Chapter Fourteen
Fourteen
Kate was usually fairly sensible about the quantity of alcohol she consumed. Tonight though, her commonsense appeared to have been washed away.
She had already consumed more than her fair share of the bottle of wine she and Granny Viv had with their lunch; her gran having been strangely abstemious in the pub today.
On arrival this evening, she and Raff had both quaffed two glasses of champagne. They’d had wine with their meal. Quite a lot of wine. But it was the nightcap that had done the damage.
Well, maybe not the first nightcap. Maybe not the second. But the third and fourth had taken her well and truly over her limit.
And yet, somehow, when they had eventually left the bar an hour later, she had been able to walk up to Raff’s room without any assistance from him.
She would even have been perfectly capable of getting undressed, had the zip on the side not got stuck in some way. She had lifted her arm and endeavoured to see the cause but as soon as she thought she had ascertained the reason, she had decided she would require his help.
Which was possibly her first mistake.
The side zip had somehow caught on the layer of tulle and, as the dress did not belong to her, she didn’t want to tug at the zip or the dress and risk ripping the delicate material.
‘I’m so sorry,’ she said, reopening the bedroom door she had closed a few seconds before, ‘but I seem to need some help with this zip.’
They had just said a somewhat awkward good night to one another having both made use of the en suite bathroom.
Raff had kindly acquired a toothbrush for her from the hotel receptionist and there had been a complimentary vanity kit Raff hadn’t touched and had told her she was welcome to use.
They had taken turns in the en suite and had then stood and looked at one another, their eyes locked for several seconds, as if uncertain what to do next.
‘Thank you again for tonight,’ Kate had said, a frisson of excitement palpable between them. ‘Especially for giving up your bed.’
‘You’re more than welcome. I’m the one who should be thanking you. Prior to your call, a rather boring evening lay ahead of me. Instead, this has been … an evening I’ll remember for a long time to come.’
‘Me too,’ she said, wondering if – and in total honesty a part of her hoping – he might try to kiss her.
The quick lick of his lips, his hand through his hair, and small cough, revealed he might be considering it, but he threw her a brief smile before turning away.
‘Good night then,’ he said, marching towards the sofa.
‘Good night,’ she replied. ‘Pleasant dreams.’
She could have sworn he had stopped, stiffened, partially turned, and then had had second thoughts and continued on his way.
When she had reopened the bedroom door to seek his help, she saw he had removed his jacket and tie and, having pulled it free from his trousers, was unbuttoning his shirt.
‘The zip?’ he had said huskily. ‘Of course.’
They had walked towards one another, stopped and looked into each other’s eyes, and then she had forced herself to turn away to give him access to the zip.
She had stood far too close to him – or he had stood far too close to her; she wasn’t sure which – and his warm breath on her neck and shoulders had sent her senses spiralling.
And then, as if that wasn’t enough for her defences to cope with, he had needed to hold the layer of tulle on the outside of the dress, tightly with one hand, while he slid the fingers of his other hand inside to ease the satin and the zip away from the tulle.
His agile fingers moved deftly against her flesh and as she yielded to the sensation, a low, soft moan escaped her, and her head tilted back just a fraction.
He seemed to freeze momentarily, and then, slowly and deliberately, as if he wanted, or needed, to take his time, he eased the zip down, inch by inch, breathing deeply and increasingly rapidly as Kate leaned back closer to his firm body.
Now, with the zip undone, he traced his fingers up her bare skin and slid his hand onto her shoulder and the wide strap of her dress.
‘Kate?’ His voice was husky and uncertain as she turned her head towards him and his own head lowered towards hers until their mouths were almost touching. ‘I … We’ve had a lot to drink. Are you sure you want this?’
It was like a cold shower on the fire he’d ignited within her.
Her eyes shot open, her body stiffened, and her self-control kicked in.
‘Thank you for the zip,’ she said, her own voice shaking with emotion and she hurried away as gracefully as her pent-up desire would allow.
Raff didn’t say a word but as she closed the bedroom door her surreptitious glance revealed he stood there, open mouthed, his arms hanging limply by his sides.
Her second mistake was opening the bedroom door yet again just two minutes later.
‘You said I could borrow a sh… shirt.’
His shirt was now on the back of the armchair near the sofa and his bare torso took her breath away. For a man of fifty-eight, his body was H-O-T. Scorchingly so.
Kate involuntarily sucked her own tummy in, pushing her chest higher as her eyes took in his six-pack, the smattering of salt and pepper hairs on his chest and his hands on the half open zip of his trousers.
‘Wh-what?’ he said, hastily pulling the zip back up.
‘Erm... A shirt. You said I could borrow a shirt.’
‘Yes. I did.’ He ran a hand through his hair. ‘Erm. Please help yourself.’
Taking his comment as dismissive, Kate’s hackles rose, as did her voice.
‘Fine. I shall. I just thought I should ask in case there was one you had planned to wear tomorrow.’
‘What? I … let me find you one.’
He strode to the bedroom and she stepped aside to let him pass. Yet his shoulder skimmed hers as he walked into the room and just that brief touch sent quivers through her body.
He yanked the wardrobe door open, grabbed one of the five or so shirts from its hanger and tossed it on the bed.
‘There,’ he said, marching towards the door.
‘Good night!’ she snapped, as their eyes met briefly.
‘Good night,’ he replied through gritted teeth.
‘You didn’t need an excuse,’ she hissed as he brushed past her.
‘An excuse?’ He spun round and glared at her, their bodies merely inches apart. ‘What excuse?’
‘That we’d had a lot to drink. If you weren’t interested in me, you shouldn’t have teased your fingers up my body. And if you didn’t want to kiss me you could have simply moved away.’
His eyes opened wide and his brows shot up.
‘Didn’t want to kiss you? Are you joking?
I’ve done nothing but want to kiss you since about two minutes after I saw you on the beach this morning.
And as for not being interested in you, I thought I’d made it abundantly obvious that I’m interested.
More than interested. I don’t think it could’ve been any clearer if I’d got Andrea Bocelli to serenade you from the rooftop of the Royal Albert Hall, accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. ’
Eyes locked, they stared at one another like two opponents at a boxing match.
Kate couldn’t be sure if she had been the one to make the first move – and therefore, her third mistake – or if it had been Raff. Or perhaps they’d pulled each other close, simultaneously.
However it had happened, their bodies were suddenly entwined in a passionate, insanely hot kiss, their hands exploring one another as they tugged at each other’s clothes until they were both naked.
They tumbled onto the bed, their bodies melded together, their kisses even more intense, and when Raff slid inside her, they both emitted soft moans of delight.