Page 66 of Daring to Date Her Ex

‘Me too. I’ll see you later.’ He waited outside as Thea accepted her key from the porter and walked through the beautiful door.

* * *

Thea took the garland of flowers from around her neck, hanging them across the ornate mirror of the dresser. Laying a long, wrap-around skirt that she’d bought in Mumbai onto the bed, along with a loose cotton top, she made for the shower. After ten minutes the warm water began to chill a little and she wrapped herself in a towel, rubbing at her wet hair.

The smells of India. They ranged from exhaust fumes, sweat and the sickly smell of decay to the scents of jasmine, frangipani and incense. Here it was the cool smell of leaves after the rain, which wafted into her room through the open windows, as muslin curtains blew in the breeze.

Lucas. Just the thought of him was intoxicating. Lost here, in this far corner of the world with him. Thea picked up her phone and dialled his number.

‘Hey, there.’ He sounded as relaxed as she felt. ‘Are you ready?’

She was ready. It had been a long journey, and it wasn’t just miles they’d covered together. But she was finally at her destination and she knew what she wanted now. ‘Where are you?’

‘Take a look outside your window.’

She battled the billowing muslin curtains and walked through the glazed doors out onto a balcony. Not so much a balcony as an open corridor, which looked down on a small courtyard, planted with trees and flowers. Lucas was down there, dressed all in white.

‘What are you doing down there?’ Exploring, no doubt. Lucas could never resist that.

‘Waiting for you to let down your golden hair.’

She could see his face, tipped up towards her, and she smiled down at him.

‘Sorry, not long enough.’ He was different. And so was she.

‘Just as well there are stairs, then.’ He disappeared for a moment and Thea leaned over the stone balustrade to see what he was doing. In the corner of the courtyard an open-sided stone staircase ran up the side of the building. When he got to the third floor he disappeared for a moment and then reappeared from an opening twenty yards from where she was standing.

‘That’s very neat. Is this the only way you can get down there?’ Thea peered over the edge of the balcony.

‘The restaurant on the ground floor leads onto the courtyard.’

‘Architecture for lovers.’ Thea could imagine a young man slipping into the leafy courtyard at night and climbing the moonlit steps to his lover’s balcony. The thought made her smile.

His gaze was on her face. They both knew what was about to happen. They’d known all along but they’d come here anyway. Thea backed into her room and he followed, closing the balcony doors behind them and snapping the locks tight.

‘Come here.’

There was no hesitation, no questioning when he took her into his arms and kissed her. It felt so natural, as if this was where she was supposed to be, and everything else was just artifice. His body was hard, unyielding and she wanted him now. Right now.

She reached down and her trembling fingers felt in his trouser pocket. Nothing.

‘Other one.’ He bent to kiss her neck, while she slid her hand into the other pocket and found what she was looking for.

‘Just one?’

‘I’ve got some more in my room. I didn’t want to appear over-confident.’

‘Okay. Just under-provisioned.’ One condom wasn’t going to get them very far.

‘It’s enough.’ He pulled her against him hard and she gasped. Kissed her hard, letting her feel his passion. Letting her know what was coming.

‘Now, Lucas.’ Before anything stopped them. There was time for long and slow later. There was time for everything else later, but they had to break the long years of being alone, which stood between them.

‘Not yet.’ His lips curved into a delicious smile, ‘Soon, though.’

His fingertips trailed around her waist and then he slipped his hand between the folds of fabric of her skirt. He tugged hard at the fabric of her knickers and she heard them rip. ‘You ready for me?’

His hand slid along the inside of her leg, and his fingers found the answer to his question. She was more ready for him than she could stand right now.

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