by Swan, T L
He narrows his eyes at me, and then, as if silently reading my mind, he kisses my temple when he walks past me.
“Lovely to meet you, Elizabeth!” he calls out.
Elizabeth’s mouth drops open and she slaps me on the arm. “Oh, my fucking God,” she whispers. “Tell me everything.”
I put my finger to my lip in a hush signal and I wait for Spencer to disappear up the stairs.
“I’m confused. I thought you weren’t seeing him until tonight.”
“He was at the ball last night and we organised for him to sneak in here afterwards.”
Her mouth falls open. “He stayed here?”
I nod, with a huge smile.
Her eyes widen. “Did you…?”
I nod again.
She puts her hands over her mouth. “I can’t believe this. And he’s gorgeous.”
“I know,” I whisper. “I have to go to the pharmacy. Do you want to come with me, and we can maybe have a quick coffee?”
“But, he’s still upstairs.”
“I know, but if he leaves, he can’t get back in past the guards. He wants to stay tonight, too.”
She jumps up and down on the spot, grabbing my arms. “Holy fucking shit.”
I put my hands over my mouth and laugh at her reaction.
This conversation seems surreal.
“Just wait here,” I whisper. “I’ll go up and tell him we’re going out for half an hour.”
“Wait, why do you have to go to the pharmacy?”
“We’re out of condoms.”
She bursts out laughing, and I slap my hand over her mouth again. “Shut up.” I look around guiltily.
“How many times did you do it?”
“Three.”
Her eyes bulge again.
I giggle at her reaction. “I know. Look at me all sex kitten-like.” I flap my hands around in excitement. “Back in a minute.”
I head upstairs and find Spencer in the shower. I try really hard to calm my schoolgirl excitement before I see him.
“Hi.” I smile casually as I walk into the bathroom.
He turns towards me and smirks. “You locked me out on the balcony in the nude.”
I smile and lean in to kiss him. “I’m sorry.” I cup his face. “I didn’t know what to do.”
Spencer soaps up his groin. How in the hell is he so comfortable naked? Where does one get this confidence?
“I’ll tell you the first thing you can do,” he says.
“What’s that?”
“Tell Alexander fucking York to never come here again.” He puts his head under the water in annoyance and rinses his hair.
“He was just checking in on me.”
“I don’t want him coming around here.”
I smirk. “Are you jealous, Spence?”
“Yes.” He falls serious. “I am, actually, and I don’t like it.”
This is the first time I’ve seen him angry this way.
“Okay.” I smile softly and lean in to kiss him again. “No more home visits from Alexander. I’m going to go out to the pharmacy now. I won’t be long.”
He frowns. “How long is this going to go on for?” he asks.
“What?” I frown.
“This sneaking around?” Hmm, he really is getting a little shirty here. I haven’t seen this side of him before.
“Not long.” I run my hand down his chest and to his groin. I take him in my hand like he showed me to. “Let’s just have today, okay?” I give him a slow stroke to sweeten the deal. “I want you to myself for a little while longer, that’s all.”
His eyes flicker with arousal. “I’ll be on my back in your bed waiting for you.” He grabs my behind with both hands and grinds me against his dick. His tongue dances through my open lips.
Oh, hell, the man can kiss.
“Okay.” I smile. “I’ll be quick.” I make my way out of the bathroom, turning back to him at the last moment. “What do I buy again?’
He smirks. “A bottle of lubricant and a few boxes of condoms.” He turns the shower off. “Take my card.”
“I think I’m good for it.”
He smiles and wraps a towel around his waist.
I hesitate for a moment, knowing this is probably a stupid question. “Are all condoms the same?”
His face softens, and he steps forward, wrapping me in his arms. “Do you have any idea how beautiful you are to me?”
I smile up at him. “Me not knowing anything about condoms is beautiful to you?”
“It is.” He kisses me. “And I need the large ones.”
I widen my eyes. “I knew it.”
He turns me around and slaps me on the behind. “Be quick.”
* * *
“So?” Beth smiles against her coffee cup. “Tell me everything.”
I exhale heavily and sip my coffee. “Oh, Beth.” I frown. “He’s beautiful.”
“I can see that.”
“Was it good? The sex, I mean.”
I wince a little. “Well, the first time…” I pause as I try to articulate my thoughts. “Honestly, it was kind of awkward.”
Her face falls.
“Not awkward—that’s the wrong word. He helped me through it. More like limped me through it, actually.”
“He didn’t come?” She gasps, horrified.
I glance around to the other people in the coffee shop and to the front door where Wyatt and Anthony are standing out on the street. “He came, but I know he was being super careful about what he said, and he did because he knew I was so nervous.”
“You told him it was your first time?” She frowns.
“No. God, no. He thinks I did it once before, but my inexperience was obvious. I hope I fooled him anyway.
“He was being sweet, gentle, making jokes and trying so hard to make me feel at ease.”
She smiles and takes my hand over the table. “Lottie, I’m so glad you waited for someone who actually took the time to read your body language.”
