Chapter 4 #2
“Some had it worse. I was one of the lucky ones, having Leo and Beck. We were in the trenches together. We had one another through thick and thin. It counts for something. We’ve learned to do things our own way,” Dax adds, swirling his scotch.
“The three of us—we don’t compete, we don’t fight over women. We… share.”
His gaze lingers on me just long enough for the implication to sink in.
I nearly choke on my drink. Chloe was right about the rumors. “Share…?”
He shrugs like he just said they split a Hulu account. “Not for everyone, but it works for us. ”
My brain short-circuits. My cheeks are on fire. Of course my new neighbors aren’t just firefighters-slash-Marines-slash-GQ models. No. They have to be the kind of men who come with a group discount.
“You three are really close,” I say.
Dax nods slowly. “We are. When you live through what we’ve lived through, it only makes sense. It’s a strong connection built on brotherly love, honor, and honesty. It has kept a lot of people away, and I’m glad.”
“How so?”
“It left room for better people to come into our lives,” he says, his lips stretching into a lazy grin as he looks at me. “I certainly don’t regret finding you in Mrs. Jackson’s house, Olivia.”
My cheeks heat up. “You’ve been so supportive, Dax. I can’t thank you enough.”
“You’re all the thanks I need,” he says.
The conversation ebbs and flows between several rounds of Hugo cocktails for me and scotch on the rocks for Dax.
He always finds a way to point the spotlight at me, asking innocuous questions that demand complex answers.
It’s hard to navigate sometimes, and I do my best to keep the lies to a minimum while telling myself that it’s for my protection, but also for his.
By midnight, we’re walking down the main boulevard. Our neighborhood unravels a few blocks ahead. Above us, stars are sprinkled across the dark blue infinite while acacia blossoms burst in the trees lining the road, their scent deliciously intoxicating .
“I had expected Leo and Beck to join us tonight at some point,” I tell Dax.
He takes my hand in his, and I tremble slightly in his hold.
“We decided to take it easy,” he says.
“Easy?”
“To ease you in.”
Our neighborhood is nice and quiet. Most of the houses have manicured lawns and ancestral trees rising high above their grey or red-brick roofs. The streetlights cast an amber glow against the deepening shadows of the night.
Mrs. Jackson’s slightly neglected roses spread their fragrance far enough away to reach us as we approach.
“Ease me in?” I quietly question, my voice barely a whisper.
“There’s no denying it anymore,” Dax says.
Before I can ask what exactly it is to deny, he pulls me into his arms. It happens fast, and his lips crash into mine as the night wraps itself around us, the chirping cicadas growing louder.
I melt against his chest, his tongue slipping past my defenses and conquering everything in its path. I taste the scotch and the desire. His cologne fills my lungs, sending a flurry of heated signals into my brain.
The temperature rises between us, and I have a hard time pulling away. His hands rest on my hips, and part of me wonders what he’ll think when he sees me naked. I’m safe under the oversized dress I’m wearing.
“You should really stop hiding under these baggy clothes,” he growls, glancing down at me as if reading my mind .
“They’re comfortable,” I mumble.
“You’re hiding, why?”
It’s actually a good question. I can’t remember when it started, but I know I’ve always found safety under loose-fitting clothes.
“I’m not sure. I guess I’m used to being invisible, not standing out. It’s just what I’ve always done, what I’m comfortable with,” I say, trying to be honest without mentioning the many times Marcus made me feel miserable in my own body.
His fingers dig into my flesh, and I gasp as I feel him hard against my belly. “I’m trying to understand why a beautiful woman like you would feel safer hidden away from the world.”
“It’s a long story.” I sigh and lower my gaze.
Dax clasps my chin between his thumb and index finger, beckoning me to look up at him. “I’ve got time,” he says. “Olivia, there’s a lot you’re not telling me.”
“Can’t a girl keep a few secrets?” I shoot back with a light laugh.
“I’ll get it all out of you, eventually,” he replies.
It sounds like a promise with the subtle edge of a threat. His gaze darkens as he kisses me again. Our tongues clash, the kiss deepening as I wrap my arms around his neck.
This is reckless. Too fast. Too much. And yet—I can’t stop.
I lose track of the rest of the steps getting us home. I recall briefly us stumbling through my front door and shutting it with a dramatic bang before we tear each other’s clothes off. It is primal, it is unstoppable, and it is wonderfully intense .
“I think I had one too many cocktails,” I gasp.
Dax lifts my dress up, his breath heavy with longing. “They’re mild as hell, Olivia. Don’t blame alcohol for what you’re about to do.”
“What I’m about to do?”
“What we’re about to do,” he chuckles mischievously and captures my mouth in another kiss.
And that’s when I see it. A flicker in the window. A moving shadow. My heart stops, ice sliding down my spine.
“Olivia?” Dax asks, immediately feeling the shift in my body.
I stop moving. I’m frozen, staring at the window. My ears twitch, waiting for a suspicious sound to reach them.
“Olivia, what’s wrong?” he insists, placing his hands on my shoulders. It’s only when he gives them a good squeeze that I’m able to escape the trance and look up at him. “What’s wrong?”
“I thought… I thought I saw something,” I mumble.
“Saw what?”
“Outside—I think there’s someone outside.”
Or maybe I’m just losing my mind, but I can’t tell him that. Dax immediately leaves my side and heads out the door. I stand in silence, listening to the sound of his thundering footsteps. In seconds, I see him through the same window.
What I spotted earlier may have been nothing. It could’ve simply been a branch casting a shadow in the night breeze. There’s a streetlight several feet away, after all. Dax circles the house and does a full perimeter search before he returns .
“There’s no one out there,” he says.
“Are you sure?” I ask, though part of me knows he’s sure.
I’m still reeling, still trying to put a nightmare Dax knows nothing about behind me.
I’m the one who ran for the hills and right out of Devon, scared for my life. Dax doesn’t know about any of it. He doesn’t understand. I take a deep breath.
“Olivia, I’m sure,” he says.
The way he says it soothes my panicked nervous system. It glazes over my soul and gives me a sense of safety, something I’ve never felt before.
He locks the door behind him.