CHAPTER 16
The city of Manchester at night was brilliant and bustling, with brightly colored lights lining the streets as they made their way through Piccadilly Gardens.
The blend of Victorian architecture and modern buildings gave a sense of a charming, interwoven city that celebrated its past as well as its future.
Scarlett hadn’t known much about the city before moving there, except that it was an industrial city that was home to a couple of brilliant football teams, but as she walked arm in arm with Theo past a dazzling, rainbow-lit water display and an imposing statue of Queen Victoria, she considered what it would be like to call this place home.
Not that she hadn’t for the past few months, but ever since arriving in the U.K.
, Scarlett had been more like a guest then a resident.
As they passed a group of street musicians, across the street, the sights and scents of the city’s nightlife encompassed her. A litany of mouth-watering smells wafted over them as they passed several restaurants while heading northeast, to a quieter part of town.
“See that?” Theo asked, pointing to an Old English–style pub called the Crown and Anchor, which sat down a little alley. “I usual have breakfast there on my days off.”
“Do you?” Scarlett asked, excited to know any little part of his day. “Does that mean you live around here?”
He pointed to a tall glass building on the opposite corner.
“There?”
“Aye. Two years now.”
“Impressive. Is it big?”
He shrugged. “It works, I suppose.” He stopped walking, as did she, and he stared at her. “Do you want to come up?”
“Yes.”
Scarlett bit her lip, trying not to let out her nervous laughter over how fast she’d answered, but it was obvious.
They were both aware what would happen if she came up, and seeing as they were both into it, she shouldn’t have been surprised when in the next moment his hand went to her cheek and he tilted her chin back slightly to kiss her.
They were out on the street, in full view of everyone, but Scarlett didn’t care.
Everyone they knew and worked with was tucked away in the back room at La Strega, and they were just two anonymous people to the rest of the world.
Scarlett’s eyes closed as she leaned into his fingers, absorbing the feel of him.
Her arms came up around Theo’s neck, and she pulled him closer as their kiss deepened.
Theo drew back as her equilibrium began to wobble. Breathing heavily, he gazed down at her with an expression that made Scarlett lightheaded, yet that could have been from the kiss.
“I want you to know that I didn’t bring you here for, well, that.”
“Oh,” Scarlett said. “And I want you to know that I didn’t come here just for that, but also, it’s pretty high on my list.”
He smirked. “Is it?”
“Oh yeah. That is, if you want to. No pressure.”
“That’s very considerate of you,” he said with humor. “What else was on your list, if I might ask?”
“Well, I figured there’d be food too,” she quipped.
“Food?”
“You did say food.”
“I did say food,” he said slowly. “You’re right.”
“I usually am.”
“Is that so?” he asked, dropping a kiss on her lips, and she bobbed her head, kissing him back. “Well, then, follow me.”
Taking his hand, Scarlett laughed as he escorted her through the dimly lit lobby of what was probably the poshest apartment building she had ever been in.
Half a dozen massive potted plants lined the tall, chocolate-colored walls of the lobby.
They walked the marble floor to the back of the entrance, where polished brass elevator doors opened immediately upon his hitting the button.
Why was this so easy? Joking with him and kissing him and being so at home, so quickly?
It was like some sort of a trap, and yet Scarlett couldn’t see it.
She knew his history, and the worst bits about him were that he had an ex-girlfriend who’d broken his heart, and he had a tendency to work too much.
Sure, he could be grumpy, but when he was kissing her, like he was doing now as they rode the elevator up, he seemed perfectly content to be growly in a different way, and Scarlett was more than willing to handle this side of Theo.
As they exited the elevator, Theo pushed off his jacket and fumbled with his wallet as he tugged it out of his back pocket, waving it in front of the door handle.
It unlocked, and they stumbled inside. Scarlett was barely aware of the high ceilings and dark green walls as Theo reached for the lights.
She was, however, impressed with the all-white, state-of-the-art kitchen.
“Oh my God,” she said, breaking off their kiss. “This place is huge.”
“It’s all right for an apartment.”
Scarlett’s mouth dropped open as she lifted her gaze through the kitchen and dining room area to an entire wall of glass with a perfect view of the city around them. It was stunning, although the modern furnishings and distinctively Theo stylings clashed around her.
