CHAPTER 32: CHAPTER 32: DIDN’T WANT THE VISION TO END.

Athena was still in lost in her vivid imagination when the door eased open. Steam curled in the air, clinging to the mirrors and the walls.

Oliver stepped inside, and he froze.

He actually came in,on purpose, with the aim of teasing her a little, and earn that her flushed face when she’s shy. But he was the one caught off guard.

Athena stood under the shower, water sliding down every curve of her body, her skin flushed a deep pink from heat or maybe something else entirely. Her hair clung wetly to her shoulders, her lips parted as though she’d just been caught mid-breath.

But what shocked him most wasn’t her nakedness.

It was the way she looked at him.

Not a single flicker of embarrassment. No instinct to cover herself. Just those breathtaking eyes burning and restless, fixed on him like he was oxygen.

"...Athena," he breathed, his voice already rough.

And then she moved.

Slow steps at first, water streaming down her thighs, her gaze never wavering. She closed the distance between them.

Before he could speak, she surged up and kissed him.

Hard.

Her mouth crashed onto his, desperate, hungry, stealing the air from his lungs. Oliver groaned low in his chest, caught off guard but unable to stop himself. His hands slammed against the glass wall behind her for balance, his body stiff before melting into the fire she was pouring into him.

Athena pressed closer, water dripping onto his shirt from her hair as her fingers fisted in the fabric, roaming his chest, sliding lower with reckless urgency. His jacket was already gone. She tugged at the buttons like they were in her way, her palms spreading heat through the cotton.

"Fuck..." Oliver hissed between kisses, his teeth grazing her lower lip. He barely recognized the sound of his own voice, it was raw, undone.

She kissed him harder, like her life depended on it, like every ache in her chest was spilling into this one act. Her tongue brushed his, and the taste of her drowned him completely.

Oliver’s groan deepened as his hand finally found her waist, dragging her flush against him. Her wet skin met the fabric of his shirt, her body slick and hot against his. His pulse thundered at the contact, every nerve lit up.

"Athena..." His head fell back for just a second, breaking the kiss, his breathing ragged. His eyes searched hers, glassy and dark. "What are you doing to me?"

But she didn’t answer. She pulled him back down, lips crashing against his again, swallowing his words.

Her mouth moved against his like she was starved, each kiss harder, wetter, pulling him deeper into the haze she was drowning in. Oliver groaned again, his grip tightening on her waist until his knuckles turned white.

"Damn it, Athena..." his voice cracked, torn between resistance and hunger. But she didn’t let him think, her hands were already pushing his shirt apart, letting it hang on his shoulder, sliding over his chest, tracing the ridges of his muscles. Every brush of her fingertips sent sparks down his spine.

Something inside him snapped.

With one sudden, rough motion, Oliver grabbed her thighs and hauled her up against him. She gasped into his mouth as her body left the wet tiles, her legs instinctively wrapping around his hips. He caught her weight easily, pressing her back against the cool wall of the shower, water still streaming over both of them.

Her bare skin burned against his bare chest, slick and hot. She kissed him harder, her tongue desperate, her nails dragging along his shoulders as if to anchor herself to him.

Oliver’s hand slid lower, gripping the curve of her ass with both palms, squeezing it hard as he pulled her tighter against him. The sound that tore from his throat was half growl, half groan.

Her breasts pressed flush to his chest, so firm he could feel her hardened nipples stabbing into his bare skin. His shirt already lost in the heat. The sensation made his entire body clench with want.

"Shit..." His forehead dropped against hers, his breath ragged as he held her pinned there, straddling him, kissing him like there was no tomorrow.

Athena tilted her head back, lips swollen, eyes glassy. "Oliver..." she whispered, her voice breaking around his name.

The sound undid him. He claimed her mouth again, rougher this time, devouring her lips with a hunger he couldn’t hold back anymore. His hands kneaded her ass as if he could pull her deeper into him, his body grinding her closer, chest to chest, nothing between them, just Oliver’s pants.

Her moan vibrated against his tongue, her fingers tangling in his damp hair, tugging him down as if she couldn’t get enough.

