Experiment In Love (4 page)

His hand cupped her chin as he silently stared down at the rounded outline of her mouth. Her mind woke up to her company as her heart reacted to his delving glance. She swallowed hard as she watched him watching her. A primitive excitement coursed through her veins at the deliberately sensuous unspoken message she saw in his eyes and she silently answered affirmatively. Her hand led a teasing trail up his shoulder to circle his corded neck and slowly she brought his lips to hers in an almost innocent kiss as they greeted each other again. Victoria felt a shiver go down his spine, yet she knew that his reaction was no stronger than hers.

He reluctantly pulled away, his hands absently caressing her arms. His forehead rested on hers as they both caught up with their rocketing emotions.

“I still want you. Very much,” he murmured huskily, his tone holding an element of surprise. “You know that.”

Victoria nodded, unable to speak.

“Are you going to continue to say no?”

“I think we need to know each other better,” she finally murmured.

“Why? You feel the same.”

“Because I want to be loved by the whole man, not just the part that controls his passion.”

He stiffened in her arms. “I’m not promising to love you, Vicky. I do promise that I want to make love to you. Those are two different things.”

“Poor Kurt.” Her voice was soft with muted laughter, slightly shaky. “Are you so afraid of the word love that you have to define it from the act of making love – and everything you say, everything you feel?”

He relaxed. “I’ve been misunderstood before and I’d like to continue our relationship. I just want you to understand me.”

“And I want you to understand me, too. That’s exactly why we’re waiting.” She turned in his arms and forced herself to walk to the couch. She sat down and stared at him as he stood in the hallway. “So make up your mind. Do we go at my pace, or not at all?” She held up a hand as she talked. “I might as well warn you now. By the end of a few dates I might decide we’re not suited and this goes no further.” Her other hand was at her side and as she spoke she kept her fingers crossed as she mentally repeated a silent prayer. She had never been so affected by a man before and to call it off now would be like putting a lid on breathing.

His eyes twinkled ruefully. Even to Victoria it was obvious that he wasn’t used to having someone else call the shots. “All right, we’ll get to know each other and see where it leads.”

She stood and flipped back her hair, oblivious to the dramatic change in her appearance since the last time he had seen her, and when she looked up and saw the look of appreciation in his eyes she smiled in return. “Ready to go?”

He seemed to be in another world and her words brought him back to earth. “What?”

“I said, are you ready to go?” She pronounced the words slowly, dimples appearing like magic at the comers of her mouth. She was
not
going to let her Uncle’s news change this date.

“Yes. Where should we go? And where are your glasses? They were so thick they couldn’t have been part of that costume you were wearing.”

“Last date you chose the place, so now it’s my turn. And my glasses are in my bedroom. I usually wear contacts.” She had reached for her purse, then put out her hand for him to clasp as they walked to the door of the apartment He hesitated just a moment before accepting her hand, perhaps still wary of showing more commitment than he felt.

“Oh, and that ‘costume’ as you call it, was just an old dress that did its job quite adequately.”

“Except with me.”
             

“Except with you,” she agreed softly. “But then, there’s an exception to every rule.”

“There certainly is,” he muttered under his breath, giving her hand a light but possessive squeeze that warmed her whole body. His eyes spoke volumes, blatantly expressing what his words hadn’t said.

A little over an hour later he was muttering disbelievingly under his breath. She had dragged him into a pizza parlor whose specialty was the “everything” pizza, then eaten six pieces by herself. It was hard to believe that such a slender woman could eat so much. Most women he knew didn’t eat more than a salad.

They both had a beer while Kurt looked around the 1920s-style parlor.

Her eyes gave him a teasing look. “Cheer up. The way you’re carrying on, someone would think you’ve never been to a pizza parlor before.”

“One would, wouldn’t one,” he grumbled, glancing over his shoulder at a group of teenage boys standing around an electronic video game, their whoops of joy or moans of despair occasionally splitting the air.

She stopped chewing. “Holy cow, you really haven’t, have you?” Her tone was incredulous, but his expression confirmed her suspicions. “Where in the world have you been living?
On the moon?”

“Surprisingly enough, right here in L.A. until four years ago when I moved to Santa Barbara.” He glanced around. “But you’re wrong. I used to live in places like these when I was in college.” He stared back at her. “I see life continues…” He muttered the last sentence under his breath as one of the boys gave a victory cheer that rent the air.

She shook her head, her dark mahogany hair swinging back and forth in a shiny cascade. “Oh, no. You don’t get to look down your aristocratic nose at us poor plebeians, mister. Now that I’ve satisfied my food cravings I’m going to teach you how to play Destroyer. And you’re going to like it.” She stood and held out her hand. “Consider it a growth experience.”

She sat him down at a small electronic table and then took the seat opposite him, putting her hand out for the quarters she’d told him to get earlier. He handed them over, an indulgent grin on his face as he watched her slip them in the slot and turn the machine on.

“Now watch me,” she said, and began firing away, shooting the enemy that darted between her blockades as the enemy shot back and the score added up.

Victoria leaned back, a smile on her face. “There, see how it’s done?
Your turn.”

Kurt’s smile was still indulgent, humoring her. The game flashed on and he began hitting the buttons, his smile turning to a frown of concentration.

When it was over Victoria gave him a look of appreciation. “That was great! I’ve never seen anyone get nine hundred points on their first try!”

“Put another quarter in there, will you, Victoria?” he mumbled, studying the game plan and points chart, totally occupied with a new toy.

“Again?”

“
Mmmmm.” His next score was even more impressive, as were his next and his next. By his fifth game his face was flushed with victory. He gave her a huge smile, sat back and sipped on the now warm beer. From the look on his face she could see that he was definitely proud of his accomplishment.

