by Wood, Vivian
That’s when I start seeing red.
Fuck anyone who touches her against her will.
Fuck any guy that touches her and isn’t me.
As I start plowing my way through the crowd, I see her protest as the guy tries to pull her closer.
“Stop!” she yelps. “Seriously, you don't even know me—”
“If you would just—”
That’s all the guy manages to say before I get close enough to yank him off of her. Olivia’s eyes widen when she sees me and takes in my expression.
“Aiden—”
“Hey!” the guy complains.
I punch him right in the nose, knocking him down to the floor. He makes a startled sound and holds his face; bright red blood starts to bloom on his face.
“Aiden!” Olivia says, looking tense. She rushes to my side, tugging at my arm.
I glance at her, then back to the guy on the floor, who is just now getting surly.
“Who the fuck are you?” he yells.
I step closer, ignoring Olivia’s hand on my arm. “You don't fucking touch her,” I tell him. “You don't touch anybody unless they ask you to, you fucking asshole.”
“I didn’t do anything!” he cries, holding his nose.
“Bullshit,” I tell him. “I saw it all. And if you think that I’m the only one who would’ve stepped in, you’re wrong. You can’t just step all over a girl nowadays and expect that no one will stop you.”
Olivia makes a frustrated noise. “Seriously, Aiden—”
“Okay! Okay.” I take a step back, gripping Olivia’s waist. My gaze meets hers. “I’ll go if you go with me.”
“Yes,” she says, tugging me toward the door of the ballroom. “I’m going with you.”
I let her pull me away with one last glare at the man, who is just now getting to his feet. Then he’s gone, obscured by the dancers and chatters that stand in between me and the wall. Turning toward the doorway, I step in front of her to make a path.
Soon we are out of the ballroom. I don't stop there on the landing, though. I grab Olivia by the waist and halfway carry her down the stairs, not stopping until we hit the front door. There are a few people who drunkenly watch as I pin Olivia to the outside of the house. A few people see me roughly kiss her, forcing my lips down on hers.
No one says anything though, because in the next second, she sinks against me. Burying her hands in my hair, she opens her mouth to me, letting my tongue slide against hers. When she finally breaks away, pulling back, I can see the desire written in her blue eyes.
“You are a hypocrite,” she whispers, kissing me lightly on the lips. “You punched that guy for trying to do what you just did.”
My lips curve upward. “So? I had just cause, I think.”
She smiles. “You are a fucking liar.”
I’ve never heard her curse before, but I like it. Backing away from her, I offer her my hand. “So choose then. But choose wisely.”
She bites her lower lip and takes my hand. I turn and lead her off the porch, toward the staff apartments.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Olivia
When I pull Aiden toward my apartment, he resists. “Come to my place,” he says. “I have records and whiskey.”
So I let him sweep me up the steps of his apartment, ushering me inside the door. I pull off my mask when he does, blushing for no reason except that I’m very close to him right now. He stops me there to kiss me briefly, then his face creases into a smile.
“Let me put an album on,” he says.
I crinkle my nose. “What are you going to play?”
He gives me a look. “I don't know. I was thinking about Portishead.”
I tilt my head, closing the door behind us. “I don't know who that is.”
He smiles at that. “Perfect. Stay right there while I put it on.”
He walks over to the kitchen, pulling open a cabinet. There are a hundred records inside and it only takes him half a minute to find the right one. Then he saunters over to the record player, flipping its case open. In another half a minute the record is spinning, the record player emitting low, sultry sounds. A woman starts singing, her sensual voice high and the words lyrical.
Aiden turns and looks at me. “Come here,” he commands, swinging his hips a little in time to the beat.
Feeling my heartbeat rise, I move towards him, the long skirt I’m wearing rustling. He unbuttons the first two buttons of his white shirt at his throat, his gaze wandering down my body. It’s insane how hot I feel right now, when he hasn’t even touched me yet.
I walk right up to him, pressing up on my tiptoes to catch his lips. He cups both of my cheeks, groaning as he pulls me closer. Our bodies touch, my breasts and hips scorching as they are crushed against his hard torso.
He sighs, looking up at me. He looks so appealing in that moment, his hair perfectly mussed and his color still high.
My lips lift. I shift against his body, savoring the press of skin to skin. “What?”
Aiden’s gaze dips down to my body. “I know I just had you, but I want you again.”
Heat pools in my cheeks and slides down low in my body. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
His eyes lift to meet mine. “It’s not necessarily bad. It’s just…. more complicated.”
I think about that for a second. “I don't think anyone needs to know, if that’s what you’re worried about still.”
Guilt flashes across his face. He reaches out to cup my jaw. “That’s one of the reasons.”
I turn my head to kiss his palm. “What are the others?”
He sighs again. “I’m no good for you, Olivia. I’m no good for anybody, but especially not you. You’re so young—”
I roll my eyes. “Talking about my age isn’t a convincing argument.”
Aiden’s expression turns to steel. “There are other reasons. I’m not faithful, for one.”
“So? What does that have to do with whether or not we hook up again? I don't recall asking you to be anyone you’re not. You are the one putting emphasis on these things.”
