Her jaw dropped as she stared at the space before her.
“Theo,” she breathed, trying to find the words to express what she was feeling. “What is this?”
Slowly and deliberately, she turned to face him. There was no amusement in her eyes, no spark of excitement that followed stepping into a nook.
“Are ye givin’ me a broom closet?” she asked, shocked by the size of the room. She could barely fit in it, let alone two people.
Theo flashed her a crooked grin and leaned into her.
“I dinnae ken, I liketightplaces. Do ye nae?” he whispered, his voice thick with want.
Before she could answer, he crushed his lips to hers.
His hands were on her, roaming freely over her bosom. She leaned back, giving him full access to her neck.
Theo nipped her skin, his hot breath sending waves of pleasure through her.
Lavina closed her eyes. So what if she didn’t get a library? She would be fine as long as she had her husband.
“I want ye…” he groaned, clawing at the fabric of her dress. The chill of the evening air kissed her calves.
“Who am I to stop ye?” she said, returning the same longing and need.
Theo curled his hand around her head and held her steady as he kissed her deeply.
Lavina hooked a leg over his hip for balance when he dipped her back. It could have been an abyss she was leaning over, but she was certain, without a shadow of a doubt, that he wouldn’t let her fall.
“But I promised ye a surprise,” Theo murmured, his teeth grazing her earlobe. “And this isnae it.”
“Oh? And here I thought…” Lavina arched a teasing eyebrow and squeezed his butt cheeks with such force that it made him jump.
They both knew why he had lured her to this spot. It was secluded and private, a place they’d be able to slip away from the world, even for a moment.
“Me mistake.”
Lavina removed her hands from his backside and ducked under his arm to slip out of the nook. She wiped her hands on her skirts and started to walk away when Theo’s arms banded around her, pulling her back into the dark nook.
“Theo…” she whimpered, feeling his manhood pressing into the small of her back.
“I told ye, I want ye,” he growled, stoking her longing.
She grabbed one of his hands and pulled it to her crotch. “What’s stoppin’ ye from takin’ me here?” she asked, glancing out into the empty corridor.
“Oh, what ye do to me, Lavina… I love ye,” he murmured.
Lavina’s heart skipped a beat, and she froze under the weight of his words. She released his hand as the air around them grew heavy.
“Come again?” she sputtered, uncertain she had heard the words correctly.
Never in her life had anyone told her those three words. And hearing them come out of the mouth of the man she loved… it terrified her.
“I love ye,” Theo said with a shrug, as if it were the easiest thing in the world to confess.
She extricated herself from his grasp and stepped out of the nook. The air had somehow become heavier and thinner at the same time. It wasn’t until the world began spinning that she found herself reaching out.
It was Theo who grabbed her. He was the one who stopped the spinning and centered her.
Despite the chaos around them, he was her anchor.
