Page 24

Nicola recognised the look in Geeta’s eyes – deep and unrelenting, brown turning to black. She’d seen it at the bookshop, and right up close when they wrestled with the novel, and she saw it now. Definite attraction. Unmistakable. And mixed with fury? Irresistible.

When Geeta burned that gaze, Nicola's body lit up in flames.

Nicola intended to make her interest blatantly obvious, now the same was apparent in Geeta. They were both curious about women and drawn to each other, and she saw no point in obfuscating it.

She tilted her head – a question. Did Geeta understand what Nicola offered?

Geeta knotted her cheeks. Yes, she did, and ‘no’ was her answer.

So, fury won out beneath Geeta’s restraint. Geeta would consider every aspect and point of view, always trying to balance everyone’s perspective. The fact that wrath still sizzled in this considered woman, showed how much Nicola annoyed her.

But years of inclination had Nicola stuck and unwavering. Her gaze dropped to Geeta’s dark lips, her attention lingering there, making no attempt to hide her attraction or that she wanted to kiss her.

“I need to circulate,” those beautiful lips said.

And when Nicola looked up, she found livid brown eyes battling with thoughts.

“Of course,” Nicola murmured.

She blinked, disappointed, but not giving up. And with a swish of hair, Geeta walked away.

Would Geeta look back as she descended the steps, Nicola wondered. Was temptation growing in that irresistible woman?

Tonight, more than ever, Geeta was stunning in her long, elegant tunic. Hair luxurious in waves. Gold jewellery glowing against her dark skin. The tunic and trousers tailored and cropped so that the glimpse of arm and leg lured Nicola’s imagination. Sophisticated, tantalising, gorgeous, and Nicola stood rooted to the spot, unable to move.

Geeta paused as she reached the lawn. Even though turned away, Nicola sensed her attention drew towards her.

Look at me, she willed.

A slight turn of the head, and Geeta’s profile glowed in lantern light. A further glance back so their eyes met, and Geeta’s mouth opened in a tiny gasp.

Oh, that was potent. If Nicola wasn’t enthralled before, that inhalation pulled her under.

How did anyone carry on while Geeta was in the room? It was absurd everyone didn’t stop and stare. Her beauty captured Nicola’s gaze and made her heart beat as if her life was threatened and everything hinged on looking at this woman. Previous existence felt like a facade for the sake of social rules, administration and propriety. When she saw Geeta that first time over a decade ago, she undid Nicola’s belief in less than a minute. And Nicola was still here, years later, longing harder than ever.

She came to, breathing hard.

The world apparently did turn for others, the crowd chatting, drinking, laughing, and Nicola moved away.

She took another route through the arches, her back yearning to pull the other way, unable to shake the desire to close the gap with Geeta. She chose the North Range steps down to the lawn, and music and chatter became louder as she descended into the throng.

“Well, your arrival caused quite a stir,” a voice said.

She spun to find old friend and colleague, Philip, as expected.

“You always knew how to make an entrance.” He smiled.

She hoped he hadn’t watched the whole time. He’d not miss what hungered through her.

“Thank you, darling,” she said. She smoothly leant forward and kissed his cheek. “You're handsome as ever.”

Nicola said it by rote, Philip always dressed well in a bespoke tux, while her nerves prickled and her body sought Geeta’s.

“Shall we dance?” he said, offering his arm.

She accepted the invitation and took to the busy floor in front of the marquee, hoping to move the conversation away from her entrance. She was grateful for this respectful man as partner at gatherings like this, though tonight her body danced by habit, as her attention searched for someone else. She felt Geeta’s presence, pieced together from glimpses in the corner of her eye, Geeta’s shape and the way her body moved instantly recognised deep inside.

“Are you doing the rounds?” he said. “Schmoozing?”

Her attention flicked back.

“Of course.” She blinked languidly. “There are plenty of potential clients and influential connections to see, especially if I’m going to head chambers and attract more business.”

Then her mind wandered, searching again.

Someone bumped into her. The sensation jarred, contacting another body while hers only sought Geeta’s. She glanced over her shoulder.

“So sorry!” said Kirsty from chambers. The younger barrister flushed red and waved her apology.

“No worries,” Nicola replied automatically and turned back to Philip, though all her awareness threaded into the crowd again.

Then she noticed Philip's attention on her.

“What?”

He barely suppressed his amusement. “Perhaps you’ll have time for other pleasant social activities too?” he suggested, no doubt alluding to Kirsty.

“Don't be silly.” She laughed.

Her eyes wandered over his shoulder. There she was. A clear view of Geeta this time. Talking to the red-head, the college organiser, and laughing together. A shadow of envy shrouded Nicola as she watched. Ridiculous. And yet, of course it was unattainable Geeta who’d make her feel that. The red-head moved away and Geeta remained, gazing over the event, somehow more beautiful than ever.

“Who's that?”

“What?” She snapped her head round.

Philip looked at her, with an understanding that had watched for some time.

“The stunning woman in the black kurta standing beneath the arcade,” he said. “Who is she?”

