Page 38 of Love Affair in London (Once Again #12)

Piper replied with a polite compliment. “I’m sure you do, too, Mr. James.”

He scoffed. “You’re in my arms, my dear. Please, call me Conrad.”

She narrowed her eyes on him and said sweetly, “I think you’re trying to get me to tell you why Jared knows how to dance so well.”

Conrad tipped his head back and gave another belly laugh. “You see right through me. I’m dying to know.”

She dropped his hand to wag her finger at him. “Then you’ll have to ask Jared. Because I’m not saying a word. Maybe I don’t even know.”

He laughed again. As the song ended, Conrad escorted her back to Jared, the only man whose arms she wanted around her.

Once she let go of the feeling that everyone was looking at her and wondering why Jared would choose her, Piper enjoyed herself. Maybe it was the dancing—the way it left her exhilarated, like a dancer’s high—or maybe it was simply the excuse to be in Jared’s arms.

It was midnight when they finally tumbled into her room, her arms looped around his neck, her body pressed tightly to his in the dim light. “What time’s your flight tomorrow?”

He kissed his way up her neck to her ear. “Eleven. Shuttle to the airport at eight.” Between kisses, he added, “But I’d have more time with you if you joined me in the shower in the morning.”

She cupped his face in her hands, kissed him slow and sweet, then pulled back to smile at him. “I will absolutely take a shower with you.” With a mischievous look, she added, “But I’d better not keep you up too late tonight.”

His hands slid down to her hips, pulling her flush against him, letting her feel the hard evidence of his need.

“After the way you teased me while we were dancing—” His voice was thick with heat.

“—I’ll gladly stay up all night.” He gave her a quick kiss, his lips brushing hers. “I can sleep on the plane.”

She squirmed against him. “I wasn’t teasing. I was just dancing.” But she was definitely teasing now.

“You drove me crazy with that sexy tango,” he countered, his voice dripping with desire.

Without warning, he lifted her into his arms and fell with her onto the bed.

Shrugging out of his jacket, he began unbuttoning his shirt as she slipped off her shoes.

She reached out to help, teasing as she undid the last button.

Her fingertips brushed against his skin, and she lightly pinched his nipple through his undershirt.

“Now,” she whispered, her tone full of promise, “this is where I tease you.”

She kissed him deeply, her hands working to free him from his cuff links as he toed off his shoes. Clothes were tugged, pulled, and tossed aside in a chaotic rush, their movements clumsy yet electrifying. Finally, they were skin to skin, the heat of his body against her.

Slipping her hand between them, she stroked him. “Is this teasing?”

He groaned, his voice rough with need. “You’re the most amazing tease. Don’t stop.”

Sliding down, she kissed his chest, her lips brushing his nipple before she sucked it gently into her mouth. Jared growled, the sound low and raw. “Christ, you’re driving me crazy.”

The salty tang of his skin heightened her senses, the heat of his body fueling her own. Just as she felt him pulse beneath her hand, he pulled back, his eyes dark with intent.

“Oh no.” His lips curled into a wicked grin. “Ladies first.”

Before she could respond, he spread her thighs, dipping his head to taste her. She arched beneath him, her body writhing in response to every swipe of his tongue. When he slid his fingers inside her, she was lost, shuddering as he brought her to the edge and sent her flying.

As she came down, trembling and breathless, he moved, and suddenly he was inside her, filling her completely.

He set a rhythm—hard, demanding, and utterly consuming—that kept her spiraling higher.

Her legs wrapped around his hips, and her hands clutched his taut muscles, urging him faster, harder. She couldn’t get enough. Every thrust, every pulse of his body inside hers, sent her careening closer to the edge.

She wanted this moment to last forever.

He took her with everything he had—his heart, his body, his soul.

He wasn’t gentle because she didn’t need gentle.

She wanted his hard, fast thrusts that seemed to blur time itself.

Her body gripped him tightly, squeezing him in a relentless rhythm until he felt her hand between them. Her light squeeze sent him into orbit.

He growled, he grunted, he swore, and then he called out her name just before he lost his mind entirely.

When he came back to himself, he found her nestled in his arms, her silky warmth grounding him.

It could have been hours, or maybe just minutes.

He didn’t look at the clock—he didn’t want to know.

All he wanted was this, the tender feel of her against him.

He didn’t want the moment to end. Because if it did, he wasn’t sure he’d ever find it again without her.

