24. Chapter 24
LUNA
Earlier Today:
“So, you’re the one?” the girl standing in front of me in the lift blurts. At first, I assume she must have an earbud or something in her ear, but she’s been stealing glances at me since we both climbed in here on the ground floor.
I’d come to the building where Surly Bastard and Macy work to meet Macy for lunch, I only agreed to meet here knowing it’s highly unlikely I was going to run into Oliver as he worked on the top floor, and apart from her and Oliver’s assistant I didn’t think I’d run into anyone else I know, so there’s no way she’s talking to me.
“I’m sorry?” I ask, still trying to remain polite even though I don’t like her disrespectful tone towards someone she doesn’t even know.
“You. I’m talking to you,” she spits, spinning in her five-inch heels to face me as we pass the fourth floor. But before I can know who the hell she thinks she’s talking to, she adds to her statement.
“God knows what the hell Oliver must see in you,” she growls when the sound of his name feels foreign, and not just because I hadn’t even seen the owner of that name for longer than five minutes for the last few days, but also because her attire is confirmation that she didn’t work here.
From her strapless dress in the shade of lime green with a big brown belt pulled tightly around her tiny waist, it asserted the curves only a Vogue model was worthy of, paired with a pair of black stiletto heels.
Her long black hair was in a high ponytail, and a plain black blazer, which only looked as if she added it at the last minute to fit into the business environment.
Though it was clear to everyone here she was out of place - not that the guy at reception had any issue with it after begging for her number, but that’s none of my business; what was my business was being ambushed by a woman who apparently knew me, but I did not know who she was.
“And you are?” I ask in the nicest tone I could muster, but regret it the moment she bursts into laughter.
“Like you don’t know.” She scoffs, reads on my face that I had no clue, and steps
closer as we pass the tenth floor.
“Hmm, maybe I was wrong for once,” she smirks, giving me the once-over.
“You’re not of importance to him if you don’t even know about us.” Is that supposed to be sort of a dig? cause I’m pretty sure she’s got more than one thing wrong right now.
As long as I’ve been entrusted to care for his child, I am of some importance to Surly Bastard, but that’s it. I couldn’t care less about what she was babbling about; all I wanted was for her to get out of my face.
I’d been through enough this week dealing with Surly Bastard’s childlike antics, and now I was dealing with a woman mouthing off with his name on her tongue, getting on my last nerve.
To avoid swinging at this woman in an lift I chose to ignore her and anything else that came out of her mouth, and thank God soon enough we reach the paralegal floor where I’m happy to be rid of her, though I slightly regret agreeing with Macy that I’d meet her here, I didn’t know I was going encounter crazy after crazy, I was however glad to get out of that metal trap with what seemed like a right cow.
I step onto the quiet floor.
Macy isn’t waiting by the lift, so I try to look for her. However, I can’t remember where she told me to go from the last time I came here a few months ago. But I don’t get far; I encounter the last person I wanted to see right now.
He grabs me by the wrist, dragging me to a more secluded area, then demands I tell him what I’m doing here, acting as if the world revolves around him. When I treat him with the same cruelty he is choosing to give me, when I’ve done nothing but be nice to him, well, not anymore.
Employer or not, I don’t deserve to be treated like this, no matter how good that kiss was.
I do my best to remain strong; I’m betrayed by my body, too wrapped up in being closer to him than I have been to him in a while, and my gaze shamefully flickers towards his lips. I make sure it’s only a second… maybe two.
But he doesn’t notice because he’s far too busy trying to convince me and everyone else that the world revolves around him; the mere assumption that he spends even a second thinking about me is laughable.
I’m now determined to piss him off further, following in the footsteps of Gran, showing no remorse in using the nickname Macy and I made up for him, which is proving there is no better word to describe the way he’s acting, I don’t hold back and voice how pissed I am at the way he’s been treating me, how his absence is starting to effect Theo and how it’s time for him to stop acting like a child.
When I suddenly realise something.
“You Surly bas- I said this isn’t your floor and I have somewhere to be!” I growl, ignoring the fact that he’s caged me in between himself and the wall, a display I never thought I’d be caught in with him of all people.
