A Dangerous Affair

A Dangerous Affair Chapter 45

By the time Stephanie went to bed she felt warmer, more relaxed and a lot happier. She actually felt quite relieved that Tom now knew about her father and glad that he understood her reasons behind wanting to finish the story, although she had meant it when she had said that she would leave it alone. As she got into bed she made a decision to try her very best not to argue with Tom again if she could help it. They were colleagues and they should be able to act professionally together. Besides it felt miserable thinking that he was angry with her but if she could control her recent chaotic emotion swings then hopefully they could settle into something close to a normal relationship, a close friendship. Yes that would be good, she would love to have Tom as a close friend. Lying in the darkness however she remembered what he had said about waiting for their ‘morning cuddle under the bedclothes’ and her heart accelerated at the thought of it. Okay so there was a sexual attraction between them but she didn’t have to act on it. With all that was going on at work lately she couldn’t afford to add more complications to the situation. She eventually fell asleep indulging in some self prohibited thoughts of Tom and herself lying naked under the duvet in her spare room.

Stephanie awoke to the sound of her mobile phone alarm and pressed the snooze button, remaining in bed for a further fifteen minutes before dragging herself out. She pulled on her satin dressing gown and went to her spare room, knocking gently on the door before pushing it open and entering. Tom appeared to still be asleep so she approached the bed and whispered his name. He still didn’t stir. She reached out a hand and touched his bare shoulder, shaking it gently and whispering his name again. Without warning he whipped out his arm and grabbed her around the waist, hauling her unceremoniously onto the bed.

“Tom? What...”

He peeled back the covers and threw them over her, keeping her in place with his arm that was still firmly around her middle.

“Gotcha!”

“Tom, we have to get to work!” she exclaimed in a panic.

“We still have a bit of time and anyway you promised me a morning cuddle,” he said, turning her round to face him and slipping his arms around her back.

“No I didn’t, you assumed...”

He put a finger to her mouth to silence her. “Shh, don’t be difficult.”

She stared helplessly up at him and he kissed her on the nose. “Smile, I don’t bite and I must say I’ve missed these kind of moments between us over the last week.”

She smiled slowly and he smiled back, holding her closer and enjoying the moment. They lay like that for a few minutes, each with their own thoughts, until Tom eventually spoke up.

“Stephie,” he whispered. “I’ve been thinking, well more wondering something really.”

He sounded slightly uneasy and that was unlike him. She lifted her head to look at him. “What?”

“Well, you may not want to answer this sort of question but considering what we’ve been through together I figure that I’ll brave asking it anyway,” he replied.

She was intrigued. “Go on then, what were you wondering?”

He considered asking about her reluctance to allow intimate encounters between them to develop but decided that that line of questioning was a little too direct and so he broached another question that had been foremost in his thoughts since their conversation about the guy she had fallen for as a teenager.

“Well,” he looked uncertain about the question he was going to ask, “actually I was wondering a few things, I’m just trying to figure out how to ask.” She wasn’t sure if she wanted him to ask or not. His uncertainty reassured her however that it wasn’t going to be something to purposely cause her any awkwardness. “Stephie,” his voice softened, “when a guy makes love to you... in the past... when he has... was it good? I mean...was it...everything you’d wanted?” She stared up at him. She really didn’t know how to reply. She struggled to think of an answer. “Now you’re thinking too much Stephie,” he observed. “Don’t think, just tell me.”