The Beach Reads Book Club: The most heartwarming and feel good summer holiday read of 2021! (The Kathryn Freeman Romcom Collection, Book 5)

by Kathryn Freeman

  ‘I guess, sort of. We update each other on our families, the people we know, that sort of thing.’ She smiled, but it held a hint of sadness. Perhaps even regret. ‘Are we really doing this, discussing our exes?’

  ‘No.’ He realised he didn’t want to know any more about the man she’d loved. The one she clearly still had feelings for.

  ‘Good, because there’s something else I wanted to discuss with you.’ Lottie gave him a sweet smile. ‘If you’re feeling mellow after your meal, maybe now is a good time.’

  Thanks to Amy, he thought he knew what Lottie wanted. ‘The answer is yes.’

  ‘That’s a pretty bold reply, considering you don’t know what I’m about to ask.’

  ‘I’m pretty sure yes would always be the answer.’ Her cheeks flushed a little and he smiled, enjoying seeing her unbalanced. ‘But in this case Amy has already put in the request on your behalf. The book club is welcome every other week. Or every week, for that matter. Now, would you like to see the dessert menu?’

  Her face took on a mischievous look. ‘Do you even have dessert? You chose the low-calorie fish with steamed veggies while I binged on the steak-and-ale pie. That’s not a man who finishes his meal with a pudding.’

  ‘True.’ His discipline about what he ate, and about exercise, had come on gradually; the more work had sucked him in, the more rigid he’d become. He could only guess it was because so much else in his life had seemed out of his control. ‘But I’m happy to watch you eat one.’ It was almost erotic, seeing the enjoyment she got out of food.

  ‘Well, it kind of depends on whether you have anything to offer back at your place that can beat sticky toffee pudding laden with cream.’

  The husky tone, the promise behind her words … it all sent a bolt of arousal humming through him. ‘I can try.’ Immediately he signalled for the bill, making her laugh.

  It was only when the waiter returned with it that his blood-deprived brain remembered why going back to his wasn’t such a good idea. ‘Amy, my dad. You might bump into them.’

  ‘I don’t mind if you don’t.’

  His erection pushed painfully against his zipper. ‘Will it offend you if I admit that right now all I really mind about is getting you into my bed as fast as humanly possible?’

  A smile split her face. ‘It would offend me more if you didn’t.’

  He quickly settled the bill – she tried to pay but he waved her effort away. ‘I invited you.’

  Moments later they were in the car, his hand resting on her thigh as he manoeuvred out of the car park. Beneath the thin layer of cotton, her skin felt hot and the ache between his legs grew sharper. It had been nearly a year since he’d last had sex, and that had been a very forgettable experience, his mind still mired in guilt and grief over his divorce.

  The guilt was still present, but the grief had gone. Tonight, for the first time in years, he felt hopeful for the future. He still had a way to go in repairing his relationship with his dad and Amy but he was enjoying the shop, the slower pace. Being his own boss. He glanced sideways at the woman next to him and acknowledged she had a lot to do with his current, unusual state of optimism.

  ‘What are you thinking?’

  He slowed at the traffic light and turned to face her. ‘I’m thinking how lucky I am to have met you.’

  Her eyes widened and for a moment he wondered if he’d cocked up again, said too much when what she wanted was fun. But then she smiled, her cheeks dimpling in a way he’d not fully appreciated until now. ‘If you carrying on saying things like that, you’ll get even luckier.’

  For the rest of the short journey they were quiet, though the electricity pinging between them crackled loudly in his ears, sending shivers of anticipation through him. As he pulled into the drive he wondered if she felt the same nervous energy, the raw heat of lust.

  He managed to get round to her side of the car just in time to help her out. She smiled as she took his hand. ‘Thank you, but I’m a modern woman. I don’t expect you to open my door.’

  He raised her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss on her knuckles. ‘I’m an old-fashioned guy, Lottie. I want to open doors for you, buy you dinner, carry your bags, bring you flowers.’

  She nibbled at her bottom lip. ‘Does that mean you won’t sleep with me on our first date?’

  Bringing his hands to her hips, he drew her against him before bending to whisper in her ear, ‘Not a cat in hell’s chance.’

