Page 41 of Twin Jeopardy

“You look nice tonight,” he said.

She smiled, and her cheeks blushed a little pinker. “Thanks.” She glanced down at the pink shirt. “I had lunch Thursday with my brother’s new girlfriend, Elisabeth. She’s always perfectly put together. I guess she inspired me to make a little more effort with my appearance.”

“You always look good,” he said.

Their eyes met, and in that moment he felt so...whole. As if he didn’t need anything else but to be here, right now, with this woman.

They finished eating and carried their dishes in the sink. She started to turn on the water, but he put his hand on her arm. “Don’t worry about those now,” he said. “Let’s go into the living room and talk.”

They sat side by side on the sofa, but instead of saying anything, she leaned over and kissed him. Her lips were soft, their gentle pressure making him aware of every sensation firing in his body at her touch. She pressed her palm to his chest, over his heart, every hard beat reverberating through them both.

He pulled her close, clinging to her like a drowning man, a wave of longing almost pulling him under. He kissed her hard, then drew back a little to look at her. She stared back. Was he reading her true feelings in that look or his own emotional turmoil reflected back at him? “I really, really like you,” he said.

She looked amused, and slid her hand down his chest to the waistband of his jeans. “I really like you too.”

Words failed him as she traced the top of his waistband with one finger. “I want you, Vince,” she said.

“Yes.” He smothered any reply she might have made with another kiss, and followed eagerly as she lay back and pulled him down with her. He slid one hand beneath her shirt, gliding over the satiny skin of her stomach and up to cup one full breast. He fought the urge to tear at her clothing, wanting to see and feel all of her at once. Only now did he realize how much he had been holding back. “That first day we met, I was attracted to you,” he said, nuzzling her neck. “Your perfume drove me wild.”

“I don’t wear perfume,” she said.

“Maybe it’s something else, but you smell amazing.” He inhaled deeply and smiled. Vanilla, floral and definitely sexy. “Maybe it’s just you.”

“Mmm.” She wrapped both legs around him, pulling him even closer, and for a long while, conversation ceased as they lost themselves in playful discovery.

Finally, flushed and a little out of breath, she pushed against him. “Why don’t we go into the bedroom?” she suggested.

He levered up on his elbows. He must have been crushing her. “Good idea,” he said.

“Oh, I’m full of good ideas.” The knowing smile that accompanied the words sent a fresh jolt of heat through him. Wanting something this much was exhilarating. And a little terrifying.You’ve done this before, he reminded himself as he took her hand and pulled her toward his bedroom.

That was true, but he wasn’t sure getting it right had ever mattered so much.

TAMMYWASN’TAWEEPER. Sappy commercials and sad novels didn’t make her tear up the way they did many of her friends. But lying here in Vince’s bed had her blinking against a stinging in her eyes. Vince cared so much. He cared about her and how she felt. “Is that good?” he asked as he moved down her naked body. “Do you like that?”

“Everywhere you touch me feels good,” she said. “Just keep doing what you’re doing. I’ll let you know if there’s anything I don’t like.”

But there wasn’t anything about him she didn’t like—from the sculpted muscles of his arms and shoulders to the strong curve of his thighs, to the smile that pulled at his lips as he traced the lines of her body with his mouth, proof that he liked what he was discovering.

He had taken out a condom without her having to ask, and when they came together, he was gentle, holding back. She stroked his shoulders. “It’s okay,” she said. “You can’t hurt me.”

“I don’t want to be too rough,” he said, his voice ragged.

“You won’t be.”

He was less careful then, and she was soon caught up in the intensity. There was something erotic about seeing him like this, on the edge of control, and knowing she had brought him to this point. She had never been this aware of her partner’s desire in the midst of her own, and that knowledge acted like a multiplier, heightening every sensation. They found a rhythm, hard and deep, and she gave herself up to it, riding the waves of sensation, not even minding as tears slipped out of the corners of her eyes as she reached her climax.

He trembled in her arms, and she held him tightly as he found his own release. They lay together for a long moment, not speaking, his weight heavy but still feeling good.

Finally, he levered off her. “I must be crushing you,” he said, and moved to lie beside her.

“No, it was wonderful.” She idly stroked his hair. “You’re wonderful.”

He didn’t sayYou’re wonderful too, or any clichéd response. Instead, he rested his head in the hollow of her shoulder and his hand across her stomach, cradling her as if she was so precious he couldn’t find the words.

“IWISHWEcould stay here like this all day,” Vince said the next morning after he and Tammy had made love again. They lay in a tangle of sheets, sunlight pouring through the thin sheers over the bedroom window.

“We’d have to send out for food,” she said. “And coffee.”

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