Chapter Text
“There’s a rooster, Luke. A fucking rooster in the middle of London.”
Sick as he was, Luke had to laugh. “That’s no excuse for an afternoon nap, Rose. Don’t you have work to do?”
“I work nine to five smart ass. Means I miss the fancy dinners, but my weekends are mine. What’s up, are you OK?”
“No, I have the flu. I need a big favour.”
“I’m listening,” Rose groaned.
“Tom has a thing tonight, and-”
“No. Nope. No. You’re my brother, and I love you. But there is no way in hell.”
“Come on, Rose. Please? I’ll make sure he’s on his best behaviour.”
“His best behaviour is the problem! All that nicest guy in the world, butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth crap. Ugh.”
“You can have a new dress on me.”
“What are you my sugar daddy now? I don’t need a new dress, thanks, I’ve got plenty.”
“Do the red carpet, then you can go home. He just needs someone to prod him along, otherwise he gets stuck signing and talking and taking photos. Just wrangle him inside as fast as you can and you’re done.”
“Right, so I’m just his handler for the evening? Because he can’t handle himself, he’s too nice.”
“Fuck, Rose, please? I can’t, and there’s no one else. You’re used to dealing with press.”
“I am the press, Luke.”
“Exactly.” She sighed and Luke knew she would only need one last little push. “I can tell him to be a complete asshole if that helps?”
Rose laughed. “Just tone down the prince charming act will do. It’s tedious. God when he has sex he must ask for permission every time he thrusts just to make sure he’s not causing offence.”
“I’ll ask. While I’m at it I’ll mention that you’ve imagined him having sex. I imagine he will turn a lovely shade of tomato.”
“Bugger off or I’ll change my mind. What time?”
“Car will pick you up at five. You’re a gem.”
“Yes I am, and you owe me.”
Rose looked at the time on her phone and tossed it onto the bed. She had ninety minutes to get ready, nothing like giving her a bit of notice. Opening the closet she stared at the racks of clothes, mentally dismissing each one until she settled on a navy blue dress. With short sleeves and a v neck, it cinched tight around her small waist with a wide satin band, drawing attention to her hourglass shape. The skirt flared just a little over her hips, finishing just barely above her knees. After a quick shower she slipped it on over royal blue lace underwear. She pulled sheer stockings over her legs, easing them over her thighs after deciding on suspenders rather than stay ups that so often just didn’t stay up. She couldn’t risk that kind of wardrobe malfunction on a red carpet with a short dress. Especially next to Mr perfect.
With heels on, honey coloured hair pinned up and make up perfected, she was ready to go with ten minutes to spare. At exactly five o'clock a silver car pulled up outside and Rose got into the back seat, relieved to find that they were picking Tom up second. A short drive later they arrived outside an apartment building where she guessed he must have been waiting, he was already on his way out the door when the car stopped. Rose imagined him in the lobby, trying to hide his ridiculously tall figure inconspicuously behind a pot plant while he waited for the car, hoping not to be seen. Because that would be such a tragedy, she thought, rolling her eyes.
“Hello, Rose.” he offered her his hand as he poured himself into the seat next to her. He had to spread his legs and almost fold himself down and she was casually reminded of a deck chair being folded up. “Luke has told me all about you, I’m really sorry you got roped into this. You must have had better plans for a Sunday evening.”
“Oh, I don’t mind,” She found herself saying. “I was happy to help when Luke called me.” Wait, what? Why are words just falling from my mouth?
Rose looked him over while he talked about the event, not that she heard much of what he was saying. She was examining every detail of him: his blond curly hair, longer than she had seen it before and looking like he could have been in a Loreal advertisement with its silky softness. The stubbly goatee that framed his mouth, that bloody mouth that never shut up, spouting niceties and charm that affected everyone he met like some sort of infectious virus. His eyes, clear and bright, blue and sparkling. Of course they were blue, the most mesmerising ones always were. There has to be a secret. How does he do it? He not only wins everyone over with just the slightest raised eyebrow but he also seems to pull words from their mouths without them having any control. A magician pulling coloured hankerchiefs from other people’s sleeves and compliments from their throats.
