He made a low sound in his throat, just as the back of her legs met the edge of the mattress. “Not yet, baby.”
“Oh.” The husky way he said baby caused moisture to gather between her thighs, making the thin material of her panties cling. “Why?”
Rory pressed their foreheads together. “You get so hot when we kiss. Trying to climb me and letting out those sexy, little whimper sounds.” He unwound his fingers from her hair, dropping them to her hips and squeezing. “I’m already hard as a fucking rock for you, Olive. Going slow is probably going to kill me, but my mind is set. I’m giving you the best I’ve got.”
The threads of yearning and determination in his tone made her nod jerkily. Made her understand. Rory needed to make tonight special, just as much as she needed it to be. Just this once, she needed to trust that someone else’s experience trumped her always-at-the-ready logic, the belief she knew what was best for herself. Just for tonight, she would trust Rory to know and give her exactly what she needed.
“On the bed,” he whispered in her ear. “Want to hold you for a while.”
Olive almost sobbed at being denied more kissing, but remembering her resolve to let Rory guide them, she sat down on the bed and scooted toward the headboard. Though the interior of the room was dark, the moonlight coming in through the single window allowed her to watch Rory render himself shirtless and prowl toward her like a sleek, tattooed animal on the mattress. When she swore he was going to climb on top of her—and prayed he would—he carefully removed her glasses and set them on his nightstand. Then he dropped down beside Olive, turned her body and spooned her from behind.
His heavy forearm draped over her hip, and after a slight hesitation, he drew her back and pressed her backside tighttighttight to his lap, releasing a long groan into her ear. “This ass of yours is ruining my life, baby, you know that? So high and sweet it hurts.” His tongue dragged down the slope of her neck, his teeth razing her shoulder. “Every part of you. Every part is so beautiful, I can’t think straight. Can’t decide what to appreciate first. Do I want to wrap your thighs around my head? Or just get those incredible eyes on me and fucking live there, because I should be grateful you’re looking at me in the first place? It’s a goddamn struggle, sunbeam. You don’t even know.”
The pressure Rory always created in her chest multiplied in strength now, pushing outward, robbing her of oxygen. Needing to get as close as humanly possible, she curled her foot around his calf, tucked her head back into the notch of his throat. “It’s the same for me. I want to do anything for you,” she rambled, her eyes closed. “I want to do anything with you. Maybe it was too soon? I-I don’t know, but it hurt so bad when you went away.”
“I’m sorry,” he grated into Olive’s hair, yanking her closer, ever closer, dislodging her foot when he slung a muscular thigh over both of hers. “God, I’m so fucking sorry.”
She shook off the niggling fear of it happening again and changed the subject, refusing to dwell there when they were finally together like this. “Touch me, Rory. Please?”
What happened next was the most erotic moment of her life. Which was saying something considering this man had performed oral on her in a public shower. Rory’s fingertips slid slowly, slowly down her hip, moving beneath the high hem of her skirt. His breathing turned shallow at the back of her neck as he drew up the garment, inch by inch. Air kissed the flesh of Olive’s bare backside and she dug her fingers into the flannel bedcovers, feeling his hot perusal of what he’d displayed. A blunt digit tucked under the thin strip of her thong, running back and forth, the action causing his knuckle to drag through the split of her bottom—and oh boy. Still mostly clothed and she was already learning secrets about her body, because she’d had no clue a man’s touch there was supposed to feel good. No, amazing.
“Rory—”
“Give me a minute,” he gritted out, that knuckle continuing it’s back and forth journey, his breath hot on her neck. “I know you’ll go out with friends once in a while, Olive. I want you to. But can you save the short skirt and thong combo for nights out with Rory? Huh?”
His possessiveness should have been a turn-off. Right? Lord, it was not. Not even a little bit. It made her feel feminine and powerful and protected all at once. “I was hoping I’d see you.” Halfway through that revelation, Rory let the strap of her thong snap lightly between her buns and Olive saw stars, forcing her to break off in a gasp. “I didn’t expect to, but—”