Smoke in Mirrors

to resist.
    “They say two negatives make a positive.” He put his hands on the curve of her shoulders. Testing. “Maybe two difficult people would find it easy to have an affair.”
    She slid her arms around his neck. “I doubt that it would be easy but it’s bound to be interesting.”
    “Oh, yeah.”
    He covered her mouth with his own.

Chapter Twelve
    Her response was immediate and electric in its intensity, just as it had been last night when he had kissed her in her kitchen. She gave a soft, husky little moan and tightened her arms around his neck. Energy exploded in the air around them.
    The sense of urgency that swept through him made his blood pound. He had some vague goal of carrying her into the bedroom but it seemed too far away. He fell with her onto the sofa instead.
    She ended up on top, her legs tangled with his, fingers splayed across his chest. He shoved one hand through her hair, pulling it free of the pins that had anchored the sleek knot. A curtain of dark silk tumbled over his fingers and brushed his jaw. He gripped her head with both hands and deepened the kiss until she opened her mouth for him.
    There was a soft thud at the back of the house. Loud enough to break the spell. Leonora flinched.
    “What was that?” she whispered urgently.

    “Wrench,” he muttered, pulling her close again. “Dog door.”
    Wrench had opted to discreetly disappear in the face of this display of uncontrollable human lust. Thomas did not blame him. If he hadn’t been personally involved in this wildfire, he would have stepped outside for a while, too.
    But he was involved. Completely and totally.
    When he slid his hands down the length of Leonora’s spine and up under the silk sweater, she shuddered against him. He felt the tremor go through her from head to toe. Her back was warm and elegantly contoured beneath his palms.
    It took him a frustrating minute or two to unfasten the waistband of her trousers, lower the zipper and get his hand inside where he could feel her warm skin against his palm. When he finally succeeded, he stroked the firm, rounded curves of her buttocks and moved his fingers lower still. The crotch of her panties dampened at his touch.
    He was afraid he might come then and there.
    She stirred against him, lifting herself away in an effort to shift her position. He realized she was fumbling with his belt.
    “No,” he got out. “Not yet.”
    “I only want to touch you.”
    “Touch me and I’m doomed.”
    She raised her head and looked down at him. “Really?”
    “Yeah. Really.”
    “Cool.”
    She went back to work on his belt buckle.
    He closed his hand over hers and pulled it away from the vicinity of his groin. He guided it to his shoulder instead. Then he raised one knee and pressed it tightlyagainst her hip, pinning her there where he could savor the soft weight of her against his erection.
    She shifted urgently when he caressed her buttocks again.
    “Thomas.”
    He pressed his fingers into the damp crotch of her panties.
    “Thomas.”
    She twisted against him. He moved to maintain contact, rolling toward her. The sudden shift in their positions sent them tumbling over the edge of the sofa. He cushioned the fall with one arm. They landed on the rug, barely missing the coffee table.
    She made a husky sound, half laugh, half moan, and wrapped herself tightly around him, burying her face against his shoulder.
    He managed to get the green sweater up over her head. Slinging the garment out of the way, he went to work on the lacy, cream-colored bra. Usually he was good with hardware. But it seemed forever before the fastening came undone, releasing her breasts into his hands.
    They were the most beautiful breasts he had ever seen. Sweetly shaped, the tips taut and tight. He bent his head and drew one nipple gently between his lips, letting her feel the edge of his teeth.
    She stiffened beneath him. He heard her sharp intake of breath. She reached down between their bodies, fishing for his zipper. He caught her fingers and dragged them out of the danger zone.
    “I told you, do that and it will be all over for me,” he said. “I want to make this last.”
    She looked up at him, stark urgency blazing in her eyes. “Maybe you can wait. I can’t.”

    “Who said anything about you having to wait?”
    She looked bemused. “What?”
    “Nothing I like to tackle better than a little home improvement project.”
    He stripped off her trousers, slid between her legs and moved