Absent in the Spring (The Shakespeare Sisters 3)

‘Here with you. If you’ll have me.’

He looked at her, unblinking. ‘Of course I’ll have you.’ He leaned forward. His face was only inches away from hers. She wondered if he was going to kiss her. ‘I know I said I was trying to wait, but I was just getting Grant to arrange my flights to London before you arrived. It turns out I’m not as patient as I thought.’

She smiled at him. ‘That’s one of the things I love about you,’ she said.

He looked gratified at her words, closing the gap between their lips, kissing her deeply. He curled his hand around the back of her neck, angling her head so he could kiss her harder, deepening it with a slide of his tongue against hers.

She looped her arms around his neck, arching herself into him, all thoughts of apologies and torn dresses disappearing from her mind. His other hand pressed into the dip of her lower back, his fingers burrowing under her shirt until they were pressed against her flesh, and she felt herself shiver beneath his touch.

‘What was it you wanted to show me?’ he murmured, brushing his lips down her jaw and then kissing at her neck.

‘Hmm?’

He moved his fingers up her spine, making her shiver, his lips still worshipping at her throat. ‘You asked to show me something,’ he said, his words muffled by her skin. ‘Or was that just an excuse?’

Briefly, her thoughts were pulled to the box, placed carefully on the table on the far end of her bedroom, but then he moved his hands to the buttons of her blouse, deftly unfastening them until it gaped open, and he kissed his way down her chest to the swell of her breast.

‘It doesn’t matter,’ she gasped, as he moved his face down until his lips were tugging at the lace of her bra, sucking at her nipple through the delicate fabric. She felt her skin harden, her body reacting to his warm, wet mouth.

She could feel him harden in the same way.

‘It doesn’t?’ he clarified, moving his lips to her other breast. She loved the way he always played fair.

‘Nuh uh.’

Looping his arms around her back, he unhooked her bra, sliding it down her arms along with her blouse, until they were both pooled on the floor.

‘Well, I’ve got something to show you,’ he told her, unbuttoning his own shirt, and shrugging out of it.

‘You have?’

‘Yep.’ He reached down, unzipping her skirt and pushing it down her hips with his warm hands. ‘Now get on that bed and close your eyes.’

‘You’re as bossy as ever.’

‘Always.’

‘And what if I want to be in control?’ she asked.

He looked up for a moment, a curious smile playing at his lips. ‘Do you?’ he asked.

She stared back at him. ‘No, not really. Not this time, anyway.’

‘Then do as you’re told and get on the bed.’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘You want me to get a bathrobe?’ he asked her, his voice teasing. ‘It would make a good gag if nothing else.’

‘You’ve forgotten we’re in the cheap rooms,’ she pointed out. ‘No complimentary bathrobes in here.’

‘Then I’ll have to find another way to keep you quiet,’ he said, dipping his lips to hers once again.

‘You could try,’ she murmured, closing her eyes as she felt him lift her up, and carry her over to the bed.

‘Yeah, I could,’ he said, laying her down onto the mattress, her hair spreading out on the pillow. ‘But I have a feeling I might fail, and we don’t want that.’

‘You said you didn’t care about winning any more,’ she pointed out, letti