A Beautiful Mess (30 page)

“That’s the point.” She could hear the humor in his voice.

Olivia felt Alexander’s breath lower from her neck down her body as his mouth hovered over one of her breasts. She moaned out in anticipation and tried to move her arms to touch Alexander.

“Fuck,” she said. “This isn’t fair.”

“I know. I can be such a tease, can’t I?” he asked, inches from her chest. He gently blew on her nipple, causing it to become erect.

Olivia wiggled underneath him, the darkness heightening the rest of her senses. “Hold still, Olivia,” he said fervently. She immediately obeyed.

Alexander returned his attention to Olivia’s breast, pulling her nipple into his mouth and sucking ever so gently. Olivia whimpered and raised her hips, desperately wanting him inside of her.

“What did I just say, Olivia?” Alexander demanded.

“Sorry,” she replied meekly, lowering her hips back to the bed.

“Sorry, what?”

“Sorry, Mr. Burnham,” Olivia choked out.

“One more move and I won’t let you come. Do you understand, Olivia?”

“Yes. I understand,” she said quietly. She loved when he was in total control of her body. It was as if he knew what she needed more than she did.

Alexander continued to kiss Olivia’s body, trailing kisses down her stomach, gently circling her belly button with his tongue. He placed his hand between her legs and pushed them wide apart as he lowered his mouth to her sex.

“Mmmm… You smell amazing, Olivia.” She could feel his breath on her clit. It drove her crazy. “I can see how wet you are for me.” Olivia moaned out at the first stroke of Alexander’s tongue, the surprise of his touch causing her to buck her hips.

“What did I say? Didn’t I warn you about what would happen if you didn’t lay still?” Alexander scolded, his breath still hot on her.

“Yes. You did.”

He drove his fingers deep inside of her as he continued to tease her with his tongue.

“Fuck,” Olivia screamed out, the sensation of Alexander’s touch overwhelming her. She didn’t know how long she would last.

“And what did I say your punishment would be, Olivia?”

She licked her lips. “That I couldn’t come,” she whimpered.

“Yes, Olivia,” Alexander said, his fingers still teasing her insides. “This must be torture, then.”

Olivia nodded her head fervently. Alexander removed his fingers and she scowled, wanting him inside of her.

She felt Alexander lean down over her. “This is for me, not for you,” he whispered into her ear. He immediately pushed into her. Olivia let out a loud gasp, surprised at the sudden invasion. He thrust mercilessly into her again and again, pulling out when he felt her tighten around him.

“What did I say, Olivia? No coming for you,” he panted, looking down at her, her desire apparent from her heavy breathing.

He thrust into her again and she moaned loudly, setting Alexander off. He came inside her after only a few more thrusts. “Holy shit,” he exclaimed, collapsing on top of her. He quickly unfastened Olivia’s restraints and took off her eye mask.

“I like you all tied up,” Alexander joked, kissing Olivia fully on the mouth. “And don’t worry, Love. I plan on giving you more orgasms later on than your little body can handle.”

Alexander got out of bed and went into the bathroom to take a shower. Olivia rolled over, feeling remarkably satisfied for some reason. She drifted off, warm and comfortable in Alexander’s bed.

“Olivia, Love,” Alexander said, waking Olivia up after his shower. She opened her eyes and saw him standing over her dressed in his suit, apparently ready for the office. She wondered how long she had fallen back asleep for.

“Hey,” Olivia said sleepily.

“Hey,” Alexander said, sitting down on the bed next to her and brushing her hair away with his hand. “I need to get to the office. Stay as long as you need to. Runner has already been out this morning. I’ll miss you, Love.” He leaned down and planted a kiss on Olivia’s mouth.

“Come to my place tonight? Stay over?” Olivia lifted her eyebrows, giving him a sweet smile.

“I have a meeting, and then I promised my brother I’d go for a drink.”

“After that?”

