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He brushed a kiss on her cheek. Then on her neck. Then on a dozen other places. “The lasagna is ready.”
She stretched, extending that lithe body and giving new life to his arousal. Never before had a woman attracted him so. “I love the sparks we make, but if we don’t get up, we’ll start a fire of an altogether different sort.”
“Actually, I set the oven to turn off automatically.”
Her eyes darkened. “You did?”
“Yes, ma’am. It’ll go into warming mode for as long as we like.”
“Well, then, I guess we might as well–”
He didn’t let her finish the sentence.
“Should we talk about what happened?”he asked a good time later, holding the beautiful siren in his arms. He gave her a soft kiss.
Her answer was short, concise and to the point. “No.”
A stark warning clouded his mind. Was she going to deny what just occurred, the connection that transcended the physical? Even she couldn’t claim this was a fleeting relationshipbased on simple attraction. “Destiny…” He caressed her cheek with his thumb. “You can’t think that was ordinary.”
She shrugged, but didn’t refute it. She couldn’t, not when their first – and second and third – bouts of lovemaking were so very amazing. “There’s nothing to talk about. We both gave in to lust. It’s as simple as that.”
What they shared was far more than lust. But something was holding her back, something substantial, something powerful, and he was unlikely to get anywhere now. He would give her time, but there was one thing he wouldn’t wait for. He needed to learn more about her.
He would start right away. “Let’s go to dinner.” He shifted, hefting her into his arms. She was so light, it was easy to lift her as he rose from the chaise. He held her close and started toward the doorway.
“What are you doing?” She gasped. “I’m still naked!”
He grinned. “I like you naked.”
She blushed along her entire body. “We can’t go to dinner like this.”
He stopped. “You’re right. It could get dangerous with the cooking.” He placed her down for just a minute, slid on his pants, and then helped her into her panties and bra. He then picked her up and continued along the corridor.
“You forgot something.” She squirmed, which put interesting parts of her body into contact with interesting parts of his body. Judging by the ever-deepening pinkness staining her skin, she noticed.
He certainly did. “You might want to stop squirming if you want to eat today.”
She froze.
Then she squirmed just a little more.
She gave a sheepish look. “Sorry, I couldn’t help it. But we need the rest of our clothing. What if someone sees us?”
“There’s no one here. The windows are tinted, and I don’t have any cameras in the house. No one will see you… except me of course.” They reached the kitchen, and he sat her down on the counter, his arms a band around her. He leaned over her, crowding her space. “If I’m too much for you to handle, you can go back and get your clothing.”
She angled her chin, showing that jaunty side he loved so much. “You’re not too much for me to handle. I can handle anything.”
Now that was a challenge. He leaned forward to her lips, stopped and moveddown. He kissed the peak of each breast. “Is this too much for you to handle?”
Her skin turned an adorable shade of pink, and she appeared to be debating between fleeing and pushing him down to have her wicked way with him. “I don’t know,” she whispered with unexpected honesty. She gave a soft shudder. “We’ll stay like this. But don’t blame me if you spill lasagna on your ridiculously fit body.”
He laughed. “You’re so different than the woman you pretend to be.”
Secrets and mystery swirled in fathomless eyes.Who was she?He would discover soon enough, as he released her and retrieved a pair of black oven mitts. Extremely careful for his unclothed state, he removed the steaming lasagna, savory and perfect and covered with golden melted cheese and hearty tomato sauce. He dished two white porcelain plates and poured them each a goblet of merlot. After they were seated at the table, Destiny grasped her glass and took a sip. Then she downed it.
Julian held back a laugh. “Coming to terms with what happened?”
She grimaced. “I’ll need another dozen for that.”