She harrumphs but does as I requested. As soon as I hear the click of her seatbelt, I ease off the brake and merge back onto the street.
I steal a glance at her as I slow to a stop for a red light. “Are you going to give me directions, or would you prefer to come to my place?”
Tilting her head in my direction, she lifts an eyebrow. I’m relieved she looks somewhat less disgruntled than when she first realized I was the one driving. “I’ll give you directions.”
I nod.
It’s only a few moments before she asks, “Why are you doing this?”
I cut my eyes over to her. She’s watching me intently. “Doing what? Giving you a ride home?”
She shrugs, as if that isn’t what she’s asking, but confirms, “Yes.”
I puzzle out how to answer her, but go with the truth. “Cade called me to come pick you up. Besides wanting to make sure you did, in fact, make it home safely, since Iwasn’t entirely convinced that you would actually text me, I wanted to see you.”
She shifts in her seat to stare straight ahead, giving me directions in a soft, distracted voice.
Anxious energy battles with the lust forming inside me from being close to her again. Her scent. Her voice. Her energy. All of it threatens to drive me insane with desire for this woman.
Much sooner than I’d like, we’re pulling into her apartment complex parking lot. She gives me directions to which building is hers and is already unbuckling before I even park my car. I lightly grasp her forearm to still her. “Wait for me to open the door for you, please.”
I swallow hard when her lips part on a pant, and her tongue darts out to wet them. “Okay,” she whispers
With that, I jog around the front of the vehicle and open her door. I offer her a hand as she scoots out. Closing the door behind her, I lock the car and place my hand on her lower back.
“Nate, you don’t have to walk me all the way to my apartment,” she says with less venom in her tone than she had earlier. I internally celebrate that small victory.
“Yes, I do. I said I wanted to make sure you got home safely. The parking lot isn’t your home.”
She doesn’t respond as we continue toward her building. When we get to the stairs, I indicate she should go ahead of me. I hold back a groan when my face is almost even with her ass. The image of me sinking my teeth into one of her juicy cheeks has my dick springing to life. This woman’s curvy, thick body is my walking wet dream.
When we’re standing outside her door, Olive turns to face me, keys dangling from her fingers. Her gorgeous, expressive, dark eyes staring up at me. I don’t want to leaveher tonight. I want to stay right here. With her. Even if we don’t have sex, I just hope she wants that as much as I do.
“Nate, I—” Her inhale is loud in the night air. “Do you want to come in?”
Abso-fucking-lutely.
“I would very much like to come in.”
A small, shy smile lights up her face. As she quickly unlocks the door and pushes it open, I follow her inside, shutting and locking the door behind me. She slips off her shoes before walking into the living room to turn on some lamps. When my shoes are also off, I step farther into her apartment. It’s clean and tidy, but her furniture is obviously dated, but it’s cozy. I immediately feel at home here. I walk over to a group of pictures hanging on the wall. There are quite a few with Olive and Cade, but there are just as many with Olive and another man I don’t recognize. I tamp down the jealousy that flares through me.
I pivot to find Olive standing in the living room, watching me pensively. The light from the lamps highlights the fatigue weighing on her features. I’m not sure how she’s going to react to what I’m about to say, but I refuse to leave here without at least trying. “I want to stay the night. Nothing has to happen, but I want to stay with you.”
She bites her lip as I wait for her to hopefully agree. Finally releasing her lip, she takes a half-step toward me. “I want that too.”
My shoulders drop in relief. Since she looks like she could use some sleep, I hold out my hand for her. “Let’s go to bed.”
There’s no hesitation as she takes it, her palm electrifying mine at the contact, and leads me down the short hall. When I see that there’s another bedroom, I ask, “Do you have a roommate?”
What I think might be sadness passes through her eyes as she looks at the door, “Kind of. That’s my brother’s room.”
“Is he here?”
She shakes her head and pulls me into her bedroom, and I let the topic drop.
Her room is similar to the rest of her apartment, with its older, eclectic mix of furniture and decor. Except it’s a little emptier and lacking the personal touches the other rooms seem to have. It makes me sad that the room that’s all her own lacks her warmth. If she were mine, I would want her to put her mark on every room so that she feels what I feel when I’m around her. Comfortable. Happy.
She retreats into her closet to put on pajamas, and I brush my teeth with the extra toothbrush she handed me. When she goes into the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face, I strip off my suit jacket, pants, and shirt. I would much prefer to sleep naked next to Olive, but I leave my boxer briefs on. After folding my clothes and setting them neatly on the chair in the corner of her room, I climb under her covers to wait.
