The Redemption Series

by Melynda Price

  “What are you doing here, Max? How did you even get in?”

  Olivia didn’t look very pleased to see him. She clutched her towel against her breasts in a white knuckled grip. Water spattered the floor, dripping from the ends of her long black hair as she stood there in wide-eyed shock. Cleavage poured from the top of her pale yellow towel, the split hanging open mid-thigh, bearing a generous glimpse of creamy skin and bare hip.

  Max raked his eyes over the luscious beauty. His fingers tingled with anticipation and raw, unadulterated lust. Damn, this female would make one amazing feast.

  “I came by to see if I could bring you to school. I knocked, but no one answered. The door was open. I worried that maybe something was wrong. I came up here to make sure you were all right.”

  Olivia’s scowl softened a touch, and her shoulders relaxed a little. She may be mad at him, but she believed he meant her no harm. Stupid girl.

  “Are you sure you’re all right, Liv?” He took a cautious step toward her. She tensed ever so slightly but didn’t step away. She reminded him of a skittish colt. “I had hoped we could talk about last night. I think there’s been a misunderstanding.”

  “I need a minute to get dressed. Will you please wait for me downstairs?” Her tone was cool—reserved. Maybe this was going to be more difficult than he thought.

  Max nodded and took a step closer to Olivia. Her light vanilla-jasmine scent teased his senses. If he didn’t get away from her soon, there would be nothing he could do to stop himself from taking her.

  He reached up and gently drew the soft petals of the rose down the side of her cheek. Olivia stood stiffly as he bent his head and pressed his lips against hers in a slow, lingering kiss. She didn’t resist him when he pulled her bottom lip into his mouth and grazed her tongue with his. This was a good sign. Maybe there was hope for him after all.

  “I’ll see you downstairs,” he whispered, smiling to himself as he walked out of her bedroom.

  ***

  Olivia’s heart pounded so fast, she was sure it’d beat right out of her chest. How had Max gotten in here? She knew he was lying. There was no way her parents would have left the front door open. She ran over and locked her bedroom door. Somehow that didn’t seem to make her feel any safer. Her hands shook as she scrambled to get dressed.

  “Okay, calm down,” she commanded herself. “He’s obviously here to patch things up. He’s not going to hurt you.” She glanced down at her arm. Five purple fingerprints begged to differ. “Oh shit…” she muttered, running her hands through her damp hair, trying to gather her scattered thoughts. He’d scared the shit out of her.

  “Olivia!”

  His commanding voice made her cringe with dread. If she wasn’t on the second floor, she would have bolted out the window. It was still a tempting thought, though. She glanced over at her only escape and contemplated the chances of pulling a Houdini without breaking a limb.

  “Olivia!”

  She marched over to the door, swung it open, and stuck her head into the hall. “Just a minute!” Geeze, what an impatient ass. Olivia knew if she didn’t get downstairs soon, he’d be coming up to get her, and she definitely didn’t want to be stuck up here with him again. She gathered her hair into a twist and fastened it with a rubber binder as she walked down the stairs. “I do have to get ready for school, you know.” Grouching at him probably wasn’t the smartest move, but damn, she was sick of his bullshit.

  Unable to delay the inevitable any longer, Olivia sat on the other end of the couch, a good three feet away from him. “What is there left to talk about, Max? There was no misunderstanding. I think seeing you with that woman last night was pretty clear enough.”

  Max scooted closer and took her hands in his. All she could think about was how many other woman those hands had touched in the last two months. The thought made her nauseous. She tried to jerk them back, but his grip tightened, refusing to let her go.

  “You’re right, Liv. The only misunderstanding was on my part, for not realizing how truly wonderful and amazing you are. I’m the luckiest guy in the world to have you and I just don’t want to lose you over a stupid mistake. Nothing happened between me and that girl. I promise. I was drunk, I admit it. But Liv, I swear to you, nothing like that will ever happen again. I love you so much!” He pulled her toward him and wrapped his arms around her in a smothering embrace. “I don’t know what I’d ever do without you. Since I lost my parents, you’re all I’ve got in this world.”

