Page 9 of Swept Away

“I can’t believe we’ve agreed to spend the night together before we’ve even kissed,” she says, eyeing me. “This is extremely out of character for me, just so you know.”

“Is that what kissing is, for you?” I say, amused. “Like an audition?”

The look she gives me says,Yeah, duh. What else could it be?And I think, OK, so someone’s never kissed you like you deserve to be kissed, then.

“Come here,” I say, tipping my chin.

She raises her eyebrows. “You come here.”

I smile. She’s actually making me a bit nervous, in that butterflies-in-the-stomach kind of way—something about this night feels different from the nights I’ve had before. Maybe it’s me, changing. I hope so.

I drag my chair right up to Lexi’s, arm to arm, then twist in my seat so I’m facing her. She looks back, tense and kind of defiant, almost as if she’s daring me to do it. I don’t say anything; I just wait and watch her from a few breaths away. I want to see her relax before I move to touch her.

She takes a swig of wine, holding my gaze. She’s breathing a bit unsteadily now, and I feel my body tighten in response.

“Go on, then,” she prompts.

I just tilt my head. Keep looking. Trace over her features, those extraordinary, icy blue eyes, the strong set to her jaw. I watch her lips part, feel her gaze touch my mouth, and I keep waiting.

She huffs. “Fine,” she says, and leans over to kiss me.

I can tell from the way she kisses that Lexi thinks I’m a kid who doesn’t really know what to do—she thinks she’s going to have to show me how. It doesn’t take long to fix that. I slant her mouth to mine, ease back, feel for what she likes. She lets out a surprised hot breath when I brush my tongue lightly against hers, so I do it again, and smile against her mouth when her fingertips tighten on my forearm.

“Huh,” she says, breathless, as I pull back a little.

She’s looking at me differently. I swallow, glancing away toward the bar.

“Do that again,” she says, reaching up to turn my face back toward her.

I pull her in. After a few minutes of kissing her, I can feel the impatience in her body, that buzz she’s holding in.

“Let’s go,” she breathes.

I shake my head.

“We’ve got all night,” I say, smoothing back a loose strand of her hair. “I promised you stupid and reckless and fun. So…”

I raise my eyebrows at her, like,What does stupid and reckless and fun look like to you?

Lexi’s eyes dial a little brighter. “All right,” she says. “Let’s do shots.”

We finally leave The Anchor when a crowd of pub-crawlers arrive on a coach from Newcastle just before closing. I nick a brown trilby off the table as we go, and Lexi looks disapproving, even though it’sa tacky dress-up one and all the kids in costume are too plastered to care.

“It’s wrong to steal,” she says, leaning into me.

“Not stealing—rehoming,” I say. “Probably only cost him about two quid anyway.”

She narrows those round eyes, looking up at me. “Am I being led astray right now, young man? Are you what astray looks like?”

I ignore the twinge in my chest and smile, kissing her again, my hands finding the dip where her leather jacket nips in. We stumble away from the bar, not wanting to break apart, until we reach the marina fence and press against it, first my back to the wire, then hers. Every centimeter of us is touching. Just the feel of her is enough to make me want her so much I’m aching, especially after making out in the pub like teenagers all evening. It’s been a while, and I like this woman. Alot.

When we finally step apart, we’re standing in a cloud.

A sea fret. A sudden fog coming off the water. I remember there was one when I visited my dad here as a kid. Like someone’s taken an eraser to the world and left nothing but us.

Lexi pulls back, the fence bouncing a little against our weight, and says, “Am I drunker than I thought, or…”

“It’s not just you. The world’s gone.”

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