Instead, he just…steps back and lets me pass without another word.
I gladly accept, but a few seconds later, I can hear him coming after me.
“Quit following me,” I protest, loud enough for him to hear in case there are others on this floor, but as usual, Oliver Walters does whatever he wants and chooses not to listen to me.
Combined with those basketball player-length legs of his, it doesn’t take him long to catch up to me.
I quickly turn the same corner as earlier and reach the lift where Macy is waiting for me.
Thank God for my humble saviour; I’ll never go wandering off again. I say to myself as she asks where I came from and use the power of a hug to avoid a response, and sense no sign of Oliver, giving Macy the quick version of how I went looking for her but got lost while we wait for the lift.
When it finally arrives, relieved in more ways than one, I tug us both inside the lift and press the ground floor as the lift remains Surly Bastard and crazy lady free all the way down.
Right now, I just want to enjoy lunch with my sister and bask in all the badmouthing Macy did about Surly Bastard during her break, storing all of it slowly and carefully because of the moment Theo was in bed tonight.
I was going to rip Surly Bastard a new one, all the way down to his awful taste in women.
****
The Present:
I’ve hit my limit.
One minute, Surly Bastard is avoiding me like the plague, leaving the house late at night and treating me like a nuisance; the next minute, he’s gripping my waist and kissing the air out of my lungs. I was willing to let it go and just return to our version of normal, but then he did it again.
The first was only a small peck, but earlier, that second kiss. It was passionate, loaded with sexual tension, a beacon to what Oliver and I have been feeling for each other every time we’d been alone together; he’s not running away now.
He refused to acknowledge the first kiss? fine. It was obviously a mistake, caught up in the moment, but I wasn’t going to let him treat my lips like they’re a forbidden fruit, then just walk off.
Oliver crossed a line he was fully aware of, and there’s no escaping it this time.
Because I’m prepared, waiting for him outside Theo’s bedroom.
Fuelled with anger and tired of being horny and confused at the same time.
None of which is going to allow this Bear of a man to take advantage of me.
I’m not going to let him use me like this, and even if I used my body as a barricade until I got answers.
We were going to talk about the elephant in the room, whether he wanted to or not.
At first, I make him think I’m not around, but the moment he steps out of Theo’s room, I charge towards him.
“Oliver,” I growl in hushed tones as he turns to see me.
His body freezes as he tucks his head into his chest and attempts to retreat to his bedroom.
With a spring in my step, I beat him there, using my body like I said I would.
I block the door, holding my arms outwards, glaring up at him with all my might.
“Jesus, you’re worse than a child.” I declare, but his eyes are suddenly fascinated by the carpet.
“Did you really think you were going to get away with that a second time? I don’t know what the hell is going on with you, but we are going to talk about what happened earlier and last week, so whether we go downstairs or do this h-” I pause to see him clench his eyes shut like he’s wishing I’ll just disappear.
“Oliver, are you even listening to me-” I start, but the collision of his lips on mine for the third time silences me.
His large hands cradle my head in place, and the other tugs at my hip, and my head quickly starts to spin.
My rage is temporarily forgotten as I place my hands on his chest to steady myself.
But after a moment, I realise what’s happening, and there’s no time to pull apart as
Oliver cradles my jaw delicately while working on the doorknob to his bedroom and uses his other hand to sweep me off my feet like I weigh nothing, and kicks the door open, carrying me into his bedroom one-handed.
Then the door closes, my back is pressed against it, and Oliver slots my legs around his waist, pressing his weight against me.
The quick motion causes me to bite his lip in response.
My eyes snap open when he hisses sharply and opens his piercing eyes to bore into mine.
The dark expression in them seems endless, but simultaneously sends tears down my thighs.
“What are we doing?” I murmur as a sudden revelation.
“Giving in,” he states firmly. Raking his predatory gaze down my body, settling on the curve of my midriff, now exposed as my top is hitched at my waist.
“Giving in to what?” I mumble, quickly tugging my top back down, but his gaze remains.
