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The hair on the back of his head is short and prickles my fingers as I slide my hand to the nape of his neck, and his answering shiver sends a flicker of pleasure through me. I’m affecting him as much as he’s affecting me. The thought fills me with delight, and I’m unable to stop a purr of pleasure escaping.
Ohh… he liked that. He’s trying to be gentle and go slow, but I feel a thrill as his passion flares. He answers with a growl, deep in his throat, and fire ignites between us. He lifts a hand to tangle in my hair as he tilts his head to change the angle of the kiss. His tongue delves into my mouth, and I respond with a thrust of my own, lowering my hands to clutch at his shirt, my body burning.
He slides his other hand beneath the edge of my top, his fingers brushing my skin. As they move up my ribs, my nipples tighten in anticipation, and he pushes me back—but we’re further away from the counter than we realize. I stumble and meet the counter with a bump, and the shock breaks us apart as we both exclaim.
Titus takes my face in his hands again. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
He studies me, brushing my cheeks with his thumbs. “I don’t know how you do it, but you make me lose myself.”
I slide my arms around his waist and bury my face in his shirt. He sighs and wraps his arms around me, and we stand there like that for a long time.
“We should go to bed,” he murmurs. “Our own beds, I mean.”
“Yeah. I know.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to…”
I move back, reach up, and kiss his cheek. “It’s okay, Titus. I know. Thank you for the kiss.” But I’m unable to suppress the bittersweet feeling that settles over me. My brain is calm and collected, telling me it makes no sense to get involved, because Reasons, Heidi—distance and Jason and Oliver, and it’s only been two days, and I’m getting carried away, and I should know better. But my heart doesn’t want to listen, and neither does my clitoris, goddammit.
The thought makes me give a short laugh, and he lifts my chin so he can look at me. “What?”
I shake my head. “Nothing. What time do we need to leave tomorrow?”
He sighs, lowering his hands. “I said we’d be there around four, and it’s about ten minutes east of Exeter, I think. So, about three thirty?”
“Sure. Um, in the morning I’d like to call in and see my grandparents. I don’t suppose you want to come?”
“Sure. Your mum’s folks, right? I met them once when they came out to New Zealand.”
“Okay. I’ll say we’ll be there around eleven?”
“Sounds great.”
We study each other for a moment. The flickering candlelight highlights his face, so handsome it makes my heart ache. I wish I could take his hand and lead him up the stairs to my bed, but I don’t want to ask because I can’t face rejection. I don’t want him to have to turn me down.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I say softly.
He nods. Ooh, the look in his eyes makes me melt. Poor Titus.
“Is Sir Richard giving you as much trouble as Countess Clitoris is giving me?” I ask.
That makes him laugh. “I’m sorry,” he murmurs.
“It was worth it.” I smile. “Goodnight.”
It’s not easy to walk away. But I don’t have a choice. So I do my best to ignore his sigh, and head up the stairs to bed.
*
Titus
Ten thirty the next morning finds us on the road to Heidi’s grandparents.
It’s another beautiful morning. We’ve been so lucky with the weather, and it looks as if it’s going to be nice for the next few days, too. All the news programs can talk about is the amazing heatwave, even though this is just an average summer day where I come from.
I worked for a couple of hours this morning, while Heidi did some baking. I’m holding the results of her endeavors on my lap in a tin—a fantastic-smelling lemon curd and blueberry loaf cake.
