He smiles at that and my heart melts a little. Closing the front door softly, I reach round his waist and pull him close, tilting my face up towards him. Finally, he seems to get the message and, after the briefest of pauses, brings his head down, brushing his lips against mine. I close my eyes, enjoying the sensation. He’s kissing me so lightly I sometimes wonder if I’m imagining it, but then I open my eyes just a crack and see him. I’ve never been kissed like this before; normally it deepens pretty quickly, but Luke appears to be in no rush, and I’m savouring the moment. It feels like he’s teasing me. A little brush here, sometimes the gentlest feel of his tongue against my mouth. It’s incredibly erotic and I can feel my body responding. I pull him closer, trying to see if he’s as turned on as me, and I’m rewarded by a pleasing hardness pressing against me. This is the moment he decides to deepen the kiss and I’m totally ready for it.

‘Bloody hell, Luke!’ I murmur when we come up for air.

‘Was that OK?’ he asks sheepishly. ‘I’m a little out of practice.’

‘Yeah, well, I think we’d better get upstairs before we practise anything else. Come on.’ I grab his hand and pull him towards the staircase, eager to get him into my bedroom and preferably naked as soon as possible. Mike’s at work, so we’ll have the place to ourselves, and I intend to take full advantage of that fact.

We pause on the landing, ostensibly for me to find my keys, but somehow we end up kissing again, hot and breathless, both of us evidently eager for the next step. All Luke’s shy formality and supposed lack of experience has gone out of the window; he certainly seems to know how to push my buttons all of a sudden. His hand is starting to snake inside my top now and, although I very much want it to go there, I am just about still aware enough to know that this isn’t the place.

‘Inside,’ I growl as I shove the key in the lock and open the door. ‘I have plans for you, doctor.’

‘Oh, yes?’ His voice is breathy. ‘Tell me more, nurse.’

‘Well, there’s a nasty swelling in your groin. I’m going to need to get a good look at that, for starters. We might need to perform a special procedure to help it go down.’

‘Oh, really?’ Lena’s voice says from the sofa with a laugh. ‘Do tell me more.’

Fuck! What the bloody hell is she doing here?

‘Not interrupting anything, am I?’ she asks nonchalantly as Luke and I frantically try to disconnect and look innocent.

‘I thought you were visiting your parents today?’ I say sheepishly.