“If it helps, I promise to be on my absolute worst behaviour.”
Rose smiled. And then frowned. “Wait, did you just say worst behaviour?”
“Apparently I’m too nice,” he smirked, one eyebrow raising ever so slightly, just enough to give him an amused expression.
“I never said that. I just don’t believe anyone can be that nice all of the time.”
“How do you know I am? Perhaps I just know when to turn off the good boy and put on the bad boy.”
He did not just say that. Arrogant, add that to the list.
“I just find it a little off-putting. Almost a bit fake.”
“Well, Rose, my purpose tonight is to convince you that I am entirely real, and that I’m not always so nice. Exactly what level of asshole would you like?”
Rose gaped. He was looking out the window, deliberately she realised, avoiding her gaze but knowing exactly the expression she would have.
“I was planning on leaving as soon as you’re inside.”
“Come on now, you didn’t get that dressed up to just go home before dinner. And at least one drink. After that if I haven’t convinced you, you can leave whenever you choose.”
“We’ll see prince charming.” At least I got a chance to get dressed up and I get a free meal. It’s not all bad.
Rose found herself becoming increasingly frustrated with Tom as she tried to keep him moving. He was like some sort of scent hound, a beagle perhaps, whose owner just wanted to continue walking but the dog had an innate need to stop every two seconds to investigate a new scent. Every time someone said “Tom!” it was another three steps backwards from the little progress they had made. If she wasn’t wearing such huge heels Rose might have found it endearing, it physically pained him to disappoint anyone, and every single person must have their moment.
The problem with this of course was that they had a very limited number of moments and far too many people. Seeing how far behind he was, Rose tried to be more forceful. “We have to move along, Tom. Right now. No more pictures.”
“But Rose-” he pouted.
“No. I’m pretty sure that doesn’t work on Luke and it won’t work on me. Move. Now.”
He gave her a look somewhere between genuine anger and amusement that she thought she could tell him what to do. But he did reluctantly comply, putting a smug smile on Rose’s face as Tom moved much faster along to the photographers. While he spoke to the media she watched from a few feet away, trying to work out exactly what the appeal was. He was ridiculously tall, standing out like an Eiffel tower in a sea of office buildings, and the confidence he carried himself with only made it more obvious. Even when he leaned in to listen to a question - which he always did with furrowed eyebrows and a warm smile as though the person speaking was the single most important person on earth - he never hunched his shoulders. They were always relaxed back in a posture that said he was entirely comfortable in his own body, he never looked awkward or out of place. He owned everything he did and everywhere he went.
And that wasn’t even where the appeal came from. The thing that attracted so many people to him was his openness, the humility and sincerity that was like a neon sign saying something like ‘talk to me, I won’t bite’ where other celebrities carried around 'beware the dog’. He was dressed in a dark grey suit that was clearly custom tailored, the way it fitted him as comfortable as a second skin and they way he moved so fluidly in it. He constantly played with his deep red tie, straightening it, tugging on it, flipping it around in his long slender fingers and smoothing it back down against his crisp white shirt. Rose was finding it terribly distracting, the way the silk moved over his fingers, the way his fingers moved over the slightly pointed end, the veins and tendons that showed through his smooth skin.
She looked back up to his face and startled a little when his eyes met hers, she wondered how long he’d been watching her starting at his hands. And then the bastard winked subtly at her, making her blush and look down at her shoes. It was an act, it had to be. He sure as hell wasn’t doing anything that made her think he wasn’t just a show pony for the press.
Finally, after the immaculate man posed in his immaculate suit with his beautiful smile alternating with his serious thinking face, they made it inside to the gathering. There were far more people than Rose would normally be comfortable with, but the champagne was flowing and waiters wandered around with plates of food. Within a few seconds Tom had snatched two glasses from a passing tray and handed one to her.
“Cheers,” he said, holding out his glass. Rose eyed him warily. “What, Rose? Are you going to be like this all evening, or are you going home?”
