Page 77 of Reluctant Chemistry

“Didn’t you hear me drive up?”

CeCe removed her safety glasses. “No, I was concentrating.”

“Have you eaten?”

“Not yet.” Frowning, she checked her watch, then unbuttoned her lab coat. “Time got away on me. Were you at Mitch’s?”

He shook his head. “No. I came to see you.”

She narrowed her eyes but remained silent.

“You keen for a burger?” he asked. “We could drive into town. I’ll drop you back later.”

“Actually, I made dinner for Mitch and Tayla this afternoon. She’s nesting and thinks she has to feed me all the time, so I thought I’d return the favor. There’s plenty left if you’d like to stay.”

Luka relaxed. After the way she’d left him that morning, he’d expected her to offer the same aloofness, but she seemed just as happy to see him as he was to see her. “As I recall, last time we ate dinner together, I got myself into a shitload of trouble.”

“It’s cannelloni, so I can’t promise it won’t happen again.” CeCe smiled as she brushed past, and he realized how much he enjoyed this flirty side of her. “Come on.”

They ate at the breakfast bar, the scene reminiscent of the last night they slept together at Tulloch Point. While they made it through the meal—even through the dishes—with easy conversation and warm smiles, the more they talked, the more tension tugged in the background, drawing them deeper into each other’s worlds.

He wasn’t there to have sex with her again, or perhaps that was just the lie he’d told himself on the drive over. Because every time they were in one another’s company, he couldn’t wait to be inside of her, and he could tell by the subtle vibes she gave off that she felt the same way.

CeCe moved to the sideboard, and he watched as she placed two old-fashioned glasses on a tray and poured a nip of whiskey into each. He stood next to the sofa but didn’t take a seat. She handed him his drink and held her glass against his. “To second thoughts.”

Not second chances, not new beginnings, justsecond thoughts.

Luka took a sip, then leaned forward and kissed her, her tongue warm with the taste of whiskey and her eyes bright with a come-to-me smile.

CeCe reached for his glass and placed it on the side table, then did the same with her own. She stepped back, her gaze holding his as she worked the buttons of her blouse while he undid his shirt. Her blouse fell to the floor, and she stood before him in a nude-colored bra with see-through panels along the cleavage and slit-at-the-knee jeans sitting low on her hips.

Maintaining eye contact, she made short work of his belt buckle, and when he tugged his shirt free, she flattened her hands against his chest.His pecs had been sensitive since his late teens, and as she traced a finger over his nipples, they tightened under her touch. He inhaled sharply. “You want to take this to the bedroom?”

She gently pushed him back onto the sofa, shimmied out of her jeans, and straddled him, the rug soft under his feet. “Or we could stay here.” Her voice steady, she whispered the words, and his excitement presented itself in the usual way as he struggled for control.

He cupped both hands to her breasts and squeezed with slight pressure. He didn’t want gentle—gentle belonged to their Tulloch Point days. And as she returned his kisses with urgency, rocking back and forth in his lap, he realized she didn’t want it gentle either.

Luka was still fully dressed, and as he pulled out a condom from his jeans pocket and placed it on the pillow beside him, she watched him wide-eyed. “Undress me,” he commanded.

“Yeah? Is that what you want?”

“Fuck, yes! You make me so horny. Just the sight of you.”

37

Stolen Moments

Slotting a pod into the Nespresso machine, CeCe’s thoughts turned to Luka as he showered in her bathroom. She hadn’t really wanted him to stay for breakfast. Not because she didn’t enjoy his company, but the morning after the benefit dinner had been awkward, and she found it hard to focus on work when he was constantly in her head. With Botanical Ce launching soon, it meant long hours in the lab from now on.

Besides, what did they really have? A few stolen moments along with their shared memories?

Off-the-charts chemistry?

She knew why he’d come. Sometimes, it hurt to be alone, and Luka wasn’t immune to loneliness. But she couldn’t figure him out. When he awoke, he’d been distant, as if something was troubling him.

They’d talked for a while before getting up. Thinking back, maybe her insistence that she was stretched for time didn’t go down well. Then when she suggested they shower together, he’d said he was in a hurry and would only take a few minutes.

Dressed and ready to go, he strolled into the kitchen and kissed her on the cheek. “Thanks for the shower.”

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