Chapter 1 #5
“Shit.” He blinked. “I left my car at the pier. We’ll have to walk back and get it.”
“Why can’t we leave it there?” she asked him. “Nothing will happen to it.”
“How else am I going to drive you home?”
Her smile wavered. “You want me to go home?”
He looked at her for a moment. Like he was sizing her up. Then he replied, his voice husky. “No.”
His hands were warm on her bare arms as he pulled her close, enough for him to dip his head and kiss her softly.
She leaned into him, her heart racing as their tongues explored each other's mouths.
She could feel the hard planes of his body pressing against her, the heat of her skin only adding to the fever.
She sighed softly into his mouth and he slipped his hands around her waist, pulling her close enough to feel exactly the effect their kisses were having on him.
He slid his lips down, kissing her jaw, her throat, the dip of her shoulder. His fingers pushed her dress straps down, his mouth leaving a trail of desire as he kissed his way to the swell of her breasts.
She ran her fingers up his back, feeling the taught muscles beneath the fabric of his dark shirt.
“Oh.” His soft lips felt like heaven as they closed around her nipple, his tongue lashing, then soothing, his hand cupping her waist. Then he moved his mouth back up to hers, kissing her softly.
“You want me to stop?” he asked, his eyes catching hers for approval.
“No. I want you to take me to bed.”
Before she could say anything else, Oliver scooped her into his arms and carried her to the bedroom, laying her gently down on the bed. He stepped back and looked at her, that shy smile curling his lips again, and desire pulsed through her body.
“Come here,” she murmured, and he did as he was told, his body pressing into hers as his hands explored her curves.
His fingers found their way beneath her clothing, tracing patterns on her sensitive skin, igniting a need inside her.
She gasped as his fingertips brushed against her right there, and he kissed her softly, then harder, the thick ridge of him pressing against her thigh.
Their mouths were still worshipping each other as she pulled his shirt up, sliding her hands onto the warm skin of his back. She scraped her nails against him and it was his turn to moan.
“You’re wearing too many clothes,” she whispered, and he chuckled in agreement before standing to unbutton the rest of his shirt, shucking it off his shoulders to reveal the beauty of his torso.
His pants were next, and then his shorts. Her heart hammered against her chest as she took in his thick hardness, jutting up toward his stomach.
“Your turn,” he said huskily, and she eagerly stood up, turning her back to him.
“Can you unzip me?” she asked softly.
His fingers were warm and deft, leaving an electric trail down her back. And then her dress was open, and she was stepping out of it, revealing a black lace bra and a g string.
“Fuck.” His voice was guttural as he took her in with his hungry eyes.
“That’s the plan,” she said, and his lips twitched. He reached for her, then dropped to his knees, pushing her back against the mattress, reaching around to unfasten her bra before throwing it to the floor.
“Your breasts are beautiful.” He cupped one in each hand.
“I could get lost in them.” He leaned forward, softly kissing one, scraping his teeth on her nipple and she felt desire pool in her belly.
He kissed and sucked at them until she was gasping, before lifting her fully on the bed and pulling her legs apart.
His tongue trailed along the edge of her G-string before he pulled them down. “You smell so good,” he muttered, his nose brushing her right there.
She was naked beneath him as he knelt back and stared at her. He leaned forward to press a kiss to the apex of her legs, and she gasped in pleasure.
Oliver licked her right there, and her eyelids fluttered at the feel of him.
So soft, so teasing, so good. Her breath shortened as his tongue explored every inch of her, lapping gently until her body rocked with need.
The pleasure grew and cracked inside her with every lash of his tongue, and damn, this was better than any porn she’d watched.
She was close. So close. This man was killing her.
Another slide of his tongue and she was cresting, her fingers in his hair, digging into his scalp, as she called out his name.
Her back arched so high she was scared she was going to break something. Oliver had to steady her with firm palms on her hips, his lips softly sucking at her as wave after wave of pleasure crashed over her.
“Oh my god.” She couldn’t breathe properly. Wasn’t even sure if her heart was working any more. “Come here,” she urged because she needed to kiss him like she needed air.
Oliver slowly rose from between her legs and kissed his way up her body until he was hovering over her, his lips finding hers. He kissed her hungrily, as though his life depended on it.
