My body stilled at his declaration, but instead of waiting for a reply, he kissed me again.

I hugged him tight, trying to convey my feelings physically because I couldn’t yet express them verbally. When we broke apart for air we just stood there, holding one another. His hands roamed my body, like he’d been starved of me for too long.

Still, I felt awkward as we made our way back to our seats. Why did I feel so conflicted when he said he loved me? Why was I so afraid of saying it back?

Paul shot the two of us a knowing grin on our return, but everyone else seemed wrapped up in their own activities. Leanne, James and Isaac played a game of travel Scrabble, while Callum had his earphones on, arms folded and eyes closed. I couldn’t tell if he was sleeping or just trying to ignore everyone.

I settled into my seat and quietly resumed watching episodes on my phone. Trev didn’t take an earbud this time, but I was overly aware of his attention. Glancing to the side, I sent him a warning look, but he only grinned and palmed my thigh. His fingers brushed back and forth over the fabric of my jeans, and I couldn’t stop fixating on how those same fingers just brought me to orgasm.

I think that was his intention.

I tried my best to concentrate but it was a little hard when he bent to whisper, “I need to kiss you again.” And then he licked my neck, like it was the most normal thing in the world. Arousal fizzled beneath my skin. I quickly glanced around, relieved to find no one had seen.

My eyes held a barrel full of warning, but that didn’t deter him.

“Meet me in the bathroom,” he went on.

I arched a brow and whispered back, “Number one, no, train bathrooms are gross, and two, leave me alone. You’ve gotten all you’re going to get from me today.”

“Don’t you mean, you got all you’re going to get from me?”

I narrowed my eyes and held back a smile. “You’re relentless.”

“Only with you.”

“That wasn’t a compliment.”

His answering smile was brazen. “Yeah, it was.”

I shook my head and endeavoured to ignore him. Cocky bastard. One I love.

I managed to survive the remainder of the journey without too much more flirtation from Trev. Although he wouldn’t stop grinning like the cat that got the cream the whole time. It’d bother me if it wasn’t so adorable.

Was this it?

Were Trev and I finally going to have our time?

I felt like I was floating on air for the rest of our journey. When we arrived in Madrid, I was so preoccupied with my fluttering heart that I didn’t have time to focus on my memories or the date on the calendar.

Our apartment was smack dab in the middle of the city, the top floor of an impressively renovated period building. There was a rooftop garden that boasted a stunning view over the city as well as a state-of-the-art hot tub.

Since it was late and the group had an early start in the morning, we all hit the hay pretty much as soon as we got in.

I’d just settled into bed when my phone buzzed.

Trev: I can’t stop thinking about you.

My pulse thrummed in my ears. He was just down the hall. I could go to him if I wanted, but then again, he was sharing a room with Callum. There were too many people in the apartment and nowhere to go for privacy. My phone buzzed with another message.

Trev: I need you.

Trev: Come meet me on the roof.

I stilled, having forgotten about the roof. And the hot tub. Should I go? The rooftop garden would afford us some privacy, but was that what I wanted? Once we took this next step there was no going back. Hell, there was already no going back, but having sex would seal it. I’d be lost to him, no hope of clawing my way back to reality.

Reya: I can’t.

Trev: You can. I just want to hold you. That’s all.

I huffed a laugh at his blatant lie while my phone vibrated in my hand.

Trev: Also, I found champagne and strawberries in the fridge ;-)

Trev: Okay, I tell a fib. I made Neil go out to get them.

Reya: I can’t believe you made him do that. It’s eleven o’clock at night.

Trev: Hey! It’s his job.

I put my phone down and glanced across the room. Leanne was fast asleep in her bed, only a thin sheet covering her body. I pulled up my suitcase and rummaged through for a cardigan, since it might be chilly up on the roof. I really needed to find time to do laundry tomorrow, because most of my clothes were too dirty to wear.

Eventually, I found a long navy cardigan. Pulling it on, I quietly crept from the room. I climbed the stairs that led to the roof and found Trev sitting on a large patio sofa. He looked out at the view of the city, full of twinkling lights and pointy rooftops. I stood there for a long moment, just watching him.

My heart felt too full. I loved him so much it made my entire body ache. Shouldn’t love be more pleasurable? Shouldn’t it fill you with a sense of joyous hope and possibility? Because this felt more like addiction. But maybe I was wrong. Maybe I was too scarred by past experiences to realise that something good was happening, that Trev and I were entering a new era in our relationship.

