Chapter 22
22
TUCK
W hile Olivia is getting changed and washing her makeup off in the bathroom, I allow myself a taste of this mattress she was raving about.
Fuck, this bed is nice. Soft, but not too soft. The comforter is fluffy and luxurious. I let out a groan as I imagine how the hard, carpeted floor is going to feel compared to this.
I’m not looking forward to it, not with how my back’s been feeling all day, but there’s no alternative.
It’s not that I wouldn’t love to spend a night in bed with Olivia. Even if nothing happened. Even if we didn’t even touch. It’s an experience that I’d be fisting my cock to for months to come.
But I’m not even going to hint at it. I know Olivia didn’t bargain on sharing a hotel room with me, and she sure as hell didn’t bargain on sharing a bed with me. I may enjoy teasing her a little bit from time to time—okay, maybe that’s an understatement—but the last thing I want is to make her actually feel uncomfortable.
Fuck, she looked good tonight.
I mean, I knew she would. She always looks good. Knowing she’d be wearing a nice dress, I fully expected her to look so good that my heart would skip three or four beats.
But I didn’t expect her to look that good.
Shit, nothing could have prepared me for what I saw when she stepped out of the elevator into the lobby where I was waiting for her.
The way that dress tastefully outlined her figure, hugging the curve of her hip not too tight but just enough to make my blood pump extra hard …
I blow out a breath, shaking my head just thinking about it. My cock thickens in my tuxedo pants.
The water from the sink faucet is still running in the bathroom, so I palm the outline of my length through my pants.
Fuck. Probably not a good idea. Now I’m even harder, the tip of my cock tingling and begging for release. Well, I’m not going to get it tonight.
I pull my hand back and try to think about something else. But it seems like right now my brain can only concentrate on one of two things: how sexy Olivia looked tonight, making my cock unbearably hard; or how much my back hurts, making me dread the fact that I’m going to have to lie on the floor pretty soon.
Still, it was worth coming. I had a great fucking time with Olivia eating Pretzel M&M’s and drinking champagne on the patio. We were out there for almost an hour, just talking about whatever. It feels like we’ve finally moved past her being angry at me.
That was the whole point of this. Having an extra achy back tomorrow is a small price to pay.
I heave myself up into a seated position on the edge of the mattress. I can’t keep tempting myself with comforts I’m not going to have tonight.
With a groan, I stand up and finally get out of this tuxedo. I strip down to my white undershirt and green boxer-briefs. Peeking under the bed, I find an extra comforter in a plastic zip-up bag. At least that’ll make the floor somewhat less unpleasant.
I turn around when I hear the bathroom door open—and my heart slams against my chest.
Olivia’s standing there, wearing an oversized blue t-shirt. The hem of her shirt drops lower than the shorts I’m sure she’s wearing, making her smooth, bare legs look so fucking alluring that my abs clench rock-hard.
I stifle a groan as my gaze rakes down those shapely legs and ends at her bare feet. Shit. She looks so good like this, wearing what she’d be wearing any given school night around her house, that it literally hurts. I’m fucking aching looking at her.
Her face is unadorned, and as drop-dead gorgeous as her lips were with the red lipstick she had on for the gala, the vivid pale pink of their natural shade makes my chest pang with even more intensity. Her hair is tied in a ponytail, and it rests over her shoulder, swooping in front of her as she toys with it.
I bend down and gather up the new comforter at my feet, realizing I need something to cover my growing bulge immediately.
“Look!” I say, holding up the blanket so it drapes in front of me. “Found an extra blanket.” I fix a stupid smile to my face, hoping she’ll think I’m just inordinately excited about a fluffy white comforter instead of desperate to have a shield to hide the outline of my hard dick in my boxers.
“Oh. Uh. Cool?” Olivia replies.
I nod. “Cool. Very cool.” I settle down on the floor, draping the blanket over me. “Just toss me a pillow,” I say, nodding towards the two of them on the bed.
Olivia’s mouth scrunches up. “I think I should sleep on the floor. You take the bed.”
My lips flatten. “No.”
“Really,” she continues, trying to make it sound like no big deal. She walks to the bed to pick up a pillow, but she doesn’t hand it to me. Instead, she holds it in front of her, standing at my feet. “I’ll take the floor.”
I reach up and snatch the pillow from her. “Like hell you will.” My voice is growly at the thought of it. I fluff the pillow and then place it on the floor behind me, ready to lay my head on it.
“You can’t sleep on the floor, Tuck,” she says, her voice tight, like she’s annoyed at my stubbornness. “Your back’s killing you.”
“Let a lady sleep on the floor while I take the bed?” I scoff. “Not while I’m above ground. I don’t know how the boys you grew up with did things, but my momma raised me right.”
“You’re being ridiculous,” she protests.
“Night, Olivia. Enjoy the bed. I know I’m going to enjoy this nice, firm floor.” When I lie back, I groan in pain as a muscle in my back pinches.
“Yeah, sounds like you’re enjoying the hell out of it.” After a beat of silence, she sighs loudly. “Look. We’ll share the bed.”
