Page 64 of Love on the Vine
What I was incapable of, apparently, was going five minutes without touching Olivia. I couldn’t think about anything else. All I wanted was her soft skin under my fingers, her taste on my tongue, and her legs wrapped around me as I fucked her hard and fast or slow and deep. I’d take it any way and anywhere I could get it.
And I did. I don’t think there was any inch of her I’d yet to explore. And I still couldn’t get enough.
Maybe it was the past year of unintentional celibacy that made me so ravenous, but I’d gone through dry spells before—many of them—and it had never been like this before once I’d gotten together with a woman.
Then again, I’d never felt the same connection with any of them. Or the same sort of, well, tenderness—I suppose that was the word for it. This need I had to reach for her in the night or to curl my body around hers when I woke in the morning. I’d never been especially affectionate, but I could spend hours just holding her. It felt as natural as breathing.
I was enjoying being in the moment for once, not thinking about the future. I’d blocked out the part of my brain that had been feeding me objections. I didn’t want to think about any ofit. When the time came for her to leave, I’d get back to real life. I just had to get her out of my system before then.
“Will that be all, monsieur?” Themaraicher’svoice cut through my thoughts. I glanced down at the food in my basket—or rather Olivia’s basket. I so rarely went to the market that I didn’t even own one.
“Yes, I’ll take some olives.” While I hesitated over which ones to choose, he filled a bag with fat green olives bathed in oil with peeled almonds and spices. “Votre femme préfère celles-ci.”
I started when he casually referred to Olivia as my wife. But this time, I didn’t correct him.
Back home, I laid the basket on the kitchen table then took the stairs two at a time back to the bedroom where I was sure Olivia would still be sleeping. I’d kept her up late, watching an old movie after dinner followed by a reenactment of the dirty scenes that I thought should have been in the movie.
Olivia wasn’t in bed though. I heard the shower running and her slightly off-key singing from behind the bathroom door and was overcome by the urgent need to join her. Kicking off my shoes, I left my clothes in a trail to the bathroom. When I opened the door and stood there, mesmerized by the outline of her naked body behind the glass, the mist creating a soft-focus effect on all her gentle curves. I fixed the image in my mind, tucking it away for later.
I pulled the shower door back and she jumped, crossing her arms over herself. “Oh, it’s you.”
“Expecting someone else?” I laughed as her naked body met mine, the warm water slicking between us. She ran her hands over my chest as I leaned down to taste her lips. When I broke away, she stared up at me through the thick fan of her eyelashes, her irises a deep sapphire blue. Like a mood ring, they changed color depending on the light and the way she was feeling.
“Where were you? When I woke up you were gone,” she asked. I hated the note of anxiety in her voice like she was always unsure if I was going to stick around or not. Given my earlier treatment of her, though, it was understandable.
“Market. Got the ingredients for your recipe.” When we weren’t in bed, we were eating. Apparently, all the sex we were having had inspired her in other creative ways because her recipe notebook was overflowing. I’d wanted to encourage her by contributing in my small way to her culinary experiments.
“You did my shopping?” She bit her lip and glided her hand over my abdomen. “I don’t think a man has ever gone shopping for me. That’s hot. How can I ever thank you?”
She pressed her lips to my chest as her slim fingers roamed over my hips, and my cock surged to life between us. She smiled up at me coyly. “Looks like someone has an idea.”
Taking me in one hand, she went down to her knees, and licked me from base to tip. When the tip of my cock slipped past her pillowy lips, I groaned and ran my hand over her wet hair.
“I’d have gone shopping for you earlier if I knew this was how you’d thank me.” I breathed, trying not to let the heat of her mouth, her tongue swirling over me, make me lose control.
The truth was, I’d do just about anything she asked of me. Even if she didn’t ask, I tried to anticipate what she needed because that was about all I was interested in doing these days—making her happy.
“Wait, I’m about a minute from coming in your mouth,” I managed.
She stopped and released me with a popping sound that almost undid me. “That’s the idea.”
“No, I want to be inside you.” I dragged her up my body then flipped her around against the tiles. I held her hands high over her body as I ran my other hand over her wet flesh, squeezing her breasts, feathering over her sides where she was particularlysensitive, before slipping a finger inside her. I stroked her, playing her like an instrument, until she was making those sweet, soft whimpers I loved.
Reaching for the condoms that I’d already placed on the soap rack, I buried my lips on the pulse of her neck. “I can’t believe I have to keep condoms in my shower now.”
She laughed, turning around as I tore open the wrapper, unrolling the condom on me. A second later my shaft was buried deep inside her. I drove her higher, harder as she wrapped her legs around me, our bodies moving together. It didn’t take long before she was crying out and tensing around me. She was so fucking sensitive. I could always make her come more than once. And I always wanted more. But I wasn’t going to last. I drove into her one last time, pinning her against the wall as my own orgasm ripped through me.
I laid my forehead against her collarbone, trying to catch my breath. I wasn’t breathless from exertion—I could have easily kept going. I was just caught off guard again by this flood of feeling that came over me when I was inside her. It left me weak and dazed each and every time. It was a complete mindfuck that I’d never experienced before, and I wasn’t sure that I liked it. Eventually, I released her, turned off the water, and handed her a towel.
“What do you want to do today?” I asked, wrapping a towel around my waist and walking back into the bedroom so that the sight of her rubbing lotion into her skin wouldn’t make me hard again.
“Don’t you have work to do? I thought you had a call with Jin this afternoon,” she said.
“No, I gave him the rest of the summer off.” I sat on the edge of the bed, admiring her naked backside. “He deserves it after saving the Shangri-La contracts.”
“Wow,” she laughed. “He must be thrilled. He told me you haven’t taken a break in a year.”
Had it really been that long? The past year had blended into one long, repetitive experience like the movieGroundhog Daywith only the setting changing occasionally. The only moments that stood out to me were getting the call that my dad had died, running into Ben at the gas station, and meeting Olivia at Christmas. The rest was just more of the same bland routine. No wonder I’d lost my taste for life.
