“Olivia Ann, we’re going to be late. You’ll get to see it all when we get to the school.” Joshua opened the back door on the truck and got her inside. Caleb gave Joshua a grin of relief, and Leif started the truck.
When they got to the school, the questions started all over again as Shirley, Bethany, and Isabella came out to the truck. Joshua noticed that Isabella asked the least number of questions. She seemed to be very shy around the two large men despite their attempts to draw her out. It wasn’t until some of the Hispanic children arrived and started asking questions in Spanish and she had to translate that she began to interact with them.
Joshua couldn’t help but notice Isabella’s very deferential mannerisms, often keeping her eyes lowered, which only seemed to spark the interest of the former soldiers even more. There was definitely a very specific dynamic brewing between them. He glanced over at Olivia, who still seemed oblivious to the whole thing, still focused on the new sports equipment. Shirley, however, was taking quite an interest in the whole interplay.
That day in class, Olivia set up the kindergarten and first grade children with finger paints and various craft projects and spent more time with the second and third grade children. He watched as she worked through various reading and math exercises. The children were obviously at very different skill levels. Some of them had very short attention spans, yet she managed to capture their attention and keep them on track. There was one child who was clearly gifted, and Olivia was able to immediately adjust her approach to provide the girl with extra reading and math work that challenged her. Joshua was amazed by Olivia’s ability to multi-task with such a variety of students. Eventually, Olivia did call Joshua over to have him work with some of the children, which he was more than happy to do.
At recess, the kids were all excited to see that the tetherball pole and ball was up for use. A fight broke out as to whom would be first to use it. Leif got down on one knee to settle the skirmish, and those two boys voluntarily went to the back of the line that Leif formed. During recess, Caleb took over playground duty for Bethany, leaving her free to grade papers.
“I’m surprised how good Leif is with the children,” Olivia said to Isabella.
“Yes, he and Mr. Samuels seem very capable at many things,” she answered.
“You should call them by their first names, Isabella. They’ve told you that,” Olivia reminded her. “You call Joshua by his first name.”
“I know, but the other two, there is something about them. I can’t explain it, but I think I will continue to call them by their surnames for now. That makes me comfortable, and I think they prefer it, no matter what they say to the contrary.” Olivia looked at Isabella, and then at the two men on the playground and began to wonder what she was missing. She would have to ask Joshua about it later.
* * * *
Chance was waiting with Ian when they all got back to Ian’s house that night. Ian had texted Joshua, and he asked that Leif and Caleb come inside the house instead of just dropping them off. Olivia knew that it was going to be bad news.
When she walked through the door, Chance got off the sofa to give her a hug.
“Just tell me what it is,” she begged. She knew it couldn’t be anything about Chance’s family, but she worried about Betty and Butch. If it was Christopher, she knew it would have been Sam waiting for her. No, this had something to do with AHC.
“It’s Linus, he was a victim of a hit-and-run accident this afternoon. He didn’t survive his injuries.” Olivia looked at the five men standing around her. Every face was grim.
“It wasn’t an accident.” She knew not to form it as a question. Not one of them thought it was an accident. It had to do with the teleconference that Linus wanted to schedule with her for the following day. He had been killed because he had information that he wanted to share with her.
“This is all my fault—”
“Stop it right now, Livvy!” Ian roared. “I won’t have you blaming yourself because somebody killed Linus Upton over something they have done.”
“As soon as I knew this project was causing so much of an issue, I just should have stopped! It wasn’t worth a man’s life.”
“What about the lives the Atlanta project will save?” Chance asked quietly. “What about the next project you want to fund that somebody wants to kill over? Were you just planning on shutting down AHC?” Everybody watched as Olivia let that sink in.
“Somebody has something big to lose, something worth killing over. This is a roller coaster that can’t be stopped, Olivia. We know this started with Atlanta, but something was bound to start it, and it’s up to us to stop it,” Joshua said.
“I’ve already downloaded everything on Linus’s hard drive. Unfortunately, I don’t speak accountant. Does anyone here have somebody they trust outside of AHC who can look over the stuff that Linus was working on?” Ian inquired.
