by J. H. Croix
When she opened her door and I saw her curls tumbling wildly about her shoulders, I’d almost snogged her right then and there. She was such a tempting combination of beautiful and sexy, and she was so damn guileless that it made it all worse. My cock had been at half-mast all evening, the only time it wasn’t was when I stumbled into the topic of her parents’ death and my mum’s. She was so refreshingly honest in her response. Outside of my own family, Alex and then Coach’s comments about my mum, I barely spoke of it, yet somehow it had been okay with Olivia.
She shifted beside me, crossing and uncrossing her ankles, the subtle motion of her thigh under my palm knocking my mind right back to where we were—with Olivia pressed up against my side, her scent hinted with honey drifting around me, and her thigh warm under my touch. My need for her was so fierce, I truly didn’t know if I could hold back much longer. I wanted to see and touch every inch of her and bury myself so deep inside that maybe I could slake the madness she elicited.
The automated speakers on the railcar announced her cross street. I reluctantly slid my palm off her leg and curled it around her hand as we stood. I hadn’t considered this part of tonight. I was starting to realize I’d taken quite a lot for granted when it came to women. Usually, I didn’t think about whether a woman might turn me away and leave me wanting. With Olivia, I did. As desperate as I was for her, my need was inextricably linked to hers matching mine. Speaking of things I’d never thought of with women, I had to admit I’d never wondered if a woman wanted me as much as I wanted her. But then, I’d never wanted a woman the way I wanted Olivia.
We stepped onto the sidewalk into the rain, which had surprisingly moved beyond a drizzle and was falling steadily now. Olivia paused to look up at me, and I was mesmerized. I stood there like a fool with rain falling all around us and stared down at her. Her lashes were damp and spiky, illuminating her eyes, so green I could lose myself in them. She had forgotten to pull her hood up and the raindrops falling on her hair gleamed from the soft glow of the streetlights.
A drop of rain rolled down her cheek, and I brushed it away with my thumb as I turned to face her. Her eyes searched my face. I didn’t know what she saw there. All I knew was I had to taste her again. My eyes on hers to the last second, I dipped my head and fit my mouth over hers. The point of contact was electric, sending a bolt of lust through me. The contrasting heat of her lips to the chilly rain notched up the heat inside. A soft sound came from her throat as I threaded my hand into her damp curls and swept my tongue in her mouth.
I forgot everything but her—she was like a drug just for me, so sweet, so delicious and so intoxicating. She flexed in my arms and slipped a hand up behind my neck, her tongue tangling with mine. With the rain falling around us, I let go. With one hand tangled in her hair, I slid the other down her back and over the lush curve of her bottom. She’d worn this skirt that I was fairly certain had been designed solely to make me mad. It hugged her hips and I’d spent much of the evening wondering if I’d be able to tug it up and bury myself inside her. I pulled her against me, groaning in response to her moan and when she opened her thighs just enough for me to grind my cock into her.
A horn honked nearby, and Olivia tore her lips free with a gasp. Her eyes whipped up to meet mine. For a moment, I felt bereft, instantly missing the feel of her mouth under mine. I started to say something, but she spoke first.
“We’re getting soaked. Come on.” She stepped back and grabbed my hand. We ran through the rain together, dashing into the entrance to her building. She started to run up the stairs and paused on the bottom step, turning back to face me. Her eyes were dark and wild, her cheeks flushed and her skin damp from the rain.
“Would you like to come up?” she asked, her voice breathy.
Her question ranked right up there with some of the most unnecessary questions in the universe, but I loved that she asked it. At my nod, she spun away and all but dragged me up the stairs behind her. She lived on the third floor in this charming little building tucked amongst the more modern buildings in downtown Seattle. As such, we had two flights of stairs to climb. She came to an abrupt stop about halfway up the second flight, spinning back to me, her eyes wide and worried.
“Your knee! I’m so sorry. I forgot…” Her words trailed off, and she bit her lip, her eyes casting down to the knee in question.
“Is fine. Tim’s had me on the stair-stepper every day all week.”
