I was hoping she’d missed that. The last thing I want to do is go over the past few months with her. It’s irrelevant at this point.
‘There were a few issues at home. Nothing you need to worry your pretty face about.’ Straightening myself, I start the engine and ask, ‘My place or yours?’
‘Yours. Less chance of getting busted. And I’m dying to see where you live. You can tell a lot about a person by their home, you know.’ She squeezes my thigh suggesting she’s joking. I hope so or she’ll be highly disappointed. My place is still pretty bare. If I’m going to be entertaining in it, I’ll have to remedy that.
My hand falls to her knee, rising the silky material of her dress just enough for me to stroke the soft flesh of her thigh. A simple sigh of happiness falls from her lips and I wonder for the hundredth time how this could ever be deemed wrong in anyone’s eyes, when it feels so damn right?
ChapterNineteen
AMY
Ollie’s home is the complete opposite to mine. Spacious, with high ceilings, brilliant white walls and modern shiny appliances. His penthouse apartment is pretty bare, yet somehow, I feel like I belong here.
‘How long have you lived here?’ My fingers sweep across the gleaming kitchen counter, polished to a standard that clearly displays my tired, but happy, face reflecting back at me.
‘Three years, but until recently I haven’t spent much time here.’ He heads to the fridge, searching for something to drink. ‘Wine?’
‘I’m not a big drinker to be honest.’ I shrug, knowing I didn’t come here for the beverages.
‘Probably a good job; I saw what three cocktails did to you. Then there was the gin and tonic last night…’ He closes the fridge door and crosses the room in three large strides. The man’s like an Avatar, tall, strong, supple and muscled. When his hands wrap around my waist, lifting me on top on the kitchen worktop, a squeal of surprise falls from my lips. I still can’t believe this god-like creature is mine to touch.
‘Don’t worry, I’ve got you. I won’t let you fall.’ His hips nudge my thighs open, pressing himself in between my spreading legs. Despite his reassuring tone, I can’t be sure I won’t fall, just not in the sense that he means. His lips brush against the sensitive spots on my neck and a sigh of pure bliss slips from my lips.
‘You were amazing today.’ I’ve been meaning to say it all evening.
‘On or off the pitch?’ The mouth that presses so tenderly against my neck travels upwards to meet mine in tiny, fluttering kisses which flip my insides faster than a roller-coaster ride.
‘Both.’ Open eyes bore into my soul as his tongue teases mine with little flicks, halting my ability to think straight.
‘I’ve been waiting to do this all evening,’ he murmurs, his hands travelling towards my breasts. ‘It was all I could do not to shout it to the world.’
‘Well I’m glad you didn’t because I’d way rather be here, in your kitchen, than sitting in A & E, and trust me, that’s where we’d be if you’d even hinted at the idea.’
Ollie tears his lips from mine to say, ‘Do you think it would make a difference if I tell him that I have ridiculously deep feelings for you, feelings I’ve never felt for anyone before. Feelings so deep that even I can’t fathom the extent of?’
His words flip my stomach equally as powerfully as his lips, but what he’s saying is a fantasy.
‘Short of marrying me in secret, and begging for permission afterwards, I think he’s liable to skin the two of us alive.’ My lips find his again. I don’t want to talk about my brother, but he pulls back to continue the conversation between teasing, torturous kisses that are no way near enough. Now I’ve got a taste of the good stuff, I am desperate for more.
‘It’s not a bad idea.’ His eyes glint devilishly at me as his hands slip under my dress.
‘The champagne must have gone to your head, because that almost sounded like a proposal.’ A shiver of excitement shudders across my spine, whether it’s the mad fantasy he voices, or the way he reaches inside my underwear, I can’t be sure.
‘I already know I want to do this to you forever.’ As his fingers circle my centre, I wholeheartedly agree with his sentiment.
‘It’s barely been twenty-four hours since our first date.’ My voice is breathy, so turned on from what he’s doing to me both physically and mentally.
‘And? The boys always tell me, “when you know, you know”. And I’ve had an inexplicable instinct about you from the second I laid eyes on you. Everything we did last night, everything we’re going to do tonight, I’ve done to you in my head a hundred times over. And the thought of anyone other than me touching you that way is out of the question.’
My legs tremble under his touch as he talks me through a fantasy I hadn’t dared let myself dream of, one where we could really be together, one where we could work. It’s ridiculously soon to be thinking these things, let alone talking about them, yet what’s really ridiculous is how right it feels, how natural. And how much it’s turning me on. I have never been one for one-night stands. Number six was always meant to be special – could it really be everything I’d hoped for? It’s far too early to even speculate, yet excitement bubbles within me. From the very first night Ollie insisted there was something special between us. Maybe in time he’ll be proved right. If we don’t get sacked or skinned alive first.
His teasing slows, almost to a complete stop, and I look up at him, ready to beg him to continue.
‘Do you feel it? That you and I are somehow meant to be, like we don’t even have a choice in it.’
Even if I didn’t, I’d be tempted to agree, just so he’d continue what he was doing, but I can’t deny it – I know exactly what he means. The draw between us is out of this world. I couldn’t fight it even if I wanted to, and I don’t want to. I’d give it all up if it meant I could have him, properly have him. If Eddie finds out, he will put a stop to it permanently, one way or another. And that is a prospect I already know I can’t handle.
‘I spotted you way before that night in the players’ lounge. In fact, I think secretly, I might be one of those rugby groupies. I knew how much I wanted you before I took the job and seeing you almost every day since has done nothing to lessen that feeling. That day you were on the treatment table, the urge to lick your groin better was unbelievable.’
