Chapter Ten
When Jack told me what Ollie was going to talk about and that he would go with him because he knew it would be a nerve-racking time for him, I was shocked. “That’s not what we’ve been working on.”
“I know. He was going to keep it quiet in case he chickened out. Then he would do the one you two had practised.”
“I need to be there. I want to be there for him, with him. Do you think he’d be okay if I took your place?”
“Honestly, no, I don’t think he would be. But I don’t care what he thinks. I want you there for him. He wants you, Kit, but he doesn’t know how to tell you that. He’s never had a boyfriend, not one he really likes. He’s had a few short-lived relationships, but you might be more than that to him, and it scares him.”
So here I am, listening to the best speech I’ve ever heard, and thanks to my mother, I’ve heard a lot of them. The tension in the room is palpable. He has everyone captivated as he speaks enthusiastically about programmes that are working in schools across the country. But he also has them crying at the pain of the schoolboy who was let down. Everything inside me is chanting, “don’t let it be him, don’t let it be him.”
But of course it was. He couldn’t make that up. Monty’s standing to the side of the platform, his face an ugly shade of green as if he’s about to puke. Is it from guilt or anger towards Ollie for ignoring his instructions?
Ollie looks around the room, scanning the faces of the audience until he sees me. He blinks a couple of times and announces the name of his foundation. I can’t get to him quickly enough.
He jumps into my arms, and I hold him tightly. “I’m so fucking proud of you, Ollie. You’re amazing.”
When he presses his mouth to mine, my heart beats so hard I feel like we could soar away. It’s a long kiss full of hope and love and everything.
“Can we get out of here?” he asks.
“Absolutely, let’s go.”
I grab his hand, but before we can make our escape, a tall, distinguished man in his mid-forties approaches us. Ollie trembles, but he doesn’t back off.
“Mr Stansbury, my name is Henry Garvey. I’m the new head. Thank you for your speech. I’d like to talk to you more about your suggestions and foundation, but here is not the place. Can my secretary call you?”
“Yes, of course.”
Ollie takes a card out of his wallet and hands it over. “Mondays are a good day for me.”
“I’ll be in touch.”
He shakes Ollie’s hand and walks away.
“Where’s Jack?”
Ollie asks.
“He left after your speech, said he wanted to give us time together.”
“And what sort of together time do you have planned?”
He licks his bottom lip, then captures his tongue between his teeth.
“I was hoping for some more kissing. And perhaps we could do a few more things boyfriends do together. I mean, we’re way past the third-date rule.” I wink.
“You’re right. You place or mine?”
His eyes are bright with excitement.
“Mine. Adam is away.”
“Perfect.”
“Yes, you are.”
Cabs are lined up outside the hotel, and we grab the first in line. I tell the driver my address. As we drive quickly through the quieter London streets, I lean back on the bench seat and look at Ollie. He’s biting his lip as if he’s not sure what to do or say next. I know him better than I’ve known any of my ex-boyfriends. He’s nervous.
“Ollie.”
I take his hand, which is resting on the seat between us. “It’s okay. We don’t have to do it all tonight. I’m sorry I was such a dickhead and didn’t simply ask you out the way I wanted to. I’ve fucking missed you.”
Exhaustion is written all over Ollie’s face. He has dark rings under his eyes, and a frown mars his smooth forehead.
“I’ve never missed anyone the way I’ve missed you, Kit. I don’t know where or how to start saying sorry for pushing you away.”
I tug his hand, and he shifts on the seat. “Come here.”
I pull him harder. “We have both been bloody fools. I don’t want to go over and over it, though. I want to start afresh with you. I’m not letting you go, Ollie. I’m falling way too hard for you to walk away again.”
“Yeah, me too. I have to learn to trust because you’re the best thing that’s happened to me.”
“Excuse me, gents. I hate to interrupt your declarations, but do you want to get out now?”
The cabbie turns to us, smirking, and points to the building. “I think you’re home.”
“Shit! Yes, sorry.”
I thrust a twenty-pound note at him and open the door. “C’mon, Ollie.”
“And, boys,”
the cabbie says through his open window. “Keep talking, and you’ll be good together.”
With a wink, he pulls back away from the kerb and leaves us standing dumbfounded on the pavement.
“I like him.”
