While every part of him wanted to rush forward and fold Meridith within an embrace, he found the wherewithal to ease the door open quietly and peer inside.
The storage room was empty, and the split door into Hugo’s house, open. He crossed the small room quietly and stood near the second door. Smiling, he listened as Meridith talked to the elephant, telling him that he should eat slower and savour the squash, because that was the last one.
Drake drank in the sight of her. The mass of glorious hair that had hung loose and nearly reached Meridith’s waist the night they’d ridden about London, looking for Hugo, was now pinned up and partially covered by a little straw-colored hat, its brim decorated with dark blue flowers. He let his gaze slowly roam lower, taking in the back of her elegant neck and the stray hairs that had slipped from their pins and were lying against the neckline of her gown. Her dress was the same shade of dark blue as the flowers on her hat, and—he allowed his gaze tomomentarily settle near the small of her back—there was no sign of a bustle like the one she’d cut off.
He hadn’t burned that one. Instead, he had carried it up to his bedroom and tucked it away in a drawer.
Once his gaze reached the hem of her gown, it began climbing upwards again, taking in all of her feminine curves.
He felt a rush of desire so intense that he sucked in a breath to combat it. The noise must have been enough to catch her attention, because he watched her slowly pivot about.
The beauty of her face never failed to affect him, and now was no different. He pressed the heels of his boots harder against the floor to remain standing still rather than stepping forward to meet her.
Her eyes widened in surprise, and the delight in them had the power of an arrow again, striking him dead centre once more.
‘Drake,’ she said, with a slight gasp.
‘Hello, Meridith.’ He might have just stood there forever, taking her in, if Hugo hadn’t also noticed him. The elephant twisted about so quickly that Drake bounded forward on instinct. He grasped hold of Meridith by both arms, lifted her, and spun about, shielding her from the rapid movement of Hugo’s huge trunk.
But the elephant’s appendage just touched Drake’s back gently, before it twisted around him and Meridith both, sweeping them into a hug of greeting.
‘Hello, big guy,’ Drake greeted, and used one hand to pat the trunk, while keeping his arm firmly around Meridith, and his eyes on her.
She was still smiling, and Drake searched for something to say, when in all honesty, all he truly wanted to do was kiss her.
He chose to use a bit of humor before he lost his good sense. ‘I guess he’s the only one who missed me.’
She frowned, then, smiling, shook her head, wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head against his chest.
In that moment, wrapped arm-in-arm with her and Hugo’s trunk encircling both of them, Drake felt as if he’d just found a treasure. One that had been hidden inside him and, now discovered, filled him with a bright, amazing, and fulfilling warmth.
Lifting her face, Meridith asked, ‘How was Bristol?’
‘Good,’ he lied. ‘You got my message?’ He’d stopped at the zoo before leaving London and had asked Mr Ratnam to let her know where he’d gone.
She nodded. ‘Did you see your new ship?’
‘I did.’ He didn’t want to talk about that, talk about sailing. ‘How have you been?’
‘Fine. Hugo’s been fine, too.’
He didn’t want to talk about the elephant, either. The desire to kiss her was still too strong, and this time, a simple brush of his lips against her forehead wasn’t going to satisfy anything. Lifting a hand, he ran a knuckle beneath her chin and, ignoring any thoughts as to what the consequences of his actions might be, he leaned down and pressed his mouth to hers.
Her response, that of a muffled sigh, followed by a returning pressure against his lips from hers, sent a surge of excitement and pleasure throughout his systems. Their mouths melded together with the perfection of things that weremeantto be united, and he tightened his hold around her.
Almost immediately, their lips were moving in unison, coming together with more pressure, more fever.
His hands roamed her back, her shoulders, and then cupped her face as the need for more took control. With little more than a touch of his tongue, her lips parted, giving him access to the sweet depths of her mouth.
The way her tongue greeted his was enough for him to make him lose himself completely. He pulled her tighter against him and continued to kiss her, thrilled by the tiny little moans that were escaping from her.
A deep groan rumbled in his throat, and his hands once again roamed over her, her back and sides, and then lower, as their deep and full kissing continued. He flattened his hands against her bottom and pulled her tighter against him as the blood in his veins grew hotter and throbbed harder.
The shock of what happened next sent them flying apart.
Gasping for air, from shock and kissing, it took Drake a moment to realise what had ended their passionate embrace. By then, Hugo was squirting a second snout full of cold water over him.
‘Damn it, Hugo,’ he shouted, flailing his hands at the water streaming off his head and into his eyes, trying in vain to see Meridith.
