‘Just what I say.’ Her tongue darted out to swipe across her bottom lip, and Alex bit back a groan at the strong impulse that flooded his body to take her mouth with his own. ‘I can’t stop thinking about it. And I think you’re feeling the same.’
Honestly, Alex was thinking about doing a lot more than kissing her, but he got the idea. ‘So, what do you propose we do about it?’
Lily paused, and took a deep breath before speaking. Was she nervous? She couldn’t feel as on-edge as he did. ‘We both know we’re not what the other’s looking for. You’re looking for love and marriage, and I’m looking for neither, quite honestly. But I know you want to build your business up first, before you start looking for your dream woman. And just because I don’t want to get married doesn’t mean I want to be alone forever. So, right now, while we’re here, feeling like this…’
‘A fling?’ The words came out hoarse, and Alex cleared his throat, trying to find some modicum of control over the conversation. ‘That’s what you want?’
Lily shifted her chair closer, and Alex fought warring impulses to move away or move much, much closer. ‘I just think that maybe Cora was right.’
‘I doubt it. I wouldn’t listen to her.’ Alex swallowed. ‘What did she say?’
‘That we’re kidding ourselves thinking this is just about friendship.’
The hell of it was that she was right, of course. How could he pretend all he wanted was friendship when he’d spent all day imagining stripping that skirt from her hips, pulling that silky top thing over her head? Laying her back on his bed and kissing every inch of her body.
‘But if it’s not friendship, and it’s not marriage…’
‘Exactly.’ Lily leant in, close enough that he could smell her hair, could reach her lips if he dared. ‘A fling. Like you say.’
As if this was his idea. As if he’d started this. Except, if he’d had any inkling that she might say yes, he would have done. In an instant.
‘I’m supposed to be giving that sort of thing up,’ he said, a last, desperate defence. Yes, he wanted this. But he couldn’t escape the feeling that Cora might have been right about more than the depths of their mutual delusion. If they did this… someone would get hurt. Someone always did. And for the first time ever, he found himself hoping it would be him, rather than Lily.
That was when he realized he’d already given in.
Whatever this was with Lily, maybe a casual liaison would be the perfect way to get it out of his system. One last fling for Old Alex, before he settled down fully into his new life.
‘Why give up something that could be so much fun?’ Her bare knee found its way between his thighs, pressing deliciously against his suit trousers so he could feel the heat of her through the fabric, and Alex gave up all attempts at serious philosophical thought. When had he turned so much to face her? How much wine had she had? He tried to remember. Not enough that he could blame it entirely for her actions. She wanted this, sure enough.
He took a breath, the scent of her filling his lungs, and he knew he’d never had a choice at all. Still, he had to know… ‘You’re sure about this?’
Her smile was lopsided. ‘Since I was about fourteen.’
Not entirely reassuring. But her hand slid higher up his leg, and his brain stopped functioning altogether. ‘Then let’s get out of here. Now.’
* * * *
It was taking far too long to find a taxi; apparently the entire Aberarian and Felinfach fleet were already ferrying guests from the wedding home in varying stages of drunkenness. Lily watched as Alex tried to negotiate with the taxi office woman and cursed the fact that she was about three glasses of wine over the limit, herself. She really didn’t want to give him time to change his mind.
Then he turned to her, his eyes glassy with want, and said, ‘Okay. It’s going to have to be the Grand.’
She grinned. The fading hotel on the seafront might not be the ultimate in luxury, but she was pretty sure they had beds, and that was all she was worried about right now.
The sea echoed in her ears, lapping up at the sand as they raced along the Esplanade to the Grand, too excited to walk. Lily giggled, gripping Alex’s arm, letting him tug her along. This was what she’d been looking for. This was the freedom she needed.
In fact, it wasn’t until they reached the reception desk that Lily felt the nerves stirring in her stomach. As Alex handed over his credit card, she watched him in the suddenly harsh light of the hotel foyer, and felt reality crashing down around her.
