He gave a quiet laugh.
She'd called his bluff. "So you will think about it, me and the key chain, playing?"
When she arched an eyebrow at him he shook his head in disbelief, but his smile was wide. He took off his keys, unlatched the chain and coiled it slowly into her hand. "Of course I'll bloody well think about it."
"Thank you." She turned away. She bit her lip to resist the smile.
"I'll be back in a few weeks," he offered, moving close against her back, his hands resting lightly on hips.
Her heart brimmed, but she wanted him to say more before she opened up.
She rinsed out her cup.
He touched her tentatively on the shoulder. Then his arms crept around her and pulled her body closer to his. She rested back against him, silently urging him on. She could feel the tension in him as sure as a loaded weapon against her back.
"And I'll call you, if you'd like me to?"
"Call me? That'll be a first." She flashed him a suggestive glance over her shoulder as she put the cup down on the drainer. "Do we get to have dirty phone sex?"
After what seemed an eternity he put his hands firmly on her shoulders and turned her to face him. "You really are a vixen."
"Who me?" She pouted at him.
"Bloody hell, Tina, what are you trying to do to me? I'm trying to make sensible arrangements to stay in touch, for the future..." He broke off when he realized what he had said. He really was in a sorry state.
Her heart ached for him. She touched her fingers across his mouth, rested a kiss on his cheek, and breached the gap for him. "Shaun, you could have had my telephone number whenever you wanted. I'm glad you asked for it now."
He huffed out a brea
th. "Good, I wasn't sure for a minute there."
She winked. "You'd hate me if I were all weak and needy. If I weren't up to dealing with you and what ever curve balls you decide to throw me, we wouldn't even be here now, together..."
"Curve balls, huh?" He thought about what she said, exhaled the tension audibly and reached to stroke her hair. "Yes, you're right. It's your strength and your vitality that I adore." He stared at her. "Oh god, Tina, you're the most amazing woman I've ever met and…" he paused, "and you're bringing me to my knees here." He blurted the last part loudly, his expression growing frantic.
"You know, Shaun, that almost sounded like a compliment."
His eyes rounded. "Fuck it, Tina. I love you."
She stared at him, wondering if she'd imagined it, but no, the pleading look in his eyes assured he wasn't. "I know how hard that was for you," she murmured.
"Don't you play with me," he warned.
"Ha. Look who's talking! I'm not playing with you...well, not in a way you wouldn't want me to." She reached to wrap her fingers around the back of his neck. "In that case, it's a good job that I love you too."
He held back for a moment, until it sank in. Then he kissed her, and he moved against her with desperation, clutching at her, his hands needy and fast, moving all over her.
She welcomed him in, her tongue teasing his, her arms snaked around his neck, her fingers in his hair. Their bodies rocked together, no holding back now. She lifted her knee alongside his hip, locking him against her. He covered her jaw with kisses, his hands cupping her breasts from beneath.
When he eased away, his eyes twinkled in a way she hadn't seen before. It made her heart brim with pleasure. She stroked her hand over the bulge beneath his zipper. "Do you think we can make it back to bed before anyone else gets up?"
"Probably," he replied, and then drew her hand free, lifting it to his lips, where he kissed it. "But I'd rather we stayed here, because I'd like to make an announcement about us, if you're okay with that."
Tina couldn't stifle her smile. "I think most of them have guessed already."
"Enough with the teasing. I mean... you know what I mean, become a couple, officially."
"Oh, I think I can deal with that." Bed was obviously going to have to wait, at least for a little while.