It only took them five minutes to drive to the B&B she’d booked them into and as luck would have it there was a convenient parking space right outside the pretty thatched cottage.
‘We’re in the annexe at the back,’ she said to Max as he hauled their overnight bags out of the boot. ‘They gave me a key code to open the door so we won’t need to disturb them.’
‘Great,’ Max said, hoisting the bags onto his back and following her down the path of the colourful country cottage garden towards the rear of the house. The air smelled sweetly of the honeysuckle that wound itself around a large wooden arch leading through to the back garden where their accommodation was housed, and Cara breathed it in with a great sense of pleasure. The place felt almost magical, shrouded as it was in the velvety darkness of the night.
Cara tapped the code into the keypad next to the small oak door that led directly into the annexe and flipped on the lights as soon as they were inside, illuminating a beautifully presented hallway with its simple country-style furniture and heritage-coloured décor. Two open bedroom doors stood opposite each other and there was a small bathroom at the back, which they would share.
‘I hope this is okay. All the local hotels were fully booked and Jack said this was the place his cousin and her family were going to stay in, so the owners were pleased to swap the booking to us, considering it was such a last-minute cancellation.’
Max nodded, looking around at the layout, his expression neutral. ‘It’s great.’
The hallway was so small they were standing much closer to each other than Cara was entirely comfortable with. Max moved past her to drop his bag into one of the rooms and his musky scent hit her senses, making her whole body quiver with longing. The thought of him being just a few feet away from her was going to make it very difficult to sleep, despite how tired she was.
After dropping her bag into the other room, Max walked back into the hallway and stood in front of her, a small frown playing across his face. ‘Are you feeling okay now?’
She smiled, the effort making her cheeks ache. ‘I’m fine.’ She took a nervous step backwards, and jumped a little as her back hit the wall behind her. ‘Thank you so much for coming with me. I really appreciate it.’
He was looking at her with that fierce expression in his eyes again and a heavy, tingly heat slid from her throat, deep into her belly, sending electric currents of need to every nerve-ending in her body. For some reason she was finding it hard to breathe.
‘It was my pleasure, Cara,’ he said, his voice gruff as if he was having trouble with his own airways. ‘You know, that guy you were talking to earlier was right. You do look beautiful in that dress.’
She stared at him, a disorientating mixture of excitement and confusion swirling around her head.
His gaze flicked away from hers for a second and when his eyes returned to hers the fierce look had gone and was replaced with a friendly twinkle. ‘It occurred to me that you might have a bit of trouble getting out it—after needing my help to do it up this morning. Want me to undo the buttons for you?’
What was this?
Cara knew what she wanted it to be: for Max to want the same thing that she did—to alleviate this unbearable need to touch and kiss and hold him. To slide off all their clothes and lose themselves in each other’s body.
To love him.
Did he want that, too?
Could he?
Her heart was beating so hard and fast, all she could hear and feel was the hot pulse of her blood through her body.
‘That would be great. Thank you,’ she managed to force past her dry throat.
She rotated on the spot until her back was to him, her whole body vibrating with tension as she felt his fingers graze her skin as he released each of the buttons in turn.
As soon as the last one popped free, she trapped the now loose dress against her body and turned to face him again, trying to summon an expression that wouldn’t give her feelings away.
He looked at her for the longest time, his eyes wide and dark and his breathing shallow.
She watched him flick his tongue between his lips and something snapped inside her. Unable to stand the tension any longer, she rocked forward on her toes and tipped her head up, pressing her mouth to his. His lips were firm under hers and his scent enveloped her, wrapping round her senses, only adding to her violent pull of need to deepen the kiss.
Until she realised he wasn’t kissing her back.
He hadn’t moved away from her, but she could feel how tense he was under her touch. As if he was holding himself rigid.
She stilled, one hand anchoring herself against his broad shoulder, the other still holding her dress tightly against her body, and pulled away, eyes screwed shut, her stomach plummeting to her shoes at his lack of response.