Just to Have You (Blackwood & Friends #3)

Chapter Twenty-Four

"You have a look about you this morning, Griff," he remarked smoothly as he braced his hands on either side of her head, the bark of the tree coarse and abrasive against his palms. "A look of no good."

The corners of her lips curled. "Me? Never."

He dipped his head slightly, bringing their foreheads together. They were splendidly alone, save for the few errant birds singing in the branches above their head and the sound of the stream trickling nearby, and with the events soon to transpire over the next few days he knew these moments would be few and far between. Oliver knew he was patient, especially when it came to her, but if she was about to initiate something lascivious, he would never deny it. And he was enjoying this side of her, carefree and flirtatious, as much as he adored everything else about her.

"Indeed, no," Oliver agreed on a soft murmur. "Having trouble abiding by your contractual stipulations, Griff?"

Her eyes flashed and she gnawed on her bottom lip, while her fingers shifted over his sides, dipping into the small of his back. "You certainly do not make it easy," she admitted slyly. "Are you?"

"I am finding it remarkably pleasant to court you."

Her lashes lowered and her gaze dipped between their bodies, drawn to his erection ridged eloquently against the fabric of his trousers. A little excited breath left her and he felt it against his lips, encouraging him to brush them lightly against hers.

"Clearly," Amy said slyly, raising her eyes once more to his. Her smile was sultry, causing his heart to stir, and then she moved one hand and pressed it boldly against him.

He groaned, unable to prevent the way his hips rocked into her brazen caress. "You are determined to end me," he muttered, catching her lips again. This time he kissed her roughly, letting her know just how wildly he desired her, pushing her wide and capturing her tongue with his. Her response was enthusiastic, a soft moan meeting his ears, and his cock grew harder against her insistent caress.

Lord, he wanted her. He burned for her, and Oliver could not conceive of ever wanting a woman with as much ardency before. The sounds she made, the responses of her body to his touch, the taste of her, drove him mad, enchanted him.

Suddenly, her fingers were busied with the buttons of his trousers, working through the placards of the front flap before the line down the front. His stomach clenched with need and he caught her hand, tearing his mouth away from hers. "Griff," Oliver rasped, "my control is a brittle thing as is. Perhaps that is not a wise idea."

She glanced up at him, her cheeks flushed but her eyes were wide and inquisitive. "Do you not desire my touch?" she asked him and he briefly admired her boldness, kissing the tip of her nose with a low chuckle.

"I desire it very much. However, if I am to remain a sane man for the next nineteen days, you may wish to refrain."

Understanding and amusement dawned on her countenance, followed by the swift return of that sultry confidence. Desire flashed in her eyes before she wriggled her hand from his and slid her fingers down the front of his trousers, curling them around the base of his shaft with testing gentleness. He seethed in a breath, the muscles in his abdomen flexing in response.

"Do you trust me, Ben?" she asked seductively as she carefully extracted him from his confines.

"With everything that I am." He glanced down and the sight of her fingers wrapped around his turgid cock made his breath stutter from his lips and he dropped his forehead to hers, his arms straining where they supported his weight against the trunk of the oak tree on either side of her head.

She relaxed her grip, her fingers teasingly and ever so softly exploring his length by trailing her fingertips up and down his length. "You have shown me your appreciation time and time again over the past few days," she told him firmly, "allow me the same honour."