Alexander looked down at Olivia. “Okay. I can’t say no to you.” He kissed her one more time before he turned to leave the bedroom. When he reached the doorway, he turned back around. “Oh, and Olivia?”

She glanced up to see a devilish grin on his face.

“Don’t you dare touch yourself today. I want your orgasm and I plan on getting it later.” He spun around, leaving her completely speechless.

O
LIVIA
returned to her house after her morning appointment with Dr. Greenstein and sat to eat a light lunch before heading to the gym for her work out. She made a salad and sat in the little reading nook by her big bay windows as she ate. Her eyes focused on a black sedan parked across the street, a block away from her house, the occupant clearly watching her. She thought it was strange but shrugged it off, not wanting her paranoia to get the best of her.

She quickly finished her lunch, grabbed her gym bag, and headed out the door. It was a sunny autumn day in Boston so she decided to walk and enjoy the brisk fall weather, the smell of burning leaves permeating the air. On her way to the gym, she just couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was following her. But every time she turned around, all she saw were hoards of locals and tourists, shopping and going about their errands on the streets of Boston.

Within twenty minutes, she arrived at her building, thankful to get off the street. She wondered why, all of a sudden, she felt like she was being followed. After she swiped her key card and walked through the turnstiles, she turned around and looked through the floor-to-ceiling windows out onto State Street. She noticed a short man stop on the street and peer inside, searching for something, until his expression settled on Olivia. His eyes locked on her, a snide smile creeping across his face. She was unable to break her own gaze from his, even though her brain told her to turn and run.

“Libby? Dear? Are you okay?” Olivia heard a voice say. She spun around and saw Jerry sitting at the security desk, a look of concern on his face.

“Oh, yeah. Sorry,” she replied quietly. “I just spaced out for a second.” She started to walk toward the bank of elevators, turning her head every few seconds to see if the man was still there.

The elevator car dinged, announcing its arrival. “Saved by the bell,” Olivia muttered under her breath. She entered and pressed the button for her floor with shaky hands, ascending the twenty stories to the wellness center.

Jerry turned around as soon as the doors to the elevator closed and picked up the phone.

“Mr. Burnham, it’s Jerry at the front desk. I’m sorry to bother you, but you should probably know… It’s about Olivia… Yes, sir… She just went to her floor… There was a strange man outside on the street just staring at her… I’ll have the video sent to you, sir… Yes, sir… You’re welcome, sir…” Jerry hung up the phone, hating that he didn’t wait for Olivia to mention anything to Mr. Burnham, but he’d rather be safe than sorry. He had been instructed over a month ago to report any suspicious activities surrounding her and he was pretty sure that had qualified as suspicious.

Up in the penthouse suite, Alexander's heart started racing. “Martin, I need you,” he barked into his office intercom. Within a few seconds, Martin appeared in his office.

“What is it, sir?”

“Jerry from the security desk is sending up a video file. Get it to my sister and have her run facial recognition on it.” Alexander stood up to leave.
 

“Yes, sir. Anything we should be worried about?”

“I’m not sure yet, but we may need to add some security for Miss Adler’s safety. I have a bad feeling, especially after talking to my sister earlier today.” Alexander dismissed Martin and strode out of his office, making a beeline for the elevators.

He had made Olivia promise that she would let him know immediately if she noticed any suspicious activity. She failed to do so. He was fuming. An elevator car arrived and he punched the button for the twentieth floor repeatedly, willing the doors to close quickly.

“Mr. Burnham,” Melanie said, jumping up from the reception desk of the wellness center as Alexander walked through the front doors. “Libby is here. She just arrived a few minutes ago. I think she’s still in her office.”

“Thank you, Melanie.” He continued to walk down the hallway he had grown so accustomed to in the last few months. He usually only visited her on the days she worked, stopping by to surprise her with lunch or just to see her smiling face. But that day, he was on another mission altogether.

Olivia sat at her desk, checking her messages from Melanie, when she saw an intimidating figure appear in her doorway.

