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‘I heard…’ He leaned over and slurped some of her coffee from her straw. It was unbelievably sweet. ‘That you have no notes.’ He grinned as her cheeks burst into flames.

‘Oh, God!’ She whacked his arm lightly. ‘You’re going to be insufferable now!’

‘I thought I was spectacular?’

‘Fuck o—’ Her swearing was cut off by the pressure of his mouth on hers. She sank into him, her arms slowly slipping around his neck as he deepened the kiss. She tasted bittersweet from the iced coffee, and he pulled her onto his lap, exploring her mouth with leisurely kisses, the sun warming their skin as Hannah pressed her body against his with an eagerness that made his cock strain against his clothing.

How many days had it been? Only a few, but still too many; he’d missed the feel of her in his arms, the sound of her laugh. He’d told himself he needed to focus on training Lucas for the upcoming location shoots, but his mind had constantly wandered back to Hannah, wondering how she was doing – if she missed him.

He didn’t want to be like Lucas, trying to capture the impossible, thoughtlessly hurting the people that cared for him in pursuit of a stupid fairytale. This wasn’t like his other flings, and he’d been a fool to assume it would be. This wasn’t hooking up after a long day at work or bumping into each other at a party and going home together. They were living together, behaving as if they were a couple, and that had scared him, because he knew it wouldn’t last.

But he didn’t he want to give up this opportunity; being with Hannah had made him happier than he’d felt in a long time. He didn’t want to hurt her or himself when he inevitably left, but maybe distancing himself wasn’t the answer? It hadn’t worked back then.

Hannah had already given him the answer.

No questions, no explanations – just say we’re done, and we’ll leave it at that.

Honesty, he could give her that, he owed her that. Yes, it would be hard, but maybe it was worth it?

Kissing her on this balcony certainly felt like it was worth it.

Scooping her up, he carried her into their suite.

For a second, he considered whether to take her to his room or hers. Usually, when they had sex, they did so in her room, and then he would return to sleep in his own bed. He supposed he shouldn’t change that habit, so he went to her room and laid her on the bed.

From what he’d overhead, it sounded as if Hannah had had a tougher breakup with Patrick than she’d admitted. Perhaps her affair with Caleb was a rebound to get over her ex? Well, he would make her so happy that she’d completely forget about Patrick altogether, and when they went their separate ways, she’d have spectacular memories.

He lay down beside her, and she turned to face him. Hannah paused a moment and said firmly, ‘The crush I had on you at school. It was nothing more than a crush.’

‘I know.’ He cupped her cheek and pushed her back down into the bed with another long press of his lips, raising his head to stroke his hand down her neck and to cup her breast. She fit him perfectly, her hard nipples poking through the fabric of her shirt, eager for his touch.

‘I’m not hoping for marriage or anything,’ she said, her hands smoothing up beneath his t-shirt, sending a shiver of seductive tingles across his skin. Wanting to please her, he peeled off the t-shirt. Her smile widened and her lips parted as she stroked her hands up his body. ‘I don’t have a crush on you now.’

‘You don’t?’ he asked, raising a brow in disbelief, as she continued to admire his body with a lingering caress that had his temperature rising.

‘No, this is different. More real.’ Her big blue eyes rose up to meet his gaze. ‘I know there’s no future in this. I don’t want you to think I’m expecting more. I’ve made that mistake in the past, and right from the start, you’ve been nothing but honest with me. So, I want to be honest with you too. You don’t need to worry about hurting me. I’m not going to wait for you or ask for more. When you leave, I’ll kiss you goodbye, wish you well, and then I’ll move on, grateful for what we had.’

He nodded, and a sudden and unexpected knot lodged in his throat that stopped him from speaking.

Real. That was the best way to describe them and, for a moment, he daydreamed about how their fairytale might play out. Hannah coming with him to the States, living in his LA house, putting her stripy mugs in his cabinets, laughing when he came home with a minor cut to his nose and reminding him to use a face protector. Marriage, children, the whole American dream surrounded by a white picket fence. An illusion that didn’t exist.

At least what they had now was real, if short-lived. Bittersweet like her coffee.

With no decent words to offer her, he kissed her instead. This time, with an urgency and passion that reflected his own grief at what could never be. She clung to him, matching his rhythm and arching beneath him, always wanting more.

Heat and need built between them and she raised herself up onto her knees, pulling off her shirt and then unhooking her bra to toss it aside. He raised his hips, rolling his jeans and boxers off and throwing them to where her clothes had fallen. She lay down and was fumbling with the button and zipper of her shorts.

Shifting to kneel at her feet, he tugged them down her body and tossed them over his shoulder. He went back to kissing her, gripping the waist of her underwear as he lapped and sucked at her breasts, slowly working his way down her sternum, stomach and belly.

Peeling the underwear off her writhing body, he opened her legs and settled himself between her silken thighs, his mouth watering with anticipation, ready to feast on her.

Her fingers ran through his hair, the caress both soothing and intoxicating. He pressed into the palm of her hand, revelling in the touch.

‘You really don’t have to do that,’ she said, and at first, he didn’t understand what she meant.

‘What do you mean?’ he asked, confused by the discomfort radiating from her.

‘I know some guys find it gross.’ Hannah squirmed, and this time it wasn’t with pleasure. He realised that she’d always pushed him to take her fully whenever he’d moved to taste her before, and he realised now that she’d been avoiding it.