Frank’s eyes alight in amazement as he exclaims, “This is the best night of my life!”
My laughs are interrupted by two hands that snake around my waist from behind. Hayden’s voice whispers in my ear, “It’s not quite eleven yet, but I can’t go another second without touching you, Bunny. Let’s go up to the garden. Please. They won’t even know we’re gone.”
“From our own engagement party?”
He nips at my ear. “Our party. Our rules.”
He threads his hand through my fingers and pulls me through the flat and out onto the large balcony. A couple of our friends are standing out there with cocktails, but they must read between the lines because they smile politely and head inside.
“Coast is clear. Let’s go.” Hayden nods toward the ladder that leads up to the roof.
Since our flat occupies the entire eleventh floor, we have our own lift, making the rooftop completely ours. It’s a stunning part of the property with huge, sweeping lattice arches covered in greenery and floral vines crawling all over. Large, colourful pots overwhelm the space with some of the most vibrant flowers you’ve ever seen. And nestled right beneath the Chinese lanterns is a huge, round, white rattan sun lounger. It’s my favourite space in the whole wide world. Hayden and I spend most of our evenings up here, gazing up at the sky, talking about our day, and enjoying the peace and quiet of each other. Nothing else in the world bothers us when we are up here.
After my ascent up the ladder, I stretch out on the lounger, kicking my shoes off and wiggling my scrunched toes. Hayden finishes his climb and looks at me with a dark heat to his eyes as he slips off his waistcoat.
“Did I tell you, you look absolutely beautiful tonight?” he asks, slowly walking toward me. He deposits his jacket on a nearby chair and begins unbuttoning the snaps around his wrists.
“I don’t think you got around to it.”
He shakes his head, standing at my feet now. “A moment lost. Allow me to make up for it.” He shoots me a dirty smirk, making his sentiments known.
Instead of replying, I turn my head and squint at the watch on his wrist.
“Why are you so concerned about the time, Vi?” Hayden asks. His sleeves are rolled up on his forearms and he’s popped a couple of buttons on his chest already. “Did you hire a plane to fly by with an ‘I want to shag Hayden Clarke’ banner? Because I don’t need a sign to grant you that wish.”
I giggle and shake my head, leaning back and propping myself on my elbows. “You are a cheeky sod, you know that?”
He smiles and nods proudly while slowly uncrossing my feet and spreading my legs. I gasp as he begins crawling up the length of my body, my dress hitching up the closer he gets. We’ve had sexy time on this sun lounger more times than I can remember. My reactions are a reflex at this point.
Hayden kisses me sweetly on my shoulder. “I’m your cheeky sod. We’re just moments away from making it official.” He begins nibbling my neck and sending goose pimples all over my body.
“It’s going to take more than a few moments to plan a wedding, Hayden,” I reply breathlessly as I squeeze my legs around his hips.
“You know what I mean.” He pauses his action and pulls back to look me in the eye. “This is it, Vi. We’re engaged. This is our life. Together. Just the two of us and nothing else.” His gaze falls to my lips before he closes the space between us and kisses me, pressing his tongue into my mouth so deeply that I forget all common sense for a moment.
He moves his hand from my waist and reaches between us, stroking slowly up my inner thigh. When he slides past the band on my knickers and pushes one finger inside of me, I swear I could come within seconds just from the combination of his words and his touch. He breaks our kiss and presses his forehead to mine. “And when times get tough, when I feel myself slipping, we come up here. A place no one can touch us. No one can bother us. No one can tell us that we aren’t enough for each other.”
His breath is coming heavily now, and he kisses me with a sudden sense of desperation, mimicking the motion with his fingers between my legs. I reach for the belt buckle on his trousers, brushing over his hard bulge and frantically tearing away at his clothes, aching to feel his words inside of me. He grabs the centre of my knickers and pulls until they split open. Within seconds, he’s thrust so deep inside of me, I don’t know where Hayden ends and I begin.
Because we are one.
We are each other’s landing point and catching ground, moving together in a perfect synchronisation that feels as if we were truly made for each other. As he rocks inside of me and kisses me savagely, I squeeze his face with all my might, kissing him so hard, I swear I’ll be leaving a permanent love bite behind.