Page 85 of Fly Back to Me
Anything but predictable.
Chapter 31
Olivia
The motorcycle tires slow along the patchy dirt, the rev of the engine dissipating as soon as we reach the center of the overlook. A radiant sky provides an awning above us, scattered stars just as abundant as they were that magical night.
Cade swivels in his seat, the leather of his coat scrunching against me as he slips my helmet off. The cool breeze touches my face, and I brush my bangs aside to look at the silhouette of the spreading tree.
The intricate lines of the branches are less visible with the growing season, but the view still triggers the same spark. Last time, that spark was just a glowing particle against the air. Fated to blow away with the mildest whisper of temptation.
I settle my hand in Cade’s to swing my leg over, my boots landing on the sparse gravel with ease. Frayed peaks of trees form a fence around us as I walk along the ground, serenity empaling my veins with the smell of fresh oak.
A rough palm skims my hand from behind. “Come on.”
When I peek over my shoulder, my breath falters as Cade leads us to the spreading tree. Adrenaline rises from my chest to my throat, until our legs halt in front of the thick trunk.
He slips his fingers from mine to remove his jacket, laying it down at the fat roots of the tree. He lowers to sit with his back flush against the bark, knees bending around the leather he just fanned out.
His gaze flicks up as he offers his hand, a pair of dusty-blue eyes carving from the darkness. Then I accept, stepping and turning to sink between Cade’s spread legs.
I snuggle into his solid torso, heat singeing my back just as the chill of the leather greets my butt. “This is so beautiful. I can’t get over it.” I speak just above a whisper, eyes clinging to the panoramic view.
Goosebumps lift on my skin when his stubbled lips tickle my ear. “I thought I was going to kiss you the last time we were here.”
“I wish you would have.” I swallow thickly, his woody scent embracing me just as his strong arms do. “But I know why you didn’t.”
My palms find his knees, gently kneading the denim there, and then he sheathes my hands with his. “I guess some would say I’m loyal to a fault.”
I press my back into his chest, angling my chin up on an intake of breath. “Loyalty isn’t a fault at all. It makes you the amazing man you are,” I whisper.
His right palm lands on my stomach, and a primal heat seeps through the fabric of my dress. A bated breath erupts from my lungs, the lick of the metal around his middle finger kindling that familiar spark.
“I’m sorry that you were the one to get hurt in your last relationship. I really am.”
I mean it.
I’m not sorry that he can’t be with her. He deserves better than how she treated him. But I am sorry his perfect heart had to break in the process.
I peel my right hand off his knee, connecting my fingertips to his stainless-steel ring.
“It takes two to tango,” he admits.
My head timidly shakes, eyes hooking on the starlit canopy above. “I’ll never understand how she couldn’t see everything that was right in front of her.”
The pads of my fingers press into the contours of the ring, and then his left palm frames my cheek. He turns my head until our lips meet over my shoulder, his thumb brushing the skin between my long bangs and hoop earring.
I trail my eyes up, only to steadily close them when his lips melt to mine. He massages my lower lip before gifting the upper one the same attention, his light stubble leaving embers on every spot he scorches.
His silky tongue dips inside my mouth, each lap more eager as he tightens his hold. We’re a fusion of smothered breaths and moans, our tongues crashing with bliss.
I whimper as he hooks each coarse palm inside both my thighs. He begins to pry them apart, but I double over and squeeze them shut. We’re breathily chuckling when his lips land on the hair above my ear, his large hands cupping the backs of my thighs now.
“What? Did our first encounter strike me out forever?” he teasingly purrs, lifting my legs so my knees are at my chest.
Our first encounter.
I bite my lip as I shake my head.