My brow leaps. I prop myself up on my elbows to look at her. That position has my back aching, too, but I don’t care right now. “Really?”
Her eyes flit to the side, like she’s taking a second to reconsider her proposal. Her gaze meets mine again, and she nods. “Yeah. Really.”
Heat laces into my bloodstream. Immediately, I can feel her body pressing against mine under the covers. I can feel my hand raking against her smooth thigh, traveling up, past the hem of that oversized t-shirt, to find out whether or not she really is wearing shorts …
I clench my teeth, trying to extinguish those thoughts. The last thing I need is to get under those covers with her and be pitching a tent with my cock all night.
“You sure?” I ask.
She rolls her eyes. “Yes, Tuck, I’m sure. It’s not a big deal.”
I grin. “Oh? Because when we first walked in here and you laid your eyes on that single, solitary bed, it sure seemed like a big deal to you.”
“Don’t make me change my mind.”
I wiggle my eyebrows. “Just make sure you keep your hands to yourself underneath the covers, Lockley.”
That earns me the second pillow being flung in my face.
“Hey!” I exclaim through laughter, tossing it back on the bed. “I’m an injured man!”
“Keep it up and you’ll be more injured,” she replies. She’s side-eyeing me, but I don’t miss the way the edge of her mouth twitches.
Olivia crawls into bed first. When I join her under the covers, it takes every drop of self-control I can summon to hold a raging hard-on at bay. Oh, believe me, my cock sure as hell isn’t flaccid. I doubt it’ll be all night. But at least it’s not throbbing so hard it threatens to tear my boxers off my hips.
“Hey, hand me my book bag,” I say, nodding towards her side of the beg. When she does, I take out my laptop. “I brought my computer. Want to watch something before we go to sleep?”
She shrugs. “Sure. How about a long foreign movie with lots of lingering camera shots?”
“Pass,” I chuckle.
“Really, though, how about something light? You know what I actually haven’t watched yet? The Office.”
I hum with interest. “Me neither. I’ve been meaning to, though. Alright,” I say, perky with excitement, “The Office it is.”
Olivia quirks an eyebrow at me as I pull it up on one of my streaming subscriptions. “Why are you starting with Season 2?”
“Everyone says Season 2 is when it really starts to get good, and that you’re not missing much by skipping the first. I think we should make sure our first night in bed isn’t a disappointment and just jump into the second one.”
She snorts. “Our only night in bed.”
I arch an eyebrow and crook the side of my mouth at her just slightly. We’ll see about that , my expression says, though I keep the thought to myself.
My eyes flutter open. They’re met with darkness. It must be the middle of the night, as there’s a sliver of space between the two curtains drawn together over the window, but there’s not a hint of light.
I can’t see much yet as my eyes adjust. But I do smell something.
It’s a citrusy, lavender scent, light and airy. It’s so good that I take a deep, strong draw of it through my nostrils. I roll my lips in appreciation as the smell suffuses through me.
Then I realize what my head is lying on. It’s not just my pillow. It’s softer than my pillow, smoother. And the scent is coming from it.
I realize that Olivia’s back is pressed against me. While we slept, her hair must have feathered over my pillow. The side of my face lies against the feathered strands, my nose pressed into a thick, luxurious tuft of hair at the back of her head.
I pull in another breath, savoring the smell. Her back is right against my chest. We’re practically spooning. The warmth of her body is spreading through me.
My head swims in the scent and the feeling. This is like a dream. No, better than a dream. Like I’ve died and gone to heaven.
I can feel something else, too. The softness of her ass pressing right against my cock. At the realization, it thickens in an instant. I’m throbbing against her. My jaw muscles flex, and I suck in a deep breath—but the fact that the breath is laced with her scent only makes me harder.
Olivia lets out a tiny, sleepy moan. That’s the last thing I need if I’m going to get this hard-on under control.
Her hips tilt back. The soft, round curve of her ass generates friction against my length.
Fuck . I bite my bottom lip to keep a groan from ripping out of my throat. My heart is pounding in my chest, and I feel every pulse of that heartbeat right at the base of my dick.
She does it again. It’s not just a tilt, but a roll this time, creating friction that sends a wave of pleasure rippling through me. It takes everything I have not to grind my hips forward, thrusting back into her softness.
A thought makes a jolt of electricity zip up my spine.
Is she awake? Is she doing this on purpose?
It’s ridiculous. I shove the thought away. This isn’t that good of a dream.
Taking deep breaths, I bring my heart rate back down. After a while, my cock starts to deflate. I keep control of my breathing.
Her smell in my nose and the feeling of her body against mine turns into a mellower, contented kind of bliss.
I wrap my arm around her waist, lightly. The feeling of holding her, cradling her, makes my heart flutter. My chest hums with satisfaction.
Soon, I’m drifting back to sleep, my arm draped over Olivia, her warm body against my chest, her scent dancing in my nostrils.
Just as sleep pulls me back under, I wish that this moment would never end.