“Wine okay?” he asked, and Lee nodded. He disappeared through a different door than they had walked in and returned with a bottle of wine and two glasses. “Are you starving? I’m afraid I’ve not planned anything but I’m sure I’ve got something I can knock together.”
“I’m all right for now, thanks,” Lee said, feeling a little more overwhelmed than she’d expected by the change in setting from public to private and so much more intimate.
James sat next to her on the sofa - another change from being over a table from her - and poured them both generous glasses of wine.
“So,” he said, leaning back against the arm and regarding Lee. “Can I ask another question?”
“One more won’t hurt, I guess.” Lee grabbed her glass of wine and tried to settle back a little into the cushions.
“Lee… it’s an unusual female name. Is there any story there? Is it short for something?”
Lee sighed, and closed her eyes for a second. “You really want to know?”
“I wouldn’t have asked otherwise!”
“Promise you won’t laugh?”
“I’ll try very hard not to.”
“My mother named me Shirley. I hate it, I feel about 102 - so I’ve always shorted it to Lee. Only my mum still calls me Shirley.”
She risked a sideways glance at James and saw that, while he was trying to cover a chuckle, he wasn’t outright laughing.
“It could be worse. At least it does shorten! And Lee suits you. Honest.”
“Hmmm. Shirley and Elizabeth, she called us - child cruelty, I tell you. Now James, that’s a nice, normal name that everyone can spell and doesn’t sound like it belongs to your great aunt.”
“I should hope not! Although nice and normal sounds suspiciously like a euphemism for boring.”
“I’m sure you’re not boring,” Lee said, and as their eyes met she swallowed at the intensity of his gaze. Heat pooled within her and she found she had forgotten what - if anything - she was going to say next.
Her gaze dropped to his lips, hovering inches above the wine glass, slightly damp from his drink.
“And you’re nothing like my great aunt,” James said with a chuckle. He placed his glass down on the table and Lee followed suit, subconsciously licking her lips. She could feel her body leaning towards his, and his was following like a magnet. James placed his hand on the side of her head, letting his fingers intertwine with her blonde locks for a moment, saying nothing, moving nothing but his fingers. Lee eyes fluttered closed as she drank in the sensations - the warmth of the real fireplace and the tingling in her mind that was not just from the wine, but from his proximity; she was drunk on him.
She felt, rather than saw, him move in closer, and she expected to feel his lips on hers any second; when she didn’t, her eyes flicked open and she saw him, lips hovering millimetres in front of hers, and the corners were turned up in a grin.
“What?” Lee asked, shocked a little at how husky her voice sounded. She felt almost desperate to feel his lips on hers again; every inch of her burned sitting this close to him without touching him - except for that hand resting against her head.
“You’re beautiful,” he said, without any reservations, and if she weren’t swimming in those bright blue eyes, Lee would have dipped her head in embarrassment at his compliment. “And last week I thought I would never get the chance to kiss you - so I’m just enjoying the moment.”
Lee was speechless. She wasn’t sure anyone had ever said anything so heartfelt, so romantic to her. She couldn’t ruminate on it for long, however, because James pressed his lips to her neck, her earlobe, the soft skin behind her ear, her collarbone… everywhere but her lips. She couldn’t control the groan that escaped her lips, couldn’t focus on anything but him, him, him.
Her arms snaked around his neck, pulling him closer and trying to get his lips back to hers - and when they did she felt like she was losing all control, all reason, all thought. His arms moved down, down, under her legs to pull her roughly onto his lap, their lips never parting. As their tongues danced together, their bodies moved closer, and Lee found herself fumbling with the buttons on his shirt, keen to feel his warm skin beneath her hands.
His hands moved back to her hair, more roughly this time, both sides, combing through it and trying to pull her ever closer. Lee found herself twisting without really realising it, her legs wrapped round James’ waist, her hands pressed to his taut muscles as his shirt flapped open between them.
And then James stood, his hands beneath her thighs, her legs still round his waist, and lay Lee down on the fluffy rug beside the fireplace. Their lips apart and breath ragged, Lee looked up at James who was hovering a little above her. He was close enough that she could feel the heat radiating from him, she could smell his aftershave, she could feel his breath on her cheek.
Lee could admire his muscles from this angle, as he held himself above her; he obviously kept himself in good shape (well, she guessed for his job he needed to) and those muscles were flexed before her.
“Is this going too fast?” James asked in a murmur as he kissed behind her ear.
“No…” Lee said, turning her head to kiss his lips. “No, I want this.” And she did; she put all thoughts aside of betrayal, of Nathan, of whether this would lead to future happiness or heartbreak, and lived in the moment. She knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that in this moment she wanted him. Every part of him.
“So do I.”
