Heat

Awoken by a fierce resurgence of heat and heaviness upon his chest, his eyelids, although laden with fatigue slowly open up. Disorientated, it takes him a while to register where he is, but more poignantly who is lying beside him, fast asleep, with her slender arm draped across his midsection and her head snuggled in the crook of his neck.

Olivia.

Suddenly the memories from the previous day and night come flooding back. Starting from the morning, where out of nowhere, he had been railroaded by a dose of flu that had rendered him weak and unfit to function, achy limbs, an insufferable headache and a chesty cough to boot… And then Olivia, turning up, forgoing plans and selflessly tending to his every need. Joshua's too. He hadn't expected her to stay and even when he foolishly declined her offer, she persisted; stepping in and taking charge… However, moments thereafter come to him waves, first hit by fever; then a dreadful bout of chills… and then the vague awareness of Olivia rushing to his aid, each and everytime.

In a way he knows that he does not deserve the kindness that she has bestowed on him. As apart from all dealings with Joshua, up until now, he has purposefully kept her at arms length. And although it was becoming more and more difficult to accomplish, everytime she would try and broach the subject of their relationship, he always found a way to put a pause on the conversation, mainly because he wasn't ready to admit that he wanted her back in his life, just as much as she was now in Joshua's. But then yesterday had proved to him in more ways than one just how much he needed her as well as wanted her.

Delirious with fever and chills, at the time all he wanted was a warm body bedside him, and when he reached out to her, encouraging her to wrap herself around him, which she did without any hesitation on her part, albeit unconventional, it was just what the doctor ordered; as the warmth of her pliant body, radiated through to his and brought an end to the tremors that had fiercely held his body at ransom. Finally, due to her unfailing care and compassion, he had found physical solace within her embrace, putting him and his ails momentarily at ease. Not long after, understandably, he was consumed with exhaustion, and he had dosed off into one of the deepest and most contented sleeps he had experienced in years.

As did she.

Only now he was awake and he is fully aware of what she has done for him. Just as he is equally aware of her close proximity; as the familiar scent of her accosts his senses and unearths emotions, that in an act of self-preservation he has successfully kept buried away until this very moment. He looks down at her, studying her close and realises that his pull and attraction to her can no longer be denied. And despite the heavy toll of her struggles, in his eyes her beauty remains unmarred and unparalleled to any other woman. Physically and emotionally, no one could even dare to compare; if anything his inability to move on since she left was proof in itself.

Unconsciously, she shifts against him, her leg gently rubbing along the inside of his thigh, causing him to stir in response. Suddenly mindful that he should create some space between them before things get out of hand, he attempts to unravel their tangled limbs without waking her… Only, her eyes begin to flutter, and within a few seconds soulful brown orbs are seeking out his ocean blues, where the true extent of his feelings dwell, unhidden, unmasked and undeniable; emotions that are also heavily mirrored in hers.

Locked in, hearts pounding, the atmosphere between them is tangible and thick with desire. Fitz, too compelled and too weak to fight her, or himself now finds himself closing in.

Lips gently come together and meet; soft kisses ensure- at first hesitant in their exploration, soon rediscover and familiarise. It doesn't take them long before the skilful ministrations of his mouth and tongue coax her into opening up fully and letting him in; causing temperatures to rise even higher. Passions too, as tentative hands now begin to roam, undress, touch and caress. His breathing is becoming laboured, hers too; as both of them lose themselves in the moment and surrender completely to their baser needs…

WANT, HAVE, FEEL, CONSUME… all logic and reason abandoned. And there's no turning back.