanted to do a lot of things with Reese Daniels. But that was last night. Today, with the prospect of a two-mile hike to the river, she wanted to throw Reese Daniels in the rus.h.i.+ng stream.

But the trip across the meadow was easy, and after a few minutes, Morgan gave in as the beauty of the early morning penetrated her senses. The meadow was still pristine white from the snow, a sharp contrast to the dark green of the spruce and fir trees that lined the edges. In the spring, this meadow was a favorite spot as it came alive with the colors of wildflowers. And in fall, late in the evenings, this was where you came if you wanted to watch deer and elk forage before dark.

"I heard a rumor that Tracy fishes," Reese said, breaking the silence.

"No rumor. True. She's quite good and loves it. I think if she had a mind to, she could open up her own guide service." Morgan grinned. "Maybe you should get her to take you fis.h.i.+ng from now on," she tossed over her shoulder, hearing Reese laugh.

"Eloise says she's turning thirty."

"That's true too."

"And never married?"

Morgan stopped, turning carefully with her skis. "I know where you're going with this, but she's straight. When Tracy and I became friends, her mother thought I was after her. She started bugging her to move to Gunnison, start college, be around people her own age."

"You're not much older. You said you're what? Thirty-six?"

"I'll be thirty-six in May. You?"

Reese nodded. "Thirty-seven."

"Anyway, Tracy's content here." Morgan shrugged. "Much like I am. The prospects of a romantic relations.h.i.+p are thin, but there are many other things in life. Tracy enjoys the outdoors. So working at Sloan's during the late s.h.i.+ft gives her the opportunity to play all day."

"You mentioned her mother, so I guess she's from here?"

"Yep. Born and raised. Her two brothers work over at Thompson's Ranch, which is where most of the locals work.

Those that don't cater to the tourists, that is. Or the handful who drive to Gunnison every day."

0.

"Like Randy c.u.mmins, who might spy you coming home from my place in the wee hours of the morning," Reese teased.

Morgan smiled. "See? You're learning."

They made the rest of the trip to the river in silence. Morgan was too absorbed in the beauty around her to offer conversation.

She supposed Reese felt the same. As if their voices would disturb the splendor somehow.

But at the river's edge, they discarded their skis, the snow on the boulders nearly melted by the bright suns.h.i.+ne. The exertion from skiing had them both stripping off their lightweight jackets earlier. Now, Morgan pulled off her sweats.h.i.+rt as well, leaving her in a long-sleeved flannel s.h.i.+rt, similar to the one Reese wore.

"Nice," Reese said as she watched her strip.

"Behave."

"I was talking about the river."

"Sure you were."

Reese smiled and turned her eyes to the rus.h.i.+ng water. Morgan saw the smile fade from her face. She wondered if Reese could somehow feel her father's ghost. Before she could stop herself, she moved closer, slipping her arms across Reese's shoulders and pulling her into a tight hug. She felt Reese's warm breath on her neck and she closed her eyes, surprised at her body's reaction to such a platonic embrace. She backed away when her lips would have moved across Reese's skin.

"Thanks," Reese murmured. She tilted her head. "I vowed I would have nothing to do with boats or water. Or fis.h.i.+ng ever again. Yet here I am."

"We don't have to fish."

"No. It's silly. Fis.h.i.+ng didn't kill him."

"And you didn't kill him either," Morgan said firmly.

Reese squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. "I always loved to fish. I've missed it." She turned. "But you know, if it's all the same to you, I think I'll skip it this trip. I mean-"

"You don't have to explain. It's a beautiful morning, we had a pleasant, non-strenuous ski trip, and if you're up for it, we could ski down along the river for a bit."

"Why, Zula, are you actually suggesting more skiing?"

Morgan smiled. For some reason, Reese's use of her middle name wasn't annoying her today. But still, for appearance sake, "If you call me that one more time, I'm shoving you into the river."

"Idle threat, my love. Idle threat."

Morgan rushed forward and grabbed Reese's arms, playfully pus.h.i.+ng her toward the water. But Reese spun them around and Morgan found herself holding on to Reese as she teetered near the edge.

"Don't you dare," Morgan shrieked as Reese leaned her backward over the water.

"Or what?" she teased.

"Reese! "

Reese smiled sweetly and pulled Morgan close, out of harm's way. "Do I get a kiss as my reward for saving you?"

"Saving me? I do believe you were the one pus.h.i.+ng me."

Morgan's eyes dropped to Reese's lips, which were dangerously close.

"You know, the more you tell me I can't kiss you, the more I want to."

"Yes, well, I have this rule, see. And kissing is not allowed,"

she said as she tried to pull out of Reese's arms.

"Tell me again why."

"You know why."

"What if I told you I wanted to break the rule?"

Morgan laughed. "Yes, I know you want to break the rule. But no.""I'm a really good kisser."

"I don't doubt that. I have some idea of what your mouth can do, you know." Morgan felt her face flush as soon as the words were out of her mouth.