Chapter 5 First time

“Marry me.”

The two words hung between them, heavy and impossible, like a vow spoken too soon and yet somehow exactly on time. Olivia felt them settle over her skin, warm and terrifying and utterly irresistible.

Her mouth opened, ready to protest, maybe even to laugh it off as some wild joke, desperate for an explanation that would make sense of this madness. But Herbert never gave her the chance.

He kissed her like a man who had spent years lost in a desert and had finally stumbled upon an oasis. His lips crashed against hers with a hunger that stole her breath, raw and consuming, yet underneath that fierce need ran a thread of something tender, almost sacred. One of his big hands cupped the back of her head so gently, shielding her from the hard headboard, while the other wrapped around her waist and dragged her body tight against his, as if he couldn’t bear even an inch of space between them anymore.

Olivia’s thoughts scattered like leaves in a storm. This was insane. This was happening way too fast. This was everything she hadn’t known she’d been craving for longer than she could admit.

Perfect. So heartbreakingly perfect.

A helpless little moan slipped from her throat as his tongue slid against hers, tasting her, teasing her, promising her things she wasn’t ready to name. Liquid heat bloomed low in her belly, washing away every careful reason she’d built around her heart. Her fingers found their way into his thick hair, tugging him closer, even as some distant, panicked part of her mind begged her to shove him away before she fell too far.

Herbert pulled back just enough to look at her—really look, his dark eyes searching every inch of her face. They were almost black with want, but behind the desire burned a question, vulnerable and aching.

“Tell me to stop,” he rasped, voice rough like he’d swallowed gravel. “One word, Olivia. Just say it, and I swear I’ll stop.”

His thumb traced her bottom lip, trembling the tiniest bit, and she realized in that moment how much it cost him to give her the choice, how desperately he wanted her to choose him anyway.

Her heart was pounding so hard she was sure the whole room could hear it. She should tell him no. She should demand to know what the hell he was thinking. She should protect herself before she shattered.

Instead, she surged up and kissed him again.

Something wild broke free inside Herbert then. A low, guttural growl rumbled from deep in his chest as he rolled her beneath him in one smooth, possessive motion, settling between her thighs like he’d been made to fit there. His mouth blazed a trail of fire down the column of her neck, teeth grazing her pulse just hard enough to make her gasp.

“Olivia,” he whispered against her skin, her name sounding like both a prayer and a curse on his lips. “God, you have no idea. No idea what you do to me.”

Buttons pinged across the sheets like tiny gunshots as he yanked her blouse open, too impatient to bother with finesse. Cool air kissed her flushed skin for only a second before his hot mouth followed, tracing a worshipful path between her breasts that left her arching off the bed.

Every place his lips touched felt like healing. Years of constant pain, the endless ache that had lived in his bones for so long, it all faded under the miracle of her skin against his. She was his salvation, his impossible cure, and he was already hopelessly, gloriously addicted.

His hands slipped beneath the waistband of her skirt, easing it down her hips with deliberate slowness now, like he was unwrapping the most precious gift he’d ever been given. Olivia’s breath caught as his calloused palm glided up the sensitive inside of her thigh, drawing shivery patterns that made her tremble from head to toe.

“Herbert…” His name left her lips as a breathless plea she hadn’t meant to voice.

He froze immediately, lifting his head to search her eyes. “Too much? Too fast?”

She shook her head, cheeks burning. “I’ve… I’ve never…”

The hunger in his gaze softened into something so tender it nearly broke her heart. He pressed the gentlest kiss to her forehead, then to each closed eyelid, then to the tip of her nose, mapping her face like he wanted to memorize every freckle, every curve.

“I’ll be gentle,” he vowed, voice steady and low, thick with emotion. “I’ll go as slow as you need. Just… talk to me, love. Tell me everything.”

She nodded, biting her lip, and the absolute trust shining in her eyes undid him completely.

After that, he took his sweet time.

Every kiss was worship, slow and deliberate, like he was trying to tell her with his mouth all the things he hadn’t found words for yet. Every caress was a question; every soft sigh she gave him, every arch of her back, was the most beautiful answer he’d ever received.

When he finally eased inside her, he watched her face like it was the only thing in the world that mattered, pausing at the slightest flicker of discomfort, moving only when she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him deeper, her nails scoring his shoulders in silent, desperate encouragement.

Pleasure built like a tide, slow and relentless and overwhelming. Olivia clung to him, whispering his name over and over like a secret she’d kept locked away for years and was finally free to confess. The chandelier above them dissolved into a thousand glittering stars as she came apart in his arms, and he followed her over the edge with her name on his lips like a benediction.

Afterward, they lay tangled together in the wreckage of the sheets, her head pillowed on his chest, listening to the wild thunder of his heartbeat gradually slow to match the steady rhythm of hers.

Herbert traced lazy, reverent circles along her bare back, pressing soft kisses to her temple every few seconds, as if he still couldn’t quite believe she was real.

“So,” he murmured at last, amusement and lingering wonder woven through his voice, “still planning to run away tomorrow?”

Olivia lifted her head, hair a glorious mess, lips swollen and curved into the laziest, most satisfied smile he’d ever seen.

“I haven’t made up my mind yet,” she teased, voice husky and playful. “You might need to work a little harder to convince me.”

His answering grin was pure, wicked promise.

“Give me five minutes,” he growled, already rolling her beneath him again.

She squeaked in delighted protest, and then his mouth was on hers, and the chandelier sparkled down on them like it was cheering them on.

Outside, the city kept rushing forward, oblivious.

Inside that room, time simply stopped, holding its breath, just for the two of them.