He doesn’t look entirely convinced. “So you’re okay with just hooking up? No… like, long-term goals? No labels?”
I wiggle my body until our faces are almost even. Then I kiss him gently on the lips.
Then I look him in the eye, my expression stern. “I asked you to take my virginity, not to be my husband. So… yeah. Maybe we could establish some boundaries — like neither of us will screw anyone else for the next couple of weeks. But other than that, let’s keep it easy. No pressure. No rules.”
His eyebrows lift. “Are you sure?”
Am I? I’m pretty sure that I am, if it means that I get Aiden.
My breath catches for a moment, but I just push on. “Of course.”
He presses his lips to mine again, agreement implicit in his embrace. I moan as he deepens the kiss. I crave more. Soon I’m lost on a current of desire, not knowing or caring where it will carry me, as long as we are together.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Aiden
We have sex pretty much nonstop for the next two days and then we go back to work for another two. Redoing the two apartments behind mine and whatever cataloging Olivia has only keeps us busy during the day. At night, we spend hours in my bed, discovering exactly what she likes. As it turns out, she likes to be dominated a little, told what to do and how to do it.
Which more than works for me.
I’m worried that I’ve worn Olivia out, but she just moans in a sultry tone whenever I touch her. It turns out that when left to our own devices, each of us is at least as horny and needy as the other.
And thanks to our whispered conversation the night of the ball — that it’s hotter and less pressure when we agree to keep things just between us — I don't have to worry about Grayson.
Not much, anyway. Sure, there is a vaguely sick ghost hovering just over my shoulder, wringing its hands. But when I slide my hands over Olivi
a’s skin, it disappears for a while. Everything that I’ve been worried about lately vanishes in a swirl of smoke.
That’s how the week slips away from me. My brain is just full of her, always thinking of how I can get more. She’s addictive like that. She makes me need another sweat-soaked sex session, even if I literally just had one.
In the back of my mind, I wonder where the wall is. I usually hit a wave of resistance around the end of the second day, no matter how good the pussy is. I turn from the master of whatever room I’m in, to a lump of clay at forty hours straight spent with another person. But with Olivia, the fact that I got to mold her, added to the fact that we have to be apart for long enough, means I’m left wanting more.
Physically aching for her.
All of that comes to a screeching halt when I get a text from Grayson.
Come to base camp. Bring Olivia. — G
I glance over to where she is asleep in my bed, her arms and legs pulled close to her body, her dark hair looking like an ink spill against the white pillowcase. Even in sleep Olivia is unusual. Most people look peaceful when they sleep. But Olivia’s brow is hunched down, a frown creasing her face. It looks like she is ready to argue with someone in her dreams.
She’s never boring, not even in her sleep. I have to give her that much.
She groans and shifts in her sleep, tugging the sheet that covers her down, exposing her shadowed collarbone and the creamy top of one breast. Text or no text, I’m hard for her in a second, that innocent beauty more than I can handle.
What the fuck am I doing?
I lean over to her, brushing back a lock of hair from her ear. Breathing heavily, I ghost my lips over it. She stirs a little. I press a kiss to the shell of her ear, then slip the tip of my tongue inside it.
“Mmm,” she breathes, not opening her eyes just yet. “Aiden…”
The fact that I am the only one on her mind when I’m waking her up like this… it reminds me of how innocent she is. Of the land I conquered when I first fucked her.
Can that only have been a few weeks ago?
Olivia cracks open her eyes, two perfectly blue orbs taking my measure. “I thought we decided to sleep in a little.” She breaks off, stifling a yawn. “Since we didn’t go to sleep until four…”
I slide a hand down her flank. “I know.”
She looks confused. “Margaret is in Seattle for the weekend, right? She gave us the weekend off, didn’t she?”
My lips lift at the corners. “She did.”
I give the sheet between us a tug, pulling it off her body. She blushes and bites her lip right away, but I can see the beginnings of carnal interest in her eyes too.
I put that there. I make her blush. No one else.
For some reason, those feel to me like big changes in Olivia. And when she reaches her hand down to cup my erection, I want to throw back my head in exultation. I don't do that of course, but I still feel that way inside.
I let her explore for a minute, my breath leaving me as her timid fingers find their home fisted around my cock. Telling her that her brother texted is that last thing I want to do right now.
She pushes the sheet off me and shifts her body to bring her hot little mouth down on the tip of my cock. For a second I clench all the muscles in my body, thinking that I may have died and gone to heaven and no one bothered to tell me. I can only sink my hands into her hair and try to stay still.
When I turn my head to the side though, I catch a glimpse of the clock. I wish I hadn’t. Or at least I wish that she and I lived in our own little world, fucking and eating and laughing at each other’s stupid little jokes.
And even though I’m pretty sure that I’m in heaven — made of Olivia’s tongue and breasts and ass and pussy — I know that I can’t let down Grayson. It’s always sort of been that way. He doesn’t ask me for much at all, so what he asks for he gets immediately.
Too bad I fucked up the trend with Olivia.
A flash of guilt overcomes me, which is just as well. I reach down and stop her with gentle hands. She looks up, a little panic in her face.
