Chapter title: Inter spem et metum
A/N: Hello everybody, guess what?! I'm back. I know it's been a while (5-ish weeks?), I've been traveling a lot, went to the Jungle twice in December, went to the highest active volcano in the world, went paragliding, celebrated the New Year Ecuadorian style (i.e. crazy, weird, interesting, but mostly weird, I loved it), and celebrated my birthday. Not necessarily in that order. Anyway, I didn't find a lot of time to write. I really hope that I won't be this shitty about updating for the rest of the story. I'll do my best! Thank you for your patience and your continued support of this story, it really means a lot to me!
You've been asking for smut since chapter 1, here ya go.
Happy reading a great weekend to all of you!
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Friday and Saturday were spent much like Thursday. They went into town, enjoyed walks along the beach, cooked together (read: Felicity cooked and Oliver watched), and at the end of each day she found herself in his lap in the jacuzzi or on the couch, making out like teenagers.
Life was good, she thought to herself.
Being with Oliver was pure bliss, even if she sometimes found it hard to process how suddenly happiness had come upon them. And yet, she wouldn't change their rocky start for anything. It had made their relationship into what it was now: better and unlike anything she'd ever shared with another person.
Putting their feelings out there in the open on Thursday had been the best thing they could've done. Yes, it was sudden and yes, maybe it was unconventional. But let's be honest, when had their relationship ever been anything remotely conventional?
She was glad that she'd listened to her heart and for once had thrown caution and logic to the wind. It had turned out to be one of the best decisions of her life.
Despite it being Saturday, right now Oliver was on a business call in the living room downstairs. Some investor had called with concerns about something or other and Oliver had reluctantly agreed to Walter's request to talk to him.
Felicity, on the other hand, was in the upstairs master bedroom, slipping into the black lace underwear she'd bought on a whim back in Starling City a few days ago. When she'd walked past the expensive lingerie shop during her lunch break, her wandering gaze had caught on the set the mannequin was modeling. It wasn't overly exciting, there was no garter belt or thigh highs. It had been the intricate patterns drawn on the black lace that almost looked like curled arrows that had really caught her attention. Her first thought had been about the face Oliver would make when he saw her wearing only the bra and matching thong branded with his mark.
Now, as she stood in front of the floor length mirror in the Queens' vacation home, wearing nothing more than two scraps of material, the nervousness that she hadn't felt when she bought the set hit her like a brick wall.
What the hell? Why was she even feeling nervous?
It wasn't like she'd never done this before. On the contrary, there had been plenty of times. So no, she hadn't had a ton of boyfriends, but during the times she wasn't in a relationship, she also wasn't opposed to the occasional one night stand. Bottom line, she had a healthy sex life and logically she knew that she had absolutely no reason to be this nervous.
And she knew she was good at it, too. She been told as much by the guys she'd slept with, and yet there was a lingering sensation of wariness. She'd heard the infamous stories of Oliver Queen's numerous and plentiful conquests in former years. Especially his time before the island was a blur of appearances in every and any local and national tabloid, every time with a different model on his arm.
So yeah, fine, maybe she was a little intimidated by his vast experience, and maybe she was just a little scared that she'd completely pale in comparison to the myriad of beautiful women he'd slept with in the past. Who wouldn't be?
She took a steadying breath and slipped on a short, black silk robe.
Screw all that. Screw her fears. Screw her doubts and insecurities.
She wanted this. She wanted Oliver. All of him.
After another deep breath, she left the safety of the bedroom and slowly descended the stairs, feeling the coldness of the marble steps under the soles of her bare feet. She stopped on the last step, fingers fiddling with the strings of her open robe.
Oliver was pacing in front of the window front, the sleeves of his dark gray henley shirt rolled up over his elbows, sweatpants hanging low on his hips. In an involuntary motion her tongue darted out to run over her lips. He was definitely a delicious sight.
She waited patiently for a few seconds until he turned around, one hand running through his short hair. She threw him a coy smile from her position on the stairs.
His phone slipped from his hands and hit the stone floor with a thud that would've made her cringe any other time, were she not so distracted by the stunned looked on his handsome face. His eyes widened and his arms went slack, dropping down to his sides. His mouth was slightly agape, whatever he'd wanted to say swallowed by his surprise.
They just stood there, half a room between them, staring at each other for a few silent seconds before he finally found his voice again.
