“Wasn’t planning on it.” He dipped his head to love her once more until the fireball building inside her began to explode.
* * *
Ember had never slept with a guy on a first date. She’d not stayed awake all night with one, either. All she knew was she hadn’t planned any of this – from kissing Lucas on the beach to sleeping with him in his cottage – and yet she couldn’t find herself regretting a single moment.
It had been perfect, from the first kiss to the third time they’d made love, this time with her leaning over him, their eyes locked as she felt her body succumb to the pleasure. But now it was morning, and her car was still in the parking lot next to the fair. She had no way of getting out of here even if she wanted to.
But did she want to escape and do… what did Ally call it again? Oh yeah, the walk of shame. Because she didn’t feel ashamed. She felt alive, as though somebody had turned on every single switch inside her, and her whole body was burning bright.
Lucas mumbled in his sleep and turned so his body was facing hers. He was still naked – they both were, and she couldn’t help but take another peek at him.
He was glorious. There was no other word for it. If Michelangelo had carved him with a block of marble and a chisel he couldn’t have been more perfect. He was big and yet sinewy, strong and yet somehow vulnerable, too. He wrung every emotion out of her without even needing to try.
The delicate skin on his eyelids trembled a couple of times, then his eyes slowly opened. He blinked, eyelashes sweeping down, before his gaze fell on hers.
Almost immediately he smiled, and she liked that a lot. He reached out for her, tracing her lips with his fingertip, and she nipped it with her teeth, making his smile widen.
“What time is it?” he asked her, his voice thick and graveled.
“Just after six.”
“Can’t you sleep?”
She licked her lips. They felt dry from sleep and as tender as anything. All that kissing would do that to a woman. “Just wondering about how to get my car. It’s still in the parking lot.”
“You want to get it now?” He frowned, leaning up on his elbows. “It’s pretty early. They might even have locked the gate to the lot.”
“I just didn’t want you thinking I’m hanging around here waiting for…” she trailed off. For the first time a wave of embarrassment hit her. “Well, waiting for breakfast or something. You must have things to do.”
He was still frowning. “You think I want you to leave?”
“Don’t you?”
“Of course I don’t.” Lucas was still looking at her, his brows knitted together as if he couldn’t work her out at all. She couldn’t blame him. Every time she opened her mouth she seemed to trip over her own tongue. Her cheeks flamed with embarrassment yet again.
“I’m just not used to this.” She waved her hand between them. “I assume there are rules for the morning after, I just don’t know what they are.”
Lucas exploded into unexpected laughter. She watched him, open mouthed, as his body was wracked with amusement. When he calmed down and caught her eye, he was still chuckling.
“There are no rules,” he told her, shaking his head, the humor still crinkling the skin around his eyes. “It’s not like we’re at school. What kind of rules did you expect there to be?”
“I don’t know,” she said, burying her face in her hands. She was so embarrassed.
Gently he prized her fingers away. “Ember?” he said gently. “There aren’t any rules, and I don’t want you to leave. I had a good time last night and I don’t want it to end. Stay with me. Let me make you some breakfast. Or even better, let me take you out and buy you some.”
She tried to imagine what people would say if the two of them went to Ally’s café or the diner, Ember wearing yesterday’s clothes. “Breakfast here sounds good,” she said, her voice soft. “But maybe not somewhere else, at least today.”
“No?” He tipped his head to the side, as if he was still trying to work her out.
“It’s a small town. People talk.” She took a deep breath. “They’ve only just stopped talking about Will leaving me. I don’t want to be the center of attention again. Plus I’m a teacher. A lot of my students and their families live local, I don’t want to give them anything to gossip or complain about.”
“That sounds reasonable.” He knew she was as dedicated to her job as he was to his. “We can take it slowly, nobody needs to know what’s going on here apart from us.” He smiled at her. “And I have work complications of my own. In a few weeks I’ll be going back to White City. I can’t promise I’ll be around as much after that.”
She nodded. “I know.” But she didn’t like the thought of it. They’d just found each other and he was going to be leaving again soon.
What had Ally told her? She needed to live for the moment. Stop worrying about the future, stop agonizing about the past; to take each day one at a time. There was no need to define what was going on between them, or start thinking about the future. Right now was all that mattered.
“So we’re friends?” she asked him.