Lisa stubbornly closed her mouth.
Redmond released one hand and ran a finger gently around her lips.
She briefly considered using her free hand to good effect by pinching, tickling, or otherwise annoying him, but as he lowered his lips to hers, she forgot even to pretend to fight. His kiss was gentle but insistent. In spite of themselves, her lips parted to welcome him.
Lisa’s free hand moved of its own accord, twining itself in Redmond’s soft hair and drawing him closer against her. Through her thin nightgown, she was painfully aware of his firm body against her, and she thought she could feel the hard warmth of his arousal against her stomach.
The kiss seemed to last forever, but all too soon Redmond pulled away for breath. Lisa took the opportunity to free her other hand and tug hungrily at Redmond’s shirt, tucking her hand inside and running it over all she could reach of his muscular back and sharp shoulder blades. With her hand on his back, she was able to pull him closer against her, and he responded to her touch, first kissing her lips and then drawing back to drop small, gentle kisses on her cheeks, neck, and breasts.
“That’s nice,” she murmured.
Redmond laughed and hauled himself up until his head was right next to her ear, before whispering a response.
“I told you I’d make you talk.”
“You … ” Lisa spluttered.
“Shh.” Redmond trailed kisses from her earlobe down her cheek to her lips, where he lingered sensuously.
Lisa forgot about protesting. Everything felt so good. Her whole body seemed to be a million times more aware than usual. Every inch of skin and every nerve ending seemed to crackle with life. Her fingers took in Redmond’s smooth, firm skin and the softness of the hair at the nape of his neck, while her mouth pressed him for ever more insistent kisses.
Redmond propped himself on one elbow and pulled away for a moment.
Lisa reached upwards, intent on keeping her lips in contact with his, teasing out of him a few more tender kisses.
Redmond put a hand on her shoulder, restraining her. She struggled for a moment, but he turned the pressure into a gentle stroking, and she relaxed under his soothing touch. He knelt beside her, running both hands over her shoulders and upper arms, playing around the straps of her nightgown and occasionally letting his fingers stray under the light silk to play around the curves of her breasts.
“Mmm.” Lisa heard small, quiet sounds of enjoyment, and realised that they were her own.
“Bedtime?” Redmond asked, finally letting one hand rest for a moment cupping her breast. She arched upwards, moulding her body against him.
“Yes.” Lisa’s voice had become husky, hungry, a sensuous feminine sound she’d never known herself capable of.
Redmond swept her into his arms and carried her to her bed, then stepped away from her. In the dim light that filtered through the curtains, she could just about make out his body moving as he undressed.
“Are you sleepy?” he murmured, moving closer to her and slipping one arm around her waist.
She, in return, put a hand out and encountered his bare chest, lean and muscular. She found her fingertips caressing him as she paused to consider her answer, and he in turn gave a low, contented sigh.
“A little,” she said, not entirely truthfully. She was a lot sleepy, but she didn’t want the evening to end just yet.
She pressed closer against him and let her hand slide across his chest and down his back to his waist, where the smoothness of skin gave way to the softness of brushed cotton. Perversely, despite her nervousness, she found herself wishing she’d found only bare skin. She had a sudden urge to pull away the inconvenient barrier of clothing between them, but didn’t quite dare, so she contented herself with running her hands lightly over his back, chest and legs, tantalising both him and herself by occasionally straying across the front of his shorts, letting him know that she could feel his arousal.
He responded by slipping the straps of her nightgown off her shoulders and letting his fingers play gently across her face, neck, and bare breasts. As he teased her nipples into firmness, her breath came in short gasps. She tried to breathe naturally, but each time his fingers found a sensitive spot, she would find herself taking a sharp, excited breath.
Her body, normally so controlled, took on a life of its own. Her breathing was ragged; she found her voice reacting of its own accord, gasping with pleasure, whimpering with desire, and occasionally gasping his name as if it were a demand, or whispering it like a sensuous caress. Her body arched itself in pleasure again and again at his touch.
“Sure you’re not sleepy?” he teased, pulling her into a crushing embrace. Every inch of her body felt warm and alive, and she could feel, too, how much he wanted her.
She shook her head vigorously and then buried her face in his neck, kissing randomly wherever her lips landed.
Unbidden, her mouth, finding itself next to his ear, whispered gently, nervously, but firmly, “I want you.”
Instantly, embarrassed, she buried her face back against his shoulder. She couldn’t believe she’d said that.
“I want you too.” Redmond’s voice was throaty, deep, and low and desperately sexy. Encouraged, Lisa ran her hands more firmly over his body, massaging his back and buttocks, and finally sliding her fingers under the waist of his underwear.
“Lee,” he murmured, and something about his tone made her pause.
She pulled back, letting her hands rest where they were on his lean hips, enjoying the feel of his skin against hers. As best she could in the low light, she looked into his eyes. His expression was serious.
“Mmm?” What was the matter? Surely she couldn’t have mistaken his feelings. His body told her otherwise, and he’d even said he wanted her too. She frowned, baffled.
“Let’s just go to sleep, huh?”
