Page 125

His answering expression is soft, his eyes shining with an emotion so profound it steals the air from my lungs. For a heartbeat, we simply look at each other, everything we’ve said settling between us. Then Ollie kisses me again. This one is different, not the slow, reassuring kiss from before. A feeling of belonging blooms in my chest the moment his lips meet mine.

“Peyton,” he murmurs, like my name itself steadies him. “You’re making it very difficult to think.”

I smile against his lips. “That sounds like a you problem.”

“Definitely a you problem,” Ollie corrects.

He takes my hand, leading us down the hall. We barely make it a few steps before he pulls me back toward him and his mouth finds mine again. My back meets the wall with a soft thud as one of his hands braces beside my head, the other tightening at my hip. The warmth of him presses into me, solid and steady, and every small shift of his body sends another spark down my spine. He kisses the corner of my mouth, my cheek, then beneath my ear.

“Ollie…” I breathe. “We’re in the hallway.”

“Right,” he says, though he makes no effort to move as his lips brush along my jaw.

I laugh and push him away from me, taking steps toward the bedroom. We make it the rest of the way this time. The door nudges shut behind us and his hands settle at my waist again, drawing me into him.

For a blissful moment the world narrows to the synchronized rhythm of our breathing and the tortuously slow way his mouth moves against mine. My hands slide up his chest, curling into his shirt before tugging it upward. Ollie helps me pull the fabric over his head, tossing it behind him without looking.

I back him toward the bed until his knees hit the mattress. With a gentle push to his shoulders, he falls onto it. I climb over him, settling on his lap as his hands come to rest at my waist. His fingers find the zipper of my sundress, and with practiced ease, he lifts the dress up and off me, leaving me in nothing but my bra and panties.

The heat in his eyes makes my breath catch more than the cool air against my skin. We move instinctively, removing our underwear together, laughter and soft kisses mixing with the warmth of skin against skin. I grind my center against his hardened length, making him moan.

“You have no idea how much I want you, sweetheart,” he rasps out.

“Then show me.”

Ollie shifts beneath me, his hands sliding up my sides as he guides me onto my back next to him. The mattress is soft against my spine as he moves and hovers over me, his eyes dark with want. He lowers his mouth to mine again, kissing me before trailing his lips along my jaw. The scrape of his unshaved jaw sends shivers across my skin.

His mouth moves to my neck, finding that sensitive spot just below my ear that makes my breath hitch. He lingers there, alternating between soft kisses and gentle suction that has my fingers threading through his hair. Each touch feels deliberate, reverent even. I love the feeling of him on top of me, giving me pleasure.

Ollie continues his descent, kissing along my collarbone before moving lower. His hands cup my breasts as his mouth follows, lips closing around one nipple while his thumb circles the other. The dual sensation pulls a soft moan from my throat. He takes his time, lavishing attention on each breast, his tongue swirling and teeth grazing, making my back arch off the bed.

The desire pooling low in my belly intensifies with every kiss and touch. His mouth trails farther south, pressing open-mouthed kisses.

Reaching my stomach, he slows. Instinct has me tensing, imagining the faint lines across my skin, pale and uneven from different surgeries. Ollie notices. He lifts his head to meet my eyes, a silent question there. When I don’t pull away or say anything, he lowers his lips and presses a kiss to one scar. Then another. Each touch is feather-soft and deliberate as he maps the constellations of my skin. Emotion fills my eyes as this man loves my imperfections, the part of me that I haven’t always loved myself.

“You’ve been through a lot,” Ollie sighs against the last scar. “You’re so damn incredible. I love you, sweetheart.”

My fingers slide through his hair again, holding him there, grounding myself in the gentleness of the moment and the way he treats every part of me with such care. “I love you, too, handsome.”

He settles between my thighs. His hands slide beneath me, tilting my hips as his breath ghosts over my most sensitive skin. The anticipation alone makes me tremble. When his mouth makes contact, my entire body jolts. His tongue moves in slow strokes first, making my legs tighten around him.

Once I’m halfway to coming, he alternates between broad, flat licks and gentle nips on my clit that have me gasping out his name.

“Ollie…God…”

He hums against me, the vibration sending another wave of sensation through my core. One of his hands moves from my hip and he slides two fingers inside me. The combination of his mouth and the slow, steady thrust of his digits builds the pressure inside me impossibly higher.

My hands fist in the sheets, then move to his hair, holding him there as my hips begin to move of their own accord. He matches my rhythm, curling his fingers just right while his tongue works magic against my clit. The tension builds and builds, coiling tighter in my belly until I'm right on the edge.

“Don't stop,” I breathe. “Please don't⁠—”

The orgasm crashes over me, my body clenching around his fingers as the release radiates outward from my core. Ollie works me through it, gentling his movements as the aftershocks come in waves, pressing soft kisses to my inner thigh.

When I finally catch my breath, I’m ready for more. “I want to ride you.”

“You sure?”

I only nod. Ollie pulls a small foil packet from the drawer and sets it aside before drawing me into another kiss on top of him.