“Kind of.” My eyes widen as she continues. “I meant to talk to you about this sooner, but there was never really a good time.” I nod in understanding. “He didn’t mention you by name, but the way he looked at us at the party when Julia was asking about my ‘mystery man’ and Dad was talking about your ‘hot piece of ass’”—we both laugh lightly—“made me think he suspected something.”
“Well,” I interject, giving her hand a gentle squeeze, “perhaps you’re reading too much into it.”
“There’s more,” she tells me. “Remember when you came into the kitchen on Christmas day for beer?” I nod. “And Stephen walked in?” Another nod. “Well, he said some things.”
“What kinds of things?”
She exhales softly. “He said I didn’t have to explain my relationship to him or to anyone, but that we should tell Dad because our keeping it secret probably feeds his anxiousness over this entire thing.”
I shrug, changing lanes to get around the person driving below the posted speed limit. “Well, I suppose he’s got a point. By sneaking around, it probably makes him think, on some level, that you feel what you’re doing is wrong, and therefore it only fuels similar feelings in him.”
“Yeah,” she agrees quietly. “That’s what I gathered.”
“Did he say anything else?”
Through my periphery, I see her shake her head. “No. That was about it.”
“I think the fact that he didn’t mention me by name bodes well for his not really knowing,” I try to assure her, even though I’m not so sure; I remember the look in his eyes when he walked into the kitchen that day.
“Yeah, it’s always a possibility,” Amelia concurs. “But I can’t get the way he was watching us out of my he—”
“Listen,” I interrupt, bringing her hand to my lips and pressing a kiss to her knuckles, “you’re probably reading too much into it. I’m sure he was just speaking in a general sense. He’d have said something to me, too, if he had everything figured out.” I chuckle. “Not to mention, there’s no way Julia wouldn’t figure it out if he knew.”
Amelia releases a soft sigh of relief, relaxing back in her seat. “You’re probably right.”
“I’m sorry, what?” I tease, leaning close to her.
Unable to contain her laughter, Amelia reaches over and shoves me lightly. “You hard of hearing?”
“I’ve just never heard those words before,” I tell her. It’s the truth, but I’m really just teasing her in hopes of lightening the mood so close to home. “I think I like the sound of them.”
“Well, if that’s all I have to do to get you excited…” Seduction haloes her every word; she’s playing a dangerous game, but thankfully the sign we’ve just passed says we’ll be in the city within a half hour.
Not a moment too soon.
We try to fill the remaining time in the car with topics as far away from sex as possible. Sure, my thoughts still occasionally drift to those of a sexual nature, but so do Amelia’s—she doesn’t admit to this out loud, though. I can tell by the way her breathing turns shallow, or how she nibbles on her bottom lip, and even by how often she shifts in her seat, pressing her legs together tightly.
When we do finally arrive at my building, I park the car in its usual spot before grabbing our bags. Amelia and I ride the elevator to my floor, and I’m somewhat glad I’ve got my hands full with our luggage, because the way Amelia eyes me from her spot across from me has my blood burning with my desire for her. As we walk the hall to my door, Amelia digs out her copy of the keys so I don’t have to fumble with the bags that I insisted on carrying for her, and she lets us inside.
The second the door is closed behind us, every reason to stay apart vanishes, and I drop the bags to the floor as Amelia rushes into my arms. Her lips are desperate against mine, her tongue firm and insistent as she weaves her fingers into my hair and holds me close. I take a step forward, trying to navigate our way down the hall and toward my bedroom, but we’re clumsy in our need, tripping and stumbling over each other’s feet and running into the walls.
Frustrated and horny, I turn us, forcing Amelia’s back against the wall as I pull her shirt up her body and toss it to the ground. She’s panting when I break our kiss to remove her shirt, so I kiss a path along her jaw and down her neck, nipping the warm skin along her shoulder as I unbutton her jeans and slip my hand inside to find her wet and wanting.