Page 24 of Reluctant Chemistry

Luka leaned forward and kissed from her breastbone to her bare pubis and back again. “And I you.”

“Do that thing.”

“What thing?”

“You know.” Her hands in his hair, CeCe hesitated as he moved closer to her need then whispered, “With your tongue, and your lips, and your breath.”

He gazed up at her, his eyes bright. “My pleasure.”

Afterward, they slept, the thrum of the rain on the iron roof soothing in its steadiness. CeCe awoke to the rhythm of his breath on her neck, and his erection pressed against her. As she eased back the covers, Luka stirred and wrapped one arm around her waist.

“Don’t go. Not yet.” He pulled her closer, his arms holding her tightly as usual. “I hate it when you leave. I miss the warmth and the spell of you.”

She looked back over her shoulder and smiled. “Thespellof me?”

“That’s what you’ve done, isn’t it? Cast a spell? Worked your magic?”

She laughed and wriggled free. Standing next to his bed, she picked up the sarong and tied it above her breasts. “Go back to sleep. You’re hallucinating.”

His hands clasped behind his head, Luka studied her in the half-light of dawn. “If I am, this is the horniest hallucination I’ve ever had.” He reached over and snatched the sarong free, leaving her standing naked before him. “This stays here for next time.”

“I thought it was a gift.”

“One that will hopefully keep on giving.” He grinned. “Anyway, I have to get up soon. I’m going home for a few days after work.”

“When will you be back?”

“Tuesday night. Text me while I’m away. Just once.”

She gathered up her clothes from the floor beside the bed and slowly dressed as they watched one another. “I just might.”

Luka began reciting his number, but she leaned over and silenced him with a kiss. “I have it saved in my phone, and don’t worry, Chopper Guy, I’ll still be around on Wednesday.”

“Maybe we should go out for dinner and a movie next weekend. On a date.”

CeCe hesitated. Blew him a kiss. “You think?”

12

A Favor

“We’ve got a problem.”

Luka looked up from his desk as Brad walked through the door carrying a white box. They didn’t have a uniform in the Tulloch Point Search and Rescue office, the service was too small and underfunded for that, but Brad wore the same outfit every day. Khaki shirt and brown pants, black leather shoes with heavy soles, and a name badge identifying him as Bradley Jones, Coordinator.

“What kind of problem?”

Brad’s smile broadened as he sat the box on his desk. He obviously needed a favor. “Our chemistry teacher’s pregnant and confined to bed rest, and the school year begins first week of February. We’ve found a replacement, but she can’t start until after Easter.”

Luka shut the lid of his laptop, grabbed his phone and water bottle off the desk, and stuffed them all into his backpack. His shift had finished twenty minutes ago, and he wanted to hit the road before dark. “That’s a shame. And what do you mean by ‘we’?”

“You know I’m married to the principal, right?”

Brad had mentioned that fact at least half a dozen times, but he was the kind of guy who’d repeat a story without even thinking about it. “Yes, so you’ve said.”

“Carole thought maybe—”

“No.”

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