28. Olivia
Olivia
I stiffen at the sound of Malic’s deep voice, flavored with a teasing tone. Hazy memories of us at the party flicker through my mind. Fragments of our drunken conversation play on repeat. I swallow hard, trying to suppress them.
A familiar mouthwatering aroma wafts off him.
It has me slightly shifting in my seat, stirring things inside me that I don’t understand.
It tickles my nose with a kind of familiarity I can’t put my finger on.
For fuck’s sake, get yourself together, Olivia.
This is Malic. The fucking maniac, as he’s called around campus.
Yes, he was your one-night stand a few weeks ago, but you have to pretend he doesn’t affect you.
Why is he affecting me like this? Is the real question.
“Malic Monroe,” I say back, finally looking over at him as he steals Wade’s seat and sits down gracefully, despite his massive body.
A teasing smile spreads across his lips, and he chuckles.
“Fancy seeing you again so soon. You look different today.” He pauses, scanning my face as his grin grows wider.
“Hmmm. Did you do something to your hair?” His head tilts, and I swear the crystal blue of his eyes darkens as they take every inch of me in again.
“Or maybe not.” He shrugs, pursing his lips.
“I lost my glasses,” I say in a low voice, checking his expression for any hint that he found them lying on the ground and picked them up.
“That’s a shame. I’m sure you need them,” he hums, scratching his chin.
“I do need them.” Literally. I can’t do this job without them. “I think I left them at your party.”
I really don’t know what I expected from him. A twitch of his lips, maybe? A sparkle in his eyes? A proclamation that he did find them lying on the ground and hid them for safekeeping until he could return them to me.
Instead, I get nothing. Nada. Not a budge, twitch, or any movement that gives him away. He sits there, stroking his chin like an evil villain fulfilling his plans for world domination.
“That’s a shame,” he tsks, clicking his tongue a few times. “I’ll call if I find them.” Right. I’m sure he will. Besides, he doesn’t have my number. At least, I don’t think he does.
Well, that cements what I’m going to have to do.
Either tell Jonathan I’m even more of a fuck up on this case, or I’m going to have to break into their damn house and steal them back.
I mean, I am an agent. I can break in without anyone noticing.
Sneak through a window, doggy door, or hell, break the locks on their doors.
Ugh. I don’t want to, though. Can’t he give them back to me?
Why can’t this be easy?
“So, are you here to see the blood, too? Watch it as it drips into the blood bag?” There’s a deep fascination in his tone as he tilts his head, examining the students getting their blood taken.
I blink several times at his words, recoiling slightly. Sure, psychopath, I’m here to watch the blood drain from bodies like every other normal person here.
Not.
“Err, sure?” I wrinkle my nose when Malic leans into me a little.
His scent hits me again, sending shivers up my spine, and my need spreads and grows.
Down, girl. This is not the time. But why does he smell so damn good?
“Is that why you came?” I stupidly ask, trying to redirect my wayward thoughts.
I mean, he’s obviously here to watch. “Or are you here to donate, too?”
There’s a slight sparkle in his eyes, filled with interest. Interest I’m not sure I want right now.
Memories of our time in the bathroom together come back to mind.
Everything inside me awakens more, beckoning him to use his mouth and give me the best orgasm I’ve ever had.
Just like before, when he got on his knees and licked me until I came, wanting to scream his name.
Damn it.
My trusty vibrator is finally going to get its time to shine. I haven’t been able to use it since I got to campus. Not with a roommate like Dane. And now that he’s no longer present and I have a lock on my door—operation get Olivia an orgasm has finally begun.
But you know, what if I took a night off as Oliver?
What could it hurt to show up to a party hosted by Malic and Wilder as Olivia?
I mean, a little makeup and a bra could throw them all off.
Oliver who? It’s only Olivia, and she’s ready to fuck out her stress and frustrations.
Plus, I could get my damn glasses back from him.
I side-eye him as he continues to stare at me.
I wonder if he’d see me as the girl he hooked up with in the bathroom at X Marks the Spot.
Or…
Wait…
Seriously, brain? What the hell? I need to get my priorities straight.
I’m here on a mission. A mission as Oliver, and only Oliver, to observe everyone at this blood drive and see why it’s so important to the campus.
I shuffle in my seat, channeling the instructions Jordy gave me before dropping me off at this hellhole.
His voice rings in my head—spread your legs.
Don’t sit like that. Slouch. Be a man, damn it.
“Just observing,” he says smoothly, leaning back into his chair. His piercing blue eyes gaze around the room, and he hums to himself. “It’s quite fascinating, isn’t it?”
“Er, what exactly is fascinating?” My nose wrinkles when he nods to the crowd growing bigger by the second. Their chatter fills the space. Excitement in their words as Simon and Daniel greet them at the doors.
