Chapter Nineteen
Nineteen
Justin
Idrove her home trying my damnedest to ignore the way she smelled like a sex-drenched rose garden. And the way she looked like a goddess with that tight dress on, showcasing every one of her perfect little curves and those toned legs in those fuck-me heels. With her hair straight, it was nearly down to her waist, just begging for my hands to be tangled up in it... and those dark, ruby-red lips... I bit back a groan and tried to reposition myself in my seat so she wouldn’t see my reaction to her.
“Where’s Elizabeth?” I asked to focus my mind on something else. Something safe.
“My parents took her for the weekend.” She shifted to face me, which only served to hike that dress up even higher on her milky-white thighs. “How did you know where I was tonight? Are you following me?”
I flicked her a glance. “It’s sort of in my job description.” Clearly, she forgot that she’d shared her location with me.
“Not like The Bodyguard at all,” she mumbled under her breath.
“What’s that?”
“Nothing. It’s just kind of weird that I don’t know you’re there.”
“You do know I’m there. Just because I’m not in your line of sight at all times doesn’t mean you’re not in mine.”
“I’m not sure if that’s reassuring or creepy.”
“Given the circumstances, go with reassuring.”
“Right.” She huffed out a breath and flopped back to face forward.
“Is everything okay?” I ask.
“Sure. I think I just had too much to drink.”
“When you get home, drink a big glass of water, some Gatorade if you have it, and take some aspirin. That should help.”
She glanced over. “You speak from experience?”
“I was in the military, remember?” I didn’t bother telling her that I did my fair share of overdrinking once I was out, nursing a broken heart during my divorce.
I got her home and she opened the truck door and hopped out before I could help her, apparently in a hurry to be away from me. I guessed she was creeped out about me following her to that bar after all. Before she could disappear inside the house, I rolled down my window to do some damage control. “Olivia.”
She paused and turned to me, her big eyes glinting in the moonlight. “Yeah?”
“If nobody told you tonight, you look absolutely stunning.”
“Thank you.” Her reply was barely a whisper before she slipped inside.
I waited, watching as lights turned on and she moved behind the blinds. A bit later, the lights turned off. I imagined her showering and washing off all that makeup, getting ready for bed, maybe slipping on one of her old t-shirts and those yoga pants she was so fond of.
I knew I should go, but it was like I was rooted to the spot. I sat there for a full hour before I gave up and killed the engine, wondering what kind of fool I was.
This had become more than a job to me, no matter how much I tried to convince myself otherwise. Still, I needed to keep my head in the game. I had to... for her. It would kill me if I slipped up and something catastrophic happened.
Suddenly, I jerked awake at a gentle tapping on my window. “Justin?”
Shit. I must’ve dozed off in her driveway, more tired than I realized. I pinched the sleep from my eyes and glanced at my watch. Two thirteen a.m.
I cracked open my door to find Olivia shivering in a tiny silk robe, her hair mussed. “What are you doing out here?”
“I could ask you the same thing,” she said, her voice still sleepy.
“Go inside,” I demanded, firmly keeping my eyes on her face and not on the nipples I knew were poking through that thin robe. “It’s freezing out here.”
“This is ridiculous.” Her gaze raked over my Henley. “You’ve got to be cold.”
“I’m fine.”
She rolled her eyes, then reached across my body, invading my space with her clean floral scent as she snagged my truck keys from the ignition. “Don’t be stupid. You’re taking this professional thing too far. Come inside where it’s warm.”
She had me there. I was being dumb and freezing my ass off for no good reason. “Fine.”
She spun and raced back up the walkway, rubbing her arms for warmth.
I slammed my truck door and followed, heaving a relieved sigh when I walked inside the warm house.
She handed me my keys, so I hit the remote locks, then set them on the small entry table and locked the front door.
“Hot tea?” she called from the kitchen.
“It’s two something in the morning,” I said, joining her and watching as she set the kettle to boil.
She smiled at me, raising a mug. “Chamomile?”
“Yeah, sure. Thanks.”
She was a smoke show in that dress and heels tonight, but somehow, this version of her undid me even more—no makeup, bare feet, her guard down in her little robe and messy hair, making tea in the middle of the night. She was adorable and sexy as hell. Seeing her like this only reminded me why I’d run for the hills.
“What are you thinking about?” she asked, catching my stare.
I swallowed thickly. “You really don’t want to know.”
Her pupils flared and she sucked in a little breath. “I think I really do.”
To hell with it. Seriously. I wasn’t sure she could handle the truth, but...
“I’m thinking about how much I want to rip that robe off your tight little body and see if you’re wearing anything underneath it.” My eyes dipped to her chest. “I’m thinking that those hard nipples mean maybe you’re not, and that makes me think about how much I want to taste them just before I bend you over and fuck you so hard you’re screaming my name until you’re hoarse.”
“Oh God,” she whispered, her hand coming up to clutch at her throat in surprise as color flooded her face.
“Yeah, well, you asked.” I folded my arms across my chest. “But don’t worry, because I won’t—”
“I want you to.”
