Goody Two Shoes (Invertary 2)

She wasn’t sure it could get better. And then his hips started to move. Every nerve in her body came alive in the same instant. Her world narrowed to only Josh. There was nothing else in the cocoon they had made. His musky scent filled her senses. His strength surrounded her. Everything within her began to climb. She was losing her sense of self. Josh and Caroline didn’t exist anymore. They weren’t two. They were one.

“Faster.” Caroline ordered.

“Bossy.” He chuckled tightly. “I should have known you would be bossy here too.”

Caroline slammed her hips up into him. He groaned, and it was her turn to smile. Josh moved faster. Deeper. Caroline lost her place entirely. She clawed at him. Her senses were overloaded. There was too much to feel, to hear, to touch. It was a tsunami of sensation, swallowing her whole.

“Josh. Josh.” His name was a chant. A desperate, pleading chant.

She felt him tense above her as lights flickered in front of her eyes. Her muscles clenched. She sucked in a breath. Her heart stuttered. Every muscle spasmed. A long, desperate moan. Everything within her crashed to a halt. Time stopped. A beat. Two. And then she gasped for air. Her fingers tingled. Her heart started to thud again, loudly. Her muscles became jelly. Josh fell to her side. His fingers threaded through her hair as he nuzzled her throat.

“Are you okay?”

Caroline let out a sigh. “Better than okay.”

“Good.” He kissed her gently, making her tremble.

He pushed back from her and searched her eyes. Seeking confirmation that she was okay with things. A slow smile lit his face. He rolled onto his back and pulled her into his side, tucking her tight against him. Caroline listened to his rushing heartbeat as it slowed to normal. She traced lazy circles on his abdomen. For the first time since she’d agreed to marry Josh, she questioned the wisdom of her decision. She was in love with the man. But he didn’t want that. No. He wanted a solid commitment without romantic love. He wanted the kind of love that good friends shared. Her heart stuttered within her. What if Josh never felt anything more for her than he did right now? Would she be able to live with that? Knowing that the man she was madly, desperately in love with only felt affection for her?

She tried to tell herself to be practical. To stop wanting more than she already had. Goodness knows, what Josh offered her was far more than she ever expected she’d have. But still. A tiny, niggling part of her wondered if she would live a lifetime heartbroken that the man she married didn’t love her the way she loved him.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Andrew McInnes was as nervous as a boy on his first date. He’d spent the past few days in Glasgow being fitted for the all-important suit. He’d visited a sex shop. It wasn’t what he’d expected. He’d thought he’d have to skulk through an unmarked door and buy things in brown paper bags. Instead, the vast front window was full of kinky lingerie and there were women serving behind the counter.

He’d been embarrassed at first, especially as he had no idea what to buy—except handcuffs, that is. Eventually, one of the women had taken pity on him and offered to help. He’d explained that he was trying to seduce his wife of thirty-five years. Then he’d explained his theory on what women wanted. She seemed impressed with the amount of research he’d done on the topic. Twenty minutes later, he’d left the shop armed with a beginner’s kit for kinky sex. He hadn’t known such a thing existed, but it did. It was all boxed up in a pink candy-striped package.

Bewildered, Andrew had spent the rest of his time in Glasgow getting a haircut and buying chocolate. If all else failed, he’d ply Helen with the biggest damn box of gourmet chocolates that money could buy.

He didn’t even want to think what he would do if the chocolate didn’t do the trick.

Now it was Friday and he was back in Invertary. The town was full of

reporters, and Josh was holed up in Caroline’s house until the wedding. Which meant Helen was in the castle. Alone.

As Andrew stood outside the castle door, he reminded himself of what women wanted. Domineering guy in a suit? He looked down at himself. Check. Over-the-top romantic gestures? He eyed the pamphlet tucked into his pocket. Check. Kinky sex? He flexed his grasp on the bag full of purchases from the sex shop. Check. He took a deep breath. This was as good as it got.

Then he rang the doorbell.

Nerves assaulted him. His palms were wet. His mouth was dry. Damn it all to hell. This was too much for a sixty-seven-year-old heart to handle. He was going to have a stroke right here on the doorstep. Helen would open the door, look out over his prone dead body and wonder why she’d ever married him. Breathe. Damn it. Breathe.

He was on the verge of running when the door swung open.

Helen was wearing the yellow flowered sundress that was so pretty on her. Her feet were bare and her makeup had worn off some during the day. She was stunning. Her mouth opened and shut a couple of times as her wide eyes travelled the length of him. A flush hit her cheeks, and Andrew couldn’t help but puff out his chest with pride. He might be old, but he still had it going on.

“Andrew? What do you—”

He didn’t let her finish. In two long strides, he grabbed her round the waist, clutched the back of her head and pressed his mouth to hers. Operation Win Helen Back had officially started. And damn, but it felt good to have his wife in his arms again.

She smelled of peppermint and lilacs. A smell that was unique to her and made his heart shudder. Whether she liked it or not, she belonged to him. She’d always belonged to him. He might have been lax in showing it, but Helen was the only woman he had ever loved. The only one he would ever love. And he was never letting her go.

Helen didn’t kiss him back. She didn’t do much of anything. He knew she was stunned, but he kept on kissing her until she caught up with him. At last, he felt her lips move and her arms slowly wrap around his waist. He wanted to stop and fist-pump the air. But he didn’t. Instead, he backed her into the wall and kissed her like she’d never been kissed before. A small moan escaped her lips, and he swallowed it down greedily. He pulled her tight against him, noticing again how perfectly she fit. Briefly he wondered if he should lift her up so that her legs would wrap around his waist. He would take her in the hall, up against the wall. Just like the heroes in all those books liked to do. Sadly, he didn’t think his back could take it, and the last thing he wanted was for the both of them to land on the floor and him to writhe in agony.

No. He needed a bed for what he had planned. He mentally cursed that the beds were all upstairs. He was worried that by the time he got her there, he would have lost his advantage. That left the kitchen. He reluctantly pulled away from her kiss. He stroked his hand over her new short hair. It didn’t bother him much anymore. In fact, it was even kind of sexy. He was pleased to see that Helen’s breathing was fast and shallow.

“What are you doing?” It’d been a long time since he’d heard that breathless whisper. He’d missed it.

He leaned over and snatched the bag from where he’d dropped it outside the front door. Kicking the door shut behind him, he grabbed Helen’s hand and strode towards the kitchen, dragging her along with him.