  Oh, gag. If he poured it on any thicker, she might possibly throw up. Hey, that wasn’t such a bad idea, at least then he’d have to let go of her. Her skin crawled in the weight of his embrace, and her stomach turned.

  Out of nowhere, Olivia thought of Liam and suddenly wished he was here with her. The sincerity she’d seen in his eyes last night had been genuine. What she saw in Max right now…this was something else, and it left her with an overwhelming sense of dread. Liam’s warning played over and over through her mind. She needed to get Max out of here—now.

  “Max,” she wiggled out of his embrace. Thank God, he let her go. She jumped up from the couch to put some distance between them. “I hear what you’re saying, but I just need some time to think.”

  Anger flashed in his dark brown eyes, making the little hairs on the back of her neck tingle. “Is this about Liam?” he demanded. His voice stretched tight with barely controlled rage. “What were you doing with him last night?”

  “Nothing,” Olivia replied defensively. “What were you doing following me?”

  Max leapt up and charged toward her. She dug her feet into the carpet, standing her ground. “I was keeping you safe! You shouldn’t be alone with him, Olivia. You don’t know the first thing about him. He’s dangerous!”

  “Huh, that’s funny. He said the same thing about you,” she shot back defensively, ignoring the little voice inside her head screaming at her to shut up before she made things worse.

  “Oh, and now you believe a stranger over me. Is that it? You’d take the word of someone you’ve only known for a whole, let’s see, six days, over mine?” Seething rage burned brightly in his coal black eyes.

  Olivia’s cat brushed up against her leg. She reached down to pick him up, anxious to put something, anything, between her and Max. The cat leveled a glare at him and emitted a low warning growl. He returned the cat’s glare, and it hissed before jumping out of her arms.

  “Continuing to make friends, I see. Animals can’t even stand to be around you when you’re like this.”

  “Has he been in this house? Are you sleeping with him, Olivia?”

  “What?” she yelled indignantly. “Are you completely out of your mind? Why would you possibly even think that? I’m not even sleeping with you!”

  “Because I can smell him, Olivia! He’s been in your room!” Max snarled.

  Raw terror left her momentarily speechless. How could Max possibly know Liam’s scent? Fury and contempt rolled off him in tangible waves. He looked like he wanted to lunge forward and strangle her.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she whispered calmly, trying to diffuse his temper before the situation got any worse. “Liam has never been in this house, and I can’t believe that you think so little of me as to cheat on you.” Tears of his betrayal filled her eyes. It wasn’t difficult to work up a good cry. Maybe he’d realize yelling at her was the wrong approach. She was desperate to diffuse his anger, and would give just about anything a shot right about now.

  The tears worked. Max sighed, running his fingers through his hair. “I’m sorry, Liv. The last thing I wanted to do was upset you again. Please, forgive me?”

  Olivia nodded her head, anything to get this over and get him the hell out of here. “I’m not sure where this relationship is going anymore, Max. Honestly, it shouldn’t be this hard. I think maybe we should just give each other some space for a little while.”

  He looked wounded—heartbroken. Guilt crept in, needling her conscience. Was t
his genuine? Had Max finally let his emotional walls down? It was hard to tell, he ran from hot to cold so fast her head was starting to spin.

  “Liv, the only reason I got so upset with you a minute ago was because I love you so much. Just the thought of you being with another guy…it makes me crazy. I’m just so afraid of losing you, that’s all.”

  All right, this conversation needed to end. She was in so far over her head she needed a shovel to dig out of Max’s shit. Olivia made a show of looking down at her watch. “I have to go, Max. I still need to get ready for school.”

  “Can I give you a ride?”

  “No, thank you. Ashley’s picking me up. I’ll talk to you later.” She walked over to the door, holding it open for him. Please leave…please leave…please leave…She forgot to call Ashley to ask her for a ride because her Jeep still wasn’t running. Hopefully it wasn’t too late to catch her.

