Chapter Forty-one
Olivia in that dress…
I can barely focus. Barely think.
This is a woman I’ll go to war for.
I’d burn the whole world for her, die for her, live for her.
I’ll give her everything she could ever want and more just for a moment with her.
Now my cock is down, thank fuck, I climb from the car, seeing her waiting for me. Seeing her, even after only a few minutes apart, hits me like a truck. Fuck me, she’s so damn pretty.
The glow from the hotel windows lights up one side of her body, giving her a golden aura. My breath is stolen as I take her in, the dress, the hair, the makeup…
She’s a queen.
A goddess.
And I’m ready to get on my knees to worship at her altar.
I pull her to me the moment I’m close enough, crowding her with my warmth to chase away the chill. My lips press to her head before I steer her toward the doors. Cameras start to flash, and while we were using this night as our first official public appearance as a married couple, I don’t want her uncomfortable, so I protect her with my body. The articles weren’t kind to her the first time, and I already have a list of names to visit.
She’ll never be embarrassed again. Not with me.
I get her into the hotel, already packed with guests. The staff buzz through the crowds, serving drinks and food on silver platters. The city mayor is here, the chief of police, and every other important figure that has sway in this city. It’s an event for the rich and powerful, a night to let loose a little without the need to donate or give, save for the thirty-minute auction taking place later this evening.
Nonetheless, it’s still political.
A steppingstone, no matter how you look at it.
A red carpet is laid out leading into the ballroom where the event itself is taking place.
The Lauder hotel is stuffy, I’ve always thought it. It’s classic wealth, with burgundy and gold, everything added to make it look like money was spent but it feels as if the walls are closing in. The building itself is beautiful but inside… gaudy.
But this room? The one Olivia took over and planned in a week?
Stunning.
Black silk, gothic touches, candlelight, and roses.
It’s all tied together one way or another, from the people donned in designer clothing in red, black or white, to the slight glittery shimmer splashed through the black in the room.
“You did this?” I say close to Olivia’s ear.
“I did. Do you like it?”
“You’ve outdone yourself,” I smile down at her, “Well done.”
“I’m proud of it,” she says quietly, a soft smile on her lips.
We find the rest of our group a minute later, ordering drinks from the bar. I get myself a whiskey and Olivia a wine, letting her go so she can mingle with a few of the guests vying for her attention.
Willow stays with her, but Olivia seems at ease, her shoulders are relaxed and her smile light.
Sebastian drops onto the stool next to me. I glance at my best friend, noting the grin and choosing to ignore it.
But of course, it’s Bast, and the fucker doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut.
“Damn, Kai,” He muses, watching the girls, “Never seen you so…” He trails off his words, tilting his head as he watches Willow move, “Enraptured.”
“Pick up a dictionary, did we?” I jab.
He cuts me a scathing look, “Bit close, isn’t it?” He hits right back, “You gonna miss that hundred K?”
His words remind me of that stupid bet we made a couple weeks ago. I don’t tell him I’ve already won. I didn’t sleep with Olivia to win that bet. I forgot all about it until right fucking now and the reminder turns something sour in my stomach.
“I’m not in the bet,” I tell him, “You can have the money.”
His head snaps to me, “Shit.”
“What?” I growl.
“You have feelings for her.” He points out.
“Shut the fuck up, Sebastian.”
“Holy shit,” A laugh bursts from him, “You have actual, real to fucking god feelings for her.”
“That’s enough.”
“Have you fucked her?” He asks.
So polite.
It’s none of his damn business though, I won’t tell him I have. I won’t tell him that being with her is like taking a breath. It’s more than sex. It’s home. It’s the feeling that all my puzzle pieces have finally found the matching set.
“No.” I lie.
“Either way,” He chuffs, “I’m gonna be hundred grand richer. Maybe I’ll get a new car.”
“Buy whatever the fuck you like with it,” I grumble.
“You’re giving up?”
I turn away from him, waving a hand to flag down the server to refill my glass.
“Olivia is more than a bet, Bast.” I admit, giving him a raw version of myself. It doesn’t happen often, and he knows it.
“Shit.” He widens his eyes, “You’re in love with her.”
I shake my head, I didn’t think I was quite there yet but close? I was damn sure close. And I don’t even really know when it happened.
Was it the salt in the coffee? The neon socks?
Was it her fight and then submission?
Can you even fall in love that quick?
I throw back the whiskey and immediately order another one.
Either way, I know being in love is a problem, whether I am there, or not.
Olivia will forever be a target regardless, but if people know the depth of my feelings toward her, she will have a big fat bullseye on her forehead. She’ll be used, exploited and then spat back out.
You don’t get to where I am now without enemies, and I have a lot of them, both within my organization and outside of it.
She is not safe if I love her.
But I can’t not be with her. I can’t not touch and feel, can’t not breathe her in and drown in her. There’s something so damn special about the woman in the red dress that it has my attention and no matter the threat or the danger, I gravitate toward her.
She’s an obsession…
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I snap at my friend.
He side eyes me, not believing a word I say.
I don’t love Olivia... There’s just so much about her that captures me. Her attitude drives me crazy, but her laughs send me wild, her body ends me, but her smile? Fuck me, her smile is the one thing that might just very well kill me. Everything about her captures my attention and she’s quickly becoming the reason to breathe.
“Okay, man,” He scoffs, “Whatever you say.”
Granted I’m not being very convincing when I’m following her every move, cataloguing her every smile. I can tell when they’re fake, when they’re real, can sense when she’s uncomfortable based on the way her shoulders lower, like in defeat and when she’s excited by the creases that sink in around her eyes when she smiles.
There’s so much depth to Olivia that drowning in her is merely an inevitability.
Dinner is called around thirty minutes later and when she makes her way back to me, her hand resting on my chest, a level of calm comes over me that I’ve never experienced before.
We are seated at one of the front tables, all six of us. Olivia made sure we were the only table to seat so little when every other one is packed.
“Why the event?” Willow asks me.
I shrug, “Why not?”
She tilts her head back and forth as if in contemplation, “Most throw a party for a reason, Farrow.” She points out, “What’s your reason? It isn’t charity, that’s for sure.”
I lean across the table just as the appetizers are being served, “I wanted to show off my wife, Willow. Tell the world she is mine.”