“Woman cannot live out of Styrofoam containers alone,” she said as she threw the spoiled food into the trash before she moved to the bedroom.

  Sept was lying on her back with the sheets pooled around her hips; her breathing was slow and deep. In the light of day Sept looked solid, since even in sleep her muscles were distinctly defined. “It’s like winning the lesbian lottery,” Keegan whispered, and started to strip.

  After her sleepless night, she’d taken the morning off, but any plan to cook Sept breakfast would have to wait. She wanted only to join Sept for a long nap to shake off the fatigue. When she was naked she put her hands on the mattress to see if a wild punch was coming her way, but all she got was a glimpse of Sept’s dark eyes as they opened briefly and she laid her arm across the bed as if in welcome. Keegan closed her eyes as soon as she was pressed against Sept, and the last thing she was aware of was the steady beat of Sept’s heart under her ear.

  *

  The clock was flashing on 9:00 when Sept woke up, which meant the electricity had gone off again as the crews tried to repair lines downed during the storm.

  She had to move Keegan off her so she could reach her watch. Surprisingly, her cell phone was mercifully quiet, but more surprising was waking up to find Keegan naked in her bed. With the heater on, Keegan had kicked the sheets off them completely, which gave Sept a clear view of her backside. The desire to touch her was as strong as it had been the night before.

  “Are you still trying to commit my ass to memory?” Keegan asked.

  “I’m actually trying to figure out if I need to cuff you.” Sept moved her hand from Keegan’s shoulder to her butt. “Are you a cat burglar disguised as a chef?”

  “I can debone a chicken in less than five minutes, but don’t worry. Locks aren’t another of my specialties.” Keegan kissed the side of Sept’s neck. “You should be thanking God I’m not the killer you first suspected, because your neighbor let me in awfully quick when I asked. That makes me wonder.” Keegan bit the spot she’d just kissed.

  “What?”

  “How many other women she’s let wander in here?”

  “If you really want to know, it isn’t a revolving door.” Sept rolled over and put Keegan on her back so she could touch her. “Before you, I was dating my job more than anyone else.”

  “We have to do something about that, Seven.” Sept was stretched out next to her, but that must have not been good enough for Keegan, so she pulled her on top. “You need a little more of this and that in your life.”

  “I’m willing to take suggestions.” Sept licked one of Keegan’s nipples. “You’re right.” She licked it again and enjoyed the way Keegan’s hips pressed toward her. “A little of this…” She sucked on it this time until she heard Keegan moan. Then she moved to the other nipple and gave it the same treatment, followed by a gentle bite before she let go. “And a little of that, and I feel better already.”

  “If you tell me you have to go anytime soon, I’ll punish you in a way you won’t forget anytime soon.” Keegan put her fingers on Sept’s nipple as she spoke and squeezed just enough to get her attention. “Do you have to go anywhere?”

  “I worked most of the night and I did promise to keep you safe, so I think I deserve some downtime.” She raised herself far enough to move down and ran her tongue down Keegan’s body as she went. “And if it’s okay with you, I plan to spend it making up for having to leave you last night.”

  “I’d love that.” Keegan reached down to bring Sept back up. “You said last night that we had all the time we wanted to enjoy this.”

  “I’ll go as slow as you want, or we can wait until you’re ready.”

  “After you drove me insane last night I’m more than ready, but I want slow.” The weight of Sept on her made Keegan feel like she’d finally found the anchor to keep her rooted in her dreams. That was different from being dragged down in the mundane dreariness her life had become while they tried to get their businesses back to their pre-storm level. “I want to enjoy every bit of you, and I’m glad we got interrupted last night.”

  Sept began to roll off her but Keegan kept her hands on Sept’s face. “If you’re not ready to do this, I’ll totally understand. Don’t do it because you think it’s what I expect,” Sept said.

