‘Nope. Pub accommodation has taken a big step up over the last few years. Nowadays, it’s luxury all the way.’
‘Sounds exciting.’
‘Sounds expensive,’ he said dryly and she watched as the fork disappeared into his mouth, realising too late that she was still staring when she shifted her gaze and met his eyes, which were watching her curiously.
Jenny cleared her throat and lowered her eyes. ‘I can see how it would fit in with the refurbishment though. People would expect the accommodation to be as sophisticated as the rest of the place.’
‘Exactly. Although that’s phase two. The first priority was always to get the bar and restaurant up and running.’
‘Phase one seems to be going well, then.’
‘It’s getting there,’ he said with a lightness Jenny suspected hid a note of concern. Running any business in this climate, she imagined, would be a worry for anyone, let alone starting up a new venture with as large a renovation as this one had had.
Putting her plate on the table, Jenny stood up and walked to the railing, taking in the clear night sky above. A few moments later, without hearing him move, she felt Nick standing behindher. It shouldn’t be a thing, but she swore she could feel the heat radiating like a damn furnace between their bodies, even though he hadn’t touched her. Her eyes fluttered shut at the first touch of his fingers against her skin as he softly traced them up and down her arms. Her body swayed backwards until she came into contact with his solid chest. Before she could stop herself, she turned.
His lips found hers and, just like the first few times, her body instantly reacted, drawn to him like an unspoken calling, as she returned his hungry kisses that suddenly grew deeper and more demanding, leaving them both breathing hard when Nick eventually broke away to look down at her with a smouldering gaze that sent a quiver of longing from her scalp to her toes.
‘We should take this inside,’ he murmured, and she simply nodded, unable to do anything more.
They stepped through the doors and walked down the hallway to a door with a brass doorknob that she suspected was as old as the building itself. Jenny took a moment to soak in her surroundings. The room was draped in a rosy warmth thrown off by the small leadlight lamp by the bedside. The ceiling was high, with antique mouldings around the edges, and the walls were panelled tongue and groove. This room, being on a corner, had two sets of French doors: one leading to the verandah where they’d just been and the other to the section that wrapped around the southern side of the building. The flooring was the same wide timber boards used in the hallway, covered with a round, bright blue rug under the wrought-iron bed that dominated the centre of the room.
Jenny watched as Nick sat on the edge of the mattress, unbuttoning his shirt and throwing it aside, before pulling her to him with gentle hands on her waist until she stood between his legs. Her hands automatically went to his shoulders, his smooth skin warm and muscular beneath her fingers.
Her gaze held his silently as he worked the hem of her top up over her arms and head with agonisingly slow movements, leaving her standing before him in the pretty new lacy bra she’d thrown into her shopping trolley on a whim last time she went to Hamwell. She saw his eyelids lower as he took his time surveying what he’d revealed.
His fingers went to the waistband of her jeans, unclasping the button and lowering the zipper so she could shimmy her way out of them. Thank goodness she’d decided to add the matching bottoms to the bra—she couldn’t remember the last time she’d purchased matching underwear, let alone remembered to wear each piece at the same time. Though, standing here before this man who seemed to be devouring her with his eyes, she’d never been so glad of a ridiculous impulse buy in her entire life.
Her eyes fluttered shut as his warm breath touched the swell of her cleavage and a delicious shiver ran up her spine. What was happening to her? How was she standing here, practically naked before a stranger, and not feeling the slightest bit embarrassed? This very situation had played through her mind on a loop ever since she’d started thinking about dating again. She had been positive she’d be mortified when it came to revealing her fifty-year-old body to a man for the first time. She’d only ever had sex with one man and every timeshe’d dared think about the possibility of meeting someone and doing …this, she could only imagine how awkward and uncomfortable it would be.
She swallowed a gasp as Nick’s lips moved across her skin, the sensation sending a shiver of desire through her.
His hands slid up her sides and reached around to unclasp her bra, letting it fall to the floor. His eyes feasted on her bare breasts and still she felt no urge to cover herself and cower away. Her breasts were no longer as pert as they’d been in her twenties. They’d been working boobs, sustaining babies the way nature had intended. Unfortunately, nature hadn’t returned them to their original condition afterwards and nowadays they were a little lower than they’d once been—although thankfully, still mostly rounded. She watched as Nick cupped them gently in his hands as though weighing them, then tipped her head back and released a ragged moan as she felt his warm breath upon them.
Her hands went to his head, her fingers running through his short hair, enticing a groan of encouragement from him that sparked one of her own in return.
Her internal babbling ceased and pure, unadulterated lust took over.