“Did I do something wrong?” she asks.
I grab her shoulders and guide her up, kissing her on the lips. “Definitely not.”
She allows me to kiss her but her shoulders are still stiff in my hands. “Then why… I mean… don't you…” Her cheeks color.
I sigh. “If you think that there is anything I want more than for you to roll your tongue around while your mouth is on my cock, you’re insane. But I just got a text from your brother, asking me to bring you to Whiskey Bend.”
He posture straightens even more. Her mouth opens, her head jerking back. “Oh.”
I scrutinize her face. “You thought your brother would never surface?”
She closes her mouth, twisting it to the side and scowling. “No. I just… I was taken by surprise, that’s all.”
I smile grimly, sweeping a bit of her hair out of her face with my fingers. “Grayson sounded like he doesn’t have a lot of time to play around.”
She shrinks back, pulling a face. “As if Grayson has ever not sounded like that. He practically defines the term.”
She pushes herself up onto her knees, looking around my room for the clothes that we threw everywhere. For the briefest second, I reach out and weigh one of her amazing tits in my hand. I contemplate pulling her back down into my arms and telling Grayson to go fuck himself.
But Olivia spots her bra and dives down to get it. I sigh again and try to control myself, especially when Olivia bends over to pull her panties on. My fingers itch with the need to pull her perfectly curved ass back against my cock.
My mouth starts watering as I imagine just how good it would feel to sink into her body, fucking her from behind. I should ruin her, destroy every last shred of innocence. Take it all and leave nothing behind but the tatters of her soul.
I should leave my mark so that no man could ever have her like this again.
Perfect. Innocent. Saved for me.
But what will save her from me, then?
When she turns and catches me looking at her, she goes red and flings my pants at me.
“Aiden,” she says, her voice low with warning.
And she’s absolutely right to sound that way. I’m always a wolf around women, always on the prowl. But with her especially, I turn feral, almost vicious, when confronted by the mere possibility of sex. She makes me crazy, crazy enough to howl at the moon.
She pulls her dress on over her head, then turns to me. He tone is businesslike, her voice as cool as ice. “I’m going to shower and change. Want to meet outside in twenty minutes?”
We could just blow it off, is on the tip of my tongue. But instead I smile. “Sure.”
I lay back, letting her walk out of my room and out of my apartment, even though everything in me screams that I shouldn’t. Rolling over on my bed for a minute, I close my eyes and bury my head under the coolness of my pillow.
God damn it.
Maybe this is the exact reason that I wasn’t supposed to start sleeping with her. Groaning, I push myself to my feet and get ready to go lie to my best friend.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Aiden
When we get to Whiskey Bend, the main thing I’m worried about is that I will slip up. I’ll touch Olivia’s hair or she’ll smile at me for a little too long. And then we’ll be found out, as simply as that. Grayson will just be able to look at me and know what I’ve done.
I’ve fucked his little sister, which he explicitly told me not to do. More than that, I am powerless to stop fucking Olivia. I am the worst friend ever for even thinking it, but if I had to choose between Grayson and Olivia…
Well, I would pick him. But it wouldn’t be an easy decision. Just the idea of being caught, of having to choose, causes a new kind of tightness in all my muscles.
As luck would have it though, Grayson is too busy mooning over Rachel to even notice my avoidance of Olivia’s touch and gaze. We ge
t there in time for dinner, and then move outside to sit around a fire pit as the shadows grow longer and longer around us.
I look over to him and catch him staring at Rachel. I roll my eyes.
“If you want to kiss her so damn bad, then you should. I have the feeling that she would go along with it. She might even like it.”
Grayson jerks his gaze away from her. “No. It’s just… there is too much history there, man. So much darkness and tragedy.”
“So what? If you’re game and she’s interested, what’s the harm? It’s not like you two have to get married or anything.” I tip my can of beer up, emptying it of the last drops. “Just fuck already. Get her out of your system, dude.”
Grayson shoots me a glare. I shrug and get up. “I’m done for the night. I have to turn in. Gotta get an early start tomorrow.”
By that, I mean I have to hurry up so I can lie awake all night, thinking about Olivia. Better if I cover my tracks. Leaning out a little, I catch the eye of a pretty girl. I look her up and down as she turns pink.
Grayson sees me wiggle my fingers at… shit, what’s her name? Leila? She blushes and waves back, jerking her head toward the cabins. I nod and she gets up, heading that way.
Grayson is not amused. “Really, what will you do when you sleep your way through the whole camp?”
I grin. “That won’t happen. I’m away for half the year. Every time you come back, there is a new crop to choose from.” I fake punch him on the arm.
Grayson rolls his eyes. “Alright. I think we are going out again in the morning. I’ll see you when I’m back in base camp again.”
I clap him on the back and wander in the direction of the cabins. However, as soon as I am out of his line of sight, I hang back, ducking behind a cabin. Soon Olivia huffs by, startling when I reach out and grab her.
“Shh,” I silence her. It feels good, the press of my hips against hers. Originally I had thought to tease her, being that we definitely can’t fuck tonight. But now that I have her in my hold, I’m not sure who is teasing whom. I lean down to kiss her.