What the hell was she doing? She’d spent the last seven years with one man – a man who was more interested in her ability to make inoffensive conversation with the wives of his colleagues than in her body. Alex had by all accounts spent that time seducing a large percentage of the total number of elegant, intelligent brunettes living in London. How on earth did she expect to hold her own against his expectations of her?
Then Alex turned to her, his eyes dark and wanting, and Lily’s nerves were replaced by desire. This wasn’t about being what another man wanted for the evening. This was about getting what she wanted, at last. And if she could make it good for him too… She licked her lips and smiled as his hand came to rest at her waist to guide her up the stairs. Well, if that meant she got to enjoy it more than once, that could only be a good thing, right?
It was time for Lily Thomas to grow up and enjoy all the wonderful, grownup pleasures the world had to offer, that she’d been too scared to take until now. Time to step out of Edward’s safe and limiting shadow at last, and take what she wanted.
Alex.
Halfway up the stairwell, she stopped, hands pressing against his chest as she backed him against the wall. Stretching up on tiptoes to reach his lips with her own, she let out a soft moan as she kissed him. Alex’s arms tightened around her waist, holding her close and tight against him, his mouth moving over hers, relentless and hard and desperate.
‘God, Lily,’ he murmured against her skin, moving from her mouth across her cheek, skimming down the column of her throat. Lily bent her head back to give him better access, sparks of pleasure running over and under her skin. His fingers found their way under her camisole, pushing it up her sides, baring her stomach and her bra to him. He pulled down one of the cups, and Lily’s breast ached for him to take her in his mouth. He bent his head and –
Somewhere, a door banged open.
Alex cursed, lightly, and spun around, shielding her with his body. A middle-aged couple appeared at the bottom of the stairs, bickering about something as they made their way up, and Lily quickly adjusted her top to preserve what little was left of her modesty. With a bright smile at the other guests as they approached, she let Alex pull her up a few more steps and through the double doors into the hotel hallway.
‘Is this even our floor?’ she asked as he tugged her along by the hand.
‘Against the odds, yes.’ Alex came to a halt outside a room and fumbled in his pocket for the key. ‘Someone’s on our side, anyway.’
The door fell open, and he yanked her inside. Before she could even find her balance, the door slammed shut behind them, and Alex had her pressed up against the wood, pulling her top over her head. ‘Now, where were we?’
He lowered his mouth to her breast, leaving Lily dizzy with sensation. As his tongue swirled around her nipple, his hands came down to settle around her waist, holding her close and tight, and feeling so, so right.
Even if it was just for the night.
But she couldn’t think about that now.
‘Bed,’ Alex whispered in her ear and, with a shiver, Lily nodded.
* * * *
Lily awoke late the next morning, her body aching in the best possible way. Stretching her muscles and feeling them twinge, she turned onto her side to see Alex still asleep beside her, his lashes dark against his cheek. The duvet covered most of his body, but Lily didn’t need to see it to remember the way it had moved against her, the feel of his muscles under her hands, his ski
n brushing against hers. The way he’d pressed her into the mattress, whispering wonderful things into her ear between kisses. Biting back a smile, she reached out and ran her fingers along the firm line of his shoulder, down the length of his arm as it rested on top of the covers.
Alex’s eyes opened, slowly, dozily, and he smiled.
‘Good morning,’ he said, his voice rough with sleep.
‘Hi.’ It came out considerably shyer than Lily felt was appropriate, given the things she’d let this man do to her the night before. She should sound sensual, wanton. Not like a schoolgirl with her first crush.
Except, of course, despite the last twelve years, that was exactly what she was.
Alex reached out to tug her closer into his arms, and Lily decided that the past didn’t matter any more, anyway. The present was considerably more fun.
‘How are you feeling?’
‘Achy,’ she admitted. ‘But in the good way.’
‘Me too,’ Alex said, with a rueful smile. ‘I’m not as young as I used to be, you know. I think you might have broken me, woman.’