“I told you, one drink and I’m going home.”
“Good. Because you’re face is sort of cramping my style.”
He walked away, engaging someone she didn’t recognise quickly in conversation while Rose opened and closed her mouth after him. Downing the remainder of her champagne, she went to the bathroom to check that there wasn’t actually something wrong with her face. By the time she found Tom again she was seething, she grabbed his firm bicep roughly, interrupting his conversation.
“Can we talk for a moment?”
“Rose, where are your manners?”
“I’m leaving, Tom. I knew this was a bad idea.”
“This is about the face comment, isn’t it. I only meant you should smile a little, otherwise you just look like my pissed off girlfriend and do you know what that means? It means no other woman will come anywhere near me and I’ll go home lonely. I don’t like being lonely, Rose. So smile, or leave.”
“You’re impossible. And I knew you weren’t a gentleman.”
“So I have changed your mind?” he was smiling down at her with an arrogant, smug expression.
“Technically you’ve confirmed my suspicions. You are a womanising bastard who turns on the charm and chivalry for the public.”
“You wound me, Rose. Right in my honourable little heart. You haven’t left yet, though.”
“I’m enjoying the free drinks.”
“Don’t enjoy them too much. If I got Luke’s baby sister drunk he’d never shut up about it.”
“Oh you’re telling me what to do now?”
“Yes. And I think you’ll stay because you like it.
Before Rose could say anything a yawn she had been stifling for half an hour escaped her mouth and she had to cover it with her hand.
"Sorry am I keeping you awake?”
“Someone in my apartment building has a rooster.”
Tom laughed. She had to admit he had a very genuine laugh, the way his head fell back and his eyes almost scrunched closed.
“A rooster? In the middle of London?”
“That’s what I said! It’s been a week. And my afternoon nap was interrupted today. I apologise, normally I’m more professional than yawning in the middle of a conversation.”
He was still laughing, and Rose found herself laughing along with him.
“If it’s any consolation I’ll be leaving in the next hour, and you’re off the hook. If you want to go you can. I won’t tell Luke.”
“Chosen a target already? Can’t have you going home lonely.”
He winked. “I have, mark my words we’ll be out the door in under an hour.”
“Which one,” Rose groaned.
Tom said nothing, tapping the side of his nose slyly as he turned to walk away. He stopped and turned back, almost catching her watching his firm round ass as he walked, his pants pulled tight with his hands in his pockets.
“Thanks for coming, Rose. Appreciate it.”
Rose found some sushi and followed it with another champagne. As she was getting ready to leave, she was suddenly aware of a presence right behind her, a citrus scent and warm breath on her neck. She shuddered a little and prepared to turn around.
“I knew you wouldn’t leave.” the lips next to her ear whispered. Tom. She turned to face him, his face so close to hers that she almost grazed her nose across it.
“I was about to.”
“I know. Mind if I walk with you?”
“Where’s your woman?”
He shrugged. “It didn’t work out yet. But she knows where I live.”
“You’re a monster.”
“I’m really not, Rose.”
“You’re exactly what I thought.”
“If that’s true… then I have nothing to lose I guess. Rose, what if I said the woman I had my eye on all evening, the one I said I was taking home… was you.”
Rose choked on her drink. Literally. Tom had to give her a sharp whack on the back before she could breathe. She looked into his face. He was playing her, he was going to let her accept and then laugh. Or he would take her home for the night and then discard her. She felt a tinge of anger that the second alternative was actually quite appealing. No. Nope. Get out. Now.
“I have to go. Firstly, I’m not that stupid, you’re not fooling me. And secondly, I’m not that kind of girl.”
“Really?”
“Yes!”
“I’m leaving anyway, why don’t we share a cab? Let me make it up to you.”
Rose sighed. “Fine.”
As it turned out there was quite a line for a cab, they had decided to leave at the same time as at least half of the remaining guests.
“I think I might just walk,” Rose said. “It would be faster.”
