Chapter 13
Amelia
Oliver nearly hauled me across the field. We were only about halfway across when it started to sprinkle. By the time we got to the barn, it was really starting to pick up. Luckily, we made it just in time, so we both stayed mostly dry.
The only problem was that the rain lowered the temperature, and when the wind picked up, the rickety barn around us seemed to shift and creak.
“We can’t stay here,” I told him, looking up at the walls and loft area. “The wind is going to blow it down with us inside it.”
He frowned and waved a hand through the air.
“We’re fine,” he said, sitting on a bale of hay across from the one he threw me on. “This barn has been here for a hundred years. I doubt it blows over tonight. Let me see your foot.”
“What?” I ask, suddenly distracted by his demand.
“Let me see your foot. I want to see how much damage you’ve caused.” He motioned with his hand, asking for my foot.
“It’s fine. I was just walking on it,” I pointed out.
“Yeah, that doesn’t mean anything.” He grabbed my ankle and jerked my foot up into his lap.
I whimpered with annoyance, but didn’t try fighting him off. He unlaced my boot and pulled it off, making me wince in pain when my foot moved through the leather boot. He glanced at me when I gasped, but he removed my sock and looked down at my foot.
I closed my eyes. “How bad is it?”
“I thought you just said it was fine.”
“Wishful thinking. Tell me. Is it broken?”
“Maybe,” he said.
My eyes popped open, finding a big bruise on the top of my foot, near my toes. “Well, that’s just great.”
“Maybe you’ll learn to control your temper next time.”
I scoffed.
“Yeah, I’ll do that,” I said, sarcastically.
“Just put your foot up to help with swelling.” He stuffed a bag of the new items I’d picked up under my foot. “You good?”
“I’ll be fine. How far do you think we are from town?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know, but we’re not finding out tonight.”
“What?” I asked, a little too loudly. I didn’t want to spend the night in a dark, creepy barn in the middle of nowhere during a storm.
He looked over at me with confusion. “You might have a broken toe or even a bone in your foot, so you’re not going to be walking all that fast. And it’s storming. I’m not tiptoeing through the rain with you. We’ll freeze.” He shrugged. “We’ll just have to crash here tonight.”
“You want to sleep in a barn?” I asked.
“What’s the big deal? It’s not like I’m asking you to cuddle up with a cow or something. It’s an empty barn full of hay. It’s probably only for storage. We can crash here, use the hay for a bed. Plus, it will help us stay warm until the sun comes up.”
“I’m not an animal. I do not sleep in barns.” I pulled my foot off the bag and put my sock and boot back on despite the pain.
I stood.
“I’m getting out of here.” I turned for the door.
“Help yourself. I’ll be here if you change your mind.”
I turned and looked at him, finding him kicked back on the hay bales. His ankles were crossed, and he had his hands behind his head.
Annoyed with how comfortable he looked, I jerked open the door and stared out into the downpour. The rain was coming down in thick sheets, and as night fell around us, it grew darker by the minute. I closed the door and turned to face him.
“Fine. One night,” I agreed softly.
He chuckled. “I thought you’d see it my way.”
I moved back to the hay bale I was sitting on and took the drawstring bag off my back. I loosened the strings and reached inside for a bottle of water. I uncapped it and took a drink.
“Thanks,” Oliver said, grabbing the bottle from my hands.
I wrinkled my nose as I watched him tip it back, but he probably needed it more than me after being so sick the night before.
“How are you feeling?” I asked, finally able to focus on something other than running for my life.
He lowered the bottle and put the cap back on. “I’ll live.”
“You hungry? I have some chips and granola bars in here.”
He shrugged and held out his hand, so I opened the bag and took some for myself before handing the bag to him. He reached inside and pulled out his portion.
“So, what do those guys want, exactly?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Probably to haul my ass back to the boss so he can rip me a new one for totaling that car.”
“If they wanted to grab you, why didn’t they do it at the gas station when we were stopped?” I looked at him for his answer, but he didn’t respond.
He was chewing with his brows knitted together. “I don’t know. Maybe they weren’t sure that I was with you since I was lying down in the backseat.”
“How’d they find us?”
“Fuck if I know. They’re trained for that kind of shit. The sooner we can find a new car to turn in, the better.”
“Well, we’re not going to find it hanging out around here.” I looked around the barn full of hay.
“No, but you’re hurt, and I’m still tired. We should just get some rest, so maybe we can make it twice as far tomorrow.”
A chill rushed through me, and I shivered.
“Fine,” I lay back on the hay. It was too early to go to sleep, but it was too dark and too cold to do anything else.
I rolled onto my side and curled up in the fetal position to try to stay warm.
I forced my eyes to close and tried to pretend that I was lying in the sun on some tropical island, but it didn’t work. I continued to shiver and shake.
It didn’t take long before I heard the sounds of Oliver’s deep, even breathing.
I had no idea how he managed to fall asleep, especially after all the sleep he’d gotten throughout the day, but I was jealous.
I tossed and turned, and when that didn’t work, I tried burrowing down into the hay.
It helped a little, but not enough, and after hours of shivering, my entire body was sore.
“Ugh,” I whimpered.
“What’s wrong?” Oliver asked in the darkness.
“I’m freezing. I don’t know how you’re sleeping through this.”
“I think I’m still running a fever,” he mumbled. “Come here. I’ll keep you warm.”
I scoffed.
Sure, we’d shared the one kiss, but we hadn’t even been able to talk about it. I didn’t need things getting “complicated”.
“No thanks.”
“Suit yourself.” I heard the sound of the hay as he rolled over, and within minutes, he was back in his deep sleep.
I tried to hold out, but the longer I lasted, the colder I got.
My toe was throbbing, but my feet were also like frozen blocks of ice.
