She stiffens for a second, then relaxes into me, and I bury my nose in her silky curls. She’s not wearing a hat. No wonder she’s freezing.
We stay like that for a moment, and then her bare hand creeps up and closes over mine. She pauses before entwining her fingers with mine and squeezing. Her hand is so cold. I curl mine up to squeeze her fingers and standthere reverently. To have this woman in my arms, her body flush against mine, is an almost spiritual experience. Especially with this timeless carol pouring forth around us.
She’s brushing her thumb over my skin. I lift my nose out of her fragrant hair and tilt my head to the side so I can put my lips to her ear. I’m trembling with need.
‘Saoirse.’
What I’m asking her for, I don’t know, but the sound of her name makes her jolt, and she slowly, slowly turns, first her head and then her body, to face me.
As she lifts her face to mine, I stare into those huge green eyes for just a moment. The hunger is more palpable in them now, even in this dim light.
I bend my head and kiss her.
Her lips are even softer than in my many, many fantasies of how they’d feel, and when she opens her mouth for me, it’s blessedly warm. She tastes of mulled wine, and of the spicedpfeffernüssecookies she and Bea have been gorging on. She winds her tongue around mine and her hands around my neck, pulling me further down towards her. And when I ramp up the intensity of the kiss, the vibrations of the moan she makes in her throat echo through me.
Relief courses through me. Kissing her is the release I’ve needed after weeks of holding off, exerting self-control, not allowing myself to act.
I’ve barely allowed myself to think.
Now, I cup her face in my hand and run my thumb along the smooth curve of her jaw as we test, and taste, and explore. As we drink each other up. My thoughts are muddied by the smell and taste of her, the deliciousness of her face pressed to mine and those pliable lips bending under the pressure of mine.
I relinquish the kiss to draw back and assess her reaction.Her eyes are glazed, she’s trying to catch her breath, and her lips are swollen and puffy. She is perfection.
‘You are so beautiful.’ I trace my fingers down the side of her face. ‘So beautiful, I can’t even tell you.’
Her face lights up in a smile so fucking fantastic that I let rip and grin back at her, shaking my head, loving this moment.
‘Your dimples!’ She puts a finger up and gently twists it against one of my dimples. ‘I have a mild obsession with these.’
‘Mild, eh?’ I bend and brush her mouth with mine. ‘We’ll have to work on that.’
When I pull back, she’s staring at me in a way that goes beyond gratifying to being a giant ego boost. Just then, the choir launches into a peppy arrangement ofGod Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.She cranes her head to see behind her.
‘Here.’ I put my hands on her shoulder and gently turn her around. ‘We can stand like this.’
I gather her hair and carefully drape it over one shoulder, bending my head to access her delectable white neck. I nuzzle it with my nose. Breathe her in. Edge my arm around the front of her enormous coat and unfasten a button so I can slip a hand in through the opening.
My fingers find silk. Bingo. I splay them over her stomach, stroking lightly back and forth over the slippery fabric.
She arches into my touch and pushes her arse back against me. Good grief. I’m getting hard. Thankfully, her coat is far too thick a buffer for her to feel it.
Hopefully.
‘Miles.’ She twists her head, and I drop an open-mouthed kiss on her lips.
Drag my mouth to her ear.
Tell her the truth.
‘Just wait till I fucking get you home.’
Her stomach convulses against my hand. I massage harder.The silk is unbelievably sensual under my fingers, but it’s a barrier I could do without.
She slips her hand inside my coat, on top of mine. Entwines her fingers with mine again. And guides my hand higher, so I can just graze the luscious swell that is the underside of her breast. Now it’s my turn to shudder.
‘I haven’t stopped thinking about your beautiful tits since puke-gate,’ I whisper in her ear, and she laughs, but I’m deadly serious. I brush a thumb over her nipple and feel it harden into a tight bud under that silk. A few blunt but well-meant comments from Astrid and Jack, and I’ve taken the leap.
I’m fucking unleashed.