***
Lee lay lazily in James’ arms in front of the fireplace, a nearby throw pulled over the top of them to keep out the night chill and protect a little modesty - although Lee wasn’t sure it was so necessary now. Beneath the cover, they were both completely naked; Lee’s head resting on James’ muscled chest, which was covered in a light dusting of fair hair. She could feel his heart beating beneath her ear, as both of their breathing slowly began to return to its normal tempo. Neither could wipe the grins off their faces, no matter how tired they were, and for a while neither spoke, enjoying the warmth and ambiance of the firelight and basking in the afterglow of their lust for one another. James’ fingertips stroked rhythmically up and down Lee’s bare arm, and although the fire that had burned through her had cooled down to embers for now, that simple contact felt as though it could slowly reignite it all over again.
“I’m loving this moment in time,” James admitted, pressing his lips into the mess of her hair as he spoke.
“Me too,” Lee said, and she knew the words were honest. In the short period she’d known him, Lee thought she’d only ever been honest with James - sometimes too honest, but she had never held back the truth. The buzz of thoughts that had been bombarding her head for months seemed to calm in this moment; she thought of nothing but his smooth, solid body beneath her, the rhythm of his breathing and the warmth of the fire.
And then her stomach rumbled.
Her hand dropped to it in embarrassment, but James just laughed. “I did promise you dinner…” he said with a grin.
“Lured me here under false pretences,” Lee said, leaning her cheek against his shoulder. “And there was no police uniform in sight…”
“I can wear it next time, if you like!” Lee felt a warm, fuzzy feeling in her stomach at the thought of a ‘next time’. Months and months without regular sex with Nathan and yet here and now she felt like her whole body ached for James; like there was something within her that only he could satisfy. In her logical mind, she knew that this was just the beginning of something new - as Gina had said, those first kisses, the potential awkwardness, the rush every time you touched… that was all part of the fun and excitement of a new relationship. But a voice in the back of Lee’s head wondered if there was anything more to it; if there was something particularly explosive in the chemistry between her and James.
Her mind’s ramblings were interrupted by James’ voice. “Clearly you can’t focus when you’re hungry. I’ll go put something on - it’s gone nine already!” He stood, kindly
leaving Lee the cover but exposing himself completely to her and the elements. He didn’t seem overly concerned, grabbing his boxers from where they had ended up a metre away on the floor and quickly pulling on his trousers. He left the top off, leaving Lee to admire the sculpted muscles of his abdomen - surreptitiously, of course. In a very thoughtful gesture, he passed Lee her underwear before leaving the room, and she was grateful to be able to slip it back on without him watching. She didn’t feel quite as comfortable in her naked skin as he clearly did - despite him murmuring admirations for it for the last hour or so.
Once she was wearing the matching black pants and bra again she had a flash of an idea, and decided to act upon it before her natural reticence overcame her. This bravery she felt in James’ presence could be a dangerous thing…
He walked back in five minutes later, still bare chested despite the November chill, and Lee was sure she saw his mouth drop open slightly when he saw her.
Instead of dressing fully, she had taken his plum coloured shirt and put it on over her black underwear, buttoning it up part way but leaving two or three buttons open at the top, so her cleavage was quite visible. Added to the fact that it wasn’t long enough to completely cover her bum… well, she felt his silence was the effect she had been hoping for, and grinned.
“You’ll be lucky if I manage to make dinner at all this week, let alone tonight if you sit there in my shirt looking like that…”
Lee grinned and tried to look innocent. “I don’t know what you mean, officer.”
The words sent a slight jolt of want through both of them.
As it happened, they did manage to get some dinner - but only because, as they found themselves laying down on their sofa with their lips pressed together, James’ stomach rumbled too. It seemed like it was best to put that on the back burner for long enough to eat dinner.
James had made a simple pasta dish, and Lee didn’t know if he was an amazing cook or if she were just starving, but it was the best dish she’d ever eaten. They sat at a breakfast bar in the middle of a stone-walled kitchen, kept warm by an old fashioned looking Aga.
“I love this place,” Lee said, looking around the kitchen while they ate. “It seems so homey, everywhere you look.”
“Thanks. I love it too. It was my gran’s - I have to admit that I haven’t changed an awful lot from how she had it. Bought slightly less floral bedding, added a pot plant - but the essence of the place is still the same.”
Lee remembered him talking about living with his gran for a while, back before he made the decision to become a police officer. “Did you live here with her?”
He nodded, a slightly sad smile on his lips. “Yes, until I went to uni - and then she died while I was there, although I got to come back in time, thank god.”
“I’m sorry,” she said, knowing the pain of a losing a grandparent in a way that she knew not everyone understood. To some they were a distant relative wheeled out at Christmases and birthdays. To Lee - and it seemed to James, too - they had been an integral part of her life.
