Complications(23)

So she was delighted when she finally spotted his bookcase in the corner of the room, situated next to a comfy looking recliner. It was, however, the smallest bookcase she had ever seen but she smiled at Alex over her shoulder nevertheless.

She hurried over to the shelf, wondering what he read. Adventure? Science Fiction? But she stopped when she ran her fingertips over the spines. Textbooks. Damn. Not only textbooks, but business and management textbooks.

She was aghast when she spun around to face him and declared, “You are the most boring reader I’ve ever met.”

He burst into laughter, which helped soften her shock towards him, but not by much. He grinned, unashamed. “I told you I was never much of a reader.”

He started to walk towards her but she hardly noticed, glancing back at his shelf. “If you can even call this reading,” she mumbled, still incredibly confused.

He tugged her to him by the pockets of her jeans and she glanced up, startled. Uh oh. Heated gaze. She immediately felt her body respond as he captured her lips. “You’re making me want to skip dinner entirely and just lock ourselves in here until morning,” he whispered. That sounds nice, Olivia thought automatically, warmth pulsing through her, making her dizzy. But Alex pulled away and took a deep breath. “Come on, I want to show you the backyard.”

“Okay,” she whispered, dazed.

He laced their fingers together and he pulled them outside the room, while Olivia tried to remember how to walk. Her legs were wobbly, but she eventually found her footing before Alex led them back to the kitchen and out the sliding glass door.

“It’s beautiful,” Olivia breathed in awe as she looked around his yard appreciatively. His backyard truly was beautiful. They were currently standing on a porch, but she spied a set of stairs off the right that led down to the expansive stretch of grass in front of them. On a small stone patio sat a bonfire pit situated in the middle of an outdoor furniture set. Fully matured trees were everywhere, creating a beautiful canopy above the dark green grass. It was Autumn now, but luckily the leaves hadn’t started to fall. “I can’t even imagine all the work that needs to be done to rake up everything,” she commented.

“It was the first year I was here, but it’s easier now that I’ve gotten used to it,” he replied, his thumb tracing over her palm.

Olivia turned to him, surprised. “You do all the work?”

He looked amused. “Yeah. Why? Think I would hire someone?”

Olivia frowned, a little embarrassed, “Well, yeah, I suppose. It seems like quite a lot.”

He smiled kindly and squeezed her hand, looking back out over his yard in obvious pride. “I like doing it. Heaven knows I need the fresh air after working inside an office all week.” Olivia smiled, genuinely in awe of this man. She imagined him mowing the lawn, all sweaty and delicious looking. She decided she would have to watch him one day.

Olivia bit her lip at the thought, knowing she was developing strong feelings for Alex even though she shouldn’t be. This arrangement between them should have just been about sex and exploring their mutual attraction to one another. But now it was turning into so much more and Olivia was suddenly afraid that it may just be one-sided.

Just then the oven beeped from inside the kitchen. Alex glanced down at her, “Ready to eat?”

“Always,” she answered. He grinned and led her back through the door.

She spotted a stray white bowl sitting innocently outside the sliding glass and she curiously asked Alex, “Do you have a pet?”

“Oh no, not really,” he said when he saw the bowl. He shut the door, letting the warm air of his kitchen engulf them.

“How do you not really have a pet?” she asked, amused.

“It’s, uh, just for this cat that comes around,” he mumbled.

Olivia felt affection pulling at her chest. “What, is a cat not manly enough for you?” she teased, noticing his hesitance.

He grinned down at her, tugging her to one of the barstools situated around his island countertop. She hopped up on the high stool, finally eye level with him. “It started showing up a little while after I moved in. I just feed it since I think it’s a stray.”

“Ah, how adorable,” she whispered as he moved between her legs.

He nibbled on her bottom lip. “Does that get me brownie points for later then?” he asked suggestively, his voice dropping.

“Maybe,” she responded breathlessly. “It is rather cute.”

“No, it’s ruggedly masculine,” he countered.

“Super masculine,” she agreed immediately, feeling as though Alex was putting her under a spell. Her head felt foggy as he continued to kiss her. But just then the oven rang again and the spell was broken. Alex groaned low in his throat as he forced himself to move away from her.