Gil considered, clearly tempted. “Can we have hot dogs for LUNCH, too?”
Bruno gritted his teeth. “We can’t have hot dogs for two meals in one day. You already had hot dogs tonight!”
“They were yummy,” Gil said. “I’m HUNGRY.”
“Only because you’re thinking about it now. Is it a deal?”
Gil reluctantly agreed and Bruno tucked the blankets around him hopefully. “No getting up,” he reminded Gil. “No calling for me.”
“What if it’s really important?”
“It’s not really important,” Bruno said, turning off the bedside light.
“What if the HOUSE IS ON FIRE?”
“Go to sleep, Gil.”
“THAT’S IMPORTANT!” Gil insisted.
“Good night, Gil.”
Bruno shut the door firmly and stood in the hallway a moment to shake off his frustration and see if there was going to be any further negotiation from the little lawyer.
Gil was blessedly quiet and Bruno returned to find Clarice sitting just where he’d left her, looking just as kissable.
“That sounded like quite the conversation,” Clarice observed nervously. “I remember being a terror to put to bed when I was little. There are a lot of hard things about having kids, I bet. I only have a cat, of course, so I wouldn’t know. He’s needy, but so independent at the same time. Gil’s great, though. A real ham. Horatio loves ham. Did I tell you I looked up his name and it meanstimekeeper?”
Bruno sat down carefully beside Clarice, his knee just touching hers.
“He’s not the greatest cat,” she said faintly. “I washoping to get a cuddler when I rescued him and I got a prickly, unfriendly pet. I hoped he just needed to warm up to me, but it’s been a few years now, and he still doesn’t want me to pick him up or sit too close.”
“Clarice,” Bruno said carefully, “will you please stop talking about your cat so I can kiss you again?”
29
CLARICE
Clarice was glad for Bruno’s suggestion, and kissing was much, much better than rambling nervously about her ungrateful pet.
When his lips met hers, she forgot to be self-conscious. Her body stopped feeling like something she thought she ought to be apologizing for and it was completely natural and absolutely amazing to press it against him and arch into his touches.
It wasn’t nearly as awkward as she’d feared. He seemed to know exactly where to touch her, when to let her gasp for breath, and how to hold her. If it wasn’t magic, it was close enough, because Clarice was entirely under his sexy spell.
They took each step in perfect sync, ready to strip off their tops at the same time, glad for skin to caress and eager for more even while they relished each new discovery. They made out on the couch for a time that Clarice didn’t mark, and then Bruno pulled her to her feet and suggested, “The bedroom?”
“Yes,” Clarice gasped. “Wait, I have a condom.”
She had exactly one, in the first aid kit at the bottom of her purse, and Bruno didn’t protest. “I’ve got more, if we need them,” he offered.
Clarice paused at a sudden thought. “Can shifting be caught like a venereal disease? Is it passed through bites?” He’d been nibbling rather deliciously hard at times and Clarice hadn’t stopped him because it felt so amazing.
“Strictly genetic,” Bruno assured her. “And I’m not promiscuous, if you’re worried. I can’t remember the last time…”
“Me neither,” Clarice chuckled. “I hope it’s like riding a bicycle.”
It was much, much better than riding a bicycle.
He was hard and she was wet, and everything fit just where it ought to with just the right amount of pressure, and it felt so good that Clarice never wanted it to end. She had a sweet release of climax and then they switched positions and there was a second wave of pleasure cresting over her, and itstillwasn’t over or enough.
