by T. K. Leigh
Within a few minutes, Alexander pulled his car into the long driveway of his house overlooking the Mystic River, worried that being back inside his home would stir even stronger memories. He wanted to throttle his mother for her hair-brained notion that it was a good idea to bring Olivia back here.
“This is where you grew up?” Olivia asked, astonished at the breathtaking large white house with a wrap-around porch. “It’s beautiful, Alexander.” She got out of the car, gazing over the river at a tall ship docked on the opposite side of the bank. “What a view.”
Alexander stared at her, relieved that perhaps she truly had no memory of her childhood. She grew up just a few houses down from him and had the same view. She practically lived at Alexander’s house most of the time, and yet she acted as if it was the first time she had ever laid eyes on the river…and the house.
Starting to relax, he walked up to her and pulled her into his embrace. “If you’re good, I’ll take you down the street and buy you some ice cream later.” He swatted her ass, making her jump, before leading her up the driveway and into the house. She followed him down a long hallway, past several formal living rooms and an ornate dining room, and into the kitchen.
“Olivia, darling,” Colleen said, embracing her as she entered the open, modern room. “It’s wonderful to see you. I’m so glad that you dragged my son here.” She pulled back, winking. “Alex, please take your things upstairs while your fiancée and I have a little chat.”
“Mom…”
“Hush. I don’t bite, dear.”
Alexander rolled his eyes and carried their bags up the stairs to his room.
“Now, dear, let me see the ring,” Colleen said, turning back to Olivia.
She held out her hand.
“Oh, my,” she exhaled, holding Olivia’s hand up to her eyes for a closer inspection. “That is beautiful. I wonder if he picked it out himself.”
“Based on his closet at home, I’d guess so. He does have fantastic taste in clothes.”
Colleen laughed. “He absolutely does. I guess that’s what happens when you grow up with mostly women as influences.”
“Stop talking about me, you two,” Alexander joked, making his way back downstairs after scanning the walls to ensure that his mother had done a thorough enough job of ridding the house of anything ‘Olivia-related’.
“Well, listen. Why don’t you both relax for a while? People won’t start to arrive until seven, so you’ve got plenty of time to go for a walk or whatever you want. It’s finally supposed to be such a nice evening so I had everything set up out back.”
“Ma, who all is coming?” Alexander glared at his mother. She loved to throw a party.
“Oh, you know. Family.”
Alexander walked toward the back door, gazing at their expansive backyard to see that it was set up for roughly a hundred guests.
“Mom, this is not a small little get together.”
“We have a large family. Now out with you two so I can finish getting everything ready.”
Alexander looked over at Olivia, a look of panic across her face. “Come with me, gorgeous.” He pulled her hand and led her out of the house. “Want to go for a walk?”
Olivia nodded, needing a minute to calm her nerves.
“I’m sorry about all of this,” Alexander said, clutching her hand as they walked along the river toward downtown Mystic on the warm early spring day.
“It’s okay,” she replied nervously, letting out the breath that she had been holding. “I know that I need to get used to it. I just grew up with no family. My uncle was the only family I really had.” She looked down at her hand enclosed in his as she savored the warmth of his skin on hers, feeling comfort in the innocent contact.
“Were you close to him?” He was desperate for more information about his father’s secret life.
“It’s hard to say.” Olivia hadn’t thought about her younger years in quite a long time. “He was my legal guardian, but I really only saw him during summers. He had a house on Folly Beach right outside of Charleston, and we would spend our summers there. But he always seemed somewhat distant. Mom died leaving me a fortune, as you know, and when I was younger, he hired a nanny to take care of me.”
“Sorry…”
“It’s okay,” Olivia said, shrugging. “I guess I was better off than a lot of girls I was in school with. Most of them were sent to the boarding school so that their parents could travel and not be saddled with dealing with their kids. At least I had no parents. I guess the hardest part was around the holidays.”
“How so?”
“Well, even though all the other girls’ parents dumped them at some school so they didn’t have to actually care for them, at least they got presents and cards. I was the only one who never got anything. My nanny would sometimes send me a small little something, but when you’re a little kid and you see everyone else around you opening gifts and you don’t have anything to open, it’s difficult. You start to think that nobody loves you enough to remember to send you a gift for Christmas or even your birthday.”
“Fuck…” Alexander said under his breath, wondering why his father would agree to look after the girl and then practically ignore her.
Olivia glanced at him as they strolled along the riverbank past rows of historic homes. “Tell me about it.”
They walked in silence for a moment. “I had some pretty good friends there, especially in middle school and high school.” Her mouth turned slightly upwards, thinking about the girls she used to hang around with. “We used to get in so much trouble together.”
Alexander listened as she recalled her younger years, wishing he had known her during that time in her life. Maybe both of their lives would have turned out differently. Then again, if she hadn’t been taken from him, maybe they would have eventually grown apart, as childhood friends often do. He shuddered at the thought of not having her in his life.
“As the years went on, I spent more and more time at the school,” Olivia said, bringing him back from his thoughts. “My uncle was hesitant at first. He could be overbearing at times.” She tilted her head to look at Alexander with a playful expression. “You probably would have gotten along wonderfully. You remind me of him a little bit.”
