Page 23 of Reluctant Chemistry

Luka rolled over and propped himself up on one elbow to admire her postcoital beauty—breathtaking in its simplicity—her hair drying into curls and the slight sun blush across the bridge of her nose. He smiled. “I love being with a sexually confident woman. It makes me horny.”

CeCe raised her brows. “So I’ve noticed.”

Luka flopped onto his back and closed his eyes against the sun filtering through the cabbage tree fronds above. He recalled her face as she came, one side pressed to the rug, the other flushed with passion. Her falling apart fascinated him. She did so without restraint, moaning his name as she squeezed her core tight, her hands gripping whatever she could reach.

“Luka?”

“Yeah.” He kept his eyes closed, one bent knee touching hers and the sun warm on his face.

“Am I too young for you?”

Opening his eyes, he took her hand, her skin cool and smooth to the touch. “We wouldn’t be here if that’s what I thought. Why do you ask?”

“It’s just…you’ve obviously experienced much more of life than I have, and I kind of feel like a newbie around you.”

Luka returned to his side and stroked wisps of hair from her face. Apart from that first day, when she told him she was eighteen, he rarelythought about their age difference. “Do you think I’m too old for you?”

She shook her head. “No. You’re just right.”

“Good.” He leaned forward and kissed her. “You had me worried there for a moment.”

11

Perfect Distraction

CeCe smiled when Luka opened his door. Shirtless as usual, he wore another brightly colored length of cotton tied off-center just below his navel. She’d understand if it was a warm night, but after two days of rain, the air was unseasonably cool. She motioned to his lavalava. “Do you have one of those skirts for me?”

“Why? Are you planning on getting half naked?”

“Perhaps I could be persuaded.”

A grin on his face, Luka stepped back in invitation. CeCe wanted to go to him, to wrap her arms around his neck, but she always found that first contact the hardest, so she waited for him to make a move. Although they’d been seeing each other since the beginning of January, it still felt a little foreign. With Easter less than three months away, their use-by date was looming, and she didn’t want to be left with a bruised heart. She wanted to enjoy their time together for what it was and move on without regret when it ended.

He looked exhausted, as if he didn’t have the energy for her. CeCe knew she should have called first, but she still hadn’t used the number he’d scribbled on the bookmark. She didn’t know why. She’d always been so available to Travis, so much so that she’d sometimes lost any sense of herself. Most days, he’d scarcely allowed her time to breathe.

“You look shattered. Should I go?”

“Yeah, I’ve been studying—I’m finding it pretty tough.” He stepped forward and took her hand. “But please don’t leave. You’re just the distraction I need.”

Luka kissed like he meant it. Always. There was no hesitation, and as she relaxed in his arms, the tension of the day eased.

He released her and stepped away. “I’ve something for you.” CeCe watched as he opened his chest of drawers and pulled out a sarong in various shades of aqua. He shook out the fabric and dangled it from his index finger in an invitation for her to come closer. When she reached out to take it, he grabbed her around the waist and gently pushed her onto the bed.

Luka positioned himself between her legs, his hands efficient on the zipper of her jeans. She raised her butt in assistance, and as he continued to undress her, the excitement at just the look of him flushed her cheeks until they warmed.

Her jeans and panties on the floor, Luka started on the buttons of her top, and as he worked his way down and peeled it off her shoulders, he never once broke eye contact. He picked up the sarong and draped it across one side of her body and down between her legs. She wasn’t wearing a bra, so the touch of the cool cotton as he teased it over her right breast heightened her senses to the point where she felt compelled to close her eyes.

He lifted the fabric before letting it flutter over her. Once. Twice. After the third time, his lips found her breast through the thin cotton, and his attention had her arching off the mattress in desperate want.

Standing at the side of the bed, Luka let his lavalava fall to the floor. He was already erect, so very erect. With hard planes of muscle on his torso and strong, lean legs, he had the body of a surfer—all sun-kissed skin and tousled hair. CeCe loved everything about him. Not only his body and the way he commanded her release without compromise, but also, his keen mind as well.

He chuckled.

“What?”

“You sure know how to make me feel good about myself without saying a word.”

CeCe shrugged. “I love seeing you naked.”

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