  Max stood up and walked over to the door. He bent down and kissed her softly on the cheek. “I hope you have a good day, Liv. I’ll see you later.” He sounded so sad and dejected. It was obvious he was trying to play on her sympathy. She wasn’t falling for it. “Bye, Max.” She closed the door behind him and flipped the deadbolt.

  ***

  “You actually think that’s going to keep me out?” Max sneered, stepping off her front porch. “Sweetheart, you don’t have a fucking clue.”

  He resisted the temptation to prove to her just how vulnerable she was. Operation “Get Back into Olivia’s Good Graces” hadn’t gone as well as he’d hoped. Manipulating her free will was becoming increasingly difficult, thanks to that damn warrior’s interference. Time was running out, and things were about to go from bad to worse in a mighty damn hurry if that little bitch didn’t have a change of heart soon.

  Max walked his bike out of her driveway and pushed it over to the vacant yellow house across the street with the red and blue Re-Max sign hanging in the front yard. He parked the Harley in the back, keeping it out of sight from the street, and walked up to the deck attached to the back of the house.

  From this angle, he had a pretty good view of Olivia’s front yard and an even better view of her bedroom. He grabbed a piece of weathered patio furniture and sat down for a little recon. Less than five minutes later, a black Camaro pulled into her driveway.

  “That lying little bitch!” he growled, leaping to his feet. “No wonder she was in such a hurry for me to leave. ‘Ashley’s coming to pick me up,’ my ass!”

  Max watched as the warrior climbed out of the car and walk toward the house. A breeze suddenly picked up from the west, and the warrior froze mid-step, spinning around with surprising speed. His deep violet eyes searched the neighborhood, flashing bright amethyst when they locked on Max. Unbelievable…

  A soft warning growl rumbled in the back of his throat as he returned the warrior’s menacing glare, silently challenging him to come on over.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Andre!” Olivia called.

  Liam turned back around to see a white, fluffy cat running toward him and an anxious-looking Olivia running after him. When he bent down to catch the feline, it leapt into his arms.

  “My, you sure are a friendly beast.” He ruffled the cat’s fur, and it began to purr. Liam carried Andre over to Olivia. She smiled up at him, taking the cat from his arms.

  “You know, he really isn’t—friendly with people he doesn’t know, I mean. I can’t believe he just ran over to you like that. He acts like you’re his long lost friend or something.”

  “I just have a way with animals, that’s all.”

  “He hates Max,” she murmured, turning to walk back inside the house.

  “Well, animals are a good judge of character.”

  “Stop it,” she chided, laughing. “What are you doing here?”

  “I just came by to make sure you were all right after last night, and to see if maybe you’d like a ride to school. I assume your car isn’t running yet.”

  “No, it isn’t. My dad said he should have it fixed by tonight. I hope so anyway, because I teach yoga class at four thirty.”

  Liam followed Olivia inside. Max’s lingering scent struck him the moment he stepped foot inside. His attempt to make amends obviously hadn’t gone well, otherwise he wouldn’t be casing her place right now.

  “I just need to run upstairs for a minute to finish getting ready. Do you mind waiting?”

  “No, take your time.” Something brushed against his leg, and he looked down at the purring cat weaving himself in and out of his legs. “So, how did things go with Max this morning?” he called casually, bending down to run his hand over the cat’s back.

  “What?” Olivia called down from the top of the stairs. “How do you know he was here?” she mumbled past her toothbrush as she scrubbed her teeth vigorously.

  Liam chuckled softly. She looked adorable standing there with white toothpaste foaming out all over. “Just a lucky guess. It’s what I would have done, and there’s a red rose lying on your coffee table. You might want to get it in some water before it dies.”

  Olivia let out a humph, spun around, and walked back into the bathroom. Apparently that wasn’t very high on her list of priorities. She came back down a few minutes later with her arms full of books, looking radiant as ever.

