Page 57 of Love in Tune

‘So. How was your day?’ she asked, feeling ridiculous.

He put his glass down slowly. ‘Really?’ he said, incredulous. ‘You want to do this that way? Shall we talk about the weather next?’

‘It’s just conversation, Hal,’ she shot back.

‘I haven’t come here to talk. Let’s go to the bedroom.’

Whoa. ‘Easy, caveman. You’ll be flinging me over your shoulder next,’ she said, and when he said nothing, she stood up and muttered, ‘I’ll bring the wine through.’

Hal made his way to the edge of the bed and sat down on the edge like someone in a bed showroom. Honey watched him, unnerved by his big, dark, brooding presence in her light, Scandinavian-style bedroom.

Placing the glasses down on the bedside table, she eyed Hal nervously.

‘What are you wearing?’ Hal asked.

Honey’s eyes opened wide in surprise. He’d gone from caveman to sex line operator in a flash. How to respond?

‘Oh, erm … well, my dress is black with a zipper all the way down the back, easy access,’ she all but purred, and screwed her eyes tight with embarrassment. ‘And … my underwear is new. I chose it for you. It feels …’

‘Just take everything off and lie on the bed on your back.’

Honey picked up her wine glass and threw the entire contents down her throat, then sat down on the other side of the bed. The last man to say anything like that to her had been her doctor.

‘Hal. I’m going to lie down here with all of my clothes on, and I’d like it if you lay beside me. You’re going too fast for me, okay?’

It was something she hadn’t anticipated that she’d need to say. Previous encounters with Hal had been sexy and slow and had melted her bones, but this just wasn’t working yet.

She lay back on her pillows, and he did the same alongside her.

‘Happy now?’ he said, his face angled towards the ceiling.

‘Not especially,’ she muttered. ‘Is this what it feels like when you’ve been married for years, do you think?’

‘It really would help if you got rid of your clothes,’ Hal said.

When she’d dressed that evening, she’d subconsciously opted for things that were tactile, things she hoped Hal would enjoy peeling off her later.

‘I umm … I brought a blindfold. I wondered if you’d like me to wear it?’ Honey heard her own upward inflection, like an Aussie waitress asking if he’d like an extra shot in his espresso.

‘Not especially. Strip off.’

We’ll, he’d missed the point of that entirely.

‘Do you think you could possibly kiss me first?’

Hal paused. ‘I wasn’t planning on kissing.’

‘What?’

‘This isn’t a date, remember?’

‘Yeah, and I’m not a prostitute either,’ she said. ‘Just bloody kiss me. I am one hundred per cent certain I won’t orgasm without being kissed first.’

Hal sighed, then rolled towards her until his body half covered hers and pressed her down into the mattress. Lowering his head, he kissed her too lightly, lingering for just a couple of agonisingly good seconds.

‘There. Now are you going to strip, or does this dress ruck up enough to get your knickers off?’

‘For God’s sake, Hal!’ Honey huffed. ‘This isn’t what I expected from you!’

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