No easy way out (11 page)

He stopped by a rented maroon Citation. Virginia fluttered her
lashes, her fingers stroking his cheek. "I want to hear all about
you, Alex," The lambent sheen in her eyes rivaled the glow of the
streetlights.

His mouth twisted in a crooked smile as he handed her into the
car. "You have a very charming way of terminating a
conversation."

Her fingers drummed against her silk-covered thigh. She was
determined to control the situation; she was the sorceress in
charge of the magic. According to all the how-to books Diane had
forced on her, the way to a man's heart was a big plate of
seductive flattery, a side dish of verbal foreplay culminating in a
mental climax for dessert.

The Rendezvous Room proved to be the perfect place for a
seduction. Rich tapestries graced the stucco walls, and amber-lit
sconces cast a soft glow over antique furniture, glittering
crystal, and pristine white china.

The restaurant was quiet, intimate-no pulsating nightlife. The
patrons occupied private carrels, their hushed conversations
sparkling with laughter andchampagne bubbles. It was a world
invaded by the soft sounds of piano, drums, and bass embellishing
syncopated jazz, alternating with saxophone and trumpet, which
harmonized earthy forties dance tunes.

While the chef served discerning palates the finest haute
cuisine in San Pedro, Virginia had Alex well on the road to
epicurean delights that were not listed on the sumptuous menu. She
was enjoying her sassy new personality and erotic clothes. She
played the glamour game with a sure hand.

With the Dom Perignon and the salad vinaigrette Virginia cooed
the usual trivial banalities in a shy playful manner that quite
obviously pandered to Alex's ego. Their intimate shared laughter
formed an invisible web imprisoning their souls.

During the Coquilles St. Jacques she listened attentively to his
stories. Shoulders and thighs touching, her breast pressed against
his arm, Virginia found she was once more addicted to the man.
Self-assured and dynamic, Alex was able to arouse her mind and set
fire to her body like no one ever had.

Between the mousse au chocolat and brandies served in balloon
snifters warmed by candle flame, Alex and Virginia luxuriated in
the sensual delight of their two bodies melding together in slow
rhythmic movements. Oblivious to the other couples, they focused
only on each other, dancing in perfect synchronization to the
throbbing melody.

"I'd almost forgotten how perfectly we fit together," he
murmured, his fingers toying with her golden-veined curls.

Virginia snuggled closer, her lush curves filling in the rugged
angles on his masculine frame. Her hands slid beneath his jacket,
pressing into the satiny shirt material. The heat of his flesh
echoed the blistering fire that was her blood. "The last time we
danced it was on a balcony beneath the stars. We were hidden behind
costumes and masks." Her cheek rubbed against his neck, her senses
assaulted by spicy cologne.

"I still prefer the seclusion of that balcony." Alex's voice was
low and vibrant. "But I like the honesty of tonight. No costumes,
no masks, no illusions." His firm hands moved with languid abandon
down the enticing expanse of bare skin to settle low on her
spine.

Virginia swallowed and shifted uncomfortably. Tonight was a
bigger illusion than Alex could ever have imagined! But in that
illusion came the confidence and security she so desperately
needed. Didn't everyone project a false aura? Wasn't everyone
something other than they pretended to be? Maybe not so brazen, but
life was full of illusions: they were needed to compensate for grim
reality.

Virginia knew her feelings were honest, her actions genuine.
When she spoke, the words were truthful and from the heart. "Alex,"
she pulled back slightly. The mood lights on the ceiling reflected
off her metal halter and into her eyes. She looked dazzled by
diamonds. "I am all that you see, all that you feel. Nothing more,
nothing less."

He stared into her radiant features. "I want nothing more. You
are everything that I desire."

They danced the night away, only succumbing to the outside world
when the trumpet player finally cased his horn and the patient,
bovine maitre d' continually cleared his throat while the busboys
began tabling the chairs for the cleaning crew.

At some point during the evening Virginia had misplaced her
original intentions. She had meant to annoy Alex with practiced
stupidity; she had meant to masquerade as a vapid coquette; she had
meant to appear artificial and shallow. But she had been none of
those things.

Virginia felt strangely possessed and deliciously stimulated by
her own femininity. Gone was the scientist who dealt in absolutes
and felt the necessity to dissect tangibles.