His breath caught and his eyes met hers, silently questioning her.
“You know. You’re both rather protective of me,” she explained. “It’s cute and all, but you do realize that I’m an adult, right, Alex?”
“Of course I do,” he responded, bringing her hand to his mouth and placing a gentle kiss on her knuckles. “But I just have this deep-seeded need to look out for you and keep you safe.”
She opened her mouth to say something and then closed it, not wanting to argue after they were getting along so well. “Anyway, my uncle finally relented and allowed me to stay at school during the holidays so I could participate in sports and theater and other stuff. Of course, before he agreed to that, he made sure the security in place during regular sessions was exactly the same. He was just as paranoid as you.” She winked.
There was more silence as they turned onto Main Street. Olivia took in the narrow street with the drawbridge, everything seeming eerily familiar to her. “There’s an oyster place over the bridge, isn’t there?”
Alexander stopped in his tracks, causing several tourists to almost bump into him before they maneuvered around him, cursing underneath their breath. “How do you know that?” He met her gaze, his heart racing in his chest.
“I have no idea,” she blanched. “That seems to be happening a lot lately…as if I had been to certain places before, you know, the accident.”
He continued walking with Olivia by his side, hoping her surroundings didn’t stir any more memories. “Do you recall anything about your life before the accident?”
“Not really. I guess my brain just forgot everything. My uncle told me that I couldn’t even remember my name due to the head injury I had suffered. The doctors hoped that I would get my memor
y back once I returned to my regular life and went home, but I guess Charleston didn’t hold any memories for me because nothing ever came back.”
“That’s kind of depressing.”
“Well, I’ve got the cure for that,” Olivia said, eyeing the ice cream shop adjacent to the drawbridge. “Ice cream!”
Alexander laughed. “Okay. You got it, love.” He pulled her along, skirting by tourists exploring the shops in downtown Mystic.
They walked through the front door of the relatively empty shop, making their way to the counter to order. “What’ll it be, Olivia?” Alexander asked.
She took in her surroundings. The store looked familiar, just like the rest of the town. “Scoop of strawberry, scoop of rocky road with pineapples on top,” she replied without even thinking about it.
“Are you serious?” Alexander asked with a blank expression.
Olivia laughed. “Yeah. I don’t know why I’m ordering that. I don’t think I’ve ever had it, but something about this place makes it seem like the right decision.”
“Okay. You got it.” He placed their order and handed her the bowl full of ice cream.
“Is that a park across the street?” she asked, sticking a spoon in her frozen treat.
“Yes. Do you want to go sit over there?”
Her eyes widened. “Yes, please,” she responded excitedly. “We can watch the boats come by.”
Alexander stilled again, thinking that bringing Olivia to Mystic was probably the worst idea his mother had ever come up with. He remembered doing the same exact thing with her when they were growing up. It didn’t help that he had ordered what he always did when he and Olivia were kids – vanilla with cherries on top.
“Are you coming?” Olivia asked, holding the door open for him.
He snapped out of it. “Yes. Sorry. I’m coming.” He walked behind her, checking out her tall, slender body from behind as they made their way across the drawbridge.
She glimpsed over her shoulder and shivered from the primal stare Alexander gave her. “See something you like, Mr. Burnham?” She winked.
“I see something I love, Miss Adler.” He slinked his arm around her waist and planted an affectionate kiss on her temple as they walked across the street to the park and sat down on a bench, looking out over the river.
“It’s so peaceful here,” Olivia remarked, enjoying the feeling of the light breeze on her skin. “I think I would have enjoyed living here as a child. There must have been so much to do.”
“It was a good place to grow up.” Alexander recalled spending nearly every day with Olivia. He remembered how she cried when he got to start school, but she was still too young. He smiled, thinking how her eyes lit up when he stopped by her house after that first day and told her all about it.
She had been coloring with her mother and she excitedly ran into her playroom, handing him a piece of construction paper with a drawing on it. It was supposed to be of the two of them sitting on a bench at the park eating ice cream. He wondered if he still had that somewhere at his house.
“And, I mean, what kid wouldn’t love living right down the street from an ice cream shop!” Olivia brought him back from his memories as she took another bite, moaning with pleasure.
Alexander glanced at her, leaning into her neck. “You better stop with that or I’m going to throw you on the ground and have my way with you, and I don’t care who’s around to watch,” he growled, his voice husky.
Olivia’s spine straightened, her eyes growing wide. She met Alexander’s gaze, the heat emanating from it palpable. She swallowed hard. “That’s pretty fucking hot.” She grabbed another spoonful of ice cream, brought it to her lips, opened her mouth slightly, and took a bite while Alexander watched her, his expression intense. She closed her eyes, moaning as she slowly slid the spoon out of her mouth.
“Do you want me to fuck you, Olivia?” he whispered in her ear.
She opened her eyes to see Alexander looking at her with a hooded stare. “Yes,” she exhaled.
He grabbed her hair, tilting her head back to expose her neck. “Yes, what?”
Olivia’s blood spiked. She loved playing his little game. “Yes, Mr. Burnham.”
