Doing the Right Thing (15 page)

Addie greeted everyone as they returned. Every so often, she glanced at Will who appeared to have fallen asleep. He leaned against the window, eyes shut with her jacket draped over him. Addie felt as though the day had been something she’d dreamt.

Somehow she’d made Noah real. Will wanted her. He’d held her hand, made her sit on his lap and he’d kissed her. What a kiss. She wanted to do it again. Do more.

Counting the passengers was always a nightmare. Addie had to repeat it at least five times. They either multiplied like amoeba or disappeared like chocolate-chip cookies. When she was satisfied everyone was back on board and they’d not picked up some foreigner looking for a bus to Manchester, not one of her finest moments, Fred set off. Addie sat next to the sleeping Will and fastened her seat belt. She turned her head to look at him. His face was flushed. He was too hot. Addie tucked her fleece under the seat and reached for the jacket. Will’s hand shot out.

“Leave it.”

“I thought you were hot,” Addie said.

“I am. And bothered.” He opened his eyes. “I could strangle Doreen Wilberforce.”

Addie smiled and opened her book.

“If you’re going to read, what can I do?” Will complained. “I’ll be bored.”

The jacket had slid partly over her lap. Addie was just about to push it back when Will’s hand landed on her zip. She went rigid with shock.

“Don’t,” she whispered.

“Don’t what?”

Will stroked her stomach and Addie trembled.

“You have to stop,” she said.

“Why? No one can see.” He moved his head closer to hers.

His breath tickled her ear and she bit back a whimper.

“They can hear,” she whispered.

“So are you noisy when you come?”

Heat engulfed her as though she’d stepped into a desert. Addie knew she had to move seats. She was on fire. She’d never really understood when it said in books that people couldn’t help themselves, that they were consumed with the desire to satisfy their needs at whatever cost. Now she did.

She crossed to the other side of the coach, struggling to control her breathing. Then fixed her eyes on the moorland scenery, willing her heart to stop racing. She was pathetic.

When Doreen shuffled forward to ask if they could make a toilet stop, Addie reacted like she’d been shot. Her book flew out of her hand and she squeaked the request to Fred. She didn’t look at Will.

Fred found a pub that would accept coaches and Addie told everyone they had twenty minutes, no more. Will didn’t get off and Addie didn’t dare get back on, so she followed the others. Moments later, Will joined them. Addie wondered if there was a back way out. While she dithered, he crept up on her.

“What would you like to drink?” he asked.

“Gordon’s getting me one.”

Will’s hand clamped on her elbow and he pulled her to one side. “What the hell’s the matter?”

“I don’t like stopping on the way back.” She knew that wasn’t what he meant, but she couldn’t have the other conversation. “It’s a nightmare getting them all back on the bus.”

He gave a little smile. “What are we going to do?”

“What do you mean?” Addie faltered.

Will cocked his head on one side. “Yes, you do. I know this isn’t appropriate, but can’t you forget I’m the boss for a while? There’s something unresolved here and I don’t think either of us will be able to settle until it is. Come back to my place.”

There it was.

“If you get them all back on the coach before half past, I’ll think about it.”

Will grinned and Addie smiled too. It was impossible not to. He was so gorgeous and confident and there was as much a chance of him getting them on board before half past, as Addie discovering her bank account had changed color.

Sure enough, fifteen minutes later, they were still six passengers short and Will had lost his grin. Addie watched him sprint back to the pub and moments later the missing MADS dashed back to the coach. Gordon carried his pint, sloshing liquid as he hurried along. Will bounded up the steps.

“What did you promise them?” Addie asked as he sat beside her.

“Nothing.”

She looked at him.

“Next trip half price,” he panted.

Addie looked at her watch. “You’re still two minutes over.”

“I’ll make up for it later.”

“
The Sound of Music
,” someone shouted and Addie groaned.

“What’s the matter?” Will asked.

“If we stop, they drink. That wakes them up and then they sing again.”

The strains of “Climb Every Mountain” grew as the bus began to pull up the next hill. Will laughed, grabbed her hand and squeezed hard.

