Page 49 of A Perfect World
I froze with my back to her. “Only because it benefitted you.”
The chair honked on the tile followed by a stunned inhale like I’d slapped her. I ducked into my room and slammed the door. Buddy’s collar jingled, his head popping up behind the man wrapped in my blanket.
Ollie slowly rolled onto his back, the blanket falling to reveal his bare chest. My eyes glided over his tattoos, pausing on the one of Hades and Thanatos.
“I can go,” he murmured.
I shook my head, crawling into bed and sitting against the wall. He sat up too, stretching his long arms overhead. It was next to impossible to spend night after night together and not devour every inch of him. Thankfully, color had returned to his skin and clarity to his eyes.
He stole the bag, tearing into it. “I haven’t been this hungry in fucking ages,” he muttered and dug into a chicken sandwich. Buddy pawed at my arm- I absentmindedly fed him a nugget. “If Hannah says anything else insulting to you, I’ll show her what a real nightmare I can be,” Ollie said around a mouthful of food. I raised a brow and popped a fry in my mouth.
“Let’s not.”
He groaned. “But why? It’d be so fun to watch her freak the fuck out.”
I snorted. “You’re sick.”
“It’s why you like me,” he teased. I chucked a fry at him-
It froze midair. He plucked it out, winking.
“So not fair,” I laughed and fed Buddy another piece of chicken. We continued eating in comfortable silence until the bag was empty and our stomachs were exploding. I snuggled into him as he laid down with Buddy balled up behind my knees, instantly snoring.
“I don’t want to go home for winter break,” I whispered. His fingers paused their idle strokes down my back.
“Do you have to?” he asked. I’d do anything not to suffer through a miserable month with mom, working at the dance studio to escape. His palm flattened on my back, pushing me into his side as he whispered into my hair. “Stay here with me.”
My heart sputtered at the insinuation.Defy her. Stay with him in our own little world.
“What if she freaks?”
I felt his lips curl into a smile on my forehead.
“I can handle your mother.”
I shouldn’t have shivered in delight at the idea of him obliterating her mind. Or making her scream. Or inflicting on her the continuous pain that she imposed on me. But I did.
I kissed his chest, skin so warm and smooth over the hard lines of muscle. A soft moan slipped from him. I lifted my head, catching the flutter of his eyelids. “All I wanna do is roll you under me and fuck you long and slow,” he murmured as his hand travelled down to my ass and gripped my cheek. Wound like a spring, I arched into his side, hooking my leg over his thigh. I traced his lower lip with my finger.
“So why don’t you?”
“Because like a dumbass I just ate a shit-ton of food and now I can’t move,” he grimaced.
I giggled, making him smile and soon enough we were cramping in laughter. Hannah slammed her door to make a statement, killing fuzzy hilarity. Ollie caught my face.
“Ignore her,” he pleaded. I sighed and picked at my nail. He snatched my hand and brought it to his lips to place tiny kisses on each finger. “I need your laugh like I need air. You're allowed to laugh because I say so.”
I bit back a smile. “So bossy,” I murmured, surrendering to his taste, the intoxicating stroke of his tongue with mine, and the soft pressure of his lips. He drew me over him, his hands settling on my hips as he broke our kiss to move to my neck.
My fingers tangled in his hair. “Someone’s feeling better.”
He smiled against my throat, biting gently. I gasped- he chuckled.
“A little,” he hummed and ground my hips down on his erection. A needy pulse begged me to rock against him again and again. “Can I ask something of you? You can say no,” he murmured.
I paused his drugging kisses to study him: chewing his lip, eyes darting anywhere but mine.Nervous.Was he finally going to ask to have sex? I'd been losing my mind, waiting for him to make the move when he felt well enough.
“Anything.”