Tonight she celebrated an exquisitely pleasurable range of
emotions that were impossible to interpret. And, to be honest, she
wanted to savor them rather than analyze them.

The shy, awkward, introspective feelings that had controlled her
for so many years had disappeared. Virginia felt content, relaxed,
and renewed. Barriers had tumbled; reserves had been pushed aside;
and inhibitions were shed. The loss of all excited and stimulated,
rather than depressed and frightened.

She refused to make sense of her actions. She refused to
acknowledge the danger signals that drifted and darted in her
conscience. She concentrated on Alex and the ultimate enjoyment he
gave her.

The erotic atmosphere created by her heightened senses echoed in
every pore and screamed for release. Virginia decided not to
squander one precious second. When Alex unlocked the apartment
door, her fingers entwined with his. "I'm not going to let you go
yet." Her provocative invitation was readily accepted: they entered
the dimly lit living room together.

Virginia found she was anxious to sample the rich reservoir of
pleasure contained within Alex. Her body spoke its lines; the
unconstructed clothes draped and moved enticingly against her lithe
curves. Her come-hither glance bridged a gap of silence that
permeated the surroundings.

She enjoyed being brazen; she enjoyed being bold. Plum-tinted
toes curled inside the delicate silver evening sandals. She wasn't
sure who was going to enjoy the seduction the most.

Alex watched her every move. He was fascinated and hypnotized.
Very content to let this golden-haired temptress transport him to
paradise.

Virginia tossed her jacket on the velour ottoman, then proceeded
to remove Alex's. She continued the striptease, unknotting and
pulling his striped silk tie free. Then slowly, deliberately, she
released the buttons on his shirt.

Adrenaline pumped through her veins, sending the blood racing,
her breathing coming faster and heavier. Black pupils dominated her
diamond-bright irises and fastened hungrily onto Alex's
passion-dark eyes. Her left hand pushed aside his shirt, her
fingers splayed against his broad chest, tangling in the curly mat
of dark hair.

Virginia's right hand lifted the sensuous fall of hair from her
neck. Her fingers found the thin silver ribbon that suspended the
mesh halter and pulled the restraining bow. The halter fell,
leaving her naked to the waist.

The shadowy light cast her silhouette in an ethereal glow. Alex
slid his hands lightly up her slender arms to her creamy shoulders.
"You are so very beautiful." His hoarse whisper and ragged
breathing expressed the tightly leashed control that was ready to
snap.

In a momentary suspension of time, with mutual unspoken consent,
they drew together like magnets. Virginia gave in to herself and
began to respond freely to her feelings. Her needs consumed her the
instant Alex's mouth devoured her lips.

Mouths, lips, and tongues joined in explorative maneuvers,
provoking and stimulating. Sensations began to build inside
Virginia. Her skin felt hot and tingly, shot through with delicious
currents that snaked slowly from her stomach down her inner
thigh.

Her fingers made erotic squiggles along his rugged torso.
Muscles flexed beneath his hair-roughened flesh as she found his
erect nipple buried beneath a furry mat. Her smooth fingernail
tormented the masculine toughness.

Alex's hands languidly stroked her supple spine, pressing into
the creamy, silken skin. His calloused fingers nudged her body
chemistry into greater action. Virginia freed her lips. She kissed
his straight nose, his strong chin and his Adam's apple. His
responding quiver of pleasure enticed her. She grew bolder, running
her tongue lingeringly down the cord of his neck across his chest
to his left breast. His flesh was firm and slightly salty, his
heart pounded the frantic rhythm of her own.

Alex's fingers blazed a tantalizing trail along her jaw,
followed the curve of her shapely neck to the scented valley
between her breasts. He rained kisses on her face and neck. He bent
his head; his large hand cupped her full breast; his thumb teased
the flushed, swollen peaks. The subtle nuances of her perfume
stimulated his appetite. His hungry mouth lowered to taste the
aroused tips.

Fluttery, pulsating sensations invaded the nucleus of her
sexuality. Virginia became lost in physical pleasure. Her throaty
moans of aroused abandon intoxicated Alex. He dropped to one knee,
his warm mouth bathing the heated flesh of her stomach, his tongue
finding a home in her navel.

