24. Octavia
OCTAVIA
Getting home from work and being fucked hard followed by a long leisurely soak in a jacuzzi tub was something Octavia could find herself getting very used to. She laid there, her head lulling lazily on the lip at the end of the tub, listening to the sounds of a hot man making dinner down the hall.
The day had been shit. Court had been a nightmare as her client, Kyle Gentry, wouldn’t stop talking over the judge.
Usually things were done outside of the courtroom, but Gentry had refused all the agreements offered and so they’d gone before a judge.
And the bastard had lost a case that should have been an easy win.
She tensed again thinking about it, the full body relaxed feeling she’d felt after Nathan had fucked her disappearing faster than the bubbles around her.
She hadn’t expected to be where she was. Not in her career and certainly not soaking in the bathtub of a professional hockey player. She’d dreamed of travelling more. Of defending people who needed help, not millionaires who didn’t think agreements and the law applied to them.
She found herself sinking lower and imagining what a life with Nathan could mean. Selling her townhouse and moving in here. She’d have enough money to walk away from her job. She could actually afford to think about doing something else with her degree.
“It’s too soon,” she mumbled into the bubbles.
Sure she’d told him that she was his, but that was during sex. People always said shit like that while they were in the middle of fucking. Sex brought out false truths, unlike booze, that usually brought out the real shit.
She sighed, sitting up and pulling the plug, watching as the water swirled slowly out of the tub, pulling the remaining bubbles down with it. When the tub was mostly drained, she reached for the spray head and washed away the suds that clung to her skin.
There was a soft knock at the door and she called for him to come in.
She turned to see Nathan admiring her from the doorway, his eyes drinking her in, a lopsided grin appearing lazily as she stepped onto the plush rug. He walked in, reaching for a towel on his way and enveloped her in it, dropping a quick kiss on the tip of her nose.
“Dinner’s ready,” he murmured, kissing her forehead and backing out of the room, his eyes on her until the door closed.
There was something too easy about everything with Nathan.
Like being with him came too naturally. Relationships took work and required patience while you learned about one another.
She’d always held some of herself back until she knew it was more than a fling.
But Nathan had seen all of her from the start.
Had met her when she was unhappy, had seen her scowl and her back up and still he came back for more, begged her for more.
Nathan made everything feel as natural as breathing.
And the easiness bred uncertainty in her.
“Salmon, green beans, and rice pilaf,” Nathan said dramatically, setting a plate in front of her.
“Looks amazing.” She hummed, waiting for him to sit before picking up her fork and taking a bite.
She chewed as he watched her, waiting for her verdict.
“It tastes amazing too,” she confirmed, noting the relief on his face.
“It’s really not fair that you’re good at so many things,” she said thoughtfully.
“I’m not a good golfer.” He shrugged.
“Does that mean I’ll see you in the summer because you won’t be spending the entire time on the golf course?”
Nathan smiled back at her while he chewed. “I’ve been thinking about buying a place up north for the summer.”
“Oh yeah?” Octavia’s stomach dropped at the thought of the distance.
“I’ve always wanted a cottage up there. A place I could even go in the winter once I’ve retired.”
The I hit her like a sledgehammer. The thoughts she’d been having not twenty minutes earlier came roaring back, almost taunting her like schoolyard bullies.
She swallowed the bite of salmon that now tasted off. “I’m surprised you don’t have a place already,” she said calmly, trying to mask the disappointment she felt at his wording.
But he saw it there, his face giving him away as hers had.
“I don’t want to rush you, Octavia,” he said seriously.
“It takes a monumental amount of effort to say I and not we. To say me and not us.” He set his fork down and leaned forward, forearms bracketing his plate.
“When I say that possessive shit when I’m deep inside you, I mean every word of it.
So right now, when I drop I’s and me’s, please know that the we is implied.