“Me, too.” I smile. “But I know what he’s like, and... I’m just not trying to let myself get inside my own head, you know.”
“What do you mean?”
“When we were in bed, I didn’t think about losing my virginity or him or… anything, really. I was just trying to get through it. It fucking hurt.” I widen my eyes. “A lot.”
“It must have. He isn’t packing heat, he’s packing the whole fucking oven.”
I giggle. “And you saw the shrivelled-up version.”
She laughs.
“The aroused version is very angry, let me tell you.”
“Imagine walking around with a thing of that size in your pants. It must get in your way.”
“I know, right?”
“Okay… so, the first time was just okay.”
I smile. “It was good for me, but I know he wasn’t being himself. I still think he liked it.”
“Ah.” She nods. “What about the other two occasions?’
“This morning.” I smile, remembering it all. “But afterwards there was this feeling of… I can’t explain it. The way he was holding me close. It was really nice. And then the last time was different again.”
“How so?”
“He was intense, and the way he kissed me.” I fake a shiver. “God, it’s just good, that’s all I know. It gets better each time we do it. I’m trying to play it cool, though. I’m not asking for any more dates, I’m just going to see where it goes,” I tell her.
“Good.”
“It’s one thing to be a virgin, but to be a clingy virgin is the worst.”
“I agree. But you’ve done it now, and whether this turns out to last or not is irrelevant really. He was sweet and gentle. He put your needs before his.”
I smile. “He really did. You should have heard the goofy jokes he was making to try and take my anxiety away from me.”
“Like what?”
“He spilled my champagne and then took his shirt off to wipe it up. He eventually c
onfessed that it was a strategic move on his part.”
She smiles as she listens.
“Then we were joking around about the sharp crystals on my dress and he was talking about Finding Nemo to be all cute. Then told me he was in the “Guinness Book of Records” for having the smallest dick.”
She laughs. “We both know that’s a lie.”
“We do.”
Her face falls. “Just be careful, Lottie. You know that it may not work out, right?”
“I know that.”
“And it’s okay if it doesn’t,” she reminds me with a smile.
I nod. “At this point, Spencer is just a friend who helped me through a very awkward situation in a really sweet way.”
“That’s true.”
“And if we keep being friends for a while, that’s great. If not, that’s okay, too.”
She grins, looking proud. “Look at you being all grown up and sensible. I’m so happy you are seeing this for what it is. I was so worried you were going to fall madly in love with the first guy you slept with.” She sips her coffee.
“Don’t be stupid.” I fake a smile, and from somewhere deep inside I hear a little voice whispering, Too late.
* * *
There’s a crime show of some sort on the television. Someone has just been murdered but the body hasn’t been found, although they are searching high and low for it.
“It was obviously the guy from the apartment block,” Spencer says.
I smirk. “It wasn’t him; he had an alibi.”
“I’m telling you, it was him.” He looks up at me. “I have a sixth sense about these things. I should have been a cop.”
I kiss his forehead. “You poor, deluded man. You would have made a terrible cop because it wasn’t the guy from the apartment block.”
“Just wait and see, Prescott. Just wait and see.”
It’s late at night and neither of us want to go to sleep. That will mean that our date is over. Spencer is well and truly focused on solving this crime, but my focus is on the man next to me who has his head on my chest.
I’m in my nightdress and, of course, Spencer is naked. We have fucked ourselves into some kind of sated bliss.
We are lying here just enjoying the show, and each other. Every now and then he kisses my breast and my fingers run aimlessly through his hair.
This physical touch thing is so real.
I’ve never had it, and now that I do, I don’t want to let it go.
“You know on our first date you told me you had an idea about what you wanted to do with your law degree…”
“Yes.” I play with his hair, wondering where this is going.
He pulls back to look at me. “What was your idea?”
I sigh. “I had this crazy idea of opening a law firm that represented charities for free.”
“What do you mean?”
“Charities need contracts drawn up and legalities looked over, but the fees come out of the money they raise. It can run into the thousands. I had this idea that I could open a practice and represent charities without charging them a penny.”
“Charlotte, that’s a great idea.”
“And a pipe-dream.”
He frowns and waits for me to explain.
“I have no idea how to run a company. I wouldn’t even know where to start.”
“Well, you just decide you’re going to do it.”
I smile. “If only it were that easy.”
“It is that easy, Charlotte. You just decide you’re going to do something and you find a way to make it happen.”
I stare at him for a moment. “Is that what you did? Decide you were going to make it happen and it just miraculously happened?”
“No. I worked hard and educated myself on what I had to do to make it happen. Then I worked fucking harder and harder. You just need to take a chance and back yourself. If you don’t believe in you nobody will.”
I run my fingers through his hair. “Are you going to turn into my life coach now, Spencer Jones?”
“No.” He bites my nipple through my nightdress. “I’m your sex coach. I can’t be everything to you.”
My eyes hold his. “Who said you can’t be everything to me,” I whisper.
The air tightens around us.
