Page 12 of Reluctant Chemistry
“I’m flattered,” he said. And he meant it. Here was a beautiful woman, with the body of a late teen and a mind full of wild possibilities, throwing out her seduction net without an ounce of hesitation.
“Okay,” she said. “I have a question for you.”
“Shoot.”
“Are you a kind man, Luka O’Leary?”
He leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the lips. The touch, although over in a split second, was enough to savor. “Very kind.”
She fished in her bag for her keys and pushed them toward him. “In that case, I’ll let you drive me back to town.”
Amazed that she’d trust him to drive her Kombi, he grabbed the keys off the table. “Really? You want me to drive?”
CeCe’s fingers lifted to her lips in contemplation. “I do. It’s the first step in a series of preliminary observations.”
* * *
They arrived back at his place just after eight, Amy Winehouse singing on the radio as the last of the day’s sun slipped behind a puff of cloud. Luka pulled up to his front door and cut the engine. Without Amy, crickets sang their melody into the twilight air.
They sat in silence, both staring straight ahead, the windows down to take the edge off the heat. CeCe’s mind raced. Would he invite her in? Kiss her? Take her in his arms and let his lips find her neck? Was this her new normal, creating an alternative universe?
“Would you like to come inside? There’s a hot tub on the deck.”
She imagined them in the tub. Stars bright, crickets humming—the trace of her fingertips through the fine hairs on his chest as they kissed. “Thanks, but some other time. I want to visit my friend Anna on the way home.”
Luka turned to face her and slid his arm along the seat until his fingers touched her nape. Her breasts tightened in response. “I have a nice bottle of merlot we could share.”
“It will keep.”
He leaned in for a kiss, then another. Each time she pulled back, he moved closer, his lips soft on hers as he searched her mouth with his tender touch.
Luka sat back, brushed a strand of hair from her cheek, and smiled. “I look forward to opening it.” He leaned in again, his lips skimming along her collarbone. Tilting her head to one side, she smiled. He had kind eyes, ones she could lose herself in. Eyes she could trust. But when their lips met again, the urgency behind his touch took her by surprise. His hand slipped beneath her T-shirt, but just as he was about to cup her breast, she pulled away.
“Thanks for the company,” she said. “I had a good time.”
“Me too.” He sighed heavily. “Is that my cue to go inside?”
“Yeah. I think so.”
Luka stepped from the van and watched as she scrambled over the seat and slipped behind the wheel. He stood back. “Drive safe.”
She shifted into reverse. “I will. Goodnight.”
Instead of going to the cemetery as planned, CeCe drove home in silence, the radio’s distraction too mundane for the enormity of the sensations coursing through her. This guy was hot. Seriously hot.
Despite the need pooling between her legs, it felt good to carry herself with confidence again. That side of her hadn’t gone; it had just lain dormant for a while. She laughed out loud. CeCe had never seduced a guy before, hadn’t known she had it in her.
Game on.
5
Casual Visitor
When CeCe parked in the driveway of Luka’s studio two days later, the main house lay in darkness. As she stepped from the van and strode toward the deck, the western hill line sat against a deep blue sky, and a scattering of stars were just showing their shine. She knocked on his front door.
Parked down a nearby side street for the past fifteen minutes, she’d agonized over the decision to visit him. This was it. Her moment. If she didn’t seize this opportunity, would she be forever afraid to move on?
When her therapist had mentioned how some people feel an insistent need for sexual connection after they’ve lost someone they love, CeCe had scoffed at the notion, slotting it into the WTH file in her mind.
