Page 90 of Time To Live Again

Once I’m stable and detached from my instructor, everyone crowds around, saying how incredible it was. Especially Sully, which shocks me. Tonya says she wants to do it again. I always knew she had a wild side.

“Here comes Olive,” Andy says. Everyone turns around to watch her land.

With an unspoken agreement, the group stays back as I hurry toward her. The distance between us feels like miles. This is the moment. When I finally reach her and swoop her into my arms, I proclaim, “I love you.”

40

OLIVE

When I land, I can’t get my parachute off fast enough. That was the most exhilarating experience of my life. As I glided through the open sky, every negative thought and memory vanished from my body and mind. I feel liberated and excited about the new life that’s waiting for me.

Leo marches toward me and I meet him halfway. Before I can say anything, he grabs me in a hug and whispers in my ear, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” I say. “So much.”

My instructor taps me on the shoulder while we’re hugging, telling us we need to leave. I thank him for everything, and Leo urges me along.

“Are we done here yet? I really need you naked.” He doesn’t care who hears him.

“You read my mind, but I’m way ahead of you. The gang knows that we’re going straight to the hotel and won’t see them until tomorrow.” I feel bad leaving them, but they were cool about it when I explained everything to them. “Now tell me which hotel we’re staying in.”

* * *

I couldn’t tell you what the hotel lobby looked like or what our room number was. Leo and I had one mission, and that was to get to our room as fast as possible.

With our mouths sealed in a kiss, he kicks the door shut behind us. I pull his shirt out of his pants and lift it. He removes it and tosses it to the side, his hair wild from before. My shirt and bra are the next to go. The rest of our clothes are off seconds later.

This will be quick because I need him now. We can take it slow after. As if he can read my mind, he sweeps me up like he has the strength of the Hulk, and I wrap my legs around him, his arousal obvious. I trail open-mouthed kisses down one side of his neck and then up the other, sucking gently under his ear. He marches us through a set of doors to a massive bedroom with a ginormous bed.

He lays me carefully onto it and is on top of me an instant later. “I want to take my time, but I can’t wait,” he says, nuzzling my neck.

“I don’t want it slow.” With all my strength, I flip us until I’m on top.

His eyes turn dark with lust, making my entrance throb. Then his hands trace my bare skin from my back all the way down, gripping my ass as I grind against him. I quiver from his bold touch and adjust my position. Spurred on by desire, I slowly lower myself onto his length. We both moan from the sweetest relief after waiting a month for this.

“You’re so damn warm and tight. I’ve missed this. Missedyou,” he says, voice strained and rough.

I capture his mouth as I gyrate my hips. He grips my thighs, controlling the rhythm of our movements. Our breaths grow ragged and moaning fills the air around us. He sucks my nipple, triggering an orgasm that floods my body with intense pleasure, leaving me breathless. Leo flips us over and thrusts deeper until his body tenses and he releases a throaty cry.

We wrap our arms around each other and catch our breath. Neither of us speaks as we bask in the afterglow. I already knew we had a future, but after today, he’s the one I want to lie in bed with every day.

“I want to spend the rest of my life with you,” I whisper against his cheek. “I love you so much.”

He lifts his head, his face beaming. “Me too. You’re the love of my life. I thought my chance to be this happy and excited was long gone. Thank you for today…for everything.”

“I’d do anything for you.”

“Like move to Orcas Island?” he says, hope in his voice.

Without hesitation, I say, “Yes.”

His face lights up. “Seriously? I threw that out there, not expecting an answer.”

We wiggle our way under the covers, then face each other. “I’ve had a lot of time to think about us, about our future. Before I came to San Francisco, I went to LA. That’s where I rented the Audi.”

He lifts onto his forearm. “Wait a second. You went to LA and then drove here by yourself?”

“Sure did, and I loved every minute of it. It was therapeutic.”

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