Chapter 3 #2
Just the thought of her being injured—or worse, dying—because of her hard-headed bravery is a punch to the gut. While I never want to change who Ollie is as a person, I can’t stomach the idea of her throwing herself into danger like that.
Ollie reaches up and grabs my hand. “But it didn’t.
I was careful, even if it was risky, and I’m fine, Theo.
” She twines our fingers together and squeezes.
“If I hadn’t done what I did, it could have been far worse.
The horde was coming straight for where Alex and I were, and I figured drawing them to the Scourge would be better than us being the ones getting chomped on. ”
I sigh and shift until I’m standing between her spread legs.
“I get that, but Ollie, I’m not sure you understand just how devastated we’d be if something had happened to you.
How wrecked I’d be.” We may have only known each other for a short amount of time, but the feelings I’m developing for her are anything but temporary.
Her lips part and her eyes widen. “Theo…”
I stifle a groan. I love the sound of my name on her lips. The need to show her how much I need and want her rises inside me. I don’t fight it; I embrace it. My hand reaches up to grab the back of her head as I dip down and press my lips against hers.
She tastes just as good as I remember as I drink in her breathy moans.
Her hand darts up to grab my shoulder, fingernails digging into my flesh as I deepen the kiss.
My tongue dips between her lips to slide against her tongue, almost mimicking the way I would fuck her with my cock.
I groan at the thought, my hand tightening on the back of her head as my hard dick jerks against the fly of my trousers.
There’s a scuff and a sharp intake of breath behind us. I half wonder if Rhys came back, but that thought flies from my head as quickly as it formed. My entire focus is on the stunning woman in my arms.
Ollie breaks away from the kiss with a gasp, her pink lips swollen and her face flushed. “Theo,” she says, her voice throaty and filled with desire.
I hum as I brush my lips across her cheek to her ear. “Ollie,” I breathe in her ear before kissing down her neck. I can taste the salt of her sweat and smell the floral perfume of her soap. Fuck, I’m addicted to her.
She squirms against me, the heat of her crotch pressing against the bulge of my erection. Pleasure sings in my blood, and I groan against her neck.
“We should stop,” Ollie says, but she doesn’t stop moving against me, and if anything, her hand on my shoulder tightens until I’m sure there are little half-moon indents from her nails in my skin.
“Should we?” I nip her flesh before soothing the sting with my tongue.
She gasps as her hips buck against me and she curses. “We really should.” The words sound like they’re being forced from her lips.
That’s twice she’s said that. I frown and reluctantly pull away from her neck, pausing to admire the red mark I made before focusing on her face. “What’s wrong?”
She bites her lip. “Alex.”
Alex? “Did he say something to you?” I won’t hesitate to punch the idiot if he made Ollie feel bad about her sexuality.
She shakes her head. “Well, no, but I said something to him.”
Ah. “You told him what happened the night before.” When I made her come on my fingers while Rhys—the kinky bastard—watched.
“Yes.”
“So why does this mean we have to stop?” I’m sure I’ve made my stance clear; I’m more than happy to share. Hell, that’s pretty much my dream relationship with this woman.
“Because he still doesn’t want to share. He thinks this is a competition, and at the end, I’ll have to choose. I don’t want to do that, not when it’ll put your friendship in jeopardy. Plus, I don’t want to hurt any of you.”
I’m pretty sure that’s not the only reason she doesn’t want to choose, but I won’t call her out on it.
For now. No, my biggest concern is that she still thinks she owes us something just because we’re both interested in her when I’ve repeatedly told her the opposite. Our emotions aren’t her responsibility.
I open my mouth, but she continues before I can speak.
“I know what you’re going to say, and I get it, but I can’t risk it, Theo. Please don’t make me risk it.” She’s practically begging me with her emerald eyes.
Fuuuuck. I want to kick Alex’s stubborn ass. The irony of Ollie considering this too big a risk when she literally ran in front of a bunch of guns isn’t lost on me. Yet another cute, if frustrating, quirk of hers.
Sighing, I step back and run a hand through my hair. “Alright, Ollie. I’ll back off for now.”
She blows out a breath, a myriad of emotions flashing across her face. “Thank you,” she says, not sounding pleased at all.
I want to say so many things, to reassure her that she’s a grown woman who’s free to make whatever choices she wants, including fucking whoever she wants.
But I know it’ll fall on deaf ears. Besides, she told me to stop, and I’ll respect her boundaries.
“We should head back to the group and help finish setting up for the night before Rhys loses it and drags us back by our ears like naughty children.”
Ollie snorts out a laugh. “He would do that.”
She slides off the machinery as I pack away my medical bag before the two of us make our way back to the main group.
Most of the work has already been finished, with tents and sleeping areas dotting the warehouse floor. Groups of blankets and sleeping bags are clustered together, with some people already lying in them asleep. Not that I can blame them, since that’s where I’m desperate to be right now.
I find Rhys near the cooking pots, having taken Ollie’s place in watching over the steaming pots of food.
Tobias and the woman from before are also there, with Harlow sat beside them, eyes still locked onto the food.
A few others are nearby, also hungrily watching the food.
Jerri and her group are thankfully on the other side of the warehouse, meaning we might actually get some peace and quiet tonight.
Ollie squeezes my arm affectionately before breaking off to go help them.
My eyes want to slip down to watch her perfect ass in those leggings, but I force myself to turn away and walk back to where I left my backpack.
Rhys, Alex and Ollie have all placed their bags here alongside mine, and someone has even laid out our sleeping bags for the night.
I half expect to find Alex here since the supplies have already been passed out, but he’s nowhere to be seen. Frowning, I glance around the warehouse, but I still don’t see him.
Where the fuck did he go? I want to talk to him about what he said to Ollie when she told him about what happened the night before.
I shove my med bag back into my backpack and go in search of him. I even ask a couple of people, but no one’s seen him. After half an hour of looking, I’m too tired and hungry to continue, so I drift over to where Ollie and Rhys are.
“Hey,” Ollie says as she hands me a steaming bowl of stew. “Where have you been?”
“Trying to find out where Alex went so I can talk to him.” I give her a meaningful look.
She frowns and glances around. “And you haven’t found him?”
I shake my head and dig into the stew, devouring it in seconds. It’s not the best-tasting thing ever, but it’s food and I’ve barely eaten all day.
“He’s probably on guard duty,” Rhys says as he grabs himself a bowl and sucks it down.
“Guess I’ll have to talk to him tomorrow,” I say, even as my stomach roils, nagging at me that something is wrong. Fuck knows what since he seemed to be in a decent mood earlier. Maybe I’m just being paranoid.
But as the night draws on, there’s still no sign of the burly ex-rugby player, and that nagging feeling only gets worse. Neither Ollie nor Rhys seem bothered, so I force myself to relax. There’s no point worrying about it now, not when there’s nothing I can do about it.
I’ll fix it in the morning. At least I hope I can.