Page 57 of See You Maybe

“Right.”

They could both cling to that, however unlikely it was.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

New York—Present Day

Olivia shifted, trying to force her favorite weighted blanket off. It was too hot. The blanket moved again, and scent enveloped her, even as crisp arm hair rasped against the bare skin of her belly.

She knew before she opened her eyes who it was, but what she couldn’t figure out was how it had happened. Cracking her eyes open an inch, she saw Declan’s face, slack with sleep on the pillow beside her.

Olivia held still, the surrealness of the situation hitting her. Without moving her head, she saw by the early dawn light coming through the crack in the curtains that she was in her hotel room.

How had she gotten back here? Olivia scanned her memories for some explanation. There was the gala, eating dinner, Courtney accusing her of hitting on Chris… but then everything else was a blur.

There were only flashes of scenes in her brain. Hazy faces, dark quiet shifting to noise, the cold porcelain of the bathroom floor under her knees, someone stroking her hair…

Somehow, she was back in her hotel room, and Declan was in bed with her. His heavy arm was thrown across her bare stomach and a leg was thrown over hers.

Oh my god!

Fabric pulled across her chest when she tried to move away, and she realized she was wearing an oversized T-shirt. The only skin exposed was where the fabric had been pushed up. Even though her brain was trying to tell her something was very, very wrong with this situation, her body didn’t seem to care.

Her hormones had fixated on his massive, bare chest half-draped over her and the large hand resting next to her face. Declan was even bigger than he had been as a younger man. Her eyes greedily traced the ridges of definition on his chest and the outline of the heavy muscles in his arm. Heat pooled in her belly, and she fought the urge to turn further into the embrace.

What is wrong with you? He’s an arrogant ass who didn’t even remember you. Did we have sex?

No. She remembered how it felt after Declan had been inside her.

A shot of lust between her legs made her want to curse.

Really, Olivia?

Her head ached as she tried to force the memories back. Olivia studied Declan, noting the differences from the last time she’d been this close to him. Her fingers tingled with the desire to trace his strong cheekbones, the slight scar near his temple. His nose was different. Slightly flattened across the top, like he’d broken it since she’d last kissed him.

The heavy, dark stubble covering his jaw was the same, and a memory of how Declan would wake her with the delicious scratch of his beard against her inner thighs rolled over her, making the insistant needy pulse between her legs turn into a sharp ache.

She was being ridiculous. She’d pined after this man for more than a decade, while he had completely forgotten.

And yet, with his face relaxed in sleep… the thick fringe of lashes hiding those mesmerizing eyes… This was the Declan she knew. Not the angry, cold man she’d encountered recently.

The hand by her head came down, skimming lightly over her breasts before coming to rest on the curve of her waist. Olivia could feel him thickening against her, and when he flexed his hips into her, a cascade of heat flooded her body.

Olivia bit her lip to stifle her response. Declan’s lips twitched, quirking up slightly in his sleep.

He was waking up.

This was going to be beyond awkward. Were they destined to only connect when she was drunk?

She should probably slip out of the bed, put some clothes on, reinforce the distance between them. Maybe she should leave the room.

But before her limbs could obey her brain, his face inched closer on the pillow, and his nose nuzzled into the hair by her ear, and she heard him whisper, “Petal,” before his firm lips closed over her earlobe and tugged.

Olivia melted.

The hand on her waist pulled her closer, rolling her until she cradled his erection, and he pressed hard against where she throbbed. His hips began to move in a slow steady rhythm, sending pleasure spiraling through her body.

She should put a stop to this now. Figure out what happened last night. But desire turned out to be more powerful than her rational brain.