Ollie raises an eyebrow.
“Will you start kissing me again,please?” I say, earning myself a smile from that handsome mouth.
“If I have to,” he says.
“You have to.”
When Ollie kisses me, the energy between us shifts. All the humor and sarcasm flees the room, leaving only this intensity we’ve tried to rein in for years. The kiss is slow, every movement between us intentional in a way no other kiss has been. Somehow, my mind is numb and buzzing at the same time. I don’t have enough breath to speak, but even if I did, I wouldn’t have anything to say.
Ollie pulls back when the kiss ends and takes one of my unicorn earrings between his fingers. “On or off?” he murmurs.
“On, of course.”
“Come here,” he says. He sits up, pulling me along with him until I’m straddling his lap at the edge of the bed. The skirt of my dress pools around me, but his hands somehow find their way beneath it to run up and down my thighs as he kisses me again.
When I get the rest of his shirt unbuttoned, I toss it on the floor behind me. I don’t care that I’m creating more work for myself. I don’t care that I just changed these sheets and will have to change them again before the guests arrive tomorrow. I’m too busy exploring his stomach, and chest, and shoulders with my hands. My mouth travels along his neck, finding all the places he likes to be touched, the secret landmarks only a local would know. I can’t think of anything other than mapping out every part of him, even though I’ve had him memorized for years.
I reach for the button on his pants, and Ollie catches hold of my wrists with a groan. “This isn’t fair, kitten.”
“I don’t care,” I say, already breathless.
But Ollie doesn’t let go of my wrists. “Stand up and turn around.”
When I do as he says, he finds the zipper of my dress and pulls it down slowly, trailing kisses along my back in its wake. I’m reminded of how he helped me unzip my dress on the day we got married. I should’ve known then that we were never just friends. Maybe I did.
Once Ollie’s unzipped my dress, the bodice falls to just above my waist, leaving my chest bare and exposing the lace edge of my underwear. I take Ollie’s hand from where it rests on my side and pull it around to where I’m most desperate for his touch.
“Bossy girl,” he says, toying with the fabric of my underwear between his fingers.
“It’s just a suggestion,” I say.
He presses a kiss to my shoulder. “Don’t I always take care of you?”
“Yes,” I say.
“And do you think tonight will be any different?”
“No.”
“Then be patient.”
“Easier said than done.”
He laughs into my skin. When he finally pushes my dress over my hips, it falls to the floor, and I kick it away. He tugs down my underwear, and I kick that away too. Once I’m fully undressed, he pulls me against him so that I’m sitting on his lap completely naked.
He wraps his arms around me and rests his chin on my shoulder.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“I’m hugging you.”
I press a kiss to his cheek. “And you say I’m ridiculous. You’re the most ridiculous man I’ve ever met.”
“That sounds like a compliment,” he says.
“I suppose you’re right.”
Ollie’s grip on me loosens. “Let me see you,” he says.
