Chapter 17 #2
“Everyone who already knew who I was because you apparently like to complain about me.”
My teeth ground as I narrowed my eyes at her. “I don’t discuss my personal life with many people, especially anything that has to do with you.”
“Well, you talked to someone.”
Jessie placed my plate in front of me, and I gazed up at her, seeing her bite the inside of her cheek.
“That would be my husband’s fault,” she admitted, setting a bowl piled with fruit and granola in front of Olivia.
“He and Hudson have been friends for years, and this man has a tendency to let his lips flap when he drinks. Same with Carl. They’re both bad. ”
“Which is the only reason he ever had the balls to ask you out,” I added.
“Why is that?” Olivia said, stirring up the bowl and revealing yogurt below. “This doesn’t look like the kids’ plate.”
“I remembered this one teasing you about your eating choices and whipped you up something a little healthier. Although it’s full-fat yogurt, so I’m not sure it's any healthier than what’s on his plate.”
Olivia stared at the concoction and swallowed. I could see her trying to figure out her next step and braced myself.
“Thank you,” she said, turning her attention to Jessie.
“You’re welcome, Olivia.”
“So what did drinking have to do with asking you out?” She lifted her spoon, stopping mid-air. “And it’s Liv.”
I almost dropped my coffee, but Jessie’s smile grew to about the size of one of those creepy dolls she collected.
“Well, Liv. Carl had a crush on me, but he was too shy to ask me.”
“When Jessie and I dated, he figured he’d lost his chance until I dragged it out of him one night after we broke up. Thought I’d be upset if he even tried.”
Liv glanced between us. “So you encouraged him?”
“Damn right I did. They were two great people, so I knew they’d make the perfect couple.”
“Jessie, stop gabbing and get back to work,” Dennie called.
“Shush, or I’ll sic Olivia’s lawyers on you for harassment.”
He grumbled to himself as she turned back to us. “I’m assuming not everyone calls you Liv?”
“That’s right.”
“You’ll have to tell me one day why this guy doesn’t, but I’ve got tables to get to. Maybe we can get together at the Brand one night this week?”
“Sounds good, Jess,” I said.
Olivia took a bite of her yogurt, eyeing me.
“What?”
She shook her head, taking another bite.
“Spit it out…and I don’t mean the food.”
“You set your ex up with your friend?”
“I told you I didn’t love her, Olivia,” I said, leaning in to keep my voice down. I didn’t need everyone knowing more of my business. “Carl’s a good guy, and I knew he could give her what I couldn’t. They’ve been together for six years.”
She gave me a small smile. “So, drinks at the Brand? Do I want to know what that is?”
“The local bar. Not your kind of place at all.”
“Hm, then it sounds like someplace you should take me.”
“Line dancing and drinking beer out of bottles? They don’t have fancy wine or whatever it is you drink.”
“Wine, and I’m sure they do, but I haven’t had a beer in a really long time. Not since…”
“Me?”
Her smile spread. “Yeah.”
“Then beers at the Brand it is. Maybe in a few days after things settle down…” My mood faltered as I finished the thought. “…if you’re still here.”
Understanding passed through her eyes before she said, “You’re stuck with me until next Monday.”
My mouth fell open, and I swallowed back the myriad of emotions that information gave me.
“And beer and line dancing sound perfect.”
Deciding not to dwell on the date that loomed ahead of us, I gave her a nod and said, “Only perfect if you wear that sexy shirt I picked out with those tight jeans you’ve got on that make your ass look so tempting.”
Her laugh skated across my skin and set my soul ablaze.
I wanted her to keep laughing, to have her smile never fade again, only I didn’t know how to keep them from slipping out of my grip because I didn’t know how to keep her from doing the same.
Where her return to New York had been a blessing when she’d first arrived, now it hovered over me like a shadow I couldn’t escape.
“Have you been checking my ass out, Hudson Thomas?”
I gave her a crooked grin. “Damn right I have. And don’t cuss; it doesn’t sound right coming from you, who scolds me nonstop about it.”
The graceful angle of her neck when she threw her head back and laughed had me yearning to lean over and trace my mouth over it.
I cleared my throat and looked down at my food, stabbing my egg with my fork instead, trying to calm my body and my mind as it raced toward a dead end I wasn’t sure I could avoid but knew with certainty I wouldn’t survive.
I brushed the dirt off my pants before entering the house.
Kicking my boots off, I looked around for Olivia.
We’d spent the previous day in bed once we returned home.
It was almost as if I was trying to satisfy fifteen years of longing.
I couldn’t get enough of her because the need to touch her was like a bellowing scream in my body.
After checking the living room, I caught sight of her on the porch.
She was sitting with her feet propped on the table, a notebook on her knees.
I took a moment to observe her before I interrupted her.
Auburn curls hung over her shoulders and framed her face.
Thick lashes flicked over her bright eyes, which leaned closer to a dusty gold today.
And across her cheeks was the splash of freckles I adored.
Without the fancy clothes and the mask she wore, she looked soft, with an innocence about her.
But there was nothing innocent about Olivia Icinda.
She was a dichotomy of control and wildness that battled for the lead.
With me, the wildness won, but beyond my reach, the control returned, the mask reformed, and she was someone I didn’t recognize.
A product of her upbringing, her past, her father.
I opened the door and walked out. Her head rose, eyes scrunching in the sun as she smiled up at me.
“What are you up to out here?” I asked as I took her face and rubbed my thumb over her cheek.
That irresistible call to her returned, and I kissed her.
Like a magnet drawn to a paper clip, I drew her into my arms, hearing the pad of paper fall to the deck floor with her pencil.
Her arms wove around my neck, and I pulled her from the chair, picking her up and urging her legs to wrap around me.
“Missing you,” she said between kisses.
“Yeah, how much did you miss me, Olivia?”
“Too much,” she breathed, and I walked her to the railing, planting her ass on it and pushing her into me so she would know just how much I had missed her. It hadn’t been long, a few hours at most, while I’d surveyed the ranch and worked with the horses.
I pushed her shirt up, encasing her breast and squeezing it. Her moan was like a missile locking onto its target, drilling its way into my body and causing a leap in my pants.
“Is this why you came to find me?” she asked as I ran my mouth over her neck.
“Not at all, but the opportunity presented itself, and I’m taking it.”
I shoved her bra down and sucked her nipple through the fabric of her shirt. Nails dug into my shoulder, and she squealed.
“You’re bad,” she said.
Dragging my teeth across it, I stepped back, watching her grip the railing to steady herself. A gorgeous flush sat on her cheeks, and her chest was heaving delectably.
“You want me to stop?” I asked, tucking my hands in my pockets.
Her eyes dropped to the massive hard-on I was sporting, and she reached over and tugged me back to her.
“I never said that. I only said you were naughty.”