“What?” My gaze snapped up to hers, sure I hadn’t heard that right.
Her hand fell from her throat to the tie at her waist, a bit shy as she slowly unraveled it so her robe fell open, revealing a tight pink tank top and white boy shorts that left little to the imagination. “I want you to stop dancing around me like I’m untouchable and do all that.”
“Olivia,” I growled. Didn’t she know she was playing with fire?
Behind her, the kettle began to scream, but she ignored it, instead letting the robe fall from her shoulders to pool at her feet. “Justin. Please stop thinking so much.”
The last shred of my sanity held me in place as I wrestled with myself. At least until she reached around to turn the stove off, plunging us into quiet just before she slid one of her hands under her tank, revealing a slice of white flesh and the hint of a tiny tattoo on her hip... then traced her fingers up, slowly lifting her shirt off.
She was trembling with a look of uncertainty in her honeyed eyes as she stood before me in nothing more than her panties, baring her perfect pert breasts and her heart to me, presenting herself on a platter, silently begging me to take what she offered.
My resistance crumbled in that moment. It had probably always been futile where she was concerned.
I took three long strides across the kitchen, until I was directly in her personal space, and let myself drink her in, all soft vulnerability coated in strength and bravado. She was the most intoxicating woman I’d ever met.
I cupped her jaw in one hand, and she closed her eyes, leaning into my touch like she’d been waiting her whole life for it.
I dropped my gaze to her chest and the smooth expanse of ivory skin and pretty pink nipples. “You’re so beautiful.”
Her eyes fluttered open to meet mine. “So are you.”
“No, I’m not. I’m a broken shell of a man. If you knew anything about me, you’d never let me touch you.”
She reached up and put her hand on my heart. “I know enough.”
Fuck. Fuck. We were blowing so far past any boundaries, I couldn’t see them anymore, much less think straight. But I needed her to understand. “You don’t, but...” I wrapped my hand around her wrist, and I waited until I had her full attention. “I tried to keep this professional because on a personal level, I not only have a protective streak, but a possessive one. I do not share. I’ve been burned before, and I do not plan on going there again. Ever. I will storm the gates of hell first.”
“Oh . . .” It came out breathy. “Wow. Okay.”
“I’m serious, Olivia. Is that what you want? Because if not, say so right now, and I’ll go.”
I’m sure she could feel my heart pounding furiously under her hand, but I’d laid myself as bare as I could. That was the last thing I’d planned on ever doing with her, but she’d pushed me, and I had to let her know where I stood.
That shit with Tricia had nearly broken me and I would not let a woman do that to me again. If I was going to be with someone, I demanded total loyalty, and they would have all of me in return. How that would work with a job, I had no idea, but here we were.
Slowly, those eyes that killed me, lifted to mine. “I thought you didn’t want me,” she whispered. “All this time, I thought—”
“I want you more than my next heartbeat.”
“Then yes.”
“Yes, what?”
She slipped her hand from my hold so she could intertwine our fingers, gently guiding my hand so we were both cupping her breast. “Yes, that’s what I want.” She sucked in a breath when the pad of my thumb grazed her nipple. “I want you... every possessive, protective inch.”
She didn’t have to say more. I scooped her up, making her gasp in surprise as she automatically wrapped her arms and legs around me, holding on for dear life.
I spun and headed for the bedroom with her ass in my hands, and she dove for my mouth like a starving woman, her tongue sliding along mine as if she couldn’t get enough, her hands scraping the back of my skull.
I kicked the door open wide, then tossed her on the bed, loving how much the air smelled of her in there. I toed off my boots, watching how her choppy breaths made her breasts tremble.
I reached for my shirt. “Last chance to end this,” I warned.
“Not a chance.”
I smirked and yanked my shirt off, tossing it in the corner.
She clambered to her hands and knees, reaching for my jeans. “Let me.”
Jesus, who was this woman?
I went to the edge of the bed to let her have her way and she pressed a hot, open-mouthed kiss to the center of my chest as she undid my button and zipper, shoving my jeans and boxer briefs down my hips to free my painfully hard cock.
She bit her bottom lip as she looked at me fully naked for the first time.
I wanted to rush her, but she was taking her sweet-ass time, looking me over. “Like what you see?” I asked, my voice gritty and low. Tortured.
“More than like,” she whispered, her fingertips whispering over one of my tattoos. “Turn around?”
Obeying, I spun so she could see the ink on my back. The breath rushed out of me when I felt her on her knees, her breasts crushed to my back as she wrapped herself around me.
“You really are beautiful,” she said, her voice soft in my ear. “I can’t believe you’re here.”
I turned my head so our lips could meet. “I think that’s supposed to be my line.” I intertwined her little fingers with mine at my chest as we continued to make out with her front to my back for several long minutes, our only foreplay being our lips and teeth and tongues and her soft moans.
The air was heavy with her wildflower scent and her growing arousal. The only light was a small night-light in her adjoining bathroom, so we were shadows in the mirror to the side of her bed, but it was enough to make out the outline of our bodies and my jutting erection.
