He turned his head to smile at her, his eyes dancing with amusement. ‘You’re welcome. I enjoyed it too. It’s been a while since I’ve played just for fun. I’d forgotten how rewarding it can be.’
‘Yes, I bet. That hadn’t occurred to me,’ Flora said thoughtfully. ‘Well, it was wonderful. It gave me the tingles to listen to you.’
He arched an eyebrow. ‘Ah, you’re talking about frisson.’
‘I’m sorry?’
‘Frisson. It’s a well-known phenomenon. Some people don’t get it, but it sounds like you do, which is lucky for you.’ He flipped her a smile. ‘It’s an emotional response to music. It starts as a rush of chills in the base of your spine, which then moves across your skin, making all your hairs stand on end. A bit like a skin orgasm.’
She swallowed hard. ‘Er...yes. That’s exactly what it feels like.’
He nodded, mercifully getting up from the sofa now and walking back over to the piano. She’d been having real trouble keeping her composure with him sitting so close and talking about something so intimate. It was a relief to have the physical space between them again.
Sitting down, he began to play what sounded like a piece of classical music, his long fingers skating elegantly over the keys.
‘There are certain pieces of music and songs that are supposed to provoke more of a response than others. It happens when the music does something unexpected,’ he said, segueing into a tune she realised she knew well.
‘Is this “Hallelujah”?’ she asked excitedly, sitting up straighter. She’d always loved this Leonard Cohen song.
He answered by beginning to sing the song in his beautifully gravelly voice, which of course suited it perfectly. She watched in fascination, noting how his body language was much more relaxed now that he wasn’t performing for a bigger audience. His fringe fell down over his forehead as he dipped his head in concentration and she had the strangest urge to go over there and push it back from his face so she could see his eyes again.
As the emotion of the lyrics flooded through her she felt it again, that incredible rush of euphoria that started in her spine and cascaded out through her body in waves, making the entire surface of her skin stand up in goosebumps. It continued to wash over her, wave after wave of it, as he sang the entire song. The emotion caused tears to press against the backs of her eyes and throat and her insides to twist and swoop with poignant elation.
‘Whoa!’ she said, wiping away a tear that she hadn’t been able to hold back at the close of the song. ‘That was amazing.’
‘Pretty cool, huh?’ Alex said. The expression on his face made her suspect he’d been moved by it as well. She wondered fleetingly whether he’d been thinking about Tia and what he’d lost with her, before forcing the thought out of her head. It made her want to cry even more.
They sat there looking at each other for longer than was entirely comfortable, the intensity of the silence making her head throb and her chest ache.
‘Well, I guess we ought to get to bed ourselves,’ she said nervously, standing up and stretching. It seemed such a shame to leave the lovely warm living room now, especially when he was doing such a wonderful job of entertaining her with his playing, but it felt like the right time to turn in. In fact, she had a strong inclination to have a bit of time on her own now—to process the strange feeling of yearning for something elusive that was making her heart race and her skin prickle.
‘I guess so,’ Alex said, standing up too.
They walked to the bottom of the staircase together in silence.
‘Straight to bed?’ Alex asked, and she tried not to imagine that there was more to that question than he really meant.
‘I think so, I’m pretty tired now,’ she said, beginning to mount the stairs.
He followed her up, his presence like a benevolent shadow behind her.
When they reached his room and she turned back to say goodnight, she found he was looking at her with a strange speculative expression on his face.
‘Well, goodnight,’ she murmured, wondering what was going through his mind and knowing she’d be at a total loss if anyone asked her to explain how she was feeling right now.
‘Thank you for inviting me here with you. I get how hard it must have been to bring me when things with Violet are so tense. I appreciate you telling me about it and trusting me with something so personal and challenging for you.’ He took a small step closer. ‘I had a really good time today,’ he said, his voice a low rumble that made happy chills skitter along her nerves.
‘You sound surprised,’ she joked nervously, but he didn’t smile back, just frowned a little.
Her throat felt oddly tense so she lifted her hand to massage it. He dropped his gaze to watch the movements she made.
‘Well, goodnight. Have a good sleep. Don’t let the bedbugs bite. And Merry Christmas,’ she gabbled, dropping her hand awkwardly back to her side again.
He was looking at her with that strangely intense expression in his eyes again now. It was something she couldn’t quite pin down. Something that made her insides swoop and soar.
Without saying a word, he pointed up at the mistletoe that was now hanging from the top of his room’s doorway.
‘I’m sure that wasn’t there earlier,’ he said, his lips quirking into a wry smile.
‘Hmm, no. My mother is incorrigible.’
‘Maybe it would be wrong to ignore it though.’ He raised a teasing eyebrow. ‘Isn’t it bad luck or something?’
‘I think you’re getting it mixed up with not walking under ladders,’ she said shakily.
‘Ah, perhaps I am.’
‘And I thought you only kissed very special people.’
His eyes widened. ‘You heard all that between me and your sister, huh?’
‘Yeah, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. I was...uh...just sitting near the door.’
