Feel Like Making Love Read online

  He reached for her and pulled her close. Slow, sweet kisses joined them as he rolled her under him and guided himself inside her. Joel paused when he'd filled her, his weight resting on his arms.

  Joel shifted upward. The tiny change of position brought his pelvis in direct contact with hers with every thrust, and though she hadn't expected it to, Audrey's body responded again. When he moved, she sighed and arched, moving with him. There was no resistance. Her body accepted and welcomed him, embraced him, a perfect fit.

  Joel slid a hand under the back of her neck, supporting her as they kissed. She held him, hooking her legs over the back of his thighs. In and out, slow and smooth, their bodies coming together and drawing apart, but always remaining joined.

  They kissed. Pleasure filled her, the ripples of a pond rather than the crash of ocean waves, but somehow even better. She was looking into his eyes when she came the second time, and he followed her a bare half-minute later. His body tensed and he pushed inside her, shuddering.

  After a moment he rolled off her, onto his side, a hand still splayed protectively on her waist. She sighed, sated and content, and waited for him to say something flirty that would allow her to dismiss what had just happened as a fluke.

  "You are beautiful, Audrey," was what he told her instead, and kissed her again. "I mean it."

  She wished she could believe him.

  * * * *

  Joel had been a guest for dinner enough times to know the layout of Audrey's kitchen, so finding the pan and the spatula had been easy enough. Eggs and cheese from her fridge, onions and potatoes from the pantry, some olive oil and butter, and he'd made omelets and hash browns. He'd come up empty-handed when it came to the toast, though. A noise from the doorway behind him made him turn, and he smiled.

  "'Morning. Do you have any bread?"

  Audrey padded into the kitchen on bare feet, her over-sized t-shirt hanging to her thighs. She tied up her hair as she looked around, expression surprised.

  "You made breakfast?"

  "We sort of forgot about dinner." Joel turned off the burner. "But I couldn't find bread to make toast."

  She still looked a little taken aback.

  "I'm sorry," he said. "Was this all right?"

  Maybe she had an issue about a man in her kitchen?

  Audrey nodded. "Of course it's all right. Oh, you made coffee, too? Joel, you didn't need to do all this."

  He grinned at her. "Sure I did. Told you I wasn't just a pretty face."

  He watched her pour a mug of coffee, sweeten it, and take a long drink before she looked up at him again. She looked gorgeous in the morning. Hell, she looked fantastic any time. But especially gorgeous in the morning, after spending the night in his arms.

  "I slept so late," she said. "Lauren's going to be home in just a few hours. And I didn't get any studying done!"

  He slid the eggs and hash browns onto plates and carried them to the breakfast bar. She stepped aside to let him, and he guided her to a stool. "Sit."

  She did, taking the fork he handed her as he sat next to her. Joel dug in, his stomach refusing to be ignored any longer, not even in favor of satisfying his body's other urges. Audrey cut into her omelet, but didn't eat right away.

  "Is it all right?" he asked. He washed down a mouthful with a swig of orange juice.

  She nodded and took the bite. "It's great."

  He speared a potato and chewed it, his growling stomach subsiding its complaints. "What time's Lauren due home?"

  She looked up. "Ted's bringing her back at two."

  "Great." He'd had time to flip through the Sunday paper while the coffee brewed. "There's a matinee showing of The Wizard of Oz today at the Allen Theater. I thought maybe we could take her to see it."

  Audrey laughed. "You like The Wizard of Oz?"

  Joel grinned and winked. "Sure. Who doesn't?"

  She didn't say anything to that. Her smile faded and she looked at her plate. She toyed with the food on it, the set down her fork. When she looked up again, Joel put down his own fork. Her eyes told him there was bad news.

  "What is it?" he asked.

  "I'm not so sure that would be the best idea," Audrey said slowly.

  He said nothing. His gaze traced the shape of her brows, the line of her nose and the curve of lip and jaw. He could have drawn them all, he'd so well memorized her face. He didn't want to look away, but he did, not wanting to see her tell him this wasn't going to work.

  "Joel..."

  "She doesn't like The Wizard of Oz?"

  "She does."

  He looked up then, hoping she'd meet his gaze and disappointed when she couldn't. "You don't?"

  "I do, too. I just think it would be a bad idea for us to go to a movie together today."

  "We've gone to the movies lots of times," he told her. "Lauren knows me."

  "That was before," Audrey replied.

  "Before we slept together." His voice came out flat and devoid of emotion, though Joel felt anything but. He took his plate and scraped the rest of it into the trash, then put it in the dishwasher.

  "Yes."

  He turned to face her again. "I thought you wanted this, too."

  She looked up at him. "It was wonderful, Joel, it was really great. But..."

  "But what?" He wanted to understand.

  "Joel," she cried, "we're friends! Study buddies! Right? This was a one-time thing. It has to be."

  Coldness filled him. "Why does it have to be?"

  She sighed, running a hand over her hair. "Because I'm not ready for it to be anything else."

  He nodded, reaching for her. She let him take her hand, which was something, at least. "We'll go slow. I promise."

  She laughed and squeezed his hand. "Too late, Joel."

  He pulled his hand back, frustrated. "I don't understand."

  "Joel..." She sighed again, this time the one to reach for him. "You're a great guy, and I know you're not used to being turned down..."

  He gaped at her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

  Audrey looked uncomfortable. "You know what it means. You're a flirt. You go out with lots of girls--"

  "Only because I've been too much of a chicken to ask you out," he retorted. "Which I've been wanting to do since we met."

  She laughed, scoffing. "You're a charmer, Joel. I've always known it. A flirt. You flirt with me, you flirt with the other girls in our class...you flirt with the professor, for God's sake! Friday night you were taking off your clothes in front of a room full of women waiting to shove dollar bills down your crotch! How am I supposed to believe I'm different? I can't risk it, Joel. Not for me and not for Lauren."

  "You seem to have it figured out why I slept with you," Joel said through gritted teeth. "But why did you go to bed with me?"

  Her apologetic answer didn't make him feel any better. "Joel, I made a mistake. I'm sorry. I should've been smarter about this. I should've been more responsible--"

  "Why?" he interrupted. "Because I'm not?"

  She didn't say anything, which was answer enough, and Joel tossed up his hands in frustration and anger, and headed for the living room to grab his things. She followed, her tone pleading as she said his name. He ignored her.

  "Don't go like this," Audrey said. "Please."

  He grabbed up his jacket and stuffed his books into his backpack, slinging it over his shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Audrey. Forget it."

  "Joel, don't be like that."

  He faced her, hating himself for still noticing how lovely her hair looked curling around her face, and how the light from behind silhouetted her body. She looked as though she meant to reach for him, but then clutched her hands together.

  "I can't believe that's what you think of me," he said, sounding helpless and despairing, and hating himself for that, too. "That I'm just some playboy who goes around telling women what they want to hear so I can get them into bed."

  "I don't think that."

  "But you think I'm a flirt."

  "Yo