I slid our joined hands down my abdomen to my aching cock, fisting myself with both our palms and pumping. Slowly at first, then with a bit more pressure and speed.
She moaned into my mouth, her hand taking over more of the work as our kiss turned more passionate and urgent. Fuck, she felt good.
I did not want to come like this, not the first time, so I drew back and spun around to find swollen lips and lust-drunk eyes. A sight I could get used to for the rest of my life.
“On your back,” I gently commanded.
She lay back on top of the fluffy down comforter and stared up at me with wide, trusting eyes that gutted me. What had I done to deserve that? Not enough, but I wanted to be worthy. So bad.
I hooked a finger inside her panties and slid them down her legs, finding her neatly trimmed, not shaved bare, which was so fucking sexy to me. “I don’t know if I can be gentle,” I warned.
“Who needs gentle when you promised screaming until I was hoarse?” She bent one leg and let her knee fall to the side, giving me a glimpse of her glistening pink perfection. “Or was that all talk?”
Oh, I was done fucking talking.
I grabbed her ankles and yanked her until her ass was on the edge of the bed, then I fell to my knees between her legs, hooking her thighs over my shoulders as I dove into her, making her cry out in surprise.
I buried my tongue deep before I let myself lick and suck and twirl the tip of my tongue around the tight bud of her clit. She was the most delicious thing I’d ever tasted and I was only getting started.
Her hand found its way into my hair as her hips began to grind against my face, her gasping moans becoming louder and more urgent.
I slowed down to draw my tongue bottom to top in a leisurely slide before I pumped two fingers into her, mimicking what I wanted to do with my body.
Her hips trembled as she tried to take more of me, urge me to go faster. “Please...” She was breathy. I could tell she was close. “Justin...”
It was my name, but it wasn’t screaming.
I stopped and drew away, kissing her thigh before licking my fingers clean.
“What the—?”
I didn’t give her time to complete that thought before I flipped her over to all fours, lining my cock up with her drenched pussy. “I’m going to fuck you now. Do I need a condom?” The last shred of my sanity nudged me right then, reminding me I hadn’t brought one. I had no idea this would happen.
“No...” She breathed, shaking her head and peering at me over her shoulder. “I have an IUD, and I’m clean if you are.”
“As a whistle. Kade requires regular health exams.”
“Okay.” She practically whined, rotating her hips at me, silently begging. “Justin...”
Her utter and complete trust in me and her total surrender were enough to make me come undone. I rammed home without another word, and nearly blacked out with how tight and perfect she felt.
She cried out and her fists clenched the comforter. “Oh God!”
“Did I hurt you?” I ran a hand along her back.
“In the best possible way.” She moved backward, pushing me deeper. “Please don’t be gentle. I need this.”
I think I needed it more, but instead of saying that, I told her to hold on and wrapped her hair around my hand so I could pound into her like a wild man. She grunted and groaned and went a bit crazy beneath me like it was the first time she’d been taken from behind and it opened up nirvana for her. When I reached around and found her clit, it sent her over the edge, and then she did scream out my name as she climaxed, loud and long and sexy as hell.
I rose up and grabbed both of her hips in a violent grip and thrust into her as hard as I could a half dozen more times before I came with a growl, sweat pouring down my temples onto her back.
I collapsed onto her, then rolled us so we were facing each other. Something in my chest cracked wide open when she tucked her little feet between my shins.
“That was... I don’t even have words.” She glanced up at me with something that looked like hope shining in her eyes.
“It was.”
I was in it now, so I tugged her into my chest, and she cuddled in like she was made from my flesh.
She wrapped her arms around my waist, and I began to stroke my fingertips up and down her spine. I had no idea what would come of all this—what could come of it—I only knew holding her like this was the best I’d felt in years. Maybe ever.
The room was silent but for our breathing and the occasional gust of wind outside. And my racing thoughts. I knew tonight was going to change everything, for better or for worse.
“He proposed to me,” she said quietly after several minutes, her breath fanning across my chest before she lifted her face to look at me in the dark. “Elizabeth’s father.”
“You were engaged?”
“Yes. Though I’m not really sure why. Everything about him changed after I told him I was pregnant. I was so stupid... I still thought we were going to have the perfect life.”
Ice filled my chest. Why the hell was she bringing this up now, after we just had sex?
Then it dawned on me.
She’d given me her body. Now she was giving me her trust.
I brushed the hair back from her face and tried to keep my voice calm. “What do you mean, everything changed?”
“He wouldn’t touch me anymore. He definitely wasn’t interested in sex anymore.” Her gaze flitted down. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what I’m doing. This is a terrible time.”
“No. Tell me.”
Her fingers unconsciously rubbed along my flank as she remembered. “He barely looked at me or spoke more than a few words to me after I told him about the baby. It was like he shut down completely. I’m honestly not sure why he proposed. I was shocked, but happy.” She sighed. “For a while.”
“What happened?”
“Then my world collapsed.”