“The way we need blood to survive, whether it’s our own or not.
It could be dripping on the ground, and we’d die without it.
But with this? It’s essential. It’s odd, isn’t it?
How something so vital is something so simple.
” His lips pop open like he’s going to say something else, but he closes them quickly, covering it up with a massive grin.
“Our life source is so freely given to others.” He cocks his head.
“I mean, yeah… We’re awfully vulnerable without it. Right?” The weird thing is, this isn’t the weirdest conversation I’ve ever had with him or anyone else. I’m trying to figure out where he’s going with this.
“You get me, Oliver Davenport,” Malic chuckles eerily, pointing a meaty finger in my direction and continuing to stay in my orbit.
I lick my lips when he says my name. Oliver.
“I guess so,” I say, shrugging.
“Hmmm. Will you be attending the fights soon?” He eyes me with a sparkle in his eyes and a grin crawling across his lips.
“The fights?” My brows furrow for half a second before I realize what the hell he’s talking about.
I’ve been so wrapped up in everything, I forgot the fights at the Coliseum happen at least once or twice a month.
There’s no way I could show up now, though.
Mack would have my ass paired against him without a single regret.
Not that I couldn’t take him. I don’t want to, even though I could do the same to him as I did to Brutus. One punch and he’d be out.
Malic pulls out his phone and taps a few times, bringing up the SlamApp. My mouth dries out when he brings up the pictures taken of me, beating the snot out of Brutus. Phantom pains shoot through my healing ribs at the reminder of his cheap shots.
“Your last adventure in the ring was very successful. See? They’re calling for you to come back. Even Brutus has his eyes on you.”
I swallow hard, reading the post that calls me the future fight night champion of Greenwood U. Several commenters claim I could take on Huxley, Mack, Malic, Wilder, and come out on top. They call for me to come back and prove myself.
But no thanks.
I don’t want to prove myself. I want to finish this mission and be done with it, so I never have to face JJ again. Or them. He can tell my secret after I’ve disappeared back into the Veritas bunker.
A deep pressure presses against my chest, and I rub at it. I want the truth, though. Don’t I? I want to know if JJ’s confession had any truth to it. I’ve already investigated the fire.
My head is so messed up. I’m continually unraveling with all the revelations I’m dealing with. Is this what Jonathan really wanted? For me to get to the bottom of my demise? Or is he simply using me to bring Franco down like he knows I want to? Whatever his reasoning is, I’d like to know.
“Nah. One fight was good enough for me.” I wave a hand, dismissing the invitation.
There’s no way I’m stepping foot in the Coliseum as Oliver.
Maybe Claire, my go-to fake name. But not Oliver or Olivia.
“So, uh, are you by chance throwing any more parties soon? Last night was a blast.” I raise my brows, trying to show my enthusiasm, but I must have looked pained.
He blinks a few times at me, tilting his head.
“That’s too bad you won’t fight again. I quite enjoyed watching you,” he says in a sultry voice, drawing my attention back to him.
“And no, we’re closed for business. My keeper insists we need to focus on our studies instead of strippers and booze.
Party pooper,” he huffs, folding his arms, but there’s no heat behind his words.
So, great. His house isn’t open for more parties anymore. Maybe breaking in is back on the table. I know that psycho has my glasses, and I’ll find them one way or another. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
I study the hard lines of his face. The faint scars aren’t apparent until you’re under the fluorescent lights. The slight blond stubble across his jaw. The freckles that dot his nose and the intensity of his crystal blue eyes.
There’s something about Malic that calls to me. Like before. Something that pushes me to climb him like a tree, continue our one-night stand, and make it a more permanent thing.
But I don’t.
Fucking Malic would ruin everything I’ve established here. If I thought concealing myself before was getting hard, it would be impossible with him around.
Something shifts in the air the moment Malic sits stiffer in his seat, erasing the easy-going persona he had only moments before. The hair on the back of my neck stands on end when he zeros in on someone.
“Bingo,” he mutters under his breath through gritted teeth. Everything about him hardens. His expression. His muscles. His massive fingers curl into fists, and he zeros in on the woman sauntering toward us, none the wiser to the threat sitting beside me.
“Malic?” I murmur, not daring to touch him to get his attention.
“Until next time, Oliver Davenport,” Malic mutters, standing abruptly and towering over me. “Soon,” he mutters under his breath, turns on his heel, and waltzes toward the front doors, but doesn’t leave the building completely.
Malic positions himself in the shadows and locks his eyes on Dr. Lohr, now standing before me with a friendly smile on her face.
Observing, like he said he was. Interesting.
Why is he observing her? He said he was here for the blood, but he’s not watching the students anymore.
His focus is solely on her, zeroing in on her every move.
Interesting…