the clock, it was almost noon. It was Sunday. She got out of bed and pulled on a short silk robe over her long-sleeved laced top and matching boy briefs. She brushed her teeth quickly, ran a brush through her hair then went downstairs to answer the door. The doorbell sounded angrily through the house.
"I almost broke the door down," James said. "Oh."
He drank in the silk robe that did not make it mid-thigh.
"I'm sorry," she said. "It was a long night."
"No bother," he leaned against the door frame. "I like your lunch outfit."
"Give me a minute to get a quick shower and change," she said.
"No way." He pulled her into his arms and gave her a long kiss. He missed the way she smelled.
"James," she half protested as he broke the kiss and pulled her all the way through the entrance so she was leaning against him and he against the door frame. They were almost all the way out of the house. Willow felt cool air up her legs.
"What?" he asked as he started kissing her neck.
"Your company," she said referring to his bodyguards who were near his car.
He didn't answer. He loosened the knot on her robe. This time he moved with her inside the house and kicked the door closed. Willow went with him, kissing him greedily.
They made it to the sofa in the living room. Her arms locked around his neck. Willow felt his large warm hands under her shirt. She should protest, somewhere in the back of her mind the thought came, but her body wanted his touch, craved fit it in fact. Her hands tangled in his hair as she pulled him deeper into the kiss.
She felt his hands on her breasts as he teased her through the lacey fabric of her bra. He kissed across her jawline to her earlobe.
“I thought real food was on the menu,” she whispered against his ear.
He stopped. He removed his hands from under her shirt and placed them just above her head so he could support his weight while looking at her.
“Well, since you wanted to stay in bed I was silently volunteering another option,” he said.
Her hands slid down his back and he froze for a minute. He seemed to hold his breath as her hands continued down to his denim cladded buttocks.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Nothing.”
He moved away from her quickly when this time, her hands started under his shirt. She got up.
"I'll send Giles back to pick you up. Is a half hour good?"
"Yes."
He let himself out. Willow didn’t know what to think about his abrupt departure.
The front door was unlocked so she let herself in. He was on the telephone, but he walked over and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"Get it done," he said. "I have to go."
"Hey," she said.
"Hi."
The dress that would be simple on another body was anything but that on hers. For one thing though buttons ran the length of the dress, the top buttons were open all the way to her breasts. The dress stopped just above the knees, but it was the eye catching corset belt that started at the waist and peaked just below and between her breasts that turned simple into fantastic.
Lunch was already laid out on the deck, the sunshades pulled down low and two fans hummed gently in the breeze.
"I had wine, but since I got you out of bed, I made coffee."
Willow sat across from him. She poured coffee from a carafe on the table. He was having coffee as well.
“Are we going to talk about this morning?” she asked after taking a sip of the dark, rich brew.
“What is there to talk about?” he asked.
“Sunday night when you jumped off the chair, it was after I touched you on your back. This morning, you practically jumped out of your skin.”
“My demons,” he said quietly
“You have had quite a bit of a public-private life since you’ve been back. How does sex go if you get tense every time someone touches your back?”
“Sex in the dark and a bit of bondage,” he replied.
“Oh,” she said.
“I thought you wanted me to be honest.”
“Honesty is good. And just so you know, the former will not work for me. The latter I might enjoy.”
He chuckled. She was his perfect woman. He could not recall having a conversation like this with any other woman. She had a funny, sexy kind of innocence about her.
“Well, that is good to know,” he said. “Anything else you would like