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She didn’t think about the vandalishts of aited for her across the road crept into her mind, Cilla firmly slammed the door No point in it, she told herself There was nothing she could do because she didn’t knohat she wanted to do
There was no harm in a day out of time A fantasy day, really, filled with sex and sleep inside the bubble of rain-slicked s She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been content to spend the day in a man’s company, unless it had been work-related
Even the idea of wine and video games held an appeal Until Ford severely trounced her for the third time in a row
"She-what’s her name?-Halle Berry"
"Storm," Ford provided "Halle Berry’s the actress, and really hot Storm is a key member of the X-Men Also really hot"
"Well, she just stood there" Cilla scowled down at the controls "How ale, and whatever?"
"Practice And like I said, you need to forirl alliance You should’ve ender solidarity" Under the coffee table, Spock snorted "That’s enough out of you," she muttered "Besides, I think this controller’s defective because I have excellent hand-eye coordination"
"Want to switch and go another round?"
She eyed him narrowly "How often do you play this?"
"Off and on Throughout rin "I’m currently undefeated on this version of Ultimate Alliance"
"Geek"
"Loser"
She handed him her controller "Put your toys away"
Look at that, she thought when he rose to do just that Tidy hot guy Tidy straight hot guy Howthe world worked up my appetite How about you?"
"I didn’t save the world," she pointed out
"You tried"
"That was s all over you"
"Then I’d better wash up I got leftover spaghetti and ot a nice setup here, Ford Work you love, and a great house to do it in Your ridiculously appealing dog The tight circle of friends going back to childhood Fah you can cop leftovers It’s a great platform"
"No complaints Cilla-"
"No, not yet" She could see in his eyes the offer of sympathy and support "I’hetti and "
"Cold or warhetti and meatballs to warrant cold"
He crossed back, took her hand "Come with me," he said and led her around to the kitchen "Have a seat" He took the bowl out of the fridge, peeled off the lid, got a fork "You’ll get yours," he told Spock as the dog danced and gurgled Turning back, he set the bowl on the bar, then wound some pasta on a fork "Sample"
She opened her ood Really Give h, he passed it to her After adding solasses of wine They sat at the counter, eating cold pasta straight from the bowl
"We had this cook when I was a kid Annaood as this What?" she said when he shook his head
"Just strikes me weird that I know somebody who can say, ’We had a cook when I was a kid’"
She grinned around more pasta "We had a butler"
"Get out"
She raised her brows, inclined her head and stabbed at a ardener, my mother’s personal assistant, pool boy And once, when , was also banging one of the o to Pals for a week to recover, where she met Number Three-ironically, by the pool I’ed the pool boy The new pool boy, whose naestured at her with his fork until he sed "You grew up in an eighties soap opera"
She thought it over "Close enough But, in any case, Annaet a kick out of hearing that What was it like, seriously? Growing up with maids and butlers?"
"Crowded And not all it’s cracked up to be That sounds snotty," she decided "And I iine some woman with a house and faet dinner on the table would be teed "There’s always so a cookie out of the jar before dinnertime Actually no cookies for the ht with your mother, the entire household knows the details More, the odds are that those details will be recounted soruntled former employee’s tell-all book
"All in all," she concluded, "I’d rather eat leftover spaghetti"
"But, if I reht, you don’t cook"
"Yeah, that’s a probleht aboutPatty for pointers in that area I like to chop" She hacked down a few tietables, salads I’m a hell of a chopper"
"That’s a start"
"Self-sufficiency, that’s the key You e"
"True, but I’ve been butler-free allservice, and am well acquainted with the primary and alternate routes to all takeout facilities Plus, I have a direct line to Brian and Matt and Shanna, ill handle sencies for beer"
"It’s a system"
"Well oiled" He tucked her hair behind her ear
"If and when I learn to cook sorilled cheese sandwich and canned soup, I’ll have reached another lofty personal goal"
"What are so a house and selling it at a profit I hit that one Having enerate an actual incothe test for saot to take a test? I love tests" His eyes actually lit up "Do you need a study buddy? And yes, I capitalize the N in nerd"
She paused hat she sould be her last bite of pasta halfway to her mouth "You love tests?"
"Well, yeah There are questions and answers True or false, multiple choice, essay What’s not to love? I kill on tests It’s a gift Do you want any help?"
"Actually, I think I’ for it for a while now I think I e experience You’re the one who screwed the curve for me, every time You are, therefore, one of the prie dropout"
"You should’ve asked my kind to be your study buddy Besides, you should thank ht now"
"Hed the board him and away from herself "That’s very slick and clever Previous huhetti-and-, sometimes shit happens for the best"
"There’s a bumper sticker I have to move" She pressed a hand on her stomach, slid off the stool "And I’ll deratitude for current content back to breakfast, apparently"
"We were busy with other things"
"I guess ere"
For aher But watching wasn’t enough He stood and crossed to her, turned her to face him She had a wooden spoon in her hand and an easy s her lips He wrapped her hair around his hand-and saw her eyes widen in surprise, heard the spoon clatter to the floor-as he used it like a rope to tug her head back
And ravished her h hi off her shirt Even as his mouth crushed back down to hers, he yanked her pants down her hips
It was a tornado of demand and speed It seemed she was naked before she could catch the first breath Plucked up off the ground while her head spun and her heart lurched He dropped her down on the counter, shoved her legs apart
And ravished her
Her hand flailed out for purchase Soers dug into her hips as he pounded into her, pounded greed and scorching pleasure Mad for s around his waist
His blood pounded under his skin, a thousand brutal druer that had leaped into him seemed to snap its teeth and bite even as he drove himself into her to slake it Its dark excitement pushed him to take, to fill her with the same wild desperation that burned in hi out of the black, into the blind
Her head dropped liasps She felt him tremble, found herself pleased she wasn’t the only one
"Oh," she ed, "God"
"Give me a minute I’ll help you down"
"Take your tihin the spaghetti sauce"
"Then we need the recipe"
Steadier, he leaned back, took a good look at her"Now I really want my camera You’re the first naked woman to sit on my kitchen counter, which I now plan to have sealed in Lucite I’d like to document the moment"
"Not a chance My contract specifies no nude scenes"
"That’s a dauess the least I can do after playing Viking and maiden is help you with the dishes"
"The least Hand me my shirt, will you?"
"See, I’ve confiscated your clothes You’ll have to do the dishes naked"
Her head cocked, her eyebrows lifted On a sigh, Ford scooped up her shirt "It orth a shot"
HE WOKE in the dark to a quiet house and an ey and baffled, he rose to look for her One part of his brain reserved the right to be pissed if she’d gone back across the road without waking him
He found his front door open, and saw the silhouette of her sitting in one of the chairs on his veranda with Spock stretched at her feet He slanced over "Morning"
"As long as it’s still dark, it’s not " He sat beside her "Give oing to give et my own?"
She passed him the cup "I have to decide what to do"
"At" He took her wrist, turned it up and squinted at her watch "Five-oh-six in the ?"