Now she was really bemused. Sleep was the last thing on her mind and, she would have said until a moment earlier, on his too. Her body ached with desire. No way would she sleep until she at least understood what was behind this sudden change.
“Why?” She racked her brains for an explanation. “Did I do something wrong?”
Redmond chuckled dryly and dropped a kiss on her forehead. “Of course not. I just don’t think this is the right time.”
His opposition drove her to a new level of boldness.
“It feels like a good time to me,” she argued, a firm pressure of her hand making sure her meaning was not mistaken.
A short intake of breath on his part told her that he was not uninterested. So what was going on?
“Oh, Lee.” Once again he used his old nickname for her, which nobody else seemed to have adopted. In some strange way it restored her faith in their relationship. Whatever was happening now, they’d get through it. She gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile, and he continued slowly, “It’s been a strange evening. You’ve had a lot to drink and a big shock and I don’t want to take advantage of the fact that everything feels different today. If you still feel the same way when things are back to normal, I won’t need asking twice.”
“Really?” If it hadn’t been so tragic, Lisa would have laughed at the forlorn hopelessness of her tone of voice. She wanted him now — not tomorrow or next week — but how was she ever going to convince him of that, if he didn’t think she was in a fit state to make the decision?
“Yes, really,” he said, a touch impatiently, she thought. “Now will you go to sleep?”
“I’m not tired,” she said petulantly, but a huge yawn gave her away.
Suddenly they were both laughing and all the tension drained away.
“Come on,” Redmond said, in the friendly coaxing manner she remembered so well. “Give me a hug and then let’s get some sleep.”
Intentionally or otherwise, he kept his distance sl
ightly, so that the hug was friendly rather than sexual. Lisa was already beginning to get over her annoyance at the situation. There would be plenty more nights. To know Redmond cared for her after all, and to have him sleeping beside her, was more than enough for one day.
She settled down beside him, listening to the unaccustomed sound of slow breathing in her ear. It was so peaceful.
A smile spread across Lisa’s face, and then she drifted into sleep.
Chapter 9
It seemed only a moment later that Lisa was roused by a shrill, unfamiliar ringing, which told her immediately that something had changed. She always woke to a CD of gentle music to ease her into the day. This wasn’t her alarm, nor was it the familiar ring tone of her phone.
She looked around, puzzled, and lit on Redmond’s face beside her. Recollection dawned.
She’d slept soundly, more tired than she’d realised from her eventful day. Judging by the light streaming through the curtains, she’d also slept for longer than she’d expected.
Beside her, Redmond pushed back the covers and stumbled sleepily towards the heap of clothes on the floor from which the noise was emanating. It must be his mobile — that was why the tone was unfamiliar to her. She lay back and watched through half-closed eyes as Redmond, dressed only in a brief pair of shorts, leaned over and rummaged for his phone. The whole situation felt slightly unreal. She could hardly remember the last time she’d had a guy in her flat, never mind in her bedroom, and now here she was lying in bed watching him wandering around in his underwear as casually as if he’d woken in his own home.
Redmond retrieved the phone and snapped out a greeting, settling himself on the edge of the bed with his long limbs tucked up underneath him.
“Sorry,” he mouthed over his shoulder at Lisa, who gave a wry grin.
Actually, she wasn’t sorry she’d been woken. It must be time she got up anyway, although the alarm hadn’t gone off so it couldn’t be too late. And if they’d stayed asleep, she wouldn’t have been able to admire Redmond’s bare, muscular body as he spoke.
“No, not at all,” he said after a brief silence. “We were just getting up anyway.” He flashed Lisa a grin and shifted back across the bed so that he was sitting near enough to play with her hair as he talked.
“Tonight? Yes, I should think so. I’ll check. Hang on.”
Redmond put his phone on mute.
“What?” Lisa asked sleepily.
“Tim wants the crew to come and film our practice tonight.”
Lisa was pleased now that she’d tried dancing in the restaurant. At least she knew her ankle would hold out. She wouldn’t have wanted to be worrying about it all day, but she also wouldn’t like to turn down the camera crew. She knew the competition was as much a popularity contest as a test of their dancing skills.
“Is that OK?” Redmond continued.
She nodded, and Redmond leaned down to plant a kiss on her lips before returning to the phone call.
“No problem,” he told Tim, and made a few more arrangements before ringing off.
“We’re on!” Redmond flung his phone somewhere in the heap of covers and folded Lisa into his arms. “They love us. I knew they would. Now we just need to win!”
“Funny he phoned so early, though,” Lisa remarked.
Redmond looked down at her, amused. “Why, how early do you think it is?”
“Well, my alarm hasn’t gone off, so it must be before … ” Lisa trailed off as it dawned on her what was wrong with that assumption. Normally she set the alarm on her way to bed, but last night her mind had been elsewhere. “Oh hell!” Worse words had crossed her mind but she didn’t want to sound too unladylike. “What time is it?”
“Are you sure you want to know?”
“Stop teasing me!”
“Why? It’s so much fun.” But when she reached for Redmond’s watch from the bedside table, he didn’t try to stop her.
Ten fifteen.
“Shit!” This time Lisa didn’t even try to restrain herself.