“Hey,” I finally greeted, and he turned around with a heart-stopping smile, flashing those dimples that I loved. The champagne chilled in a bucket of ice, a carton of strawberries next to it. Behind me, I could hear the hot tub bubbling away. The entire scene was so cheesy it was almost romantic.

“So, you’re Hugh Hefner now?”

Trev chuckled. “If I were Hugh Hefner, I’d be wearing pyjamas and a housecoat.”

A laugh escaped me as I wrapped my arms around myself. “Don’t forget the captain’s hat.” I paused, furrowing my brow. “Why does he always wear pyjamas anyway?”

Trev looked at me like it was obvious. “Because he either just got done banging a blonde with fake tits, or he’s about to bang a blonde with fake tits.”

My lips twitched in a smile. “Ah, now it makes sense.”

Trev’s features warmed. “You’re too far away. Come here.” There was a sexy glint in his eyes that was hard to resist, but I managed to hold my ground.

“I’m still deciding if I want to enter this particular saloon.”

He feigned a look of offence. “I’ll have you know I run a fine establishment. Hardly any prostitutes.”

A chuckle escaped me. “Oh well, in that case.”

“Reya, just get your sexy fucking arse over here.”

I swallowed at the inviting cadence in his voice and stepped a little farther onto the roof. I walked around the hot tub as steam rose out of the water. Down on the street, people socialised outside pubs and late-night restaurants, but their sounds were muted, distant. I picked the champagne bottle up out of the ice bucket. A splash of water hit my bare foot as I held it to the light to read the label. “I’ve been had. This is Prosecco.”

Trev shrugged. “Same thing.”

I mock gasped. “Don’t say that to the French. It’ll be off with your head.”

He laughed, a deep, intimate sound, and reached out to take my hand. Pulling me down to sit next to him, he grabbed the two glasses and popped open the bottle. I watched the bubbles rise to the top as he handed me a flute. I lifted it in the air.

“What shall we toast?”

Trev winked. “Us, of course.”

“To us,” I declared. “A pair of English ragamuffins who somehow found their way to a rooftop garden in Madrid.”

“To us,” Trev echoed, and we clinked our glasses together. His gaze darkened as he watched me take a sip, the crescent moon glowing against the night sky.

Trev bent over to grab a strawberry. He held it just shy of my lips. I scrunched up my nose. “Don’t even think about trying to feed me.”

His eyes sparkled with devilment. “Play along, Reyrey, and I’ll make it worth your while.”

“If making it worth my while has anything to do with that hot tub you can think again. I didn’t bring a swimsuit.”

“That makes no matter,” he tutted.

“Oh, yes it does. I’m not getting in there with you.”

Again with the dimples. “We’ll see.”

I didn’t bother arguing with him, because it’d only be a losing battle. Trev was the kind of person who had an answer for everything. If he wasn’t a professional free runner he would’ve made an excellent politician. Quiet fell between us as we sipped our drinks and enjoyed the view. My mind wandered back to the train journey and the incident with Callum and the little girl.

“What was Callum so upset about today? He barely spoke a word after that kid came up to him.”

Trev was silent for a long while, so long I wondered if he heard my question. I was still trying to understand Callum. He was the one member of the group that I just couldn’t seem to get a fix on.

When Trev finally spoke, his voice was subdued. “Around midway through the filming of our first season, Callum and Leanne started sleeping together.”

“Oh,” I said, though I wasn’t surprised by the news. It was obvious something romantic had gone on between them. I lifted the glass to my mouth for another sip. It was surprisingly good considering Neil must’ve gotten it from some late-night off-licence.

“It was pretty intense between the two of them, but they managed to keep things secret from the rest of us. Then we were filming down at the docks one day. It was dangerous, and though it was nothing we weren’t used to, Leanne took a fall and was badly hurt.”

I frowned, not remembering any of this from the show. I’d watched every episode and I definitely didn’t recall any featuring the London docklands.

Trev frowned, like the memory was still fresh. “We all panicked when we saw the blood. An ambulance came and she was rushed to the hospital. It turned out she was three months pregnant. She lost the baby.”

My gasp was so loud you could’ve heard it down on the street. Whatever I’d been expecting Trev to say, it wasn’t that. I felt acute sorrow and hurt for Leanne, but then I thought of Callum and how freaked he was about that little girl.

