Page 84 of Short Stack 3

“Mmm,” I say happily. “Ilovethe rain.”

Tom stirs and grunts, so I snuggle into him, feeling his arms tighten around me unconsciously. Then I lie there for a while, listening to the rain and his soft snores while thinking about a paper I’ve got to present in a few weeks.

I’m idly rehearsing my closing remarks when Tom stirs again. He stretches, rubbing his body against me in a very distracting way. “Morning,” he rumbles. “What time is it?”

I grasp his arm, which is wrapped tightly around me. “It’s only seven. Go back to sleep.”

I’m secretly hoping he won’t do that. I like talking to him.

He yawns. “Why are you up? You were so tired last night, babe.”

“I couldn’t sleep. Too busy thinking about the paper.”

He drops a kiss on the back of my neck, nosing my hair and making me shiver pleasurably. “Do you want to practice on me?”

I smile helplessly. He always says that, and without fail, he will sit listening to my papers. He’s probably dying of boredom inside, but he never lets it show. “Not yet,” I say softly. “Have I told you how much I love you?”

“Last night, but I think you shouldscreamit this morning,” he says wolfishly, and I wriggle in anticipation. He pops his head over the duvet. “Bloody hell, it’s cold. I can’t wait until the new boiler is fitted.”

“When’s that happening?”

His voice is wry when he speaks next. “Why? Are you going to be here to welcome the heating engineer in the way you did the plasterers?”

“Oh mygod, please don’t ever speak about that again.”

He starts to laugh. “I never realised my boyfriend was such a little strumpet.”

I pinch his arm, enjoying the sound of his laughter. “It’s not my fault. How was I to know that they were going to turn up and that you’d given them a key?”

“I didn’t know you were going to be in. I think it was an equal shock to them when you walked into the kitchen completely starkers with a hard-on.”

“I am actually going red all over just thinking about that,” I remark.

He laughs. “Are youreally? Well, that doesn’t sound good, Beethoven. I shall have to inspect this medical condition and see for myself.”

He wriggles under the covers, and I spread my legs obligingly, feeling his broad shoulders against my inner thighs. I arch up into the heat of his breath, and then the hot, tight clasp of his mouth makes all my busy thoughts fly away.

A while later, I surface. We’re lying in a damp tangle of limbs, and my heart is still slamming against my chest. Tom raises his head from where he’s rested it on my neck. His hair is a mess from where my hands have been, and his lips are swollen. I know I’m in the same state, and it’s lovely.

“Is it raining?” he asks, peering at the grey morning outside.

“It’s been raining for ages.” I snuggle into him. “I suppose football will be cancelled,” I say in a tone that hopefully conceals my happiness. By his wry look, I don’t think I’ve succeeded.

“Nope.”

“But it’s raining.Hard,” I add in case he hasn’t noticed.

“Nah, it’ll be fine.”

“Well, that’s just… That’s justwonderful.”

He drops a kiss on my nose. “Good try,” he says, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

He pulls away and jumps out of bed in his usual energetic fashion while I grumble at the cold air and losing his body heat.

“Shit, it’s cold,” he squeaks, tiptoeing across the bare floorboards like he’s a deer on ice.

I pull the covers over my shoulders, snuggling into the sheets that smell of us. “Where are you going?”

---