Page 79 of Tears of Glass

“You smell so nice.” It’s possibly the lamest thing I’ve ever said to anyone. Actually, I’m not sure I’ve ever told anyone they smell nice before.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“You should. You’re the first person I’ve ever told.”

He beds slightly and drops a kiss onto my hair. “Another first I get to keep.”

“You also get the blow job at work first.”

His chest rises and falls with a chuckle and I relish the breath of his heart under my ear. “Well I’m glad I own that one.”

“Are you mad?” I’ve got a vague notion that the threat of punishment was branded about.

He tilts my chin with his fingers, so our gazes meet. “Never. Although advance notice would have been nice. I would have taken a different office for the day.”

“Sorry.”

He kisses the tip of my nose and then relaxes back down. “How bad is the headache?”

“What headache? I assume you had elephants running around the house.”

“I sent them packing with the circus as it came through town.”

“Damn.” I’m smiling despite the pain. “I’m sorry you had to come and pick me up.”

“It’s fine. I’d rather know you were safe. I’m not going to lie, I was worried when I couldn’t get hold of you. I finished work early and called you a couple of times to see where you were.”

I roll so I can face him. I’m sure I look wrecked and smell like something that should have been put out with the trash. “Even if you had called me—”

“Did call you.” He interjects.

“What difference would it have made? I was out with people who can’t know we are together. Gerard was there and the last thing we need is him running to Peter.”

He is silent then he sighs and glares at the ceiling. “Well today is our day, and nothing is going to ruin it.”

I smile and brush away the nagging doubt hammering the back of my brain alongside my hangover. “The whole weekend is ours. What do you want to do?”

“I’d like to introduce you to some friends, if that’s okay?”

“But...”

“No buts. These are people I trust and we always meet on a Saturday.”

“Okay. When is that?”

“Later.”

“So, what now?”

“Exactly how bad is that headache?” His smile is slow and devilish.

“What headache?” I squeal as he pounces and rolls me under his warm and solid body, and Saturday gets off to the best start it possibly can.

“Where on earth are we going?” I peer at him as we walk down deserted London streets. Near the river we are close to the business areas where not many people go at the weekend. We’ve passed the Law Courts; my cheeks stung with a faint blush as I remembered my brazen activities of the previous lunch. We’ve crossed Blackfriars Bridge at Fleet Street and passed Shakespeare’s Globe. His fingers are holding mine tightly, our hands swinging between us like the breeze. His confidence rolls of him in waves of delicious calm. He turns and the right side of his mouth hitches and that little cute dimple that a week ago I didn’t think I’d see again appears, and damn if it’s not so cute I could kiss it right now.

So I do.

Reeling him in like the catch of a lifetime I press my body against his, soft against hard, my fingers sliding into the hair at the base of his neck. When he sees my intent, those delphinium blues deepen with understanding and he catches my face in the safe cradle of his fingertips and tilts my mouth to his.