“In those heels?” Tom raised an eyebrow. She was loathe to admit he had a point. Her feet already hurt and she’d ruin her stockings if she took them off. Also she didn’t have a coat and it had cooled significantly since they arrived, she was already beginning to shiver. “Why don’t we walk to my apartment and then you can get a cab from there?”
“That’s actually not a terrible idea.” As soon as they had stepped outside he removed his jacket and draped it over her shoulders, ignoring her protests. Her own body had betrayed her again, first the blushing and now the goosebumps that had covered her arms. Their height difference meant that his jacket was almost as long as her dress, flaring out over the wide hemline. Tom let himself fall behind her a little and she heard a low whistle before he returned to her side, his long legs easily making up the distance. She glared up at him, knowing what he was thinking, and she could see something smouldering in the eyes that looked back.
“That is a good look,” he said, his smooth deep voice making the line actually sound sexy.
You should see underneath it, Rose thought. The longer they walked and talked (well, he talked) the more she considered the idea that if his offer was genuine then just maybe… Rose was single and had been for over a year. This certainly wouldn’t be her first casual hook-up. Bloody whore you are, she thought. She couldn’t deny the thought of a night’s sleep without a Rooster waking her at 4am was appealing as well.
No, Rose. No, this is stupid. Lost in her own thoughts, she stumbled on a bit of uneven pavement, the heel of her shoe breaking under her foot. She landed on the ground on her side, grazing her knee on the concrete.
“Shit, Rose. Are you OK?”
“Yeah, I think. My shoe isn’t.” She slipped it off, followed by the other one and picked up the heel from the ground. It was repairable, but she still had to get home. Tom bent down to help her up and she waved him away. “I’m fine, really.”
“You’re bleeding. Your knee is bleeding.” he said as she stood up. As soon as she put weight on her ankle she began to thank god that Tom’s apartment wasn’t much further. It wasn’t serious but it was certainly jarred and sore. She tried not to limp when she walked the rest of the short distance in stockings. “I can piggy-back you if you like?”
Rose laughed. “If I were dressed appropriately I might take you up on that, Tom.”
“You’re wearing stockings and underwear, aren’t you?”
“Uh, yes. But… I’m ok to walk.” She blushed.
They arrived at his door and Rose looked around for a cab. Naturally the street was empty. “Please at least let me clean you up before you go home,” he said, gesturing to the blood trickling down her shin.
“My dignity isn’t going to recover anyway.” Rose said to the floor. “OK.”
Up in Tom’s apartment he insisted she sit on the couch while he made tea and fetched his first aid kit. She couldn’t help but notice he’d switched back to nice-guy Tom. He sat on the table in front of her and wrung the water out of a cloth into a bowl. Rose’s stocking was shredded and she had quite an impressive graze on her knee and shin. Gingerly she rolled her ankle around and was relieved when there was only a very mild twinge.
“You might have to take off your stockings.” he said, looking up at her. Rose guessed her face had just turned a lovely shade of humiliated. There was no way to do that and retain any kind of discretion.
“I think maybe I should just go,” she said.
“Rose, please don’t be embarrassed.”
“I just fell over on the street, Tom.”
“I won’t look. I’ll even leave the room.”
“What happened to bad boy Tom? I thought you’d be trying to remove them yourself at this point!”
“Believe me, I want to. Did it ever occur to you that I really am a good actor? You seem to have it backwards.”
Realisation hit Rose like Thor’s hammer. “Are you trying to tell me that you put on the womaniser act to get me in to bed?”
“No, I put it on to keep you guessing. Believe me it’s not my natural state. I grew up in a house full of women who made sure I kept my manners in check. That’s all. It’s not an act, I don’t turn it on for anyone. That doesn’t mean I can’t turn it off for a while if that’s the way you like it.”
Damn. The look in his eyes when he finished that last sentence just about melted her into a puddle.
“I’m not a slut, Tom.”
“I would never think you were. You’re a well-educated, intelligent woman. A beautiful woman, who is sitting on my couch and in a mild predicament.”
“Mild predicament, huh?”