If that changes, I won’t be cagey about it, I won’t leave you guessing. ”
Octavia stared back, knowing full well he meant it. The man had been nothing but honest with her since the start.
After dinner, Octavia stood in the centre of what would be Scottie’s bedroom and directed Nathan where to hang each piece of art. Then she remade the bed while he hammered and hung.
When Nathan had told her that his brother would be moving in for a bit and that he’d like to make the spare bedroom more welcoming, she had been touched. Then he’d asked for her help and sent her a link telling her to pick whatever she thought would work.
Nathan hadn’t batted an eye when all the boxes arrived. He’d just told her he couldn’t wait to get started. Then he unboxed everything and had things mostly set up before she’d even gotten home from work. Hell, he’d even washed the sheets and duvet before making the bed.
She sat on the edge of the bed and watched as the muscles in his back worked while he hammered in the final nail. Her eye snagged on the bruise that was still so prominent at his side when his shirt rose.
The man never complained about being in pain. Never held back when it came to taking care of her, always giving her what she needed.
“I could watch you hang pictures all day,” she said, a shocking amount of longing in her voice.
He turned and smirked at her. “Oh yeah? Could I retire and be a professional picture hanger?”
Octavia shook her head. “I have no intention of sharing you.”
“What if people paid top dollar for my services?”
She grinned back. “Not even if they did that. This view is all mine.” If he could get possessive while fucking her against a dresser, she could do the same while objectifying him as he decorated.
Nathan set the hammer back in the toolbox and leaned down to grab the final piece of art. Then he took his time hanging it, flexing more than necessary as he adjusted and readjusted.
Octavia laughed. “I’m not sure that’s working as you’d intended.” She stood and walked up behind him. “Makes it seem like you’re really struggling to hang a picture.” She slipped her arms around his torso, careful to avoid the nasty bruise.
“But the view,” he objected.
“You make an excellent point.” She smiled against his neck, breathing him in. He smelled like Irish Spring body wash and her. Fuck, why was it such a turn on that he smelled like her?
“Do I smell good, baby?” he asked, turning in her arms and pulling her harder against his body.
She could feel her cheeks heat as his eyes scrutinized her. “Mmmhmm.” She hummed, trailing her hands into his hair.
“Are you embarrassed that I caught you smelling me?” He laughed, eyes tracking across her face.
“No,” she lied.
“Don’t be,” he soothed. “I smell you all the fucking time. You’re all my favourite senses.”
“All five, eh?” she challenged, eyebrow quirking.
He stared back, his brown eyes boring into her.
“Sight,” he murmured, grinning as he lifted his hand and ran his thumb along her lip.
“Touch,” he whispered, leaning in until his nose was in her hair and breathing her in, mouth against her ear.
“Smell,” he said, his breath tickling her skin.
His hand moved down her body, her breath halting when it continued into the waistband of the sweatpants that hung loose on her hips.
His grin grew when she whimpered, her pelvis jumping as he tweaked her clit.
“Hearing.” He dipped his finger into her, lazily sliding it in and out a few times before removing it, coating her lips with her arousal and licking them.
“Taste.” He groaned, pulling back and sucking his finger into his mouth. “You taste so fucking good, Octavia.”
No man had ever made her feel like she was worthy of being worshipped before Nathan. But that’s how he made her feel every single day. Like if he didn’t kneel before an altar to her, he’d cease to exist.
“I want to look at cottages,” she blurted out.
Nathan’s eyes snapped open, his hand falling to his side, clearly caught off guard.
“Pardon?”
She took a steadying breath, realizing that right now was probably the wrong time to say anything but knowing it was too late to take it back. “If you want, I mean. It could be fun, to help you look for a summer place. A retirement place.” She rolled her wrist.
Joy quickly replaced the confusion on his face. “Yeah?”
She nodded, knowing her voice would give away how she suddenly felt.
Nathan’s mouth opened and shut a few times and when he finally spoke it was one simple word. “Okay.”