Last Christmas by Lily Greene Read Free Book Online

last time I’ll be tempted by you …”
    Ella didn’t know where to look. Her breathing was quickening and she could feel her body sliding towards Fergus who was only inches away now. He likes me . He likes me .
    Their faces were so close that their noses were almost touching. Ella could smell his alluring cologne and the sweetness of his breath. She wanted to kiss him but she was paralyzed by the acuteness of her desire for him. Fergus delicately placed his hand on her cheek, caressed her soft skin and lowered his gaze to her lips. He placed his thumb on her red lip, and focused on each centimeter of her skin as if it would be the last time he would ever see her face.
    No man had ever looked at her like this before. Suddenly his lips were on hers, kissing her lightly but with such passion that her whole body tingled in response. She arched her back into him as she kissed him with more force, her tongue meeting his as he ran his hands wildly through her even wilder hair.
    They parted, panting, overwhelmed by power of the kiss.
    Fergus and Ella looked at each other, their heavy gazes acknowledging that something special had just occurred between them. Ella wiped the slight stain of red lipstick gently from the corner of Fergus’s mouth and smiled. He took her hand and kissed it gently.
    “I’ve wanted to kiss you from the moment I saw you in Waitrose.”
    “Me too,” Ella said finding her voice, a little croaky after their tantalizing embrace. “But I thought you must have thought me rather silly after you heard my conversation and saw how clumsy I was at the door,” she confessed.
    “What conversation? The second time I saw you, when I came up to you again at the bakery counter, I saw you were on the phone the moment you turned around, but I didn’t hear your conversation.”
    Ella was amazed. He hadn’t heard her stupid comment about the Versace dress! Or was it Valentino? Ella didn’t care and was so relieved that he hadn’t heard her remark.
    “I was just too nervous to ask you out. I had just about plucked up the courage to introduce myself when I saw you were on the phone still and I bottled it.”
    Ella laughed. “You were about to ask me out?”
    “Yes!”
    “Bloody Libby always interrupting.”
    “Like mother like daughter eh?”
    “Uh huh.” Ella smiled.
    “Hey, what did you say on the phone that you were mortified that I might have heard?” Fergus asked inquisitively, drawing closer to her again.
    “Oh nothing!” Ella said, taking the opportunity presented to hide the monstrous comment. “We should go inside now,” she continued.
    “Are you cold?” he asked her, gesturing thoughtfully at his jacket.
    “No, I’m fine, thank you. I just think if we stay out here any longer we might have a busybody Elisabeth on our hands, doing what she does best and I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather we went in on our own accord.”
    Fergus chuckled and nodded in agreement. He stood up from the table and politely gestured for Ella to walk in first. She steadied herself, tried to shake off the tingly feeling that had spread through her entire body and walked towards the door, mulling over the delight of their kiss.
    As they reached the back door, Fergus placed his right hand gently on her arm.
    “Ella, excuse me if I’m being forward but would you like to go out with me sometime this week?”
    Ella’s mouth curled into a coy smile. Her nose wrinkled and she bit her lip while looking up to the sky in mock deliberation. “Yes,” she said triumphantly.
    *
    Libby waved off the last of her guests and shut the front door to keep the biting cold away. She roamed into the kitchen and saw her friends dancing manically to ‘Driving Home for Christmas’ with various cleaning equipment in hand. Charlie was playing imaginary drums with some dishcloths, Harry was strumming the broom like the air guitar it was, Lara was wiggling her bottom while washing dishes in the sink and Ella was singing,