She shuddered. “Never again.”
He helped her out of her coat and boots. “I have a surprise for you,” he said against her ear.
“I’ve got a surprise for you too,” she said as she leaned into him.
“Mine first.” Logan put his hands on her hips and guided her toward the stairs. “Up you go.”
“I hope your surprise isn’t of the naked variety, because I’m not doing that with kids in the house. It would be icky.”
“Icky is not a word I remember you using when it came to sex. I believe it was two words—‘too good’. And, for your information, the kids are sleeping next door tonight.”
“Are they now?” She stopped on the step above him and turned to drape her arms over his shoulders. “That’s a bit presumptuous.”
“Not presumptuous. Optimistic.” His hands rested on the full curve of her hips.
“I do like optimism in a man.”
“I hope that isn’t all you like.”
“What else do you have to offer?” Agnes closed the distance between them and teased his lips with hers.
“Go upstairs, and you’ll find out,” he murmured against her mouth, before turning her and gently prodding her to keep climbing.
“You ruin all my fun,” she complained as she put some extra sway into her hips.
He followed her into his bedroom and through to the en suite he’d added when he bought the house. His parents thought it an extravagance, but then, they weren’t sharing a bathroom with two teens.
“Oh,” she gasped as she halted in the doorway.
He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back into him as he waited for her reaction. He’d be the first to ad
mit his surprise wasn’t the most original, but if an idea worked well enough to become a romance standard, Logan wasn’t about to dismiss it.
The bathroom was full of the candles he’d stocked up on at the Christmas market, much to the delight of the woman who ran the stall. He’d chosen a variety of shapes and sizes and a myriad of fragrances, hoping it wouldn’t all blend together and fill his bathroom with a toxic cloud. To his relief, the smell was heady but pleasant.
Candles burned on every surface, their light reflecting off the large mirror over the sink. In the corner of the room, his old clawfoot tub was filled with girly bubbles, and on a stool beside it sat a thermos of hot chocolate and a plate of shortbread.
Her smile was teasing when she looked up at him. “No champagne and strawberries?”
“This is winter in Scotland.”
“You are such a wise man.” Her attention drifted back to the room. “I can’t believe you did this for me.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to say it was only a bath, but it wasn’t. It was him showing her that he thought of her even when she was out of his sight.
“You’d better get in before it gets cold,” he said roughly.
Agnes turned and reached up to cup his cheek. “Thank you.”
The warmth in her eyes burned a hole straight through to his heart.
“Anytime, Agnes, love.” He kissed her forehead. “Now strip.”
Without hesitation, she pulled off her jumper and tossed it at him before reaching for the snap of her jeans. For a second, he could only stand there, drinking in the sight of Agnes in a black lace bra.
“You’re coming in too, aren’t you?” she said as she shimmied out of her jeans.
“I’m not sure there’s room in that tub for two.”