Page 71 of The Time It Takes
I poured it over his wound, and he hissed through his teeth. I pressed my lips together, suppressing the urge to grin. I waited for the bubbles to simmer down before pouring more. I could feel him staring at the side of my face and I had to force myself to be still.
“Why doesn’t it bother you?”
“I can’t control what people think about me. I know who I am and that’s all that matters.”
The corner of his mouth tilted upward. “Your control is unmatched.”
I chuckled lightly. “I wouldn’t say that. I did slap the guy in the face.”
Oliver laughed. “Nice one, by the way.”
“Stop saving me, Ollie.” The words that needed to be spoken slipped through like the wind did a cracked window. “I’m not yours to save."
He remained silent as I dried his hand with a towel before wrapping it with gauze.
“You do know what he was insinuating right?” he asked me cautiously.
I nodded, rummaging through the rest of the supplies in the first aid kit. I didn’t even know what I was looking for.
“So, you know why I had to do it then.”
I nodded again because I did. Tucker was implying that Ollie and I were sleeping together—or at least something along that line. Phoebe must have told him that I wandered away with Oliver the night of the bonfire. He probably saw how close we always were and after Phoebe told him whatever she did, it caused him to react this way.
So much for trying to see the good in him.
Phoebe was my friend and I wanted to trust that her intentions were pure. I wanted to assume that he let his thoughts roam and allowed his anger to boil over on his own.
I reached up to examine the cut on Oliver’s forehead, but he caught my wrist. Awareness ignited inside of me at his light but firm grip.
“You know I’d remember it if we so much as kissed, right?” His eyes dropped to my mouth, and I thought my knees might give out. “Unless I’ve lost my mind and somehow missed it.”
I was certain I’d forgotten how to breathe. It took a lot of effort to remember.
His gaze faltered some as his eyes bored into mine when he asked, “Have you two…”
“I—I haven’t.” I cleared my throat, shaking my head. “I’ve never done anything before…with anyone.” I would have been ashamed of the fact if I was discussing this with anyone else, but I wasn’t—it was Oliver.
His grip on my wrist loosened as his face changed from surprise to something keen on delight before he remembered himself.
“Good,” he said, his voice arriving raspy.
“Good?” I asked, going to pull my hand from his grasp, but he wouldn’t let me go. “I need to clean up that cut,” I told him with a raised brow that I hoped revealed nothing about how he was making my insides feel all twisted up.
He studied me for a moment before releasing me with a dip of his chin. I nudged his legs open with my knee so that I could wedge myself between them to tend to the wound. I’d be lying if I said it was necessary.
He placed his hands on the back of my thighs, causing my knees to buckle slightly. I knew he felt it because the corner of his mouth lifted.
I wished that I had left my body suit on instead of discarding it on the porch because this innocent—yet not innocent touch was doing anything but keeping my sinful thoughts of him at bay.
I was dabbing a wet cloth over the cut when I realized just how close we were to one another. I could feel his breath caress my chest and I had to fight off a shudder. His fingers started to trace lazy circles on my skin, and I nearly collapsed into his arms. It didn’t help when he started to walk his fingers up my leg.
The tension in the air turned palpable. My breaths came faster and if I wasn’t distracted by trying to calm myself, I’d say his chest was moving just as fast.
Those hands made up of all the stars in the galaxy stopped at my hip. I froze as he ran his fingers across the string that kept my bathing suit bottoms from falling.
I sucked in a breath as he pulled me closer to him. I could feel the warmth of his skin against my torso.
Oh God, was this really happening?
