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He sloughed off his coat and loosened his tie. “As long as you don’t have high expectations, find something nice and slow, and I’ll do my best not to trip over my own feet or yours.”
Catherine kicked off her new pumps and slowly turned the dial. When she found a Spanish language station playing a sweet, romantic ballad, she glanced toward him. “Will this do?”
“Sí, gracias,” Luke replied, and he drew her into his arms. She snuggled against him, swaying in time with the music, and he sighed softly against her hair. “This is indeed the perfect LA evening—Chinese food and mariachi music.”
“Sounds like paradise to me,” Catherine cooed softly. Despite his protest, he danced as gracefully as he moved, and she was having a marvelous time.
At that song’s end, the announcer broke in with a long string of dedications but they kept right on slow dancing into the next song and the next. Catherine’s hair slipped through Luke’s fingers in a silken shower, but she was almost too pliant.
“You falling asleep on me?” he asked.
She smiled up at him. “No, I was just enjoying the moment.”
“I’m glad, but I’d like to go on upstairs before they play La Bamba and I make a complete fool of myself.”
“Oh, Luke, I doubt that’s even possible.”
“Let’s not take the risk.”
He’d just given her the perfect opening to discuss the real risk of the evening, but when they’d had such a good time together, to voice her fears on a condom’s effectiveness struck her as absurd. It wasn’t deceitful, she swiftly convinced herself, it was simply too soon for “what if” discussions when they might cause Luke needless pain. She also knew the best time to discuss sex was when it wasn’t the immediate option.
Her decision reached easily, she made a mental note to call her doctor first thing Monday morning and request a new prescription for birth control pills. Then any child they might conceive would have been planned by them both. Relieved to have found such a sensible solution, she laced her fingers in Luke’s, shut off the radio and turned toward the stairs.
“The cat,” she recalled suddenly. “I need to put the cat to bed.” Smoky appeared the instant she opened the back door, but he stopped there and eyed Luke suspiciously. “Do you like cats?” she inquired.
Smoky’s whiskers were twitching and Luke swore the little beast was sneering at him. “Yeah, I like them fine, but yours doesn’t appear to think much of me.”
“I once owned a marvelously affectionate tomcat who would climb into a stranger’s lap and make himself at home, but Smoky is a bit more reserved. He’ll get used to you soon enough.”
She took a can of cat food from the refrigerator and spooned out Smoky’s dinner onto a paper plate. With Smoky dancing around her feet, she carried it out onto the back porch and then clos
ed the door to shut Smoky in for the night. She washed her hands and winked at Luke as she dried them.
“Now I’m ready for dessert,” she nearly purred, and he followed most willingly. As they moved up the stairs, she peeled off her jacket, tossed it over her shoulder, and he caught it.
She was ecstatic they’d been able to converse the whole evening without once mentioning Lost Angel. She’d hoped Luke would relax and enjoy himself, and it certainly appeared he had. She was the first one to disrobe that night, and he stopped so often to kiss her that it took him a very long time to remove the last of his clothes.
He wrapped his arms around her and pressed her close. “I’d forgotten how warm and soft a woman feels.”
She bit her tongue rather than ask if he were recalling a variety of women, or only Marsha’s petite figure. “As long as you remember me, I’ll be content.”
“Good, now let’s make love for hours, and then get up and eat Chinese food, and then take a bath together.”
“A bath? That sounds wonderful. Do you like bubbles?”
“Of course, gobs of them.” He tightened his hold to lift her off her feet. “Do you need a nap first?”
She licked his shoulder. He wore only a subtle trace of cologne, but it was an incredibly seductive scent. “No. Do you?”
Luke answered with a playful growl and pulled her up onto the bed. They stretched out, their arms and legs tangling as he kissed her with a passion that deepened with each hastily drawn breath. When the telephone on the nightstand rang, it was a jarring reminder of the real world, and Luke pulled back slightly.
“Do you want to answer?” he asked.
“No, you’re here, and there’s no one else I’m even remotely interested in speaking with. I’ll let the machine answer, but could it be for you?”
“No, I’m not on, on the weekends.”
“Then come back here.” She laced her fingers in his hair to lure him back into another lengthy kiss.