“You.” falls breathlessly from his lips. But me? I couldn’t be more confused…
“I tried to ignore you. Your caring nature, your laugh, and, oh god, your scent.” He declares like a man starved and buries his head in the crook of my neck.
“It was easier in the beginning because I hated you, couldn’t stand that you weren’t afraid of me and straight out called me a butt head the first time we met.
You were the last person I wanted to hire as Theo’s nanny, and I was more than happy to leave Nigel’s office that day and never see you again,” he explains, trailing the tip of his nose up the valley of my neck, sending a corresponding shiver down my spine.
“Yet, since that day, I haven’t been able to get you out of my head.
Your name followed me everywhere I went, and no matter what I did to keep you out, you just kept slipping your way back in, whether it was your laugh or the way you treat Theo, your feisty side or your crack-filled home-cooked meals,” he adds, shattering my world.
“I don’t think I can hold back any longer. I’m bloody obsessed with you; I can’t keep running, nor can I seem to stop kissing you either,” he admits in defeat, brushing a loose strand behind my ear.
“So, you choose,” Oliver says, searching for an answer in my eyes.
“You be the one to decide where this goes. Either get that sexy ass of yours out of this room, and we’ll never speak of this again; I’ll stop with the childish antics, and we can have a complete factory reset,” he offers, pauses, slowly raising his head to meet my gaze.
“Or, you admit that you want the same as me, and we’ll act out every dirty little thought I know is racing through your mind right now,” he finishes, riddling me with excitement I’ve never experienced before.
But is it worth the risk? He’s offering me a chance to forget any of this ever happened; I can continue being Theo’s nanny, and we can go back to co-existing in this house.
On the other hand…Oliver is also offering me a form of intimacy I haven’t explored before.
Without understanding and compassion, I can’t build an emotional attachment.
But…here stands a man, finally telling me what he wants and…
apparently that’s me? And suddenly, I feel more than one wall within myself quickly start to crumble - courtesy of Oliver Walters.
Oliver, he doesn’t say a word. Remaining quiet, and for the first time, he gives me the space to articulate my feelings.
He doesn’t push, doesn’t rush me…doesn’t run.
As much as I want to take the easy way out, can I really pretend the man who flushed his god-like body against mine and kissed me so hard in the kitchen, that I saw stars, doesn’t exist?
Not to mention, all of this probably violates our contract on both sides. Sleeping together could complicate things further, and the wise thing to do is decline, but sadly, when I open my mouth, that’s not the answer that comes out.
“Um,” is the only word I’m able to voice, as if Oliver assumes my answer is no, because he swiftly unwraps me from me.
Lowering me back on my feet and takes a step back.
We share a glance at one another before I turn and place my hand on the doorknob.
I can’t see him, but I swear I can feel his shoulders slump in rejection behind me.
I half expect him to try and stop me, to convince me he’ll make his confession worthwhile.
But he doesn’t.
With a deep breath, I open the door. My heart feels like it’s in my throat as I step over the threshold.
When my life flashes before my eyes, all my life, I’d only ever played it safe, bent myself over backwards to please others and done the responsible thing.
Not once did I ever really ask myself what I wanted, what was best for me.
Is sleeping with my boss a terrible idea? Yes.
Would I fail miserably at the whole casual sex thing? Yes again.
But if I am asking myself for once, what do I want?
Oliver’s declaration from Sunday reappears.
“There is nothing in my household that would take away Luna’s will to choose, nor does it contain anything that could put her in danger.
” And I realise, I want risk, I want passion, I want something that challenges me.
I want Oliver Walters.
He’s a selfish asshole, stubborn as a bear, but he isn’t without reason because how else did Theo turn out so great?
And despite how selfish he can be, right now his actions seem to be matching his words.
Though he looks as if he wants to ravish me like his last meal, regardless of what our contract says, Oliver is giving me all the power to choose.
Oliver is unlike any other man I’ve met; he’s an insufferable grump full of layers…I so desperately want to unravel. Without another thought, I close the distance between us and leap up, where he catches me one-handed, colliding his lips with mine and kicks the door shut with a thud.