CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX – SYLVIE #2
I glanced down between our bodies, staring at the way he held his still-hard cock, his hand just pumping out of the last of his orgasm until it wetted the sheets beneath us.
He followed my gaze with his own. “If you look at me like that, we won’t be done here.”
I sucked my lower lip between my teeth before slowly releasing it. “That’s not the threat you think it is, do you know that?”
He stilled for a moment, then met my gaze with heated eyes. “Is that so?”
I smiled teasingly.
At least, that’s what I was going for.
“Just let me rehydrate, and you can make good on that so-called threat of yours.”
“Sylvie…” He ran his free hand through his hair. “You’re going to kill me.”
“That is my lifelong dream.”
He reached forwards and pinched my nipple, twisting it between his finger and thumb. I squeaked in both pain and pleasure, and he leant down, taking it between his lips. He rolled his tongue over it until the sting had disappeared, then touched his lips to my earlobe.
“You have no idea what I want to do to you, Sylvie Harding.”
I laughed, sliding my fingers through his hair and down to the back of his neck. “Then why don’t you show me, Your Grace?”
He took my earlobe into his mouth and grazed his teeth over it, making me shiver. “Get ready to drink up. It’s going to be a long night.”
***
There was a hickey on my boob.
Don’t ask me why that was the first thing I noticed upon waking up in an empty bed, but it was.
And, as I prodded and poked at the girls, it was clear that it wasn’t the only one.
When the hell had Thomas left four love bites on my boob?
What was he, some kind of titty vampire?
Thank God they’d be hidden by all my clothing, at least.
Speaking of… Where was Thomas? There was no sign of his clothing or his phone or watch, and the side of the bed he’d slept on was cold.
Had he fucked me and run?
If so, I was going to whip him with some tinsel. Maybe even strangle him with it. I’d have to see how I felt upon laying eyes on him.
I dragged myself out of bed with a groan and fumbled in my drawers for some clothes. It was barely eight-thirty in the morning, and since my plans for today involved decorating the forest in the town hall, I really needed to get myself up and moving.
I pulled my jumper over my head and headed downstairs with a yawn, scratching my hip. Voices came from the direction of the kitchen, so I headed there and froze in the doorway.
Why was Thomas drinking tea with my grandpa and parents?
“Sylvie!” Mum jumped up and wrapped me in her arms before I’d fully comprehended exactly what it was that I was seeing. “Good morning, darling! I missed you!”
“Mum.” I hugged her back absent-mindedly. “You’re here earlier than I thought.”
“It’s going to snow again,” Dad said, stirring his tea while reading the paper. “So, we set off early. Have to say though, I didn’t expect to find the duke boiling the kettle when we arrived.”
Hello to you, too, Dad.
My cheeks burned. “Um… I didn’t expect that either,” I replied, escaping Mum’s tight hug.
Gramps eyed me mischievously. “Don’t worry, Birdie. I’ve already told him he has to take responsibility for you.”
Of course he had.
Look at Mister Matchmaker over there…
“This isn’t the seventeen-hundreds, Gramps,” I replied. “Besides, if anyone here needs to take responsibility, it’s Mum and Dad for raising Hazel the way they did. That, or they’ll end up with only one daughter.”
Mum wrinkled up her nose. “Are you two fighting again? This close to the wedding?”
Thomas nodded slowly. “That’s why I’m here. It was to make sure Sylvie didn’t go on a murderous rampage last night.”
“Is that what you kids call sex these days?” she asked dryly, depositing me in the chair next to Thomas at the kitchen table and ignoring my coughing at her words.
“Forgive me, Thomas, but I’d have pegged you for being the victim of one of Sylvie’s murderous rampages, not the person who’d stop one. ”
“That’s fair,” I replied. “So would I.”
“And the rest of the village,” Dad added, then slowly peered up at us both. “The last I knew, you two couldn’t stand the sight of one another.”
“Well.” I scratched the side of my neck, turning away. “This and that happened, and—”
“You have a hickey on your neck, darling,” Mum said.
I clapped my hand over the side of my neck and glared at Thomas.
Gramps cleared his throat. “This and that indeed.”
Oh, my God. This was the worst day of my life.
“I’m going to kill you,” I said, pinching Thomas’ arm and twisting it until he winced. “It’s six days until the wedding!”
To his credit, he at least had the balls to look ashamed of himself. “It was an accident.”
“Accident? I’ll show you an accident, you bloody vampire!”
“Here.” Mum handed me a silicone ice pack from the freezer. “I think your grandmother uses this for her arthritis, but it’ll work for a hickey, too.”
“You are far too blasé about this, Mother,” I said, pressing the cold pack against my neck.
She shrugged. “You’re an adult. You can make your own choices.” She looked at Thomas. “But if she’s pregnant, you’re marrying her.”
“I’m not pregnant and I won’t be.”
Thomas smiled as he sipped his tea. “Does that mean I have permission to keep seeing your daughter, Mrs Harding?”
“Hey.” I pinched him again. “I just told Gramps it’s not the seventeen hundreds. What do you mean, permission? You’ve never cared about my permission every time you popped up in front of me, so why are you asking for hers?”
And who said we were seeing each other?
“Shh, I’m trying to make my future mother-in-law love me,” he said, leaning in. “Everyone knows you charm the mother-in-law first.”
“It’s true,” Dad said. “That’s how I was able to marry your mother.”
Gramps nodded. “He charmed your grandmother to the point I thought she’d leave me for a younger man.”
