Luke was playing this by ear. He’d never had a dog, which meant he’d never dealt with the complication of keeping both his dog and his lady happy. He would have deferred to the lady’s needs, but while he was busy doing that, his dog might think she’d done something wrong.

Consequently, he and Abigail had feasted on double chocolate brownies until Delilah had shown signs of winding down for the night. Then the little group headed back to the bedroom. It wasn’t the most romantic setup, but it was the only one that made sense to him.

Delilah pranced down the hall, clearly thrilled to be going into the bedroom with them. He showed her the quilt. “This is your bed, pup.”

She sniffed the quilt thoroughly before stepping on it with her front paws. Then she sniffed some more, put all four paws on it, circled and flopped down.

Abby let out a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness.”

“I was hoping she’d react that way.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “But now that she’s settled, I’m not sure of the best way for us to—”

“Let’s make it subtle.” She walked around to the other side of the bed. “I’ll take off my robe over here. You take off your clothes over there.”

“At least I get to watch you do it.”

“Same here.” She untied her sash.

“You’ll be finished before me.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Do me a favor. Take off your robe and just stand there. Let me look at you while I’m stripping down.”

“All right.” Drawing it off her shoulders, she let it fall to the floor.

Ahhh. Excellent idea. He smiled. “Nice.”

She smiled back. “Thanks.”

He looked his fill. Her short mop of curls gave her an air of innocence. She wasn’t innocent, though. Her enthusiastic response earlier colored his view of her now.

As her nipples tightened, his fingers grew restless and moisture pooled in his mouth. His hands ached to cup her breasts, caress her hips, part her thighs and—

“One of us isn’t taking off his clothes.”

“Oh. Sorry.” He wrenched at his shirt, popping snaps.

“Take your time.”

He glanced across the expanse of mattress. Her eyes glowed with the same intensity burning in his gut. He slowed his movements.

As he peeled off his shirt, her gaze slid from his face to his chest and lingered there. He dropped the shirt and unfastened the button at his waist. She ran her tongue over her lips. He’d been aroused before, but now he was as hard as an axe handle.

Drawing down the zipper was painful, but he didn’t rush it. Her breasts quivered as her breathing picked up. Shoving his jeans down, he kicked them away. She moaned softly.

At last he pulled off his boxers and stood before her, his cock fully erect. She took her time looking, too, and he didn’t move. At last she lifted her head and gave him a slow, lazy grin. “That’s done. Let’s go to bed.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He climbed in and so did she. Shaking and on edge, he met her in the middle and pulled her close. “Now comes the challenge. Being quiet.”

“Let me be on top.”

“How will that help?”

“I don’t know. I just want to. Roll over.”

He was too tempted by the concept to argue. If she could be quiet riding him, he’d handle his reaction as best he could.

She straddled his thighs. “I have to get a condom out of the—”

“I will. My arms are longer.” Reaching over, he opened the drawer and took out a holiday-wrapped packet. Last time he hadn’t bothered to look at the tag. This time he did.

“What’s it say?”

He grinned and swept a hand toward his bad boy standing at attention. “Light a Candle.”

“I do believe I will.”

“Great view.” He propped a pillow behind his head so he could more easily admire the quiver of her breasts as she unwrapped the condom and rolled it on.

“I’ll bet you’ll like the next part even better.”

“I have a feeling I’m gonna love it.”

“Maybe you should turn out the light, though. Like we’re about to go to sleep.”

“I’ve never felt more awake in my life.” He pushed a small metal switch at the bottom and the cupcake lamp went out. Still not the time to ask her about it. Not when she was…holy moly, she was ready for action.

He swallowed a moan of delight as she eased down slowly, her palms braced on his chest. He clutched her hips. Not to guide her, not even to hurry the process along. Just to touch her silken skin as she took his happy cock deep into her warmth.

There. As close as two people could be. Magic. Even better than the first time.

She leaned down and brushed her lips over his. “I’m trying not to breathe too loud.”

“Not easy.” Sliding his hands upward, he cupped her breasts. “Can I do this?”

“Please do.”

He squeezed gently. “You’re sensitive here. Last time you whimpered.”

She nibbled on his bottom lip. “I’m whimpering in my mind.”

“I’m having a party in mine.”

“Then let’s bring on the entertainment.” She lifted her hips, but not very far. Then she rotated them.

He sucked in air. “Oh, boy.”

“Too much?”