  “I didn’t mean that I’m glad we had to stop because I was having second thoughts,” Keegan said, and brought Sept’s head down so she could reach her lips and kiss her. She slowly sucked Sept’s tongue and came close to breaking the contact when Sept pumped her hips into the mattress. “Last night was last night, but today I get you here all to myself, and I get to touch you in the light. It’s like a gift.”

  “Last night I wanted to show you how much I’ve come to care about you. I wanted you to see what was in my heart,” Sept said as she gazed down at Keegan. “And in my life, except for my family, I don’t remember ever wanting to do that for another person.”

  “Then I consider myself fortunate.”

  Sept rolled off only partially so she could run her hand down Keegan’s body. With her head on the pillow, Keegan watched the path Sept’s hand took between her breasts, down her belly, and over her groin, down her thigh until she reached the inside of her knee.

  “You are so beautiful,” Sept said as she lifted Keegan’s leg to rest it over her body, leaving her open.

  Keegan was about to beg Sept to touch her, since she was dripping. “Like I’ve told you before, I’ve never felt like that until you looked at me. You were right. You can’t fake that, because now that I know you, I’d be able to tell.”

  Sept’s fingers felt like silk as they made their way through her red hair. She moaned as Sept went to her opening and came up until her fingers rested right under her clitoris. The way she pushed down made Keegan feel like screaming. Her groin was pounding, and she craved the contact that would bring the relief she’d been waiting for not for days, but for what seemed like her entire life.

  She liked sex, but had never been with someone who took this kind of time. She’d never been with someone who clearly savored the sight of her as well as the touch. Sept might’ve not known how to boil water, but she knew the exact recipe for making her crazy.

  Sept swirled her index and middle finger until they were wet. Each tight circle brought her around Keegan’s clit, but she hadn’t touched it yet, and each time she didn’t, Keegan lifted her hips, trying to entice her to put pressure where she most needed it.

  “I really want to put my mouth on you,” Sept said.

  “And I really want you right here next to me, so think of something else,” Keegan said, and was amazed she was able to form words, much less coherent sentences.

  Sept smiled and glanced down as if thinking about the challenge. She lifted her fingers, which were visibly wet. “I bet this is like your cooking,” she said.

  The loss of Sept’s hand made Keegan feel cold. “What do you mean?”

  “I read some of your reviews, Chef Blanchard, and the word used most often to describe your style is ‘unique,’ especially regarding the flavors you create in the kitchen.” Sept brought her fingers up but didn’t put them in her mouth. Instead, she slowly painted Keegan’s lips until they were coated in her essence. “I bet this is unique as well, and I can’t wait to taste.”

  As soon as Sept finished speaking, she brought her mouth down and claimed Keegan’s lips so they could both enjoy what she was talking about. And at the same time she brought her hand down again and squeezed Keegan’s clit and tugged it up and down before sliding her fingers in and burying them inside her.

  Keegan dropped her head to the pillow and shut her eyes tight. The sudden onslaught of sensation erased any inhibitions she might have had with Sept, and when Sept started to pull out, she clenched the walls of her sex, wanting to keep her in place. “Don’t get distracted now, Seven,” she said when she opened her eyes and saw Sept looking at her breasts.

  “It’s hard not to.” Sept kissed the closer one right under the nipple. “When I touched you, your nipples got hard.”

  “Think what’ll happen to them if you make me come,” Keegan said, and hissed out a long breath when Sept covered her clit with her thumb.

  Keegan opened her mouth to say something as Sept pulled her fingers out, but when she buried her fingers again, her thumb rubbed against Keegan and made the orgasm Sept had so carefully built start down a fast slide of no return. As Sept moved her fingers in and out she kept her eyes on Keegan’s, and Keegan couldn’t look away as the sensations built so much she thought she’d damage something if they couldn’t finish.

  Sept’s movements were slow, and she smiled as Keegan felt her lungs shrink like they couldn’t inhale enough air. She was wet, her skin felt like someone had given her a shot of adrenaline, and she wanted Sept to go faster and harder, but she couldn’t say anything for fear that Sept would stop. Her movements became jerkier as she lost control of her hips, and then Sept lowered her head, kissed her, and sped up her hand.

