Beth stirred, looking at me sleepily. "Mm, I slept really well."
She gave me a sheepish smile. "I think I was a bit 'right now' last night, wasn't I..."
I stroked her hair. "Believe me, I'm not complaining." I glanced at the bedside clock. "Do you want a quick swim while we still have the pool to ourselves?"
Beth shook her head, shifting closer to me. "Let's just cuddle for a while, then we can go and get breakfast."
She grinned. "The menu said there'd be bacon."
I wrapped my arms around her. "Breakfast with you will be perfect, bacon or no."
We dozed for a while, Beth shifting her body deliciously against mine every once in a while. Finally I took a deep breath, and touched her shoulder gently. "We should make a move if we don't want to miss that bacon."
Beth swung her legs out of bed, and I watched as she pulled on t-shirt and jeans. I dressed quickly in turn, and we made our way to the dining room. "What can I get you?" the girl serving asked.
"I think we'd both like the full English breakfast, please."
Beth nodded her agreement, and the girl made a note on her pad, heading for the kitchen. I fetched coffee for us, and glanced at Beth across the table. "What would you like to do first?"
"We can just look round the town, remind ourselves where our favourite shops are," Beth suggested. "Maybe later we can go up to the bluff."
Our breakfast arrived, and Beth ate with obvious enjoyment. "It's really good."
I drained my cup. "More coffee?"
"Please."
The girl brought toast, and I grinned as Beth spread marmalade, her tongue sticking out of the side of her mouth as she concentrated.
Finally she sat back. "I couldn't eat another thing."
We made our way out of the dining room, and headed up the hill past the restaurant. "Look, there's the craft place," pointed Beth.
We spent the morning exploring the bookshops, and finally I touched Beth's hand. "I don't think we'll need much lunch, but my feet could do with a rest."
She grinned. "I know. Tell you what, why don't we walk back to that cake shop? I think they do milkshakes too."
We indulged in coffee cake, and Beth sucked at her banana milkshake. "So how do we get to the bluff?"
"There's a footpath from the back of the car park," I recalled. "It's a fair way, but the view's worth it, and it'd make my day if we saw the kestrels."
A couple of hours later we reached the top of the bluff, Beth looking back at me as she stepped onto a flat rock at the edge. "Come on, slowcoach," she teased.
"Be careful," I puffed.
Finally I caught up with her, wrapping my arms around her from behind and looking over her shoulder at the view. "Wow."
Something darkish brown shot across the bluff below us, too fast to follow, and Beth gasped. "Oh! That must have been a kestrel - now you can definitely say you saw them."
She glanced at her watch. "I know it's quicker on the way down, but we'd probably better make a start if we want to make it back for dinner."
As we descended toward the town, I was rewarded with the sight of another raptor, a buzzard flapping lazily from the top of a hay bale as we approached. "Maybe the day after tomorrow we could drive to the bird centre," I suggested. "They do 'hawk walks', would you like to try that?"
"Definitely," nodded Beth.
Finally we were back at the hotel, and I looked through the tourist guide. "The Black Swan gets good reviews - it's a bit traditional, but I think I can cope with that."
"Sure. As long as they do a decent steak, I'm up for it."
"We'll probably need to smarten up a bit," I mused.
"I brought my blue dress," Beth suggested.
"My favourite," I grinned. "I have trousers and a decent shirt, but nobody's going to be looking at me."
I quickly changed, and watched as Beth got ready. "Now I know the secrets of your makeup," I teased as she applied the final touch, the lipstick that made kissing her after an evening out just a little more special.
We walked to the restaurant, getting an approving look from the maitre'd. "I think we passed," Beth whispered with a smile.
Dinner was everything we'd expected, steak cooked to perfection, crisp vegetables, and a bottle of wine as dark as blood. "Mm," sighed Beth finally. "I don't think even their profiteroles could tempt me."
I settled the bill, and we strolled back down to the hotel, enjoying the cooler air. When we reached our room, I glanced at Beth. "Swim? There'll still be people about, or we can wait till we've got it to ourselves."
"I don't feel like swimming yet," Beth mused. "Probably not a good idea so soon after we've eaten, anyway."
She thought for a moment. "But after all that walking, I wouldn't mind just dabbling my feet for a while."
I watched as she changed into her bikini, then unlocked the sliding doors for us to step into the pool area. Beth sat on the edge of the water, dangling her legs, while I found the same plastic chair to sit in as the previous night, pulling it near to her.
After a couple of minutes, Beth glanced up at me. "Would you mind getting me some water?"
"Of course, no problem."
I got up, walking back to our room, and switched on the bedside lamp so I could see my way to the bathroom to fill a glass. When I returned, I thought I detected a change in Beth's expression, as though she had a secret but wasn't ready to share it. She sipped gratefully, and put the glass down. "Looks like people are leaving."
She waited until the last person was gone, then got to her feet. "OK, I think I'm ready for a bit of a swim now. You coming in?"
I shook my head. "But I'll watch you."
Beth glanced down at the laces of her bikini, her meaning obvious, and again I loosened each bow with a tug of my fingers, letting the scraps of pale blue fabric fall to the tiles. She let me drink in the sight of her for a few moments, then turned and smoothly dived into the water, swimming to the other side.
I watched as she tried out different strokes, and unsurprisingly I felt myself becoming more than a little aroused at the light catching her wet breasts, the glimpses of furry shadow between her legs, even - mm, wow - a clear look between her thighs as she kicked her legs strongly.