by Lily Harlem
“What’s that?” I asked.
He read it with a serious expression then looked up at me and grinned. “It seems the hotel is advising guests to avoid travel. The lane to the nearest main road is impassable.”
I cocked my head and nibbled on a slice of melon.
“They’re offering a fifty percent discount to stay tonight. No one coming in, no one going out, they’re as stuck with us as we are with them.”
My heart flipped with hope.
Is my one-night stand about to turn into a two-night stand?
He smiled. “So what do you reckon? Am I invited to stay in your lavish suite or should I head down to my own small, standard room?”
Excitement zipped through me. He was asking to stay here, with me, another night. I couldn’t help thinking that some beautiful angel was smiling down on me and rewarding me for being such a good girl for all of those years. “Stay here,” I said quickly. “No point in paying for two rooms when this one is perfectly big and comfortable for us both.”
“Are you sure? People might talk.”
I shrugged. “Only if they find out, and so what if they do? We’re both single, both entitled to spend time together.”
He nodded slowly. “Okay, but just so we’re clear, it’s not the room that’s making me want to stay here.” He leaned over and popped a slice of strawberry into my mouth. “It’s the person hanging out and looking like the most delicious part of my breakfast that’s tempted me.”
He kissed me, a strawberry-infused kiss that made my heart sing.
Shane went to collect his stuff and I dressed in my jeans and sweater. When he returned he too was in jeans. He also wore a hooded top with a Manchester United logo on the right side of his chest.
“You a fan?” I asked.
“No other team worth supporting.” He grinned and dropped his holdall to the floor. “Shall we head down to reception, sort out the room, I’ll get the bill. Then maybe we could take a walk, the snow looks pretty spectacular.”
“Great plan.”
“Because,” he said, winding his fingers with mine, “there is absolutely no rush now to try out those ribbed condoms and we have a whole other night to make sure we find that sweet little spot of yours.”
A flush traveled over my cheeks. Having him speak of my G-spot in the harsh light of day reminded me how wanton I’d been in declaring what I wanted and, of course, what I’d already done.
He laughed and pressed a kiss to my temple. Scooped up the key and tugged me out of the room.
As Shane sorted the tab for the suite, I wandered into the small hotel gift shop opposite the reception desk. It was early and there was hardly anyone about. It seemed not having to check out had made everyone lazy.
I fingered a cashmere scarf with the hotel logo embroidered on it and checked the price on a gorgeous emerald-green sweater. I would never normally have considered such a vibrant color. But having worn my new red dress last night, it seemed more of a possibility.
I spotted a row of navy wellington boots in a variety of sizes. Glanced at my sneakers then out the lead-paned window at the drifts of snow sparkling in the sunlight. I couldn’t walk in the snow in sneakers, my feet would be wet through in no time. Come to think of it, neither could Shane.
Quickly, I slipped into the boots. They fit beautifully, the inside lined with fleece and the base padded.
“Hey, pretty lady,” Shane said, coming up behind me and winding a hand around my waist. “They look just right for wandering around the hotel grounds.”
I leaned into him and rested my hands on his forearms. It was wonderful the way our bodies were so comfortable with each other. “Yes, much better than those.” I nodded at my discarded sneakers. “I’ll treat us both to a pair since you paid for the room.”
He released me and searched out his size. “No, it’s fine, I’ll get them.”
“Let me.” I took the boots he’d chosen, glanced at the girl behind the till and lowered my voice. “Plus you bought the mountain of condoms.”
He touched the tip of his finger to the rise of my cheekbone. “Money well spent,” he whispered.
I gazed into his eyes. They were dark and heavy. I recognized the swirling depth they took on when he was thinking or speaking about sex. And to know he was thinking and talking about sex with me was such a turn-on it made my pulse rate soar and I’m sure caused my own eyes to sparkle with lust.
“Okay, you get the boots,” he said. “And I’ll get you that scarf you were looking at.”