“They never found out the sex of the baby, but for some reason Cal’s always thought of her as a she. It’s hard for him to be around little kids. It’s too much of a reminder of what he lost.”

“Oh my goodness, Trev. That’s so awful,” I said sadly. “They never put any of it on the show though, right?”

Trev shook his head. “Believe or not, they wanted to, but Cal threw a fit. He said if they used a single second of the footage from that day he’d quit. We all got the behind him, so they didn’t have a choice. If we all quit, they’d have no show.”

Wow. That was certainly brave of them, especially considering the show hadn’t gone to air yet. They didn’t have an audience or fans, no clout whatsoever, but they still stood as a united front.

Trev shifted closer and draped his arm around my shoulders. “I know Cal can come across like spoiled brat sometimes, but like I said before, he has his reasons.”

“Yeah, I can see that now,” I breathed, viewing his behaviour in a whole new light.

Now I understood the constant tension between him and Leanne, the heightened emotions and thinly veiled resentment. Still, it was bizarre to think that the loss affected Callum more than it did Leanne. At least, outwardly it did. She could be feeling all sorts of things on the inside.

Trev seemed to read my thoughts when he said, “Cal grew up without a dad. All his life he’s been adamant that if he ever had a child, he wouldn’t abandon it like his dad did to him. Then the chance to be a father was snatched away from him before he even knew he had it.”

“I feel so awful for him,” I said, though at the same time I still didn’t understand why he was so brazen in parading women in front of Leanne. In taunting her. She did tell me once how she rejected his advances. Perhaps that was his misguided way of getting back at her for it.

Trev nodded and knocked back a swig of Prosecco. “Life is pretty fucking shitty sometimes.”

“My heart literally aches for them both,” I said, bringing my hand to my chest and rubbing.

Trev’s expression softened, his eyes journeying over my face. “We all have our crosses to bear.”

His serious expression and empathic tone indicated where his thoughts had wandered. He was thinking of what happened to me, my own traumatic experience.

My posture stiffened. “It’s different for me though. I’m not still living the trauma. It might’ve happened over a year ago, but Callum and Leanne are still very much embroiled in their tragedy.” Seeing one another each day was a constant reminder.

Trev’s gaze turned perceptive. “Sometimes I really am in awe of how together you are. I don’t know how you do it.”

I looked away, self-conscious. When I spoke, my voice was quiet. “Karla was a big help. I was still a mess when she came along, a lot like Callum and Leanne. But then she urged me to learn self-defence and seek counselling. Her friendship changed my life.”

“My big sis is pretty fucking special, isn’t she?”

I nodded. “If it weren’t for her, I’m not sure where I’d be today.”

He levelled me with a sincere look, and I was a little taken aback by the ferocity in his eyes. “If it weren’t for her, we never would’ve met. I should buy her a frickin’ Lamborghini.”

I laughed but then my smile faded when Trev reached out and tugged my cardigan down over my shoulder to reveal my thin tank top beneath. He ran a finger over my collarbone and I shivered at his touch. He splayed his hand against my sternum, tilting his head as though studying a work of art. “Our skin looks so good together.”

I felt aroused by the simple touch. Trev nodded to the hot tub, his voice a seductive, husky lull. “Let’s get in.”

I shook my head as he stood from the sofa and started taking off his clothes. “We don’t have the proper . . . attire,” I croaked, watching as he carefully unbuckled his belt.

“You already said that,” he replied darkly.

I swallowed, my throat suddenly dry. “People might see us.”

His eyes glinted wickedly in the dark. “We’re too high up. Nobody will see. Come on, Reyrey. Be brave with me.”

I didn’t say anything then, only watched as he stripped down to his boxers and climbed into the tub, carefully ensuring his casted arm didn’t get in the water. His gaze caught mine as he seductively crooned, “The water’s perfect.”

I let out a nervous chuckle and approached the tub. Trev’s attention never left me as I warily eyed the water, my hands going to the hem of my cardigan.

“You promise not to laugh?”

“Why would I laugh?”

“My underwear doesn’t match,” I confessed.

He levelled me with an arch look. “Reya, we’ve been on the road for two weeks. We’re all wearing mismatched underwear at this point.”

I scrunched up my nose. “That doesn’t even make sense.” Men didn’t have anything to match up.

