Chapter 10
Todd would have easily taken Olivia right then and there. Hell, in the past, he wouldn’t have thought twice. But with her, here, now, he wanted things to be different. She mattered more than anyone else had in his past.
Yet, he didn’t want to sound like a fool by telling her this. Instead, he had made some excuse about Ethan being out there, which was true. Still, that knowledge wouldn’t have stopped him in the past.
That didn’t mean, however, that they couldn’t still enjoy themselves. The hot tub was doing wonders to relax a few aches he’d gotten over the past few weeks working on the house.
With Olivia rubbing against him, his mind was focused on how wonderful her tight little body felt. His hands roamed slowly up and down her body and when he cupped her breasts, she released the sexiest moan he’d ever heard.
“Do you like that?” he asked softly.
“My god, it’s been so… long,” she said, her eyes closed. She rolled her head back as he pinched her nipples between his fingers. She arched into him and he nudged the wet see-through material aside to dip his head down and run his mouth over her soft skin.
She buried her fingers in his hair, holding him closer as he lapped at her skin. The mixture of her perfume and the salt water was intoxicating. His hands roamed lower to grip her hips as she started grinding against him. His dick jumped as it pushed against her softness.
He couldn’t remember ever wanting someone this badly before.
His finger covered her, rubbed against her, and then dipped just under the soft silk of her panties to find her warm, waiting for him.
She sucked in her bottom lip and held it between her teeth as he enjoyed the feeling of her tightening around his fingers.
Just imagining what she would feel like wrapped around him almost made him come. How could a woman do this to him?
Her hips moved slowly as she rode his fingers, and just watching her as she took her pleasure from him had him groaning. Then he watched in amazement as she arched back, bit her bottom lip and came for him.
“My god,” he said, pulling her lips back down to his in a kiss that seared him down to his soul. “You’re amazing.”
She leaned against his chest, those perfect breasts of hers pushed up against his chest as her breathing and heartbeat settled. He could almost hear her thinking when she stiffened and realized what he’d done to her and where they were.
He chuckled. “I take it you’ve never done anything like that in a public setting before?” he asked.
She shook her head. “My god, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to look at Ethan again.”
His laughed again and wrapped his arms around her. “I want to do this again with you soon. Someplace we can be alone.” He nudged her until she sat up and met his eyes. “All night.”
She nodded. “I’d like that.”
“For now, what do you say we sit back and let these bubbles relax us, before we head back to town.”
She shifted to sit beside him. She ran her hand over his chest, making small little circles around his flat nipples while her other hand found him, still hard under the water.
“Don’t you think it’s only fair that I return the favor?
” she asked, gripping him firmly. His eyes crossed and then closed as she started stroking him.
He opened his mouth to tell her that she didn’t have to, but then he swallowed the words when she nudged his shorts down and started stroking him, skin to skin.
She moved until her lips brushed against his ear. “Do you like this?” she asked.
His fingers tightened in her hair as he pulled her back to his lips to kiss her while she continued to please him.
“You’re a witch,” he said later as they dressed again by the pool.
She chuckled. “Maybe I am.” She looked over her shoulder at him. “If I was, I’d cast a spell and make us the only two people on the island so we could have all night together.”
He’d pulled on his pants and held his shirt in his hands. Before putting it on, he walked over and wrapped his arms around her and kissed her one more time.
“Whatever spells you have, I’d gladly let you cast them on me.” He kissed her again.
Just then, they both heard the laughter of people making their way towards the pool area.
Olivia nudged him aside and quickly pulled on her dress and sweater.
She was just putting on her sandals and he was tying his shoes when three couples came walking onto the pool deck.
“Evening,” he said casually.
The couples looked at them and smiled. “Oh, evening,” one of the women said with a giggle. “I hope we didn’t interrupt anything?”
“No.” He smiled and helped Olivia stand, making a point to hold onto her hand. “We were just enjoying the bubbles.” He nodded to the hot tub. “Have a good night.” He nodded to the couples and started slowly walking back down the pathway towards the docks.