“Give it to me. I was a CFO. If I can’t figure it out, we might as well shoot me now,” Chance said.
“Done,” said Ian.
“How’s Adam doing?” Olivia asked.
“He just thinks it is a hit-and-run,” Chance said.
“Thank God,” Olivia said fervently.
“How do you think they discovered that Linus was planning on meeting with Olivia, when the meeting hadn’t even been scheduled yet?” Leif asked.
“That’s the kicker,” Ian said. “Adam is the only one who knew about the pending meeting, along with anyone who had access to Linus’s or Olivia’s e-mail. Or anyone that Linus or Adam might have told. We’ve already asked Adam if he told anyone, and he said only Olivia. So, it sounds like somebody hacked either Olivia or Linus,” Ian said.
“Can you tell if Olivia has been hacked?” Caleb asked.
“I really can’t, not from here. I’m going to have to go back to Boston and check out the main server at AHC,” Ian explained.
“No, what’s the point. Either I’ve been hacked or I haven’t. Who cares? I don’t want you to go back out there,” Olivia cried.
“Livvy, we need to know, that way we might be able to track it back to the hacker and find the people who killed Linus.”
“Ian, you don’t even know if it was AHC that was hacked, or Linus. Can’t you check out if it was Linus first, from here?” Joshua asked in a reasonable tone.
“I suppose,” Ian said, considering it.
“You should be able to find out in just a day. If it wasn’t Linus’s computer that was hacked, then you could go out to AHC.”
“I could go with you,” Leif offered.
“I would feel a whole lot better if he did,” Olivia said.
“Livvy, I can take care of myself. Remember, I was just there three days ago.”
“Yeah, but that was before Linus was killed. Promise me that if you have to go, you’ll take Leif with you,” she pleaded with him. Ian looked at her and saw the sheen of tears in her eyes. He trailed his knuckles down her cheek.
“I promise, honey.”
Chance, Leif, and Caleb finally left, promising to be back in touch the next morning.
* * * *
Olivia put down her fork and gave up all pretense of eating. “I’m scared. I know I keep saying that, and I’m sorry. But what if someone goes after Chance or his family? Or, what if someone goes after one of you? I just can’t stand the idea of losing someone I love.”
Joshua and Ian looked at each other over the table. Ian nodded at Joshua, who clasped Olivia’s hand.
“Olivia Ann, I understand you’re scared. Chance has a state-of-the-art security system. Sam has taken time off, and will continue to take time off until all of this is settled. Nobody is taking any undue risks over at their house. You know they will keep Josie and Lissa safe, don’t you?” Joshua asked, his gray eyes capturing her blue-green eyes. He waited until she nodded, then continued.
“As for Ian and I, you also know that we have both been carrying our concealed weapons since all of this started. We might not have a brown belt in Tae Kwon Do, but w
e are doing all we can to stay safe.” Olivia couldn’t help but laugh at Joshua’s nonsense.
“Okay, I know. You’re both worried about me, aren’t you?” She tore her eyes away from Joshua to look at Ian, and saw that he looked almost ill. She let go of Joshua’s hand, moving around the table to Ian and into his open arms. He pulled her down into his lap and thrust his face against her neck, taking a deep breath as if confirming she was still alive.
“Ian, I’m here. I’m fine. Everything’s going to be okay.” As Olivia felt a tremor go through his big body, she almost felt ashamed that she hadn’t realized the level of fear that her men were going through worrying about her. She just continued to run her hands up and down his large back, whispering soothing phrases, until she finally felt his muscles begin to relax. He pulled his head from the crook of her neck and looked up at her.
“They beat you, they shot you, and they killed Linus. You know they’re not going to stop until we stop them. Please, Livvy, go stay with Chance, I’m begging you.” Olivia swallowed hard as she saw the look of agony on this strong man’s face. She so wanted to do as he asked, just so that he would be relieved, but she knew where her place was. She knew her duty. She knew her next words were really going to hurt both men, but that they were going to realize she was right.
“Ian, I agree you need to go back to Boston to check out the server, but I think you should do it the day of the board meeting.” She looked at him, and then glanced over her shoulder at Joshua, who was already beginning to frown.
