Page 25 of Coming Home to Roseford Villas
Rory’s heart swelled with compassion, and she sat down on the bed next to Leo, taking one of his hands in hers. ‘It’s all right,’ she said softly. ‘We can take it really, really slowly and just see what happens.’ She gave a little, nervous laugh. ‘In a way, it’s similar to what we were like when we were younger – both of us wondering what all of the fuss was about, but desperate to do it anyway!’
Leo looked up and his eyes met Rory’s, full of affection. ‘I might not be able to, er, fully get my act together,’ he said, and his face flushed again. ‘I’ve been having a few issues in that area since the accident. The doctors said it might happen, because of a combination of anxiety and the back injury, so this is all going to be kind of new to me.’
‘If it doesn’t all happen the way you want, it’s fine,’ Rory said softly. ‘We can just cuddle. We’ve got time.’ She sat down next to him on the bed. ‘Shall we start with that, and see how things go?’
‘I remember you saying something similar to me, the first time we slept together,’ Leo replied. ‘And we ended up getting rather carried away!’
‘Didn’t we just! Thank God my parents were away for the weekend. I’d never have gone through with it if I’d thought they were going to burst in on us.’
‘But you don’t regret it?’ Leo asked. ‘Me being your first, I mean? Even though we both knew I was going to have to leave.’
Rory shook her head so hard her ponytail slapped her on the neck. ‘No,’ she said. ‘I never regretted a second of it. Did you?’
‘Absolutely not,’ Leo murmured. He reached a hand up to her face and cupped her cheek, bringing her mouth towards his. ‘Now, about that cuddling…’
27
A little time later, the cuddling was getting rather heated. Leo had discarded his T-shirt and Rory slipped off hers, too. The kisses had warmed them both, and Rory knew, without a doubt, that she was more than ready to take another step.
‘So,’ she said softly, ‘when you told me that there might be a problem, is that something that you can control? Is it, er, physical, or mental?’
Leo smiled. ‘A bit of both,’ he said. ‘Being in certain positions makes things easier for me, and I’m afraid my days ofany time,anywhereare over, but I know what my limits are, and the further away I get from the accident, the easier things seem to be. My therapist and my physio both suggested a “suck it and see” approach, but to be honest, I’ve not had any opportunities since my marriage ended.’ He shook his head, but they both started to laugh at his physio’s expression, which defused the tension somewhat. ‘I must sound like a really sad, lonely twat,’ Leo admitted, with a rueful smile.
Rory propped herself up on one elbow. ‘No, you don’t,’ she said. ‘You sound like someone who went through a terribleexperience and is quite rightly being cautious about things, especially when it comes to getting close to someone else.’
Seeing Leo swallowing hard, Rory reached out a hand and ran it through his hair. Encouraged as he leaned into her touch, she moved forward and kissed him gently. ‘I meant it when I said we didn’t have to do anything you don’t want to.’
‘I know,’ Leo murmured. ‘And the longer I’m lying here with you, the more I want to experiment, see what my limits actually are.’
‘Well, we’d better make sure we embrace an experimental approach, then!’ Rory smiled into the kiss.
‘You always did have a way with words,’ Leo said dryly.
‘Suck it and see, you said?’ Rory glanced down the length of Leo’s body. ‘Is that something you’d be happy for me to, er, explore?’
Leo’s eyes widened. ‘More than happy,’ he said, a husky note in his voice.
‘Well, let me know if that changes,’ Rory said. Carefully, she began to kiss Leo’s neck, and as he arched his back in pleasure she ran a hand down his chest, following that movement with featherlight touches of her lips. ‘Is this all right?’ she murmured between kisses.
‘That is definitely all right,’ Leo breathed as she progressed downwards. ‘Definitely, definitely all right.’
Rory smiled into the kisses. She remembered, back in the day, just how wild Leo had been driven by this, and as she moved down the bed, she ran a hand through his hair, and down, over his chest and to the top of his shorts.
‘I really want to test things a little further,’ she said gently. ‘Are you OK with that?’
In response, Leo raised his hips, and Rory could see his arousal outlined through his dark blue shorts. ‘I am OK with that.’ She ran a hand over his abdomen, and further down,squeezing and touching until he was rocking against her hand and moaning into her kisses.
‘Christ, I feel like I’m sixteen,’ Leo groaned as he pressed up against her hand. ‘I can’t decide if this is too much of a tease, or not enough…’
Rory smiled. She remembered the thrill she had felt, as a teenager, holding Leo in the palm of her hand, and was ecstatic that she still seemed to be able to have the same effect on him.
‘Do you remember the first time we saw each other naked?’ she whispered into his ear. ‘We did everything but go the whole way that night, and God, it felt incredible.’
‘I don’t suppose you fancy recreating it?’ Leo breathed. ‘I think I’m more than up to that.’
Rory nodded. ‘I am definitely up for that.’ She momentarily took her hand away from Leo’s fly and unhooked her rose-pink bra and was wildly encouraged to see Leo’s expression change to one of barely disguised lust as he caught sight of her half unclothed. He pulled her on top of him, and as their torsos touched, she felt a rush of warmth through her body that left her wanting and needing to feel more.
‘You look amazing,’ Leo murmured, ‘and even better than I remembered.’