"What are you doing?" he asked, his voice breathless.
Her lips curled into a proud smile at seeing the effect she had on him. "I want you, Oliver," she answered simply.
His eyebrows drew together in confusion. "But-"
"No," she cut in firmly and took the last step, slowly making her way across the room towards him. "No more buts. No more excuses. No more waiting."
She stopped right in front of him. "I love you and I want to show you in any way possible," she said, voice steady as a rock.
His Adam's apple bopped up and down as he swallowed hard. "No more waiting?" he asked as she placed her hands around his neck, drawing their bodies together.
She beamed up at him and shook her head. "No more waiting," she whispered and stepped on the tips of her toes while pulling his head down a little, bringing their lips close. Oh so close.
For a few seconds they just stood like that, their hot breaths mingling, until Felicity grew restless. "Are you going to kiss me?" she questioned with a cocked eyebrow.
He let out a strangled groan and finally finally connected their lips in a searing kiss. As his lips worked relentlessly against hers, she couldn't suppress a throaty moan. Oliver used her distraction to swiftly scoop her up from the ground, his hands gliding over her ass, squeezing firmly as she framed his hips with her bare legs.
She didn't even realize that he'd started walking until she felt her back be pressed against a wall, his broad frame pinning her against the cold surface. She gasped against his lips at the unexpected contact. She could feel his lips curl into what surely was a cocky smile. Oh yeah, if the past few days and their countless make out sessions had taught her anything it was that he loved it when he made her gasp or moan.
Slipping her hand under his henley, Felicity felt the warmth of his skin beneath her fingertips, nails deftly raking over his ridiculously sculpted chest and abdomen. A smile crept on her lips as his hands stilled on her butt and he let out a groan. Two could play this game.
His hands slowly moved up her spine, sending a shiver of anticipation to her core as his fingertips reached the soft fabric of her bra. But they didn't stop there. Before she could analyze why he didn't unclasp her bra, his mouth latched onto a particularly sensitive spot on her throat and all she could do was crane her neck and give him even better access as he worked his way down.
"You're so goddamn beautiful, Felicity," he whispered into her skin, nipping lightly at the delicate flesh right above her collar bone.
Her breath hitched at the sound of his softly spoken words and she quickly brought her hands from under his shirt to cup his face, forcing him to look at her. His pupils were blown, his usually vibrant blue eyes impossibly darkened by his desire.
She leaned in for a short, sweet kiss. "I love you," she whispered against his lips, feeling a shiver run through his body. "Now make love to your wife," she ordered and bit her bottom lip teasingly.
He growled in response, capturing her lips for another languid kiss, before he finally started moving them up the stairs towards the master bedroom. He took his time, pressing her against the wall every few steps, letting her feel his growing desire by grinding against her hips.
When they finally made it to the bedroom, he untangled her legs from around his waist and dropped her unceremoniously on the mattress. The breath was knocked out of her for a moment when she landed and she let out a surprised laugh that quickly died on her tongue when she saw Oliver standing at the end of the bed, a predatory smile curling his slightly swollen lips.
She gulped. Oh boy, she was in for a ride.
He slowly tucked his shirt off, letting it drop on the floor next to his feet without ever taking his eyes off of hers. With a quick tuck on her ankles that should definitely not be this fucking sexy he dragged her to the edge of the bed so that she could easily sit up, her legs dangling off the bed. She slowly brought herself in a sitting position.
She took a moment to stare up at her husband who was returning her heated gaze with just as much ferocity. Finally, she tore her eyes from his and let her gaze wander down his body. In the dim light of the room she could see the dark shadows of his scars and the black lines of the tattoos that scattered his torso. Not for the first time she wondered what kind of an absolute hell he'd encountered during those five years on the island.
The whisper of her name pulled her out of her thoughts and when she looked up, she was met with a pained and vulnerable gaze. She scrambled to get up, off the bed, onto the tips oh her toes, and pressed a sweet kiss against his lips. He sighed against the warm caress of her lips and his hands framed her waist, drawing her even closer.
"I love you," he said quietly.
She smiled widely. "I love you, too."
He mirrored her smile and turned them around, sitting down on the bed and tugging her along so she ended up straddling his lap.
And then finally his fingers found the clasp of her bra, opening it with a flick of his finger tips. She let the black material drop to her lap waiting for his next move.
