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Chapter Ten
Alice eyed Rowena’santique crystal liqueur glasses, the ones that were kept well out of reach for a reason, then, steeling herself, grabbed two of them off the top shelf of the pine dresser. She had to stop worrying about consequences. Live in the moment, like Polly did. As she turned around, Aaron was wielding the bottle of tequila, a smile on his face that made her toes curl against the fluffy insides of her slippers. Consequences. To hell with them.Carpe diem. Pleased with herself that she’d recalled the Latin version, she stepped back to the table and plonked the glasses down in the centre. Reflexively she ran her damp palms down her thighs. Aaron’s gaze followed the movement and the sense of dampness intensified… not only in her palms it would seem.
The silence hummed between them. Finally, Aaron said, “Okay, so you’re up for a lick, sip, suck.”
“A what?”
One corner of his delectable mouth hitched. “It’s the best way to take a neat shot of tequila. Unless you’ve got ginger beer, in which case I could make us slammers.”
“Polly threw out all the mixers last week. She reckoned the sugar was gravitating to her thighs.”
Aaron laughed, picked up a shot glass and held it up to the light. “These look a bit classy.”
“They’re all we’ve got. It’s fine, as long as we’re careful.”
“No going wild and smashing them against the wall, then?”
Her mouth went slack as she fumbled for some appropriately pithy,flirtyresponse.
Aaron got in first with a brisk, “Okay, we need lemons. And salt.”
“Oh, yes, of course.” Alice roused herself and scampered back to the cupboards, her body vibrating with the sense he was still watching her. It couldn’t have felt more potent if he’d tiptoed his fingers down her back.
She grabbed the salt-shaker and checked the fruit bowl. “Oh, wait—no, I think Polly put the lemons in the fridge.” She ducked her head inside, thankful for the brief waft of cold air on her fired-up cheeks. She found a couple of shrivelled lemons and pulled a face. “Not the best, I’m afraid.”
“Knife?” Aaron moved towards the cutlery drawer and their bodies bumped in passing. She jumped, but Aaron simply sauntered back to the table and busied himself quartering the lemons on a board. He poured an equal amount of golden liquor into each shot glass, exquisitely self-assured. Alice groped her way towards a chair and hung on to the back until her knuckles whitened.
“Give me your hand,” Aaron ordered.
Already? Oh, no, she needed a drink first. Two. Maybe three…
Nevertheless, she reached out and his fingers, warm and firm, gloved hers. Little tingles of sensation buzzed around her pelvis, before finding home in the apex between her thighs.
He turned her hand so that the back of it was uppermost and she watched from under her lashes as he sprinkled a measure of salt on to it.
“What’s this for?”
“Put your hand to your mouth and lick the salt.” His eyes traced her lips as she obeyed. He grabbed her other hand and placed the shot glass into it. “Knock it back in one.”
The tang of salt on her lips turned into fire burning down her throat. She gagged and groped for the slice of lemon that had appeared between her fingers.
“Now suck.”
Her mouth puckered as she put the lemon slice to her lips. A sharp tang followed the burn. A cauldron of sensations bubbled on her tongue and down her throat. Salt, heat, sour. She raised wide eyes to Aaron’s.
“What’s the verdict?” he asked, removing the lemon and shot glass from her hands.
“Oh, wow!” she exclaimed with a dawning smile. “I think I liked it. After I got over the initial shock.”
“Good.” Aaron went through the same motions. He didn’t pull any of the faces or make any of the noises she had. Just swallowed it down like it was the most natural thing in the world.
As he smacked his lips their eyes met with shared mischief. Alice let out a gurgle of delight.
She tossed her head and her hair spun around her shoulders. “Can we do it again, please?”
* * *
Like this, she was too gorgeous to take his eyes off. Cheeks glowing, a dusting of salt crystals on her lower lip and her body swaying slightly as she steadied herself with a hand on the chair back. All he wanted was to reach out and touch.
