Oliver laughs, tickling a path across my stomach that makes my muscles contract. “We need to find you a new hobby.” He kisses my temple before adding, “Speaking of penguins, I have something for you.” He moves so that he’s kneeling in front of me. “Hold out your hands and close your eyes.”
I do as he asks. Though I’m so intrigued, I’m struggling to keep my eyes closed. When a weight settles on my palm, I peek one eye open. Oliver huffs. “Darius.”
“What? My eyes are closed. Kind of.”
“Go on, open them.”
There’s a pebble in my palm. It’s dark grey with swirls of deep blue and brown etched into it, the same colours as our eyes. It’s really beautiful.
“It’s a pebble,” I say, not entirely sure what I’m meant to do with it.
Oliver’s cheeks flush with colour.
“It feels a bit silly now that you’re holding it.” He goes to take it from me and I squeeze my palm shut.
“Tell me about it.”
He sighs. “Okay, so shortly before we went to my dad’s funeral, there was this clue on a crossword that I didn’t know the answer to. The question was ‘six letters, a penguin gift’ – I looked it up and found out about this species of penguin who give pebbles to their companions. It’s part of their courtship.”
Opening my palm, I look at the shiny stone in my hand that is suddenly so much more thanjusta pebble.
“I found this one on our trip to the beach that day in Devon, and I kept it.” He shuffles closer. “I can’t give you a ring, can’t leave my mark on you –” Oliver playfully bites my neck, “– but I can give you this pebble.” He shakes his head. “Fuck, that was cheesy.”
I launch myself at him, smacking my lips to his as he falls backwards, knocking the bottle of wine over as he does. The clouds choose that moment to break, heavy drops raining down on us.
“So fucking cheesy, puppy. But I love cheesy. And I love you.” Oliver’s smile is so wide it reaches his eyes. Deep brown eyes that sparkle with a mix of love and affection. Wrapping his arms around me, he rolls us until he’s hovering over me and I’m resting on my elbows, our faces a breath apart.
“Love you, angel.”
Thunder rolls in the distance again and I tip my head back, closing my eyes and soaking in the cool drops on my skin. Oliver licks the water off my cheek, dashing a line of chaste kisses all the way to my lips.
“Should we go inside?” he asks, his mouth moving against mine, his breath warm on my cooling skin.
“Not yet. Stay with me in the storm.”
“Always.” Oliver kisses me again, his hands moving beneath my now drenched clothing. His kisses grow heated, trailing from my lips to my neck. Then he’s undoing my coat and the shirt beneath before his teeth graze my collarbone.
“Fuck, I love every part of you, but especially this part right here.” He licks into the dip above the bone, then nibbles the hard edges. I didn’t bring any of my lace bralettes this weekend, but I have on a white crop top which rapidly soaks up the falling rain, my pebbled nipple pressing against the fabric. Oliver sucks the bud into his mouth through the fabric, making me groan. The sky rumbles and a shiver runs through me. Whether from the cold or from the river of lust vibrating in my blood, I don’t know. Perhaps a combination of both. Either way, I don’t move, content to lie in the pouring rain while Oliver toys with my body.
He has my shirt completely undone, hanging open, and he’s lapping at my skin with wanton abandon, his hand at the waistband of my jeans. Lightning cracks above us, the sky which is dark with clouds flashes in hues of yellow and gold. I was right about what I said about storms being captivating – it’s hard not to be impressed by the sheer power and beauty of them. Looking at Oliver, those same words could describe him. My very own storm. Not destructive, but strong. Intense. Stunning.
“Love.” I rest a hand on Oliver’s and he looks up at me. His hair is drenched, hanging loosely around his face, and his eyes are dark like the sea shadowed by cloud. He looks wrecked in the best possible way. “Time to go inside.” He blinks a few times, then looks down at my state of undress. His cheeks turn a rosy pink and he looks around the thankfully deserted beach. “I would definitely let you fuck me in public, but pretty sure we’d be arrested if we did it right here.”
Oliver sits up, and there’s an obvious bulge tenting his soaking wet joggers.
“You would?”
I nod. “Sure. At the right place and time.”
He rolls to his feet, then holds out a hand for me. When he pulls me up, I fall into his arms and he growls in my ear. “Bloody hell, you’re dangerous. You have no idea what you do to me.” I stroke a hand over his erection.
“Mmm, pretty sure I do.”
We bundle up the few items we had with us, and hurry into the house, depositing everything onto the kitchen counter. The blanket is barely out of my hands when Oliver pushes me against the wall, lips against damp skin as he strips me naked. Getting wet jeans off over my feet is not easy, but he manages, ripping my underwear down at the same time, while I remove the splint from my wrist.
His lips on mine, Oliver lifts me, walking backward toward the bathroom. He puts me down only long enough to strip off his clothes and turn the shower to warm, then he’s lifting me again, stepping beneath the spray and pressing my back to the tiled wall. I tense at the cold before he heats me with a scorching kiss.
“I need you,” he rasps. “I’ll never get enough.”
