‘Good night,’ he replied through gritted teeth.
‘You didn’t need an excuse,’ she hissed as he brushed past her.
‘An excuse?’ He spun round and glared at her, their bodies merely inches apart. ‘What excuse?’
‘That we’d had a lot to drink. If you weren’t interested in me, you shouldn’t have teased your fingers up my body. And if you didn’t want to kiss me you could have simply moved away.’
His eyes opened wide and his brows shot up. ‘Didn’t want to kiss you? Are you joking? I’ve done nothing but want to kiss you since about two minutes after I saw you on the beach this morning. And as for not being interested in you, I thought I’d made it abundantly obvious that I’m interested. More than interested. I don’t think it could’ve been any clearer if I’d got Andrea Bocelli to serenade you from the rooftop of the Royal Albert Hall, accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.’
Eyes locked, they stared at one another like two opponents at a boxing match.
Kate couldn’t be sure if she had been the one to make the first move – and therefore, her third mistake – or if it had been Raff. Or perhaps they’d pulled each other close, simultaneously.
However it had happened, their bodies were suddenly entwined in a passionate, insanely hot kiss, their hands exploring one another as they tugged at each other’s clothes until they were both naked.
They tumbled onto the bed, their bodies melded together, their kisses even more intense, and when Raff slid inside her, they both emitted soft moans of delight.
Fifteen
Last night had been a mistake.
Kate should have known better.
Why had she been so foolish? So desperate for him? So out of control? So unashamedly wanton in her desire for him?
Why hadn’t she come to her senses sooner?
Why, after their urgent, desperate need for one another had finally been satiated, had she instigated a second love-making session, equally as enthusiastic and passionate as the first.
And why, when he had initiated that third, slower, softer, gentler hour or so exploring every inch of her, had she not stopped herself from revealing, vocally and physically, how much pleasure he was giving her?
Then, to have such an intense hunger this morning to do it all over again was as unforgivable as it was unexpected. And to act on that need, was nothing short of madness.
Kate hadn’t had a relationship for more than ten years. On top of that, she was trying to adapt to all the recent changes in her life. The last thing she needed was yet another complication.
Kate lived in Chelmsford; Raff lived in Oxford, although in a few months, he would be living in Bluewater Bay. Not that that move would make a material difference to the distance between them.
He was embarking on a new chapter in his life, in addition to continuing with his current career. All his time and attention would be needed on that.
She needed to prepare herself for what was becoming all too apparent; her beloved daughter, who had so recently moved out, would soon be living several hundred of miles away, in Meribel in France.
Having a long-distance relationship with her daughter was going to be tough enough; Kate didn’t need a long-distance relationship with Raff added into the mix.
True, she could see Raff when she came to visit Granny Viv, but that actually made things worse. She would have to split her time between the two, because she couldn’t visit one without the other.
And, although Raff hadn’t discussed his future living arrangements with her once he retired, he would be sharing the running of Rafferty and Hope’s Rescue Centre for Dogs with his parents, and, more than likely, sharing the farmhouse of what was formerly Old Farm.
Kate would be staying with her gran when she visited Bluewater Bay.
Neither home would be conducive to she and Raff having a relationship, especially not if last night and this morning were an indication of what that relationship might entail.
An unhelpful thought that only served to make her want to have sex with Raff yet again.
What. Was. Wrong. With. Her?
This was all so unlike her.
Raff wasn’t the first man to show an interest in her over the last ten years. There hadn’t been that many but there had been a few. Not once had she felt any interest in any of them. Not once had she considered having a fling.