“Why, Olivia Ann? Why on Tuesday?” Joshua demanded.
“Because I think I should be at the board meeting in person. And before you both blow a gasket, let me explain my reasoning.” Both men remained silent, but she could have cut the tension with a knife. “We need to stop this. We don’t want any more people getting hurt. No more collateral damage. I don’t want to draw these people to Fate Harbor where Chance’s family could get hurt, or Butch and Betty. I want to focus this on me, where I’m protected by you two and Leif and Caleb. Hell, we can hire more bodyguards if that would help. I’d be fine with that.” Olivia stopped, waiting for either man to say something. When they didn’t, she continued.
“You know that Paul and Kathy are going to vote for the Atlanta project, no one is expecting that. So once it’s a go, the only option for whomever is behind this will be to come after me, then we’ll have them. Or, Ian will have found out who tapped the server.”
“Or, I can leave tomorrow, check out the server, and maybe find out who’s behind this before you play the sacrificial lamb,” Ian said in a reasonable tone.
“But—”
“Admit it, Olivia, you don’t want him to do it because you’re scared,” Joshua said. “You came up with this idea is to stop Ian from going out their first. You’re trying to control the situation because you’re scared. You would prefer to make yourself the target, and possibly lose your life, than lose Ian.”
“That’s not it,” she protested.
“Be honest,” Ian said quietly.
“It’s not,” she insisted.
“If you can’t be honest with us, at least be honest with yourself, Kitten,” Joshua said gently. That was when Olivia realized they were exactly right. She so feared the idea of Ian going to Boston and putting himself in danger again that she had come up with this plan to put herself in danger first. She dropped her head down on Ian’s shoulder, and this time he stroked her hair and back, offering her comfort.
Finally she lifted her head, her eyes red, and looked from Ian to Joshua. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize what I was doing.”
“Livvy, that’s okay,” Ian assured her. “It’s your nature to try to take care of the people you love.”
“Olivia Ann, you wouldn’t be the woman I love if you didn’t try to control every situation,” Joshua said with a tender smile. “I hate to say it, but I do think you’re right. If Ian doesn’t find anything, I think the next step has to be for you to be in Boston for the board meeting.” Olivia felt Ian clutch her close.
“So you have already decided that Ian’s going?” she asked.
“I already have my flight booked for eight tomorrow morning.” Olivia’s nails bit into Ian’s shoulders, but he didn’t even flinch.
“Were you even going to tell me?” she asked, her voice choked between a sob and an accusation.
“I was going to wake you up to say good-bye.” Ian couldn’t meet her eyes, and her nails dug in deeper. She wanted to shout and rail at them both, but she thought better of it.
“I don’t want to spend tonight fighting,” she whispered softly.
“Neither do we,” Joshua said in a solemn voice.
Olivia slid off Ian’s lap and headed toward the bedroom. Both men followed her. Olivia pulled the T-shirt she had been wearing over her head before she even reached the room and had the front clasp of her bra undone by the time she got to the bed.
She knew it was Joshua’s hands on her shoulders, pushing down the straps, just by the feel, not needing him to speak. “Let us undress you, please.” She turned in his arms and saw Ian standing beside him. They both had taken off their shirts as well. She took a deep breath as she drank in the glorious sight of them standing side by side. Ian with his lighter skin and broader chest, and Joshua with his darker skin and his sleekly toned physique that just demanded to be touched, they were impossible to resist. She ran her hands over his hot skin, loving how he shuddered in reaction to her touch.
“Olivia, we want to make love to you tonight. Will you allow that?” Joshua asked.
“I don’t understand, Joshua. Every time we’re together, you’re making love to me,” Olivia said, thoroughly confused.
“We’re asking that you surrender to us tonight, Livvy. We need this. I’m asking for this. You’re always so in control, trying to take care of everyone else, just like you tried to do a few moments ago when you didn’t want me to go to Boston without you. I want you to yield to us tonight. Can you do that?” Olivia really looked at Ian and saw that this wasn’t a game about dominance and submission. Rather, it was about giving and receiving. When she looked at Joshua, she could clearly see that same need.