Those gorgeous green eyes flicked back up. “Okay, I’ll slow down though. I didn’t mean…”
Our faces were close to level with her one step above me. I gave her hand a tug and slid my free hand down the curve of her hip, curling it around her bottom and pulling her close. “Hurry all you like, luv,” I whispered right before our mouths collided again.
I wasn’t much for snogging. It wasn’t that I didn’t take my sweet time and make sure any woman I was with walked away satisfied, it was more that I wanted to get to the main act, so to speak. But Olivia was different. I could have stood there on the stairs, damp from the rain and slightly chilled through, and kissed her for hours. The buttoned up doctor I’d met weeks ago abandoned all restraint once our lips were melded. Between long, wild tangles of our tongues, she nipped at my bottom lip and gasped when I slipped my hand around and tore her jacket open to fondle her breasts. She curled a leg around one of mine and arched into me, a low moan escaping into our kiss when I rolled a hard nipple between my fingers.
At the sound of footsteps starting up the stairs below us, I reluctantly pulled back. Her eyes were dazed, giving me some relief because I was about out of my mind and didn’t want to be alone in this madness. She didn’t seem to be aware of why I’d pulled back and curled a hand around my neck. “Upstairs, luv,” I whispered against her lips. “We’re about to have company.”
Her eyes widened with alarm, and she turned, entirely forgetting about my knee again as she walked swiftly up the remaining stairs. Fortunately, my knee really was handling the stairs fine. We made it through the door and into her apartment. She released my hand and kicked off her shoes before striding away from me. I left my shoes beside hers by the coatrack and hung my jacket, while she turned up the heat and flicked a few lamps on, casting a soft glow about the cozy room. I liked her flat—it was small, but inviting with its warm colors and small sofa covered with pillows.
Olivia turned back in my direction as she peeled her raincoat off. I met her on her way across the room. Her coat fell to the floor when I stepped flush against her. I could barely think, much less act rationally, but I had to make sure of one thing.
“You’d best say so now if you’d like me to go.” I closed my eyes and gulped in air. Opening them, I locked my gaze with hers. “I want you, Olivia, but I need to know if you want me too.”
I could see the rapid flutter of her pulse in her neck, the flush cresting her cheeks, and feel her breasts rising and falling with her breath against my chest. She swallowed and lifted a hand to adjust her glasses. She was quiet long enough, I started to worry. Then, she nodded. When she didn’t say anything, I was compelled to speak. “What does that mean?”
Her eyes widened, and she swallowed again. “I want you.” Her words fell into the quiet room, crystal clear and soft.
A knot of tension I hadn’t even known had been balled up in my chest eased. I reached up and removed her glasses, carefully setting them on a small table beside the couch. “Okay then.”
I’d had all kinds of ideas about how I’d prove beyond any doubt to Olivia that sex wasn’t boring. Most of them involved fantasies of how I’d be in control of myself because then I could orchestrate what was happening. I’d look back later and realize how little control I had and what a silly, arrogant man I’d been. The sound of her glasses clicking against the wood of the small table was like a fire alarm inside. I threaded my hand into her wild, dark curls and brought my lips to hers again. What followed was pure madness, my control lost in the wake of the lust pounding through me.
&nb
sp; She sighed into my mouth, a soft sound coming from her throat, and I yanked her hard against me. It was as if our kiss on the stairs had been on pause. Her leg curled around mine and she arched into me. I could feel the tight peaks of her nipples through her thin blouse, and I shoved it up, groaning at the feel of her silky skin. Everything was in the way. I tore my mouth from hers and flung her shirt off. Those fumbled, heated, unplanned moments in her office hadn’t given me time to truly look at her. I let my eyes travel down, tracing a finger around her taut nipples. She wore another flimsy excuse for a bra, the sheer cream lace offering glimpses of pink. I dragged my tongue over the lace, smiling against her when she moaned and arched into my mouth. While I poured my need to practically absorb her inside by drenching the lace covering her, I cupped both breasts in my palms, savoring the fullness. I finally lifted my head and almost came on the spot when I saw her.
