Page 146 of The Unlikely Pair

It doesn’t feel like this should be the true reality.

I know Harry has to prepare for the Debate on the Address that comes after a short recess, yet I can’t keep myself from following him as he exits the Commons Chamber and heads up the stairs.

When I reach the top, Harry’s bodyguard is standing outside the lavatory.

I tell myself I’m just going to the lavatory, that I need to splash some cold water on my face and clear my head.

But when I push open the door and step inside, I see Harry standing at the sink, his hands gripping the edge of the counter as he stares at his own reflection, and my stomach flutters.

A quick check of the cubicles reveals no one is in here but us.

Our gazes meet in the mirror and are immediately locked together. His eyes widen, and I can hear nothing but the rumble of my own heartbeat in my ears.

“Harry,” I manage to say.

“Toby,” he replies.

We continue to stare at each other. My heart continues to pound.

Then we move towards each other at the same time.

It’s like a collision of forces as our lips crash together, desperate and hungry. Harry’s hands are in my hair, on my face, pulling me closer, and I’m clutching at his shoulders, his back, anything to anchor myself to him.

We tumble backward into a cubicle, hitting the wall. I don’t care.

Harry’s lips are on mine, and that’s all that matters.

We’re mauling at each other’s clothes, tugging, wrenching, the need to feel, to touch, to possess overwhelming any sense of propriety or restraint.

Fabric rips, but I pay no attention because all that matters is getting my hands on his skin, keeping my lips on his, and savoring the taste and feel of him.

Then his hand is on my chest, his palm pressed against my racing heart as if he’s trying to absorb its rhythm into his own skin.

My eyes prickle because it’s been a week of my life without this, a week without touching this man, and even though he’s currently consuming my mouth, it finally feels like I can breathe again.

I’ve never kissed Harry when he’s clean-shaven, and I miss the rasp of his beard against my skin. The smoothness of his jawline is disconcerting, a reminder that while this feels so familiar, things are different from the last time I kissed him.

When we finally break apart, our chests are heaving as we struggle to catch our breath. Harry rests his forehead against mine, his eyes closed, his fingers still tangled in my hair.

He finally withdraws. He opens his eyes and his blue gaze pierces mine.

“It appears you are still a necessity,” he says.

Chapter Forty-Two

Toby

Harry’s words echo around my head.

“It appears you are still a necessity.”

I stumble out of the stall, away from Harry, my heart pounding.

The lavatory door opens, and a guy comes in, his phone pressed to his ear as he chats away. I freeze, my breath catching in my throat as he walks past me, oblivious to the charged atmosphere hanging heavy in the air.

Oh, holy fuck.

The idiocy of what we’ve just done hits me. Someone could have come in at any moment and discovered us. I’m more worried for Harry than me. The repercussions are far more serious for him.