Page 108 of Love on the Byline

Pleasure pooled at her center, threatening to spiral outbeyond the point of no return.

She wanted him. Wanted him inside her, and thatthought alone was enough to force her back.

She sat up and stared down into his wide eyes.

His grip on her was tight. It loosened as they both cameback to themselves.

“Christ.” He chuckled, running a hand over his face. “Once,my ass. It felt like we’ve been building up to that for years.”

She smoothed her hands down his chest before letting themdrop to her sides. Blake pointedly did not look at the bulge restingnext to her inner thigh, nor the wet spot that had formed there, though it madeher mouth water.

Her nipples were stiff and aching, poking at theinfuriatingly soft fabric of his shirt, and she watched Ollie fight to averthis gaze from them.

His hands twitched on her waist, and his thighs were rockhard under her ass.

It felt as if they were standing on a precipice. Neitherwere prepared to leap, but they weren’t ready to step back either.

Lifting her leg, Blake eased herself back to the sofa,settling against the arm. She stretched her legs along the cushion, surprisedwhen Ollie stretched out alongside her.

He wrapped an arm around her legs and laid his head on herthigh, sighing contentedly.

“Comfy?”

“Hmmm, almost.” He reached underneath himself and groaned.

It took a moment for her to realize his problem. A laughbubbled up from her throat. “Oops.”

“Yeah, oops.” He laughed softly.

Without thinking, she lifted a hand to his hair, her fingerssifting through the strands the way she had wanted to do years ago. It was asthick and soft as she’d always imagined.

“It’s almost impossible to resist you,” he murmured againsther leg. “And now that I know what your mouth tastes like, how it feels...”

“I know,” she agreed.

“But it’s worth it.” He shifted and met her gaze. “You’reworth the wait.”

So was he, but it wouldn’t be long. She could resist thelook in his eyes and the way he licked his lips, as if he could still tasteher.

They had waited years. What was a few more days?

24

Blake awoke with a mild headache. A triumph, considering theday and night she’d had. She was thirsty and levered herself into a sittingposition, intending to go grab some water, when she spotted a bottle on thenightstand along with some ibuprofen.

Ollie, she thought and smiled.

After a quick trip to the en suite to pee and brushher teeth, she downed a couple of tablets and half a bottle of spring water.Then pulled out her laptop, relieved when it booted right up. It had beengiving her fits, lately.

It was early, and she doubted anyone else was awake. Herthoughts swirled around the events of the last twenty-four hours, and she wokeup thinking of everything Ollie had told her about Bran’s relationship to Valand her history with Sam.

It was a lot. A quick web search had revealed the salaciousdetails surrounding Sam and Val’s very public courtship, as well as a frighteningaccount of Sam’s ex-wife and everything she put him through.

She had to be honest with herself. After Ollie had divulgedthe origin of Val’s marriage to Sam, her opinion of Val had dimmed a little.Reading through article after article about how it really happened, she heldVal in a new, somewhat shinier light.

It also drove home the point that Ollie had been makingduring dinner. Blake could see how the press, particularly Sonja and her ilk,would pounce on any hint of impropriety in the Saunders-Newman household. Shealso noted the disparity between the number of articles condemning Val for heralleged behavior compared to the ones about Sam, Most had painted him as avictim, trapped in a loveless marriage. Others portrayed Val as some kind of exoticseductress, using him to further her career. Blake couldn’t help but to rollher eyes. The more things changed, the more they stayed the same.

Linking Bran and Val romantically might make it appear as ifshe were hitching her wagon to a brighter, younger star. And for Bran, it wouldlook like he was using her status and position to bring legitimacy to a careerthat had, to date, been predominantly mindless action films.

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