She didn't have to wait long. After a beat of them just staring into each other's eyes, he licked his lips and ducked his head, practically devouring her left nipple while his hand found her right breast. Suddenly, Felicity was caught in a flood of sensations. It was all teeth and lips and his unbelievably talented fingers, driving her mad. Her head fell back, body arching towards him, while her hips acted on their on account, rolling against his, seeking the delicious friction.
His name fell from her lips in a breathless whisper, too caught up in all the wonderful feelings surging through her body. Suddenly, the assault of his lips on her breasts stopped, drawing a protesting whimper from her. But before she could put her protest into words, he flipped her onto the bed, hovering over her.
He looked down at her, a soft smile playing on his lips as he took her in. "Are you ready to have your world rocked, Mrs. Queen?"
She raised an eyebrow at his playful, cocky tone. "Pretty sure of yourself, Mr. Queen?" she questioned teasingly.
He just grinned at her and tugged roughly on her black thong, ripping the delicate fabric apart.
She stared at him in shock. What the...?
Her angry thoughts didn't get very far before her mouth fell open with a gasp as Oliver's lips descended on her clit.
Holy fucking shit.
His hands ran up and down her thighs, massaging them lightly, spreading them wider while his tongue, holy hell, his tongue worked its magic. She might not be a wallflower when it came to sex, she'd had plenty of it in her life, and yet, she could count the number of times a guy had gone down on her on one hand. None of those few times had been particularly satisfying. Suffice to say that Oliver made up for all of that.
He hummed against her, the vibrations sending a jolt of unfiltered desire through her. He sucked on her clit lightly, enough to be pleasurable but not in the slightest enough to get her off. He was taking his sweet time and Felicity wasn't sure if she loved or hated it.
"You're so fucking wet," he groaned and as if to prove his discovery he slid a finger into her in one fluid motion.
She bucked her hips in response, just short of being overwhelmed by being filled by him. How the hell was she supposed to last?
His finger started slowly pumping in an out of her as left a trail of hot, open-mouthed kissed from her clit to her entrance.
Her hands left her breasts, just now realizing that she'd been massaging them roughly, to tangle in Oliver's hair, grasping onto the short, dirty blonde strands. "Please," she whimpered.
She could literally feel him smile against her, and then he pulled out completely, leaving her empty and aching, his mouth hovering half an inch above her hot center.
"Oliver," she moaned, not caring at all how desperate she sounded.
He left a teasing kiss on her clit and ran his thumb across her entrance, his tongue slowlygliding over her outer lips. With his free hand he pinned her writhing body down to the bed, making her groan in frustration.
Finally, he took pity on her when he sank to fingers into her without preamble, leaving her gasping for air. Oh God.
He set a punishing rhythm, moving in and out of her with deft strokes, curling his fingers now and then. That alone would've been enough to send her over the edge in minutes, but coupled with his lips sucking and nipping at her clit, his stubble creating the most delicious kind of friction, she couldn't hold on any longer.
With a loud gasp of his name tumbling from her lips, back arching from its spot on the soft mattress, she came with a shuddering intensity, little spots of black dancing before her eyes. He slowed down a little bit but never fully stopped his ministrations, riding her all the way through her orgasm.
He would've probably made her come again if she hadn't tugged roughly on his hair, forcing him to look up.
He got the hint and pulled his fingers out of her, making a show out of licking each digit languidly, lapping up her juices. That looked way sexier than it should, she thought fleetingly.
He positioned himself over her while she was still trying to regain her bearings when he started peppering light kisses over her breast, moving up to her collar bone, her throat, her cheek, her nose and finally her lips where she could taste herself on his tongue.
"Hearing you come is the best fucking sound in the world," he whispered huskily and moved away from her lips to suck on her ear lobe.
Dear God, was he trying to kill her?
"Oliver," she breathed out and successfully regained his attention.
"What?" he grinned down at her.
"I just... I need a minute."
He chuckled lightly and rolled off of her, only to land on his side, his head propped up on his hand, sharp eyes drinking her in.
"So I gather it was.."
"Intense," she finished. He raised his eyebrows and she continued, "In a good way. In an amazing way," she assured him, bringing one hand up to cup his cheek. "I've just never... experienced that."
He smiled softly at her. "I'm glad I'm your first then," he said with a wink.
