Winds of Fortune Read Online Free PDF Page A

froth from her lips, her eyes closing slowly for an instant. “Nice.”
    Grinning, Deo regarded the young dark-eyed brunette, enjoying the flirtation and appreciating a game that she understood. She knew Allie, she knew all the cops in Provincetown, although she and Allie had never really crossed paths socially before. She remembered seeing Allie with a hot looking older redhead right after Allie had moved to town the year before, but she couldn’t recall seeing her with anyone in particular recently. Not on a regular basis, at any rate. Deo figured Allie was six or seven years younger than her, but plenty old enough to know the rules. “Not working today, Officer?”
    “Off shift.” Allie settled her hip against Deo’s. “I’m free and clear until tomorrow at seven a.m. How about yourself?”
    “I’m always free and clear.”
    Allie laughed. “I heard that about you. At least you don’t pretend otherwise.”
    Deo shrugged. “Why should I? All that does is make for trouble.”
    “Was there an invitation that went along with that beer?”
    “Not exactly,” Deo said, surprising herself when she thought about approaching Nita. Ordinarily, when she hit on a woman at a party it was because she was looking for company. For an afternoon, or an evening. That hadn’t been what was in her mind with Nita. Sure, she wanted to kiss her. In fact, she could imagine kissing her until the sun went down and came up again, but she hadn’t planned on taking her to bed. And not just because Nita just didn’t seem the type for a fast hook-up. The automatic way Nita discounted her, as if she already knew all there was to know about her, made Deo want to prove her wrong. Mentally, Deo laughed at her own premature plans. Christ, she couldn’t even get the woman to give her the time of day. Forget about kisses or anything else. With a start, she realized that Allie was staring at her curiously, obviously waiting for her to say more. Time to get in the game. “Are you looking for an invitation?”
    Allie’s wide, luscious lips slid into a sensuous smile. “I wouldn’t say no.”
    Deo glanced over her shoulder to the harbor. The sun was going down, and the angled shafts of sunlight fractured across the water in an impossible array of orange and pink and purple. Why waste the chance to spend time with a woman who was interested. She caught Allie’s hand and grabbed her work shirt off the railing. “Walk on the beach?”
    “Mmm. For starters.” Allie stroked Deo’s arm. “Just hang on one minute—I caught a ride over with Bri. Let me tell her not to wait for me.”
    “Anyone I need to worry about coming after me tomorrow?” Deo asked when Allie returned. She didn’t poach in anyone else’s waters. She didn’t have to, and besides that, the town was too small to risk inciting that kind of bad blood.
    “Nope. Not a one.” Allie forced a note of nonchalance into her voice as she threaded her arm around Deo’s waist and slipped her fingers beneath the waistband of Deo’s khakis just above her hip bone. Deo’s body felt exactly as she expected it to, lean and hard. She had a fleeting image of those tight hips moving between her thighs, and she welcomed the rush of heat that settled in her belly and trickled down her legs. There hadn’t been anyone serious, in bed or out, for a long time. After Ashley had left her ten months before, claiming that Allie wasn’t old enough or experienced enough to make a commitment, she had burnt out her anger at her older lover by sleeping with enough women to prove that Ashley was probably right. Then, one day she woke up and didn’t want to do it anymore. What had started out feeling really good, even great, for a few moments, made her sad in the morning.
    “Broken heart?” Deo asked quietly.
    “What?” Quickly, Allie laughed, covering her shock that Deo had almost read her mind. That wasn’t what she expected from someone with Deo Camara’s reputation. A great looking, love