The Au Pairs (The Au Pairs 1)

A few minutes later Jacqui hung on as Luke sped down the Montauk Highway to his parents' home in Bridgehampton. The place was as expansive as the Perry homestead, and Luke showed her his private entrance and the four-bedroom suite in his "wing." It was a classic bachelor pad, with a vintage Foosball table, a Miss PacMan game console, dartboards, a basketball hoop, and dirty laundry strewn around the carpet. He pressed a button on a remote, and a sixty-inch television materialized from the floor.

Jacqui sat on the edge of his bed, looking around at all of his

77

things--his soccer trophies, his G4 computer, his bulletin board studded with photos from his travels around the world. So this was where he lived. This was where he slept. She drank it all in-- intent to know as much as she could about the guy who'd finally opened her heart and made her feel all jittery inside.

Luke stood in front of her, holding an open bottle of Absolut in one hand. He took a swig. His other hand was underneath his shirt, scratching his stomach. He stared at her hungrily. "You know, you're even more beautiful than I remembered," he said, putting down the bottle and reaching for the light switch.

"What else do you remember?" Jacqui asked with a playful lilt.

With the lights snuffed out, Luke splayed himself spread-eagle on top of the goose-down comforter. Jacqui curled up next to him. He tossed an arm around her and she snuggled on his chest. She listened to him breathe, happy to be so close to him again.

"I remember this," he said, tracing a finger on her cheek.

Soon she felt his hand move down toward her breast, cupping it over her shirt, then slowly inch its way down underneath the neckline. She wasn't wearing a bra, and his fingers were cold on her skin.

"Oh ... Luca," she said, turning to kiss him fully on the mouth.

He pulled her up on him, holding her close so she could feel him getting excited.

They kissed, slobbering with open mouths, so quickly and

78

urgently that Jacqui could barely catch her breath. All the while Luke tugged at her top. Finally he pulled it over her head and threw it to the corner of the room.

She realized she was trembling a little--she'd missed him so much. It was everything she ever wanted and everything she had been yearning for when he left her in Sao Paulo.

She sat up, looking down on him. They held hands and stared at each other.

A trick of the moonlight lit up a photograph on his night- stand.

It was her Luca, smiling, with his arm around a girl.

Huh?

Jacqui stopped and released his hands. He reached up to touch her face, but she pushed his hand away. "Who's that?" she asked, pointing.

He craned his neck to see what she was talking about.

"Oh. Nobody." He shrugged, gently laying the photo down. "Just someone I knew before I met you."

Jacqui felt a little better. But somehow the moment had passed. She rolled off him and slid underneath the sheets.

He joined her, spooning her so that her back was pressed against his chest. He began to kiss between her shoulder blades, her most sensitive part. His hand awkwardly unbuttoned her fly. His fingers reached south.

"Not tonight. Okay, baby?" Jacqui asked, grasping his hand right above her waist.

79

"Uhmmmm?" Luke asked sleepily. "Are you sure?"

"Uh-huh."

"Mm-kay."

They were quiet for a moment, and Jacqui listened to his soft breathing.