Another Kind of Love Read Online Free

“Progress.”
    â€œProgress, hell! Sterility. That’s what I think.”
    â€œStop thinking, then,” Walter grinned, knowing this sort of teasing annoyed her. “You’re too attractive to think. . . .”
    â€œI thought you liked my mind.”
    â€œOnly at the office.” He slipped his arms around her waist slowly.
    â€œYou’re not objective at all,” Laura scolded.
    â€œDisgusting, isn’t it?” Walter kissed the tip of her ear.
    â€œI suppose you’d like a nightcap,” Laura suggested softly.
    â€œYou inviting?”
    â€œI’m inviting.”
    â€œThank God!” Walter laughed. “For a horrible moment I thought you were going to send me away.”
    They entered Laura’s apartment in conspiratorial silence.
    â€œHome again,” sighed Walter, sinking down on the couch.
    â€œHelp yourself, darling . . .” Laura gestured to the paint-it-yourself bar she had bought one day in an impetuous mood. “I’ll just be a minute.”
    She undressed and showered quickly, somewhat amused at the deliberate but detached quality of her preparations. Then she put on her only feminine dressing gown.
    Who’s seducing whom? she asked the tanned, slender reflection in the mirror, studying her smooth shoulders, the well-shaped breasts so invitingly contoured under the flimsy gown. Flimsy? It was practically transparent!
    â€œDiaphanous,” the sales girl had called it. Some handy word, that. Covered a multitude of sinful intents. My God! If she didn’t look like one of those classic wantons on a paperback historical . . . Well, it was eye-catching, anyway. Or rather, she amended wryly, man-catching.
    Returning to the living room through the bedroom, she picked up her hairbrush and brushed her long light-brown hair with vigorous strokes. She enjoyed being one of the few women brave enough to flaunt long hair despite the dictates of fashion.
    Walter, now jacketless, crossed the room carrying two tumblers and sat down next to Laura on the studio couch.
    â€œHere, darling.” He placed the glasses on the low table in front of them carefully, almost awkwardly, then reached over and took the brush from her hand.
    Abruptly he pushed her back on the couch, and she could feel the warmth of his body against her own . . . could feel his need for her as he kissed her.
    â€œThere’s something about soap and water that affects me more than the best perfumes in the world,” Walter said with his lips against her throat. He bit her lightly and then pulled away.
    Laura remained lying against the cushions, her eyes only half open and her lips still stinging from the hardness of his kiss.
    She felt cheated—even a little insulted.
    â€œWalter,” she said softly, “come here and do exactly as I say.” She smiled into his questioning eyes, feeling powerful as she saw the dark blue they turned when he was aroused.
    He leaned forward hesitantly, and she slowly raised her arms, then folded them around his neck, bringing his face to within an inch of hers. “Now, just kiss me quietly and slowly . . . as though I might break otherwise.” It was something she had always wanted him to do but had never before had the courage to ask. . . .
    Laura molded her mouth around his softly, hardly touching his lips at first; then, as his tongue tried to seek hers in sudden harshness, she lightly traced her fingers around his lips until he became more gentle.
    Finally, he pulled away just far enough to ask, “Is that what you want?”
    Laura gazed at him for a moment and then, without realizing why, felt hurt. As hurt as she would be if he had laughed at her. She didn’t bother to answer him directly.
    Instead, she laughed lightly and, with a slight wave of her hand, said, “Oh, it was just an experiment. Don’t you like to try new things occasionally?”
    She accepted the drink he offered her, sipping the