Her eyes were half closed, her cheeks flushed and her breath coming in shallow pants. She was arching into me, rolling her hips against my cock, which was so hard it was a miracle I hadn’t made a mess in my trousers. I dragged my tongue into the valley between her breasts and finally flicked my thumb under the clasp, groaning at the sight of her breasts tumbling free. They were perfect, her nipples wet, pink and standing erect. I couldn’t help but suck one and then the other into my mouth again. When she gasped me name, I lifted my head. I didn’t know why, but the sound of my name sent a whip of need through me.
“Yes, luv?”
Her eyes opened and narrowed. Without a word, her leg uncurled from where she’d hooked it behind mine. She reached between us and roughly tore my jeans open, sliding her hand over my cock. What little control I’d thought I had was lost, and I groaned, my forehead falling to hers and she curled her palm around me and stroked up and down over my briefs. My cock throbbed under her touch, and I needed more. Now.
Somehow we stumbled to her couch. That skirt I’d imagined slowly dragging up over her hips was tossed aside, along with the rest of our clothes in a fumbling mess. Suave was not the word I’d use to describe any of this. I was clinging to my control, hanging on with my fingernails. We ended up in a tangle on the sofa. I couldn’t get enough of every inch and was busy exploring her with my lips and hands when she pushed me back. I dragged my eyes open, fuzzy and unfocused in my mind, to find her with that stern look. Oh God. I loved that look. Her eyes were narrowed. She pushed a finger on my chest.
“You need to be careful with your knee,” she declared, her words crisp and bossy.
She was leaning back into the cushions, naked save for a pair of sheer black panties. Her breath was coming in gasps, and I could tell she was as bad off as me. My cock throbbed at the sight of her. I was stretched out over her, most definitely oblivious to my knee. “Dr. Bowen,” I drawled. “So nice of you to make an appearance. My knee is quite fine, thank you.”
I knew, I just knew, calling her doctor would elicit her proper side, the side that worried she shouldn’t be with me. I wanted a flicker of that because I loved it so. Her lips tightened, her eyes fairly snapping. “I don’t want you to do something stupid.”
My lips had been mapping a path over the curve of her belly. I dipped my head and dropped another lingering kiss there before looking up again. “You’re right. Give me just a minute and then I’ll follow doctor’s orders.”
Her breath drew in sharply when I slipped my hand between her thighs and stroked across the silk there. It was wet, so wet. I dragged my fingers back and forth, lightly stroking the silk, savoring every roll of her hips and the low moan that escaped her. “Liam, it’s not good for…”
I didn’t wait to see what she might have to say and shoved the silk out of the way, finally getting to do what I’d been fantasizing about for weeks. I slid a finger into her channel, slick with the evidence of her need, and brought my mouth against her. Her hips bucked against me, and I settled in to taste her as thoroughly as I’d been wanting.
Chapter 14
Olivia
Oh. My. God. I was going to melt into the couch. With the feel of Liam’s fingers stroking into me and his tongue doing absolutely wicked things, I was drowning in need. Everything narrowed to my center, to a razor sharp knife-edge where I teetered until he swirled his tongue around my clit and sent me flying. I went taut and distantly heard my sharp cry as pleasure rippled through me. He slowly lifted his head and dragged his fingers out of me and yanked my underwear off with one swift tug. I was stunned as he trailed kisses up over my belly, lingering on my breasts before he stretched out over me. Somewhere along the way, need was already tightening its coil inside. The feel of his cock resting against my slippery folds nearly made me lose my mind all over.
A distant part of my brain tried to remember what I’d been saying before, well before Liam so thoroughly and emphatically disproved my long held belief that sex was boring and not worth the bother. His knee. That’s it. I dragged my eyes open. “Your knee,” I said weakly.
His eyes had gone navy, and I could feel his heart pounding against my breast. I knew he wanted me, as evidenced by the feel of every inch of his hot, hard length sliding against me as he arched his hips slightly. I clung to my sanity. It was all kinds of crazy to be here with him, but I truly couldn’t allow him to endanger his recovery all because he made me lose my mind. “Tell me what I need to do about my knee…Dr. Bowen. But first, tell me if you’re bored.” His mouth curled at one corner in that grin of his that made my belly do flips inside.
