by Holly Martin
‘I love you, every single inch of you, I promise you that.’
He stared at her for a moment, then he quickly grabbed her legs and rolled her backwards onto the sofa. She giggled as she landed on the soft cushions and he quickly climbed on top of her with a sudden confidence she had never seen in him before. He kissed her hard and she ran her fingers through his hair at the back of his neck.
He moved his hand between her legs, hitting the exact spot that made her weak with absolute precision. It took no time at all before she was hurtling over the edge, moaning his name against his lips. He didn’t stop though, he kept touching and stroking as she trembled against him again and again.
Finally he knelt up and she was vaguely aware that he was grabbing a condom from the drawers on the nearby table and rolling it on.
He flashed her the biggest grin as he lifted her slightly and slid inside her. She groaned.
‘Ten,’ Libby said.
He frowned slightly and leaned over her, kissing her on the mouth as he moved against her.
‘What?’
‘This date is the most perfect date ever, you get ten out of ten.’
He smiled and kissed her again. With his hand at the small of her back he moved position slightly, hitting that sweet spot inside of her, making a tumble of inarticulate words burst from her throat.
‘Let’s see if we can make it eleven,’ he whispered against her lips.
* * *
George woke the next day and moved to take his beautiful Libby in his arms, but to his surprise he was alone in his bed.
‘Libby?’ He sat up, but there was silence in his flat.
He looked around in confusion. The night before had been amazing. After they had made love, he had carried her, still clinging to him, through to the bedroom, where they had laid side by side, kissing each other for ages. He had kind of expected her to roll over and go to sleep as Josie used to. But they lay with their arms and legs entwined just kissing, until the moon had disappeared and the very first tinges of early morning light had started to appear. And then as he was stroking her arms, stroking her back, she had asked him to make love to her again. This time, he had made sure it was gentle and tender, without the urgency of the first time; they had taken their time to explore each other properly. He had made sure he kissed every single inch of her body. Making love to her then had been the single most beautiful moment of his life.
And after there had been more kissing, until she had eventually fallen asleep in his arms, with her mouth against his.
But then, in sleep, she had rolled over away from him and when he tried to pull her back into his arms, she had wriggled huffily out of his grasp. He had told himself that she was just dreaming, that she didn’t know it was him, but now, waking up and finding her gone… something wasn’t right.
He got up, pulled on a pair of shorts and padded across to her flat. She was in the bedroom; he could hear her on the phone as he walked in.
‘Yes, it was lovely, Amy, the best sex I’ve ever had…yeah seriously. Look I have to go, I’ll tell you all about it later, but I have to be out of here before he wakes up.’
George peered round the door and watched as Libby hurriedly shoved clothes into a suitcase. She quickly hung up the phone and stuffed a few more t-shirts into an already overflowing holdall.
His heart plummeted. Anger flooding through him, he pushed the door open and she span around guiltily.
‘Go where?’ he said, surprised by how cold his voice was.
‘Oh George, I thought you’d be asleep for hours yet—’
‘I can’t believe you. You’re still leaving, after last night? If you don’t know now that we were made for each other, that this kind of love comes round once in a lifetime, then there’s nothing else I can do. If you leave now, I won’t be here waiting for you to come back. I’ve done everything you asked, the reindeer sleigh, the champagne, the fireworks, the barbershop quartet. Damn it, I even bought you a ring, but it’s not enough, is it?’
‘You bought me a ring?’ Her voice was quiet, hurt.
‘Yes. It was your “one day before Christmas” present that I forgot to give you yesterday.’ He was so angry that he took a step away from her, wanting to shake her so much.
‘Were you planning on getting down on one knee and asking me to marry you, because if you were this is hardly the romantic setting I would hope for. Shouting at the woman you want to marry is not exactly conducive to a romantic engagement.’
‘You’d love that, wouldn’t you, for me to throw myself to my knees now and beg for your hand in marriage. Well you can sod off; I’m not humiliating myself any further for you.’
He turned and stormed out of her flat and back into his own.
Though Libby was hot on his heels.
‘Where’s the ring?’ she demanded.
‘No, you’re not having it. If you want to see how big the diamond is before you make your decision, you’re going to be sorely disappointed. It doesn’t even have a diamond.’
‘Give me the bloody ring.’
He snatched up his trousers, grabbed the box from the pocket and passed it to her. ‘Here take it, sell it for all I care.’
‘George, you are the biggest idiot I have ever met. Do you honestly think after you made love to me so beautifully last night I could seriously go anywhere else but here? I was packing to come here. You said we would move in here. I wanted to move in whilst you slept, so that when you woke up my clothes would already be hanging next to yours in the wardrobe. Now, since you have no intention of going on one knee to ask me to marry you, I suppose it’s down to me.’
To his great surprise, Libby dropped down on one knee and opened the box towards him.
‘George, I love you, I will always love you, no matter how much of an idiot you are. Now… will you do me the extraordinary honour of marrying me?’