  Then, the sound of his pounding heart drowned by the sound of her laughter, he clasped her hand and led her towards the house.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Prickles of excitement raced across her skin as Lottie followed Matt up the stairs. Note to self, tell him how amazing his house is when you come up for air.

  For now, she needed all the oxygen just to keep one foot in front of the other. God, she could never remember feeling like this. Even the giddy first few dates with Henry hadn’t felt so intense. They’d been like slipping into a deep, hot bath. Right now she felt like she was about to plunge into a mountain pool; invigorated, thrilled, yet a little scared because she couldn’t see the bottom. Didn’t know how deep she was about to fall.

  They reached the top of the stairs and he paused to run a finger down her cheek. Already racing, her heart missed a beat at the tender gesture, so at odds with the heat in his smouldering brown eyes. ‘We can take a left to my bedroom, or go back downstairs to my car.’

  His statement surprised her. Surely he could see there was no decision to be made? It was true she’d been out of her comfort zone for most of the evening; the posh restaurant, the at times heavy conversation. His clearly worth-a-shit-tonne-of-money house. Yet she’d also never felt so energised. Excited to keep going and see what more this journey would bring.

  ‘You promised me moves.’

  His smile reached his eyes. ‘I did.’

  He tugged on her hand and they walked the last few steps along the corridor, stopping before the door at the end. ‘Just so you know, Amy sleeps at the other end of the house and Dad’s rooms are downstairs.’

  ‘So I can be as loud as I like?’

  He let out a soft huff of laughter. ‘Christ, Lottie.’

  Crap, he wasn’t Henry. He was a guy who went to fancy restaurants and felt at home in a suit. ‘Too crass?’

  ‘No, God no.’ Eyes blazing, he pulled her into his arms, his hands sliding down her back. ‘You’re … unexpected.’

  ‘Unexpected bad, or unexpected—’

  ‘Perfect.’ He drew in a ragged breath. ‘You’re perfect.’

  Relief rushed through her and she gave him a brief, fierce kiss. ‘Then what are you waiting for?’

  She squealed as he lifted her into his arms and carried her into his bedroom to lay her on the bed. As he shrugged off his jacket she had a brief moment to take in the dark blue walls, the solid oak furniture. Then he was kissing her, his hands busy removing her clothes.

  ‘It’s like I’ve been given a gift,’ he whispered, breath hot against her skin as his fingers slipped beneath her top. ‘I desperately want to rip at the packaging to get inside, yet it would be a tragedy not to savour the beauty of the wrapping.’

  Breath caught in her throat and she stared up at him. ‘Who are you?’

  ‘Sorry?’

  ‘You’re using words, Matt.’ Words that made her heart somersault. ‘The Matt Steele I know doesn’t say any more than he has to.’

  He smiled and tugged gently at the silk of her top, easing it over her head. His gaze landed on her strapless bra and he groaned, pressing a kiss in the valley between her breasts before tracing a finger over the lace. ‘Can I?’

  He’s a gentleman, she realised belatedly. Old-fashioned, he’d called himself, but really it was manners to ask, where others would have just assumed. ‘Of course. It’s part of the gift wrapping.’

  Reverently he ran his hands over her stomach and across her bra before easing her on her side to get at the clasp. For a few seconds h
e struggled and she was about to help when it finally gave way.

  ‘Sorry,’ he rasped, eyes settling back on hers. ‘Out of practice.’

  There was that vulnerability again. Her heart squeezed and she knew she’d been right to be scared earlier. This man wasn’t a fun affair, to be enjoyed and easily forgotten. He was a man a woman fell for.

  ‘You’re stunning.’ Suddenly she was the one unable to talk and he was the one filling the silence as he pulled off the bra and cupped his hands over her breasts. ‘Breath-taking.’ He bent to kiss her left nipple, flicking his tongue across it and watching as it puckered. Then he breathed on it, causing shivers of arousal to course through her.

  ‘The other one,’ she gasped, aching, wanting. ‘It’s feeling left out.’

  Immediately his head dipped to her right breast, giving it the same thorough attention. Producing the same delicious response. Then his mouth trailed down to her stomach, his fingers undoing her trousers and sliding them down her legs while his lips continued their tantalising path across her skin.