I raised my brows.
“You think I took my eyes off you when I was at the desk? Not a chance. While we’re here, you’re mine, and I am going to savor every moment.”
While we’re here I’m his.
The words settled in my chest like a warm caress. I loved being Shane’s. I adored being here at The Fenchurch with him.
The thought of our time together ending was too painful to contemplate so I shoved it from my mind with barely a falter in my smile.
After donning boots and coats we headed outside. The Cotswolds had been transformed into a winter wonderland. Fields of snow covering shrubs and hedgerows surrounded the hotel. A few tall copses in the distance peeked out at a crystal blue sky and the cars in the parking lot were hardly visible.
Sucking in the sharp clear air, I squinted at the brightness and snuggled my chin into my new scarf. Shane linked his gloved fingers with mine and we headed along a semi-clear path toward the back of the hotel.
The fresh snow squeaked beneath my new boots and the cold nipped my cheeks.
“I haven’t seen this much snow in years,” Shane said.
“I know, it’s beautiful. In London it only stays white for a few hours and then it turns to gray slush.”
“I haven’t been to London since the summer. I went with a few mates on a stag weekend.”
“Was it good?”
“Yes, awesome.”
We rounded the corner of the hotel, our breath misting in front of us.
“Have you always lived in London?” he asked.
“Yes, I grew up in Muswell Hill but now I’m just off Portobello.”
“Nice.”
“Yes, it is.” I thought of my little flat. It was a bit old-fashioned. The carpet could do with replacing as could some of the clanging radiators. But it was home. It was my space in the world and I loved it.
“Perhaps I could call in next time I’m in the city.”
I stopped and turned to him. My heart rate picked up and my mind spun. Maybe tomorrow morning wasn’t the end of us after all.
He grinned and pulled me close. “Would I be pushing the boundaries of whatever this is we’re doing if I got your cell number?”
“Shane, I—”
His lips brushed mine. “I guess I’m not much good at one-night stands, and two-nights stands even worse.” His brows pulled low, his expression serious. “Ashley, I’m going to want to spend more time with you. I know it’s hard us living so far apart, but…” His voice trailed off.
“But maybe we could try,” I finished for him.
He grinned. “Yes, maybe we could try.” He stroked his gloved palm down my hair and cupped my cold cheek. “Because I haven’t felt like this for so long.”
I sucked in a breath. “And how do you feel?” I hardly dared ask for fear the words I hoped he would say wouldn’t be uttered.
“Comfortable and excited all at the same time.” He smoothed his other hand to my butt and squeezed me closer. “Completely fascinated by another person and feeling like I will never, ever get enough.”
My heart tripped over itself and I gasped as the steely length of his erection made contact with my hipbone even through our layers of clothing.
“Shit, and I’m so damn horny all the time. I suggested a walk because I thought you needed a break from bedroom action.” He pulled a face as if he was in real, physical pain and shifted his stance.
“I was doing just fine.”
“
I know, honey, but I didn’t want that to change and it would on a forty-eight hour sex marathon.” He glanced about and a naughty grin tugged at his mouth. “Although I could always drag you behind one of those trees and introduce you to al fresco sex if you want.”
I giggled and clung to the lapels of his jacket. The naughty suggestion was actually quite tempting—for a split second—then I thought of frostbite on my butt. “A bit cold for that, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, I guess.” His gaze captured mine and his face fell serious. “You have the most beautiful eyes.”
I blinked and looked away.
“Ashley.” He used the crook of his finger to turn me to face him again. “Don’t, I want to study them in this light.”
I stared up into his dark, heavy gaze as he looked into mine. It was as though we were really looking at each other. Honestly, nothing in between. With anyone else I would have turned, shy, but not with Shane. Shane was different. Already he knew me like no one else did. He was with me, had been inside me, my head, my books and my body. Shane had claimed more of me than anyone else ever had or would be able to again.