“Thanks. She left me this place - knew I loved it. I love the memories here, as well as the building.”
“What a great legacy,” Lee said.
“As is your café, to your gran.” She was touched that he had listened to those intimate details.
They were quiet for a few moments, enjoying their pasta and wine in a companionable silence. The clock ticked away above them and Lee was shocked when she noticed it was almost ten o’clock.
“What will you do for Christmas?” James asked casually, and Lee thought it might have been the first time in her adult life that she didn’t have concrete plans for her favourite holiday.
“Probably just stay in, spend some time with Gina before she goes to her family, drink a bottle of wine and watch Christmas films!” she said. “I’m not in the mood to spend it with my family, all those reminders of a past I want to forget. I’m sure they won’t mind too much.” She wasn’t sure at all, in fact, but she knew she couldn’t go to her mum’s house where her and Nathan’s wedding photos were proudly displayed, where she had spent so many Christmases with mum, Beth and Nathan. It was too painful, too raw; maybe next year it wouldn’t be.
“I get that. I don’t like to think of you on your own though…”
“I’ll be fine. What do you do Christmas day then?” she asked, trying to take the attention off her Christmas which did, even to her ears, sound a bit like a pity party. Belatedly, she realised he might take it as a hint for an invite, which it most definitely was not - Christmas day with someone did not constitute ‘no commitment’ and ‘taking things slow’ by any means. But it was too late to take it back.
“For the last couple of years I’ve had the whole family round here,” James said. “I worked the year after gran died, and got called in the year after, but we’ve done two Christmases here. They all say this place has the most Christmas spirit, not to mention the most room - and since I’m the one who enjoys this time of year the most, I host.”
“Who’s all the family?” Lee asked, always intrigued by big families since she herself had come from such a compact one.
“Mum, dad, brother, sister and two sister-in-laws - my brother’s wife and my sister’s wife.”
“Sounds busy. And you cook for them all?” She was thinking, however inappropriately, back to Nathan; she couldn’t imagine him ever cooking Christmas dinner, let alone for the whole family. That was why their diet had consisted so often of takeaways…
“I try my best!” he said with a laugh. “I’m no master chef but I do okay,” he said. “Mum helps out,” he added with a fond grin.
They finished dinner and James declined Lee’s offer to wash up, insisting it could wait ‘til morning. Lee glanced at the clock; already ten thirty five.
“I should get going,” Lee said; “I’ve got an early start.”
James looked disappointed. They were stood opposite one another, James a little taller than Lee despite her height. He’d thrown a t-shirt on to ward off the cold; she was still dressed in only her underwear and his shirt, and was beginning to shiver a little.
“Stay,” James said, reaching out and taking her hand. “I’d really like you to stay the night.”
“James…” she said, with more longing in her voice than she had intended. “We said something casual… no commitment. I feel like staying is mixing all those signals, crossing all those wires…”
“It’s not. Lee, I know you can’t commit right now. I know I’m likely to end up with a broken heart at the end of all this - no, don’t look shocked, I want you to know that I’m very much hoping you’ll eventually change your mind and want something more serious. But right now you can’t, and that’s fine. And if you never do, I promise I won’t hold it against you. But it’s late…” He took a step closer. “And it’s cold…” Another step, their chests were touching and Lee found she had to tilt her neck to meet those piercing blue eyes. “And I want you.”
Those words… those words were enough to make her throw caution to the wind, to ignore all the barriers she had tried to put in place around this handsome man and press her lips furiously against his.
“Is that a yes?”
“I don’t have a toothbrush…”
“I’ve got a spare.”
“I don’t have pyjamas…”
“You won’t need them…”
Lee grinned naughtily. “Okay. Okay…”
James cheered and lifted her off her feet; she giggled, feeling amazingly free and easy as she wrapped her legs around his waist.
“I better find my police hat…” he said, and Lee threw her head back in laughter.
***
An hour later, with James softly snoring next to her under his dark blue duvet cover, Lee reached out of the bed to find her phone. She wasn’t surprised to see two texts from Gina.
Hope things are going well - I expect details! G xxx
Where are you, dirty stop out?! Let me know y
ou’re okay. I’ll open up tomorrow - come in whenever you’re ready.
Lee grinned in the darkness at that; it was exactly what she had been hoping for. She quickly fired off a text to Gina before James’ hand reached out and pulled her back under the covers, wrapping his body around hers until her naked back was pressed to his naked chest, and his arm was wrapped around her waist. Lee let her eyes flutter closed as she relaxed into him, letting his deep breaths lull her to sleep.
A mile or so away, Gina grinned sleepily at the message she received.
Thanks, I owe you one! Won’t be back tonight I’m afraid ;) But I’m fine! xxx
Chapter 15
The South West Series Box Set Page 12