“That’s better.” He stood up, grabbing her hand. “Let’s get home.” He pulled her down Main Street. The short walk back home seemed to take an eternity.
“Oh, you’re back,” Colleen said, spotting Alexander and Olivia as they practically ran through the front door.
“Yes. We’re back. Olivia wants to lie down. See you soon, Ma,” Alexander said quickly, rushing through the living room in the direction of the staircase.
“Okay. Go easy, kids. That bed isn’t nearly as sturdy as it used to be.”
Olivia stopped dead in her tracks on the stairs and turned to look at Alexander, her face bright red. A wicked grin spread across his face and he couldn’t help but laugh.
“I used to be your age once, too, ya’ know!” she explained.
Olivia gawked at Colleen, speechless.
“Come on, love,” Alexander said, still laughing. Picking her up, he slung her over his shoulder, making her squeal with excitement when he playfully smacked her ass.
He opened the door to his childhood bedroom, thankful his mother and Mrs. Carlson had taken down all the photos he had of him when he was a boy. Placing Olivia on her feet, he sat on the edge of the bed, glaring at her with a lustful expression. “Strip,” he ordered.
Fuck, this is hot, she thought to herself as her eyes roamed his beautiful body. She met Alexander’s stare and slowly unbuttoned her jeans, taking her time lowering them to the floor, her eyes never leaving his.
“Are you trying to be a tease, Olivia?” he asked sternly. “I am not a patient man. I said strip. Now.”
The tone of his voice made her heart race even faster. She lifted her shirt over her head before quickly removing her bra and panties.
“That’s better,” he said, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
Olivia gaped at the muscular biceps threatening to bust the seams of his t-shirt.
“Now, getting back to our conversation in the park,” he said, bringing her back from her thoughts about his gorgeous frame. “Do you want me to fuck you?” He surveyed Olivia’s naked body as she stood in front of him, her engagement ring the only item she wore. He felt a twitch in his pants.
“Yes, Mr. Burnham,” she replied quietly.
“Ask me, then,” he ordered, his voice full of hunger and yearning. Reaching out, he grabbed her hips, pulling her closer to him. He planted kisses across her stomach before lowering his head, licking between her legs.
“Fuck,” Olivia breathed out when Alexander stopped a few seconds later.
“I said ask me, Olivia.” He looked up at her, gently plunging a finger inside of her.
She squirmed in response. “Will you fuck me, Mr. Burnham?” she exhaled, the sensation of just one finger inside of her too much.
Standing up, Alexander rid himself of his clothes in a hurry. He walked up behind her, brushed her hair to one side, and kissed her exposed neck. “Hold on to the bedpost and lean over, love.” His voice was gentle and soft.
Olivia still marveled at the dichotomy of the man she had fallen in love with. Sex was always different, no matter how many times they did it. She walked over to the bedpost and placed her hands on it, bending over, using the frame to support her body.
“You should see the view I have right now,” he commented, curving toward her, his lips warm against her neck. Olivia looked over her shoulder as he softly caressed her ass, setting her body on fire from the anticipation. “It’s hot.” He gently eased himself into her, filling her completely.
She moaned out, the sensation of Alexander slowly pushing into her from behind overwhelming her once more.
“You like that, Olivia?” he asked, withdrawing before entering her again.
She closed her eyes, reveling in the electricity coursing through her veins from Alexander’s gentle mo
tion.
“I asked you a question, Olivia.” He grabbed on to her hips and leaned down once more. “And I expect an answer,” he growled into her ear.
“Yes,” she exhaled as he continued his deliberate movements.
“I know that I always say this, but you feel so damn good,” he grunted. She met his rhythm thrust for thrust, her breathing becoming erratic as she fought against her orgasm.
“Do you like it slow like this, or do you want it fast?”
She moaned, not wanting to answer. She was ready to fall apart from the gentle pace Alexander was maintaining. She couldn’t even imagine what would happen if he picked up the tempo. She thought she would explode. “Slow, Alexander. Please,” she begged.
A grin spread across his face as he continued filling her. “And why’s that, Olivia? Are you ready to come already?” he asked, dragging his tongue across her shoulder blade. “Is my cock too much for you to handle?” he whispered against her skin.
She closed her eyes, convinced that Alexander could make her come from his words alone.
“Well, Olivia,” Alexander said, his voice demanding. “Is it?”
“No,” she responded.
“No, what?” he growled, pulling her hair back and slowly increasing the pace.
“No, Mr. Burnham,” she exhaled, her voice barely above a whisper. She knew her orgasm was imminent. She felt as if she was wound tighter than she could remember in all her years, and she didn’t know why or how that could even be possible.
“We’ll see about that. I have a feeling my cock is more than you can handle, Olivia. You always come so quickly when I start driving into you. Don’t you?” he commented.
She could hear the smile in the tone of his voice. Her heart began to race, not wanting to respond to him. She knew it was absolutely true. Alexander completed her in more ways than one.
“Well, if you’re not going to answer, we’ll just have to test my theory.” He immediately began plunging into her at a punishing pace.
“FUCK!” Olivia screamed out, her body trembling as her orgasm overtook her entire being, waves of ecstasy rolling through her core.
