Page 86 of Puck Your Charity

Victor grunts, pushing himself up to a sitting position. He takes my hand, letting me help him stand. His towering frame dwarfs mine, but he leans a fraction of his weight against my shoulder. We navigate the short distance across the plush carpet.

"I appreciate this, Olive." He wraps his broad arm around my waist as we walk toward the bathroom.

"I've got you." I press a soft kiss to his bicep. "Just let me take care of you today."

The late evening shadows stretch across the bedroom. The soft glow of the bedside lamp offers the sole light in the quiet room.

Day four of the injection cycle hit Victor like a freight train. The bone aches spread from his shoulders all the way down to his toes. He spent most of the afternoon trying to sleep off the discomfort, but the relentless throb kept waking him up.

I walk into the bedroom carrying a small, dark glass bottle of massage oil.

Victor lies on his stomach on top of the covers. He wears nothing but a pair of black boxer briefs. His broad, muscular back looks tense. His icy blue eyes blink open when he hears my footsteps.

"The others still at the arena?" His voice sounds rough and tired.

"They ordered takeout and planned to stay late to watch film." I walk over to the edge of the mattress. "It's just you and me tonight. Roll over a bit. I want to work some of that tension out of your back."

Victor groans, shifting his weight. He rests his forehead against his folded arms, giving me access to his spine.

I climb onto the mattress. I straddle his muscular thighs, sinking my knees into the plush quilt on either side of his legs.

I uncap the bottle and pour a generous amount of oil into my palms. Rubbing my hands together warms the slick liquid before I press my palms against his skin.

He lets out a long, shuddering breath.

I start at his lower back. I use the heels of my hands to apply firm, steady pressure. I work my way up his spine, finding the tight knots of muscle clustered around his shoulder blades. The scent of his juniper wraps around me, smelling exhausted but grateful.

"You don't have to do this." His voice muffles against his arms. "I can just take some acetaminophen."

I push my thumbs deep into a stubborn knot near his neck. "I want to do this. You take care of the pack, and now the pack takes care of you. Just relax."

He goes quiet, letting me work the oil into his skin.

The silence in the room feels intimate and safe. We share a bond now. The hostility and the fear sit firm in the past. We survived the wreckage of our first impressions and built a foundation of absolute trust. I trace the hard lines of his back. My touch shifts from clinical to slow and devoted.

I map the curves of his muscles with my slick fingertips. Leaning forward, I press a soft, open-mouthed kiss between his shoulder blades.

Victor jolts. A low, vibrating rumble starts deep in his chest.

"Olive." The single word carries a warning and a plea.

"I've got you." I trail kisses up his spine, tasting the slick oil on his skin.

He rolls over.

The sudden movement catches me off guard. He grabs my hips and flips me onto my back, pinning me against the mattress. He hovers over me, supporting his weight on his forearms to keep from crushing my ribs.

His icy blue eyes burn with an intense, consuming fire. The exhaustion vanishes, replaced by raw, desperate hunger.

"You’ve taken the pain away." He drops his forehead against mine, his breath mingling with my own. "You make everything quiet."

"Then let me keep making it quiet." I reach up and tangle my fingers in his blond hair.

Victor captures my lips in a fierce, demanding kiss. His tongue sweeps into my mouth, tasting like mint and desperate need. I kiss him back with everything I possess. The friction sparks a hot, familiar throb between my thighs.

He breaks the kiss and trails his mouth down my neck. He finds the scar he left on my wrist and presses a lingering kiss to the mark. He moves up to my shoulder, his lips brushing over Lawrence's mark.

"I love you." The confession ghosts against my collarbone.