“Do you have a condom?” she asked him.
He nodded and grabbed his wallet from his pants, pulling out a foil packet and tearing it open. Her eyes were full of desire as she watched him sheath himself. Kissing her softly, Oliver positioned himself above her, the tip of him pressing against her.
She clung to him as he slowly pushed inside her and then stopped.
“You okay?” he asked softly, brushing the hair from her face.
“Yeah.” She nodded, getting used to the girth of him. “I’m good.”
Bracing his weight on his palms either side of her body, he pulled out of her before surging back in.
A moan escaped her lips as did it again; the motion sending a wave of pleasure through her, and she slid her hands down his back until their bodies moved in perfect harmony.
She could feel the aching need building inside her as his eyes caught hers.
His lips were parted, his gaze dark as he moved faster.
“Oh, God.” She couldn’t last. Not when it felt this good. “Oliver.”
“Tell me you’re close.” He was panting, a sheen of perspiration covering his skin.
“I am. So close.”
He thrust again, harder still, and she wrapped her thighs around his hips to encourage the movement. Dipping his head to hers, he kissed her desperately, his movements becoming erratic.
“Baby, you need to come.”
With one last thrust, he pushed them both over the edge, shuddering with pleasure as he released inside her.
Oliver collapsed, only his elbows stopping him from smothering her, his breath harsh and rapid, his eyes glazed with pleasure.
It took him a moment to roll off the bed and dispose of the condom. Then he was back next to her, his fingers entwining with hers. She rolled over until she was half-lying on his chest, her palm pressed against his stomach, a stupid smile refusing to leave her face.
It would be so easy to fall for this man if she let herself, she thought as he softly kissed her hair.
She sternly reminded herself not to do it.
* * *
“It’s fantastic. A masterpiece,” Camilla screeched down the telephone as he sat out by the pool in front of his laptop, watching Juniper water the plants. “When will it be finished? We need to get this to your editor, Oliver. He’s been blowing up my phone ever since I told him I had a draft.”
Juniper leaned forward to ruffle the leaves of what he now knew was a sagebrush. He knew the names of half the plants in the house thanks to following her around like an idiot every evening when she came to the house.
He always made it up to her when she’d finished, naturally. Mostly on his knees as she cried out his name.
It was a week since that first date and he couldn’t get enough of her. So now he was following her around outside, too. At least with his eyes.
“I’m not sure when it’ll be ready,” Oliver told Camilla.
Truth was, he hadn’t been working this week half as hard as he should have.
He was too busy thinking about Juniper. Or too busy having sex with Juniper.
She’d stayed every night, and they’d woken up and breakfasted every morning together before she headed off to her shop and he’d pretended to work.
And he couldn’t keep this stupid smile off his face.
“How many chapters do you need to write?” Camilla persisted. “There can’t be that many. You’re so close, I can feel it.”
“I was thinking he may need to explore this thing between him and Ronan a little,” Oliver told her.
“Psst. Let Ronan live, and you can explore that in the next book.”
Oliver blinked. Another good idea he hadn’t thought of. “Yeah, maybe.”
“We’ll need you back in New York next month,” Camilla reminded him. “We have a meeting to discuss your next contract, remember?”
“Can we do it by video?”
“You hate video,” she said. “You refused to do it.”
Juniper was leaning over an enormous pot, her ass high in the air. He smiled because she looked like she was about to fall in. But then she turned around and clocked him staring, then flashed her tits at him.
This woman was going to be the end of him.
“An in person meeting is always better,” Camilla said. “I’ll send you some dates. Now get back to work, although I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that. What else is there to do in a house all alone?”
“Not much,” he murmured. It wasn’t like he was swimming all evening with Juniper then taking her to bed and making her scream his name.
Or that he enjoyed making her breakfast because she was so not a morning person.
And even when they weren’t together, he’d find an excuse to walk into town to grab a coffee and just pop into the plant shop to say hi.
He liked the fact he knew half the people in the coffee shop’s name now, especially since he’d joined them all at the beach on Sunday.
And they knew his name, too. There was always somebody who wanted to shoot the breeze with him whenever he bought an Americano.
Give it time, and he might just have real friends.