“Your eyes are such an unusual shade of green,” he murmured. “Like pine trees, but with little chocolate chips in them.”
I smiled. “And yours are such a dark brown that it’s hard to tell the difference between the pupil and iris. A bit like a puddle of treacle or a new road just covered with tarmac.” I looked at his long lashes, the type of thick curls most girls would give their right arm for.
He grinned then kissed me, gently, just dipping his tongue into my mouth, the bristles on his chin scraping my cool skin. I clung to him as a scary new emotion ballooned in my chest, threatening to steal my breath and weaken my legs. Surely I wasn’t falling in love with him. Not this quickly. No way.
“Hey, you two.”
We pulled apart, though Shane kept an arm tight around my waist. I turned to see Rachel and Jeremy heading our way hand in hand. They too had purchased wellington boots and were well wrapped against the bitter cold.
“Hi,” Shane said, his breath misting. “Bonus extra day, eh.”
“Yep, the weather couldn’t have timed it better for us. And half-price rooms too.” Rachel smiled and looked between us. “You two hit it off at the party then.”
“She put me under a spell,” Shane said, grinning down at me.
“I’m not surprised you fell for it, Shane. Ashley, you looked divine in that red dress last night, it really suited you.”
I wanted to say something to the tune of “oh, the dress wasn’t mine,” or “what, that old thing?” but I didn’t, instead I smiled and said, “Thanks.”
“Mmm, she did look divine, didn’t she,” Shane agreed, squeezing me a little closer.
“We’re going to walk to The Three Horseshoes, apparently it’s just across this field on a back lane,” Jeremy said, nodding over the glittering field of snow. “It says in the brochure they do a top rate cottage pie.”
“That and the thought of a log fire and a glass of merlot is just enough to make me battle snowdrifts.” Rachel grinned. “Why don’t you join us?”
Shane turned to me. “What do you reckon?”
“It sounds lovely,” I said. “By the time we walk there we will have built up our appetites again.”
He raised his brows, just a fraction, and I knew that if Rachel and Jeremy hadn’t been standing there he would have made a comment about appetites of a different kind. “That’s settled then,” he said. “Let’s head for The Three Horseshoes.”
It took forty minutes of stomping to reach the old stone public house and by the time we arrived I was hot beneath my layers of clothes. “This is so pretty,” I said, looking up. The thatched roof was practically hidden beneath a thick blanket of snow and a snake of gray smoke trailed upward from the chimney.
We stamped the snow from our boots in a small porch then ducked into the low-beamed bar area. The landlord greeted us and launched into tales of snow chaos as he poured our drinks. There were few other customers and we guessed most people had stayed indoors. We didn’t mind, it meant we didn’t have to fight for the best table—the one near the roaring log fire and the lavishly decorated Christmas tree.
Rachel sat opposite me and as the men went to the bar to order our food she leaned forward. “He’s had a really rough year, you know.”
“Shane?”
She nodded.
“He told me,” I said. “About the divorce.”
Rachel shook her head and glanced over at Shane. He was standing with his back to us and I couldn’t help but admire his tight butt and long, lean legs perfectly showcased in dark denim.
“Mandy was such a cow about everything—wanted the house, the car and all their savings. The woman has no integrity whatsoever, she’s such a bitch.”
I took a sip of my rich red wine.
“And of course it was all her fault, what with her carrying on with Jared. But Shane being Shane, he just wanted her gone, he didn’t care about the financial cost. It was over and he wanted his life and his pride back. I missed him terribly when he dashed off to Australia like that.”
I tipped my head for her to go on.
She reached forward and placed her hand on my forearm. “Oh no, nothing like that, we’re just friends, good friends. I missed having him in the office, making me laugh, sorting out all my day-to-day technology disasters, of which there are many.”
