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As the little aftershocks died away, she realised he was still holding her tightly, as if she were the most precious thing in the world and he’d never let her go. For that moment, it felt as if Theo was telling her he loved her—telling her with his body, even though he wasn’t saying the words. Though he’d practically admitted it by telling her that tonight he wasn’t listening to his head.
She knew how that felt.
She hadn’t listened to her head either. She’d let the emotion sweep her away. The way she felt about Theo made her feelings for Harry pale into insignificance.
Because she loved him.
Really loved him.
Heart, mind and soul.
Not that she had any intention of saying so. She wasn’t going to be the one to say the words first.
Theo kissed her lightly. ‘If you’ll excuse me, hara mou, I’d better go and deal with this in the bathroom.’
‘Sure.’
When he’d left the room, Madison realised that this was her cue to leave. She’d scrambled out of bed and was just picking up her clothes when Theo returned. ‘Don’t go, Madison,’ he said softly. He took her hand and drew her back over to the bed, sitting down and pulling her onto his lap. He raised her hand to his mouth and kissed each fingertip in turn. ‘Stay with me tonight.’
‘You’re sure about this?’
‘Very sure.’
He wanted her to stay.
Which would take their relationship to a new level.
And this was the nearest he’d come to a declaration—the fact he wanted her to stay with him told her how much he cared. So she nodded and let him manoeuvre her back into bed with him. He shifted so he was lying on his back, with one arm round her and her head resting on his shoulder; the fingers of his other hand were entwined with hers.
There wasn’t any need for words. Right now he was telling her that she was safe. That he would cherish her. That she didn’t need to worry.
And slowly her eyes closed and she drifted off to sleep.
CHAPTER EIGHT
THE alarm shrilled—an unfamiliar alarm—and Madison woke with a start. It took a second or two to remember where she was, and then Theo reached over her, switched off the alarm and kissed her bare shoulder. ‘Kalimera, kardia mou.’
‘Uh. Morning,’ she croaked.
Though it didn’t feel like morning.
It felt way, way too early to be morning.
‘You’re really not a morning person, are you?’ She could hear the smile in his voice. ‘I’ll make us some coffee. If you want the shower first, help yourself.’
Shower.
Work.
Everything snapped into place. Oh, lord. She was at Theo’s. And the only clothes she had were the ones she’d been wearing the day before. No way could she go to work in those, even if she’d been thinking straight enough to rinse out her underwear the previous night. The thought was enough to wake her up properly and she sat up. ‘Theo, I need to go home and get some clean clothes.’
‘Of course.’ He touched her cheek gently with the back of his fingers. ‘Sorry. I didn’t think things through last night.’
She could see the rest of it in his eyes. He’d needed comfort, just as she had. And she didn’t regret staying. Last night, he’d actually let her close. Given her hope that maybe, just maybe, this thing between them would work out.
‘I’ll run you home,’ he said.
She shook her head. ‘Thanks for the offer, but even at this time of the morning the rush hour will already have started. It’ll be quicker to take the tube.’
‘I’ll make you some coffee—and I’ll add cold water so you can drink it straight down.’
Just the way she did at work. And she knew he’d make it exactly as she liked it. Theo paid attention to detail. ‘Thanks. And, um, do you have a spare toothbrush I could borrow, please?’
‘Sure.’ He climbed out of bed, completely unselfconscious of his nakedness, and headed for the bathroom. When he returned, he sat on the edge of the bed next to her and handed her a toothbrush head. ‘I use a rechargeable toothbrush—this is a brand-new head that’ll fit on the base.’ He looked straight at her. ‘I’ve put a pink marker ring on the bottom of it so you’ll know it’s yours.’
Her heart missed a beat. Was this his way of saying that he wanted her to stay overnight some time in the future?
He leaned forward and kissed the tip of her nose. ‘I’ll make that coffee I promised you. Help yourself to whatever you need in the bathroom.’
This time he took a navy towelling robe from the back of the door and shrugged it on as he left the room. Madison collected her clothes from where they were scattered over the floor—lord, they really had been focused on each other last night—and took them into the bathroom. She showered, using his citrusy shower gel; the scent made her think of him and every nerve end tingled at the memory of the way he’d made love with her the previous night. For a moment she actually contemplated going downstairs wearing nothing but a towel and dragging him back to bed.
