The Glory Game by Janet Dailey Page B

beautiful.” He nuzzled her lips as she reached to hold him and feel his warm flesh.
    With his hands, his lips, and his body, he worshiped her. It was a wild and heady sensation that made her body hum with need. This intensity of passion was almost a forgotten thing. Yet there was no haste about it. They spent time savoring and enjoying the delight they found in each other. When the coupling came, it was a sweet and fiery culmination that left them both happily drained.
    Afterward, Luz lay stretched at full length on the bed, smiling in blissful contentment, the thin sheet drawn across her breasts and an arm flung above her head on the pillow. Drew was beside her, his head cradled on his own pillow. She knew he wasn’t sleeping; he was just lying there, as she was, still warmed by the glow of their lovemaking. She turned her head to look at him, staring at the ceiling, his expression lazy and pleased.
    â€œThat was wonderful,” she murmured, but it had been more than that. Leaning over, using her elbow for a pivot, Luz kissed the curved point of his shoulder. “It was the best sex we’ve had since our honeymoon.”
    He quirked an eyebrow. ‘That isn’t saying much for all the years in between.”
    She laughed. “That isn’t what I meant.”
    His arm circled her waist and pulled her across his body to lie on his other side. “Then you’d better explain yourself, woman,” he ordered with mock menace.
    This playing reinforced her feelings. “It all seems so new and exciting. It was like—discovering each other all over again.” She could feel the light of reborn love inside her, glowing brightly. Her fingers threaded into his chest hairs as she snuggled closer to him. “I guess I feel like a bride.”
    â€œYou’ll always be my bride.” He pressed a warm kiss on top of her head, now pillowed on his shoulder.
    â€œWhat time do you think it is?” she wondered.
    â€œDon’t ask.” His chest lifted with a warning chuckle that vibrated into her. “It was going on three when I came upstairs.”
    Luz craned her head around so that she could see the digital clock on her nightstand. “It’s almost four.” Drew groaned. “Let’s stay up and watch the sunrise.”
    â€œAre you serious?”
    â€œYes, I am.” She playfully pulled at the hairs on his chest. “I’ll go make some fresh coffee and we can drink it outside on the deck.”
    â€œLuz, I don’t think the sun comes up until sometime after six. Do you know how tired we’re going to be?”
    â€œAre you tired?” She sat up, looking back at him.
    â€œNot right now,” Drew conceded.
    â€œThen get out of bed, lazybones.” She pushed him toward the side. “Let’s go.” He caught at her hands, and they wrestled for a few minutes in fun until Luz escaped his clutches and scampered out of bed. Drew immediately settled back against the pillows, folding his hands under his head to watch her slip on the red kimono. “You’d better be out of there when I come back upstairs with the tray,” she warned. “Or you’re going to find yourself having coffee and orange juice in bed—and I don’t mean in a cup.” He smiled, unconcerned.
    But when she returned with the tray laden with coffee, orange juice, and a basket of Danish rolls, the bed was empty. The French doors to their private balcony were ajar, and Luz found him outside, his hair damp from a shower and his face freshly shaven.
    â€œRolls.” He spied them first. “How did you know I was hungry?”
    â€œYou always are after you exercise.” She set the breakfast tray on the glass-topped wrought-iron table and tried to remember the last time she had engaged in such wordplay, infusing ordinary words with intimate meanings. Romance seemed to have reentered their marriage. The night air touched her.