Page 31 of Love Affair in London (Once Again #12)

“ N ow that was worth the wait.” Piper wanted to sound flippant, but her voice held a sultry note that belied her words. Because what he’d just done to her was the best ever. She wanted it again. And again. And, oh my God, again.

“Christ, you feel so damn good,” he whispered against her hair,

She tipped her head back to look at him in a shaft of moonlight. “You did all the work.”

He wagged a finger at her and said lazily, “Oh no. Your muscles worked me the whole time. I could feel you. I knew just when you were ready to come. Your beautiful body reveals everything to me.”

She’d never lain in the aftermath and discussed how sex actually worked. Yet talking so intimately with him was another high and his words another boost to her fifty-five-year-old ego.

Kissing the top of her head, he snugged her closer. “Thanks for letting me in.” She felt the smile in his voice. “Especially since I was so rude as to let my phone die.”

“I thought your dog ate it.”

They laughed together. It felt like… that first blush of love, that first ache of need, that moment when everything went from being good fun to extraordinary.

As their breathing evened out, he pulled away. She was reluctant to let him go, but as he rolled into a sitting position on the edge of the bed, he looked over his shoulder. “That reminds me. Can I charge my phone? I don’t want to die on you again at the most inopportune moment.”

“I don’t think you have that problem,” she said with a grin. “Not at all.”

He laughed as he padded into the bathroom, and she heard the water run.

It seemed strange or even crazy, but she didn’t want to use another condom. She wanted to feel him , his hot, hard flesh deep inside her.

As he appeared in the bathroom doorway again, she said, “I don’t want your phone to die on me either.” After a moment’s pause, she added, “But I’ll be awake no matter how long you take to get here.”

He damn near leaped onto the bed, tunneling between the covers until he was plastered against her body. “I promise I’ll be here every night. Unless you tell me to go away. But I hope you won’t.”

No way would she tell him to go away. He was so good and the sex so perfect. Part of her even wanted to call it lovemaking, because it seemed as if only the loving melding of their bodies and minds and hearts could make her feel that good.

But she kept the thought to herself. “My charger’s right there. You can use it. My phone’s already charged up.”

“Thanks.” He pecked her on the cheek, then crawled down the bed, giving her a sexy view of his rear as he leaned over to grab his pants off the floor.

Once he’d plugged in his phone, he said, “I have to set the alarm,” with a wistful note. “I’ll need to get back to my room.” He shrugged. “Take a shower, change clothes. And I have to add some things to my presentation.”

“Of course.” Maybe she’d tell him to bring a change of clothes for tomorrow night. Then they could shower together before his conference started for the day.

She fell asleep in his arms, the feeling new and strange.

Normally, she didn’t like to sleep in a man’s arms. Especially when she overheated so easily now that she was in menopause.

But when she woke in the deep of night, he still surrounded her, and the gentle stroke of his fingers between her legs melted her with need.

Then a subtle rhythmic thumping against the wall accompanied the soft cries of a woman’s pleasure.

“They woke me up,” Jared whispered. “And Christ, I need you again.”

She had to admit the sounds turned her on too. “It’s that couple we saw when you walked me to my room earlier tonight.”

He nuzzled her throat. “More power to them.”

They’d appeared a bit older than her. And still getting it on. The thought made her sigh, and his touch turned the sound into a moan.

Playing all her sensitive parts, he murmured, “We should make sure we enjoy ourselves as much as they are.” He kissed her ear, his warm breath sending shivers through her. “Hand me the last condom.”

“I’ve been thinking.” God, she wanted it badly. “I don’t need a condom if you don’t. I saw the doctor just before the wedding. Everything’s good.”

“I haven’t been with anyone since the last time I visited the doctor. And more than anything, I want to feel you surrounding my bare flesh.” His voice, his words, his desire seemed to turn everything inside her liquid.

So did the woman’s moans as they got louder, the man’s deeper groans working their way through the wall. They weren’t a virile, young couple. They were like her. She wondered if they’d heard her earlier in the night and that got them going just as much as their sounds got her going now.

She was already close to climax when Jared entered her, and he made that sweet, hot move again, a slow, short stroke that pushed her higher, and even higher.