“Didn’t say that.” He clenched his jaw to keep from coming. He blamed the unexpected move. He’d be ready next time. Coming in the first two minutes would not be cool.

“This motion should keep the bed from rocking as much.” She did it again.

He managed to swallow his gasp. “Good call.”

“You sound funny.”

“Because my vocal cords want to yell and I won’t let them.”

“Yell in your mind.” She swiveled her hips again.

“You wouldn’t believe the noise I’m making in there.”

“Me, too.” She continued her erotic hip motion and her chest heaved. “This feels…really good.”

“You’re close?”

“Yeah. You?”

“I’m, um…not quite….” Then she added another twirl and he surrendered his pride. “Okay, I’m hanging on by a thread.”

“Then let’s both come. Quietly.”

“Right.” He let go of her beautiful breasts because he might pinch too hard and leave a mark. Instead he clenched his fists as she rotated first right, then left, then…his climax barreled through him. He was helpless to stop it, control it, or make sure she had one, too.

Then she impaled herself fully and the undulations flowing over his cock gave him the answer. She pressed her mouth against his shoulder for a moment before resting her cheek there.

Wrapping his arms around her quivering body, he silently offered thanks for whatever stars had aligned to give him this moment.

Her warm breath caressed his skin. “I think I bit you.”

“Didn’t feel it. Too busy enjoying myself.”

“Normally I don’t bite.”

“But you were overcome with passion?”

She lifted her head. “As a matter of fact.”

“Awesome.” He could just barely make out her smile in the darkness. “I love that maneuver of yours, by the way. Creative. Sexy.”

“And quiet.”

“That, too.”

“I don’t think we disturbed her.”

“Not so far. But I need to get up, so she might rouse herself then.”

“Maybe not. She used up a lot of energy playing tug-of-war.”

“So glad you suggested that.” After Abby eased away, he climbed out of bed and went into her small bathroom to take care of the condom. The dark bar of soap in a dish by the sink filled the room with the scent of chocolate. Made him smile.

As did her willingness to let him call her Abby when she’d never encouraged anyone else to do it. Using a special name for her made their connection unique. The kind of relationship that might last a while.

Now there was a concept. He rinsed his hands and dried them on the towel hanging near the sink. Building a lasting relationship with a woman hadn’t been on his radar. It was now.

People had a clever little catch-phrase for that concept. They called it falling in love. Was he? What they shared wasn’t just about sex. Never had been.

The woman lying in the other room could become the most important person in his life. That idea took some getting used to. Didn’t mean he didn’t like it.

He walked back into the bedroom and peeked at Delilah to confirm that she was still out like a light. Climbing into the cozy bed, he reached for Abby and pulled her close.

She nestled against him with a sigh. “Are you okay?”

“Sure am.” He stroked her back.

“You were gone so long I was afraid you’d fallen in.” If she’d added the word love to that statement, she would’ve hit the nail on the head.

But she might not be ready to use that four-letter word, so he’d play it cool. “Just thinking about things.”

“Like my messed-up records?”

“No, as a matter of fact.” Twice she’d brought up the subject, so her anxiety about it wasn’t gone. He searched for a change in topic. “Where did you find the cupcake lamp?”

“I didn’t. My mom gave it to me when I graduated from culinary school. It was supposed to be a joke.”

“But now it’s not.”

“Oh, it kind of is. I remember laughing with her about it. She said I didn’t have to keep it. I’m glad I did.”

“So am I.” Oh, yeah, he was definitely falling.

“But I’m not fooled by that out-of-the-blue lamp question. You just didn’t want to admit you were worrying about the records because you were afraid I’d start worrying.”

“I swear to you I wasn’t thinking about your paperwork. But now I am.”

“Dammit. Screwed myself that time.”

“Exactly.” He chuckled. “Next time let me do it.” The way he was heating up, that would be soon.

“Absolutely. I’ve learned my lesson.” She reached down and wrapped her fingers around his thickening cock. “But I’ll bet I can convince you to forget about my paperwork.”

“Guaranteed.” He grasped her wrist. “Except I need to ask something before you proceed. Is it okay if I bring over some clothes and stuff tomorrow. It would save time if I don’t have to drive back home every morning to get cleaned up.”

“I have to get up at three. You might hate that.”

He let go of her wrist. “If I do, that’s my problem.” Might as well find out before he was in too deep. Ha. Like it wasn’t already too late.