He only grinned, showing teeth. I slowly tugged off my cardigan, then lifted the tank top over my head to reveal my leopard print and black lace bra. Trev watched my every move as I lowered my trousers down over my hips until I stood in nothing but my bra and bright blue knickers.

His grin widened as he took me in, then his gaze heated. “You’re the sexiest fucking thing I’ve ever seen.”

His compliment made me feel just that; sexy, powerful, like some kind of Bond Girl or a Victoria’s Secret model. Fierce and completely in control of my sex appeal.

Trev’s eyes wandered up my legs, grazing my stomach before coming to rest on my cleavage. I stepped up to the edge of the tub and experimentally dipped a toe in. The water was deliciously warm. Throwing caution to the wind, I bit the bullet and climbed in, though I kept to the opposite side of the tub. Trev’s gaze glinted sinfully, like my distance was a challenge he’d happily accept.

The bubbles fizzled up, massaging all the day’s travel and stress from my muscles and bones. I closed my eyes and tipped my head back, enjoying the pleasurable sensation. I inhaled a deep breath and savoured the moment, then gasped when I felt a mouth on my neck.

“Couldn’t help myself,” Trev murmured as he bit and licked. “You’re like a gift just sitting here.”

I moaned when he sucked my earlobe into his mouth, his hand coming up to massage my breast. With his cast out of the water, I was almost mournful that his other hand couldn’t join in. If he could turn me on so much with only one, imagine what he could do with two. Well actually, I knew exactly how good he was with two.

Artfully, he reached around to unclip my bra, tossing it over onto the sofa before lowering his face to my breasts. He mouthed one and then the other, before he brought his lips to my nipple and sucked hard. He gave it a little nip and I let out a sharp cry of pleasure.

Trev smiled around my nipple. I stared down and met his gaze, those blue eyes of his twinkling with sexy mischief. I arched my back and he tongued my nipple with this amazing fluttering technique, while his hand massaged my other breast.

I grabbed for him through the water, finding the elastic of his boxers and slipping my hand inside to grab his cock. He groaned loudly when I palmed him, his tongue quickening on my nipple. I jerked him slowly while his hand slid inside my knickers, his fingers plunging straight into me.

I gasped and tugged him harder. He grunted, pumping faster with his fingers. When my hand slid lower to cup his balls, he let out a low string of swearwords and seconds later he lifted me from the tub. I had no idea how he did that with one arm, but before I knew it I was lying flat on the sofa as Trev divested me of my knickers and practically tore off his boxers.

He rifled through his jeans for his wallet and produced a shiny foil packet. He met my gaze as he rolled on the condom and I lay there, a horny, wet mess, barely able to hold back my anticipation. It had been a year, yes, but this was Trev. Sex with him was stratospheres away from sex with anyone else.

“Christ, I’m gonna fucking come just looking out you,” he rasped and climbed between my legs.

His cock nudged against me as I dropped my head into the pillow and closed my eyes. Trev kissed my temples, cheeks, nose, mouth and jaw as he positioned himself at my entrance. He held himself up with one arm and breathed, “Open your eyes.”

I opened them and he pushed inside, his thick length filling me up.

I pulled his mouth to mine in a wet, erotic kiss, our tongues melding, as he started to thrust in and out. His passionate groans drove me wild as he wrapped his arm around my waist and impressively flipped us so I was on top. A brief, flickering moment of self-consciousness hit me but then I saw him staring up at me with love and tenderness in his gaze and it melted away.

He massaged my breast as I started to ride him. Trev gripped my hand and brought our interlaced fingers over his heart. He gazed at me with such fervour I almost came apart.

“You’re a goddess. I love you. I’ll never stop loving you.” It felt like a vow.

His passion overwhelmed me. I felt so full—full of the fiercest, most irrational, divine affection and love for him. I squeezed his hand clutching mine, my heart practically pounding its way out of my chest when I replied, “I l-love you, too.”

Trev’s eyes blazed like an inferno as soon as the words left my mouth. I’d never felt so vulnerable and so complete at the same time. I’d thought saying I loved him would imprison me, but instead it set me free. Every pore in my body came alive. It wasn’t just how I felt, but it was seeing how my love made him feel in return. I’d never seen him look so happy, so accepted. It was like he’d been waiting his whole life just to hear me say I loved him back.

I let out a shaky, pleasure-filled moan as his gaze held me captive, never once letting go of my hand. With only the moon and the stars above us, we drove our bodies to a pleasure so high I never wanted to come back down.