Read Online Restoration by Kim Loraine - Free Book Online

flashed in her brain, but his proximity, his breath on her neck, and the familiar feeling of being held overtook her. She found his neck and began to pepper it with light kisses.
    “Not too soon,” she whispered when she reached his ear.
    “Oh, thank God,” he said as he lifted the hem of her shirt and slowly removed it. Again, his hands trembled and she felt warmth spread across her body. His gaze roamed over her torso, taking in her form, his eyes wide, reflecting the firelight. “You’re so lovely.”
    He kissed a line from her lips down to her navel, slowly, almost agonizingly so. His lips were soft as they retraced the path back to hers and his hands encircled her waist to encourage her to lift herself, aiding in the removal of her bra. When he couldn’t find a clasp, he growled against her lips.
    “Front,” she whispered.
    “Brilliant.”
    She could feel his smile on her lips as he popped the clasp and her breasts spilled free.
    His hands were warm as they cupped each breast. He massaged slowly and carefully as she closed her eyes and moaned in pleasure at the feeling of such attention. She reached up to run her hands through his hair again and had a momentary flash of John. His hair had been shorter, nothing to hold on to. Her heart gave a squeeze at the thought, but she pushed it away. She brought her lips to Drew’s neck and kissed along his collarbone as her hands drifted down to his belt.
    “Oh, my God!” Valerie’s exclamation broke through the romantic atmosphere with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer.
    Grace instinctively brought her hands up to cover her bare chest as Drew grabbed a throw blanket from the back of the sofa and covered her.
    “Valerie! What are you doing here?” Grace asked, not even trying to hide the annoyance in her voice.
    “Um, I live here, remember?”
    “You said you were staying in London tonight.”
    Valerie had the good sense to look embarrassed. “Well, Mick and I had a fight, so I decided to come home.”
    Valerie stumbled in the dim light to the kitchen where she found a battery-operated candle and a flashlight. “Hi, Drew. Just, um, pretend I’m not here. I’ll go to my room and listen to my music at high volume until the battery on my phone dies.” Valerie scurried off in the direction of her room, and the door closed and locked loudly.
    Drew turned to Grace. “Right, I best be going then.”
    She thought for a moment. “Well, we’re definitely finished with our more adventurous activities for the evening, but you don’t have to leave.”
    He smiled, his whole face lighting up as he put his sweater back on and raked his fingers through his unruly hair.
    “Let me put my clothes back on and I’ll get us some more wine,” Grace said. “We’ve sort of been coming at this backward. I think we need to get to know each other a little better.”
    “Quite right,” he said as he handed her bra to her, dangling it on the tip of his index finger.
    The fire blazed in the small fireplace, while she and Drew shared another bottle of wine and cold pizza from the fridge. Fleetingly, she considered letting Valerie know it was safe to come out and join them, then thought better of it. She wanted Drew all to herself.
    She was feeling the effects of the wine as their conversation moved from basic likes and dislikes, him anchovies and her mushrooms, into more serious topics such as future plans.
    “So, I know you’re allergic to mushrooms, always wanted to be an architect, and you have an unusual obsession with the Tudor monarchy. What about just you?” Drew asked as he filled her glass.
    “Well, I was raised in Virginia. I’ve been to ten Civil War re-enactments, participated in two, and I can touch my nose with my tongue.”
    “Really?” He cocked an eyebrow.
    In answer, she stuck out her tongue and lightly touched it to the tip of her nose.
    “Well, that’s just . . . weird, really. I was actually talking about the Civil War re-enactments.”
    She blushed.