  ‘I … Oh, God,’ she croaked as his hand slipped beneath her underwear to find her drenched core.

  He cursed softly, fingers exploring, eyes on hers, watching her reaction to his movements with a quiet intensity. ‘You like that?’

  ‘No, not like.’ She arched her back, arousal burning across her nerve endings. ‘Too wishy-washy.’

  His mouth followed where his hands had been and she couldn’t talk, couldn’t think as his tongue worked its magic, bringing her to a shattering climax in an embarrassingly short amount of time.

  ‘Oh my frigging God.’ She collapsed back against the mattress, boneless, head spinning. She’d expected caution, care. A silent, earnest round of thoroughly nice sex. She’d not expected to be feel cherished, adored. Or to lose her mind and explode so dramatically under such a confident, masterful touch.

  She looked up to find his mouth glistening, his gaze so hot she could practically see the flames in his eyes. ‘You’re incredible.’ He ran his hand tenderly down her face. ‘So responsive.’

  ‘Yeah, because you have a magic mouth.’ She blew out a breath and waved at his fully clothed body. ‘How come I’m naked and you’re not?’

  He smiled. ‘Because I was in a rush to unwrap you.’

  ‘Well, I want my turn now.’ She wriggled her toes. ‘Just give me another minute to get the feeling back in my legs.’

  ‘There’s no hurry.’ Again his hands swept over her skin, as if he couldn’t stop touching her. ‘I’m hoping you’ll stay the night.’

  There’d be no awkward moment once they’d had sex, she thought blissfully. Just the chance to snuggle in his big wooden bed. And with a bit of luck, do it all again because if that was the starter, she couldn’t wait for the main course.

  Matt trailed his fingers across Lottie’s flushed skin. He’d forgotten how glorious, how extraordinary sex could be.

  His groin throbbed, pressing insistently against his fly, but despite the ache he was enjoying simply watching her. Never had he seen a woman give herself over to pleasure in such an uninhibited way. It made him feel like a king, when for years he’d felt uncertain of his ability to make a woman happy in that most fundamental of ways.

  He was dragged out of his head when a pair of deft fingers began to undo the buttons of his shirt. The occasional touch of skin on skin, the look of concentration on her face, the jiggle of her glorious breasts as she worked. It was all too much for his poor, agonisingly hard groin.

  ‘I can’t…’ He grabbed hold of her hands, stopping her. ‘You’ll unman me,’ he whispered as she gave him a confused look. ‘Next time. Right now I just need to be inside you.’

  He pushed himself off the bed and stripped off quickly, his movements efficient, not sexy. That’s just the way you are. You can’t blame the three hours of foreplay. He pushed the unhelpful realisation aside, finding it surprisingly easy once he glanced back on the bed.

  ‘I was right.’ She gave him a smug smile, gaze running greedily over his naked body. ‘Even before you took your shirt off on the beach, I knew you were packing a smoking hot body beneath the swanky clothes.’ Her eyes zeroed in on the part of him that throbbed, desperate for her touch. ‘I just didn’t realise how hot, or how impressive, until now.’

  He let out a strangled laugh, turned on even more by the appreciation in her eyes. ‘Says the sex goddess lying on my bed.’ With hands that weren’t quite steady he reached into his bedside drawer for the condoms, all fingers and thumbs as he wrestled to open the packet.

  ‘Let me.’ As she took over the job, she glanced sideways at him. ‘A new packet, huh?’

  Only now did he realise how that might look. ‘I bought them after my divorce. Not for tonight. I hoped, yes, but—’

  ‘Relax. I’m teasing you.’ With a foil packet now in her hand, she glanced up at him. ‘This is exactly where I wanted the evening to end, so if you had bought them for tonight, I would have given you full marks for forward planning.’

  He gazed at her in wonder. She was so open with her thoughts, her feelings. ‘Lottie, I…’ He trailed off, unsure how to put into words how he felt. Much as he enjoyed her, admired her, he was terrified he was wrong for her.

  Grey eyes searched his and she must have seen his confusion because she placed a finger on his lips. ‘Shh, it’s okay. I’m a lot to take in, I know. I talk too much and it’s not always cool. Especially when I’m naked on your bed with a condom in my hand.’