She huffed out a laugh. This right here was perfection. Looking at their history together one might think that it would always be that tense. Always going a million miles an hour, never stopping, giving all or nothing. And while, yes, in a way it was still like that, sharing a passion she'd never experienced before, there was also this. The light moments where they could take a moment and laugh together even if they were in the middle of having amazing sex.
And as he returned her bright smile, Felicity sat up again, her hands deftly moving over his stomach to the hem of his sweatpants. She lighlty raked her finger nails over his skin just above the hem, provoking a groan to fall from his lips. It was her turn to rock his world.
Kneeling beside him, she hooked her fingers into the waistband of his sweats and boxers, dragging the last two barriers between them down, while he dutifully lifted his hips to help her. When he was finally gloriously naked in front of her, she took a moment to take in his whole body for the first time.
Smaller scars littered his thighs and calves, going all the way down to his ankles. She pressed down the resurfacing pang of sadness and concentrated on the here and now. No matter what had happened to him, right now he was here, with her, happy and unharmed. What more could she ask for?
She reached for his half hard cock, gripping him firmly, as she moved to straddle his thighs, the other hand cupping his balls.
"Felicity," Oliver groaned and brought up his hands to cup her face and pull her down into a searing kiss, sucking on her bottom lip.
She started moving her hand on his dick then, moving slowly up and down, taking delight in the way his hips bucked in response. Her thumb flitted over his tip gathering the drop of moisture before lifting it up to her lips. She locked her yes with his, never breaking the contact while she slowly licked the pad of her thumb, tasting his salty desire.
Like nothing happened, she continued to stroke him, her gaze flitting over his face, his slightly widened eyes, blown pupils, tightly set jaw.
"Stop trying to hold onto your control," Felicity urged him.
He groaned and something flashed through his eyes. And then suddenly he was moving, flipping her over so she was pressed into the mattress beneath her once more. Only able to let out another surprised gasp.
"Be careful what you wish for," he growled, bringing one hand down between them to rub the tip of his cock against her center, spreading the moisture all over.
She bit her lip in a futile attempt to contain a loud moan. "Oliver..."
He leaned down to kiss her hard and quick. She could tell that he was at a tipping point, unable to hold on much longer.
"I need you, Oliver. Now," she urged him. "I need you inside me now."
His eyes grew impossibly darker as he obliged, first just pressing his tip inside her, staying still for a few seconds before he started moving again. His groans getting louder with each inch that he ever so slowly entered her with.
"Oh God," she whimpered at the feeling of being filled by him. It clearly had been a while for her. Her body not used to the feeling of being stretched in the best possible way anymore.
When he was fully sheathed inside of her, he stilled again, looking down at her. "You okay?" he asked, trying to keep his voice calm, but she could still hear the strained tremor from trying to hold still.
She leaned up and kissed him. "I'm good," she replied reassuringly and bucked her hips to emphasize her point.
He groaned and took his cue, rolling his hips against hers. Slowly at first, gaining speed with every languid stroke until he set a punishing pace, the bed creaking beneath them every time their hips met.
She felt herself nearing her second orgasm, Oliver pounding in and out of her. Her grabbed one of her legs and raised it, positioning it over his shoulder. The new angle allowed him to drive deeper into her, a strangled grunt leaving his lips.
"Felicity," he hissed and moved one hand between them to rub her clit, bringing her to the edge.
A sharp pinch of his thumb and index finger threw her over.
"Oliver," she yelled, desperately gripping his shoulders, her fingernails raking over his skin, undoubtedly leaving marks.
She clenched around him while he pounded into her once, twice, before he grunted her name and was right there with her, falling over the edge, spilling into her.
They breathed heavily for a few minutes with him still inside of her. He had dropped his head to rest on her shoulder, completely spent. She felt his warm breath fanning over her collar bone, sending shivers through her.
She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his slightly damp hair. "I love you, Mr. Queen."
He lifted his head, a lazy smile on his lips. "I love you, too, Mrs. Queen."
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A ray of light shining through the half closed curtains of the bedroom woke her. The even breathing puffing against her neck told her that Oliver who was wrapped around her back was still asleep. No wonder.
It had been an intense night. Some time after their first time she'd woken him with her lips around his cock. A few hours later they had decided to take a shower, but had only made it to the marble sink where he had bent her over and fucked her from behind. And then just a couple of hours ago, she'd ridden him towards the final orgasm of the night.
She stretched her legs carefully and yup, she was sore like hell. But just the thought of why she felt like that made her core tingle with desire.
