Beyond(15)

I watch Dane to see if it annoys him that Jase is flirting with his ex but his gaze is solely on me.

“Jase,” she replies, winking at him before turning to Dane. “Thanks for your help last night Dane.”

I still, the bread in my hand dropping to my plate.

I was no longer hungry.

No, I was just pissed.

He left me waiting there, waiting to give him my virginity while he was out helping her? Helping her with what? Maybe he was helping her with her sexual frustration. Oh no, wait, she works in a brothel.

After that uncharitable thought, I stand up, and everyone looks at me. “I’m no longer hungry. Sam I’ll see you later,” I say before storming off. Maybe I’ll go punch something.

“Olivia,” I hear Dane call out behind me, but I ignore him. Hearing the steps behind me, I know that he’s following me, like a lion stalking its prey.

“Will you wait,” I hear him say, sounding disgruntled. I quicken my pace, turning left on the hallway that leads to my room.

“Olivia,” he grits out, grabbing me by the hips and pulling me into a corner. He pins me against the wall, his body pressed against mine. “I wanted to come last night, more than anything but I couldn’t. I’m sorry, all right?”

I had wanted to come too.

“Do we have to talk about this right now? I’m feeling surprisingly bitchy,” I say, smiling coldly.

“Olivia—”

“It’s a big thing for me, losing my virginity,” I continue. “I was nervous, you know? Excited too.”

His eyes soften. “Fuck I’m sorry baby.”

Baby?

“And now I’m sexually frustrated,” I say as if he never spoke. “Which is apparently something I’m not handling very well.”

His voice lowers and his eyes darken. “Come with me, to my bedroom, and I will take care of that.”

I wave my arm. “No thanks. That option is no longer on the table.”

“The hell it isn’t,” he growls, gripping my elbow and pulling me closer to him. “I’ll have you, and when I do you’re going to love every second of it. I’ll make it up to you. With my tongue, my fingers…”

I hate that he’s turning me on with his words. “We’ll see.”

“I’m sorry,” he whispers. “I wanted to be with you. Inside you. So fuckin’ badly. But I don’t always get what I want.”

“What does that even mean?” I ask, exasperated.

“It means that I have a lot of responsibilities and sometimes I’m needed elsewhere, even though I don’t want to be there. Last night was one of those times. I couldn’t make it to where I really wanted to be.”

I look into his eyes. He looks sincere enough, but how much do I really know this man? I decide honesty is the best option, considering we’re going to be married and all.

“Because you were busy with your ex-girlfriend? If it’s okay for us to be sleeping with other people before this wedding, please let me know.”

I sound like a jealous girlfriend, and I know it. I only hope he doesn’t call me out on it.

His fingers tighten. “She’s not my ex and fuck no you aren’t sleeping with anyone except me. Don’t push me Olivia.”

I flash back to the conversation we had about Gina. Dane had said he slept with her, and I’d assumed that she was his ex because of it. Maybe they were just fuck buddies?

“What was so important that it overruled sleeping with me?” I ask, turning around and facing him. I stare him right in the eye, my spine straight.

“Gina has… issues, okay? She had a problem last night and wanted me to stay and talk with her.”

“What kind of problem?” I ask highhandedly. “Seen to many penises in one day?”

His eyes narrow. “What did you just say?”

“Oh please I know she works in the brothel,” I say, placing my hands on my hips.

“And how the hell do you know that?” he asks, his jaw clenching.

Well at least he wasn’t denying it.

“I saw her opening the door one day,” I say, shrugging. “Each to their own, I guess.”

He groans. “The issue she had last night didn’t have anything to do with sex Olivia. She has nightmares and goes into shock. Someone has to calm her down and pull her out of it.”

“And is that someone always you?” I ask quietly.

He grimaces, but nods. “She trusts me. I couldn’t just leave her like that, rocking herself in a corner. What kind of person would that make me?”

He was right of course. Turns out Dane wasn’t only good-looking and a skilled fighter, he was also a good man. I couldn’t complain just because those attributes weren’t benefiting me right now. I was being selfish. Again.