“What do you say we stop off at the kitchen? I could use some dessert,” Olivia said.
“The kitchen?”
She laughed. “Tara, the pastry chef, is a friend. She bakes for the bakery in town and works out here as well. She always has extra cookies or pie on hand.”
“I could go for some pie,” he agreed, changing their direction.
They sat out on the massive front deck of the resort while he enjoyed a piece of chocolate silk pie and she ate a bowl of chocolate brownie delight, which consisted of chocolate brownie, caramel topping, chopped walnuts, whipped cream, and some more caramel chunks on top.
He gave her a bite of his pie and, after getting a bite of her brownie, had to admit she’d picked the best dessert.
It was all so casual, the way they fell into conversation easily, changing between topics ranging from work, sports, Simona, or their pasts. He didn’t feel the need to hide anything from her, which was in itself rewarding since he’d spent years lying to everyone.
The ferry ride back to town went by too quicky, and the entire ride back he dreamed of the evening not ending. But he knew that with Ethan tagging along, he’d have to cut the night short.
He walked her to her car and kissed her under a streetlight while Ethan sat in the dark SUV. When he climbed into the seat next Ethan, the man turned to him.
“You know, you can act like we’re not here,” the man said casually.
Todd laughed. “Right.” He sighed. “I have no problem with it, but something tells me Olivia was having a hard time with it.”
They drove through the sleepy town, heading towards his place.
“Maybe next time she has a night off, just invite her over to your place? It’s probably best for security purposes anyway,” he suggested.
It wasn’t a bad idea. But he hadn’t wanted her to feel like he was moving too fast.
When he was lying in his new bedroom, staring up at the ceiling, he pulled out his phone and sent her a text message.
“I had a great time tonight.”
Her response came instantly.
“Me too. Thank you. Dinner, adult conversation, and the bubbles were just what I needed.”
“I needed you. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to open myself up like this. I promise next time we go out, you won’t even notice Ethan.”
“Maybe next time, I’ll just come over to your place and we can have a night in?”
He felt his heart skip as he typed his response.
“I’d like that. When’s your next free night?”
It took her a moment to answer this one.
“I can arrange for Simona to spend the night at Crystal and Rory’s next Thursday.”
“It’s a date. I’ll cook, you bring the dessert.”
She sent an emoji of red lips and champagne glasses.
“Night,” he replied.
“Goodnight.”
The weekend went by in a blur. He worked on clearing out the rest of the rooms in the house, which included hauling out a few pieces of furniture that were old or outdated and ordering a couple small items from a local store.
He ran into Rowan a few more times at the hardware store, and the two of them seemed to hit it off pretty well.
Rowan invited him over for Sunday brunch and the game.
He almost declined due to Ethan or Javan having to tag along but decided that his life couldn’t stop because there was a possibility of someone out to get him.
Besides, after the first text message, he hadn’t gotten any more.
Then again, no strange messages had been sent to any of his other team members prior to their murders. His CO was sure the message was a fluke, since they had tracked the burner cell it had come from somewhere in Georgia.
When Sunday rolled around, he had not only finished clearing and cleaning out all the rooms upstairs, but he’d ordered the new carpet that was to be installed in less than a week and had started replacing the old wood flooring on the stairs.
It was a process, but when he was done, instead of run-down carpet on the two sets of stairs, there would be dark maple hardwood and new maple railings leading all the way up to the top floor. He planned to sand and restain the hardwood on the main floor to match it.
He really liked the rustic look of the place and wanted to carry that atmosphere throughout the entire house, not just the main floor.
He stopped in town to grab a case of beer and headed to the address Rowan had given him.
Rowan’s house was big and had a classic appearance, just like the two-story homes surrounding it. It was painted a soft beige with crisp white trim and had bright blue shutters. The yard was well maintained with bright flowers on each step leading up to the double stained-glass doors.
If Todd had to describe the house in one word, it would have been cheerful.
The last thing he expected after ringing the doorbell was to have Olivia answer the door, holding a bald-headed baby decked out in the smallest Maine Sea Dog’s uniform he’d ever seen.
