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Smiling, she grabbed her handbag and her car keys and left the garage. On the way back to work, she pulled a candy bar from her purse. It wasn’t exactly a well-balanced meal, but she wouldn’t have traded her time with Vince for a seven-course dinner.
She had only been back at work for a few minutes when Sarah Beth breezed into her office. “Hey, I was wondering…” She stared at Cara, her eyes wide.
“Wondering what?” Cara asked.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you just crawled out of a warm bed.”
Cara felt a rush of heat flood her cheeks. “I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Uh-huh.” Sarah Beth sat in the chair beside Cara’s desk. “Had a little quickie, did we?”
“Bethy!” Cara glanced at her open door. “Do you mind?”
“My dear, I think you do protest too much. And judging by that glow in your eyes, it must have been fantastic.”
“It was,” Cara said softly.
Leaning forward, Sarah Beth gave Cara a quick hug. “I’m happy for you, Cara. Really! I was beginning to think you were going to be an old maid.”
Cara blew out a sigh. “I just met the man, Bethy. It’s too early to be thinking about marriage.” And far too early to be sleeping with him. Cara shook her head. She must be out of her mind. She had only known Vince Cordova for a few days and not only was she already sleeping with him but she was eagerly looking forward to the next time they could make love. She had never, ever done anything like this before. She’d never even been tempted. But then, she had never known anyone like Vince before, never felt anything like this before, either. She told herself that no matter how it ended, she wouldn’t be sorry, but she couldn’t completely still the small, insistent voice of her conscience that whispered what she was doing was wrong.
“So,” she said, shaking off her troubling thoughts, “what can I do for you?”
“What?” Sarah Beth blinked at her, and then laughed. “I forgot what I came in here for.”
“Well, come back when you think of it, or give me a call. I need to tackle this pile of paperwork. Weren’t computers supposed to put an end to all this? Honestly, where does it all come from?”
“Gremlins,” Sarah Beth said, rising. “See ya later.”
The rest of the day passed quickly. As usual, toward nine o’clock, Cara found herself glancing repeatedly at her watch, willing the minutes to go faster.
She was shutting down her computer when a tingling down her spine told her Vince was near. Leaving her desk, she went to her office door and there he was, striding toward her. Lordy, she thought, the man had to be the sexiest thing on two legs. She loved the way he moved, fluid and self-confident, like some big jungle cat that knew he was the king of the beasts. There were only a few women in the library, but they all turned to stare at him as he passed by. And then he was there, in her doorway, a slow smile spreading over his handsome face—a smile that said he was remembering their earlier lovemaking and was looking forward to more of the same.
“Hey, darlin’,” he drawled.
“Hey, yourself.” She knew she was blushing again, but she couldn’t help it.
Closing the distance between them, he drew her into his arms and kissed her.
“Vince!”
“Sorry, I couldn’t wait.”
She scooped up her purse in one hand and caught his arm with the other. “Come on, let’s go.”
“Goodnight, Cara,” Sarah Beth said with a wink. “Have fun.”
Cheeks burning, Cara hurried out the door.
“What was that all about?” Vince asked.
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?” He opened the car door for her and closed it behind her. “Sounded like something to me,” he said, sliding behind the wheel of the Mustang.
“Oh, she thinks she’s so smart!”
Vince laughed. “I guess the jig is up, huh?”
“It’s not funny. I mean, if she can tell just by looking at me…” Cara shook her head.
“Are you ashamed of what we did?”
“No, but, well…” She looked at him, her expression troubled. “Is it that obvious? Can everyone tell?”
“I don’t think so, but I’ve got to say, you do have a certain glow in your eyes…”
“That’s what Bethy said!”
“Yeah?” Taking her hand in his, he gave it a squeeze. “All I can say is that I’m glad I was the one who put it there.”
“Me, too. Where are we going?”
“I don’t know.” He slid a glance in her direction. “Where would you like to go?”
“I don’t know.” She wanted to go to his place, but she wanted Vince to be the one to suggest it. She was so new to this, so uncertain. Maybe it hadn’t been as wonderful for him as it had been for her. Maybe it hadn’t meant as much to him.
All her doubts were swept away when he turned down Seventh Street. Moments later, he pulled into the driveway, unlocked the iron security gate, and drove into the garage.
Butterflies erupted in her stomach as he closed the door behind them, cocooning them in darkness. She stayed where she was until he opened the car door and reached for her hand.
“Okay?” he asked.
She nodded, then realized he probably couldn’t see her in the dark. Or maybe he could, she thought, when he lifted her into his arms and carried her across the floor and up the stairs to his apartment.
Inside, he turned on the lights; then, letting her body slide against his, he slowly lowered her feet to the floor.
Cara smiled inwardly as her body brushed intimately against his. He wanted her, there could be no doubt of that.
He proved it by swinging her up into his arms and carrying her to bed.
Chapter 20
Anton was about to leave the house late Wednesday night when his mother came home.
“Anton! Where are you going?”
“I thought I’d go hang out at The Nocturne for a while. Where’ve you been? You’re never here anymore.”
“I’ve been at your father’s laboratory.”
“The lab? What were you doing there?”
Taking his arm, Serafina led him back into the house and into the living room. Sitting on the sofa, she pulled him down beside her.
“I’ve been practicing a spell I found in an old book.”
“What kind of spell?”
Serafina plucked at the hem of her skirt, suddenly reluctant to tell her son what she had been doing.