It was like two time travelers finally finding each other after wandering for years in separate planes of existence. She lit him up. She brought a different kind of light into his life than his kids did. A light he’d known once in his marriage and somehow lost. He couldn’t lose that light again.

He couldn’t lose her.

Did it matter if it had only been a week? It felt as if he’d waited a lifetime for her, as if he’d always known her. He held her tighter, as though he could make her one with him.

She gave a gentle hum of pleasure. “You feel good.”

He wanted to tell her everything he felt, but couldn’t explain why he held back.

Something in his gut told him it wasn’t the right time.

As much as she enjoyed being with him, as much pleasure as he gave her, she’d just left a man because his kids couldn’t adjust to her.

And she thought Jared was too young for her.

There were too many hurdles to tackle. This moment deserved its own quiet languor.

He simply held her, relishing the skin-to-skin contact, the quiet throb of satisfaction, and the hunger he knew would rise again before morning. When sleep claimed him, it was with her still in his arms.

They made love again in the night, with an almost desperate edge. Piper felt the last hours ticking down into minutes. Beneath the shower spray, she sank to her knees and lavished him with attention until his legs trembled and he begged her to let him come inside her one last time.

He took her on the bathroom rug, and their shared climax was glorious.

It was only as he got dressed and she tied her robe that she let herself truly remember.

This was the last time. He was leaving. She’d spend the day alone, and tomorrow she’d fly home. Alone.

She didn’t want this to be a tearful goodbye. She didn’t want him to feel like he had to comfort her. This had been just a fling. She’d known that from the start. And really, she wanted nothing more.

But God, if only he were twelve years older. Even ten. Or five. But twelve? The gap was insurmountable.

It was better to have just this memory.

Physical sensations still hummed through her body, the texture of his hair, the feel of his skin, his musky, sexy scent, the taste of him—salty and sweet. The perfection of his kisses. The thrum of his deep voice.

When he said, “Come here,” and cupped her cheeks, his kiss was the sweetest, gentlest she’d ever known. It made her heart ache more than if he’d taken her ravenously.

He cradled her face. “I’ll call you when I get home.”

It could have meant he wanted to see her again. Or simply that he’d let her know he’d arrived safely.

Either way, their idyll was over.

She was glad she’d had it. Glad for the memories. Glad for the nights he’d spent in her bed, the places he’d taken her, the meals they’d shared, even last night’s dancing.

She was happy her voice didn’t tremble when she said, “Thank you for everything. You made my holiday the best.”

He hitched her closer. “And you made this the best conference I’ve ever been to.”

Then, before she could beg him to stay, to cancel his flight and let his colleagues leave without him, she pushed him toward the door. “You’d better go, or you’ll miss the shuttle.”

Instead of leaving, he wrapped his arms around her again and kissed her, long and deep, with all the heat and passion of the night.

He pulled back to say, “If I didn’t have to get home and deal with my kids and their mother’s new boyfriend, I’d stay.”

She’d forgotten all about his kids and the boyfriend. “You’ll handle it just right. Everything will go well.” Then, because she couldn’t help herself, she added, “Text me. Let me know how it goes.”

“After all your advice, it’ll be great.” He glanced at his watch. “I really have to go.”

She felt a hole open in her chest as the door closed behind him.

She’d been fine until now. She’d enjoyed every moment they’d had together. But it was as if she’d been able to push this parting completely out of her thoughts.

Until now. In the silence of her room.

Until now. When it was all over.

And she felt something break inside her.

She’d planned to have Sunday roast again, but she couldn’t bear to go without Jared. She didn’t want to think about last Sunday, before he’d touched her, before he’d made love to her, before he’d changed her. When everything good was still to come.

She wanted to call Juanita, but if she did, she’d start crying. And that just wouldn’t do.

Instead, she took the Tube to Kew Gardens again—somewhere she hadn’t been with Jared, so it wouldn’t have any memories—to watch the happy families on their lovely Sunday outing.

She couldn’t stop looking at her phone, her thoughts tumbling in her mind. Now Jared is checking in. Now Jared is going through the security line. Now Jared is boarding his flight. Now Jared is taking off.

She didn’t wish she’d never met him. She didn’t even wish the ache away—it meant what they’d shared had been special.

She wished only that it hadn’t needed to end.

Even as she knew it must.