With his body still shooting hot liquid into mine, Cash opens his eyes and reaches for my hands, pulling me up and into his arms. We are as joined as two people can be. And not just physically.
He showers my face with kisses and runs his hands all over my back. He doesn’t need to use words. I know what he’s saying. I perceive it. I feel it. And I feel the same way.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT - Cash
I open my eyes to bright streaks of light peeking under the edges of the curtains in Olivia’s room. I shouldn’t have stayed as long as I did, but I wanted to hold her while she slept. I wanted her to know I wasn’t going anywhere. That she’s safe with me. In my arms.
Unfortunately, I fell asleep, too. Great sex for the third time in a short period of time does that to me.
I smile and I look down at Olivia where she’s curled up against me, her beautiful face relaxed in sleep.
I don’t want to put names to the things I feel for her. I just want her to know I’m not going anywhere. And that I want to take care of her. To make her happy. I hope that’s enough. It has to be.
She wiggles against me and I feel my body react. I know if I don’t get out of bed, I’ll end up waking her up. And while that sounds like the best possible start to my day, I know she’ll be sore if I don’t give her a break. Besides, her father will be up soon and I need to get to my own room.
Easing out from under her, I slip on my jeans and grab the rest of my clothes, tiptoeing to the door. I crack it and listen. It sounds like her dad is already stirring.
Silently, I sneak to the bathroom and take a quick shower. When I’m done, I head downstairs, letting Olivia sleep as long as she can.
Darrin, Olivia’s father, is sitting at the kitchen table. The way he’s watching me, I can’t help but think he was waiting for me.
I nod. “Good morning, sir.”
He nods in return. “So, you’re the one,” he says enigmatically.
I look into his eyes, a more brown and less bright version of Olivia’s, and I know what he’s getting at, what he wants to know. Straightening to my full height, I link my hands behind my back and nod again. “Yes, sir. I am.”
His eyes travel me from head to toe, measuring me up like he might measure a new ram for his flock, before they come to rest on mine. They speak volumes as they look, unwaveringly, at me. Into me.
“And you know what she means to me, what I would do for her. And to anyone who hurt her.”
I suppress the grin that twitches at the corners of my mouth. He sounds about Olivia like I feel about Olivia. “Yes, sir.”
After several more long, tense seconds, he finally nods. “All right, then let’s get that girl some breakfast.”
From that point on, I can’t seem to wipe the smile from my face.
Sometime later, when Darrin speaks to Olivia, I turn to see her standing at the kitchen door. She looks adorably tousled. It makes me want to pick her up and carry her back to bed.
I find myself holding my breath when she looks at me. I’m a little uneasy. I don’t know if the bright light of day has brought about some new revelation that will work against me or not.
When she smiles shyly at me, I exhale. And when her cheeks turn pink, I chuckle. I don’t know why that makes me so happy. But it does.
“Good morning,” I say, laying my spatula in the big spoon that sits to the right of the stove. I know her father knows how I feel about her, but even if I didn’t, I couldn’t stop myself from going to her.
I stop in front of Olivia and cup her face in my hands, kissing her sweetly on the mouth. She looks up at me with her liquid eyes and something in me melts away. I think to myself that I hope it wasn’t something important. Something that I needed.
It makes me just a little uncomfortable, feeling the things I feel for her, so I give her a smile and head back to the stove, hoping she won’t see my uncertainty.
The rest of the morning goes smoothly. Right up until she announces that we’re heading back to the city after lunch. My head jerks up and our eyes meet. There’s no warning in them, but there’s a purpose. There’s no mistaking that.
“Why so soon, Liv?” Darrin asks.
“I’ve got some things to take care of, Dad.” I see her eyes flicker up to mine where I’m sitting across the table from her. “Marissa will be back soon and I’ve got some things to figure out.”
There it is.
We’ve got some things to figure out. Obviously.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE - Olivia
The ride back to the city is as different from the ride away as it’s possible to get. The only thing that would make it more dramatic is if my hair was on fire or I was a man.
I glance back periodically to see Cash on his bike, following along behind me. He’s wearing his helmet, so I can’t even see his eyes, but I imagine that he smiles at me each time I look back. I can almost feel it. A couple of times, he even nods his head, like he can tell I’m looking at him. I wonder if he can see my eyes shift to him in the rearview mirror…
When I pull into one of the spots designated for Marissa’s apartment, Cash pulls in beside me, killing his engine and taking off his helmet. I try to hide the smile I feel that he’s coming in without me having to ask. It’s like some unspoken agreement has been reached between us. I’m his and he’s mine. At least for now. And I refuse to think any further than that.
He carries my bag in and takes it into my room. Rather than just dropping it, he sets it on the bed and sits down beside it. Before I can ask what he’s doing, he clears his throat.
“Why don’t you pack a bigger bag and come stay with me?”
My stomach flutters at the thought of going to sleep in Cash’s arms every night and waking up in them every morning. Of going to sleep with his taste on my tongue and waking up with his tongue in my mouth. That’s what it would be like. At least for a while. For a few days.
It sounds like heaven.
But then, as it so often does at the most inopportune times, reality intrudes. And I think of Marissa.
“Look, Cash, I understand why you’ve done what you’ve done and how important it is, but I can’t pretend now that you aren’t Nash. That when Nash is sleeping with Marissa, it’s not you. Because it is. And it always has been.”
Cash reaches for my hands and pulls me into the space between his spread legs. When he looks up at me, his dark eyes are sparkling. My breath hitches in my chest.
“I broke up with Marissa on Wednesday.”