I chortle and pull Ollie into my arms. “Come on, let’s get out of these penguin suits.”
“Hey, this is Tom Ford. Don’t you recognise it?”
He nudges me with his elbow. “I’m guessing yours is too.”
“Of course. Dressed by my boss, right down to my underwear.”
I lean in so my mouth is close to his ear. “If you’re good, I’ll let you see them. If you’re very good, I’ll let you take them off.”
“Get me inside,”
he growls. A shiver runs through him. It could be because we’re standing outside in the freezing November air or because my breath in his ear has had the right effect.
I lead him forward and enter the code to get into the building, then head for the stairs. “I’m only a couple of floors up, so we can walk. I think any time I have with you alone in a confined space wouldn’t be long enough.”
“You’re fucking killing me.”
Ollie’s voice has dropped a few octaves and is husky as fuck.
“Not long now, baby.”
I peer over my shoulder and am momentarily frozen by the look of raw need in my soon-to-be lover’s eyes. “God, Ollie, the things you make me feel.”
“Then get a fucking move on.”
He pushes me farther up the stairs.
After a climb that felt long enough to have had a Sherpa lead us, we reach my level.
As I fish my keys out of my pocket, my hand trembles slightly. Ollie covers my hand with his, which is shaking the same way. Either this is going to be the most explosive sex I’ve ever had, or I’m going to come in my underwear before I get to see him naked.
“Inside, Kit. We need to be on the other side of this door.”
Ollie’s front hits my back, and his incredibly hard cock nudges my arse crack. It’s much bigger than I would’ve thought for his frame.
The key eventually works, and the lock clicks. I push the door open, reach to my left, and flick the light on. Hopefully, I didn’t leave the place in too much of a mess, but it’s okay. Ollie plants his hands on my hips and leans into me.
“Where’s your bedroom?”
“This way.”
I walk through the living room to the narrow hallway that leads to the bedrooms and the bathroom. Another worrying thought is how much of a tip did I leave my bedroom. Have I even made my bed? Oh, fuck it! Who cares? I want Ollie naked on my sheets and my mouth on his body.
Another swipe to my left and the light comes on. Shit! I was hoping for the best outcome tonight. How did I forget I’d changed my sheets and everything else was tidy?
Ollie lets go of my hips and sits on the corner of my bed. His heavy, lust-laden eyes are about to bring me to my knees. He reaches up to his neck and pulls at the knot of his perfectly tied bow tie, and it falls apart. Next to go are the buttons of his dress shirt. The tiny pleats down the front are still perfectly smooth.
I can’t hold back any longer, slip my hands under his jacket, and push it off his shoulders. He continues to work the mother-of-pearl buttons until he can pull the tails out of his trousers. He stops there, slicking his bottom lip and raking his jet-coloured eyes over me.
“Your turn. Take your jacket off.”
His voice is as smooth and smoky as the finest malt whisky demands. His instruction surprises me. I had him pegged as a submissive, not in the whole BDSM way, but he comes across as quiet, pliable. Not that I want him that way. I want every part of him.
My fingers falter as I think back to his speech and the desperate boy he must’ve been. I don’t know what emotion flashes over my face, but Ollie stands so we’re face to face. “Don’t bring the past into this room, Kit. We are here. Together. Everything else is water that flowed under a long-gone bridge. Tonight is about us.”
“I’m sorry.”
Ollie pushes my jacket from my shoulders. I let it slide down my arms and drop to the floor. All the while, he painstakingly slowly slips each button through its hole until, like his, my chest is exposed.
“Do you realise that until tonight we’ve only kissed four, maybe five times? I think all of them instigated by you. And yet I know you. I know so much about you except your body, your likes and dislikes, what turns you on. I’m nervous to touch you,” he says.
“Don’t you want to do this? Is it too soon?”
“No, what I want is to do this.”
With another step, Ollie is a whisker away from touching me. My eyes dart down to his mouth, his perfect fucking mouth. I’m transfixed as he licks his lips, then presses them against my own. Christ I’m lost.
Slowly he applies more pressure and slips his tongue over the seam of my lips. Eager—no, desperate—for more, I part them. I groan as he dips into my mouth. His hands have found my hips, and he closes the minuscule gap between us until our bodies touch. His erection pushes up to mine, and this time Ollie moans.