Page 23 of An Island in the Sun

Tabitha shook her head, which made the swirling wooziness even worse. ‘I have no idea.’ She giggled harder and hiccupped. ‘It’s been a long time since I drank like this.’

‘I can tell.’ He tapped his glass against hers. ‘I’m going to have to keep an eye on you.’

Tabitha held his gaze, as much as she could with her head spinning the way it was. She liked the idea of him keeping an eye on her. She liked the idea of him.

That’s a foolish thing to think. And yet, here she was, spending the evening with him, drinking a copious amount of booze, when there was no reason why they couldn’t have spent the evening separately. After all, it was only a place to crash that he needed.

Raff picked up the nearly empty bottle of tequila.

Tabitha held her hand over the shot glass. ‘Uh-uh. No more.’ She scrambled unsteadily to her feet, disturbing Fudge as she did. ‘So need a wee.’

She made her way across the living room to the bathroom, feeling as if she was zigzagging across the bow of a ship in a stormy sea.

After the longest wee in the world, Tabitha washed her hands and leant on the sink. Her face was flushed, her semi-dried curls a wayward mass, her features distorted in the mirror as if she was still on that rocking boat.

She switched off the light and staggered from the bathroom, promising herself to slow down on the drinking, although the damage was already done. She was going to have a raging hangover in the morning. However, even in her drunken state, she acknowledged how much she’d enjoyed herself with Raff. He was exceedingly good-looking too, making her feel all kinds of delicious things that she hadn’t felt in a long time.

Talking of the devil, he was heading towards her, a tall, muscled figure, shadowed in the dimly lit hallway, reminding her of their first unexpected encounter. From an intruder last night to sharing an evening laughing and flirting together…

‘Hey,’ he said as he reached her. ‘Just wanted to make sure you weren’t passed out somewhere.’

‘It may be a long time since I’ve drunk like this, but I can hold my drink.’ She tried to contain a hiccup.

Raff smirked. ‘If you say so.’

Up close, she could just make out the cool blue of his eyes, half closed from drunkenness, and dark stubble shading his defined jaw.

‘You need a little help walking back?’ Raff slid his arm around her waist and she leaned into him, except they didn’t move. She heard the clack of the dogs’ nails on the polished wood floor as they joined them in the hallway.

With her head whirling, Tabitha gazed up. He leaned closer, tequila breath tickling her skin, not in an unpleasant way. Her heart raced. On tiptoes, she faltered momentarily, then pressed her lips to his, kissing him gently until he responded and kissed her back. Their tongues toyed with each other. He tasted of tequila and lager.

Dipping her hands beneath his T-shirt, she smoothed them across his firm chest. He did the same, connecting with her bare skin and sending a jolt of excitement through her. She closed her eyes and everything spun. Her senses were overloaded, a mishmash of desire and drunkenness, coupled with the taste of him and his touch, firm and enticing. He backed her against the wall, his body pressed against hers as their kiss intensified.

Tabitha opened her eyes and pulled away, the sensation of being spun on a fairground ride overwhelming, the only difference being Raff’s strong arms contained her, instead of hard metal sides. She grabbed the bottom of his T-shirt and tugged it up and over his head. She caught his drunken grin as she discarded it on the floor. She trailed her fingers across his sculpted chest before taking his hand. They staggered along the hallway together, crashing into each other in a fit of giggles at the bedroom door.

10

Tabitha woke with a groan, nausea rising into her throat. Sunlight filtered between half-drawn curtains, forcing her to squint, her pounding head unable to cope with even a hint of daylight. Images from the night before flashed through her mind: downing shots of tequila, tumbling into the pool, revealing tattoos, snogging Raff…

Tabitha forced her thumping head to turn. Squinting through tired, hungover eyes, she took in Raff, sprawled next to her on the bed in just his jeans. His arms were curled around a pillow, his shoulder muscles tense, his broad back shapely.

Thank goodness he’s wearing something, Tabitha thought.

With a start, she pulled down the sheet covering her. She was just in her bra and knickers, her skirt and top crumpled on the floor.

‘Oh God,’ she mumbled, her thoughts spilling out loud.

Raff groaned. ‘Ugh, what time is it?’

Tabitha glanced to the bottom of the bed and Fudge looking expectantly at her. ‘I guess, seven.’ Her voice sounded gravelly. The excesses of last night pounded her head like she’d fought ten rounds with Tyson Fury.

Raff groaned again and rolled onto his back. The buttons of his jeans were undone, his ripped chest in her eyeline. All the feelings from last night came flooding back in a wave. Not to mention nausea. God, did she feel rough.

Tabitha’s eyes drifted over Raff’s enticing form. She’d had no qualms about kissing him last night. She frowned, her memory hazy as she tried to remember who had made the first move. Whoever it was, she’d been party to the flirting. Her eyes lingered on his toned stomach, traced across his regrettable Smurf tattoo before drifting to where his unbuttoned jeans revealed a smattering of hair…

She tore her eyes away. This was wrong on so many levels. Even if nothing had happened beyond a snog, which she was completely unsure about, she’d betrayed Rufus and Cordelia’s trust. Tabitha breathed deeply at the thought that she was intheirbed with their son who wasn’t supposed to be there.

In desperate need of fresh air and feeling as if she was about to be sick, Tabitha forced herself out of bed. Her throat felt hoarse as if she’d been in a club all night, her mouth furred with that morning-after-the-night-before feeling. She pulled on her top and staggered from the room, Fudge and Bailey following, while Raff gave another sleepy groan.

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