I smiled and she sat back and reached for her own drink. The flickering shadows of the fire danced across her pretty face and reflected in her glasses. Her expression became serious once more. “Just be careful with him, okay? He hasn’t dated since his divorce. He’s a soft soul and I’d hate to see him hurt again. I don’t know how well he’d bounce back.”
There was no way I would hurt Shane; in a few short hours he had become one of the most important people in my life.
“But one thing is for sure, Ashley, you’ve certainly brought a smile to his face and a twinkle to his eye. It’s great to see the old Shane again.”
Her words made me smile and I glanced over at him once more. He was laughing at something the barman was saying, his head tipped back and his hands shoved in his front pockets. If I’d made him feel good again and able to laugh, then he’d made me feel as though I’d landed in heaven. He’d allowed me to be the hot-blooded woman I was for the first time in my life. He was so much more than a one-night stand and thank goodness we were going to be seeing each other again, making a go of it between London and Huddersfield. Maybe soon I would even be able to call him my boyfriend.
The thought sent a thrilling tingle up my spine. Shane Galloway, my boyfriend. Whoever would have thought the office mouse would get so monumentally lucky?
The meal was fantastic and well worth the walk. The landlord made the cottage pie himself and served it still wearing his blue-and-white striped apron. It seemed none of his staff had turned up for work but it didn’t worry him since the pub was so quiet and he was a jack-of-all-trades.
The conversation between the four of us flowed easy and light. Rachel and Jeremy certainly seemed well matched and very comfortable with each other. Jeremy even went as far as spooning chunks of his chocolate torte into Rachel’s mouth.
It was cozy by the fire and after a few glasses of wine and sitting within the curve of Shane’s arm I began to feel my mood soften to one of utter contentment. I could stay here forever.
“We ought to get going,” Jeremy said, nodding out the window at the darkening sky. “It’s nearly the shortest day, the light will soon be gone and there’s no streetlamps around here to show us the way back.”
Shane sighed and stood. “Yep, I guess you’re right, although I have to say, this has been a wonderful afternoon.”
I nodded in agreement and stood. Shane reached for my coat and scarf and helped me on with them before shrugging into his own.
The trudge back was swifter than the journey to the pub. We were all conscious of gettin
g caught in the dark, but fortunately it wasn’t long before we spotted the welcoming golden lights of The Fenchurch in the distance.
We bid Rachel and Jeremy goodbye in the lobby—they had plans to go and listen to a pianist in the Champagne Lounge—and took the elevator to our suite.
As soon as the large brass doors of the elevator slid shut, Shane dragged me up against his body. “I got harder with every step we took on the way back,” he whispered onto my lips. “The thought of another night with you is driving me insane. I can’t believe I got so lucky.”
Wrapping my arms around his waist, I pulled him closer. He was right, he was hard. Very hard.
“You want to play a game?” I asked. All the way back a thought had been nagging away at me. Shane’s enjoyment of Stolen and Seduced had my mind racing with possibilities. There was something I needed to ask him while I had the courage of wine and felt so sublimely close to him.
“Only if it involves playing with you,” he said, grinning.
“It does.”
He cocked his head. “Go on.”
I glanced at the lift numbers and the small upward arrow flashing. Could I really suggest it?
“Honey, tell me.”
I swallowed and looked up into his face.
“You’ve got me curious,” he said.
I dragged in a deep breath. I wasn’t sure how he would take my suggestion but I hoped with all my heart it would appeal to him. “You know that book you read last night on my laptop?”
“Yep.”
“Well, it’s one of my favorites and I wondered…” I paused. Would he think I was weirdly kinky or worse, completely freaky?
His voice lowered and his eyelids dropped slightly. “And you wondered if I fancied a little role-play?” His tone held a note of disbelief but also interest, and he’d certainly hit the nail on the head as to what I was suggesting.
My gaze snapped to his. “Yes.”
“Oh, Ashley, I don’t know if I’m ever going to be the same again after meeting you.” He pulled me a little tighter. “You’re a dream come true.”