He quickly dropped to his knees in front of her. ‘I thought that…’
‘Yeah, well, you thought wrong,’ she snapped, grabbing the ring from the box and forcing it onto his ring finger. ‘There, we’re engaged, and we’re not having a long engagement either, I want to be married to you by the end of the year.’
He looked down at the gold ring, curved in gentle waves studded with tiny coloured stones in different shades of green, as it rested halfway up his finger.
‘I think it might look better on you, Lib. Can I?’
She nodded reluctantly and he took it off. He took her hand, kissed it and then slid the ring gently onto her finger.
‘When we tell the story of how we became engaged to our friends and family, maybe we could miss out the part where I was a stupid idiot.’
‘Maybe,’ Libby sniffed, trying to suppress the smile as she stared at the ring. ‘Maybe when we got back yesterday from the ball, you dropped to your knees amongst the candles and flowers and asked me to marry you then, which of course I said yes to.’
George kissed her forehead. ‘That sounds much better.’
He stood up and pulled her to her feet, though she couldn’t take her eyes off the ring, which he took to be a good sign.
‘It’s beautiful, George,’ she said quietly.
‘Twenty shades of green,’ he murmured.
‘Even sprout?’
He smiled. ‘Do you forgive me?’
She half scowled. ‘Not yet. I might have to punish you, no sex for a month.’
He smirked. ‘Happy Christmas, baby.’
She looked down at the ring box in her hand, and frowned. His heart leapt when he realised she’d seen the bit of paper stuck into the lid. She tucked her finger into the edge and prised it out.
Still scared that their engagement was built on quite shaky ground, he tried to take it off her.
‘That’s nothing, don’t worry about it.’
She held the paper out of his reach. ‘What is it?’
‘It’s silly, just… I did some rules for a perfect marriage, don’t look at it now.’
Libby, stubborn as ever, unfolded the piece of paper with evident interest. He put his hand on the paper, covering the words. ‘We can discuss terms, come up with an agreed set of rules between us, compromise on some, but rules one, four and ten are non-negotiable.’
She arched an eyebrow and he took his hand off so she could read it. He moved round behind her, holding her in his arms and reading it over her shoulder.
1. Mr Donaldson will do ALL the cooking.
He saw her smirk at this one.
2 .The Husband and Wife will partake in hot, passionate sex every day, without fail.
3. Every position in the Kama Sutra will be tried and tested, including the one with the pulley.
4. Absolute honesty at all times.
5. The Husband and Wife will live in a big house at the top of White Cliff Bay, overlooking the sea.
Libby stopped reading at this one. ‘No way, I’m not leaving Silver Cove beach; if you want a big house we’ll have to buy one down here.’
‘It’s just that they rarely come up for sale down here, I thought we’d be more likely to get one in the main town.’
‘We’ll just have to wait until they do, I’m not moving, that’s non-negotiable.’
He smiled. ‘OK, keep reading.’
She returned her gaze to the list.
6. The Husband and Wife will have three children, two girls and a boy, a dog called Sausage and a cat called Onion.
‘I prefer Bangers and Mash.’
‘Fine, we’re not going to argue over the intricacies, but Bangers is going to be a St Bernard or a Newfoundland.’
‘Fine,’ she said, shortly, though she leaned back into him as she looked back at the list.
7. Every year we will add a new stamp to your passport.
8. The marriage must include silliness, practical jokes, daft conversations, anything that makes the other person laugh.
‘Get me a pen,’ she ordered and, keeping one arm round her waist, he leaned back and grabbed one from the shelf. He passed it to her and he watched her scrawl a side note in her messy handwriting next to number 8. ‘Practical jokes that scare the other person so much they knock themselves out are strictly prohibited.’
‘Good point.’
9. I will dance with you on our wedding day.
He saw her swallow.
10. I promise to hold you in sleep, keep you safe from harm whilst you dream. When you need to walk, in dreams or when you’re awake, I will walk by your side. I promise that I will tell you I love you every day, wake you each morning kissing you from head to toe. I will support you, encourage you and laugh with you. And I will make it my mission in life to make you as completely and utterly happy as you make me.
Libby folded the piece of paper, her hands shaking. She turned round in his arms and he was surprised to see tears in her eyes. ‘I do love you.’
‘I know. I’ve always loved you, Lib, always will.’
She smiled at him, and leaned up to kiss him. The kiss continued for some time, her hands in his hair, round his neck, stroking his bare back. And he was very surprised when he felt her undo his shorts and push them off his hips.
He pulled away. ‘What about your terms, no sex for a month?’
‘I’ve changed my mind, woman’s prerogative.’
‘Of course.’ He quickly yanked her top off her and made quick work of the rest of her clothes, and she laughed at his impatience. ‘Just in case you change it back again.’
She smiled as she took his hand and led him towards the bedroom.
‘Now listen, when we made love, was it really the best sex you’ve ever had?’ he asked.