“All right? It’s gorgeous,” she said, walking toward the large, L-shaped couch.
“I suppose. I grew up in the country, though, so I don’t think any apartment is going to do it for me.”
She raised her brows at him, as if to call him spoiled, as she moved her hands along the velvet couch.
It was hunter green in color, set in front of a low, square coffee table that was the size of one of those large-breed dog beds.
It was made of solid wood, and she wondered how heavy it was as she entered the living space.
Glancing around, she saw several poorly knitted airplane pillows scattered all over.
She picked up one, an orange plane with the number 52 stitched in green onto it and held it up to him in question.
“My mother makes them,” he said, the tips of his cheekbones becoming pink. “She’s not very good at it.”
“Fifty-two?”
“It was my first number when I started playing football.”
Scarlett beamed. “That is the most adorable—”
“Do not talk about my mother being adorable.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re going to kill the mood.”
Scarlett laughed. “Still, that is the most adorable thing I’ve ever heard,” she said, moving around the couch as he stalked toward her. “What’s her name?”
“No.”
“Come on.”
He shook his head and backed her up against the window, crowding her like a tiger. Scarlett’s heart began to race as he cornered her.
“Absolutely not.”
“Fine, then I’ll have to guess. Is it Janet? Mary? Eleanor?”
Theo sighed. “If I tell you, will you drop it?” She nodded quickly. “Her name’s Aileen.”
Scarlett smiled widely as she wrapped her hand around his tie. “Adorable Aileen.”
“For feck’s sake,” he growled before he kissed her into silence.
Scarlett breathed through her nose, intoxicated by the familiar scent of him as her arms went around his neck.
His large, warm hands skimmed over her body, pulling out her tucked-in shirt from her jeans as she kicked off her heels.
She was trying to unbutton her silk shirt as quickly as possible when he stepped back and took off both his tie and shirt, revealing a long torso of sinewy muscles.
Scarlett swallowed hard at the sight of him, her fingers slowing as she did, but then he was before her, helping undress her.
“Who wears a button-down to an after-party?” he asked.
“Shut up,” she breathed as she watched him work.
“Not so chatty now, are we?” he said as he finished and pushed the shirt off her shoulders, revealing a turquoise bra. He sucked in a breath between his teeth as his hands stilled.
Well, at least she wasn’t the only one affected.
Slowly, she reached for his hand and gripped his fingers, holding them to her breasts before he bent again to kiss her.
Scarlett barely cared that they were directly in front of one of the floor-to-ceiling windows, on full display if someone, somewhere, happened to look up.
All her attention was on Theo, who was touching her and kissing her, halfway between urgency and restraint.
As if he could scarcely control himself.
She wanted to melt into him. Pushing against him, she hoped her own resolve would come off as desire instead of outright shamelessness, but then his mouth fell away from her lips and went to the side of her neck.
As he dragged his teeth and tongue against the hollow spot beneath her ear, she shuddered involuntarily, earning a deep growl from his chest as every nerve ending in her body began to spark. He was pleased by her reaction.
Scarlett sighed at the tantalizing pleasure of being held and fondled by Theo, his solid body pressed against hers, his strong yet gentle hands as they roamed over her. She closed her eyes as her head fell back, immersed in the satisfaction of it all.
“Scarlett,” he murmured.
He seemed to want to say something else, but she brought her hand up between her breasts, stilling him for a moment.
Snapping the front clasp, she rolled her shoulders, so the straps of her bra fell back.
He drew back, his eyes drifting down, and, realizing how vulnerable the moment was, she bit her lip.
He stared at her for several excruciating seconds, his mouth hanging open as if he were ready to consume her.
Theo’s heated gaze lifted and met hers, and she held her breath.
Why, she wasn’t exactly sure, but she knew she was waiting for something.
His hand came up, agonizingly slowly, and he gently caressed her sternum.
She gasped, sure that he felt the vibrations of her erratic heart.
His hand lingered to the left, the tips of his fingers tracing the curve of her breast.
She sighed loudly, entranced by his touch. It was such an intimate thing, and almost daring to keep eye contact as he touched her. Everything up until this moment had been hot and fast, but this slowdown was even more, somehow.