Caught. Her heart beat quicker. Could he tell?

“Geeta.”

She wasn’t certain the word came out evenly, the shape and sound of it so large, as the name of the woman who stole all her attention.

“My neighbour,” she added, attempting to make her seem ordinary.

She continued dancing, praying muscle memory would see her through this situation, and begging her hands not to flinch in his.

Philip tilted his head. “Is this why you have no interest in pretty colleagues?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why you dumped Blake and ignore anyone else who’s interested?”

She kept dancing and staring.

“Because you only have eyes for the girl next door?”

Her grip tightened on his hand. Trapped. No way to avoid his interrogation. They matched height for height, and he looked straight into her eyes and saw everything.

His expression softened, but troubled too. “Is that it, Nicki?

“No.”

“Why not?”

Her heart thumped and she broke into a sweat beneath his scrutiny.

“You look at her as if no-one else exists,” he whispered. “It’s like I’m barely here.”

She couldn’t speak.

“Is she the reason you’ve changed, Nicki?”

Of course she was. Everything had changed when Nicola set eyes on Geeta the first time, and now it burst into the open.

“Is she interested in you?”

“She’s...mainly furious with me.”

“Oh, we all are sometimes. But is she?” he looked at her, concerned. “Does the girl next door want you too?”

“The girl next door...”

Would Nicola always crave her, and Geeta never return that longing. Would Nicola keep falling, more and more drawn until she searched for Geeta, enthralled, in front of everyone.

“The girl next door is a mature woman,” her breath caught, “who doesn't put up with crap from me.”

It took everything to keep swaying to the music. And Philip pulled her close, so she wouldn’t have to look him in the eye.

***

Nicola danced with a man. They were familiar with each other, tender even. Geeta flinched when that cut sharp inside. She hadn’t expected that.

Nicola had blasted her way through the event from the start, circling the court, talking to anyone she desired and dazzling them. And others clearly wanted more than a chat. Nicola got whoever she wanted, from flinging herself off a bridge for her man as a student, to striding into the quad, as if she could demand the moon.

Since parting beneath the arches, Geeta followed the glamorous barrister with her eyes, turning away whenever Nicola glanced in her direction. She knew where Nicola was every second, simultaneously enthralled and enraged, sensing the woman had eyes on her too.

Then this man took Nicola in his arms, and Geeta’s heart tripped. He held Nicola like he cared, and Geeta stared with surprise, craving the attention back again. He treated Nicola as a human being, and jealousy rose at seeing him support her, wanting to be the one to hold Nicola instead.

“All those for dancing, stand in a line please!” jolted Geeta from her reverie. “One down this side!” Annie shouted, waving her arm to indicate the left of the dance floor. “And another opposite.”

Annie encouraged the most reluctant of partners, Liz and Hugo, into a line. And others with Champagne in their veins leapt in happy to do anything.

“Come on,” Annie beckoned to Geeta with a grin. “You too.”

“Of course!” She smiled.

She lined up, willing, but disturbed by the loss of connection to Nicola. Was she still with that man?

“Right everyone!” Annie called from the head of the dancefloor. “We did this at the May Ball before the students left for summer, and it was very popular. Don’t worry.” Annie raised a palm. “We’ll take this nice and easy. It’s a slow baroque tune, and you can walk the steps if you prefer.”

People shuffled in the line, giving each other room, then Geeta glanced up to see who she’d partner. She smiled at Alec, who worked with Olivia.

“Are you having a good evening?” he said, with a grin, always happy. The unassuming man, the same height as Geeta, seemed to have it all. A wife he adored. A child he adored as much. And the respect of colleagues, even Olivia.

“This is fun!” she cried out, embracing the distraction from her unease, while at the same time only wanting to look for Nicola.

“OK,” Annie shouted from a small platform. “You’re going to walk towards each other, turn around your partner, shoulder to shoulder, and return to your places.”

They practiced with lots of stumbling and giggling, then repeated the move, this time holding hands down low. Alec pulled a mock sexy pout. Geeta laughed. Then they did the same again, with their right arms around each other’s waists.

She could do this. Forget about Nicola in a warm embrace with someone else.

“OK, now with the music,” Annie shouted, and the quintet launched in.

They began the dance, fluid this time, joining the variations into a sequence. They ended with a step diagonally to move along the line and swap partners. And when she turned, she came face to face with Nicola.

The draw toward Nicola was instant, and she almost stepped forward before the musical timing.

Irritation prickled, annoyed with herself for succumbing. Nicola would leap on that misstep, and she peered up, expecting to see a satisfied smile on Nicola’s lips. But that’s not what she found. Nicola gazed unflinchingly, yes, but something troubled her too. Desperation? She’d never seen that on Nicola's face.

The quintet kept playing, the dance moved on, and the beat thrust them closer. Stepping towards Nicola, not daring to look in her eyes, Geeta pulled alongside so their bodies almost touched. The heat flared between them. Awareness surged. As if a cushion of air surrounded them and crackled, drawing her in. Then Geeta's shoulder nudged against Nicola’s warm upper arm, and the difference between this and the previous partner made her sigh. Every inch of her skin came alive, like she sensed the shape of every inch of Nicola too, and they blended as she leaned in.