I was scared I’d end up with frostbite or something, so I finally gave in.
I stood and stumbled through the darkness until I felt his leg.
He didn’t say anything, but when I lay down beside him, he didn’t seem surprised.
He just put his arm over me and held me close to his chest. It was an immediate difference. Instantly, I began to thaw.
I shivered. My hands were tingling and hurting from the cold. I had them inside my sleeves, but I didn’t have enough body heat to heat them. I rolled over and put my hands between us.
“Fuck, you are cold,” he murmured before running his hand up and down my back to create friction.
I was too cold to talk, too cold to think of anything but getting warm, and he was warm. I would’ve crawled inside him if it were possible.
As I shivered against him, he held me, trying to get me warm.
I wasn’t sure how long it would take to warm up, but I finally did.
When my body finally stopped shaking, I was left weak and completely exhausted, but he still didn’t stop rubbing his hand up and down my back.
With the storm raging outside the barn, I moved in and out of sleep for what seemed like hours.
The only way I knew if he was awake was if his hand was moving on my back.
At one point, I woke to his hand still as stone, so I thought he was asleep until I felt his lips on my forehead, pressing a soft kiss to my skin.
Panic filled me, along with confusion, and at the same time, I felt my entire body relax. It was like my brain, my heart, and my body were on three different sides. My head said to keep some distance between us because I’d just gotten out of a relationship.
My heart, on the other hand, enjoyed the feeling of being cared for. I liked the way he seemed to protect me and keep my best interests in mind.
And my body, well, I honestly wanted to jump his bones, which was confusing in and of itself because I wasn’t the sleeping-around type.
I started dating Alex when we were just a couple of teenagers, and he was the only guy I’d ever been with.
Which was another reason why it stung so much to see him in bed with my best friend.
How long had they been messing around behind my back?
I was embarrassed that I’d been so stupid for so long.
The betrayed part of me wanted to get even, and Oliver seemed to check all the boxes.
But my heart kept stopping me. If I used Oliver to get back at Alex, I would be using him, and my heart wouldn’t allow it.
It didn’t matter which way I looked at it; I couldn’t make a decision.
At some point, I fell asleep and slept hard. The storm passed, and the outside world became silent before the birds woke me with their soft chirps. My eyes opened and found his face. I started on his full lips and slowly moved them up until my eyes locked with his.
I offered a sleepy smile. “Hey.”
“Good morning,” he replied softly.
“How are you feeling?”
“Better,” he answered. “How’d you sleep?”
“Pretty good, all things considered. How about you? Did you get any sleep at all, or did I keep you up all night?”
“You didn’t keep me up.” His hand moved to my jaw as his eyes darkened with intensity.
I was frozen. I didn’t know what to do.
Should I allow the kiss or stop it?
We still hadn’t talked about the first kiss, and he was about to kiss me again? Did I want the kiss? And if I did, what did that mean? What if I ended up wanting more? What if he did? Where could the kiss take us?
The last time he walked away, but this time…Neither of us had to go anywhere. Would it lead to us rolling around in the hay?
Before I could decide, it happened.
He leaned in and touched his lips to mine.
They were soft, warm, and strong. His tongue teased my lips until I opened for him.
His hot tongue slid into my mouth with careful skill.
I melted, instantly letting go of all my questions and worries, and finally letting myself enjoy the moment for however long it lasted, for however far it went.
His tongue danced with mine, and his teeth nipped my lower lip, adding just a touch of pain that made a wave of need go washing through my body.
A soft moan escaped, getting absorbed by his mouth. But he heard it, and in that instant, I felt his cock harden against my thigh.
Suddenly, he was rolling me onto my back and taking his place on top of me without even breaking our kiss.
His large body felt good pressing against me.
He was heavy in all the right ways—much heavier than Alex.
Alex was tall with an athletic build. But Oliver, he was taller and heavier, muscles upon muscles, all woven together under soft, tanned skin.
His body reminded me of the statues of Greek gods carved from ivory—rock-hard, smooth, chiseled to perfection.
His large hand moved to my thigh, and he gave it a squeeze before lifting it higher, allowing him to press against me right where I needed him the most. My heart raced wildly in my chest, my lungs heaving with excitement.
Every inch of my body tingled as my stomach filled with butterflies and tightened with anticipation.
I wanted him in every way possible. I no longer cared about the things I’d been worried about before.
I didn’t know him, but so what? I knew him well enough.
It’s not like we were getting married. We were going to have sex Just sex. People do it all the time.
My hands were on either side of his face, holding him to me as we kissed.
He rolled his hips, grinding against me and lighting my blood on fire.
I felt his hand slowly start making its way up my thigh.
It moved over my hip, up my side, and around to cup my breast. He delivered a gentle squeeze before moving his thumb back and forth across my nipple, making it harden under my clothes.
I was breathless and had to break our kiss, but that didn’t stop him.
He kissed my chin and up my jaw to my ear. He nipped the lobe before working a trail down my neck, kissing, sucking, and nipping my skin with his teeth.
Every touch, every kiss, was like throwing gasoline on an already out-of-control fire. He brought every inch of my body to life in a way I’d never felt before. I felt like I was drowning in my need for him. Like I was going to explode if I didn’t find some relief soon.
As his thumb teased my nipple and his mouth tortured my skin, his hips continued to grind against me. I felt my stomach tighten as a swirl of tingles formed. He’d not even touched me under my clothes, and I was already about to come undone.
If things between us had gone on for thirty more seconds, I knew I would have; however, the crunch of gravel and the roar of a motor from outside the barn cut through our moment.
In the blink of an eye, Oliver went from being on top of me to pulling me to my feet and guiding me to the back of the barn, where we hid behind the wall of hay.
I swore the universe hated me.