Page 77 of The Wisteria Tree Cottage

‘Hi,’ Bear said, softly.

She reached out for him, finding his shoulder and tracing up it so she could cup his face. She stroked her hand through his stubble. ‘Hello.’

She found his lips with her thumb and then leaned forward and replaced her thumb with her lips, kissing him hard.

He kissed her back, caressing her face, then letting his hands wander down her arms. He sank back into the sofa, bringing her with him as the kiss continued. He was so gentle, his kisses filled with absolute adoration and tenderness. He moved back slightly, leaning his forehead against hers, his breath ragged.

She stroked his face. ‘Bear, it’s always been you. Always.’

He groaned. ‘All those wasted years.’

‘I know, but maybe we would never have made it back then, maybe we had to grow by ourselves to be ready to be together,’ Meadow said. There was no point in dwelling on the past, they were here now.

He kissed her again and she ran her hand down his chest, touching the bare skin at his open collar which caused him to moan softly against her lips.

She pulled back. ‘We need to get out of here.’

‘Yes we do.’

Meadow sat up. ‘Jacob!’

After a few moments Jacob arrived. ‘I’m here, my darlings.’

‘We need to leave,’ Bear said.

‘Oh, fallen in love already, have we?’ Jacob said.

‘Something like that,’ Meadow said.

‘OK, no problem,’ Jacob said. ‘Meadow, I’m standing next to you, if you can stand up and then reach out your hand, I’ll place it on my shoulder, and Bear, if you can place your hand on Meadow so you can follow her, I’ll guide you both out.’

Meadow did as he asked and Bear stood up behind her and slipped his hand into hers, which made her smile at how right it felt. They shuffled out through the darkness, following Jacob until suddenly they were blinking under the light of the bar area.

Imogen was still guiding people inside so Meadow and Bear said thanks to Jacob and quickly slipped past her to go outside. As soon as they were outside in the warm night air, Bear pulled her into his arms and kissed her again. The kiss went on for some time as people walked past them on the street but she couldn’t have cared less what people thought.

Eventually he moved back slightly. ‘I could do this all night.’

She grinned. ‘Then let’s do that.’

‘Let’s go back to mine,’ Bear said.

She nodded, excitement building for what might happen when they got there. After her first disastrous experience of sex she’d never really been bothered about having it again. She wasn’t scared off by it, she just hadn’t been fussed about going on dates and finding someone to do it with. She’d wanted someone special and amazing to share that with, not just have sex for the sake of having sex, but now she wanted that with Bear more than ever. He ticked those boxes for her in every way.

They hurried down the street towards Bear’s car and he quickly opened the door for her before running round to the driver’s side. Was he having the same thoughts as she was?

They drove a short while through the town and she couldn’t take her eyes off him the whole time. She couldn’t wait to get her hands on him. She reached over and put a hand on his thigh and laughed when he nearly swerved off the road.

He gave her hand a squeeze and then gently removed it. ‘There’s no way I’m getting us home safely with your hand there.’

She smiled and looked out the window to see they were pulling into the driveway of Wishing Wood and her heart danced in her chest with nerves and excitement.

He parked next to his lodge, which was at the other end of the car park to the reception area. They both scrambled out of the car and Bear came round to her side, kissing her briefly before taking her hand and running to his lodge.

As soon as they were inside they kissed again, Bear cupping her face gently, her arms round his strong back. The kiss was everything, tender, loving, with an edge of desire and need for each other.

She barely noticed that he’d unzipped her dress and pushed it gently off her shoulders so it fell at her feet, she was too busy enjoying the kiss to notice anything else, until he caressed his hands across her skin, lighting a fire inside her for more.

She was desperate to feel his body against hers, so she started unbuttoning his shirt, stroking his chest as she pushed it off him. The rest of their clothes came off very quickly until they were both standing there naked in his lounge, kissing and stroking and touching as if they couldn’t get enough of each other.

---