In Pursuit of Justice Read Online Free PDF Page B

they had just met. They’d been strangers, uncertain, wary, but drawn to one another nevertheless. In the weeks since, they’d shared fear and passion and near-death, but, in so many ways, they were strangers still.
    “There is something wrong with the appetizers?” Anthony DeCarlo asked anxiously from beside them.
    “No,” Catherine answered, smiling quickly at him before glancing back at Rebecca, whose eyes had never left her face. “They’re perfect.”

Chapter Three

    Rebecca rolled over and opened her eyes. She smiled when she found Catherine, arms wrapped around her pillow, lying close beside her and watching her with a tender expression in her soft green eyes.
    “I fell asleep last night, didn’t I?” Rebecca asked sheepishly.
    “Uh-huh. Actually, you fell asleep several times last night.” Catherine ran her fingers through Rebecca’s thick, tousled blond hair, finally resting her fingers in the curve of her neck. “Let’s see. First, you fell asleep in the car. I was very glad that I didn’t drink more of Anthony’s wonderful champagne, because I wouldn’t have been able to drive us home. You were literally out on your feet by the time we got to the Vette.”
    “I’m sorry,” Rebecca said, completely chagrined. She’d had very different plans for Saturday evening, none of which had included falling asleep at nine o’clock.
    “Don’t be. You obviously needed to rest, and I am very fond of sleeping next to you.”
    “Well, I’d like you to be fond of a few other things before the sleeping part,” Rebecca murmured, shifting closer until their bodies touched along their entire length. Instinctively, effortlessly, their limbs entwined, and they pressed even nearer until their lips were only a breath apart. “It was supposed to be a hot date, remember?”
    “Oh, I remember that very well.” She didn’t seem to have any control over what happened to her body when Rebecca was against her like this. The feel of Rebecca’s skin hot against her own, a heat so much more consuming than any fever, set her blood on fire. It was hard to think; it was hard to remember that she meant to go slowly and carefully this first time. She hadn’t made love to Rebecca in almost two months, and her hands were already shaking with the need to touch her. Valiantly, she tried to distract herself with conversation, because she was a heartbeat away from forgetting her good intentions.
    “When we got home,” Catherine continued, her voice a little breathless, “you managed to make it up the stairs with just a little help from me, but by the time I had my shoes off, you were asleep again.” She ran her fingers down the center of Rebecca’s chest, pausing to brush her fingertips over a taut pink nipple. The swift intake of breath and the automatic surge of Rebecca’s hips were exactly the reward she had been seeking. Moving her lips along the edge of Rebecca’s jaw, she finally reached her ear and whispered, “I had a really good time taking your clothes off, though.”
    Rebecca couldn’t help but laugh. “I am thoroughly humiliated. What a putz.”
    “Oh, you are so far from that,” Catherine replied, laughing, too.
    “Well, I’ve had smoother moments. I guess the workout tired me out a little more than I realized.”
    “How are you feeling?” Catherine asked, suddenly serious, her hand stilling on Rebecca’s skin. She’d seen Rebecca work for days at a time with no sleep, but never had she seen her as physically depleted as the previous night. Even knowing that it was a perfectly natural occurrence at this stage in her recovery didn’t eliminate the quick rush of fear.
    “I’m feeling way better than fine,” Rebecca replied soundly, claiming Catherine’s mouth for a kiss.
    “Ah…” she sighed when she could find her voice. “I can tell.”
    Rebecca kissed her again, and it was the warmth of her tongue that was Catherine’s undoing, or perhaps it was the way Rebecca pressed her fingers into