“Yes,” he said, leaning toward her. He brought his lips next to her ear. “You have no shoes, and you don’t want to go home, and you’re kind of turned on. Quite a bit, I would say. I’d call that a predicament, wouldn’t you?”
“I kind of hate you right now. It’s kind of hot.”
He sat back on the table. “Do you want me to turn around or leave the room?”
“Neither,”
Tom kept his eyes locked on Rose’s while she unfastened the clips holding her stocking up and slid it down and off her leg. She saw his eyes widen slightly but was otherwise impressed with his restraint. He cleared his throat and wiped her leg over, dabbing on some antiseptic while she clenched her jaw and smoothing a large dressing over the top. She watched his eyes travel up from her foot, over her grazed knee and up her thigh where he rested his hand firmly, making Rose’s heart beat a little faster.
“I should warn you,” he said, his voice thick and low, “I have a quite a weakness for nice underwear and suspenders. If you want to leave, you should do it now.” Rose considered how that would sound to an outsider, and how it was completely at odds with how damp her lace panties were upon hearing him say it.
“I don’t,” she said, her voice soft.
His hand travelled slowly up her bare thigh while his lips found hers, crashing them together roughly and kissing her passionately. He reached up the underside of her leg, stopping when he felt the elastic of her panties and pulling her leg up around his hip. She reached a hand down to his lower back, the other tangling in his hair which was as soft and silky as it looked. Pulling him in, she felt him groan into her, his tongue mingling with hers, licking and tasting her. When he pulled away Rose was panting and the dampness was spreading rapidly between her legs. She could feel her nipples hardening, straining almost painfully against the lace of her bra. Tom’s erection was pressing gently into her leg as he looked down at her face, rubbing over her cheek and mouth with his thumb.
“I want you, Rose.”
“Well take me, Thomas.”
He stood hurriedly and took her hands to pull her up. Putting his hands under the bare skin at the top of her thighs he lifted her up to him, wrapping her legs around his waist so her face was level with his. He carried her to the bedroom, stopping just inside the door to press her against the wall, feeling over her ass and thighs, kneading and teasing, brushing lightly over her mound through her panties and making her moan. With her free hand she unbuttoned his shirt and slid it off one arm at a time, discarding it on the floor. She ran her fingertips over his bare chest, surprised at how muscled he was, his smooth skin contouring over the toned structure of his body underneath.
She traced a finger over the freckles on his neck, making him close his eyes and lean his head back slightly so she could put her lips to them. She licked and sucked his neck, fluttering her tongue over the spot under his ear until he moaned. He tasted salty and sweet and smelled of champagne and cologne.
Tom stood her on the floor and moved to her back, unzipping her dress and holding her hand while she stepped out of it. Rose thought how ridiculous she must look with one stocking, but the growl from Tom’s throat let her know that he didn’t agree. Rose trailed her fingers down his chest and stomach, over the strip of hair that disappeared into his pants and then rubbed gently over the bulge that strained his zipper. She unbuckled his belt and unfastened his pants as they stepped as one to the bed and he laid her down gently in the middle.
He stepped out of his pants, leaving them on the floor to stalk up from the bottom of the bed. He unclipped her remaining stocking and rolled it agonisingly slowly down her leg, his dexterous fingers softly tapping their way over her bare skin. When he reached her feet he kissed slowly back up her legs, nuzzling into the lace covering her mound and straddling her, looking down at her now almost naked body, protected only by her bra and panties. She could feel how wet her underpants were already, before he had even laid a hand on an erogenous zone, feel her swollen breasts begging to be freed from the lace confines.
“God, Rose. You are just beautiful.”
“You’re pretty handsome yourself, angel face.” she replied, chuckling softly. She lifted her head a little and for the first time got a good look at his erection. Stifling a gasp, she ran a hand over his chest and watched it bob a little in response. Tom leaned down and kissed her throat, licking and nibbling while he undid her bra and groaning in appreciation when the full volume of her breasts was revealed. He teased one nipple with his thumb and finger and took the other into his warm mouth, gently sucking it in and flicking over it with his tongue. Rose arched her back in response, raising her breast to his mouth, silently begging him to suck just a fraction harder. She moaned loudly when instead her bit gently with his teeth, slowly applying more pressure until it was almost more than she could stand.
