The Piano Man Project Page 0,69

him, unnerved by his big, dark, brooding presence in her light, Scandinavian-style bedroom.

Placing the glasses down on the bedside table, she eyed Hal nervously.

‘What are you wearing?’ Hal asked.

Honey’s eyes opened wide in surprise. He’d gone from caveman to sex line operator in a flash. How to respond?

‘Oh, erm … well, my dress is black with a zipper all the way down the back, easy access,’ she all but purred, and screwed her eyes tight with embarrassment. ‘And … my underwear is new. I chose it for you. It feels …’

‘Just take everything off and lie on the bed on your back.’

Honey picked up her wine glass and threw the entire contents down her throat, then sat down on the other side of the bed. The last man to say anything like that to her had been her doctor.

‘Hal. I’m going to lie down here with all of my clothes on, and I’d like it if you lay beside me. You’re going too fast for me, okay?’

It was something she hadn’t anticipated that she’d need to say. Previous encounters with Hal had been sexy and slow and had melted her bones, but this just wasn’t working yet.

She lay back on her pillows, and he did the same alongside her.

‘Happy now?’ he said, his face angled towards the ceiling.

‘Not especially,’ she muttered. ‘Is this what it feels like when you’ve been married for years, do you think?’

‘It really would help if you got rid of your clothes,’ Hal said.

When she’d dressed that evening, she’d subconsciously opted for things that were tactile, things she hoped Hal would enjoy peeling off her later.

‘I umm … I brought a blindfold. I wondered if you’d like me to wear it?’ Honey heard her own upward inflection, like an Aussie waitress asking if he’d like an extra shot in his espresso.

‘Not especially. Strip off.’

We’ll, he’d missed the point of that entirely.

‘Do you think you could possibly kiss me first?’

Hal paused. ‘I wasn’t planning on kissing.’

‘What?’

‘This isn’t a date, remember?’

‘Yeah, and I’m not a prostitute either,’ she said. ‘Just bloody kiss me. I am one hundred per cent certain I won’t orgasm without being kissed first.’

Hal sighed, then rolled towards her until his body half covered hers and pressed her down into the mattress. Lowering his head, he kissed her too lightly, lingering for just a couple of agonisingly good seconds.

‘There. Now are you going to strip, or does this dress ruck up enough to get your knickers off?’

‘For God’s sake, Hal!’ Honey huffed. ‘This isn’t what I expected from you!’

‘No? What did you expect, Honey?’

‘I don’t know,’ she said, flustered. ‘A bit of romance, maybe? I know it’s not an actual date, but can’t you pretend it is?’

‘You want me to lie to you?’

‘Yes Hal. I want you to lie to me,’ she said, surprising herself. ‘Tell me you’ve been thinking about this all day. Take my dress off and tell me how sexy I feel to you. Tell me I turn you on. You don’t have to mean it, and we won’t mention it again once we’re outside of this bedroom, but right here and right now, lie to me.’

Hal dropped his head and kissed her again, this time hot and open mouthed. Sliding the heat and weight of his body over hers, he held her face in his hands and took the kiss as deep as it could go, and Honey wrapped her arms around his back and dragged his shirt up to get at the warmth of his skin.

‘You know you turn me on, Honeysuckle,’ he breathed, his mouth hot against her ear as she arched into him. His fingers found her zipper and slid it all the way down, and he shifted just enough to slide her dress away from her body.

‘And you feel like a goddamn fucking goddess,’ he said, kissing her again, slower, tracing his fingertips from the dip between her collarbones to her navel.

Was he lying? It didn’t feel like it in the heat of the moment. His body told her that he was telling the truth, hard against her softness.

‘Hal,’ she said, her fingers picking at the buttons on his shirt. He stilled, and then covered her hand with his own.

‘Not me,’ he whispered. ‘Just you.’

Honey opened her eyes. ‘What?’

‘We’re not going to have sex tonight, Honey,’ he said quietly, massaging her hip. ‘This is all about you.’

‘But, I want you to have tonight too,’ she said, realising that she meant it. Tonight had been as much about