Whiskey & Wildflowers

Chapter 35

Josie loved watching Henrik come. She loved the way his eyelids fluttered closed, the space between his eyebrows puckered, and his reddened lips parted. She loved the way his cheeks flushed a delightful shade of pink. She loved him, and the knowledge of that fact had only made all the sex they'd had in the past couple of days that much more exciting. And intimate, which was somehow also exciting once she got over the initial discomfort, because she knew she was safe in Henrik's arms.

And they'd had a lot of sex. A lot. There wasn't much else to do in the villa they'd been sent to after essentially dumping themselves from the show, and since they finally had a bedroom to themselves with a lockable door, they'd taken advantage of it. Exploring every inch of each other's bodies, taking their time in a way they hadn't been able to do since the Hideaway — learning every little thing the other person liked.

It was a completely new experience for her, and she was loving it.

She rolled off him, only for Henrik to scoop her back into his arms and bury his face in her hair. When they weren't fucking, they were usually cuddling, except for the rare times they left their room to eat or show their faces to the other couples who had the misfortune of sharing the villa with them — or rather, the individuals, because now that they were off the show, they were no longer coupled up. And, well, they weren't exactly couples anymore.

Noah and Hannah had been sent to the villa right after being dumped, and by the time Josie and Henrik arrived, they'd already broken up. Apparently, a shared love of books wasn't enough to base a relationship on, especially when their opinions on said books differed so wildly.

Bobby and Shannon had followed a couple nights later, although they'd never been romantically involved to begin with. After each of the remaining five couples had been treated to romantic dates, they'd followed Josie and Henrik's lead, self-eliminating to let the actual couples into the final. The producers had tried to convince them otherwise, but they'd been adamant — they'd overstayed their welcome. In the end, they were forced to re-film the whole thing as if they'd been dumped by the public. No one knew if that was actually the case or if they'd really saved another couple from that fate.

Josie let out a contented yet wistful sigh as she threw a leg over Henrik's hips and pressed her chest against his. The past couple of days had been amazing, but the clock was ticking. Soon they'd have to get ready for the live final, and then it would all be over, and they'd be going home. And then what was next for them?

"What are you thinking about?" Henrik asked in a muffled voice, his breath blowing a wisp of her hair against her skin. It was just the lightest touch, but she'd grown so sensitive that even that sent tingles through her.

She fought the instinct to reply, "Nothing," knowing he wouldn't accept that answer. She was learning to be more open with her thoughts and feelings, and he made it easy. He was easy to talk to, easy to share things with, without fear of judgment.

"The outside," she said, swallowing. "Where we're gonna go from here."

Henrik's hand slid down her back and over the curve of her bum, his fingers spreading out and contracting to give her a squeeze.

"We're going home," he replied sleepily.

Her heart fluttered at the way he said home, but the fact remained that she didn't know what that meant to him. They lived in different cities. Navigating a new relationship was already hard enough, but adding distance into the equation?

All she knew was that she didn't like the idea of waking up each morning without his cheerful face on the pillow beside hers. But she also wasn't ready to pick up her life and move to another city for him, and she certainly didn't expect him to move to London just for her.