“I banish them to the guest bathroom when I go out. I’ll get them if you’d really like to see them.”
“Of course I want to see them. This is a beautiful place, but it doesn’t look like you.”
She grabbed a pillow from the sofa and threw it at him. “I’ve lived here for years, and it’s exactly what I want. I work in stark modern sets all the time. This is as peaceful as it comes, pretty and comfortable, even if it isn’t the latest in home design.”
“You should decorate your home the way you please,” he agreed. “I expected something more in the Goth tradition.”
She pulled the pins from her hair and shook it loose. “Stone walls, wooden benches and flickering candles? That doesn’t sound very homey.” She let the kittens out, and they chased her back to the living room. “Juliet is the black one. So far, Romeo has shown more personality.”
Alejandro loosened his tie, pulled it off and tucked it into his jacket pocket. “Do they sleep with you?”
She shook her head. “Sorry if it disappoints you, but no. Would you like coffee or tea, wine, a glass of water?”
He shook his head and came toward her. He caught her waist and tilted her head to kiss her with a gentle sweetness, and with her encouragement, he became increasingly insistent. “You always taste so good.”
“So do you. Let me take your coat.”
He shrugged out of it. “Have you ever been to a nudist colony?”
She laughed and stepped back. “No, and I’m not going. Do you like them?”
“I’ve never been either, but I spend so much time with you taking off and putting on my clothes, it might be fun to try one.”
She unbuttoned his shirt. “I believe the idea is to enjoy the tranquility of nature, not to more easily ravish your partner.”
“I’ve completely misunderstood the purpose, then.” He took her shoulders to turn her around and unzipped her dress. She’d worn turquoise lingerie tonight. “You must have an endless supply of lingerie, and this is a cute dress. You have such beautiful legs, you ought to show them off with short dresses all the time.” He knelt to untie her shoes and slipped them from her feet. Her toenails were painted a bright pink.
“Thank you. I have my own dance studio here, and dancing is the perfect exercise.”
“May I see it?”
“It’s the second bedroom. If anyone comes to visit, the living room sofa makes a bed.”
He followed her down the hallway. When she opened the door, the first thing he saw was the mirrored wall. “Do you ever make love in here?”
She had, but shook her head. “I’m discreet, remember? No one will ever hear what you and I do.” There was a straight-backed chair in the corner, and she pulled it out into the center of the room with the seat facing the mirror. She took hold of the back. “Does this give you any ideas?”
He walked up behind her and studied their reflections in the mirror. He unfastened her bra, let it drop to the chair and cupped her breasts. He rolled her nipples into tight buds. “You slip out of your clothes so easily. You ought to give me a head start.”
She covered his hands with her own. Her skin was a creamy peach, while his was deeply tanned. “Just unzip your pants.”
He kissed her shoulder. “No short cuts. I want to feel your bare skin against mine.”
“You started this, but I didn’t mean to rush you.” Romeo dashed into the room and sped out while Juliet lay down by the door to watch. “We have an audience, although she’s discreet too.”
He let her go and circled the chair to sit down and remove his shoes. “Good, but I’m taking you first.”
She kneaded his shoulders and leaned down to kiss his cheek. “There are hooks along the wall for your clothes.” Her ballet slippers dangled from the first hook, and she had tutus in the closet. Not thinking they’d use the room, she’d stacked the framed magazine covers in the closet too. She’d have to keep him too busy to look.
Once undressed, he came to stand behind her and ran his hands over her shoulders and down her arms. “I’ll bet you were a gorgeous child.”
“All people saw was my hair.” She dipped her head to let it spill over her breasts. “I was lucky, though, I liked being tall and didn’t care that much for boys when they were too short to dance with me.”
He kissed her nape with teasing nibbles. “I was born tall. We should have met sooner.”
She leaned back to rub her shoulders against his hair-roughened chest. “Maybe we wouldn’t have appreciated each other until now.”
“I’m sure I’d have appreciated you.”