“Hi,” she said with a smile. “Rowan told me he’d invited you.” She swung the door open wide. “We’re all in the back.” She nodded for him to enter.
“Who is this?” he asked, brushing a finger down the little boy’s chubby cheek.
“This is Emylia,” she answered as she bounced the baby on her hip.
Little girl, he mentally corrected.
“Her daddy gets to dress her on game days.” Olivia rolled her eyes and then leaned closer. “I think Adam secretly wished for another son.”
He chuckled. “Girls can play sports too.”
“Oh, I know it.” She chuckled. “I’m way better at softball than Adam, but don’t tell him I told you.
” She shut the front door as he stepped inside.
“Fragile male ego and all.” She shifted the kid on her hip and started walking back through the house.
They passed through a very tidy living room and kitchen and then stepped out into what he could only describe as the most perfect backyard patio he’d ever seen.
There was a large-screen television hanging behind a large bar area that easily sat ten people. A circular patio table sat in the shade from umbrellas and the massive trees that shadowed the entire area.
A tall firepit table sat directly in the middle of the patio next to a large L-shaped sofa where several women with kids sat talking.
Kids ran around the neatly trimmed grassy areas and played on a wooden swing set.
A couple of boys played soccer, and most of the men were gathered around the bar area, either grilling or sipping beers and watching the game.
“Wow,” he said softly.
Olivia chuckled. “Yeah, they fixed the backyard up a few years ago. I can only dream of having a yard as awesome as this one day.” She walked over to hand the baby to Lilly, Adam’s wife.
“Want a beer?” she asked.
He held up the case. “I brought some, but if there’s some that are cold…”
She waved him over, and he followed her to the bar area.
“Todd’s here,” she called out.
“Todd!” several of the men cheered, causing him to laugh.
“Sorry.” Olivia rolled her eyes. “They think they’re in an episode of Cheers.” She motioned him behind the bar and showed him where a large double-wide beer fridge was. He grabbed a cold beer of his liking and stacked his beer in an empty spot in the fridge so it would get cold.
“Burgers are on. They’ll be ready in about fifteen,” Rowan called over to him. “Make yourself at home.”
Todd glanced around and noticed Simona playing with CJ now.
“Looks like they mended things,” he said, sipping his beer as she took up a glass of wine and sipped.
“Yeah, their fights never last long.” She sighed.
“That’s good.” He shifted a little closer. “This is a nice surprise, having you two here today.”
Olivia smiled. “It’s the first day of the season. It’s a standing invitation. Rowan mentioned that he’d run into you at the hardware store and invited you when I got here. I would have, but…” She shrugged. “It wasn’t my place.”
“I’m just glad I needed a new O ring for the upstairs toilet,” he joked.
“Oh? Having issues with the bathrooms upstairs?”
“No, just a leaky toilet, which I fixed on my own.” He sighed. “After watching more than a dozen YouTube videos. The plumbers and electricians I hired are due to start work soon.”
She laughed. “You’ll get the hang of it.” She touched his arm and then glanced around. “No Ethan?”
“He’s around.” He nodded. “After running a complete background check on Rowan and, well, anyone else he’s related to, he determined it was safe enough for me to come today.
Honestly, I think the text message was just a fluke.
After talking to my commanding officer, we both agree that the threat I received didn’t fit the MO. ”
“Oh?” She motioned to a bench and they walked over to sit down under the shade of a large apple tree that held hundreds of small green apples not quite ready yet.
“Yeah, the message I received could have been from anyone. They found the burner phone it had been sent from in Georgia.” He felt her stiffen next to him but continued on. “The message was vague enough that it could have been sent to me by mistake.”
“What did it say?” she asked, her voice so low that he almost didn’t hear her.
He pulled out his phone and showed her the message.
“Found you.”
She closed her eyes and he watched in horror as all of the color left her cheeks.
“Hey, what’s all this?” he asked, gathering her in his arms.
“It’s from Brock,” she said into his shoulder. “That message is from my ex-husband.”