older sisters, a younger brother and sister. They all live in Boston. The three girls are married. Alan is still looking.”
“Like you.”
“No. I’ve stopped looking.” The sensual twist to his smile had Lotus blinking.
“Then you two will be the only single ones.” Lotus couldn’t hold his gaze. “Watch out, your mother will be after you.”
“Not to mention my father, my uncles and aunts and my cousins. . .” Dash grazed her cheek with his lips.
“It sounds as though you have a large family.” She gave a breathless laugh.
“A mob scene.” He watched her, amazed that her laugh could bring him such a good feeling. “Was it your parents who called you Dash?”
“My mother calls me Dasher, but that’s an old family name and she would never think of shortening it to Dash. My sisters and brother shortened it, as I recall, though when my sisters are angry they call me Dasher.”
“I like Dash,” Lotus said, settling on a long couch set at right angles to the oak-mantled stone fireplace.
He walked to a sideboard, poured thimbleful sizes of liqueur, and sat very close to her on the furry white settee. “I hope you like Dash, and not just his name.” He handed her a glass and sat down again, his arm along the back of the settee.
Lotus sipped the strong liquid tinged with the taste of orange and wrinkled her nose. “Different.” “Grand Marnier, love. Don’t you like it?”
“I’ve never had it before, but I think a couple of sips is fine.” She leaned back against the overstuffed upholstery, happy when his arm dropped to her shoulder and he scooped her into the curve of his body.
“Then leave it, sweet. You can’t be tipsy on half a glass of champagne and a thimble of liqueur,” he told her, his soft voice ruffling the hair on her forehead
“I know.” She closed her eyes and sagged against him. When he sighed, she could feel her pulse rate jump. In lazy excitement she watched him place her tiny glass on the coffee table in front of the couch along with his. It was her turn to sigh when he put his other arm across her waist and pulled her even closer to him.
“I know this must seem too quick to you, angel, but I want you so much. I have wanted you from the moment I saw you in my office the first day.” He tilted up her chin. It both jolted and gladdened him to see the serene acceptance in her face. “Do you want me?” He had never asked that question in his life! He had always assumed that the women he pursued wanted him as much as he wanted them. He never had had reason to suppose that such a supposition was incorrect.
“Yes, but don’t expect too much.” She felt calm. “My experience hasn’t been as extensive as you might think for someone my age. . . ” She lifted her hand and rubbed it on his chin. “You have bristles already.”
“Which I will shave off, my darling.” He felt his face crease in concern. “Are you a virgin, love?”
“No . . . but I can’t say that I’ve enjoyed sex.” Which was only once , she told him in her mind, and Alex Venet was a flop as a lover.
He watched her for long minutes, his mind turning over, computing the small amount of information she had given him and coming up with the full picture. Some clod was her first and only lover, Dash grated, and though my China doll doesn’t say it, she is a little afraid of making love. “If you are at all unsure we won’t do anything but kiss a little, hug, nuzzle.” He punctuated each word with, the action, feeling her small frame wriggle against him. “You don’t mind that, do you?” His voice was thick.
“I like it when you touch me,” Lotus told him, her hands coming up to rub up and down his skin, the light bristling of his cheeks an erotic stimulation to her being.
Dash rose to his feet, pulling her with him. “Come with me while I shave.”
“I’d like that.” Lotus meant it. Doing the most mundane things with Dash were fraught with excitement, she mused.
They ambled
“Like you.”
“No. I’ve stopped looking.” The sensual twist to his smile had Lotus blinking.
“Then you two will be the only single ones.” Lotus couldn’t hold his gaze. “Watch out, your mother will be after you.”
“Not to mention my father, my uncles and aunts and my cousins. . .” Dash grazed her cheek with his lips.
“It sounds as though you have a large family.” She gave a breathless laugh.
“A mob scene.” He watched her, amazed that her laugh could bring him such a good feeling. “Was it your parents who called you Dash?”
“My mother calls me Dasher, but that’s an old family name and she would never think of shortening it to Dash. My sisters and brother shortened it, as I recall, though when my sisters are angry they call me Dasher.”
“I like Dash,” Lotus said, settling on a long couch set at right angles to the oak-mantled stone fireplace.
He walked to a sideboard, poured thimbleful sizes of liqueur, and sat very close to her on the furry white settee. “I hope you like Dash, and not just his name.” He handed her a glass and sat down again, his arm along the back of the settee.
Lotus sipped the strong liquid tinged with the taste of orange and wrinkled her nose. “Different.” “Grand Marnier, love. Don’t you like it?”
“I’ve never had it before, but I think a couple of sips is fine.” She leaned back against the overstuffed upholstery, happy when his arm dropped to her shoulder and he scooped her into the curve of his body.
“Then leave it, sweet. You can’t be tipsy on half a glass of champagne and a thimble of liqueur,” he told her, his soft voice ruffling the hair on her forehead
“I know.” She closed her eyes and sagged against him. When he sighed, she could feel her pulse rate jump. In lazy excitement she watched him place her tiny glass on the coffee table in front of the couch along with his. It was her turn to sigh when he put his other arm across her waist and pulled her even closer to him.
“I know this must seem too quick to you, angel, but I want you so much. I have wanted you from the moment I saw you in my office the first day.” He tilted up her chin. It both jolted and gladdened him to see the serene acceptance in her face. “Do you want me?” He had never asked that question in his life! He had always assumed that the women he pursued wanted him as much as he wanted them. He never had had reason to suppose that such a supposition was incorrect.
“Yes, but don’t expect too much.” She felt calm. “My experience hasn’t been as extensive as you might think for someone my age. . . ” She lifted her hand and rubbed it on his chin. “You have bristles already.”
“Which I will shave off, my darling.” He felt his face crease in concern. “Are you a virgin, love?”
“No . . . but I can’t say that I’ve enjoyed sex.” Which was only once , she told him in her mind, and Alex Venet was a flop as a lover.
He watched her for long minutes, his mind turning over, computing the small amount of information she had given him and coming up with the full picture. Some clod was her first and only lover, Dash grated, and though my China doll doesn’t say it, she is a little afraid of making love. “If you are at all unsure we won’t do anything but kiss a little, hug, nuzzle.” He punctuated each word with, the action, feeling her small frame wriggle against him. “You don’t mind that, do you?” His voice was thick.
“I like it when you touch me,” Lotus told him, her hands coming up to rub up and down his skin, the light bristling of his cheeks an erotic stimulation to her being.
Dash rose to his feet, pulling her with him. “Come with me while I shave.”
“I’d like that.” Lotus meant it. Doing the most mundane things with Dash were fraught with excitement, she mused.
They ambled
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