Page 60 of The Princess Sister Swap

‘No,’ he said slowly. ‘That sounds perfect.’

Too perfect. This was a summer idyll, nothing more, but with every passing moment he knew he was falling harder for her.

‘They were the best fish and chips I ever had in my entire life,’ Rosy said, leaning against him with a contented sigh, and Jack agreed. The takeaway had been perfectly cooked, slightly crispy chips melting in the middle and covered with the perfect amount of salt and vinegar, delicately flaked fish in melt-in-the-mouth batter accompanied by a tart locally brewed beer with just the right amount of hops. Add in the soft sandy beach, the stunning sunset and the sea views and Jack realised he’d never enjoyed a meal more. Nor had he ever felt anything like the anticipation for what came next. Much as he wanted to drag her back to the cottage and kiss her until neither of them could speak, he also wanted to enjoy the wait a little longer.

‘Fancy trying the local pub?’ he asked and she agreed, exclaiming how lucky they were to find a small table by the window as he fetched the drinks, like any normal couple out on a date, making small talk about books and films and dreams.

‘Have you ever thought about who you would be if you weren’t you?’ Jack asked after a while and Arrosa stared at him in confusion.

‘If I wasn’t me?’

‘I’m trying to be discreet,’ he said. ‘You know, if you didn’t have to do the job you have to do.’

‘Oh.’ Her face fell a little. ‘It’s not something I think about,’ she said at last. ‘It is what it is, and I can’t change it so I try not to waste time wishing for something else. But I’m glad I don’t have one overwhelming passion. If Clem was me, for instance, and couldn’t act, then it would have destroyed her. I wasn’t overjoyed about the closing down of other paths, but I accepted it. I think if I can keep some semblance of normality in my life, like living in my villa, that kind of thing, then I’ll be okay.’

‘That’s a very healthy attitude.’

She shrugged. ‘I could have said no to my dad, I guess, but then how could I advocate for change if I didn’t want to be that change? I can’t run away from who I am, from my responsibilities, at least not for ever. How about you? Any unlived dreams?’

‘Obviously, I was married and a father young, so like you, I suppose, I accepted responsibility then and learned not to waste time on daydreams. But the truth is my girls give my life meaning and purpose. I wouldn’t want to imagine a world where they aren’t my life. I guess,’ he said slowly, ‘what we have in common is that even if circumstances don’t work out the way we thought they might, we know how to make the best of the situation we’re in. That’s pretty rare in my experience.’

Rosy held up her drink. ‘To the cards we’re dealt’.

He clinked his glass against hers but as they made the toast couldn’t help wondering if they would be so philosophical when Rosy left for good.

Her gaze was fixed on his as she finished her drink. ‘You know I don’t want another drink here. Let’s get back.’

‘You sure?’ he asked, and they both knew he was asking about more than the drink.

‘Yes,’ she said. ‘I have never been surer. Let’s go.’

CHAPTER EIGHT

NEITHERSPOKEASthey walked back in the rapidly darkening dusk, anticipation colouring every step, every movement, every glance. Arrosa was attuned to Jack’s every move, breath and glance. Desire swirled, hot and intense, throughout her entire body, pooling in the pit of her stomach, causing flickers of heat in every nerve, her breasts heavy and almost painful. It was like some specific kind of torture, almost painful, apprehension mingling with anticipation.

They still hadn’t spoken by the time they reached the cottage and Jack once again unlocked the door and ushered her in. Arrosa swallowed nervously as she slipped off her wrap and stood slightly awkwardly in the middle of the lounge watching Jack as he closed the door behind him and moved towards her, graceful, masculine and seemingly unaffected by the nerves that now consumed her.

He reached her and paused, tilting her chin up so that he could look in her eyes. It took everything Arrosa had to meet his dark gaze.

‘We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to,’ he told her, and she loved him for it.

‘But I do want to,’ she said and before she could change her mind wound her arms around his neck, bringing him closer, until once again she was kissing him the way she had wanted to since their first kiss a few days before.

Just like the kiss at the fire, there was no gentle introduction as once again the kiss ratcheted from nought to sixty without passing go. His mouth was strong and possessive, his hands sure and knowing, and even though he was only touching her back and waist, her whole body ached for more, arching towards him. She found herself tugging at his shirt, impatient to get to the skin underneath, to run her hands over the smooth muscled planes of his body, needing to know him in every way, to discover every inch, to make him hers. She dragged her mouth from his, pressing kisses along his jawline as she finally wrenched his shirt off, leaving her free to explore the skin underneath.

He hissed as her hands moved lower, now pulling at his belt. ‘Rosy, we have all the time in the world.’

But they didn’t! They had here and now and if they were lucky a couple more weeks and that was it. What had she been thinking of, waiting an entire month? They could have been here already; this could be one moment in a long line, not the first. She pressed even closer, holding his face between her hands as she kissed him harder, impatient for him to touch her in all the places that ached for him.

Jack didn’t protest any more, kissing her back with equal intensity, finally, finally sliding his hands up her back, his clever fingers tracing every inch of skin until she was boneless with desire and only then sliding down with excruciating slowness to explore every rib before slowly, so slowly, inching back up towards her aching breasts. Arrosa moaned as his finger finally brushed against one tight nipple, arching into him as sensation engulfed her. ‘Can we go upstairs?’

She felt his rumble of amusement, ‘I feel like I should be sweeping you up and carrying you to the bed,’ he said. ‘But that spiral staircase isn’t made for grand gestures. Ladies first.’ She felt cold as she stepped away from him, her legs shaky as she made her way upstairs and turned to face him, all too aware of the giant bed which dominated the room.

For all her bravado, and her desperation to get past the niceties, her nerves had returned in full and her hands shook as she unzipped her dress. Jack stood near the staircase watching her, his expression unfathomable.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘I’m a little nervous.’ She tried to smile but his expression darkened.

---