My jaw tightens. ‘I don’t know.’

‘Neither do I.’ His hips shift and he rams forward, spearing me to maximum. ‘Jesus!’

His shock invasion catches me by surprise but doesn’t make the full satisfaction any less gratifying. My internal muscles grab on to him with everything they have and I squirm to free my wrists from his iron hold. ‘Let me hold you.’

‘Shhh,’ he hushes me as he braces his torso up on his arms, keeping me locked beneath him. ‘We do it my way, Olivia.’

I moan my despair, throwing my head back and arching my back violently. ‘I hate you!’

‘No, you don’t,’ he retaliates surely, rearing back and hovering on the edge of my passage, teasing me. ‘You love me.’ He pushes forward a little. ‘You love what I can do to you.’ Forward a little more. ‘And you love how it feels.’

Bang!

‘Fuck!’ I scream, hopeless under his hold and helpless to his forceful attack. Not that I’d stop it. Not in a million years. I crave his power. ‘More,’ I gasp, relishing in the delicious ache he’s spiking.

‘It’s polite to look at someone when you’re speaking to them,’ he gasps, slowly pulling out.

‘When it suits you!’

‘Look at me!’

I throw my head up and my eyes open on an angry yell. ‘More!’

‘Hard and fast? Or soft and slow?’

I’m too desperate for soft and slow. I’m way past soft and slow, and I don’t even think Miller’s demand to savour it will assist. ‘Hard,’ I pant, lifting my hips sharply. ‘Really hard.’ I have no qualms, no fear or concern. I have his full devotion, his love and care, whether he fucks me or worships me.

‘Oh fucking hell, Livy.’ He pulls out, leaving me slightly confused and ready to object, but then I’m spun onto my hands and knees and my waist is grabbed harshly. I gulp, appreciating the depth that Miller can achieve from this position. Oh God, and hard, too? ‘Tell me you’re ready.’

I nod, pushing my backside into him, longing for that deepness. He doesn’t hang around. There’s no easing gently in. He crashes forward on an ear-piercing bellow, sending me into a dazed euphoria of toe-curling pleasure. I scream, my hands balling into fists on the carpet, my head thrown back in despair. He’s merciless, barking on each pound forward, his fingers clawing into the soft flesh of my hips. The carpet feels rough on my bare knees – Miller is being uncharacteristically rough with me, yet the slight discomfort and unforgiving power of his body hitting mine doesn’t deter me. It has me begging for more instead.

‘Harder,’ I mumble weakly, letting Miller take full control, the strength to meet his punishing blows failing me. All I can focus on is the pleasure consuming me, taking over every single part of me.

‘Christ, Olivia!’ His fingers flex and dig back into my flesh. ‘Am I hurting you?’

‘No!’ I blurt, suddenly worried he’ll ease up. ‘Harder!’

‘Oh, you fucking dream.’ His knees widen, pushing my legs farther apart, and his pace accelerates, our bodies clashing loudly. ‘I’m going to come, Olivia!’

My eyes close and all breath leaves my lungs as my mind empties, too. I’m in a dark, silent world, where my only purpose is basking in the attention that Miller delivers. There’s nothing else to steal my focus, nothing to distract me or ruin our precious time together. It’s just us – my body and his body doing incredible things.

The pleasure is rising. Each collide of his body with mine is pushing me towards utter rapture. I want to speak, tell him how he’s making me feel, yet I’m rendered mute, unable to utter a word, only whimpers of despair and pleasure. I feel the pinnacle of his climax looming. He’s expanding within me, and a mighty roar snaps me back into the room. My orgasm takes me by surprise, and I cry out as it rips through me like a tornado. Every muscle I own engages, except my neck, which leaves my head dropping limply between my arms. Miller’s sharp thrusts accelerate once more to carry him over the edge, and he yanks my stiff body onto him. ‘Arhhhhhhhhhhhhh!’ he bellows, and strikes with a force that’s only comprehensible if you’re on the receiving end of it. And I am. The sharp flash of pain that sears through me, mixing with the spikes of pleasure bubbling deep in my groin, takes everything out of me. ‘Fucking hell,’ he breathes, locking us together and holding us joined. I’m ready to collapse. Miller is the only thing supporting me, and when he unclaws his fingers from my hips, I lose that support, flopping to my front on the floor, heaving and gasping.

The coolness of the carpet on my cheek is welcome as I watch Miller fall to his back next to me, his arms falling limply above his head, his chest expanding violently. He’s soaking wet, the taut flesh of his chest glistening from sweat. If I had the energy, I’d reach over and stroke him, but I’m useless. Completely incapacitated. But not enough to close my eyes and deprive them of the stunning sight of Miller post-climax.

We both remain sprawled across the carpet for an eternity. My ears are being invaded by consistent and drawn-out gasps of breath. Finally mustering some strength from somewhere, I drag my arm across the carpet and brush my fingertip down his side. It glides easily, assisted by the dampness of his hot skin. His head drops to the side until his eyes find mine and exhaustion runs away, leaving behind some scope for talking. But he beats me to it.

‘I love you, Olivia Taylor.’

I smile and put all of my effort into crawling on top of him, settling my body all over his, sinking my face into the comfort of his neck. ‘And I’m quite fascinated by you, too, Miller Hart.’

Chapter 14

‘Let’s see, then.’ He’s waiting on the pavement outside the salon, and I can tell he’s extremely anxious. He’s fidgety, looking unreasonably stressed by the potential of my new haircut. I was delivered to the salon with strict instructions to trim minimal amounts, although Miller took it upon himself to reiterate those instructions to the hairdresser and only left when I forced him to, seeing how nervous he was making her feel with his curt orders. Miller watching over her probably would have landed me with something worse than I already had. My once long, wild waves are now smooth and glossy and bouncing just below my shoulders. Bloody hell, even I’m nervous. I reach up and run my fingers through them, thinking how silky they feel, while Miller regards me carefully. I wait. And wait. Until I blow out my exasperation on an impatient exhale.

‘Say something!’ I order, hating the scrutiny I’m under. It’s not rare for him to study me so closely, but the intensity isn’t welcome right now. ‘Don’t you like it?’

He slips his hands into the trouser pockets of his suit, thinking hard. Then he closes the distance between us and drops his face into my neck as soon as he makes it to me. I tense. I can’t help it, except it’s not his closeness. It’s his quietness. After a long inhale, he speaks. ‘I don’t need to tell you that I was a little worried about the potential of losing any more.’

I huff a cynical burst of laughter at his understatement. ‘A little?’

He pulls away and hums thoughtfully. ‘I sense sarcasm.’