The Spitfire Girls(54)

‘She didn’t!’ Ruby gasped, looking up at him.

Tom was laughing, but she could tell from the guilty look on his face that he wasn’t joking.

‘It’s the truth,’ he said. ‘But you’ll be pleased to know that I’m going to reply.’ He kissed her again, his fingers tracing her face. ‘And this time I’m going to tell her that if she says another bad word against you, either to me personally or to anyone else, I won’t be returning home after the war.’

‘You’re serious?’ Ruby asked, holding his hand as she moved them both closer to the little stove. ‘After all this time, you’re going to do that?’

‘I am.’ He smiled. ‘Listening to those guys out there, seeing you with my own eyes – it’s like being smacked across the face. I’ve had some sense knocked into me, and to hell with her stupid deadline.’

Ruby gazed up at him, trying not to laugh. ‘Well it’s about time, Thomas,’ she teased.

‘Easy,’ Tom said, grabbing her wrist and giving her a wicked smile. ‘Now let’s get this bedding beside the fire and you can tell me all about your training and what it’s like at Hamble.’

Ruby reached for the blankets and laid them down. It was amazing how they’d been parted for so long, but had picked up like it had only been weeks or months instead of well over a year. At home, when they’d flown together, they’d become friends before it had developed into something more and Tom had asked permission to take her out, and she wondered if that was why she felt so comfortable with him. And why she’d almost forgotten what a state of turmoil she’d been in for months over his lack of support. At any other time, she’d have given him the silent treatment and made him grovel for her, but this was war – there was no time to go off in a huff and make up a few days later. They had to take every minute together they could.

‘Come here,’ she said, a nervous flutter in her belly.

‘Are you all right?’ he asked.

She smiled and lowered herself down, tugging him with her. ‘I don’t want to waste time talking about training,’ she said. ‘We have one night, Tom, and I want to make the most of being right here with you.’

He ran a hand through her hair, gently stroking and then undoing her hairpins so that it fell around her shoulders. His smile was kind as he leaned closer, lips finding hers again and sending shudders through her body when his fingers skimmed down her side, settling on her hips. His mouth was warm and his touch was light, and she bravely reached out to him, feeling the curve of his muscles, loving how hard and strong he felt.

When he pulled back, his mouth leaving hers, her fingers travelled upwards to the base of his head. ‘What?’ she asked.

‘I never thought I’d be taking trousers off you,’ he joked, looking down at her flying gear, the only clothes she had with her.

Ruby burst out laughing as she yanked him forwards, pulling him down on top of her. As he rained kisses down her neck and across her collarbone, she arched up to him, wanting more, craving his touch.

‘Are you sure you don’t want to wait until our wedding night?’ he murmured.

‘I thought we might not be having a wedding night, given how stubborn you’ve been about me flying,’ she teased.

He kissed the tip of her nose. ‘I’ll apologise a hundred times over if I have to,’ he whispered, ‘but there will definitely be a wedding night.’

‘We could be shot out of the sky or crash our planes any day, Tom,’ she whispered back, not teasing now. ‘I love you and I don’t want to wait. Do you?’

His kiss was softer this time, and he propped himself up on one elbow, looking down at her. ‘I love you, Ruby. I’m so proud of you and I love you so much.’

Tears pricked her eyes, but she blinked them away as she reached for him, stroking his cheek and brushing his hair back. ‘I love you, too.’

It was bittersweet being with Tom, but she wouldn’t have traded this one night with him for anything in the world. One night, in a little cabin belonging to someone else, stranded at an aerodrome after landing a Halifax. It would go down as one of the best nights of her life.

‘Kiss me,’ Tom said, his lips so close she could feel them move as he spoke.

Ruby didn’t need to be asked twice, and she stroked her arms down his back as her lips met his again, her exhaustion long forgotten.



Knock, knock, knock.

Ruby opened her eyes and looked around, wrapping the blanket tighter around her bare shoulders as she shivered. Where was she? She turned and blinked, smiling when she saw Tom, his eyes still shut, dark lashes almost brushing his cheekbones. The night before flooded back and she buried herself deeper into the blanket, snuggling into Tom.

Knock, knock, knock.

Oh no! She leapt up and grabbed her undergarments, hastily pulling them on and reaching for her flying uniform. ‘Tom!’ she hissed, giving him a kick. ‘Wake up!’

She kicked him again and frantically pulled her trousers on, wriggling into the darn things and then reaching for her jacket. When Tom looked up, perplexed, she groaned and piled the blankets on top of him before sprinting for the door.

Knock, knock . . .

Ruby swung the door open, almost yanking the handle off.

‘Here’s your tea, sir,’ a cheery young voice sang on the wind.