It was six thirty by the time everyone disembarked in Meanwood. Fred went off for a smoke, leaving Addie and Will alone on board. Will watched as Addie walked up and down the aisle.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Making sure no one’s left anything.”

“Have they?”

“No.” She picked up her bag and jacket. “Bye then.”

Disappointment surged through him. “Aren’t you coming back to the depot?”

“It’s easier to get a bus home from here.” She stepped off the coach.

“Addie!” he called. As she turned, he swallowed hard. “You
have
left something.”

“What?”

“Me.”

Even in the gloom, Will saw the familiar blush creep over her face.

“I’ll drive you home.” He waited to see what she’d do.

She stepped back on board.

Will held her hand all the way to the depot. He still thought she might bolt if he gave her the chance. Was this wrong? Because he was her boss—yes, but Will didn’t care anymore. He thought they’d both be more relaxed once they were in the Lexus, but he was wrong. It was as much as he could do to keep from stopping his car and dragging her onto the backseat. Addie sat playing with the strap on her bag, curling it over with her fingers and occasionally casting shy little smiles his way. She chattered nonstop about her brothers. It thrilled him that she was nervous too.

But Will still tussled with his conscience. As her boss, he should know better. He did know better. This was exactly what Ed did. Exactly what Will gave him grief about.

Sleeping with the staff. But Addie was so sweet and kind and cute and so not like Vee, his willpower had been vacuumed out of him. Will was mesmerized. He ached for her in a way he hadn’t felt for years, ached in a way he’d never felt for Vee and that both thrilled and frightened him. He knew Addie wanted this too, she was simply nervous.

Her hand trembled when he held it. Her skin fluttered at his touch. The fire in her burned as fiercely as it did in him. He’d flirted with her all day and she’d flirted back.

He wanted to get her in his room, strip her naked and kiss her all over. Kiss her long legs all the way up from her toes. He wanted to suck her clit into his mouth and make her come all over his face. Will missed the road and had to turn around. Thinking about Addie was dangerous. Arousal pounded through him. Every part of his body tingled with excitement. He’d had an erection for what seemed like hours. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been as horny as this, not even when he was a teenager.

Once he had her naked in his arms, Will knew the chances of him lasting for anything approaching a respectable length of time were not good.

By the time he pulled up next to Ed’s Boxster, Will’s heart was beating so hard he thought she could probably hear it. He went round to open her door and as she stood, he pulled her into his arms.

“I want you so much, I hurt,” he whispered.

He felt her knees go and clutched her tighter. For a moment, Will couldn’t move.

He stood holding her in his arms, feeling as though walking into the house was a bigger step than it looked.

As Will pulled Addie through the front door, Ed came out of the kitchen. His brother’s gaze flashed between the pair of them and for a moment, Will thought Ed looked disappointed.

“And what have you brought back from the seaside?” Ed asked.

Will tossed him Addie’s stick of rock.

“Want to hear about the day I’ve spent doing your work as well as mine?” Ed called as Will pulled Addie toward the stairs.

“No,” Will said.

The moment they were in his room and the door was closed, Will thrust her back against the wall and pressed his lips against hers. It was an urgent, desperate kiss and she responded by opening her mouth wider. Will’s tongue sank deep and he groaned into her throat. Her hands slid up his back until her fingers twisted in his hair. The kiss was electrifying. Will hadn’t thought he could be more aroused. He’d been wrong. He forced his lips away from hers.

“Addie, if you’ve changed your mind about this, you need to tell me now, because I’m about to explode.”

“Don’t stop kissing me.”

“I don’t think I can.”

Addie’s self-control had begun to evaporate the moment she’d seen him on the coach that morning. Now she wasn’t sure anything could have stopped her doing this, including World War Three breaking out next door. His kisses sent her spiraling into meltdown and she was both scared and excited by the way she felt. He’d moved from teasing, flicking and nibbling to all-out consumption. Addie tore herself away long enough to grab a gulp of air and then Will claimed her again. He moaned into her mouth, his hands all over her. Everywhere he touched, she caught fire. She wanted to cry from the sheer joy of it.

Will rested his forehead against hers. “Addie, oh Addie,” he whispered.

