by Sophie Blue
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” Taking a deep breath, I follow him to the door, watching as he swipes his truck keys from the entryway table. He sure knows how to fill out those jeans. I can’t take my eyes away from his backside.
“It’ll be fine, I promise. Just relax and focus on what great company I am.” He turns and says with a wink, and I playfully shove his chest as he opens the door and leads me out.
Once I’ve climbed into the truck, I turn to him and ask, “Where are we going?”
“Steak Out. It’s this steakhouse that has the most amazing view.”
“Sounds good.” And popular. I bet it is heaving with customers. I cross and uncross my legs, trying to get comfortable and take my mind off of my fears, and Ollie is quick to notice. His hand finds my knee and he gives it a reassuring squeeze.
“Breathe, Charlotte. We’re going to have fun, I promise.” His tone is comforting and I focus on his words as I take a couple of deep breaths, trying to inhale positivity and exhale negatively. It was in one of the self-help books I bought online back home. Forcing the tightness in my chest to loosen, I give him a small smile and nod. He’s right. We will have fun.
By the time the waitress brings our main courses out, I am having fun. Conversation flows easily, with Ollie having me in fits of giggles often. Hearing stories about him and my brother in their university days is hilarious. I can’t wait to call Alex and make fun of him.
Biting into my sirloin steak, I let out a groan of appreciation. “Oh, my word. This is incredible.”
Ollie’s rough chuckle causes warmth to flood my body. I meet his eyes and return his smile.
“I told you, they have the best steak around. Worth every penny.”
“What’s the plan once the B&B is up and running? Are you going to move in and be the host, or hire someone else to do that and go back to hauling?” It’s funny how I’ve been here for a while, yet this is the first time I’ve wondered what happens next. After our project is over.
“To be honest I haven’t thought that far ahead. I guess I’ll hire someone, I’m not the best at being a host.” Cutting another chunk of his steak, he slips it into his mouth and savours the rich taste. I find myself following every movement before getting myself under control.
“I don’t know. Crappy coffee aside, you’ve been a great host to me.”
That sexy smile of his stretches across his face, and I can feel my heartrate picking up the pace.
“That’s because it’s you. I’m not like this with everyone.”
“Just women?” I tease, tracing my finger along the bottom of my wine glass.
“Just beautiful women with expensive taste in coffee and a love of country music,” he jokes, and I feel my face flush. The atmosphere has changed, the chemistry between us sizzling like it could catch fire at any moment. The green in his eyes has darkened and I find myself captivated by his hypnotic gaze.
“I like what I like, I can’t help it,” I reply with a shrug, as he reaches over and takes my hand in his. The warmth of his touch lighting fireworks in my body.
“Me too, regardless of whether or not it’s a good idea.” He sighs and offers me a sad smile, his thumbing tracing circles on the back of my hand.
“Because of Alex?”
“Yeah. He’s one of my best mates. Rule number one of the bro code, stay away from little sisters.” He lets out a humourless chuckle and looks at our entwined hands.
“I love my brother. But I’m an adult. My relationships are none of his business.” This is the happiest I’ve felt in as long as I can remember, and a part of that is down to Ollie. He makes me feel brave, makes me feel like the real me again. I have no idea if this… whatever it is between us has a future. But I know that I want to see what happens.
“I know. But he might not be happy about me dating you. He’s really protective over you. Do you know how many times he’s called since you arranged to fly over here?” Ollie chuckles, shaking his head. “Not to mention the daily messages I’ve had since you arrived.”
“Yeah, I know. After shit went down with Carl, it’s like he’s been overcompensating. Like he felt guilty or something, which is ridiculous. But I don’t want my brother to dictate my relationships.”
“I get that. He means a lot to me. The last thing I want to do is mess up our friendship. But Christ, if I don’t spend every waking moment thinking about you. You consume me, Charlotte.” That confession has my temperature soaring and I bite my lip to hide my giddy smile. Ollie reaches across and frees it from between my teeth.
