Chapter Thirty-Three
It didn’t take them very long to arrive at the house, Liz following closely behind them in her Jeep. As they approached the door, Mason paused. “Liz, why don’t you stay out here, for a minute, just in case? I want to go in and check around the house.”
Olivia looked up, startled. “You don’t think…?”
Leaning down, he took a moment to place a gentle kiss on her cheek. “No honey, I don’t. It’s just a precaution, but I think we’d all feel better for making sure.”
Liz wrapped her arm around her sister and shot him a fearful look before firming her jaw. “Don’t worry, I’ve got her. Be careful.”
He swung open the door quietly and cautiously, hesitating for a moment on the threshold to listen to the sounds of the house and get a feel of the place. Everything was quiet. It felt empty.
Taking a deep breath and wishing he’d thought to bring his handgun with him, he slowly made his way through the house. He stopped first in the kitchen to grab a knife from the butcher block, just in case.
Meanwhile, the two sisters sat huddled and shivering on the front stoop. The sun had finally gone down and the already cold temperature edged towards zero without the light. They both strained their ears for any unusual sounds. Liz had pulled her phone out and was poised to call 911 at the first sign of trouble.
It took about fifteen minutes before he stepped back out and gave them the all clear. Liz walked Olivia to the kitchen and led her to one of the kitchen stools, then turned towards the stove. “How about some hot tea to help get us warm?” Briskly, she grabbed the cheerful red kettle from the stove and began to fill it up at the sink.
Mason moved towards Olivia and noticed the lost, vacant look in her eyes. He’d seen the thousand-yard stare before in other victims of violence. Cautiously, he wrapped his arms around her. He couldn’t seem to get rid of the need to hold her, to reassure himself that she was still there and that, despite her injuries, she was okay.
She sighed and leaned into him. He gently rubbed her back, incredibly grateful that she seemed to feel the same way. “The minute I saw those flashing lights surrounding your café, I swear, I have never been so afraid in my life. If anything had happened to you…” His voice cracked as he fought to swallow past the lump in his throat. Reflexively, he tightened his arms at the thought of what could have happened to her.
She grimaced and flinched slightly. Instantly, Mason released her, remembering she was in pain. “Here, let me take a look at you.” He spoke quietly as he bent down to assess her face again. He winced at how swollen her eye had gotten. Somewhere along the way, she must have set the ice pack aside.
“Ouch. That’s gonna be a doozy of a shiner. We need to get some more ice on that.”
Cautiously, she probed the puffy skin with her fingertips. “I think I may have left it in the back of the ambulance.”
Liz opened the freezer and took out an ice tray. “Well, let’s make you another.”
“I wish I didn’t need it. It’s too cold to have ice pressed up against me.” Just then she was wracked by a full body shiver. “I can’t seem to get warm.”
“That’s probably due to a slight case of shock and the adrenaline leaving your system. We should get you into a hot bath and changed into something warm and comfortable.”
“A hot bath sounds heavenly right now.” Olivia admitted.
“Would you like me to help you upstairs?”
Her lower lip trembled for a moment before she pressed them firmly together. “Actually, if you don’t mind, I think I just need a moment alone.”
Mason stepped back, keeping one hand on her shoulder to help steady her. “That’s okay. I’ll be right here if you need me.”
Liz quietly handed her the baggie full of ice that she’d wrapped into a dishtowel, “Here, I know you probably don’t want to deal with it right now, but you’ll be happy you did tomorrow.”
Olivia gave her sister a hug. “Thanks, Liz.”
They both watched as Olivia left the room and listened as she made her way up the stairs. She knew they were both concerned for her well-being and doing what they could to comfort her, but she couldn’t seem to explain just how rattled and vulnerable she was feeling at the moment. She needed to wrap her head around what had happened.
She needed a moment to think.
Her body felt sluggish as she entered the calm serenity of her bathroom and groaned in protest as she bent down and got the hot water running. After pouring some bubble bath in, she turned away from the tub and faced the full length mirror hanging on the back of the door.
