The Price of Love by Rosie Harris Read Free Book Online Page B

to get ready to go out.
    Robert had promised to take her across to New Brighton because the fun fair was open over Easter and he knew how much she loved going on the rides with him, but suddenly her heart wasn’t in it. She even wondered if he would prefer to stay home since they had the house to themselves, something that rarely happened.
    Robert arrived long before she was ready and he was shivering as he came indoors. ‘It’s chilly out; there’s a keen wind and it will be bitterly cold going over on the boat,’ he told her.
    ‘The kettle’s boiling, would you like a cup of tea first, to warm you up?’ Lucy asked.
    ‘That sounds like a great idea,’ he agreed, as he rubbed his cold nose against her cheek after kissing her.
    As they settled down on the sofa to drink their tea Lucy said, ‘We don’t have to go out this afternoon, you know; not if you’d rather stay here.’
    He looked at her quizzically. ‘What do you want to do? I planned the trip over to New Brighton because I know how much you enjoy the rides.’
    ‘We have got the house to ourselves,’ Lucy murmured. ‘Sam isn’t planning to be back until five o’clock and that’s almost four hours away.’
    ‘Mmm,’ Robert murmured, putting his cup down on the table and pulling Lucy into his arms, his mouth covering hers. His lips travelled down her neck and back up again and he nibbled gently on the lobes of her ears. ‘Perhaps we should change our plans and take advantage of that and stay here; we can always go over to New Brighton next weekend,’ he whispered.
    Cocooned in the warmth and quiet of the house, Lucy acquiesced and relaxed in Robert’s arms. She loved him with all her heart and was always eager for his kisses and embraces but usually these were very constrained because they had so little privacy.
    Now, knowing that there would be no interruptions, Lucy nestled up closer to Robert and made no protests when he slipped his hands inside her clothing and became far more intimate than he had ever dared to be before.
    She was carried away by Robert’s ardour. Her own feelings were in turmoil; she had never before felt such desire or need. She wanted the strange and slightly shocking sensations that sent shivers of anticipation through her entire body to go on for ever.
    When he gently eased her from the sofa and lowered her on to the rug in front of the glowing fire, she made no resistance. As he undid the buttons on her blouse and, peeling it away from her shoulders, began to kiss and fondle her breasts, she stiffened for a brief moment then gave a quivering sigh followed by a little cry of delight as his mouth took possession of first one and then the other.
    Eagerly she started to unbutton the front of his shirt. As her hands touched his bare chest she drew in a sharp breath and then pulled him closer to her own naked body, closing her eyes as their flesh melded together and she felt the intense heat from his body enveloping her.
    Robert raised himself on one elbow and looked down at her quizzically, almost as if asking for permission to go on. At that moment Lucy knew she could deny him nothing and smiled in anticipation of what was to follow.
    After that they were so intertwined that it was as if they were one. Every throb of their pulse, every breath they took and every movement they made seemed to be in unison. They lost all sense of time or place as their passion, which had been restrained for so long, completely engulfed them.
    The loud hammering on the front door followed by a pounding on the window startled both of them and brought them back to reality with an unnerving jolt.
    They stared at each other in alarm, then Lucy pulled away from Robert, fighting back a feeling of shame at having been caught in such a compromising situation.
    Their moment of sheer bliss had been completely shattered and, for a few seconds, neither of them seemed to know what to say or do. Lucy pushed her hair back from her flushed face and tried to