When the music pulled them apart, she moaned at the loss, the cool evening air sweeping into the gap between them.

Then forwards again, and coming together, they turned round each other. They should be holding hands. She wanted to hold hands. Why wouldn't Nicola touch her? And she reached out, part for the dance, part in need, until tender fingers slipped between hers.

It shocked her, the nudity of hands suddenly a most intimate act. She couldn't resist looking up and caved with what she found. Longing in those blue eyes. Almost hurt. And without thinking, she dropped her gaze to Nicola’s lips.

Parting again and yearning for closeness, she stepped forward with obvious eagerness. And when their arms slipped around each others’ waists, Geeta closed her eyes to the supple proximity.

Did she imagine the difference in Nicola? The strength and stature unyielding to others but softening towards her. That Nicola caved with their touch and leaned in too. Her head tilted wanting to be closer, dizzy and swirling and needing.

When they spun away and changed partners, Geeta snapped open her eyes, her body cold without Nicola there.

“I knew you’d have fun with this.” Annie was her new partner. “By the way, I know someone else you’d get on with. Would you like me to set up some dates?”

She flinched, the suggestion intruding on what she had with Nicola a moment before, and she instinctively looked for her. But Nicola had left the line.

***

Excuses. Apologies. Threading through the crowd.

“Excuse me.”

Nicola fled the dance, striding from the quad beneath the stone arcade and seeking a place of privacy.

She was losing it. From the mellifluous sense of Geeta's touch and eyes all over her, to cold absence, and the red-head setting her up with someone else. The feelings clashed so wildly, Nicola wanted to scream.

Her footsteps echoed under the arched ceiling, and she marched toward the hall and quiet. No-one here. Thank god.

She closed her eyes, breathing loud in the empty room, the sound of the dance muffled and distant. She wanted to push it away entirely, because she didn’t want to imagine what went on out there.

That intimacy with Geeta had consumed her, both piquant and delicious. A mellowness flowed through her body, and she couldn’t think of anything else. Then it stung that someone else shared it instead, and she craved Geeta back again, over and over.

Footsteps though, softer than her own, and she realised she wasn’t alone.

She turned and stopped dead.

Geeta hurried towards her, an urgency in her sway and the expression on her face. She paused close and gazed up at Nicola with concerned eyes, the shape of them accentuated with painted dark lines this evening, and the high cheeks no longer knotted in fury and her lips softened, irresistible.

“Nicola. Are you all right?” Geeta whispered.

“Of course, I am.”

Brusque, she put up a wall before her heart could bleed into the open. She’d never had to with anyone before, because she simply didn't feel enough to need one. And she was not practiced. Always Geeta who tripped her up.

“I wanted a moment’s quiet. That’s all, and I’m heading back,” she said.

But her body wouldn’t move.

“Just...” Nicola started.

She reached out without thinking, and the vivid immediacy of Geeta’s soft arm filled her palm.

Just...” she tried again.

But that touch had her reeling.

The heat of Geeta’s face near hers. The familiar scent. The sweetness of a drink on her lips, and that Nicola was close enough to discern it. All pulled on her hard. There was nothing so compelling as this humid intimacy, and she yearned for more with her whole chest, as she gazed into those beautiful eyes.

“Kiss me,” Nicola said. “Kiss me .”

She barely believed she said it, but she couldn’t stop.

“If you want to know what it’s like to kiss a woman, why don’t you kiss me?”

There.

Plain, pleading and desperate. Who'd ever fall for that.

Then her world stopped.

Fingers stroked around her cheek and caressed with delicate care under her chin. With a pause of gentle consideration, Geeta enticed her into a sultry closeness. Then plump lips took hers, and Nicola shut her eyes, as she plunged into silence. Senses took in nothing but the kiss upon her lips. The intense human intimacy of it. The taste of her. The most sweetly supple mouth she’d ever known, that slipped over hers meaningfully, as if wanting to take in every sensation of this first kiss of its kind. Every part of her body melted under its spell, like drinking in an elixir that soothed everything she’d ever craved.

Pure, delicious, alchemy.

She wanted it to last forever.

When Geeta drew away, Nicola hung suspended, breathing harsh and hot, and her eyelids leaden. She still felt the kiss on her lips, while everything else disappeared into air.

“There,” Geeta whispered.

The sweet breath swept Nicola’s mouth, and she blinked, intoxicated and unable to speak. Her lips wanted more, unwilling to form words and craving only the shape of Geeta.

“There,” Geeta murmured again.

A finger ran delicately along Nicola's lips, and she remained hypnotised by gaze and touch.

“Now we know,” Geeta said.

Now they knew that Geeta touched her like no other. That her kiss caressed every part of her. That the simple act opened Nicola wide.

And she stared as Geeta returned to the party.