From the beside table she grabbed her phone and pressed the power button. As soon as the welcome screen had faded, it started beeping uncontrollably with an onslaught of missed calls, texts, emails and news alerts.
What the hell?
"You said no phones," Oliver grumbled, nipping at the skin of her neck playfully.
"I know," she huffed. "I just wanted to check the time, but then my phone basically imploded from all the alerts," she answered absentmindedly as she opened a video link.
Oliver moved behind her so he could look over her shoulder, his fingers digging teasingly into her sides, pulling her against his erection.
She laughed. "God, you're insatiable."
He bit her shoulder playfully, but any other reply was drowned out when the video finally started playing.
"Emergency services are scrambling to reach the victims of last night's earthquake that shook Starling City to its core."
Video footage from a helicopter circling over Starling was cut in, just when houses began crumbling, complete bocks being leveled in seconds.
"The quake that started at 7.43 last night caused damage of catastrophic proportions throughout the city and that has leveled more than half of The Glades was mostly contained to the east side of that Starling City district. The aftershocks and tremors could be felt throughout the entire city, blowing out windows, damaging houses, cars, and also temporarily affecting the city's power grid."
The played another video of people roaming the street, throwing trash cans through store windows, and people screaming for help.
"The Glades have been turned into what looks like a war zone. The destruction is catastrophic. Reports of looters that are instilling terror on the already crumbling district reach us with each passing minute. Stay with us to hear what our seismology expert Brion Markov has to say and to learn more about what you can do to help the victims."
The screen went black.
Felicity turned around to face Oliver whose mouth had fallen open in shock, his eyes mirroring her own utter surprise until a flash of panic passed through his blue orbs.
She instantly knew what he was thinking: their families. She combed through the emails and texts, quickly realizing that Thea had left numerous messages telling her that she and the rest of the Queens and Felicity's mother were okay, since all of them had been having dinner together at the Queen Mansion where they had also felt tremors, but no one was hurt and nothing had been damaged.
Felicity let out a relieved sigh. Next to her Oliver did the same and pulled her flush against his body, seeking her warmth and comfort. She let one hand rest on his chest right over his heart while the other raked soothingly through his messy hair.
"They're okay," she whsipered. "Our families are okay."
They spent the rest of the morning lounging in bed, just holding each other, any spark of lust from earlier forgotten. Oliver had quickly called Diggle and was relieved to hear that he'd joined Carly and her son to visit some family outside the city for the weekend. While they lay in bed they watched some more news videos.
"It is a known fact that there is a geological fold running right below Starling City, but if you had asked any expert prior to the quake if something of this magnitude was possible all of them would've said no. The whole area would've been considered geologically stable," the TV station seismology expert said and continued, "Now that it has happened there are more questions than answers. I've talked to my colleagues from all over the world and we are simply baffled by what has occurred here."
Another expert chimed in, "Brion is right. An earthquake of this magnitude should've affected a much bigger area than it actually has. We simply cannot explain the fact why the biggest damage is contained to a relatively small area in The Glades."
"Usually there is a series of smaller earthquakes before one of this magnitude, precursors if you will, that forewarn us, but in this case there was nothing. Out of nowhere the big quake started."
A man on the street said, "This is God's way of punishing this city for becoming so dark. There is so much darkness in these streets and nobody is doing anything about it. But why has He chosen to punish us, the poor that are already struggling to survive? Why has He spared the rich?"
Another man, a self-proclaimed conspiracist, exclaimed, "This wasn't an act of God, this was terrorism, plain and simple. Someone wanted to level this city and they partially succeeded."
Felicity stopped the video, an uneasy feeling settling in her stomach. "Oliver, what if..." She couldn't bring herself to finish her thought, knowing that Oliver would catch on.
He sat up straight, raking his hands over his face. "This was the Undertaking."
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A/N: I know! This was short, but I really struggled getting through this part. Originally, I had planned a flashback scene, but in the end I didn't feel like it really fit in here, so I cut it out. Maybe I can use it in future chapters. Speaking about future: This story will have approximately 2 or 3 more chapters. I've got a crapload of ideas for new stories that I've partially started on already (see, I wasn't just lying on the beach for the past 5 weeks ;) ). I'll keep you posted. I may or may not post a oneshot next Friday, so keep and eye out.
Title translation: Between hope and fear
Let me know what you think about the chapter.