She gasped. Now that she could get a good look at her face in the mirror, it was every bit as bad as people had been telling her, maybe even worse.
The large knot on her forehead had already begun to turn a deep shade of eggplant purple, with a nasty cut where the skin had broken. No wonder her head was still pounding so badly.
She turned her head to the side to get a good look at the way her right eye was beginning to swell. The entire cheekbone had swollen to epic proportions and was tender to the touch.
Being the first black eye she’d ever had, she’d had no idea her eye could get that big. Olivia remembered the makeshift ice pack Liz had handed to her and hastily picked it up off the bathroom counter where she’d set it.
With her one eye covered, she noticed flour covered her entire torso, lower back, and one side of her leg. What a mess that was going to be to clean up…
The thought stopped her in her tracks. Her café!
For one, brief, shining moment, she’d forgotten. A large mess of flour would have been so much more preferable than what she had to clean up.
A heavy blanket of depression descended around her. Dejectedly, she pulled her jeans down over her hips and stepped out of them. Slipping out of the rest of her clothes, she paused once more to note the map of violence catalogued along her flesh.
Shadowed fingertips gripped her bicep. Constellations of blue bruises scattered across her ribs and torso. A dark and angry black hole of a knot graced her right hip.
Olivia found she felt slightly removed as she took note of the damage done to her body. This was not who she was. She wasn’t the kind of woman who would have something like this done to her. Was she?
Broken, she turned and checked the bath before turning the water off. Gratefully, she dipped her toes into the steaming, scented water and sank into the depths down to her chin. Maybe if she closed her eyes, she could forget everything outside of those four walls for a moment.
From behind her lids, an image of the smoke wafting up over the crowd of people entered her mind. She could see the glow of the flames reflected on their upturned faces, their mouths opened in sick, fascinated horror.
Water rippled and sloshed as she sat up abruptly.
Her café!
The place she had fed her very soul into. Where she had invested hours and hours of time, sweat, blood, and tears. The place that had helped her climb from the deep morass of depression overhanging her after her parents had died, and given her a means to support her sisters.
Gone.
That word—gone—cracked her composure like an egg. She didn’t even realize she’d begun to break down until she gasped for breath on another sob. Clasping her hands over her mouth, she stifled the sounds of her despair as emotion welled up past her throat.
Olivia pulled her knees up to her chest and huddled in the hot water, instinctively reverting back to a fetal position of warmth and comfort, and released the valve on her emotions. After a few moments, the initial squall left her feeling exhausted and wrung out.
She slid down further into the water and submerged her head, enjoying the shield of muffled silence. Calmer, she reluctantly came up for air. Laying her head back, she closed her eyes and willed herself to regain some composure.
A light tap sounded at the bathroom door. “Olivia?” Mason cautiously poked his head through the threshold. “May I come in?”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Mason paused just inside the bathroom door, a cup of tea and a couple of ibuprofen balanced in one hand, and sucked in a breath at his first full look at Olivia.
Raw fury surged up and threatened to overwhelm him as he took stock of the damage to her beautiful body. For a moment, all he could do was stand there and clench the doorknob, the teacup rattling slightly in its saucer.
Silently, he wrestled with his rage, instinctively understanding that the last thing she needed was to be faced with more violence – even if it was on her behalf.
Controlling his initial reaction, he calmly moved to place the cup on the counter. Looking up, he caught her reflection in the mirror and could see the exhaustion on her face, despite her eyes being closed.
With a deep breath, he let the anger built up in him dissolve and slowly knelt down by the tub. Olivia opened her eyes and pierced his soul with the turmoil in their depths.
“Liz has taken off. She said she’ll call you tomorrow. How are you feeling?”
“Tired, hurt…numb. I don’t think it’s fully hit me yet.” She raised a hand to her black eye, and offered him a wry smile. “Sorry, poor choice of words.”
