Page 24 of The Wedding Engagement

She grasped the rod-shaped object, trying to focus on it instead of Arran’s arms. Her brain finally managed to compute what she was seeing, and she broke out into a grin. “Oh my God! A sonic screwdriver!”

He nodded, a satisfied expression on his face. “Yep.”

Liv turned it over in her hands, taking in the silver body and bright blue light at the top. To be precise, it was the tenth Doctor’s (aka David Tennant’s) sonic screwdriver. “Awesome,” she whispered.

During their blind date she’d confessed that she’d love one of the sonic screwdrivers. He’d told her that he’d get one for her birthday, but it wasn’t even her birthday yet.

She blinked, moved by his gesture. It wasn’t a high-value gift, but it meant something that he’d remembered and thought to get it for her. She threw her arms around his neck, hugging him on his stool.

He froze for a split second, then quickly reached his arms around her waist, pulling her between his legs and close to his chest. She pressed her face into his neck and allowed herself a deep breath, fueling a kick in her pulse.

Arran trailed a hand up her spine and she couldn’t suppress a shudder of desire. His chest was hard against the softness of her breasts and his skin smooth where she rested her cheek upon it. The sensation of him created a thick, syrupy-sweet desire that heated her core and pooled low into her belly, making her lady parts tingle.

“Thank you,” she said, reluctant to let him go. “But it isn’t even my birthday yet.”

She forced herself to draw back and rest her hands on his shoulders as she looked into the warmth of his gaze. His hands shifted onto her hips, electrifying every nerve ending along the way.

“I know,” he said, giving her a loaded look. Loaded with what, she couldn’t quite tell. The touch of his fingers tightened almost imperceptibly, and for a moment she imagined herself on top of him, his strong hands gripping her hips as she rode him, hard. Her breath caught in her throat as the blood rushed faster through her veins.

“I wanted to give it to you early, as a thank-you.” he said, his eyes intense as he slowly circled his thumbs over her hip bones. Her skin prickled with delicious sensitivity, sending her nipples into hard peaks.

“A thank-you?” she managed to get out, her voice husky.

“Mmm,” he said, his gaze dropping to her mouth for a split second. “For babysitting.”

“It was my pleasure,” she said, unintentionally drawing out the wordpleasureas very pleasurable sensations thrummed from the touch of his fingers down into her core. She shifted, heat pulsing between her legs. In that moment she knew, with absolute certainty, that Arran would be amazing in bed. And she wanted him more than ever.But this time it feels as if he wants me too.She remembered the little seed of doubt she’d experienced the day before with Maya and Elise, when thinking that he saw her only as a friend. The little seed that had first been planted when he’d told her she was beautiful.

Arran’s phoned buzzed loudly with a message, cutting into her reverie. She dropped her hands, taking a step back. Arran released his hold but didn’t take his eyes off her.

“You can, er, you can get that if you want,” she told him, feeling a little light-headed.

He swallowed. “I’ll check it later.”

Liv held her sonic screwdriver to her chest. “I love it. Thank you. But you didn’t need to get me anything. I was happy to hang out with Jayce. And you.”

“I know,” he said, shooting her a soft smile. “But I like doing things for you. You’re always there for everyone else. I want you to know you’re appreciated.”

Warmth flooded her chest, creeping up to heat her cheeks. She dragged her eyes from his perfect face and moved around the counter to grab his T-shirt from where she’d left it lying on the kitchen side. “Here you go. I was going to bring it over, but now you’re here. So…”

He eyed it for a moment, wearing an odd expression. “Nah. I’ve decided you can keep it. It looks better on you.”

Liv hesitated. She really wanted to keep it but didn’t want to come across as really wanting to keep it. “You sure?”

Nodding, he glanced away, then smacked his palm onto his forehead. “Shit. I forgot to bringyourshirt. It’s still on my radiator.” Another odd expression passed over his face. As if he felt guilty about something.

He rubbed his palms on his jeans-clad thighs. “Anyhow. You did me a solid with the babysitting gig, because the money from that portrait really boosted my savings pot.”

“Oh yeah?” she said. “Saving for something in particular?”

“Yeah,” he said, shooting her a self-conscious look. “I’m saving to go traveling.”

Liv remembered the details from his BlindLove profile, that he was interested in travel. It wasn’t something they’d discussed before. “That’s brilliant!”

The self-conscious expression melted from his face as he smiled broadly. “I feel a bit dumb saying it, when so far the farthest I’ve traveled is a package holiday to Benidorm. But I really want to go to Japan.”

“Oh God, yes,” she said, eagerly leaning on the counter. “I want to go in May and see the blossoms.”

His smile widened. “Me too. I’d love to paint them.”

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