‘‘Congratulations.” She smiled sweetly.

“Thank you. It wasn’t bad, was it?’

“I meant on your single-mindedness. Your games speak for themselves.”

One brow rose while a sexy smile still tugged at his sensuous lips. “Jealous of a machine, Victoria?” he murmured seductively, now concentrating totally on her. “You won’t let me do anything else. I have to find my fun where I can.” He hesitated. “That is, unless…?” He raised one dark brow in question, letting the unfinished sentence dangle, and she felt her skin warm under his look.

Victoria shifted, only to touch his knee with hers, and she jerked back, ignoring his knowing look.

“We can leave now ... if you want to try things at my pace.” His husky voice was low so the surrounding people couldn’t hear, but firm enough that it brought every nerve in her body to life.

“This pace is good enough for me,” she said primly, knowing that what she wanted most was to be held in his arms, his full, warm lips pressing against hers. He seemed to be able to reach deep inside her easily, frighteningly and, most of all, excitingly. Fear and fascination blended together to put a sparkle in her eyes.

“That’s what I thought, Victoria. So I won’t push — right now.” His look seared her skin. “But don’t expect me to be good forever. Sooner or later we’ll have a meeting of our bodies. It’s what we both want”.

She ignored his remark. She couldn’t deny it.

The rest of the evening passed quickly. They played some of the other machines, Victoria winning several games by a very small margin. A few times she lost badly, unable to concentrate with Kurt standing so near to her. His arm would brush hers, his thigh touch hers, and her heartbeat became erratic.

A few hours later, their quarters spent and both satisfied that they had played well, Victoria waved goodbye to the bartender and led Kurt outside into the cool night air.

She took a deep breath. “Lovely, isn’t it? Especially at night, when the smog isn’t so obvious. Sometimes I swear I can smell the sea.”

“You aren’t that far away from it.” His voice held a
tinge of humor.

“Oh, I know. It’s just that Los Angeles doesn’t conjure up visions of high surf and rolling waves, but” — she shrugged philosophically — “it’s the best we can do when we have to earn our daily bread.” As the mental image of her almost bare cupboard came to mind she thought that she wasn’t even doing that well.

They strolled down the street, Kurt unaware of where she was leading, but not caring much, either.

“Here we are.” She pushed open the glass-fronted door of Hal’s Hot Dog Stand, allowing the mixed aromas of onions, relish, mustard and sizzling hot dogs to waft in his direction, helping it with her waving hand. “Isn’t that great? Hal makes the best hot dogs in town.”

He groaned. “A hot dog! That’s just what I need after shoveling down a pizza that held everything edible and a few things that weren’t!”

“You didn’t eat it alone,” she said matter-of-factly. “I helped, too, to the tune of six pieces.”

“And you’re still hungry?”

“Pitting my expertise against yours on those machines made my appetite raise its ugly head. Besides, I’m not as rich as you are. For all you know this could be my first meal since our last date.”

His eyes narrowed as they took a seat in the far comer of the room. “How do you know I’m rich?” The tired waitress came over and Victoria ordered for both of them. Two orange drinks and two foot-long hot dogs, with everything. Once the waitress had retreated Vicky picked up on the conversation as if they had never been interrupted. She was surprised that Kurt had stiffened so noticeably as he waited for her answer. Wasn’t it obvious?

“Because you wear clothing that yells ‘designer,’ you’ve driven two different cars on two different dates, and you have more credit cards than I can count,” she said calmly, looking him straight in the eye. “So that tells me either you’re very wealthy or you’re spending way beyond your credit cards.

His eyes skittered away, but not before she saw relief registered there. “So I gave myself away.” His smile was warm.

It was time for a change of tactics. “Why are you getting involved through a dating magazine when you could meet women like you all on your own?”

The waitress interrupted them once again, giving him a moment to gather his thoughts. The drinks and hot dogs were set before them and Victoria plunged into hers immediately.

“Truth, now,” she warned before taking a bite.

“I’m not ‘involved.’ I just answered your ad.” His eyes were blank, giving nothing away.

This obviously needed a very direct approach. “Why?”

“I wanted to see what would happen. Curiosity, I suppose.” He shrugged, and then sipped his orange drink. It wasn’t bad.

“You don’t strike me as the sort of person who does things on the spur of the moment. I’d say everything you did was rather well-thought-out, deliberate, planned ahead.”

“And you know me that well?” One brow rose in derision.

“I don’t think anyone knows you well,” she answered with a lot more insight than he wished she had.

“And what about you? Why did you put an ad in that paper?” He turned the tables, but she was ready for him.

“Unlike you, I am the type to do something that quixotic. I thought it might be fun to see what would turn up. Who knows? There may be a story in it.” Her eyes were innocent, but he could see a touch of merriment twinkling there. It intrigued him.

“What kind of story? For a newspaper? Magazine? What?”

“For a new romance, of course.”
Her lips curved in a provocative smile.

“
Ahhh, yes. The romance,” he murmured before taking a bite of his second dinner, a small smile plastered on his face. If Margie could see him now she’d never believe it! He hadn’t ventured into pizza parlors or hot dog stands since his college days, let alone spent an evening playing video games…and enjoying it!

“What’s so funny?” Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“I was just thinking of a family friend. If she saw me now, she’d think I was losing my mind.” He took another bite and washed it down with his drink. He hesitated before looking at her, his gaze warm and very sincere. “And I’m honestly enjoying myself.”

Her smile took his breath away. The muscles of his chest tightened and he clenched his free hand to keep himself from reaching out and pulling her to him so he could kiss her into keeping that look. Slowly her smile softened and dimpled her cheeks, her eyes locked to his as they both felt the immensely powerful mutual draw of physical attraction.