The skin-to-skin feel of him sent her over the edge.

A scream wanted to burst from her, and when the woman next door cried out, Piper let herself go, matching the woman’s sounds like they were an aphrodisiac.

As she exploded around Jared, he growled, then he thrust hard, pounded into her. It was so good, incredible, wild. He pulsed inside her, filling her. And nothing had ever felt like this, like him, like the two of them together.

Like… love.

Afterward, she lay in his arms, the lingering throb of him still filling her up.

“Christ.” His voice was hoarse. “I’m not usually the voyeur type, but listening to them was freaking hot.”

She burrowed her face against his salty skin. “Maybe they said the same thing about us.”

“I’m sure they did. And I loved the way you screamed.”

She batted at him. “I did not scream.”

“You did. And it was crazy good.” Then he kissed her, long and sweet.

She loved the way he held her, the way his skin caressed her, the way he felt deep inside her, the way he loved her screams.

She loved everything about being with him.

Jared’s alarm blasted early in the morning. After leaping to shut it off, he rolled back to kiss Piper, nuzzling her cheek with his nose.

The touch was so delicious she almost purred.

“Go back to sleep,” he murmured. “I’ll call you when I’m free. But I’ll probably need to have dinner with the group.”

“That’s fine. I’ll grab something on my own.” She couldn’t help a deliciously sated smile. “I might need some more champagne for when you get back.”

He kissed her quickly and climbed out of bed to pull on his clothes. “You said you were doing Kew Gardens and Hampton Court today?” He buckled his belt and slipped on his shirt.

“Uhuh,” she murmured, enjoying the view.

“Sounds great. Send me a couple of pics so I can imagine I’m with you.”

“Will do. And you should bring a change of clothes so you can shower here in the morning.”

“Oh yeah. I like that idea.” He left her charging cord on the side table, and after one more kiss, he was gone.

The room felt too empty and quiet. Piper got up—why not? There was no reason to stay in bed without him.

After breakfast, she headed out to the Tube.

It was still commute time, and the crowds were thick.

But if she wanted to visit both Kew Gardens and Hampton Court, an early start was good.

In the packed train, she had to stand for several minutes before a seat became free.

Luckily, she didn’t have to change lines, and the trip was slightly less than an hour.

When she walked out of the Kew station, the day was gorgeous. She stopped at a nearby bakery that served coffee. Since it was still a little early to enter the gardens, she treated herself to a crumpet with butter and jam.

She arrived at Kew just as it was opening.

The flowers of the Royal Botanic Gardens were incredible.

As much as she loved the botanical gardens in Golden Gate Park, Kew was on a whole different level.

She wandered through the Palm House and climbed up to the catwalk with its view through the glass ceiling above the canopy of plants.

Walking the pathways of the park, she meandered amid the roses behind the Palm House and between the beds of peonies.

Then she strolled through the Princess of Wales Conservatory, snapping photos of the amazing ponds of lily pads and the Jade Vine with brilliant turquoise flowers.

What she wouldn’t give to have the vine in her garden, but San Francisco was too cold for the tropical plant.

After sending a picture to Jared, he surprised her with an astonished-face emoji.

She hadn’t expected he’d check his phone, but it delighted her.

Before heading over to Kew Palace, she had to stand inside The Hive, an incredible metal structure that vibrated with the recorded hum of bees.

It sounded as if they communicated with each other through their music.

The dome opened to the sky and the platform on which she stood looked like the honeycomb of a hive.

Of course, she couldn’t miss Kew Palace, where King George III, the supposedly mad king, had lived with his family while he was…

well… mad. The docents in the palace, dressed in Regency period clothing, were a font of information.

King George could have been bipolar or afflicted with porphyria.

Or even the medications he took might have caused his issues.

But what amazed Piper was the fact that he and Queen Charlotte had fifteen children.

Good Lord, fifteen ! And only one of those offspring, future King George IV, known as Prinny in all the regency novels, had a legitimate heir.

All the other grandchildren—over fifty of them—were illegitimate.

At least until that one legitimate heir died and then there was the Succession Crisis, where several of the brothers rushed into marriage just to get an heir.

Those crazy royals. In the end, the British finally got Queen Victoria.

It was an amazing history lesson.