“Don’t tempt me, sweetheart.” He groans, his thumb still on my lip, and I resist the urge to slip it into my mouth. “I’m trying to be a gentleman.”
“I didn’t ask you to be,” I whisper back, sounding breathless even to my own ears. There’s something about Ollie that makes me wild, my control evaporates and I’m one hundred percent in the moment.
He pulls back as our waitress comes over to ask how our meal is, making polite small talk while I try to bring my heart rate down to an acceptable level. This is new to me. I’ve never had such a visceral reaction to someone before. It’s like he’s the sun and I’m stuck in his orbit, his gravitational pull so strong it throws all reason out of its path.
The conversation stays strictly platonic while we are finishing the last of our meal, which I am grateful for. I’m not ashamed of how I feel, of who I desire, but discussing it in such a public place is still a little uncomfortable.
After settling the bill, Ollie takes my hand in his and leads me to his truck, opening the passenger door for me to hop in. As he slips into the driver’s seat, he turns to say something, and I cut him off by pressing my lips to his. I’m not overthinking, not worrying about the consequences. I’m just enjoying the moment, the here and now.
Ollie’s tongue runs along my bottom lip and I open my mouth with a gasp, granting him access. My fingers run through his hair, needing him closer. Before I can comprehend what’s happening, he’s lifted me over the centre console to straddle him, his hands wrapping around my waist.
Groaning into the kiss, I run one hand down his shirt covered torso, and he grabs it before I can reach below the waist.
“Fuck. You make me crazy, sweetheart,” he admits, leaning his forehead against mine, his breathing heavy and laboured.
“Is that a bad thing?” I ask with a smile.
“Definitely not a bad thing, but we should head back to the house before I throw you on to the backseat and get arrested for public indecency.” His cocky smirk has me biting my lip and muffling a moan of my own. Climbing back into the passenger seat, I check my reflection in the mirror and put my seatbelt on. Ollie starts the truck and pulls out of the car park, slipping his free hand onto my thigh.
Chapter 14
Ollie
Charlotte was still dead to the world when I woke this morning, so I thought I’d head out for a run along the beach to wake myself up and get rid of some of the pent up energy. The sea air is refreshing, and the sound of the water always has me forgoing music. This is mother nature’s playlist right here.
Our kisses from last night play on repeat through my head. The soft moans she made, the way her fingers gripped my hair, the taste of her. I’m in too deep before I’ve even begun. As much as I wanted to take her to bed, I’m in no rush. She’s worth the wait, and dinner last night was a big step for her. I didn’t want to then make her anxious about where we were heading. It was about making her comfortable again, and I hope I managed that.
As the house comes back into view, my phone starts buzzing in my pocket. Slowing to a stop, I pull it out and see Alex’s face flash up on the screen. My chest constricts with guilt, but I try to shake the feeling off before answering the call.
“Hey, bud, you ok?” I ask, still out of breath from my early morning exercise.
“Yeah, all good, man. How’s everything there, you ok?”
“You called me at 6.30 am to ask how I’m doing?” I chuckle down
the phone line, walking back towards the house.
“Shit. Sorry. I suck at time differences.”
“It’s cool. I was running along the beach to wake myself up.”
“How’s the house coming along?” he asks.
“Really good. We’ve done most of the hard work. Just need to look into marketing it now, how to get people through the door, you know?”
“That’s awesome. You two have been busy,” he says and I freeze. I know he doesn’t mean anything by it, but I feel like a snake. He’s counting on me to take care of his baby sister, and I’m sure he didn’t mean by feeling her up in my truck and playing tonsil tennis with her.
“Yeah, we have,” I say, staring down at my feet and grateful he can’t see me.
“Send some photos over later, I want to see this DIY masterpiece,” he jokes and I agree before we say our goodbyes.
Sitting on the steps of the porch, I look out on the beach and try to remind myself that we’re doing nothing wrong. We’re two consenting adults, enjoying each other’s company. If we’re making each other happy, he can’t begrudge it, right?
“Hey,” a soft voice breaks me out of my thoughts, and I turn to see the object of my thoughts.
