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He tugs me down beside him and wraps an arm around me. I settle against his chest, pleasantly boneless, and he presses a kiss to the top of my head.

I groggily come to. It’s morning. Light is coming in round the edges of the curtains. The first thing I think about, before I’m even properly awake, is Ryan. He slept in my bed last night. Beside me. Naked.

If I reach across the bed right now, I’ll find him there, warm and bare beside me. That’s rather an exciting thought for a Monday morning.

I reach across. Nothing. Just cool sheets.

I pat around a bit more, confused, then open my eyes more fully. His side of the bed is empty.

“Oh, Penny,” I mumble. “Did he leave?” Disappointment tugs at my stomach.

I sit up. “Penny?” There’s no dog at the foot of the bed. With two of us taking up the mattress, she probably decamped to her own bed in the corner. Only, when I peer over to check it, it’s empty too.

Odd.

I get up and go looking, padding around the flat in my pyjamas. “Penny?” I call. But she’s not in the living room, or the kitchen.

What’s going on? Did Ryan only sleep with me so he could steal my dog?

Obviously, that’s ridiculous. And yet in my half-asleep state, I can’t entirely rule it out.

Then I hear the front door opening. I hurry to the hall, and in walks Ryan, in his jeans and T-shirt from last night. Penny trots happily at his heels.

“Morning.” He grins at me. “Thought I’d take the wee yin downstairs for a pee. She was whining at the door, and you were out for the count.”

“I did sleep rather well,” I admit. Apparently, neither boyfriend nor dog has abandoned me after all. “Last night’s bedtime routine obviously tired me out.”

“Aye? Well, then. We’ll just need to do it again tonight, won’t we?”

“Tonight?” I make a face. “That seems an awfully long way away. Besides, I was expecting to wake up to the sight of your naked body beside me.” I step closer to him and lay a hand on his chest. “I have to admit, I’m rather disappointed to see you clothed.”

He smirks. “Don’t you have a shop to open, flower girl?”

“Yes, but I can be quick. I promise.” I slide my hand down and take hold of his belt buckle, then use it to tug him towards my bedroom. He follows me through, chuckling.

“Quick, eh? After last night? You’ll be sore, Briony. And it took a fair bit of warming up to get you there.”

“I’m fine.” To prove it, I undo his belt, lower his zip, and push his jeans down until they pool round his ankles.

“How about I get you off nice and quick instead?” His hand slides down the front of my pyjama bottoms. “Then you can go open your shop.” His fingers find me, and—oh. Oh. My knees actually buckle. I fold forward against his chest, clutching a fistful of his T-shirt, as he starts slow, knowing circles.

Honestly. This man’s fingers should come with a warning.

But somewhere through the haze, a thought surfaces: this was supposed to be my seduction. I tugged him through here by his belt buckle. He did all the work last night. I’m not letting him do it all again.

“No,” I manage. “Not just me. You too.” I shove his boxers down his thighs, then let them drop and join his jeans.

“You don’t need to worry about me, baby.” His fingers slow, then press a little harder, and I have to bite back a whimper. “You’re the one wi’ a job to go to.”

“Humph.” I take hold of his penis. It’s rock hard. Ryan can say what he likes, but if he’s touching me, I’m touching him.

Only problem is, while I’m normally good at multitasking, right now I’m having a hard time thinking straight on account of what Ryan is doing to me. I try to remember what he said he liked. A firm grip? Tighter at the top, I think. Something about turning my wrist at the base…

His fingers circle just so, and I lose my train of thought. Holy moly. Remembering myself, I manage a couple of strokes of his shaft, but then his other hand slides up under my pyjama top and cups my breast. His thumb brushes over my nipple, and then he gives it a tweak.

Nope. That’s it. Something happening down there and up here is apparently more than my brain can cope with, and my hand goes completely still. His penis is no longer something I’m stroking so much as something I’m hanging on to for balance while he does whatever he likes to me. Ryan doesn’t seem to mind in the slightest.

His fingers move faster, and my thighs start to tremble. Oh my God, he wasn’t joking when he said he’d get me off nice and quick. I’m going to⁠—