was a seriously bad idea. He was a stranger. And she’d never had a one-night stand before.
Then again, this wasn’t a relationship. She didn’t have to take the risk of trusting him and then discovering that he had feet of clay, the way she had with Shaun. In a weird kind of way, this was safe—because this man wasn’t going to get close enough to her heart to break it.
His mouth teased her lower lip, demanding and getting a response. Jane wasn’t sure which of them finished undressing whom, but then he’d lifted her and was carrying her to the bed. She felt the bed dip with his weight, and then the mattress shifted again as he climbed off. She opened her eyes.
‘Condom,’ he said in answer to her unspoken question.
At least one of them was being sensible. It hadn’t even occurred to her. How reckless and stupid was that?
He rummaged in his trousers for his wallet, took out the foil wrapper and placed it on the bedside table.
‘You look worried.’ He stroked her face. ‘If you’ve changed your mind, I’ll understand. I’ve never forced a woman, and I don’t intend to start now.’
‘I just…’ She hadn’t even dated anyone since Shaun’s betrayal, let alone slept with anyone. She’d turned down the couple of offers she’d had, not wanting to risk the same thing happening all over again. ‘I’m not used to this kind of thing,’ she admitted.
‘Then let’s get used to it together.’ He bent his head to kiss her again; his mouth was gentle and promising, rather than demanding. Until she responded, when suddenly the kiss turned hot, turning her into a mass of sheer aching need.
This time, when he touched her, the shyness was gone. She gave herself up to the sensation as he stroked her, teased her, let her touch him in return.
His hand slid between her thighs and she gasped in pleasure.
It really shouldn’t be this good for a first time. They didn’t even know each other’s names, for pity’s sake. But it felt as if Prince Charming knew exactly where she liked being touched, exactly how to make her respond to him.
She was near to babbling when she heard the rip of the foil packet and the snap as he rolled on the condom to protect her. Then he eased, oh, so slowly into her. And it was heaven. This was a man who knew exactly what to do—how to give pleasure, how to take her right to the edge and keep her there until she was practically hyperventilating.
And then wave after wave of pleasure surged through her as her climax hit. He held her tightly, and she felt the answering surge of his own body against hers.
Gently, he withdrew. ‘I’d better deal with the condom. Excuse me a moment,’ he said softly.
Jane pulled the sheet back over her, the pleasure replaced by a rush of awkwardness. What did you do on a one-night stand? Did you stay for the whole night, or did you get dressed and leave straight after having sex? She didn’t have a clue. She’d never done this kind of thing before; she’d always hung out with the nerdy students, not the wild ones.
He reappeared from the bathroom—still naked, and looking completely unembarrassed about the situation. Clearly he had some idea of the rules; whereas she felt totally at sea.
He climbed into bed beside her and drew her against him. ‘What’s wrong?’
She sighed. ‘If you really want to know, I don’t have a clue what the rules are. What you’re supposed to do next on a one-night stand.’
‘Once you’ve had sex, you mean?’ He stroked her hair. ‘I don’t think there are any rules. What we do next is entirely up to you.’ He smiled. ‘Though my vote would be for you to stay a bit longer and for us to order something from room service.’
‘Your toasted cheese sandwich?’
He shrugged. ‘Or whatever you like from the menu.’
Funny how something so homely could make her feel so much more at ease. ‘Toasted sandwiches would be lovely, thank you. And orange juice.’ She smiled at him. ‘And can I be really greedy and ask for coffee as well?’ The champagne she’d gulped down was still fizzing through her and she really didn’t want to spend the next day with a hangover. OK, so she was a lightweight, hardly ever drinking more than a single glass of wine; but she didn’t need alcohol to have a good time.
He smiled back at her. ‘Coffee sounds great to me.’
‘And of course I’ll pay my half,’ she added.
He shook his head. ‘My room, my idea and my bill. Don’t argue.’
There wasn’t much she could say to that, unless she offered to treat him some other night. Which would definitely be breaking the rules—by definition, a one-night stand was for one night only. ‘Then thank you,’ she said.
‘You know,’ he said, ‘when I came out tonight, didn’t think I was going to end up sitting in bed with a perfect stranger, eating comfort food. But I’m really glad I met you, Cinders.’
‘Me, too,’ she said softly, meaning it.
The sandwiches, when they arrived, were gorgeous. The orange juice was freshly squeezed. And the coffee was among the best she’d ever tasted.
‘That was fabulous. Thank you,’ she said when they’d finished.
‘My pleasure.’
He really was gorgeous. Those piercing blue eyes made her heart skip a beat.
But she didn’t want to overstay her welcome. ‘And I guess this is my cue to leave.’
‘If that’s what you really want.’ He stole a kiss. ‘Or you could…’ He paused. ‘Stay. Tonight.’
The heat was back in his expression. How could she resist? ‘Yes.’
CHAPTER THREE
THE next morning, Jane woke with a start. She was in an unfamiliar bed, in an unfamiliar room, with a body curled protectively round hers.
For a moment she thought she was having some peculiarly vivid dream, remembering what it was like being part of a couple and waking up in her man’s arms. But then the body next to hers shifted and pulled her closer.
She was definitely in bed with someone else. And she’d split up with Shaun eight months ago. Which meant that the body curled round hers belonged to…She swallowed hard. She was still in bed with the handsome stranger she’d spilled champagne over last night.
Talk about out of the frying pan and into the fire. What a stupid thing to do: spending the night with a complete stranger, without telling anyone where she was. Even if he did have lovely manners and had given her more pleasure in one night than her ex-fiancé had given her in two years, he was still a stranger. Anything could’ve happened.
Oh, for pity’s sake. Dr Jane Cooper was known for being ultra-sensible. She didn’t do this sort of thing.
Except…she just had.
At least she hadn’t told him her name. Hopefully
