“Being so patient with me.” She eased back, her eyes glistening. “I promise I’ll think about what you said, but whatever the future holds, I need you to know that I love... sorry, Ifuckinglove you too.”
He smiled, arms tightening around her. And ignored the little voice in his head telling him the cliff he was asking her to leap from was too high.
Chapter 33
Olivia woke to find herself wrapped up in a warm, sleepy Connor-shaped blanket.
It surprised her how easily she’d gotten used to it.
God, was she seriously considering moving in with him?
Everything was happening so fast, a runaway train gaining momentum, hurtling her ever closer to a life she’d never seen herself living. A man’s partner, a girl’s mother figure.
She must have jolted because he grunted, then tightened his hold. “You’re not going anywhere,” he whispered in her ear.
“What if I need to pee?”
His lids pinged open. “Do you?”
“No, but I will at some point. I’ll also need a cup of coffee and some breakfast. And I brought my running kit.”
“Not today.” He nuzzled her neck, his stubble sending a delicious rasp across her skin. “You’re going to have to learn how to lie in, Livvy.” His mouth trailed hot kisses where his stubble had rubbed. “There won’t be many opportunities. Ellie’s an early riser, so when she’s not here, we make the most of it.”
His head dipped to her breasts, where he ran his tongue over nipples still sensitive from the loud sex he’d promised—a promise he’d delivered on—last night. “How do you propose we do that?” she asked.
“You’re a smart woman.” He thrust his hips, letting her feel the hard length of his erection against her thigh. “You’ll figure it out.”
She might be smart, but when it came to Connor, she lost all sense.
Her morning run, habitual check of the news headlines, and imbibing of a large mug of coffee were all abandoned to slow, sleepy, deeply sensual sex.
“How did you find your lie-in, then?” he asked as they finally set off on the walk to pick up Ellie from his parents’ house.
She decided he looked far too smug. “They don’t achieve much.”
He looked aghast. “You achieved three orgasms.”
She smirked. “I’ve always been a high achiever.”
He laughed and hugged her. It felt easy, right. She wasn’t a woman men hugged, she wasn’t warm, wasn’t friendly, yet where other boyfriends had respected her boundaries, Connor had bulldozed through them.
Now she was a woman who enjoyed being touched. Who apparently enjoyed lazy mornings in bed.
A woman who went onwalks, she thought a few hours later as the three of them trampled through the autumn leaves in the nearby park. Walks where she held the hand of a nine-year-old girl and Connor held the other. And that nine-year-old girl beamed as they swung her between them.
“You’re getting too heavy for this,” Connor grumbled. “Livvy’s going to get her arm wrenched out of its socket.”
“Hey, I’m stronger than I look!” Olivia gave him arch look and Ellie giggled.
“Yeah, Dad, you’re not allowed to say girls are weak.”
His gaze jumped from Olivia to Ellie, his expression full of indulgent amusement. “I have never said girls are weak. I know they’re not.” He tapped Ellie on the shoulder. “Did Livvy tell you she’s going for a big promotion next week, a job that usually goes to men, but she’s going to nail it?”
Ellie peered up at her with wide eyes. “You’re gonna beat the boys?”
“That’s the plan, yes.” She smiled. “If we work hard and are determined, we girls can do whatever we set our minds to.”
Connor chuckled. “Are you teaching her girl power?”