  “Here, let me take those for you,” he offered, sliding his hands along her bare arms to grab the books. Even the slightest contact with her sent his pulse racing. Silence hung in the air as neither of them moved. He stood so close her light vanilla-jasmine scent seemed to envelop him, dizzying his senses. Olivia looked up at him nervously and caught her bottom lip between her teeth.

  She was so beautiful. His grip tightened on her books as he fought the urge to reach out and pull her into his arms. “You’re going to be late if we don’t get going,” he whispered huskily, unable and unwilling to be the one who walked away first.

  “What?” she whispered dreamily. “Oh, right.” She walked over to the closet, slid into a pair of silver sandals, and preceded into the living room where she grabbed the rose off the table. “Ouch!” she exclaimed, scowling at her finger.

  Olivia walked over to the garbage and dropped the rose inside. She grabbed a napkin off the table and held it up to her bleeding finger. Her beautiful face was still pinched into a frown as she walked back over to him.

  “Here.” Liam set her books down on the table beside the door. “Let me see it,” he instructed, holding out his hand.

  “It’s fine,” she grumbled, wiping the blood from her finger.

  “Olivia, let me see it,” he insisted, gently taking a hold of her wrist. He pulled the napkin away and looked down at the small cut on the tip of her finger. The bleeding already stopped. Impulsively, he bent down and brushed his lips against her fingertip, allowing only the slightest amount of energy to touch her.

  “There,” he smiled up at her, letting his lips linger against her skin for just a moment longer. “It’s all better. Come on, let’s go.” He grabbed her hand, scooped up her books with the other, and they walked out the door together.

  ***

  Olivia could barely hear a word Liam said over the pounding of her heart. She didn’t expect him to kiss her finger, and she certainly hadn’t expected something so minor to feel so amazing. It was just a simple kiss.

  But it wasn’t… As soon as his lips touched her skin, liquid heat spread through her fingers, taking away the stinging pain of the thorn’s assault. This is ridiculous, she isn’t Sleeping Beauty and this isn’t a fairy tale, but she couldn’t deny that his touch felt magical.

  Even now, as he held her hand, there was something about their connection that made her knees go weak and her heart beat faster. Maybe it was just the adrenaline racing through her veins that released her endorphins and took away the pain in her finger. There was no other logical explanation.

  The moment they stepped outside, Olivia felt a sudden change in him. It wasn’t anything she could describe. It was more like…a k
nowing—something she felt through his touch. Impossible, of course, but when she looked up at him and saw the hard square set of his jaw and the glint of amethyst in those dark violet eyes, it confirmed she wasn’t imagining this. His grip on her hand tightened protectively.

  “Is something wrong?” She glanced up at him to see his eyes searching the neighborhood. He was looking for something, for someone…Olivia fought against the sudden surge of panic rising up inside her. What if Max was out there? What if he was watching her right now? If he caught her with Liam…

  As if he read her mind, Liam let go of her hand and wrapped his strong arm around her shoulders, pulling her tightly into the side of his chest as he walked her over to the car. “Don’t be afraid,” he said softly. “Everything’s going to be fine.” He opened the car door and she climbed inside. He handed her the books and gave her a much needed reassuring smile, and in that moment, she could almost believe that everything was going to be all right.

  By the time they pulled into the school parking lot, she was seriously second guessing her decision to let Liam bring her to school. It was as if the low rumble of the Camaro called out “look at me.” And they all did. The tinted windows were down, and by the time the car stopped beside the curb, every eye was trained on her. She could already hear the gossip now, and Max was bound to get an ear full.

  “They’re staring…” she said, glancing over at him nervously. She could feel the hate vibes of more than a few jealous girls.

  Liam chuckled and cocked an eyebrow flirtatiously. “You want me to give them something to talk about?”

  Heat flooded her cheeks as she imagined what he might do to her. Yes. “No,” she blurted. “Thanks, anyway. Max is already going to kill me when he hears about this.”

  “You don’t have to worry about Max. I won’t let him hurt you.” There was no mistaking the possessiveness in his voice.

  “I was speaking figuratively.” Then again, after today, maybe she wasn’t so sure anymore.