Page 88

Ozzie’s voice made me jump, but at least I didn’t scream.

“Just tidying up.” I was on the couch crushing a box of white cheddar Cheez-Its. He took a seat, and I tilted the box in his direction so he could snag a few.

“Sorry about the cramped bed,” he said.

“I guess I’ve gotten used to sleeping alone.”

“I can sleep in Maple’s room or on the couch if you prefer.”

“Neither of which would be comfortable.”

“My comfort is secondary to yours. If Maple and you are straight, then that’s all that matters.”

His arm brushed against mine, casting goose pimples. I did my best to act normal, like his touch, no matter how slight, wasn’t spiral-inducing. Ozzie had a pattern of putting me first. I wasn’t so sure I deserved the deference.

“Is she still asleep?” I asked.

“You know once her eyes close that that girl is dead to the world. Her movie is playing on repeat in the background.”

We sat in silence, with me occasionally chucking a cracker into my mouth. My mind wandered back to our kiss. Ozzie and I were always good at picking up exactly where we left things, and that kiss had been no exception. I’d been a stubborn SOB by denying myself the pleasure of rubbing my tongue against his. This man had seen me in all manners of undone, but now for some reason I was shy.

Ozzie tilted his head closer, and all the oxygen seemed to vacate the space. His eyes solely focused on my lips. “Dial, I want you real bad right now.”

“There’s nothing stopping you from taking me.” My chest was heaving.

“Is that what you want? ’Cause you have to want it too.”

“It’s… all I ever wa—”

My words were cut off by his lips crushing into mine. His large, calloused hand caressed my cheek. I loved the sensation of his thick, rough palms against my skin. Shifting his claim to the back of my neck, he tapped his fingers against my spine. I often wondered if he knew he had a habit of clicking my vertebrae like they were the valves of a trumpet.

Lean in and let go, I told myself. Straddling his lap, I feathered my hand over the top of his head. Oz clutched my neck, deepening our kiss. I was like one of those centuries-old icebergs slowly melting, his touch thawing years of freeze. When you’d wished for something every single night, it was impossible to take your time. You wanted to be consumed by it before anyone could rip it away from you. Ozzie’s kisses were urgent, as if time wasn’t on our side. Cupping my neck, he pressed me closer, declaring open space forbidden.

When he removed my tank top, revealing my bare chest, he paused like he was deciding if he should continue fucking my mouth or give my breasts attention. He settled on my left breast, circling his tongue around my nipple before sucking it into his mouth. Soft moans filled the room as he teased my nipple before trailing kisses across my chest until he landed on my right breast, giving it the same focused attention.

I fisted the cushions as his hands coasted along my spine. He tapped my thigh, then pulled me off his lap. Oz dropped to the floor and tipped his head back against the couch edge, eyes already dark with lust.

Licking his lips, he said, “Hop on top, darling.”

I stepped out of my bottoms and straddled his face. The second I sank down, Ozzie groaned against my skin, his tongue spearing through my folds, straight into the slick heat waiting for him. He worked in sloppy, greedy circles until I was begging without even meaning to.

Ozzie hooked my legs over his shoulders as he continued to sample me. His tongue eagerly dipped in and out. “I love the way you taste.” He nipped at my inner thigh. “I’ve missed you so much.” His profound moans of enjoyment as he tasted my juices would be my undoing.

Clutching the tight coils at his crown, I guided his movement. “I can’t get enough of the way your tongue feels on me.”

He sealed his mouth around my clit, sucking hard, and my vision blew out into white-hot stars. My breath hitched and my belly grew warm as an orgasm washed over me, and I muffled my scream, covering my mouth to stifle the sound.

Ozzie released my clit and reached for my hand. “I wanna hear you. Don’t you dare deny me that.” When he latched back on to my clit, I did as I was told, hollering into part two of a rush of pleasure.

He released me, and I noticed the delighted twinkle in his eyes and the curve of his slick lips. “More?” he asked.

“Yes… please,” I practically purred.

Ozzie undressed, slow and deliberate. He wanted me to watch every second of it. I drank him in with hungry eyes: the broad shoulders, the trail of hair leading down, the hard length already waiting for me. He sat back on the couch, stroking his erect shaft, beckoning me over with a tilt of his chin. A series of gasps tore out of me as I sank into him, inch by inch. Warmth bloomed in my chest as his lips latched on to mine. The scent of his Irish Spring-clean skin held me captive. Ozzie trailed kisses down my shoulder, each one soft and worshipful. He gripped my ass, guiding me up and down his length. I dragged my nails against the hard flesh of his thighs, using them as leverage to aid my bounce.

The room was filled with the primal grunts and moans of our shared pleasure. We’d gotten so much wrong in the past few years, but sex with Ozzie always felt right, our bodies rocking to an unheard but familiar tempo as natural as breathing air. Ozzie was mine—it was written in the stars. I’d denied it, rebuked it even, but you could only run away from destiny for so long.

My head came to rest in the crook of his neck, my breathing sharp and raspy. Why had I been so intent on denying myself pleasure? Right now, he was hitting every button that sparked joy. The base of my stomach was fizzy like a shaken bottle of Coke ready to burst. His strokes left me whimpering as he filled me up.