He huffed out a laugh and said quietly in my ear, “You are very cute when you’re sleepy, Ms. Munro.”

If I had been more with it, then I would’ve replied with a witty come back. As it was, I couldn’t even be arsed to think, so just crossed my eyes and stuck out my tongue. That’ll show him cute!

He leaned forward and took my tongue between his teeth before lifting me up and softly laying me on the bed – hang on, how did I get naked?

I crept under the covers as Tudor headed to his bathroom.

Oh my God, this bed is amazing!

I snuggled into the pillows and inhaled. I took in the musky scent of Tudor from his sheets and let my eyes fall shut.

The bed dipped, and I was immediately encased in a set of huge, bare arms and pulled into an equally naked muscly chest. I felt kisses being feathered down my neck, and I arched to help Tudor take full advantage. He made his way back to my ear and whispered, “I love you, Sunshine.”

I pushed myself back impossibly close causing him to moan and bite my earlobe, his breathing turning ragged.

“Tudor?”

His arm left my chest and dusted its way down to my stomach. “Mmm-hmm?”

“Do you think everything between us has gone too fast? It seems that we have got to this serious place in our relationship very quickly. Have you thought about that too?”

His hand stilled on his journey down south. “I know it seems fast, but if we feel this way about each other, why should we go slowly? Turn around, gorgeous.”

I shifted onto my belly and placed my head next to his, sharing his pillow and staring straight into those emerald eyes that only hours ago were dulled by pain. I could see them sparkle when he looked at me, and no silver-tongued, flowery sentiment could express how he felt about me more than what I saw in his gaze right then.

He ran his hand through my long hair, which had fanned out around us both. “I don’t want to scare you with how strongly I feel, but I need you to know anyway.”

He searched every part of my face and ran his thumb over my bottom lip, his thoughts seeming somewhere else. “We weren’t allowed anything of our own when we were growing up, you know, possessions, things we wanted. I never had anything that was truly mine, and anything I treasured my father would destroy to display his power over us all. All my relationships in the past have turned to shit, and quite honestly I didn’t even care to be in them. I thought I would always be alone, it was safer that way.

“I have always had this fear that if I loved anything it would be taken away; even as an adult it seemed like I’d been conditioned to accept that it was just my lot in life, so I never let myself really feel for anyone or anything… until you.”

I bit my lip to stop myself grinning like the Cheshire Cat. This was not the time for a celebratory Beyoncé booty-pop, but his admission had me fighting the urge to jump up and sing, ‘oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh- no-no’. I made do with a little bum-shuffle on the memory foam mattress instead.

“I am well aware that most people are intimidated by me and my attitude. I know I come across abrupt, cold-hearted and moody, and I could care less – in fact, it’s worked out well. Everyone would keep their distance, fewer people to get hurt. At least most people stayed clear of me. You however,” he laughed and hitched my leg over his; “… you just spun into my life like a smart-mouthed whirling dervish and tipped me upside down.

“When I saw you enter the restaurant, decked out in that tiny dress with all that long, dark hair and those f**k-me red lips, I nearly fell off my seat. Here comes this stunningly beautiful girl, dancing through the door, obviously a little drunk, and not giving a shit. It was… refreshing.”

I buried my head in the pillow to hide my red face; he grabbed my cheek and made me face him. “I had heard of you from my sister, who was more than obsessed with her new British teacher, and when you saw Bee that night I couldn’t help but laugh out loud at the sheer horror on your face. All my family dropped their mouths at that. I guess I had played the part of the tortured soul at bit too much over the years, and it wasn’t something they were used to me doing: laughing.

“Anyway, when you cussed me out for being rude to you, well,” he rolled on top of me and kissed the tip of my nose, “… I was lost to you right then. You were tiny compared to me, but fought back like a pitbull. After that, our meetings were just a comedy of errors, but through our twisted little rendezvous I got to know you; and you, me… the real me.”

I fluttered my eyelashes in agreement and brought him down for a kiss. He pulled back, flushed and breathless. “Quite frankly, I’ve never been one to care what other people say about me, and I’m pretty sure you don’t either. If people want to criticise us for getting into this too quickly, I say f**k them. If we want this, what the hell are we waiting for? This works for you and me, screw everyone else. Are you in?”

He seemed a little worried for a moment before he saw it in my eyes that I couldn’t agree more. “Aye. I say f**k ‘em too!” I agreed in my strongest Geordie accent.

He bellowed out a laugh and moved over me, placing his thick arms over my head and resting his forehead against mine. With a sigh he said, “I missed you, gorgeous.”

I put my arms around his neck. “I missed you, too. I’m sorry my phone was off when you tried to reach me, but I saw that bloody press release at the airport and needed to just get away from it all. It kind of destroyed me.”