Page 49 of So That Happened
She raised a defiant eyebrow. ‘I seem to remember you jumping on me in the shower this morning. And forcing me to abandon our game of chess last night for a quickie on the floor of the snug.’
His pulse raced at the memory. He shrugged, his grin widening at her playful expression. ‘I was running interference. I knew I was going to lose so I thought I’d make the game a bit more interesting.’
‘You big fat cheat,’ she said, kicking him gently under the table. ‘Although, to give you your due, what we ended up doing after abandoning the chess game was much more fun.’
Gazing at her, with the hazy afternoon sunlight on her face, he thought she’d never looked so beautiful. If he’d found her impressive before, it was nothing to the way he reacted to her now. She was definitely a grower; the more he was around her the more she drew him into her web of temptation.
The low pulse of arousal he experienced whenever she was near intensified exponentially. At this rate they wouldn’t make it back to the farmhouse before he felt compelled to jump on her. Alfresco sex wasn’t normally his bag, but he felt sure he could overlook that fact just this once.
Why couldn’t life always be like this?
The question came out of nowhere, slamming him in the chest with the force of a bullet.
He needed to pull himself together. The stupefying heat and relaxed atmosphere were tricking his senses into believing this was all real, but he knew the truth. It was temporary, just like all holidays away from the humdrum of normal life.Shewas temporary, and he needed to keep a handle on that or he was going to find himself in big trouble.
14
The following day Connor left the farmhouse and went to the bank to handle some business transactions, leaving Josie alone for the first time in days. She’d assumed she’d be pleased to have some time on her own, but after only an hour without him she was aching for him to come back and found herself pacing the house, a nervy energy keeping her on the move between kitchen and snug, bathroom and bedroom.
In each room she delighted in the cosy comfort she’d come to know and love. A warm blush travelled across her cheeks as she realised there wasn’t a room they hadn’t had sex in – even the junk room hadn’t been left out after she’d discovered him in there looking for a book he’d packed away and one thing had led to another.
It was already hard to think about leaving all this behind. Had it really only been two weeks? It felt as if she’d been here for months and the days and nights had merged into each other.
Despite her promise to herself to treat their affair as what it was – a fun holiday fling – she couldn’t stop herself from wondering what it would be like to have Connor as a partner.
He excited and challenged her, opened her mind to things she’d spent her life hiding from, and she’d never known such peace as when she was with him. She felt so protected. As if she could leave it up to someone else to look out for her for a change.
Before she’d met Connor, an incident like the one with the woman yesterday would have stayed with her for days, eating away at her fragile confidence, feeding her sense of failure and driving her to work harder, longer, faster. But not now.
His presence galvanised her, inspiring in her a poised indifference she’d never known she had. The realisation that she was learning by his example hit her like a jackhammer. Her confidence was emerging bit by bit from the dark vault of her mind and it was Connor she had to thank for pointing the way out.
Over the last few days she’d allowed her overactive imagination to flit around the idea that he’d changed his mind about only treating this as a fling – that she’d somehow penetrated that wall of detachment he protected himself with. But, surely, she was kidding herself. There was no way Connor wanted more from her than a casual holiday affair. How could he? He was a drifter who didn’t seem to stick anywhere for long. She needed stability in her life. Her time here had been a rollercoaster, but she couldn’t live like that.
* * *
Later that evening, after dinner, they snuggled up on the sofa drinking a peaty-smelling whisky that Connor had unearthed from the sideboard.
‘Do you spend any time in London?’ she asked tentatively.
Connor was sitting behind her, holding her against him, so she couldn’t see his face, but she felt him stiffen.
‘No. I hate the place. I’ve no plans ever to go back to England.’
She wasn’t surprised. She couldn’t picture him there somehow. He was too big for the place – too vibrant and healthy. She knew how London could suck the life out of a person, and she couldn’t bear the thought of that happening to Connor.
‘So, what’s next for you?’ she asked.
‘This new project in India, then who knows?’
‘It sounds like a hard life. Don’t you crave some stability?’ She hoped he couldn’t feel the heavy thumping of her heart against his chest.
Connor snorted. ‘I like things the way they are. I feel trapped if I stay somewhere too long.’
A heavy weight thunked into her stomach. ‘Right.’
She thought about her own life. How different they were. Apart from the odd business trip, she spent the majority of her time in one place; he never seemed to stay still for long.
‘You must find it hard to hold down any relationship if you’re always moving on?’ She prayed the shake in her voice wouldn’t give her away.
