Carmen exhaled and squeezed Ash’s fingers. “You’re right. We do have to be honest with each other.” She pursed her lips. “It’s a bit of a minefield, isn’t it? I mean, all this getting to know someone properly. Not being casual.” She gave a wry smile.
Ash laughed and stepped even closer. “It is. But I’m up for it, if you are?”
“Definitely.” Carmen’s voice was husky, and Ash’s skin tingled.
“Want to call it a night?”
Carmen glanced around the room. “I don’t necessarily want to stay here now.” She turned back to Ash. “But it’s not even eight o’clock. I know it’s Sunday and we both have to work tomorrow, but I don’t want the evening to end.”
“Well, let’s get out of here and find somewhere to sit. Maybe have a glass of wine, a little bite to eat?”
“Sounds lovely.”
Ash leaned in, emboldened by the warm smile Carmen sent her way, the kind of smile that lit her up from the inside out. “And maybe we can have another slow walk somewhere quiet. Really slow.”
Carmen’s eyes smouldered, and Ash’s temperature rocketed.
At just after eight on Tuesday night, Carmen pushed open the door of Ash’s studio.
Ash stood from her seat at the desk. “Hey. This is a nice surprise.”
“Hi. I, um, just thought I’d pop in and say hello.” Carmen’s face was warm. Such impromptu gestures were not her style at all. At least not when she’d been dating Gerald or any of her boyfriends in the last ten years or so. But she hadn’t been able to get Ash out of her mind after their Sunday art gallery date. Not after the words they’d spoken and the new level of understanding they had. And the kisses. Oh God, the kisses. Carmen didn’t think she’d ever felt so much from kissing a person. Not even Lewis. When she was wrapped up in Ash’s arms, with Ash’s mouth making wondrous things happen to Carmen’s senses, time seemed to stop. The bench they’d found in the corner of a square near the British Museum had become their enclave, and if it hadn’t been for the hardness of the seat, Carmen could have stayed in Ash’s arms for hours. As it was, she’d gone home aching, aroused, and barely able to remember how to get her key in her front door.
“You can pop in any time.” Ash walked around the desk.
Carmen couldn’t find words. Ash looked so good, so tempting in a sleeveless, black T-shirt that showed off her glorious arms and those tight, black jeans that always held Carmen’s attention.
“You okay?” Ash stopped and stared at her.
Carmen nodded, then moved. In two paces she was face to face with Ash, her hands on Ash’s waist. The small gasp Ash gave as Carmen pressed their lips together, hard, was one of the best sounds Carmen had ever heard. She pulled Ash closer and kissed her with everything she had, feeling the strength of her everywhere they touched.
Ash’s arms quickly enveloped her, and she returned Carmen’s kiss with a fervour that made Carmen shiver. When Ash’s tongue dived deep into Carmen’s mouth, her arousal leaped into fifth gear. Possibly even sixth.
Carmen moaned into Ash’s mouth, sweeping her tongue against Ash’s. Moments—minutes? hours?—later, she pulled back slightly so she could nibble Ash’s bottom lip.
Ash broke the kiss first, breathing hard. “Jesus, what a way to say hello.”
“I just… I couldn’t help it. You’re so…” Carmen swallowed. “You’re so sexy.” In a small part of her brain, telling another woman she was sexy sounded odd. But the rest of her stood up and shouted, Hell, yes!
“Honey, you beat me by a country mile in the sexy stakes.” Ash gave her a lopsided grin. “Not that I’m sorry you’re here, but how come you are?”
Carmen’s face heated. “Couldn’t stop thinking about you.”
Ash gazed at her for a few moments, then cleared her throat. “Want to sit, or is this a flying visit?”
“Sitting is good.” Before my knees give way . Arousal still burned brightly within.
They snuggled up together on the sofa.
“How was your day?” Ash trailed one fingertip into Carmen’s hair and twisted a curl around before letting it fall and repeating the gesture.
The motion sent delicious tremors down Carmen’s back.
“I’m good. Today was busy but okay. My favourite client came in, but all we talked about was you.”
“Huh?” Ash looked adorably confused.
“Tamsyn Harris.” Carmen smiled as Ash’s eyebrows shot up.
“It’s going to take some getting used to, you knowing her as well as you do.”
The idea popped into Carmen’s head and out of her mouth a millisecond later. “Well, you could get to know her too. And Maggie. Soon, if you like. How would you like to be my plus one at their wedding?”
“Are you serious?”
“I am.” She hadn’t thought about it in advance, and now that it was out there she should have been nervous. There’d be plenty of people from her world at the wedding, and turning up with Ash on her arm would be a rather large statement. But the more time they were together, the more Carmen knew this was something special, something to be proud of, and she shouldn’t be scared of showing it.
“When is it?”
“Well, I suppose that might be the only problem. It’s on a Saturday, the 26th of this month.”
Ash rubbed at her chin with her thumb, then stood. She retrieved her mobile from the desk, sat back down, and scrolled a couple of times. “I might be able to make it work. I’ve got three clients booked in that day, but they’re all regulars, so if I call them tomorrow, maybe that’s early enough to be able to switch them around. Perhaps even to the Sunday.”
“Ah, the wedding is in Norfolk. It would be, well, a whole weekend away.”
Ash grinned. “A whole weekend with you? Even better. Okay, I am