‘Me?’ Lily tried to look innocent. After all, he was the one who’d seduced her in a stairwell. Or, actually, had she started that? And she was the one who’d woken him up in the middle of the night for more. ‘Well, maybe.’
‘It was worth it.’ He placed a kiss on the top of her head, held her close, then let her go. ‘But, sadly, I have to go and meet with Max about the books for the Mill, and so can’t demand a repeat performance.’
Alex rolled out of bed, and Lily hauled herself into a seated position to watch his naked form as he made his way to the bathroom. The man really was magnificent. Really, perfect fling material. Especially since he knew exactly how a perfect fling should be conducted between the sheets.
Now they just had to figure out how it would work outside them.
‘What are your plans for today?’ Alex asked, sticking his head back outside the bathroom.
Lily considered. There was reliving the previous evening on a loop in her head. Taking a very long bath to try and ease her sore body. Not freaking out about what she was doing with Alex or worrying about either of them getting too attached.
‘I’ve got some work to do,’ she said, in the end.
‘Why don’t I run you home, then?’ Alex suggested. ‘My car’s still at the restaurant. You can get changed, we can swing past mine so I can do the same, then head over to the Mill together.’
There was absolutely no reason why Lily couldn’t just grab her own car when she got home and go to the Mill herself. But the idea of being apart from Alex when she didn’t have to… ‘Sounds great.’
‘And maybe we can grab dinner together later?’
‘Dinner, or a repeat of last night’s activities?’
Alex raised an eyebrow. ‘I have to choose one or the other?’
‘Definitely not. But I think we’re both expected for Sunday dinner at Cora’s.’ Lily let the sheet fall down to her waist. ‘Now, are you sure you have to meet Max right now?’
As Alex dropped his clothes and dived back into bed with her, Lily reflected that already flings seemed considerably more fun than relationships. Alex was crazy to want to give this up for commitment.
* * * *
In the end, Alex was over an hour late to meet Max.
‘I’d have thought, with your high-flying career in the City, you’d have been better at timekeeping.’ Max dropped two soluble painkillers into a glass of water and watched them fizz. Alex tried not to fidget while he waited for his new boss’s attention to return to him.
Max looked up, finally, and Alex wished he hadn’t. Staring at him with far too much knowledge behind his red-rimmed eyes, Max said, ‘But then, it was a long day yesterday. And a late night for us all, I’m sure.’
Alex swallowed. ‘A lovely wedding, though, don’t you think? The seaside setting…’
‘Very lovely,’ Max agreed, before taking a swig of water. ‘I looked for Lily at the end of the night, to say that very same thing to her. But it turned out she’d already left.’
Alex stared at the ceiling.
‘In fact,’ Max went on. ‘I heard from several reputable sources that she left with you last night. And that neither of you made it home to Felinfach.’
With a deep breath, Alex steeled himself. Obviously Max had appointed himself some sort of parental stand-in for Lily, so Alex needed to convince him that he wasn’t about to ruin her life or break her heart. That was just how these things went, right?
‘Look, Max –’
Max held up a hand. ‘I’m not her father. I don’t need details – God, I really don’t want details. You’re both consenting adults. I just hope you both know what you’re doing.’
A flash of memory filled his mind: Lily beckoning him back into bed, and the way his head had given up instantly on anything sane or sensible. And the memory was accompanied by the uncomfortable knowledge that he’d do exactly the same thing again. ‘So do I.’
‘This wasn’t exactly what I meant when I asked you to stop her going back to Edward.’
Alex raised his eyebrows. ‘Wasn’t it?’
Shaking his head, Max drained the rest of his painkillers. ‘And you know you’re going to give her mother a heart attack.’
Dropping into the chair opposite the desk, at last, Alex groaned. ‘She really doesn’t need to worry. Lily has no interest in me long-term. It’s just a fling.’ Even though it didn’t feel like one. Alex knew flings, and no fling in the past had ever felt this… comfortable. Compelling. Right.
But it couldn’t ever be anything more, and they both knew it.