She giggled with embarrassment. ‘You heard that?’
He nodded.
‘Yes it was, George, it was amazing.’
‘The first time or the second time?’
‘Both, absolutely both.’
He smiled, but then his smile fell. ‘That’s a shame, because that gives me a lot to live up to.’
She stopped next to the bed and rested her head on his chest. She looked up at him, as he pulled her tighter against him. ‘It’s only going to get better from here on in.’
‘Maybe I should brush up on the Kama Sutra before we go any further.’
‘If you think there’s time,’ she shrugged. ‘But we’re both already naked, what would you suggest I do with myself whilst you’re doing your homework?’
He took her face in his hands and kissed her again. ‘Maybe I’ll brush up for next time.’
‘That could be tricky – you do realise I’m not letting you out of bed for at least the next three days?’
‘Excellent,’ he grinned.
‘Besides…’ she lay down on the bed ‘…you already know my favourite position.’
He wracked his brains as he knelt on the bed, kissing her neck. The cobra? The elephant? The one with the pulley? ‘What’s that then?’
Libby smiled, pulling him down on top of her. ‘The good old-fashioned missionary.’
He grinned as he kissed her. ‘Thank goodness for that.’
The End
Letter from Holly
Thank you so much for reading Snowflakes on Silver Cove, I had so much fun creating this story and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
One of the best parts of writing comes from seeing the reaction from readers. Did it make you smile or laugh, did it make you cry, hopefully happy tears? Did you fall in love with George and Libby or Amy and Seb? Did you like the gorgeous town of White Cliff Bay? If you enjoyed the story, I would absolutely love it if you could leave a short review. Getting feedback from readers is amazing and it also helps to persuade other readers to pick up one of my books for the first time.
To keep up to date with the latest news on my new releases, just click on the link below to sign up for a newsletter.
Holly Martin New Releases Email
I promise to only contact you when I have a new book out and I’ll never share your email with anyone else.
I have two books out this Christmas set in the town of White Cliff Bay, so if you enjoyed this book and haven’t read Christmas at Lilac Cottage yet I hope you will love it too. You can find it here.
Thank you for reading and I hope you have a wonderful cosy Christmas.
Love Holly x
@hollymartin00
hollymartinauthor
hollymartinwriter.wordpress.com
Also by Holly Martin
The Guestbook
One Hundred Proposals
One Hundred Christmas Proposals
Fairytale Beginnings
WHITE CLIFF BAY SERIES
Christmas at Lilac Cottage (White Cliff Bay Book 1)
Snowflakes on Silver Cove (White Cliff Bay Book 2)
HOLLY WRITING AS AMELIA THORNE
Tied Up with Love
Beneath the Moon and the Stars
FOR YOUNG ADULTS
The Sentinel
The Prophecies
Christmas at Lilac Cottage
OUT NOW
Welcome to the charming seaside town of White Cliff Bay, where Christmas is magical and love is in the air…
Penny Meadows loves her home – a cosy cottage decorated with pretty twinkling fairy lights and stunning views over the town of White Cliff Bay. She also loves her job as an ice-carver, creating breathtaking sculptures. Yet her personal life seems frozen.
When Henry and daughter Daisy arrive at the cottage to rent the annex, Penny is determined to make them feel welcome. But while Daisy is friendly, Henry seems guarded.
As Penny gets to know Henry, she realises there is more to him than meets the eye. And the connection between them is too strong to ignore…
While the spirit of the season sprinkles its magic over the seaside town and preparations for the ice sculpting competition and Christmas eve ball are in full swing, can Penny melt the ice and allow love in her heart? And will this finally be the perfect Christmas she’s been dreaming of?
<
br /> Like a creamy hot chocolate with marshmallows, you won’t want to put this deliciously heartwarming novel down.
Spend the perfect Christmas in White Cliff Bay this year.
READ A SAMPLE HERE . . .
The timer went off on the oven and Penny quickly dropped her sketch book and grabbed her oven gloves. Opening the oven door released a waft of gorgeous, rich fruity smells into the kitchen, making Penny smile with excitement. The mince pies looked golden, crisp and perfectly done. She quickly transferred them to a wire rack to cool and gave the warm mulled wine a quick stir as it simmered on the hob.
She looked around at the green-leafed garlands that covered the fireplace and the white fairy lights that twinkled from in between the leaves, the lights that lined the windows also lending a sparkling glow to the room in the dullness of the late winter afternoon. She knew that next door, in the annexe, looked equally inviting now that she had spent hours decorating it in suitable festive attire ready for the new arrivals.
Everything was perfect and Penny couldn’t wait to meet them.
Henry and Daisy Travis had been referred to her by the agency in charge of finding tenants for her annexe. Although Penny would have preferred a single woman like her, the young couple came with great references and no children.
Not that she had an issue with children; she loved them. She had even thought at one point in her life that she might have some of her own but that had passed her by. She just wanted to make friends with people who were at the same point in their life as she was.