He smiled, evidently not believing a word of it. ‘I get the feeling it was something you needed to hear.’
‘I guess it was.’
There was another small pause, during which the house suddenly seemed very quiet. So quiet she could hear the rapid thump of her pulse in her ears.
‘Okay, well, just in case it is bad luck to ignore it—’ she pointed at the mistletoe, then waggled her finger at his face ‘—I’m just going to kiss you on the cheek this time.’
But as she leaned forwards, angling her head so that her lips were aiming for the side of his face, he turned towards her and their mouths connected.
She drew back with a startled gasp. ‘Oh! Sorry, I didn’t mean to—’ But he cut her off by sliding his hand into her hair and pulling her back towards him, pressing his mouth hard against hers again so deliberately that there was no way she could misconstrue it as an accident this time.
Her insides seemed to melt as he deepened the kiss, opening his mouth to slide his tongue against hers. It was a covetous kiss, full of need and determination. She sank into it, breathing him in, basking in the passion of his hunger.
When he finally released his grip on the back of her head and they drew apart, their mouths remained only centimetres from each other’s. They stood there transfixed in each other’s gazes, their breathing loud and guttural in the quiet corridor.
‘What—? What’s going on here?’ she gasped, staring into his eyes in total astonishment.
‘I’m kissing you this time,’ he murmured, gazing at her with such fierce intensity her whole body flooded with desire. ‘Is that okay?’
She blinked at him. ‘Um... Er... Uh—yes. Of course. Yes, it’s okay.’
Because it was. It really, really was.
The corner of his mouth lifted in a smile at her inarticulateness. ‘In that case, I’m going to do it again.’
She just nodded, not trusting herself to form any decipherab
le words this time. She let out a small gasp of pleasure as his mouth connected with hers again, his tongue sliding forcefully between her lips.
If she’d had any doubts about Alex being a good kisser they were totally quashed now. She’d never been kissed so intently, or so thoroughly. It made her toes curl with delight. His lips were soft but his mouth was firm against hers, his tongue gently exploring her mouth with possessive intent.
He pushed her gently backwards until she was pressed against the door to his room, his body hot and firm against hers, and she sucked in a breath as she felt just how into this he was.
‘Perhaps we should take this inside,’ he murmured against her mouth.
‘Yes, yes, good idea,’ she muttered back, fumbling for the door handle.
Once they were inside he lost no time in undressing her, slowly at first, then picking up speed as more and more of her body was revealed. She knew he’d seen most of it before when they’d gone swimming and she’d worn that skimpy bathing costume, but it didn’t seem to stop him from wanting to reverently check out every inch of her now.
After finally shucking off his own clothes and standing still, quivering with barely controlled desire as she explored the smooth skin and the swell of the muscles on his chest and arms with her fingertips, he finally steered her back towards the bed. Urging her to lie back, he climbed over her and leaned down to kiss her mouth again.
He was so gentle with her, and so covetous, it took her breath away. She’d never felt worshipped like this before. Never felt so attractive. He kissed and touched every inch of her—some places much more thoroughly than others—and she sank back into the pure pleasure of it. Every part of her body felt connected. When he kissed her ankles she felt it in her belly, and when he moved up to press his mouth along her jaw, biting down gently on the sensitive skin there, it sent spirals of delicious sensation all the way down to her toes.
Then things got a little more intense. Then a little more, until the night blended into one big blur of pleasure and she lost herself in the kind of sexual fulfilment she’d never even dared to dream could exist.
CHAPTER NINE
SO THAT WAS a fun night.
Alex lay in bed the following morning with Flora sleeping peacefully next to him, thinking that that had to be the understatement of the year.
The whole day had been incredible. From the deep connection he’d felt with Flora after gaining such a thorough insight into what drove her, to seeing the look of ecstasy on her face when he’d played music just for her last night.
Standing in front of his room, all he’d been able to think about was kissing her—not that the idea hadn’t flitted through his head on a regular basis throughout the day. It had seemed inevitable that it would happen at some point, he mused. Clearly they were very attracted to each other and he was pretty sure Flora must have felt it too, considering the way she’d responded to him with such eagerness.
Last night he’d not allowed himself to think about how it would change things between them, unable to resist the overpowering desire to be close to her that had plagued him all evening—hell, all day. But, as he thought about it now, a niggle of alarm wound its way through him. Would she expect this connection to mean more than he was capable of right now?
He became aware of her stirring next to him and turned onto his side to smile at her as she started to blink open her eyes.
‘Alex?’ she murmured. He answered her with a gentle kiss, feeling her sleep-warmed skin heat his face.
‘Good morning,’ he said eventually, pulling back from her to see the smile he’d hoped for in her eyes.
She hid a yawn behind her hand, then grinned at him. ‘A very good morning indeed.’
‘Did you sleep well?’ he asked, brushing a fallen eyelash from her cheek.
‘I did,’ she murmured. ‘Did you?’
‘Actually, I did for once. You wore me out,’ he teased, grinning at her mock-reproving look.