Anxious for more, without losing bodily contact, they found
their way to the massive modular sofa. The cream velour moved
sensuously beneath Virginia's bare skin while Alex's virile length
provided more provocative friction.

His dark hair felt like silk against her flushed breasts; his
lips toured the velvet swells. Her fingernail teased his earlobe
and made delicate little forays inside the sensitive drum.

Virginia's right hand slid below his belt. Her fingers toyed
with the metal zipper pull while her palm stroked the growing
hardness beneath the taut material of his trousers. His growl of
pleasure acted like an aphrodisiac, intensifying her own carnal
desires.

"Alex, darling, I want you so very badly." Her words tumbled in
a frenzied rush. Slow, seductive foreplay had accelerated into the
highest pitch of ecstasy.

A door scraped open; light flooded the hallway; a minute later
the definitive sound of a toilet flushing invaded their intimate
world.

Alex looked down at her, his forehead and eyes mirroring
bewildered confusion. Virginia's own eyes grew wide with surprise.
Then realization hit her. She was, after all, supposed to be
sharing the apartment with her twin. The hallway light snapped off,
a door slammed, and with it came the rapid descent of their
mood.

"I'm afraid we must have woken my sister." Virginia managed the
lie as deftly as she managed the truth: the latter seemed to occur
less frequently these days.

He stared into her guileless features for a long moment. "I had
forgotten about-Virginia." He shook his head to clear it, then
levered himself off the sofa.

"I think it would be less embarrassing if I just left." Alex
picked up his jacket and headed for the door. Pausing to straighten
his shirt, he looked back at the sensuous, tumbled woman still
lying amid the cream cushions, and then picking up his jacket, he
let himself out.

Ginger or Virginia-one sensible and efficient; one alluring and
mysterious. Both were making his world delightfully off-balance and
unexpectedly pleasurable.

It took quite a while for Virginia's strength to return. While
she was less than satiated physically, she was more than satisfied
with the evening.

She found no shame in her actions. No shame in being a woman
with needs and desires. No shame in asking a man she was deeply
attracted to to fulfill them.

Her body still vibrated from Alex's touch. There would be no
cold shower for her-his caresses and kisses were too precious to be
washed away.

Refastening the halter, Virginia strolled into her bedroom. The
bedside Tensor light illuminated two women clad in lounging robes,
playing cards scattered over the blue chenille spread, and a pair
of expectant faces. Leaning against the door frame, Virginia looked
at Diane and Joan, a Cheshire-cat grin spreading across her still
flushed features.

"Well?" came their breathless chorus.

"Well what?" She was being deliberately obtuse.

Diane looked at Joan. They both reached for bed pillows and
tossed the soft punches at her. Laughing, she easily batted them to
the sea-toned carpet.

"Did we convince Alex that there was another person here?" Diane
demanded, pushing the cards in a haphazard pile to make room for
Virginia.

"You certainly did," came her matter-of-fact retort. Her lashes
shaded her shining eyes. "Although I wish you hadn't picked that
particular moment to play chaperon."

"Ohhh." The two-part harmony was tinged with the wisdom of
affairs of heart.

Virginia collapsed on the edge of the platform bed, elbows on
her silk-covered knees, face resting on her palms. "Maybe I should
be grateful that you did interrupt." A myriad of confused feelings
assaulted her, tumbling her from previous ecstatic heights.

Diane and Joan scrambled across the mattress on their knees to
her side. "What's the matter?" Joan asked quietly, tugging her
brown plaid robe free of her feet. "Wasn't Alex what you expected?
Was the evening a dud?"

Diane patted Virginia's shoulder comfortingly. "Was he a fake?
Was he dull and boring without his work to talk about? Was he less
than the. Bandit on the balcony?"

"I was the fake," she returned on a glum note. "I had the whole
evening planned in my mind. I was supposed to be dull and boring. I
was supposed to be stupid and giddy and nauseating." Virginia
looked from Joan to Diane and shook her blond curls. "I'm afraid I
didn't do any of those things. Instead of turning Alex off, I
turned him on." She swallowed past the lump in her throat and
looked down at her clenched hands. "I didn't have to fake a damn
thing. It just came naturally."