“Yes,” she said.
Yes!his heart echoed, trembling with sheer, amazed delight.She said yes!
“But,” she added. Her hand clamped his against the button, stopping him. Her countenance became deadly tranquil once more, and Daniel felt electrified.
“Before we go any further,” she said, “let’s list some rules for ourselves.”
And just like that, his nervous system invented nuclear fusion.
21
lawful behavior—rule three—alice is up against it—renegotiations—mutual assassination
Alice was afraid of too much expression on Daniel’s part. But after clipping a blank piece of paper to an easel, they listed more than a dozen rules for lovemaking, and her concerns were relieved. Should Cupid have come upon their contract, he’d have gone blind trying to read the fine print.
“Most especially, A.U.N.T. must never learn of what we’ve done,” Alice declared, writing a final exclamation mark then stepping back from the easel.
“I certainly agree with that,” Daniel said. But he frowned as, with arms crossed and eyes peering over the top of his spectacles, he regarded the list. “I still aver we cannot regulate the degree of pleasure experienced.”
“That is why we have a range,” Alice explained. “By all means, induce my physical satisfaction anywhere up to level eight out of ten, but higher than that and I’m liable to strangle you.”
“Uh huh.”
“And don’t forget to employ your tongue when kissing. That was most gratifying.”
“Understood.” Removing his spectacles, he placed them tidily on the easel’s shelf, then turned back to her and extended his hand. “So we have a covenant?”
She regarded him (that is to say, his left shoulder) for a long, cool moment. The evidence was undeniable, he desired to partake in coital activity with her—I want you,meaning he wanted her body. And equally impossible to deny, she was in love with him. But she felt sure the rules they had formulated would provide a safe, tidy structure in which physical pleasure could be experienced with hopefully a reduced risk of murder.
“We do.” She took his hand in a firm grip and gave it a brisk shake. “Now, let us start with—”
He yanked her suddenly. She stumbled against him, her pulse shattering on the hard planes of his chest, and he enfolded her at once in his arms.
“What are you doing?” she asked, her voice as taut as every muscle in her body.
“Hugging you.”
Alice frowned. Really, this did not bode well. Restraint was one thing—she had negotiated for that safety measure and had gained an assurance he’d use a constrictor knot if he was called upon to tie her up. She almost hoped it would happen. But this random embrace? It only served to slow the pace of the action.
Well, she would be accommodating. He could have sixty seconds ofhuggingbefore she brought them back to the schedule.
She began a silent count toward sixty. Daniel rested his head against hers but otherwise did not move. Ten seconds. Alice tapped her fingers against her thigh. Twenty seconds. Her frown eased. Thirty seconds, and her breath slowly loosened. Senses that had beenoverstimulated for days—years, really—began to gentle within the silent, unrelenting compass of Daniel’s embrace. Twenty-five seconds. Wait, no, thirty-five. Or was it forty? Numbers dissolved as she softened, and Daniel’s arms grew tighter about her in response.
“Is that a gun in your trouser pocket,” she murmured, “or are you—”
“It’s a gun.”
She stroked it through the dark wool of his trousers. “What model?”
“Smith and Wesson .38. An American weapon.”
Her breath caught. “Say it again.”
She felt him smile against the side of her head. “Smith and Wesson .38 double-action hammerless revolver with a five-round cylinder and nickel finish.”
“Oh.” Her tranquil layers began to melt like warmed honey, pooling in the secret dark place between her legs. “I’m going to garrote you,” she said, nestling against him.
“Hm,” he murmured in her ear. Her nerves trilled just a little—a delicate sensation she was surprised to declare pleasant.
