Chapter 2

“Ron. Ron.”

Someone was nudging him, gently and repeatedly. Ron swam slowly up out of a sound sleep and yawned, aware at first only that he was lying in bed with Elizabeth pressed against him. He opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was her face, with those lovely dark eyes and her quizzical little smile. He kissed her before he noticed that it was a lot dimmer in the bedroom now than it had been when they’d both laid down for a short nap.

“I think we were both a bit more tired than we’d thought,” Elizabeth said.

“I think you’re right,” he agreed, and yawned again. “What time is it, anyway?”

“I don’t know,” she replied with a tiny shake of her had. “There’s no clock in here. All I’m sure of is that it’s close to sunset. She smiled sleepily and slid one long, smooth leg over his as she bent her head for another kiss. Her long, dark hair tumbled down so that their faces were in a sweet-scented chamber of loose curls. When she drew back, she smiled again and brushed her hair back with her hand.

“Are you hungry?” Ron asked. Her smile widened.

“I’m ravenous!” she replied. “If you didn’t wake up soon I was thinking of devouring you.”

He chuckled and sat up, looking around for his pack before he remembered that it was still back in the foyer along with Elizabeth’s.

“I’d say it’s a bit late to go shopping for something to cook for dinner,” he said. “But I remember seeing what looked like a restaurant earlier. Let’s get dressed and see what it’s like.”

“How should I dress?” Elizabeth asked.

“Well, what did you pack? Did you bring some dresses along?”

“Yes, I did,” she answered. “Quite a few, in fact. Are we going some place fancy?”

“I really don’t know,” Ron shrugged. “I’ve never been here, remember, so I don’t know what things are like. I’m guessing something like upscale casual Friday night should do. But you just go ahead and pick something that you like.”

“I think I can find something,” she said as she slid off of the bed. She padded over to where the luggage they had sent on ahead of them was stacked neatly against the wall. Hers was a much larger pile than his, and her suitcases were not as old and battered. Well, she had more money than he did, and could afford to buy the best. But it looked as if his closet and drawer space was going to be minimal once they’d unpacked everything. He watched as his female began opening bags and moving them around, marveling yet again at the ripe abundance of her body. If she looked like this at forty, what must she have been like at twenty-five? The more he thought about it, though, the more he suspected that the younger Elizabeth would not have been as alluring as his Elizabeth was. Some women aged. Some matured like a fine wine, only getting better with time, and she certainly fell into that category. He felt a familiar stirring, followed by an urge to go over there, grab her, and carry her back to the bed. Then his stomach growled, loudly enough for her to hear it.

“I’ll be ready quickly,” she said. “I think I’m as hungry as you are.” She straightened up and turned to face him, holding a dress up in front of her. It was a warm yellow color that suited her, but there didn’t seem to be much of it. The fabric looked to be silky and thin, with spaghetti straps to hold it up and a skirt that ended somewhere around mid-thigh. “Will this be all right?” she asked. He hadn’t seen her in that particular dress before. Truth be told, he hadn’t seen her dressed at all for most of the time they’d been together. He was curious to see