“I’m not very accepting of things when it’s one-sided,” she admitted, looking at Ian. She heard Joshua’s bark of laughter, and her head swiveled to look at him.
“Yeah, we know,” he said with a smile.
Ian enfolded her into his strong arms, bringing chest to breast, and she relished the feel of his soft hair against her taut nipples. “We’re asking for this gift tonight. Will you give it to me, please, before I leave?” he entreated, as he tipped up her chin so that her turquoise eyes met his forest-colored orbs.
“If that’s really what you want, then yes,” she breathed.
“Thank you.” She felt Joshua moving in behind her. His hands reached around, slipping between her and Ian’s bodies to cup her breasts. He firmly molded the flesh, causing her to moan in pleasure at his strong caress, then he caught her nipples between his fingers, squeezing the tips, and she undulated against Ian, against Joshua.
Ian’s hands dropped down to the waistband of her slacks, undoing the tab and lowering the zipper. She felt him sliding her pants, and then he was bending down, helping her step out of them. He stayed on his knees and pressed soft kisses against her mound. Olivia whimpered at the feel of Ian’s whisper-soft caresses against her curls compared to the increasingly hard pinches on her nipples, relishing both.
Joshua began to run just the tip of his tongue along the shell of her ear as Ian moved just one finger and traced along the seam of her swollen clit, gathering up the moisture that had seeped out. She looked down and saw him take that finger to his lips, tasting her essence, the eroticism of the moment making her knees buckle. The quick reflexes of her firefighters saved her from sinking to the floor. Joshua swept her up into his arms and gently deposited her into the middle of their bed.
“You look beautiful lying there, waiting for
us. Please put your hands over your head, Olivia Ann,” Joshua said in a low voice. Olivia trembled. It was one more layer being stripped away, but she had promised. Slowly she moved her arms, noting how both of them watched for any signs of discomfort in her healing shoulder. Finally both of her arms were above her head.
“Cross your wrists,” Ian instructed. She watched as each man stripped out of their clothes, knowing that tonight was going to be different, also knowing she was okay with it. She didn’t want Ian to leave. She felt her hand lifting, wanting to touch, to hold, to reassure herself that he was here with her, to love on this man who was going to be leaving. Then she dropped her hand back down, again crossing her wrists, giving Ian, both of them, what they had requested, what was so hard for her to give, herself.
“Good girl,” Ian crooned, having seen her turmoil.
“I’m proud of you,” Joshua said as he climbed onto the bed beside her, leaning in for a kiss. There were few things on this earth better than kissing Joshua Parker. She softened, allowing him entrance, and he swept in, tasting and tormenting her. Olivia found herself pushing her hands into the mattress to keep from reaching up and pulling him closer. She felt him smile against her lips, and she realized that he knew her predicament. She felt the mattress dip on the other side of her body, and then Ian’s fingers were at her jaw, turning her face toward him.
His kiss was pure Ian, devastating in its intensity. Where Joshua beguiled a response, Ian demanded. Olivia pushed her wrists deeper into the mattress so that she could gain the leverage to stretch her head up to meet Ian’s kiss, to launch herself ever closer to the grinding force that drove her lust even higher. Finally he broke away, only to shift his forceful attentions to her already sensitive breasts, taking them into the hot cavern of his mouth. She wailed, and that’s when she felt Joshua shove her legs far apart with his shoulders and spread the lips of her dripping sex apart.
There was no soft buildup like she was used to from her lover. Instead he pillaged, his mouth open, devouring her sex, his tongue thrusting so deep it felt like his fingers shoved inside her, only better. The wet velvet of the strong muscle moved in and out at a fast pace, finding that cluster of nerves that set her on fire. As Joshua pushed and rubbed, while Ian sucked and nibbled, vaguely she heard a groan that sounded like someone in pain, and she realized it was her. That made no sense. She only felt pleasure, so much pleasure. No, she thought, rapture. That’s right, it was rapture. Then she saw white, and then red, and then black, nothing but black.
Protecting Olivia [Fate Harbor 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 22