  This was the permission Keegan needed to close her eyes and clutch onto Sept and ride out the explosion that washed through her like a New Orleans rainstorm in July. The kind of storm that came on so fast that the best thing to do was to stand and enjoy it as it soaked you through and cooled you from the summer heat. Sept had begun more slowly than such a storm, but in the end Keegan could feel her in every pore of her body, and the yell she let out when she reached orgasm made her want to laugh, since it was as out of character for her as running through the French Quarter naked.

  “No.” She grabbed Sept by the wrist to keep her hand in place. “Stay inside me.”

  “Are you okay?” Sept raised up on her other elbow.

  “I will be, but right now I’m trying to figure out what you did to me,” Keegan said, and turned her head on the pillow so she could look at Sept.

  “Do you mean that in a good way or bad?”

  “Honey, I’m sure even if you don’t date much, when a woman screams in your ear and draws blood by raking her nails up your back, it’s a good thing.” Keegan licked her lips right before Sept kissed her again, and as soon as their lips touched, she was shocked at how quickly her passion stirred back to life. She couldn’t help the groan that escaped when Sept took her hand back.

  “Don’t worry,” Sept said as she rolled over and covered Keegan’s body with hers. “That was just the appetizer.”

  Keegan bent her head back so Sept could put a row of kisses down her neck. “If that was the appetizer, I’ll be unconscious by dessert.” With Sept on top, Keegan found how easy it was to reach all the interesting parts. If Sept planned to touch her again, she would have to wait. She reached between Sept’s legs and found her ready.

  It didn’t take much to make Sept collapse, trapping her hand between them. “I’m no chicken, but I think you just deboned me,” Sept said.

  “And it could become habit forming,” Keegan said as she ordered Sept’s hair. When she’d decided to take the morning off, she hadn’t necessarily planned to spend it like this, but she wasn’t sorry. “Are you ready for something to eat?”

  “Now there’s an offer I can’t pass up.” Sept lifted her head so quickly that she startled Keegan.

  Before Keegan could move to get up, Sept slid down her body and lowered her head between her legs. The twinge that had started almost immediately after Sept had made love to her blossomed into another orgasm before she really had a chance to enjoy it. She wasn’t disappointed, though, as Sept sucked her in and brought her to orgasm again.

  “Thank you.” Sept moved back up and put her arms around her when Keegan rolled on top of her. “That was delicious.”

  “If you want anything else you’ll have to wait until I can move any part of my body again,” Keegan said, and kissed Sept’s chest. “We’ll be doing this a lot, won’t we?”

  “When you’re not in the kitchen and I’m not out chasing bad guys, I’ll meet you right here,” Sept said, and cursed under her breath when her phone suddenly came to life. “Wait, don’t move,” she told Keegan when she started to roll away.

  “I’m not upset,” Keegan said, and kissed her forehead. “As a matter of fact, give whoever is on the other end my thanks for not interrupting us until now. A few minutes ago there would’ve been trouble.” She waved as she headed toward the bathroom.

  “Nathan, you do realize you have the job, right? You don’t have anything to gain from kissing up now.” Sept watched Keegan’s butt as she walked away. At the door Keegan turned around and shook her head.

  “Sorry, I got up an hour ago and couldn’t go back to sleep,” Nathan said. “I checked in and found a message from Gavin. As he went through the autopsy, he discovered something, and he wants us there before he finishes.”

  “Did he give you a time?” The conversation was getting more difficult as Keegan came back out of the bathroom, still naked.

  “He said he’s not busy, so whenever we want to stop by would be good.”

  “Good. Give me a couple of hours and I’ll pick you up.” Sept snapped the phone shut and threw it on the empty side of the bed. “I did say I was looking forward to the naked cooking lessons,” she told Keegan when she stepped in and found her pouring ingredients into a bowl.

  “Before I do all this, I guess I should ask if your oven works.” Keegan took a few more things out of the bags she’d brought in.