  He shook his head, trailing a hand down her cheek. ‘You take my breath away.’

  She nibbled her lip. ‘Do you mean that in a good way, or a what is this weird woman doing on my bed sort of way?’

  ‘The first. Definitely the first.’ He didn’t have her words, so he bent to kiss her, hoping he could tell her with his mouth, his hands, what he couldn’t articulate out loud.

  When he drew back for air, she waved the condom in the air and grinned, cheeks rosy pink. ‘I think we need to put this on.’ He reached for it but she pushed him away. ‘No way. Why should you have all the fun?’

  Of course she didn’t just slip it on quickly, as he would have done. First she teased with her hands, with her mouth, until in the end the sensations became too much. ‘Enough.’

  Taking over from her, he secured it in place before leaning over her and aligning himself with her core. As he pressed inside he kept his eyes on hers, watching them widen, then flutter closed.

  ‘God, Matt, you feel frigging huge.’

  He laughed, raining kisses over her face as he began to move. He wasn’t used to talking during sex but if she kept saying things like that, he was fully on board with the idea. ‘You feel amazing.’

  Her lips curved. ‘Yeah?’

  In answer he thrust deeper, manoeuvring slightly so he could capture a nipple with his mouth, grazing it with his teeth.

  She let out a strangled moan, arching up to meet him. ‘More,’ she panted. ‘The thing with the teeth, and, you know, your hips.’

  ‘Like this.’ He shifted, the new angle meaning he could go deeper. He knew he’d found the perfect position when she swore.

  ‘OMG, yes, exactly like that.’ Head pressed back against the pillow, pleasure racing across her face, she gripped at his buttocks. ‘That’s soooo good. Keep going, don’t ever stop.’

  He kept going for as long as he could but the way her heat gripped him, the sounds she made, the bounce of her beautiful breasts … it was all too much. ‘I can’t hold off—’

  He didn’t finish his sentence because suddenly she was coming, crying out his name, her exuberant response tipping him right over the edge with her.

  He came back to earth to find he was sprawled over her, his body wrecked. ‘Sorry,’ he managed, hauling himself off and onto his back. ‘For crushing you,’ he clarified quickly, reaching for her hand. ‘Not for…’ Again he trailed off, this time because he wasn’t sure how to put into words what they’d just experienced.

&nbs
p; ‘The stupendous sex.’

  He paused a moment, letting the words flow happily through him. Then, his ego swelling, he wound his arm around her and drew her against his side. ‘Exactly.’ On a tidal wave of tenderness, he kissed the top of her curly blonde head.

  ‘I hope I didn’t wake the house up.’ Her fingers traced a line down his chest. ‘Now you know I wasn’t joking about being loud.’

  ‘I don’t care if you did.’ He grasped her fingers with his free hand and raised them to his lips, kissing them before settling her hand back on his stomach. ‘I’ve discovered I’m a huge fan of sex talk.’

  She leant up on her elbow, smoky eyes on his. ‘You know I’m bursting with questions now, don’t you?’

  He laughed, hugging her closer, making himself say the next words out loud because if he was to have a chance with her, he had to learn to voice his feelings. ‘I was never sure if Patricia enjoyed it.’ His mind skipped involuntarily back to those dark days before they separated. ‘The fact she went elsewhere strongly suggests she didn’t.’

  ‘Bollocks.’ Lottie sat bolt upright. ‘She had an affair because you weren’t paying her attention, though in my opinion there’s no excuse for going behind your back like she did. Talk to you, have it out with you. Sneaking around isn’t just a betrayal, it’s cowardly.’

  He appreciated her words, but in his heart he knew he’d let Patricia down, though perhaps now he could see there was fault on both sides.

  In a flash Lottie was straddling him, her breasts jiggling in front of his eyes. She caught the direction of his gaze and smirked. ‘I thought that might be an effective distraction from whatever dark thoughts you’re having.’

  He reached to cup her and immediately his mind was full of Lottie. Only Lottie. She must have felt the direction of his thoughts because she moved on top of him, rubbing against his rapidly growing erection. ‘You’re far more than a distraction,’ he murmured, pulling her towards him so he could nuzzle her breasts.