All Good Things Exposed(33)

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I paced the floor my office in my bare feet. My shoes were killing me and I vowed to never wear them again. I knew it was a vow I would break. The shoes were so freaking adorable, I couldn't imagine their life being lived out in the back of a closet. It would be an offence I simply could not imagine committing. They currently sat on the plush area rug by the fireplace. I paused my pacing to stare at the shoes and glared. They weren't yet forgiven. Adorable or not, they'd given me blisters.

I'd come straight to the café as soon as I was done riding with Kyle. Trisha had been relentless on the fact that I could just take the rest of the day off too. The girl loathed work. But she liked Franco and I knew that was why she wanted to stay. It took me nearly an hour to get her to walk to the front door. When she and Franco continued with their easy bantering there, I'd thrown my hands up in defeat and walked to the back of the café.

I wanted to be alone with my thoughts and I couldn't think of a better, more peaceful place then in my own domain of quietness. With the fireplace lit and the serine gold coloring of the walls, I felt calm.

"Olivia." The familiar deep voice pulled a shiver from within my body, rattling my bones.

I spun around to face the sharp blue eyes that seemed to look right through me. They saw every part of me. Even the parts I longed to keep hidden. He leaned against the open door with his arms crossed over his chest. His jaw was stiff and his stance unmoving. My breath caught. "Jace?"

"Where were you, Olivia?"

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"When you dodged from my car like a lunatic, I thought you'd come here like you said you would. But you didn't come here. Where did you go?" He stepped forward, letting the door fall closed behind him.

I crossed my arms over my chest. "I had somewhere I had to be."

"Where?" he cocked his head.

"It's none of your business." I said sternly.

He shook his head on a tisk. "You see that's where you're wrong."

"How so?"

"Everything about you is my business. As my submissive I have a right to know where you go in the day. I have a right to know what you're doing and who you're doing it with."

"Are you serious?" I asked on a laugh. It sounded spiteful. "You're not the center of my life."

His eyes hardened. "That's obvious. But you're the center of mine." I gasped at his admission and he continued, not missing a beat. "You either decide to do this with me or you don't. It's your choice."

I narrowed my eyes. "Are you threatening to end our relationship?"

"If that's what it takes, Olivia." He nodded. "I want you. I want all of you, not just half. You either let me in or you push me out for good. This is your choice."





Chapter 9

I watched as her eyes fell to the floor. There was no doubt in my mind she was processing my words. I could see they hurt and terrified her because her blushed skin paled significantly. Her hands shook as they fell to her side only to lift and toy with a strand of chocolate hair. A nervous gesture I'd come to recognize.

I fucking hoped she couldn't see through my façade. I needed her to believe I would walk away if she refused to let me in. I knew the truth however. I could never walk away from her. She owned me. She held my balls in one fist and my heart in her other. I couldn't walk away from her if my life depended on it. But I could manipulate her into letting me in. I could manipulate her into trusting me. I was certain of it.

She pulled her bottom lip into her mouth, worrying it as she thought. "I was at the track with Kyle."

I nodded. I already knew this. Although it pissed me off, I knew she had gone to the track on countless occasions while we were on a break. What I didn't know was why. I wanted to know why she ran to the track. To him. From what I had been told, there was nothing sexual or romantic about her relationship with Kyle. My sources told me she went for the ride and left. She never stayed around to talk and he never chased after her. I didn't understand the relationship and I was thoroughly regretting taking her there in the first place.

I nodded, refusing to allow an ounce of emotion into my face. She was the only one who seemed to possess the ability to read me. That both intrigued and irked me. "Why?"

"I needed it."

"You needed what?" Now I was mad. What could he give her that I couldn't?

"I needed the speed." She shrugged. "I used to go because I needed to feel something other than,"

She stopped talking and shame flooded her face. It took all I had in me not to close the distance between us and pull her into my arms. "Don't shut me out, Olivia." I pleaded gently.