Unable to resist touching her, he lifted a hand to brush a strand of damp hair back from her face. He pretended not to notice her slight, instinctual flinch when he did so, but inside his heart wrenched a little tighter.
“I’m so sorry this has happened to you.” His voice cracked with emotion. Taking a moment, he struggled to compose himself.
Silently, she turned her cheek into his palm. Filled with tenderness, he leaned over and softly placed a kiss on her poor, abused brow. Olivia tilted her head up, offering her lips to his.
With a groan, he gently captured her lips, brushing across them tenderly, back and forth with his own until she opened them, inviting him deeper. He took a moment to delicately explore the sweet hollows of her mouth before pulling back.
Carefully, he took the bottle of scented shampoo lying on the ledge and poured a dollop into his palm. “Lean back and I’ll wash your hair for you.”
A spark of desire flared in her eyes before she complied with his request and slowly slid deeper into the hot, fragrant water. Taking care not to harm her bruises, he began to lift and lather her hair.
He enjoyed the way her eyes closed as his fingertips gently massaged her scalp and rinsed the suds from her strands. Slowly, he worked his way towards the back of her head and down her neck.
Her lips parted and she sighed, letting out a soft groan. Her neck was damp and exposed; the creamy skin beckoned to him. He watched as a single droplet of water traced its way down past the hollow of her throat and through the valley below.
Just the tops of her soft, round globes were exposed above the water, disappearing into a frothy line of sheer bubbles. Mason swallowed. He ached to follow the path of the water drop with his tongue and taste the scent on her skin.
“Mason…” Olivia’s breathy voice cut through his fantasies and he looked up to find her watching him through shuttered eyes.
Sitting up abruptly, she gripped his shirt with wet fists. She paused for a moment and stared at his mouth before looking back up to his eyes. “Make love to me, Mason. Please. I need you to make love to me. Let me shut the world out for a while.”
He liked to think that if it had just been desperation in her eyes, he would have had the strength to say no, but underneath the dark bruises and damage to her face, he saw the hunger and was helpless to resist.
Reverently, he traced her face, letting his fingertips trail down her neck and along the line of her collarbone. He could feel her begin to tremble at his touch. “Let’s get you out of this water.”
Standing, he helped her exit the tub and wrapped her in a plush bath towel. Being careful not to press too hard on her bruises, he began to gently dry her skin.
She stood there and patiently gave herself over to his ministrations as he methodically worked his way from her shoulders and down each arm, her breasts, torso, and the curve of her buttocks.
He knelt before her and dried down the long columns of her legs, and then looked up at her from his crouched position. She stared down at him. Water streamed from the ends of her hair as it hung in long curtains around her face, casting it in darkness.
Her burnished eyes glowed from the shadows, hot and wary and needy.
Standing, he took a moment to towel dry her hair, then lifted her gently into his arms and carried her to the bedroom. Carefully, he deposited her on the bed and, standing before her, began to remove his clothes. He took his time and watched the reactions flit across her face. His eyes silently promised that this would be all about her tonight.
He wanted—needed—to show her that a man’s touch could be gentle. A part of him recognized he needed the closeness as much as she did.
Naked, he climbed up onto the bed and lay beside her, letting her feel the full length of his body touching hers. Olivia’s eyes swam as she looked up at him and he caught a tear as it cut a salty path towards her temple.
“Olivia…”
She raised her hand and pressed a finger to his lips. “Shhh. These aren’t bad tears.” Her hand slowly stroked the side of his face, memorizing the curvature of his jawline. Her lip quivered as she gave him a watery smile. “It’s just that you’re so beautiful.”
The look in her eyes had Mason’s heart leaping. He may not be ready to acknowledge the gaze that passed between them, but his soul recognized it for what it was and rejoiced.
A fierce need to protect surged up in his chest and he was caught by the intensity of his emotions. Unable to put what he was feeling into words around the lump in his throat, he did the only thing left to him and endeavored to show her.
