“I have this under control.”
I don’t. We both know it. I have a million reasons I shouldn’t go with him. I should head home, the office, my father’s house, or anywhere but to Myrtle Beach with Oliver.
“I hope so. I know how amazing Oliver is. We didn’t end things because he wasn’t a great guy or treated me poorly. I actually don’t know many people who are as good or as wonderful as that man. He let me go to give me the life I was too afraid to reach for, and I will always love and respect him for that. Not a day goes by where Sean and I don’t appreciate the gesture, and I really hate the idea that he might get hurt by this. He doesn’t deserve it.”
The last thing I want to do is hurt him.
“I would never hurt Oliver, not after everything he did for me.”
“Then I wish you luck.”
“For what?”
She grins. “For keeping yourself from falling in love with him.” She taps me on the nose and then leaves the room.
We pull up to the house in South Carolina after the five-hour drive from Willow Creek Valley. Our trip was great. We laughed and talked about the funny moments over the week, discussed how to handle things until we figure out the status of our fake marriage, and enjoyed the drive. I loved passing through the small towns and feeling lighter than I have since this whole thing started.
The house is beautiful and sits on the beach just outside Myrtle Beach. It has nine bedrooms, a private pool, and a jacuzzi. Obviously, it’s way more than we need, but it’s free, so I’m not going to complain.
“Should I carry you over the threshold?” Oliver asks.
“If you want me to beat you with your own arms.”
He laughs. “Let’s go in.”
I don’t know why I’ve been standing at this door as though something will change if I go inside. The easy air of friendship we’ve had has been great, but when we walk through those doors, it’s our honeymoon. It’s sex and nothing to distract me from Oliver. I won’t be able to hide behind friends and family.
“Maren?”
I turn, my back against the door. “I don’t want this to stop.”
“What?”
“The way we are now.”
“Okay . . .”
He’s looking at me like I’m crazy again, but I need to get this out.
“I need definitions.”
“For words or something else?”
I drop my gaze to my feet as nerves assault me. “No. For us. I know we said things this morning, but I don’t know . . . I need to know exactly what this is. What we are. What we feel. If I know that, then I can be prepared. I need that, Oliver.”
He blinks a few times. “All right. Once again, you stun me.”
“I’m good at that.”
“Clearly.”
I smile and let out a long sigh. “I told you that I like to know what’s coming whenever I can, that’s all.”
“I get it—kind of.”
I’m a headcase, but it’s necessary here. I have to keep my feelings in check, and for that to happen, there needs to be lines drawn. “Okay, maybe we don’t need a definition as much as we need boundaries. Parameters to work inside of. Like, we have sex once a day.”
“I don’t like that idea.”
“You don’t?”
“Hell no. I would like to carry you inside that house and already be halfway undressed with my hands all over you. So, no, I think sex once a day is a terrible rule.”
My heartbeat spikes because I want what he just offered, but I shake my head to come back to myself. “It can’t be a free-for-all.”
“Why not?”
Why not? Hmm, I don’t really have an answer for that. It just seemed sensible. “Because . . . we need to avoid getting caught up in it.”
Oliver steps forward, and I have nowhere to retreat. “Maren, we had some fantastic sex, and I have been fighting a raging hard on all day with you in the car. I want you in every way as many times as you’ll let me have you. If you want boundaries, we can find other ways, but I want you. I want you, and I am pretty sure you want me just as much.”
My throat goes dry, and I nod, unable to deny it. I want him, which is why I was hoping we could have the rules. “I do, but . . .”
His body presses against mine, and my hand grips the doorknob behind me. “But?”
I lift up a little, no longer caring much about rules or boundaries and very much caring about Oliver’s body touching mine. My fingers slide against the strands of his hair. “We can make the rules up later.” I pull his mouth to mine and kiss him deeply.
Oliver pushes the door open so we stumble inside. Then he shoves me against the wall, pulling my shirt over my head. Our mouths find each other again as the frantic need builds faster.
We kiss, only stopping to remove an item of clothing for the other.
His hand hooks under my leg, lifting it as he shoves my skirt up. “No underwear?” he asks as his mouth finds my neck.
“I told you, I don’t wear any.”
“I’m going to enjoy this.”
I very much think that’s true for the both of us.
Smiling, I pull his mouth back to mine as he slips his finger into me. I moan when his thumb grazes my clit.
Oliver pushes me higher, not playing or teasing. It’s frantic, hot, and I am desperate for him.
“Please,” I beg.
“I can’t . . .” he says, almost regretfully. “I can’t fucking wait.”
“Don’t wait.”
It doesn’t matter that we’re in the foyer, I need him so much. I want to lose myself in him—in us.
“Maren, I—”
I take his face in my hands, staring at him. “Take me, Oliver. Now.”
He lifts me a little and then slams into me. My head falls back against the wall as he sets an unrelenting pace. He fucks me so hard that, before I can grab ahold of any semblance of restraint, the orgasm hits.
I scream his name, clawing at his back as he pumps deeper.
As I’m coming down from my high, he lets out a deep groan and follows me over the edge. He shudders a second before his legs give out and we sink to the floor with him still inside me.
“That was . . .”
“Reckless,” I finish for him, feeling the stickiness between us.
He looks down, realizing the same thing that I just did. “Fuck! Shit! How the hell could I—”
“It’s okay. I have an IUD, so we don’t have to worry about that, and I’m clean. I get tested religiously.”
“I’m clean too.”
I sigh. “Good, then we have nothing to worry about.”
“Let’s get dressed and . . . see the house.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Once we’re cleaned up, we grab the bags we left by the door and go deeper into the house. The view from the living room is breathtaking. There are floor-to-ceiling windows that take up the entire back wall of the house, giving an almost uninterrupted view of the ocean.
“This is amazing,” Oliver says, standing beside me.
“I love this house. She had it redone about two years ago so it was more in line with current trends. Even before she did that, this place was special. There’s something so calming about the ocean. It’s probably why I love where I live now.”