“Is it that bad?”
“Yes!” She’d just remembered Gary and his long overdue designs. And her boss was in the office today, so if Gary had called, he’d be the first to know. And he was already edgy about her continually leaving “early” — technically on time, but since when had a boss ever taken any notice of an insignificant matter like a contract — for dancing.
“So ring in sick.”
“Half way through the morning? Unless you’re at death’s door, you ring before nine.”
“So what’s your excuse?”
“I don’t know. I’ll think of something on the way.”
But everything she thought of was hopelessly lame, so it was a relief when her colleague greeted her loudly with, “How did it go? I told Alan about your doctor’s appointment — he said to remind you to put them in your calendar in future.”
“Sorry, I thought I had,” Lisa played along, with a huge sigh of relief. “It wasn’t too bad but they were running a bit late. I’ll stay over lunch to make it up.”
Afternoon arrived quickly, and Lisa soon had to hurry off for filming. There was only time to grab a quick sandwich, which she ate on the bus. Then she hurried breathlessly into the studio, only to discover that Redmond wasn’t there. She took a deep breath and sat down to put on her dance shoes.
Redmond came in as she was adjusting the buckle, and her resolution to stay calm flew out the door as he entered.
“Where were you?” she snapped.
“Sorry. I had to make a call. Didn’t Elaine tell you? I asked her to.”
Lisa had wanted to know who he was calling and why, but she supposed he was entitled to make a phone call without her biting his head off. She didn’t want the first thing the cameras recorded to be a lovers’ tiff. If that was what it was. She was still a little uncertain about their relationship, quite prepared to find that it had been a moment’s madness born of the strangeness of the previous night. But even if it was, they had at least to pretend to continue the madness, so she reached up and kissed him hello.
“Never mind.” She smiled through gritted teeth. “You’re here now.”
“So let’s dance,” Redmond said cheerfully, linking his arm through hers and leading her to the end of the dance floor nearest the cameras.
He gave a small nod to Elaine and music filled the room. Lisa wondered if she’d caught a shred of mischief in Redmond’s smile, but the hint had not prepared her for the torture that followed. For a start, it was a faster jive than she was used to, and then Redmond kept adapting their old routine to fit the unfamiliar song, so that she couldn’t even rely on knowing what came next to help her keep the pace up. Even though she’d been practising jive day after day, for hours on end, for most of her adult life, she was still panting when it came to the end of the first track.
It was worth it, though, for the spontaneous ripple of applause that ran through the studio as they came to a halt. Only then did Lisa realise that most of the other couples had stopped dancing partway through to watch them. She stared around the room, eyes wide with surprise and mouth half-open, catching at breath.
“Not too hard for you?” Redmond said solicitously, slipping a protective arm around her shoulders in a way that Lisa found amusing, given that he was the one who had practically tried to dance her into the ground. Well, she wasn’t going to be beaten.
She took a deep breath to make sure she could get the words out without panting, and said sweetly, “Oh, was that meant to be difficult? I didn’t realise.”
Redmond grinned. “I didn’t think it was anything you couldn’t handle, but it was mildly tricky, yes.”
That floored her. She wanted to say that it was a bit more than “mildly tricky” but her mock innocence meant that she had to go along with the pretence that she hadn�
�t seen it as anything difficult. Which meant that the next go round would only get harder. She suspected Redmond was testing her limits, but she supposed that was OK. Better do it now, even with the TV crew watching, than in the competition next Saturday.
The TV crew seemed happy enough, anyway. Over the course of the evening they fiddled around with the lighting a bit and occasionally asked for a few steps to be repeated, but by and large everyone soon got used to working around them. In fact, by the time Tim came over to ask if he could speak to Lisa, she was almost surprised to see him.
“Why me?” she asked, bewildered. Redmond was so much the more articulate of the two.
“No reason,” Tim said. “I’ll get both of you separately anyway. I just thought I’d ask you first. Maybe because you’re prettiest.”
“Good reason.” Redmond nodded approvingly, looking Lisa slowly up and down in a way that evoked the blush she’d managed to avoid when Tim first made his comment.
Suddenly the whole competition seemed like an inconvenient interruption to the real business of being with Redmond. Which was funny, considering the competition was the only reason she was even speaking to him at all. She remembered how much she’d wanted not even to see him when he returned, but already that feeling was unimaginable. Why would she ever want to be anywhere but wherever he was?
But for now Tim was ushering her into Elaine’s office.
“No Phillipa today?” Lisa enquired.
“No. I’m co-presenting with Phillipa. Mostly she’ll be hosting you in the studio, and I’ll be taking the cameras out and about.”
“Fair enough.” Although Tim annoyed her, it was something of a relief to know she wouldn’t spend the evening watching Red chatting easily away with the stunning blonde presenter.
“So, tell me about how you and Redmond met,” Tim requested, training the camera on her face. She didn’t know where to look. She vaguely remembered hearing that you shouldn’t look directly at the camera, but found that when she tried not to, she ended up conversing with the man’s ear. Which was also somewhat disconcerting. Finally she gave up and recounted the story directly to the big black lens.
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