“Hey, you ok?” I ask, taking her in. In a pale-yellow skirt and white vest top, barefoot, she looks almost ethereal. Her blonde hair swept to one side and no make-up, she’s still a vision.
“Perfect,” she says, her cheeks flushing as she no doubt replays last night in her mind like I have been all morning. In the parking lot of the diner, in the truck once we pulled up to the house. Outside her bedroom door before I convinced her to go to bed alone. “Could you not sleep?”
“I had some excess energy to burn off, so thought I’d take a run along the beach.” Sending her a playful smirk, I enjoy watching as the flush on her cheeks deepens. The crimson on her cheeks reminds me of a red and cream rose in the sun, striking and special.
Standing, I move up the stairs and stand in front of her, swiping an errant strand of hair from her face enjoying the effect my touch has on her.
“How did you sleep?”
“Like a log.” She laughs softly and turns to look at the view. “I had a great time last night. I can’t remember if I told you that. I was a bit distracted towards the end of the evening.”
Laughing, I pull her closer and tilt her chin so she’s facing me.
“Distracted? By our epic makeout session? Or how I insisted we went to bed alone?” I tease, watching with rapt attention as she bites her lip. My blood rushes south and I try to calm myself down.
“Both?” she admits with another soft laugh, and I cut it off by pressing my lips to hers. I could live off of the taste of her. It’s decadent and delicious. One hundred percent Charlotte, and I don’t think I’ll ever get enough. Her arms wrap around my neck as she deepens the kiss, and I groan into her mouth.
“You’re addictive, you know that?” I ask against her lips as she pulls back to take a breath.
“You taste like coffee, and Ollie, it’s kinda making me jealous.”
A rough laugh rumbles out of me and I pull her in for another kiss.
“Come on, fiend. Let’s get you caffeinated.” With one last look over my shoulder at the ocean, I smile to Gram, knowing she’s out there, and lead Charlotte inside.
Chapter 15
Charlotte
Watching Ollie lay out all of the ingredients for his Gram’s famous take on Snickerdoodles, I wonder if this is such a good idea. We’ve spent days cleaning and decorating, do we really want to ruin all our hard work with my terrible kitchen skills?
“So this is everything we need. I’ve put the oven on to preheat, ok?” he asks, looking over at me with a delicious smile. “You ready to see the magic happen?”
A laugh escapes me at his excited expression. He seems so relaxed and carefree in the kitchen. It’s nice to see him have fun and not worry about money or getting this place up and running. As the weeks have passed, I feel like we’ve both opened up more.
“As ready as I’ll ever be. I will warn you again though, I am awful in the kitchen. Truly terrible.” I’m not sure he fully understands just how bad I am. I burn everything. Pasta, toast, you name it, I’ve ruined it.
“I’m a great teacher, trust me. You’re in good hands.” My eyes dart to said hands and I can’t help but agree. I bet they’d feel really good running along my…
“So to start, we weigh out all the ingredients. We need three cups of flour.” He breaks me out of my indecent thoughts and I hope my blush doesn’t give me away.
“Three cups? What’s a cup?” Does he use mugs to measure ingredients? That seems odd.
He pulls a cup from one of the drawers and I see what it is. “Oh, you mean a scoop. Why don’t you just measure it? Use the scale to work out how many grams you need.”
“Because this is America, sweetheart. They don’t use your weird measurements, they use cups.” He stage-sighs as if I’m completely inept, and he isn’t far wrong but I grin anyway.
Laughing, I shake my head. “Whatever you say, oh wise one.”
The scowl that appears on his face aimed at me makes me laugh harder, until I feel something hit me.
What the…?
“Did you just throw a scoop of flour at me?” I ask, taken aback.
“Nope. I threw a cup of flour at you.” He has a smug grin on his face, and I’m torn between wanting to kiss it off him and wanting to retaliate.
