I bit my lip, very conscious of how close Nick was to me right now. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
He sighed. “I know it sounds crazy, but when Mum disappeared, I convinced myself that she’d gone into a novel deliberately, abandoning me for a fictional world. I was so angry and hurt that I vowed this would be the end of my family’s magic and I’d never talk about it again. So when you came back into the shop asking questions about Mum’s copy ofPride and Prejudice, I was a proud arse and prioritized hiding my family’s secret over finding out if you needed help. But that was a really stupid thing to do, and I’m sorry.”
“Well, if we’re talking about stupid things, I should have told you straightaway that Darcy had appeared,” I said.
“I don’t blame you for not telling me. After all, I hadn’t exactly hidden my hatred of that man.”
“No, but it was more than that,” I said. “I was so furious after you insulted romance novels that I let that anger cloud my feelings about you, to the point I refused to be honest with you and ask for your help. And by doing that, I didn’t just keep Darcy away from the people he loved, but my actions led to the book being put in such jeopardy.”
Nick gave a sly smile. “A mixture of our pride and prejudice, then, hey? That sounds familiar.”
It was such a ridiculous statement, given the circumstances, that I burst into laughter. And then, possibly because of my severe sleep deprivation, or the fact we might both be about to die inside a novel, I found I couldn’t stop laughing. This made Nick giggle, too, and before I knew it, we were both bent over double, our bodies shaking with laughter.
I finally managed to catch my breath enough to sit back up, and when I did, I found Nick’s face was only inches from mine. We both stopped laughing, but neither of us moved. For several long, electric seconds, we stared at each other, and then Nick Baskerville leaned forward and kissed me.
I’ve had a few kisses in my time. Not a huge amount—I was a late starter in that department—but I’d snogged some randoms at university and had a handful of awkward one-night stands before I met Crispin. And they’d all been fine; some of them had even been quite good. But this kiss. Oh my God,this kiss…
It started slowly, just like I’d imagined last night when I fantasized about kissing Nick. His lips grazed mine, barely touching them; then he paused and pulled back slightly, as if asking for permission. In response,I lifted my hands up and ran them through his thick, tousled hair. I heard Nick give a small sigh, and then his lips were back on mine, still soft but more insistent this time. One of his hands slid around my back, grasping my T-shirt, and then I was the one to gasp, my insides melting like one of those chocolate lava cakes as I felt his body press against mine. I had a sudden, powerful urge to slip my hands under his shirt and touch his skin, but instead I focused on his mouth: on the sweet, slightly minty taste of him; on his tongue, slowly teasing my own; and his teeth, gently biting my bottom lip in a way that made me go physically weak.
I had no idea how long the kiss went on for; it might have been ten seconds, it might have been ten minutes. All I knew was that when Nick finally pulled back, his body untangling from mine as he stood up, every cell inside me screamed to have him back.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I shouldn’t have… You need to write…”
I paused, my heart hammering against my chest as if I’d just run a marathon. Nick was right, we probably shouldn’t do this here in a house full of strangers, with the clock ticking down to our impending doom. But also, here was a gorgeous, wonderful man who had put his own life at risk to come and help me, and if I couldn’t get us out of here, and the world ofPride and Prejudicedisappeared, then this might be our last few hours together. And so I stood up, too, grabbed the collar of his shirt with both hands, and kissed him again.
This time, there was nothing soft or gentle about it. One of Nick’s hands twisted into my hair, tugging it slightly to angle my head back so he could kiss me deeper. I let out a small moan of pleasure and sank my fingers into his shoulders, and this seemed to do something to Nick, as suddenly his arms were wrapped around me and we were staggering backward, our bodies locked together as we crashed into the edge of thebed, tumbling over. Nick braced his arms as he landed on top of me, and then his lips were on my neck, covering it in delicious licks, kisses, and bites.
“Jesus, Zoe, you have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do this,” he said between kisses.
“Really?” I whispered as his mouth found a spot that sent a wave of pleasure through my body.
“Fuck yes. I’ve wanted to kiss you since the first time you walked into Baskerville Books in that see-through dress and told me that if I hadn’t heard of Jane Austen, then you were going to punch me.”
I laughed, my fingers in his hair again as his lips moved down to my collarbone.
“I’m sorry about that,” I gasped. “You just made me kind of mad.”
“You made me mad too,” Nick said. “You’ve quite literally driven me insane since the moment we met.”
His hand slipped under my T-shirt, tracing my ribs until he brushed against the underside of my bra, and I moaned. I felt Nick smile against my neck as he pushed the fabric aside and his fingers found my nipple. I held my breath as they traced small, slow circles, his touch burning my skin. His face was just inches above mine, and despite the heat throbbing through me, I tried to drink in every detail of Nick in this moment: the strong curve of his jaw, his hair disheveled, and his pupils so large and dark that I could barely see the blue of his irises. His fingers crept down to my stomach, and I shivered with desire as I felt them slowly slide down the front of my shorts to trace the lace of my knickers. Need was building up between my legs—a hot, overpowering need—but I tried to ignore it as I memorized every detail of this incredible man’s face. Because if I couldn’t write us out of this story, ifPride and Prejudicereally was broken, then I might never get to look at it again.
Nick’s hands had reached the lower seam of my knickers, and a moan escaped my lips as he gently brushed a knuckle across the fabric, sending electric sparks through every nerve in my body. And suddenly, looking was no longer enough.
“Zoe?” Nick said, the word a question and a plea all at once. And there was only one way to answer it.
I lifted up my head, and I kissed Nick Baskerville like my life depended on it.
* * *
Afterward, we lay entwined on top of the bed, both silent as we caught our breath.
“That was incredible,” Nick half panted, half laughed, and when I glanced over at him, his eyes were slightly glassy. “You’re incredible, Zoe.”
I moved my head onto his chest so he wouldn’t see the million emotions that were swirling inside me. Happiness. Excitement. Exhaustion. But something else as well—a teenage petulance nagging away no matter how hard I tried to ignore it. Because honestly, as amazing as this moment was, it was also bloody unfair. All this time I’d spent hiding away with my book boyfriends, too scared to risk another real-life relationship in case I got abandoned again. And finally, I’d met someone who appeared to be more perfect for me than any romantic hero I’d ever read. And it wasn’t just that he was funny, kind, and outrageously sexy. He’d also fought to savePride and Prejudicedespite his own feelings about the book, and when I read myself into the story, he hadn’t given up on me but had followed me in here instead. Yet rather than getting to see how this might develop, we were stuck in a fictional story that might be able to unravel, taking us with it. I felt like Louisa inMe Before You,finally having found the person I wanted to be with, only to realize I was about to lose them forever.
“You’re incredible too,” I said, running my hand across his chest. “But unless I can write us out of here, then we’re doomed, like sodding Romeo and Juliet.”
“I’ve not heard of them; are they from a romance novel?”