Olivia let out a sigh as Mason bent his head down to capture her lips. Softly, he nibbled at the corners of her mouth, carefully following its outline, and taking care to avoid the damaged skin.
He flicked his tongue into the sweet recesses of her mouth, teasing her with light kisses until she yearned to deepen them. As she moved to do so, he pulled back and began feathering his lips across her cheek, her brow, and down her nose, paying special attention to all the places violence had left its mark upon her face.
Gradually, he made his way down the slim column of her neck and to the arm that held the shadow of another man’s hand. Holding her slender limb up, he paused at the inside of her elbow before kissing his way down to the fine bones of her wrist. Gently, he nuzzled her palm, carefully avoiding her ravaged fingertips.
She inhaled sharply at the feel of his mouth. Who knew her hand could be such an erogenous zone? She’d never had a man attend to her needs so tenderly.
Deliberately, with great care, Mason attended to all the sore points on her body, causing the pain to melt away until there was nothing but pleasure and heat and yearning.
Eventually, he made his way back to Olivia’s mouth and sampled her lips once again before rising over her and positioning himself between her thighs. He could feel she was already slick for him and rubbed his tip along her entrance.
Beneath him, she writhed, now lost to the sensations Mason had built up in her. With a controlled push, he slowly began to sheath himself in her depths, groaning as he felt her inner muscles clench around him.
Desperate to take it slow and not worsen her injuries, he fought for control. He could feel the silky soft skin of her thighs as they slid along his hips. Watching, he noticed the way her nipples had turned to a dusky rose and couldn’t resist bending down to suckle one between his lips.
Steady and sure, he filled her with pleasure, stoking the heat at her very core until she turned to molten lava around him. Her breathy whimpers and helpless panting set his blood on fire, but still, he forced himself to focus solely on her pleasure, ruthlessly denying his body the release it was clamoring for.
And then Olivia let out a high, keening sound and began to shudder all around him. With her back arched, her body began
to tighten around his cock, sending him flying far beyond the edge of any control and reason.
Stunned in the aftermath of his orgasm, it took him a moment to gather his wits and realize the woman who’d given him such pleasure was looking up at him with a warm, glowing smile. He was relieved he’d kept the majority of his body weight propped up on his arms and hadn’t crushed her or worsened her injuries.
He wasn’t quite sure how he’d managed it.
Carefully, he pulled himself from her body and flopped down to the side of her. Limp and utterly content, she turned her head to face him.
“Thank you.”
Mason nearly laughed. Wasn’t it him that should be thanking her? But something about the solemn way her eyes held his had him stopping himself before he could give voice to his humor. Feeling more than a little privileged and humbled, he simply nodded and gathered her fully into his arms, pulling the blankets up around both of them.
“Shhh. Hush now.” He stroked his hand down her back. “Why don’t you relax and get some sleep? I’ll keep watch over you and make sure you’re safe.”
He was gratified by the way she sighed and relaxed against him, yet it was a long time before he managed to nod off himself. And even then, it was with an ache filling his chest that hadn’t been there before.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Olivia woke slowly in her bed and, for one brief moment, didn’t remember any of the events that had occurred the day before. That is, until she made the ill-advised move of sitting up too quickly. Surprised, she froze as a wave of pain washed over her.
Inhaling sharply, she held her breath, waiting for the soreness in her body to ease back a bit. Her head, once again, began to pound, feeling like someone had taken a 2x4 to it.
Cautiously, she raised her hand and gently prodded the edges of the lump on her forehead, testing it for size and tenderness. It seemed to have gone down a bit, she was happy to note, and took it as an encouraging sign.
As she took stock of her physical status, she was reminded of the fact that not everything felt bad today. Mason’s lovemaking the night before had given her a delicious soreness between her thighs that hadn’t been there previously, and that wasn’t at all a negative thing.
Secret Hunger (The Harper Sisters) Page 23