She thought if he’d told her he wanted to kill her, she’d have let him. How could that be? His fingers slid under her fleece, peeled it over her head and dropped it on the floor. Hands glided over the front of her t-shirt, around her breasts and squeezed, making her gasp into his mouth. He pulled her against his body and she felt the long ridge of his erection pressing against her stomach.
Oh God.
Her legs were shaking.

Addie was a little more scared than excited. It was a good job he wasn’t a murderer.

He moved his mouth to her ear. “Are you on the Pill? Please say yes, because I’m not sure my legs are going to carry me more than the two steps to the bed.”

“No, but…”

They were both breathing heavily.

“But what? I had a test, Addie. I wouldn’t risk—”

“Not that. No—I—but—” Addie couldn’t make her mouth work. She needed to tell him this was her first time, but she was embarrassed and couldn’t get the words out.

“Sorry. I can’t think straight. Right. Condom. Don’t move. Don’t take anything off. I want to do that.”

He kissed her on the nose and left the room. The moment he released her, Addie slid down the wall onto the floor. Her legs wouldn’t hold her. She was terrified. He thought she’d done this before and she hadn’t. Addie knew it all in theory. She’d read about different positions, places guys liked to be touched, where women liked to be licked. Her sex education had come from romance books and her brothers’ magazines, the ones they hid on the top of their wardrobes. Her mother’s advice about sex had been a single sentence, delivered a few days before Addie left for university. “Keep your knickers on.” Addie had.

Will slammed back into the room and she jerked against the wall, banging her head.

“What are you doing down there?”

He pulled her up and peeled her t-shirt over her head, tossing it aside. Addie fought off the desperate desire to cross her arms over her chest. Her hands twitched at her sides.

Will stared at her. “God, you are so beautiful.”

And now my jeans are soaked.
How was she going to explain that? What if he thought she’d peed? Addie gave herself a mental slap.
He
wasn’t the one without experience.

He feathered her nipples through her cotton bra and dropped his head, sliding his mouth from her neck to her breast. Addie lurched and Will pulled back a little.

“What is it?”

She couldn’t speak. Every time he put his mouth on her, she felt she was going to explode. How could she tell him that?

“What’s the matter, sweetheart?”

Addie tried to think of something to say. Not the truth, not that she was incandescent with desire and that the fuse he’d lit this morning was burning a fast and sizzling trail toward a stack of dynamite.

“Congenital abnormality,” she whispered. “I flinch when I’m touched.”

He laughed. “So it happens if I touch you like this?” He kissed her collarbone and Addie’s skin jumped.

“Or like this?” His mouth dropped back to her nipple and she twitched.

“There’s no way I can do this slowly. You’re driving me nuts,” Will said.

He tore a button off his shirt in his haste to remove it, fumbled with his zip and then with hers until he only wore boxers and Addie stood in her mismatched bra and pants.

“Red pants,” he muttered.

Addie was mesmerized by his skin, the smell of it, a mixture of spice and sweat, the feel of it, hard and hot against her body, and it grew hotter as they rubbed against each other, hands touching, exploring, his strong thighs brushing hers. Will backed her to the bed.

“I’ve nothing against the carpet, but since the bed is right here…”

They lay side by side, kissing, legs entwined, and Addie thought she’d never have enough, that she could just lie there forever, kissing him, holding him. He made her feel safe, wanted. This was what she’d spent nights dreaming of and it came nowhere near the real thing. Everything they did was an adventure—the way Will slid her breasts free from her bra, the way he lapped at her nipples—and all the time he kept kissing her.

Addie was shocked when she realized they were both naked. How had that happened?

She was almost disappointed she’d missed it. These were memories she wanted to treasure, memories she wanted to relive over and over. Will’s tongue trailed a circle around her nipple before setting off on an exploratory mission south. When he licked her navel, Addie clamped down so hard on her urge to come, she went stiff as a poker.

Will laughed. “Addie, relax. It’s okay.”

No, it wasn’t. She needed to tell him…something.
Oh, that’s so nice.
Thumbs stroked her nipples while his lips kissed a path over her stomach. Where was—
oh God
. Addie felt as though a thousand elastic bands had snapped inside her. She gasped and Will moved up to cradle her in his arms.