Page 83 of Love At First Fright
“I’m home!” Ellis heard Rosemary call from downstairs.Home. My girl is home.
Ellis swiped the tears from his eyes and composed himself. He needed to think.
“I’m upstairs, love,” he called out. A few minutes later, Rosemary came into the room, her nose and cheeks rosy from the cold. She bounded straight across the room to him, into his arms, where she was supposed to be. It all felt easier now she was here.
“How were Dina and Immy?” he asked, after taking the time to kiss his way from her lips to the shell of her ear. It didn’t escape him that he was still topless, and that Rosemary seemed to be having a wonderful time warming her icicle hands on his chest.
“Good. They had to interrogate me about you, of course.”
“Of course.”
“And Immy said that Eric, that’s her husband, and Dina’s fiancé, Scott, want to know if you’ve ever been rowing before? Apparently, they’re in need of a fourth person for their four-person boat, along with one of Scott’s museum colleagues. I think it’s a secret man hazing thing.”
“Ha, well, I’m up for secret man hazing. I’ve only rowed a couple of times, as part of a movie, but I reckon I could pick it up.”
“What have you been up to? I can smell fresh paint downstairs.”
“Nothing.”
Rosemary raised an eyebrow, those brown eyes boring into him.
“I don’t want to ruin the surprise,” he said.
She huffed and smiled. “Fine.” She wriggled further into the hug, but gripped him a little too tight.
“Something’s wrong,” Ellis said. “What’s up? Did something happen in London?”
Fix it, make her feel better,his brain was screaming at him.
“I’m a little nervous about my book signing in London next week,” Rosemary mumbled into the crook of his neck.
“How come? You’ve done London signings before. This one can’t be too different.”
“No, they’re not really. It’s just…well, I don’t really have a specific reason to feel nervous, I guess. I just do.”
Ellis held her tighter. “That’s okay. You don’t need to have a reason. Just doing an event is scary. I have to be on set in the morning, but there’s only second-unit stuff in the afternoon, so I should be able to get there in time.”
Rosemary exhaled. “That’s good. Thank you. Normally, either Immy or Dina will be there in the audience, but Immy has the twins and Dina is training new baristas at her café, so she won’t be able to make it. I think I like to know there’s someone in the audience there that isn’t just a fan, but who reallyknowsme. I’m probably overthinking it. It’s just nerves, sorry.” He didn’t want her to feel nervous. He wanted to take all of Rosemary’s worries and throw them a mile away. Perhapsselfishly, Ellis also didn’t want to think about himself anymore. He had to figure out how he was going to tell Rosemary everything—that he was bi, that he loved her, that he wanted her to stay with him—but that felt like an impossible hurdle right now. Instead, he could be in control here, quieten his own mind by focusing on giving Rosemary pleasure.
“I understand.” He skimmed his hands down the back of Rosemary’s arms. “Now take off your clothes.”
“Now?”
“Yes. Everything but your underwear,” he commanded gently. Rosemary was here, in his home, with him. It was everything Ellis could have asked for at that moment.Nearly everything,his brain whispered.You haven’t told her yet; what if she doesn’t want you then?He stuffed the ugly thoughts down and focused on Rosemary’s curves, her weaving tattoos, her bright red hair that fell in waves down her back. He kicked away her clothes and gripped her by the hips, guiding her body so she was straddling him on the bed.
He’d never get tired of the sight of her, cheeks pink, eyes heavy-lidded with desire. Ellis cupped her breasts, running his thumbs over her hard nipples. When she arched back, he reached up and skimmed her soft, peachy lips, the other hand gently clasping her throat.
From her hitched breath and the way her eyes darkened behind her glasses, becoming all pupil, he knew she liked that. He wanted to know everything she liked.
She moaned as Ellis cupped her, tracing circles over the soaked cotton of her underwear.
“So fucking wet already,” he hissed. “Touch yourself for me, love.”
Rosemary’s fingers reached down and began to tug the flimsy material of her underwear aside.
“Not like that,” Ellis said sternly. “Over the material.”
Rosemary let out a little whimper and touched herself through the cotton.
