Chapter 29 #4
Her laugh is breathy, warm, and damn near addictive. She sits up, reaching for the oversized hoodie of mine lying at the end of the bed and shrugs into it.
“So, tell me what you like in the porn books, I’m happy to make every one of those fantasies come true.” I pull her closer to me, kissing the side of her neck, which makes her laugh. “Come on, tell me.”
“All I’m going to say is, if this is what you’re going to be doing, I don’t need you to do any of them.” She turns to me, and that cute smile appears on her lips. “This was everything.”
I pull her closer to me, my lips brushing against hers. “I love you, never stopped loving you.” The words escape in a whisper, then give her a kiss.
“I’ve only ever loved you.” She kisses me back.
I don’t think I’m ever going to be this happy in my life.
I wonder if I can get her on the sixth floor, or better yet get her to do a strip show for me. Fuck she would look sexy while doing it too.
She pulls away from me. “Where are you going?” I ask.
“To pick up the mail you didn’t let me grab when we came in,” she says, walking across the room. “Someone couldn’t keep their hands to themselves.”
“Guilty. Can you blame me, have you seen yourself, and you being naked is even better, so let’s remove some clothes. Plus, we have lost time to catch up on.” I grin, arms behind my head, watching her like a damn movie I never want to end.
She leans down by the door, scooping up a small stack of envelopes and papers. She flips through them casually, until she isn’t. Her shoulders tighten, that easy posture disappearing like a switch flipped.
“What is it?” I ask, sitting up, suddenly alert.
“It’s nothing,” she says too fast, waving a hand as if that’ll erase the tension in her voice. “Just stupid.”
I swing my legs off the bed and stand, grabbing my sweatpants off the floor and yanking them on.
“Olivia.” My voice is low, serious. “If we’re doing this... really doing this, no lies. Not anymore.”
She swallows, then turns the letter around and holds it up.
My blood runs cold.
I walk to her, take it gently from her hands. A single sentence in thick, slanted writing is scrawled across the paper:
Still watching. Still waiting. You’ll never be free from me.
My jaw clenches.
“How many of these have you gotten?” I ask, flipping through the rest of the mail.
She hesitates, then says, “The others are in the drawer.”
“Show me.”
Her bare feet are quiet on the floor as she crosses the room to the small wooden drawer under her desk. She pulls it open and takes out a bundle of folded papers, rubber-banded together. At least ten. Maybe more.
I take them, sit on the edge of her bed, and start reading.
I liked you better quiet. We’ll get back to that.
The way you screamed, remember? You will.
Don’t think your new friends can save you. I know where you sleep.
Each one is worse than the last. My fingers curl into fists as I force myself to read every word. She sits beside me, her knee brushing mine, like she’s afraid I’ll lose it.
I might.
I set the bundle down, carefully. Too carefully. That’s how I know I’m furious when I go still. My blood’s boiling and I’m calculating without even meaning to.
“Who do you think’s sending them?” I ask, eyes still on the page.
She exhales. “Leo. Probably. It feels like something he’d do.”
“And you didn’t tell me?”
“I didn’t want to make it a thing,” she whispers. “And you hated me, I didn’t think you’d care. It’s just mind games. That’s what he does. He’s been doing it since I came back into town.”
I get up, pacing the room.
“Mind games?” My voice is low. Dangerous. “Olivia, this isn’t some high school prank. This is stalking. It’s a threat.”
“I know.” She stands, watching me. “But I’m not scared anymore.”
I stop and turn. “You’re not?”
Her eyes soften. “Not with you here.”
I walk back to her, slow, like I’m reeling myself in. I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and let my hand trail down her cheek.
“Nothing will ever happen to you again,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper. “I don’t care what it costs me, Olivia. You’re safe. I’ll make damn sure of it.”
She nods, but I can see the tears swimming in her eyes.
I pull her against my chest and hold her tighter than I probably should. The old me, the one before prison, before betrayal, before scars and silence, he would’ve said the words in a heartbeat. Promised her the world and meant every word.
But this me?
I don’t make promises lightly. Not anymore.
So, when I say, “I’ve got you, Olivia,” I mean it with every broken piece of me.
And I’m going to find out who’s behind this even if I have to burn the world down to do it.
She looks up at me, and smiles, her hands moving over my chest, then her body tenses as her fingers move over the scar.
“You can’t think of the scars, you’ll drive yourself crazy.” I lean down to kiss her, but she pulls away.
“But it’s my fault.” Her voice is low, and all I can do is smile.
“I don’t care, I’m not living in the past with you anymore, let’s make the future ours.” She nods softly, and I smile. “And I think we need to start losing the clothes, so we can have some more fun.”
This is our time now, and nothing is ruining it for us.