‘Actually, I expect that would worry her more,’ Max replied.
‘Really?’
Max nodded. ‘She wants her little girl settled. Happy. Or at least with someone else taking responsibility for her.’
‘Lily’s twenty-six. I think she can take responsibility for herself at this point.’
‘Try telling that to Evelyn.’ Max sighed. ‘She’s convinced that unless Lily gets married, she’ll never settle down and live happily ever after. Crazy woman.’
Alex frowned. There was a fondness behind Max’s words that he wouldn’t have expected. ‘I didn’t know you and Evelyn were so close.’
Max smirked. ‘The number of times since Valentine’s Day I’ve had her in here, complaining about Lily neglecting her relationship with Edward because of the Mill, how it was holding up their wedding… And the woman likes to talk, you know that. So I now know more about the inner workings of Evelyn Thomas’s mind than I ever thought I wanted to.’
‘Well, next time you have one of your cosy little chats with Evelyn, you might want to mention that Lily has sworn off marriage,’ Alex said.
Eyebrows raised, Max said, ‘And is that the only reason you’ve let yourself get involved, by any chance?’
‘Nothing to do with me,’ Alex said, hands up in a motion of surrender. ‘Apparently the main driver seems to be the fact that people change. Including her. She doesn’t want to be tied to anything that stops her growing into the person she’s meant to be.’
Max rubbed a hand across his forehead. ‘God, never mind the wedding hangover, you two are more than enough of a headache on your own. Go on, get out of here and do some work. We’ll look at the books when my head isn’t so close to exploding.’
‘Sorry,’ Alex said, getting to his feet with a smile. ‘Just giving you the facts.’
‘I said I didn’t want details!’ Max called after him, as he headed down the stairs.
Outside, the bright blue sky seemed a little too vivid for the occupants of the Mill, after the wedding feast the night before: every person Alex waved to on his way to his studio was wearing sunglasses. Alex knew he felt far better than he had any right to – it wasn’t like he’d scrimped on the wine with dinner. And sleep hadn’t been the first thing on his mind the night before, either. But his muscles felt loose and relaxed, with only the occasional tw
inge. And it was hard to stop smiling with the memory of Lily’s body wrapped around his so vivid and fresh.
His phone rang just as the studio door closed behind him, and Alex pulled it from his pocket and pressed answer without even registering the action.
‘Hello?’
‘Alex. Bro. How do you fancy a wild boys’ night out tonight? You and me, no holds barred.’ Gareth’s excitement vibrated down the phone line, but something about it sounded wrong. Forced.
‘In Felinfach?’
‘I was thinking Manchester. We’ll book a hotel, make a real night of it.’
Alex blinked out at the sunlight through his window. ‘It’s Sunday, Gareth. Don’t you have work tomorrow?’
‘I’ll take it off. Call in sick or something.’
‘You’ve never done that. You wouldn’t even throw a sickie when I got those last minute tickets for the cricket on a work day.’ Alex settled back against his desk. ‘What’s going on?’
Gareth sighed. ‘Nothing. Just fancied a night out with my brother.’
‘Want to come over to Felinfach? Cora’s doing a roast. We could have a drink in the Bull and Frog after, catch up a bit.’ Because clearly there was something going on that Gareth needed to talk about. Lily would understand if he had to postpone their plans until a little later in the evening, wouldn’t she? So they might not make dinner. The rest of it was still on the cards…
‘Nah,’ Gareth said. ‘Not the same. Maybe another week, yeah?’
The phone disconnected, and Alex stared at it for a long moment.
‘Definitely something going on,’ he muttered. But since it meant he got his evening with Lily after all, he was prepared to put off worrying about it for another week or two.
Chapter Thirteen
Lily was finding a number of things hard today. Concentrating on the new catalogue proofs she was supposed to be checking. Not thinking about Alex, just across the way in his studio. Not thinking about how his body had felt against hers. Not grinning at the memory. Not imagining how good it would feel to relive it tonight…
Summer of Love Page 15