Body Temperature and Rising - Book One of the Lakeland Heatwave Trilogy Read Online Free Page B

…’
    ‘Underneath you, yes, I know, and inside you.’
    Marie’s blush returned with a vengeance. ‘You saw?’
    Tara bent to adjust her boot laces. ‘Hard not to really. And in all honestly, I’m a bit of a voyeur, something you would know a thing or two about.’
    Marie blushed harder, but before she could apologise, Tara continued. 
    ‘Anyway, good sex often causes a person to sleep soundly. And you were fucking Anderson, so it was most definitely good sex. Now finish up so we can get back to the car park before dark.’
    ‘Before dark? How long was I asleep?’
    ‘A couple of hours, I’d guess. Now come on, let’s go. It’s not a hard walk down, but I don’t relish stumbling around on the wet, slippery slate after dark.’
    Outside the quarry, the low sun shown jewel bright on the freshly washed fell side. Tongue Gill tinkled musically down along the path that descended steeply on loose grey slate. As they walked, the path turned slightly to the left until the top of Castle Crag peeked around the breast of the fell, its forested top looking like elaborate bird plumes in the rain-washed sunshine. The rest of the descent was without incident. 
    At the car park in Grange, Tara nodded to a pale blue Land Rover. Once they were both belted in, she heaved a satisfied sigh. ‘Now, off to Lacewing Farm, isn’t it?’ She offered an apologetic smile. ‘Yes I know where you live. My sisters and I are your neighbours, and we’re very nosey. In fact they’ll be very excited when I bring back all the day’s news about you.’ She started the engine. ‘The talk around the dinner table will be delightful. You must join us. Not tonight obviously. That would ruin our gossip, wouldn’t it? But soon.’ 
    As they headed out of the car park, Marie couldn’t resist asking, ‘Anderson tells me that you two are just friends.’
    ‘That’s right, very old friends, actually.’
    ‘Fuck buddies?’ Marie spoke around the shudder of her pulse in her throat even as she mentally kicked herself for pursuing what was none of her business.
    Tara offered an amused smile. ‘I suppose you could call us that.’
    It didn’t take long to get to the farm lane that led to Lacewing Cottage. Tara stopped the Land Rover and turned to her companion. ‘I’m assuming you know Tim Meriwether.’
    ‘He’s my landlord.’
    ‘Surprised he’d rent to you. He’s not exactly friendly to strangers.’
    ‘Guess I made him an offer he couldn’t refuse,’ Marie said.
    ‘Fuck buddy?’ Tara asked.
    In spite of herself, Marie laughed. ‘Only in my dreams.’
    Tara raised a dark eyebrow. ‘What’s in your dreams is just reality in the form of a riddle.’
    Marie chuckled. ‘In my case, what’s in my dreams is usually in the form of a bad joke.’
    Tara glanced down at her watch. ‘I’ve got to get home. My sisters’ll be waiting for me.’
    ‘I never had a sister. It must be nice,’ Marie said.
    ‘Well, they’re not my physical sisters, but I still think of them that way. There are three of us. We call ourselves the Elementals.’ Tara held her gaze. ‘We’re witches.’
    Marie’s heart did a little tumble in her chest. ‘Witches?’
    Before she could question further, Tara pulled her into a tight embrace and kissed her with plenty of tongue that tasted of tea and cinnamon. Then she took a card from her rucksack and slipped it into the breast pocket of Marie’s anorak, lingering for a caress of the breast beneath. ‘This is my card. Call me. I figure after what happened to you today, once you’ve had a chance to sort through it all, you’ll be needing our advice.’ She kissed her again and waved as Marie stumbled out of the Land Rover, wishing like hell she could somehow replay what had just happened with slo-mo for the tonguey bits and the groping. Her nipples tingled at the thought.
    Voyeurism, sex with the hottest, if strangest man on the fells and now, she had kissed a girl. Well, the girl had kissed her,