Rose’s fingertips traced over his shoulders, collarbones, and neck, tangling in his hair. Unable to reach his shaft with her hands, she wriggled her hips gently under him, making her thigh rub against him and feeling a drop of precum release onto her skin as he ground his hips onto her.
He snaked a hand down her stomach, circling her navel gently before breaching the waistband of her panties and gently running a finger over her clit. He removed his mouth from her breast when he slipped a finger into her folds, finding her almost dripping with desire.
“Ooh,” he said softly. “So wet, so soft, so warm. I can’t wait to feel my hard dick buried in your delicious cunt.”
Rose thought she might come just with his words.
“But first,” he reached down and smoothly slid her panties down to her knees and she wriggled them off.
“Spread your legs, darling. I want to explore you.” That god damn voice could have parted the red sea, Rose thought. My legs? No contest. Your wish is my command, master.
He slid two fingers inside her and she was reminded how mesmerised she had been by his long fingers, the way he played with the fabric of his tie. He now treated her pussy with the same skill, sliding in and out of her, hooking a finger to tease her gspot while his thumb circled lazily around her clit. She reached down for his throbbing cock and he pulled his hips away, not allowing her to touch him yet. He began to bury his fingers deeper inside with each penetration now, keeping them bent so that they firmly grazed just in the right spot every single time, back and forth, back and forth, his thumb rubbing her clit with more urgency.
Rose felt her face flush, her breathing quickening and her heart pounding in her chest and she rolled her hips up to meet his expert hand, arching her back to bring her breast further into his other hand while he pinched her nipple and rolled it between his thumb and finger. “Come apart for me, Rose.” he growled, putting his mouth back to the other breast and sucking her nipple hard between his teeth. As he increased the pressure with his thumb, Rose felt herself taking gasps of air, heard herself moan, and felt her walls close in on his fingers as she shattered and came, waves of orgasm washing over her again and again as he continued slowly moving his fingers in and out, drawing out her climax until she began to come down. He kissed her mouth softly, slowly, massaging her tongue while her breath returned.
Rose lay back on the bed, feeling her heart pounding in her chest, and Tom rolled off her for a moment to get a condom from the nightstand. She took the opportunity to roll over and on to all fours, her legs wobbling slightly, and straddled him when he lay back down. She kissed down from his neck to his chest, flicking her tongue over his tight, hard nipples, trailing it down to his hips. As she moved down she admired his huge cock, pink and veiny, bouncing and straining with precum beading on the end.
Taking the base in one hand she curled her tongue around the tip, licking away the salty liquid and enjoying the deep groan that issued from his throat. She licked her lips and closed her mouth around the tip, circling her tongue around the ridge and lapping over the bundle of nerves under the head. She immediately tasted more and he writhed very slightly under her, not wanting to thrust into her mouth but unable to keep still.
Rose took a little more in her mouth, lubricating the base with saliva so she could suck and stroke with her hand at the same time. The next time she took as much as she could, pressing him up to the back of her mouth so she could tease the ridge and veins with her tongue. “Fuck, Rose. Your mouth. Ahhhh.” Encouraged, she continued stroking and sucking and teasing until she felt his balls begin to tense under her hand. “Stop, Rose. I want to come in your pussy, not your mouth.”
She released him with a pop and kissed back up to his mouth, straddling his hips while he rolled the condom over his erection. Rose positioned herself over him and leaned down to kiss his neck while she slid down on to him, burying his length inside her. She gasped as he filled her, she had known he was fairly big, but his girth had her stretching to accommodate his size. “God you’re so tight.” he said into her ear as she slid slowly up and down over his length, feeling his ridge rub along her from inside.
Pushing back with her hands on his chest, she sat upright and instantly felt his position change, his full cock now hitting her gspot with every movement. He sat himself up and wrapped his arms around her, running them all over her bare, smooth skin on her back and sides before settling them on her ass, digging his fingers hard into her soft flesh. Rose thrust her hips forward and back over him, feeling another orgasm pooling inside her. As she rode him the intensity built to an almost unbearable level, and she felt him tensing under her.
