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“More than okay,” I answer with a satisfied sigh, and his answering chuckle tickles the side of my head.
Every muscle in my body has gone loose, the tight knot I'd been carrying for so long finally unraveled. I don't think I've ever felt this peaceful or safe, wrapped in his arms, surrounded by calming water and candlelight. There’s nowhere else I would rather be right now.
“Stay here with me for a while,” he tells me, reading my thoughts.
“I wasn't planning on going anywhere.”
I turn in his arms and slide against his thighs, acutely aware of him still hard beneath me. The knowledge sparks deep inside, sending another pulse of longing through me. It would be so easy to lose ourselves completely, but I need more prep to fit him in. Including lube, lots of lube.
My fingers follow the lines of the tattoo winding across his shoulders and chest. The design makes it look as though his skin has split open, revealing machinery beneath instead of bone and muscle. It's beautiful in the most unexpected way. I trace another intricate line, wondering about the stories hidden under the ink.
“Will you tell me about them?” I ask, my fingertip lingering over the edge of one of the gears.
“Later,” he promises, covering my hand with his. “There’s a lot to discuss.”
“Is that a promise?”
His thumb brushes across my knuckles. “You don’t even have to ask.”
We stay like that for a long while, trading slow kisses and gentle touches, learning each other without rushing toward the next stage. The bathwater gradually cools around us until I shiver. With a reluctant sigh, Ollie climbs out first and offers me his hand. He wraps a thick towel around my shoulders the moment I step out onto the bathmat, rubbing warmth back into my arms before pressing a kiss to my damp shoulder.
His room feels different when we step into it together. I pause at the edge of the mattress, watching him as I let my towel fall to the floor. Instead of crossing my arms or hiding, I let him see all of me again.
“You’re unreal,” he says and steps closer. His fingertips skim along my arm before they settle at my waist. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to how stunning you are like this.”
My skin prickles under the weight of his praise. “You make it easy to accept a compliment.”
“Good because I'm nowhere near finished telling you how beautiful you are.” He wets his lips, his voice dropping lower. “Fuck...all I can think about is kissing and licking every delicious inch of you.”
Excitement flares inside me. No one has ever looked at me with such hunger and praise. Like all he wants is to give me pleasure, to strive for my happiness.
“I—I have never…” I start awkwardly, but he stops me.
“Remember, we only do what you're ready for. If all you want is to lie here and let me hold you, I'll happily do that all night.” He lifts my hand to his lips and presses a gentle kiss across my knuckles before intertwining our fingers again. “I mean it. I want this to be something you remember because you felt safe, not because you felt rushed.”
I can only nod, emotion lodging somewhere between my throat and my chest. He lowers himself to the floor, kneeling in front of me as though it’s the most natural thing in the word.
“Ollie…” I say his name, my voice barely making it out.
He looks up at me, the expression full of certainty. “You deserve a man who gets on his knees for you.”
Tears sting unexpectedly. Not because I'm scared anymore, but because I finally understand what people mean when they say the right person makes it easy to let go. With Ollie, I don't have to stay on guard. I can simply feel.
“You’re that man,” I whisper. “I want you. All of you.”
His expression softens and makes my heart ache in the best possible way. He draws me toward him until I'm sitting at the edge of the bed. His eyes search mine one last time, asking the same question he's been asking since this began—are you still with me? I answer by cupping his face and nodding. A warm smile spreads across his handsome face, steadying every last flutter of nerves in my body.
After I let go of him, Ollie lowers his full lips on my bare skin. I thread my fingers through his damp hair as he takes his time. Every kiss and lick is unhurried, every single touch giving rather than taking. My responding moans come easily, fingers tightening in his strands.
When he finally settles beside where I ache for him the most, he pauses. “I need to hear you say it,” he murmurs, his hand finding mine and giving it a squeeze. “Is this still what you want?”
“Yes,” I answer without hesitation. “I want this. I want you. I want everything.”
His shoulders relax, relieved. “Thank you for trusting me,” he whispers, before taking control.
The first brush of his mouth against my throbbing clit sends a jolt through me, my entire body shaking in ecstasy. He hums against my sensitive bundle of nerves and keeps licking, switching the speed and intensity as he goes. His fingers work in tandem with his mouth and tongue, adding to the delightful experience. The feeling is too much, but at the same time, not enough. I can’t believe I’ve been missing out on something as good as this. My breaths turn shallow and ragged, every cell in my body coming alive as sensation spirals higher and higher.
“Ollie—” I pant, his name breaking apart on my tongue, the air feeling too thick to pull into my lungs.
