I shake my head, and Huxley says, “No, I think we’re done with food. Maybe a whisky to finish?”“Of course.”“What’s the best you’ve got?”“We have a thirty-two-year-old Bowmore.” He names the price of a single shot.My eyebrows rise, but Huxley just nods. “Oh yeah, we’ll have two glasses of that, please. Doubles.”The waiter smiles. “Of course. Are you happy staying here, or would you like to come inside? There’s an open fire.”“That sounds great,” Huxley says, so we rise and go inside, over to the sofa in front of the log fire. He sits in the right-hand corner, and I sit in the middle next to him. He puts his arm around me, pulling me right up to him, and I lean against him, tingling at the notion of being so close.Even though I’m still nervous, the wine has done its job. My joints feel loose, and my spine has relaxed. He’s right. I should just accept that we’re going to end up in bed together. There’s no point in fighting it. I can’t resist him, and I think he knows it.I give him
Is he saying that’s why he went with her? I wonder whether he broke it off, or if she left him to go back to her husband. I remember her introducing her husband at the table, and Huxley shaking hands with him. That must have been hard. “Did she break your heart?” I ask softly.He gives a rueful smile. “No. You’re the only one who’s ever done that.”My eyebrows rise. “What do you mean?”He looks into his glass and doesn’t reply.“Do you mean when we were nineteen?” I ask.He stretches out his legs, sliding down on the sofa a little. “Six months after Joanna was born, when I asked you out and you said no, I went around Victoria’s apartment, and I was so angry I swung one of her golf clubs at a tree and bent it.”“Really?”“It was a 5-iron, I think. Maybe a 4-iron. Anyway, she called Mack and Titus, and they brought a bottle of Laphroaig around and sat there while I drank a third of it and then passed out on the sofa. Victoria said I snored so hard her flat-mate thought there was a pneum
ElizabethHuxley wasn’t joking when he said he likes kissing. His mouth barely leaves mine as he gradually walks me backward through the living room and out onto the deck.When he does finally lift his head, it’s to look out at the view, where he stops for a second and stares. I follow his head and inhale at the sight of the stars popping out on the dark velvet sky. There’s little light pollution here, with Auckland behind us, and the celestial sphere is reflected on the vast expanse of the Pacific, making it look like an endless diamond-scattered carpet. The moon is half-full to the west, and with the stars provides more than enough light to see by.“Normally I’m not a lights-out kind of guy in the bedroom,” he says, “but I might make an exception tonight.” He looks back at me, cups my face in his hands, and strokes his thumbs across my cheeks. “You’re so fucking beautiful.”I’ve watched Huxley turn his charm—his inner light—on so many people over the years, but I’ve never been the f
I’m breathless with how quickly I’ve been maneuvered. I prop myself up on my hands and look down into his gorgeous gray eyes that have almost been taken over by his huge pupils.“You know that gigolo training you said you had…”He laughs, slides a hand to the back of my head, and kisses me.Ohhh… the delight of having his arms around me, his fingers brushing over my skin, his hot mouth claiming mine. He’s so laid back normally, so relaxed and mellow, even when he’s busy—he’s like the embers of a fire, eternally warm and comfortable. And so I hadn’t expected this fierce heat, like a blow torch singeing me from top to toe.Despite his obvious desire, he takes his time to kiss me, his tongue playing with mine, his hands roving slowly over my skin, fingers trailing from my shoulders down my back to my bottom, then stroking up my sides. Mmm… it’s wonderful, but I want to explore him, too.I push myself up to a sitting position astride him, and he watches me as I skim my hands down over the
“Mmm,” he says. “That’s better.” He lowers his head and strokes his tongue up through my folds.I catch my bottom lip between my teeth and suck it as he flicks my clit with the tip of his tongue, then gently sucks. Ohhh… I should have known he’d be fantastic at this. He spends ages licking, sucking, and teasing with his fingers, and I guess I must relax because eventually he turns his hand palm up and slides one, then two fingers inside me.“Good girl,” he murmurs.I shake my head, not opening my eyes. Oh Jesus, he’s curving his fingers up and… ohhh… I didn’t think G-spots really existed, is that what this is? Trust Huxley to find mine… holy fuck… It’s an unusual sensation, intense and… um… ohhh… absolutely fucking wonderful…I’m just starting to feel the first flickers of an orgasm when he withdraws his fingers and sits up. I open my eyes, my breath leaving me in a frustrated rush.“Sorry,” he says, removing his underwear before moving up over me. He looks down and kisses my nose. “T
Huxley“Don’t get sleepy,” I scold as Elizabeth’s eyelids droop. “We’ve got a long way to go yet.”She smiles. “It doesn’t matter how many times you have sex, as long as you do it at the right time.”“Nevertheless. I intend to fill you to the brim.”“Mr. Romantic.”I laugh, roll over, and get up. I search for boxers and pull them on, then tug on my trousers.“Going somewhere?” she asks.“I’m going to order us some drinks and a snack. I’ve got to keep my strength up. Want anything in particular?”“Mmm… something sweet.”“Okay.” I walk around to her side of the bed, lean over her, and kiss her. “We’re getting in the hot tub,” I tell her as I walk out the room. “Naked, before you start going all coy on me and getting your cozzie on.”I walk through to the living room, flick on one of the lamps. Then I go over to the phone, pick it up, and dial for room service. I put in my order, then go out onto the deck to take the cover off the hot tub and start it up.“I’m not sure about the naked pa
“Watching you eat it does.” I blow out a breath and have my own spoonful.“Cake’s not the only thing I’ve been looking forward to tasting.” She looks over her shoulder at me mischievously.“There won’t be any of that,” I reprimand her. “We need every drop of my baby batter to end up where it’s supposed to.”“Baby batter?”“Is daddy sauce better? How about erectoplasm?”She chuckles. “I prefer the band names. Like Pearl Jam.”“Yeah. And 10cc. They say that’s apocryphal because 10cc is apparently twice the amount a man ejaculates. I don’t agree. I think I could have filled a fifty-gallon whisky barrel by myself ten minutes ago.”That makes her laugh.“Actually,” I add, kissing her neck, “my favorite band name for it is The Lovin’ Spoonful.”“I like that.”I offer her some more chocolate cake. She opens her mouth, and I deliberately bump the spoon against her nose before sliding it between her lips.She flicks me a wry look, removes the chocolate from the bridge of her nose with a finger,
She shrugs. “I wonder sometimes about your relationship with her. She had your baby. You look after her. And you’re connected by Joanna. I wonder how close you are sometimes.” She swirls her hand in a circle, creating a whirlpool. “Do you love her?” Then she splashes, irritated with herself. “No, don’t answer that. I’m sorry. It’s none of my business.”I kiss the top of her head. “Elizabeth, we’ve just had sex. It’s a reasonable question. The answer is that I love her like one of my sisters. She’s had it tough—her parents were very strict, and they were extremely harsh on her when she got pregnant. I mean, really harsh, practically medieval. They wanted to send her away to have the baby so their church wouldn’t find out.”“Fucking hell.”“Yeah. It’s the only time I put my foot down and said no, she wasn’t going.”“I’ve wondered sometimes… you’re so honorable and, well, chivalrous, for want of a better word. Why didn’t you ask her to marry you?”“Because I wanted you.”She turns and loo