I bit my lip to keep from laughing. I was half mortified because I knew he knew I was anything but bored. I shook my head.
“I want to hear you say it,” he insisted, his grin widening.
“Okay. I’m not bored. At all,” I said.
“Right then. So what am I to do about my knee?” he asked, his eyes glinting with mischief.
With my pulse pounding, a luscious shiver raced through me. I called on that part of me I knew so well—the doctor in me who focused on the mechanical functions of joints and things. “You shouldn’t put too much pressure on it,” I choked out when he rolled his hips into mine again.
I was so wet, it was almost ridiculous. His cock slid against me, coasting over the sensitive nub of my desire, the center of my entire world at the moment. I gasped, but I held onto a frayed thread of control.
“How do I make sure I don’t put too much pressure on it?” he asked, his words tight.
I forced myself to move before I lost my mind all over again and shimmied out from under him. “Turn over,” I said once I was standing.
My mouth went dry when he obeyed instantly. Dear God. His body was a work of art—all lean muscle, every inch of him defined. I’d seen him in bits and pieces, but just now was the first moment I had a chance to see all of him, and what a sight it was. He has a light dusting of dark hair on his chest that tapered down. I’d felt him against me and knew he was well-endowed, but the sight of him rock hard made me clench my thighs together.
His eyes on me, he reached a hand out and snagged his jeans from the messy pile of our clothes. In seconds, he was rolling a condom on and curling a palm around my calf. He slid his hand up my calf and thigh to curl around my bottom, giving it a squeeze before slipping his fingers between my thighs and stroking through my wet folds. The inside of my thighs were wet from my own need.
When I didn’t move, he spoke. “Well luv, I turned over. Now what?”
He pushed himself up into the cushions slightly as he reached for me. I straddled him and settled my hips down, my eyes flying up when a low groan followed by a choked laugh came from him.
“If this is how I keep pressure off my knee, I’ll do whatever you say.”
I flushed and decided to tease him a little. I rocked my hips against him, savoring his groan. He gripped my hips and held me down, grinding into me and nearly making me come from just that. He loosened his grip, and I rose up. I needed to feel him inside me, needed it like I needed air to breathe.
“
Olivia.”
My eyes were down as I reached between us. I looked up to find his gaze—so hot and intense, I froze. The tip of his cock was right there, and I wanted to sink down so badly, but he gripped my hip and held me still.
“I want to see you,” he said gruffly.
In slow motion, he eased his hold on me. I slowly sank down, locked in the web of his gaze, groaning at the feel of him filling me. It felt so good, so, so, so good. I held still when my hips met his with him seated deeply within me. My channel throbbed around him. Sex with Liam wasn’t just parts fitting together. No, it was wild and raw and made me feel naked inside and out. I couldn’t help myself and started to rock into him. We moved in slow motion, pleasure tightening and tightening inside, everything narrowing to the point of connection between us.
He slid his palm up my spine, subtly bringing me forward. My breasts pressed against his chest, as hard as the rest of him, as he whispered against my lips. “Come with me.”
The sound of his crisp accent, rough with passion, was all it took to send me over when he rocked deeply into me. I cried out, my head falling into the curve of his neck. My channel clenched and tremors ran through me, the pleasure so acute I could hardly bear it. His arms wrapped around me, and he rocked his hips into me once more before he went taut, a rough cry escaping.
I stayed right where I was, breathing in the scent of his skin with pings of pleasure echoing through my body. He relaxed under me, and our breath slowed in unison. After a few moments, his palm stroked in slow passes up and down my spine. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to move. Ever. I wanted to stay right here with Liam’s arms around me, his cock deep inside of me, and this disarming intimacy shimmering around us.
“You’re cold, luv.”
His voice nudged me out of my dreamy state. I felt the goose bumps on my skin as his palm made another slow pass up my spine. I reluctantly lifted my head. I felt so exposed, it was hard to meet his eyes. His gaze was relaxed and warm and made my heart ease. I tried to think of what to say and was relieved when he spoke.