“I want to hear you, Rose. I want to hear you say my name while your exquisite cunt clamps down on my cock and milks my cum.” His deep gravelly words were her undoing, and she felt herself convulsing as she made the last few thrusts, his hands pulling her over his cock.
“Tom! Oh god, Tom!” she cried out as she lost all control and seized around him, feeling his cock spasm inside her as he grunted into her neck, sinking his teeth gently into her skin below her ear. Tom held on to her waist as he felt her begin to collapse, laying her back and flipping her gently on to the bed. He removed the condom and rolled back over to her, pulling her into him so their skin was pressed together, both of them gasping for air, hearts racing, and glistening with sweat.
With both hands on her cheeks he pulled her face to his, kissing her softly on the mouth. Rose lay her head down on his arm, snuggled into his chest so close she could feel his heart beating. He stroked his fingers in a neverending loop down her spine and back up until he felt her drift off to sleep in his arms.
An unfamiliar sound roused Rose from her restful sleep and she strained to work it out. At least it wasn’t a rooster this morning. After a few moments she realised it was the slow, steady, breathing coming from the bed next to her, and she slowly opened her eyes. Tom. Shit. She hadn’t meant to spend the whole night with him. She hadn’t meant to do anything with him, she just couldn’t not do anything with him. Oh god, she groaned internally. Luke was going to kill both of them. She quietly lifted her arm and looked at her watch, realising it was only 5:30 and she had plenty of time to get to work.
She looked at him, sleeping so peacefully next to her. His hand rested comfortable on her waist, as though it belonged there like a jigsaw piece. His chiseled face certainly couldn’t be described as anything but handsome, and she was almost overcome with desire to tangle her fingers in his noodly curls. His mouth was curled ever so slightly at the edges, almost in a smile, and it made his cheekbones and firm jaw stand out against the smoothness of his face. She imagined the lucky girl who would one day wake up to that face every morning.
Rose realised she was going to have to concede that he really was everything people said: charming, handsome, and just generally a good man. A gentleman, in most situations. And then more of a cavalier bad boy in others.
She slipped quietly out of the bed and retrieved her clothes, dressing as quietly as she could and trying not to wake him. She had to get home and showered and get to work, and she thought it probably best to just slip out unnoticed. She winced a little, realising her ankle was stiff and sore and the dressing on her knee was almost soaked through with blood. She guessed she must have split it open again.
“You’re not running out on me, are you?” Tom said quietly enough that it was almost a whisper but still loud enough to make Rose jump. She turned to see him propped up on one elbow, giving her an amused grin.
“Isn’t that how this works? Truth be told if I hadn’t slept so well I’d have gone last night.” His face dropped, and she was surprised by his wounded expression.
“Oh.”
“I have to get home, I have to get ready for work. I’m not running out on you as such, it’s just time for me to go.”
“Rose, I had a really good time last night. I know it’s not ideal with my schedule, but I’d really like to see you again. Perhaps take you out properly.”
“Tom you really don’t have to do this. It was a one time deal, I get it.”
“But I want to. It doesn’t have to be a one time thing. Unless that’s what you want.”
He looked down at his hands. Rose felt like she might fall over if she tried to get dressed, this was the last thing she had expected. She calculated for a few moments in her head, mentally shuffling things around before considering the man before her. He really wasn’t acting, he was one of those one in a million men. And she had barely been able to tear her eyes away from him since he got in the cab.
Tom watched her face, searching for some sort of sign and hoping she wouldn’t just walk away. He had wanted her since he laid eyes on her, and although it had started with lust it had developed beyond that now.
She sighed. “What are you doing today?”
“Absolutely nothing. Well, I mean I have things I should do. But I don’t have to leave the apartment.”
Rose slipped back under the covers, pressing herself against his warm body. “What are you doing today, Rose?”
“I think I’m not feeling well. I’m calling in sick.”