‘I think you’ll find you were just as enthused as I was,’ she said. He was relieved to hear her voice was only playfully stern.
‘You’re quite right, I was,’ he said, bending forward to kiss her again.
When he drew back, she fixed him with a puzzled frown.
‘What is this?’ she asked, waving her finger between the two of them.
He stilled, genuinely not knowing how to answer that. His heart thumped hard in his chest. ‘What do you think it is?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Do we need to put a label on it?’ He held his breath, waiting for her answer.
‘No,’ she said slowly. ‘Probably not.’
‘It’s unexpected, that’s what it is,’ he said, smiling in relief at her.
‘Agreed,’ she said, returning his smile. ‘But if we did want to explain it—not that we need to—I guess it’s just two friends comforting each other for the night at a difficult time in their lives?’
He nodded slowly, pushing away the unexpected sinking feeling in his gut. ‘Yeah, sure,’ he said, flopping back onto the pillows. ‘Just a bit of friendly sex between...er...friends.’
He felt her shift beside him and she leaned over to push away a strand of his fringe that had fallen over his eyes.
He grimaced. ‘I know, I should cut it,’ he said, before she could.
‘No. Don’t,’ she said, shaking her head. ‘It suits you like that.’
‘Still, it’s about time I started taking a bit more care of my appearance again.’
‘A shave might be good,’ she said with a wry smile, delicately fingering her sore chin.
He rocked to one side, then rolled on top of her, taking her by surprise and making her gasp. ‘Actually, I think the pink-chinned look suits you,’ he said, bending forward to nuzzle her jaw, then kiss her throat, before moving back up to press his mouth to hers. ‘It’s very sexy,’ he murmured against her lips.
‘Hmm,’ she purred as he shifted above her, making his intentions for the way he wished to spend the rest of the morning perfectly clear.
One night and one morning.
‘I suppose I can put up with it for such a good cause.’
‘Excellent. I love a martyr with no morals,’ he teased, moving down to kiss her neck again. Then he moved lower, hearing her half giggle, half moan with pleasure in response.
How he loved that sound.
Afterwards they talked and laughed and talked some more about their lives and their pasts and about Amy, but not about what they were doing here together.
It was better that way. As he’d told her when she’d tried to set him up with her friend Lucy, he wasn’t looking for anything serious at the moment and she was back off to the States soon anyway.
So friendly, consoling, unemotional sex was all it could be.
* * *
They eventually peeled themselves out of bed an hour later and Flora slipped back to her own room, thankfully not encountering anyone else on the way, and took a long, soothing shower. As soon as she was ready, she tapped on Alex’s door and they went downstairs together to grab some much-needed breakfast, agreeing they’d go back to Bath after eating and saying goodbye to everyone.
Evan and Violet were in the breakfast room, gazing into each other’s eyes with their fingers entwined. When Flora walked in her stomach did a strange lurch. Not because the sight of her sister and Evan still made her intensely jealous, but because she realised she didn’t feel like that about the two of them any more. Being around Alex had made her aware that she no longer had romantic feelings for Evan. Her body didn’t respond in any of the predictable ways it used to when he turned to look at her with his mesmerising golden eyes.
‘Hi, Flora,’ he said in his low, gravelly voice and she didn’t even blink.
‘Good morning. I’m surprised to see
the two of you up this early. You’re not exactly known for being early risers,’ she joked good-humouredly, taking a seat opposite Violet.
‘No, well, we had an early night,’ Violet said with a glint of mischievous innuendo in her eyes.
‘So you’re back together?’ Flora asked, deciding there was no point tiptoeing around it.
They both nodded, then turned to gaze into each other’s eyes again. Flora suddenly understood how in love they were with each other. She’d seen signs of it at the wedding that she’d been forced to attend, but through her haze of drunkenness she’d not seen the utter transfixed devotion she saw now.
‘I’m glad,’ she said, and found she really meant it.
‘Thanks, Floor, me too,’ Violet purred, not taking her eyes off her husband for a second.
Penny came in then and Flora and Alex gratefully placed their breakfast orders with the housekeeper. As soon as Penny had gone, Flora’s parents came in and they all got caught up in a discussion about music that lasted for the rest of the meal.
Flora found, with a swell of happiness, that she was having a really good time chatting with her family. It helped that Alex was by her side, covertly running his fingertips over the back of her hand under the table. Being this comfortable in the home she’d grown up in was something she had not experienced for a very long time.
‘Anyway, we’re going to hit the road,’ she announced as soon as their plates were cleared. ‘We’ve got a long drive ahead of us, especially with the roads so snowy.’ Snow had settled over the whole country overnight and there were warnings about some roads being hazardous to drive on, which would make their drive back a lot slower.
There followed a flurry of activity where she and Alex packed up their bags and met everyone down in the hallway for a send-off. Her parents hugged them both and Alex complimented them on their fantastic hospitality and thanked them for including him.
‘I’ll take the bags out to the car and see you there,’ he said to her, flashing her an encouraging smile.
Flora turned to her sister and held out her arms for a hug.
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