  “The last time I heated a frozen pizza, it worked fine.”

  “Sometimes, sweetheart, it’s best to answer with simple answers like yes or no,” Keegan said as she mixed the contents with her hands.

  “That’s good advice when you’re testifying in court, but I don’t get what it has to do with my oven.”

  “It doesn’t have anything to do with the oven, but everything to do with the words ‘frozen pizza.’ Should I start listing all the reasons why that’s totally horrible for you?”

  “You and my mother will get along great,” Sept said as she put her arms around Keegan and peeked over her shoulder to see what she was doing.

  “I’m sure we will, but your eating habits are about to change drastically.” Keegan pulled the dough she’d made and dropped it in small dollops onto a baking sheet.

  “If you expect me to start complaining, it’s not happening.”

  “I give you credit for not running for the door and forgetting my phone number. Most people would be worried about the U-Haul by now.” The biscuits went into the spotless oven, and Keegan glanced at the wall clock as she closed the door. “And I won’t fuss because I want to be right, but because I don’t want to visit you in the hospital when you have a heart attack from a buildup of frozen pizza.”

  “Like I said, I’m not complaining, no matter why you fuss. I like the fact that you care about me at all.” Sept moved closer and put her arms around her. “Like you said, no matter how we met or started our relationship, I’m glad we did.”

  “And you wonder why I feel so lucky,” Keegan said, then kissed Sept’s chest. “You could turn a girl’s head with talk like that,” she said in her best Southern belle accent.

  “Want to take a shower with me, Scarlett?”

  “I will in fifteen minutes.” Keegan pointed to the oven.

  They took their time enjoying the simple breakfast of biscuits with homemade strawberry preserves and café au lait that Keegan had made. Keegan sat on Sept’s lap, content to split her time between watching Sept eat and savoring her fingers as they roamed over her body. Sept kept it up when they stepped into the shower, and Keegan teetered between arousal and comfort. Her worry didn’t begin until Sept strapped on the shoulder holster and clipped her badge to her belt.

  “I know this sounds juvenile, but have you ever considered doing something else?”

  “Not really, and it has a lot to do with my family. I’m sure my dad would’ve understood if I’d wanted to, and my mother would’ve been thrilled if I’d gone into banking or something equally mundane.” Sept finished buttoning the heavy linen top that Jacqueline loved to tease Keegan about and kissed the top of her head.

  “What made you want to do this?”

  “My family has lived the history of this city by protecting its streets for as long as I can count. When I was a little kid, I knew early on that when it was my turn, I’d want to do the same thing. It takes all different types of people to make a community, and it’s the Savoie family tradition to keep order in the one we’ve called home for generations. That’s what my dad has always told us, and he’s right.” Sept kissed her cheek this time. “That’s the best answer I’ve got.”

  “Thanks for sharing it with me.”

  “Did you ask for some particular reason?”

  Keegan put her hands around Sept’s neck and felt the top edge of the leather holster. “I’d tell you, but the question’s too premature.”

  “If I guess right, will you tell me?” Sept sat her back down on the sofa and held her hand. Keegan nodded and kept her eyes down. “Most of my brothers are married and have kids, and when they first met their wives their question about the job had to do with worry and how they would learn to live with the reality of it. Am I in the right ballpark?”

  “I’m not in the same category as your sisters-in-law, but when I see you put on all that stuff I think about what you’re going out to do, which does drive me a little insane.”

  Sept put her arm around her and lifted Keegan’s head with her other hand. “It gets easier, but only with time. It’s that day-after-day experience that’ll show you that I leave and come back, and while it’ll never be a nine-to-five job, it’s a job. I just hope you give it that much time.”

  “I’m not going anywhere, Seven, and if you ever get hurt, can I remind you about this conversation?”

  “As many times as you’d like.” They shared another long kiss before Sept helped her to her feet. “Right now, though, we have to begin that experience gathering of yours, because I have to go to work.”