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She flashed him a sudden smile. ‘I’ve brought my sweatshirt, and it seems a shame not to use it. I’d love to come, thanks.’
That was the first thing settled, and the overwhelming dread that Jamie had felt when he’d woken was beginning to subside. Anna seemed less awkward and embarrassed too, but in order to get to the court, they had to get up. And under the covers that Anna was holding so firmly around her, they were still both naked.
He reached forward, touching her hand. After last night his reticence seemed laughable, but he thought he saw a flare of panic in Anna’s eyes, too.
‘Last night. I won’t ever regret it, Anna.’
Her cheeks flushed a little. ‘Neither will I. It was nice, wasn’t it?’
‘Nice doesn’t really do it for me. Try amazing. I’m not forgetting what we said, and I don’t presume to lay claim to you, or any of your time. But if you wanted to spend some more of it with me, I’d honoured.’
She leaned towards him, kissing his cheek. The duvet had slipped a little, and some of the madness of last night reasserted itself. Only it wasn’t madness. In the cold light of day Anna was just as beautiful, and just as desirable.
‘Thank you. I was a little worried and... Sorry...’
He laid his finger across her lips. ‘Don’t be. I don’t want you to be sorry for anything, because I’m not.’
The duvet slipped a little more as she gave him a hug. Jamie could feel the softness of her skin against his, and he regretted having missed the feeling of waking up next to her in an embrace.
‘I’m sorry for one thing. That we don’t have time now...’ She nodded towards the clock, ticking relentlessly on the table beside the bed.
Maybe he shouldn’t. It was better to leave while they both still wanted more than to overstay his welcome. But that was ridiculous, wanting more couldn’t be changed by whatever happened next.
‘My alarm’s set to go off twice. If I get up on the first ring, then I get breakfast. The second ring means I get coffee in the car...’
‘The car’s really the only place for coffee.’
He kissed her, pulling the duvet out from between their bodies. ‘Yeah. My thoughts exactly.’
* * *
Sex was a great way to begin the day. Sex with Jamie...? What could go wrong on a day that had started in his embrace?
She’d feared that it would be so different. When she’d woken from a deep sleep, just ten minutes before the alarm started to sound, it had felt as if she’d messed everything up. Allowed her feelings for Jamie to get the better of her, and lost everything.
But he’d meant what he’d said last night. That they could be loving friends, and that he wouldn’t ask her for anything more than that. It seemed too good to be true, but maybe she should just take her good fortune and make the most of it. If making the most of it meant another night in his arms, then the risk seemed paltry in the face of the rewards.
Their long, playful lovemaking last night, had taught him how to take her from nought to a hundred in sixty seconds flat. And Jamie clearly loved the challenge. He fed off her arousal, the way she fed off his, and it all just worked between them. Effortless beauty.
There was even time to snuggle against him afterwards. Quiet moments, when the world began to expand from the complete and blissful circle of his embrace.
‘I like your room.’ His bedroom was in the same style as the rest of the house. Bare walls that contrasted with the high polish on the wooden bedframe. A large, brick-built fireplace that had provided them with warmth and light in the darkness.
He grinned. ‘Only just noticed?’
‘I’ve had other things on my mind.’
‘Yeah, me too. You’re welcome back anytime to get a better look.’ He followed her gaze to the metal post that ran from floor to ceiling in the middle of the deep bay window. ‘That’s not part of the overall plan. It’s just temporary.’
‘I was wondering. It doesn’t seem either old enough or new enough to be here.’
Jamie chuckled. ‘It’s a jack post. There was originally a window seat in that bay, with a wooden beam that supported the ceiling in the centre. It was rotten and I had to take it out. I was planning on getting a carpenter in to redo the whole thing properly, but that’s going to have to wait.’
‘No time?’
‘No money. Or, to be more accurate, it was a choice between doing that and laying a floor in the community room at the youth centre. I think the floor’s been a little more useful, and in the meantime the post is stopping the ceiling from falling in.’
‘Sounds like a good decision.’ There was a lot to respect about a man who could put his charity first when he needed to.