Oliver broke the kiss for air. He let his tongue trace her neck, leaving mark there. Her breasts pressed hard against his chest, slick from the shower, her nipples stiff against the heat of his body.

He adjusted his hold, lifting her higher as she clung to him, nails dragging down the muscles of his back. His lips left her neck to drag along her jaw, then down her damp throat, tasting the water still dripping there.

Athena’s head fell back, breathless, her hair wet against his arm as he carried her out of the bathroom. Each step was deliberate, his lips never stopped grazing her skin, his teeth teasing at her collarbone, her flushed body rubbing against his.

By the time he reached the bedroom, she was trembling with need. He lowered her carefully onto the bed, but even then, he didn’t rush. He stood at the edge, eyes locked on her naked form sprawled against the sheets.

"Stay like that," he murmured, voice rough with restraint.

Athena’s lips parted, her chest rising and falling quickly as she watched him sink to his knees between her thighs. His hands slid up from her calves to her knees, spreading her legs slowly, deliberately, like he wanted to savor the sight of her opening up for him.

She gasped when his mouth finally lowered, when the heat of his breath ghosted over her slick core. He didn’t dive in right away, he kissed the inside of her thighs first, one, then the other, dragging his teeth just enough to make her hips twitch.

"Oliver..." she whimpered, hands fisting the sheets.

Then he part her with his thumbs and lower his mouth to her, tongue dragging slow, purposeful strokes over her clit. A raw sound tore from her throat, her back arching as he licked her again, slower this time, savoring every reaction.

He took his time, circling his tongue as his lips suck on her pussy. He paused only to look up at her flushed face twisted in pleasure. When she tried to grind up against him, desperate for more, he pressed her hips down firmly, forcing her to take it at his pace.

"Don’t rush me," he murmured against her, voice vibrating into her heat. "I want every taste of you."

Athena whimpered his name, already unraveling, her thighs trembling against his shoulders as he pulled her apart with his mouth.

Athena’s body arched against the sheets, but in her eyes, her vision, it wasn’t Oliver anymore.

It was them.

Her mind betrayed her, dragging her into a fantasy so sharp it felt more real than the air in her lungs.

The Cold, untouchable Rhydric yet in her vision, his head was buried between her thighs, his tongue moving with ruthless precision. He didn’t even need to try, the way the air itself seemed to bend for him and now it bent for her, every lick, every pull of his lips making her moan louder than she thought was possible.

Her fingers twisted in the sheets as she saw Eryx beside her, his red hair falling into his wicked eyes. His hand was on her clit, circling, pressing, teasing just enough to make her writhe. The other hand was greedy, cupping her breast, squeezing, thumb brushing hard over her nipple until her back arched like a bow.

And then Azrael. Beautiful, dangerous Azrael, his mouth at her throat, teeth scraping, tongue tasting. His breath was fire against her ear, whispering sinful things as he sucked and bit, leaving marks down her neck. Every sound she made, he swallowed it with his lips against her skin.

But it was Theodore that undid her the most. In the vision she was lying back against his chest, his strong thighs framing her body, keeping her caged. His big hands roamed over every inch of her, sliding up her stomach, squeezing her breasts, then drifting lower to her waist, her hips, gripping her like he owned her. He kissed her shoulder, her jaw, the back of her ear.

She was overwhelmed, drowning. Their touches overlapped, tangled, making her lose all of her senses.

Rhydric’s tongue flicked faster.

Eryx’s fingers pressed harder.

Azrael’s lips sucked deeper.

Theodore’s hands tightened, holding her still as if she’d break apart if she moved.

"Oh...god," Athena whimpered, her thighs trembling in reality, her nails digging into her sheets as the vision consumed her.

It was so vivid. Too vivid. She swore she could feel Rhydric’s tongue stroking her, hear Eryx’s low laugh in her ear, taste Azrael’s kiss on her throat, feel Theodore’s chest rising beneath her back.

She was going crazy. Her body was burning alive.

And the worst part?

She didn’t want the vision to end.