DESTINED AFFECTION

FOURTEEN

It was not yet six when Lauren made her way to the kitchen to start coffee. She'd need to leave for work in an hour, and Phyllis would be over in half an hour to be on hand when Kyle awakened. Ten minutes later, she stood at the kitchen window with a mug of steaming Hawaiian Blue Voodoo and looked out into the backyard. Camila lounged in a lawn chair beneath a large willow tree, head back and eyes closed. Just seeing her gave Lauren a jolt. A most pleasant jolt. After a moment's hesitation, she filled another mug and slipped quietly outside.

"Where's your sling?" Lauren asked as she sat down in the chair next to Camila.

Camila rolled her head to the side, opened her eyes, and grinned sheepishly. "I lost it."

"Uh-huh. That's convenient." Despite herself, Lauren smiled as she extended the coffee. "Can I tempt you with this?"

"Tempt me? You can have my soul for that, even if it's only half as good as it smells." She lifted the coffee and drank, then closed her eyes and sighed with pleasure. "God, this is fabulous."

"Mmm." Lauren liked having been the cause of Camila's undisguised satisfaction. A lot. Probably too much. But at that moment, relaxing in the warm, still, peaceful morning, she didn't care.

Smiling, Camila said lazily, "So what do I owe you?"

"Well, your soul is probably safe for the time being." Pretending to consider, Lauren finally grinned. "I'll have to get back to you when I've thought of something suitable."

"Okay," Camila replied slowly. "You just let me know what, when, and where."

The husky timbre in Camila's voice was not lost on Honor, although she refused to acknowledge the pleasant warmth that suffused her in response. Instead, she sipped her coffee and studied Camila's face. There were faint shadows beneath her eyes but her gaze was clear, pain free. "Did you get any sleep?"

"Some." Actually, she'd tossed and turned and found it no easier to sleep after the shower than before. All she could think about was standing with Lauren in the half-light of the hushed hallway and praying that Lauren would touch her. The seething arousal that had accompanied the memories hadn't made for a restful night. "I woke up early, and when I looked outside, I had to come down here. You don't see mornings like this in Manhattan."

"No, probably not." Lauren set her cup down and stretched out her legs, noting that Camila held her left arm motionless across her stomach. "How's the shoulder?"

"Better. Stiff—about what I expected."

"You didn't ask me to help you with the immobilizer last night."

"I started to," Camila said in self-defense, feeling partly embarrassed and partly guilty. "But when I peeked into your room, you looked like you were already asleep."

Yes, and dreaming of you. Lauren blushed. "Sorry. You could have awakened me."

Camila lifted her good shoulder. "I could have. But I didn't think it was necessary." 

  "Oh, really?"

"Well, I am a doctor, too, you know."

"And you're also a jock, and I know how jocks deal with injuries. Ignore them and pretend they never happened."

Camila laughed. "Guilty." Contemplatively, she sipped her coffee. "How about you? You strike me as being the jock type yourself."

"Not so much, really. I was usually too busy with school. Terry was the jock."

As soon as the words were spoken, Lauren stiffened. She didn't usually talk about Terry, at least not with anyone other than Ally or Perrie or Phyllis. She couldn't imagine why she had mentioned her to Camila, of all people.