Yeah, that’s not gonna happen.
Marching back into the bedroom, I do what I should’ve done when the doorbell first rang.
“All right, everybody, out! I need to talk to Olivia and you need to give her some privacy to get dressed.”
No one argues, of course. In fact, Gavin looks a little sheepish the he’s been so rude. It was really thoughtless on all our parts to keep her in this position. Leave it to Olivia to be so cool, so composed while surrounded by people and having tough conversations, all while she’s wrapped in bed clothes. Underneath all that lush beauty, she’s got a backbone of steel. I hope, after today, she comes to realize that.
“Thank you for that,” she says when Gavin closes the door behind the exiting trio.
“I’m sorry for not doing it sooner.”
“Well, it’s not like there was a good time. It was like a circus in here! All we lacked was a bearded lady and a sword swallower, although Ginger might be able to swallow something nearly that big.”
She giggles and the sound makes me want to hug her. I don’t know why really, but it does.
“Well, as the ring leader of this most recent circus surrounding your life, I apologize for failing you.”
A soft look falls down over Olivia’s features. Her green eyes are piercing, like a sweet hurt, as they watch me. Her gaze never leaving mine, she lets the cover fall from her breasts and she slides off the edge of the bed, walking slowly toward me, naked as the day she was born. Only a thousand times more beautiful.
She stops when the tips of her nipples are brushing my chest. “You haven’t failed me. You’ve breathed so much life into my existence. Don’t ever be sorry for that.”
“But I—”
“Shhh,” she says, placing a finger over my mouth. She’s fond of doing that. “Don’t. Please.”
I nod and work to control my body’s reaction to her close proximity. I need to learn to tolerate being around her, learn to think of things other than tearing off her clothes with my teeth and sinking into her like a soft, wet bed of rose petals.
I clear my throat and focus on the reason I came to her to begin with. “The call I got a few minutes ago…”
Her expression turns serious, concerned. “Yeah. What was that all about?”
“It was about the second ad I placed. I need to meet with him tonight. But the thing is, I’m not comfortable leaving you. At all, really, but I know it’s not a good idea to take you with me, so I don’t have much choice.”
“Don’t worry about me,” she says sweetly. “I’ll be fine.”
“Of course I’ll worry about you. But I think I’ve figured out a way to ensure your safety. If you’re agreeable to it, that is.”
“What is it?”
She looks suspicious, which I think is kind of funny.
“It doesn’t involve you being locked in a room anywhere, if that’s what you’re thinking.” The look on her face tells me that’s exactly what she was thinking. “In fact, this is something you’ve done before.”
“Which is…” she prompts when I don’t finish.
“How about working a shift tonight? I think behind a bar with hundreds of people watching you is just about the safest place I could keep you.”
“That’s fine. Why didn’t you just say so? You had me worried.”
“Because I don’t want you to think I’m an insensitive asshole. You’ve had a shitty day. A really shitty day and—”
“Not all of it’s been shitty,” she says, looking up at me from beneath her thick lashes. Takes me right back to having to work to think of things other than her riding me like a prize stallion.
“Well, bad enough. Let’s just put it that way. Anyway, asking you to work sounds like something a selfish bastard would do and I don’t want you to think—”
“You’re not a selfish bastard. Didn’t you hear a word I said to my mother?”
“Yes, but—”
“No buts. Cash, I love you.”
Like the dumb ass that I am, a fact that I blame solely on my possession of testicles, I freeze. I say nothing. I don’t tell her all the things I’m feeling. I don’t say all the things that need saying. I just look at her. Like an asshole.
I can see the disappointment on her face and it kills me to watch her fight through it. But she does. She comes out on the other side, smiling and swinging, even though her heart probably feels like neither.
“Besides, I think work will be good for me. Keep my mind occupied.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m positive,” she says agreeably, heartache oozing through the pleasant exterior of her expression. “I’m gonna get a shower. A real one this time,” she teases, trying her damnedest to project lightheartedness. She stretches up on her toes and brushes her lips across mine. “Thank Gavin for bringing my bag.”