Retaliation wins. I rush forward and grab the bag of flour, burying my hand inside and pulling out a handful of flour which I launch in his direction. It hits him in the face and I don’t believe it. My aim is shocking, how on earth I got a direct bullseye, I have no idea. I throw my head back and laugh. Full on belly laugh like I haven’t in so long.
“You think that’s funny, huh?” he asks, but I’m too busy holding my stomach so I don’t keel over from laughing so hard. He looks like Casper the ghost.
I hear the crack before I feel the wetness seeping down my neck. Snapping my head up, I look at him. “Did you just crack an egg on my head?”
The smug smile is back and now he’s the one laughing. Looking for some more ammunition, I settle on the glass of water on the side. Picking it up, I swing around and throw it at him, drenching his shirt. His gasp of surprise makes me proud, but then he launches forward and grabs me, getting me wet too. With his arms wrapped around me, he pulls me with him as he grabs some cinnamon and sprinkles it over my head. I’m in hysterics now, this is crazy. But it’s the most fun I’ve had in as long as I can remember.
Flinging my arms to the counter, I grab the bag of flour and toss more over him, laughing as he pulls back with a shout.
“Now you’re asking for it,” he says, wiping flour from his face and laughing at the state of us. His green eyes sparkle with mischief, and I suck in a breath at how his shirt is sticking to his chest, highlighting his insane physique.
“You started it!” I say, looking around the kitchen at the mess we’ve made.
Woops.
Turning back to him, I watch as he runs a finger through the readymade chocolate frosting.
“I did. And I’m going to finish it,” he says, stepping toward me with his finger outstretched. I step back and bump into the counter, letting him box me in. He uses his finger to trace my lips, and I see his pupils dilate in hunger which I assume has nothing to do with the frosting.
Leaning forward, he crashes his lips to mine. The combined taste of him and the chocolate frosting has me moaning into his mouth. It tastes out of this world. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him closer, enjoying the moment. His kisses should come with a warning. They leave you craving more, desperate for another taste.
“Fuck, sweetheart. You’re the best snickerdoodle I’ve ever tasted,” he jokes with a groan before claiming my lips again. The feel of his strong arms wrapped around my waist sends shivers up my spine. He makes me feel safe and free at the same time and I love it.
“We should probably jump in the shower and clean this mess up,” I say, looking around as I pull back breathlessly. I don’t want to break the kiss, but I’m covered in flour and raw egg, it’s hardly appetising.
“You’re right, come on.” Grabbing my hand in his, he leads me up the stairs and to his master bedroom. I follow him into his en suite as he opens the sliding doors to the shower and turns the water on. “You go first, this is the nicest shower in the house,” he says, as he turns to leave.
I have no idea where my newfound confidence comes from, but I grasp his hand before he can leave. The feel of his skin on mine is electrifying. My thoughts may be in overdrive, but right now the one that is screaming the loudest is that I don’t want this moment to end yet.
“Do you think you could help me wash my back?” I ask, feeling the colour drench my cheeks but maintaining eye contact. I know what I want. It’s him.
A sinful smile spreads across his handsome face as he steps toward me. “Is that what you want?” The husky tone to his voice has me clenching my thighs together in need.
“More than snickerdoodles,” I say and he laughs, pulling his flour covered t-shirt over his head and dropping it onto the tiled floor. His chest is a work of art. With toned abs and the gorgeous tattoo on his right arm, I’m momentarily awestruck. Forget snickerdoodles, I want to eat him.
“In that case, let’s get wet,” he says with a cocky grin that does things to my insides. Pulling my long shirt over my head, I throw it down with his and lean over to pull my leggings down. By the time I’m done, he’s already standing in front of me, naked as the day he was born. And my word, Ollie is packing.
“Shall we?” he grins, catching me staring at his impressive ‘utensil’ and motioning to the shower. I climb in and sigh as the warm water hits my body and relaxes me. I feel his body slide up against mine as he pulls the shower doors closed behind us. I’m on fire and a cold shower won’t cure me. It’s him. I’m desperate for him. The butterflies in my stomach are on steroids, fluttering up a storm, and my pulse is racing.