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He dips his head again, licking me thoroughly, and when I think I can’t handle anything more, he adds the pressure of his thumb to his tongue and pushes one finger inside me.

My body gives out.

I grab a fistful of his hair as I burst on his tongue and use his face to ride the wave of the orgasm shattering through me. My back arches, but he holds me in place, sucking every drop I give him, guiding me until my vision no longer blurs and my surroundings start to appear again.

Oliver softly kisses my navel before he straightens and bends over my spent body.

“Hey,” he whispers, brushing my sweaty bangs out of my face. “You okay?”

The adoration on his face melts something deeply unyielding in my chest. “Of course I am.” I bring his wrist to my lips and place a small kiss there. “I’m more than okay. You, on the other hand . . .” I rise up on my elbows, eyeing the erection tenting his pants.

He drops his gaze there too, palming himself. “I don’t mind. Don’t worry.”

“I want to.”

He lets go of his crotch and pulls me to him, my breasts pressing against his naked chest, and I moan at the burning feeling rising inside me again as I wrap my arms around his neck. He feels so thick between my thighs.

“Believe me, me too.” His hands glide along my sides, the rough pads of his fingers scraping my bare skin. “Especially when you make those little sounds. But we’ve had a very, very long day, and we’re both exhausted. We need to get some rest.”

He nibbles the soft place below my ear before he whispers, “Besides, I plan on taking the entire day tomorrow to learn everything about you—and have your mouth on every single inch of me.”

I tighten my hold on him, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing my face aflame. God, this sounds like something I can definitely get on board with. “Excellent plan.”

Oliver chuckles. “Come on, let’s get you to bed.”

I let him lift me up, my legs around his waist, and carry me to my bedroom entirely naked in his arms, as if there’s nothing more natural than allowing him to see every bit of me without filter, without makeup, without disguise. I bury my head in the hollow of his neck, breathing in the pine-and-musk scent that has become so familiar, and let my hands explore the sturdiness of his shoulders and his back.

“Tomorrow, Charlee,” Oliver grunts, his bulge still heavy between my legs.

“Sorry,” I say, hiding my smile in his neck.

I’m not sorry at all.

He opens the door to the bedroom I stay in and sets me down on the bed before he unfolds the covers and motions for me to get under them. “Come on.”

I don’t know why, but I’m suddenly gripped by the overwhelming urge not to let him go. I’m afraid that I’ll wake up alone tomorrow and none of this will have happened, and I’d still be a woman without answers. A woman who wouldn’t know what to make of the man in front of her.

I can’t go back to that.

“Sleep with me tonight. In here.”

His brows crease. “What?”

“Don’t make me ask twice. Please, Oli. Just sleep, nothing more. I promise.”

“Are you sure?”

I see the surprise in his eyes. It’s as if spending the night next to each other crosses an even more intimate line than sex. And deep down, it does, especially to him. I’m not stupid. What we just did wasn’t just about releasing any sort of tension between us, and one of the reasons he didn’t want me to touch him is probably because he’s still assessing which way things will turn out, whether I’m actually going to stick around. If he can give me all of himself. Sex holds a lot of meaning for him, and I get that. He wants to protect himself, and that’s perfectly fine.

I know it, and he knows it, but neither of us says it.

“I’m sure,” I say and try to convey my certainty in my voice. “Please stay.”

He bends toward me and cups my face. “Of course I’ll stay if you want me to, sweetheart. Anything you want. Always.”

“You mean that?” I murmur, another kind of emotion rising in my chest, one I haven’t felt in so long I can’t even find a name for it.

“Every word.” He spies the goose bumps on my skin. “Come on, you’re gonna catch a cold. Under the covers. Now.”