That sounded soppy and needy. Why did I have to say that?
“And besides, you would be a terrible coach of anything besides sex because the guy in the apartment didn’t do it,” I add to lighten the mood.
He rolls his eyes. “Good grief, you really have no idea what you’re on about. You’re a terrible fake cop. Perhaps I should take over your whole life.” He goes back to watching the show.
I smirk as I watch the television. Life coach, sex coach… love coach. What else could I possibly need?
Spencer Jones could be my everything. I know he could.
* * *
Large arms circle me from behind, and Spencer’s big, dreamy lips kiss the side of my face.
“Good morning, angel,” he whispers sleepily.
I smile and turn my face to kiss him softly. “Morning, Spence.”
Our naked bodies are a tangled mess.
It’s just after 5:00 a.m., and Spencer’s alarm has woken us up. He has to go before my guards get up.
“Maybe we could just run away together instead.” He sighs with his eyes still closed.
I giggle. “That would be something, wouldn’t it?”
He rolls me over so that half of my body is over his. I snuggle into his chest and he kisses my forehead. “Are you sore?”
“Yes.” I smirk. “Who knew that would be a question you would have to ask me so often?”
“Hmm.” He sighs. “I’m not going to get my wakeup sex today then, am I?”
Should I just do it anyway? I want him to leave satisfied.
Stop it!
This isn’t all about him. I need to pull myself out of this clingy mood. I get up and go to the bathroom to break the tension. When I come back, Spencer is still on his back in bed. His honey-blond hair is messed up, and his broad, naked chest is on display with the white blanket pooled over his waist.
“You probably should get going,” I say quietly.
He nods.
Our eyes are locked, and it’s as if he is waiting for me to say something.
I go to the wardrobe and take out his shirt. “I washed this for you yesterday.”
“Thanks.”
After being in his arms all weekend, the thought of him going home feels horrible.
I’m not sure what to do. What do you say in this situation?
As if sensing my turmoil, he holds his arms out for me. “Come here, baby.”
I sit on the bed beside him and he pulls me close into an embrace. I scrunch my eyes closed up against his strong neck.
I don’t want him to go. I’m just getting the hang of all this.
I can be better. I know I could have been better in bed.
Stop it!
I pull out of his grip and stand. “I have to shower.” I bend to kiss him, and then I walk into the bathroom and turn the shower on. My heart is beating hard in my chest. I know this may be the last time I see him, but I’m not asking the question.
I just want him to go so I don’t have to wait for him to ask about seeing me again. This is like slow torture.
I want it over with.
I take a long shower. When I eventually walk back into the bedroom, I find him standing next to the freshly made bed wearing his black dinner suit. My heart free-falls at the sight of him.
“My word, you do look handsome in that suit, Mr Spencer.” I smile softly.
He takes me into his arms and kisses me. “Can I see you again?” he whispers.
I nod and smile against his lips.
And just like that, the day is saved.
“I’ll call you tonight, okay?”
“Okay.”
He studies my face and runs his finger down my cheek and over my bottom lip.
/> “You are one beautiful woman, Charlotte Prescott.”
I smile, feeling emotional.
“I’ll talk to you later?”
I nod, unable to talk because of the lump in my throat.
With one last lingering kiss, he finally pulls away and walks down the stairs. I hear the front door click shut when he leaves.
I flop onto the bed and smile goofily at the ceiling, running my fingertips over my lips to get closer to his touch.
Spencer
I walk into the restaurant and see my two best friends sitting at our usual table.
Breakfast time—our Monday ritual.
“Hey, Spence,” Masters greets me.
“Hey,” Seb mutters, studying his phone.
I take a seat and smile smugly.
They both look up and watch me for a moment. They frown together, and then exchange looks.
“What’s wrong with you?” Seb asks cautiously. “You’re being creepy.”
“Ask me where I’ve been all weekend.”
Masters rolls his eyes. “Where have you been all weekend, Spencer?”
“With Charlotte.”
They both sit up, suddenly interested. “What?” Seb frowns.
“I went back there on Saturday night and snuck in.”
Masters frowns. “Why, you old dog.”
“And?” Seb prompts me.
“And she is the most beautiful fucking woman I’ve ever been with.”
“Did you have sex?” Masters asks.
I nod, trying my best to act casual. “Uh-huh.”
“And?”
I lay my napkin over my lap. “And that’s it.” I put my hand up for coffee.
They exchange another look before glaring back at me. “What do you mean, that’s it?” Seb asks.
“I mean, I’m not giving you the details.”
Masters grunts. “We always get blow-by-blow accounts of your sex life.”
“Yes.” Seb bites into his toast. “Don’t you know we’re living vicariously through you.”
“Not with this one.” I smile as the waitress fills my coffee cup. “Thank you.”
“So, was the sex…?” Seb’s voice trails off.
“The sex was…” I inhale dreamily. I get a vision of how nervous she was when we were walking to the bedroom for first time. She was literally shaking. The memory makes me smile softly.