I didn’t need to know that.
“Future mother-in-law my arse,” I said to Thomas, my cheeks flushing. “Who said I’d marry you even if you asked?”
Thomas propped his chin up on his hand and grinned at me. “You’re so cute when you’re embarrassed.”
I glared at him. “Don’t you have anything better you should be doing today? Like, oh, managing your massive-arse estate or your tree farm one week before Christmas?”
“I’m spending my time well right now. I’m having morning tea with you, your parents, and your grandfather. What could be better than that?”
“You’re a suck-up,” I shot back.
He shrugged. “Call it what you want.”
“What are you even sucking up for?”
“I told you. I’m charming my future in-laws.”
“Don’t you need to charm me first for there to be any chance of them being your in-laws?”
He grinned. “Is that an invitation?”
I blinked at him. “It’s a bit late for that, don’t you think?”
“Please stop flirting this early in the morning,” Dad said, turning the page of his newspaper. “You’re putting me off my tea.”
Thomas laughed and got up. “Yes, sir. Thank you for the tea, but I must be off. As Sylvie so kindly put it, I am a busy man.”
“I’ll see him out,” I said, getting up and dragging him off the chair. “Come on. Let’s go. That’s enough happy family roleplay this morning.”
Gramps snorted. “Goodbye, grandson-in-law.”
“Bye, Gramps!” Thomas called back.
“Stop it!” I said, ushering him closer to the front door.
He chuckled as he put on his shoes and coat. “You’re breaking my heart kicking me out like this, do you know that?”
“I didn’t intend to kick you out, but I didn’t think they’d be back so early, either.”
“Or you’d have made me leave last night?” He raised his eyebrows.
“It sounds bad when you put it like that,” I mumbled, opening the front door. I stepped out onto the doorstep and closed the door behind us. “I just… didn’t exactly want them to find you here, that’s all.”
He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and pulled me in close. “I know.” He kissed the top of my head. “I’m sorry if staying has made it awkward for you, especially since it’s been a while since you’ve seen your parents.”
“It’s fine,” I said, leaning into him as I gripped his coat. “They’ll be more concerned that Hazel and I are fighting again anyway, so don’t worry about it.”
“Ah, the fate of not being the golden child.”
I prodded him in the side. “Don’t. Even the pig gets privileges I could only dream of.”
He laughed and once again pecked the top of my head. “You should go in before they start peeping through the window.”
“Yeah, they might get the wrong idea if they see you clinging to me like this.”
Thomas squeezed me. “Well, then we’ll have to stand here for a few minutes until they get the right idea.”
“We’re having two different conversations, aren’t we?”
He chuckled and pulled back to kiss me—this time, on my lips. It was far too slick and smooth to plant on me given the undefined nature of our relationship, but I wasn’t going to point that out.
He’d just tell me to shut up.
“I suppose I’ll let you go.” He sighed, taking a step back and pulling his car keys out of his pocket. “Are you sure there aren’t any non-existent sanitary products in my boot?”
I pressed my lips together. “The regrets just keep growing.”
“I’d be upset if I thought you meant that.” Thomas grinned and unlocked his truck. “What’s your schedule look like today?”
“Pain and suffering,” I replied. “I have a meeting with the bakery at ten-thirty, a phone call with the make-up artist right after, then assembling the festive decorating army at the venue. Why?”
“Because we need to talk. About us.”
I swallowed. Oh, no.
This was why I didn’t make impulsive decisions.
There were, in fact, consequences to my actions.
Who knew?
“I’m not sure there’s enough time in my diary for that,” I mumbled, glancing away.
“All right, fine.” He waved his hand and turned towards his truck. “I know how busy you are, and since I’m such a kind and understanding person, I’ll give you until the wedding is over.”
“How very generous of you, Your Grace,” I said flatly.
“Isn’t it?” He opened the door and flashed me a grin. “But you should know that I will spend the next six days until then assuming that you’re completely head-over-heels in love with me and will act accordingly.”
“Why would you?!”
“Because you won’t talk to me, so how else should I take last night’s actions?
If you don’t hate me, you must love me.” He laid his hand against his cheek like a dramatic heroine from a high-school anime, heart-eyes and all.
“And if it’s not true, allow this poor, delusional man to keep his dreams for a few more days before you break his heart, won’t you? ”
I blinked at him. “You really should leave now.”
“Why? Are you afraid you’ll jump my bones again?”
“If you stay here spouting that flowery drivel any longer, I’m going to break them.” I opened the front door and stared over my shoulder at him. “I never knew you were so dramatic.”
Thomas grinned, and his dark blue eyes sparkled. “How else is a golden retriever like me supposed to ensnare a black cat like you?”
“With treats and blankets,” I replied, deadpan. “That’s how one usually wins over cats.”
“Noted.” His smile only grew at my words. “So, if I bring treats and blankets, you’ll eventually come to me?”
“I’m not promising anything.” I gripped the doorknob. “But if you bring coffee and cake with those blankets, there’s a chance.”
The way his smile tickled at the corners of his eyes made goosebumps dance up and down my arms.
“Just go home and get to work,” I muttered, yanking the door open. “I’ll… be at the old town hall…” I paused, my words drifting off.
“Until late, right?”
I tucked my chin against my chest, my cheeks heating. “Yeah. Probably past eight at least.”
“Got it.” His voice was far too chipper. “I’ll see you tonight, Sylvie.”