‘I’m okay, it’s just a bump.’ He looked a little perturbed by that, and she felt sorry for him. ‘Seriously, I’m fine. It hardly even hurts. See?’ she said, touching it with her finger and biting the inside of her cheek stoically.

Stuart moved her finger away from her forehead, holding her hand in his and bringing it to his mouth to kiss gently. Elle found his steady gaze almost hypnotic as she held her breath and waited out the flutter of butterflies that had once more started up inside her.

Slowly he leaned in, and Elle felt her breath come out in a shaky rush. This time when his lips met hers, it was a slow, tender kiss—one that was both new and yet familiar. He smelled of the outdoors—windswept and clean with a hint of hay and the faint scent of leather. With gentle pressure Stuart eased her backwards until she reclined on the big sofa, and he followed her down.

The annoying throb at her temple dulled as new and more urgent feelings began to unfold. Her hands moved to the hem of his jumper and he leaned back to roughly tug it over his head, followed swiftly by the shirt he wore beneath.

Elle let her gaze wander across the newly bared skin, taking in the wide, lightly haired chest and following it down to where it tapered into a narrow line that disappeared beneath the band of his jeans. His skin felt warm beneath her fingers as she traced a path from his neck, across his collarbone and down his sides before sweeping across his flat stomach and slipping beneath the button at the top of his jeans to deftly unfasten them.

Her smile widened slightly as she heard the sharp intake of breath her cool fingers against his hot skin evoked. She watched him, his eyes heavy with stirring arousal as she touched him.

When he reached the limit of his patience, a low frustrated sound escaped from the depths of his chest and he hastily took over the removal of his jeans, before coming back to undress her.

‘You’re truly beautiful,’ he murmured, looking down at her with a mix of awe and desire.