“Olivia,” Alexander said firmly.

“Alexander,” Olivia responded, smirking at him.

“What did I tell you weeks ago?” He took a few steps into her office and closed the door.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Alexander,” Olivia replied, returning her eyes to her missed messages, not really reading anything as she was too nervous with Alexander towering over her.

She knew exactly what he was so upset over. Weeks ago, Alexander had made a point of telling Olivia, rather firmly, that, if anything out of the ordinary had occurred, she was to contact him immediately. He didn’t care what time of day. He ran a security company and the least he could do was make sure some of his assets were at her disposal so she was safe, particularly after Simon’s attack and other information that had come to light Alexander was aware of.

He had been on high alert all day after receiving a phone call from his sister about Simon taking a plea deal. He didn’t know if Olivia was aware of it yet, but he was certain the D.A. had been trying to reach her to let her know the details.

“Oh, Miss Adler, I think you do.” He moved toward Olivia’s desk and stood next to her, her eyes still avoiding his. He grabbed her chair and spun it around, forcing her to face him. His eyes bore down into her, wide with fury. She looked up and shot daggers at Alexander, willing him to back down.

I’m going to kill Jerry
, Olivia thought.

“So what?” Olivia finally spat out, standing up and pushing Alexander out of the way before walking over to the windows. He quickly followed, grabbing her and making her face him again. “Some guy stared at me when I entered the building earlier. No big deal.” She paused for a moment as those green eyes stared down at her. “He was probably just checking out my ass or something,” Olivia joked, hoping to lighten the mood.

“I don’t think you’re telling me the whole story, Love.”

After a brief moment, Olivia spoke again. “There’s not much to tell, and don’t go all Navy SEAL on me,
Alex
,” she said with a hint of sarcasm.

His gaze softened. “Darling, I just want to make sure you’re safe. And if I’m slightly overprotective, I’m sorry. But I can’t even fathom losing you.” He pulled her in close, needing to feel her body against his. He placed a gentle, affectionate kiss on Olivia’s forehead. “Now, tell me what really happened.”

“You’re damn good at what you do, you know that?” Olivia whimpered into Alexander’s chest, his warmth surrounding her and making her feel safe.

“I know.”

She pulled away and walked over to her love seat, Alexander close on her heels. She told him about her morning as he sat next to her, his hand on her leg. She relished the flesh to flesh contact.

“Well, all day I felt as if someone was following me. I just thought your paranoia was contagious or something.”

Alexander raised his eyebrows at Olivia. “You think I’m paranoid?”

“Yes. No. I don’t know,” Olivia said, irritated. “Maybe a little.”

“Well, Love, it’s my job to be paranoid where your safety is concerned. Now, tell me what else happened.”

Taking a deep breath, she continued. “So I felt like someone was following me all morning. After I got back to my house from my appointment, I made some lunch and sat at my reading nook by the bay window in the living room as I ate it. I noticed a black sedan on the other side of the street, a block or so down, and thought that was odd. The driver’s window was open and the guy was just staring at my house. A few minutes later, I got my stuff together and headed over here, and since it’s such a beautiful day, I decided it would be nice to walk.”

Alexander stood up quickly. “You WHAT?” he shouted. “You walked here? Are you out of your fucking mind? Do you have any idea what could have happened to you?” He strode over to the windows and peered down at the street, trying to control his temper and taking several deep breaths as he ran his hands through his hair.

“What’s the big deal, Alex?” she shouted, walking over to the windows and glaring at him. “So what? I walked! It’s not like it’s the first time I’ve done that.”

He realized how irrational he sounded. “I know, Love. I know.” He smiled and grabbed her hands in his. “I’m being absurd. I’m sorry. Please, go on.”

She eyed him suspiciously, wondering why he was overreacting, before she continued her story. “Well, on the walk over here, I felt that feeling again. Like someone was following me. So I got here and went through the security gate and decided to turn around to see if I was just being paranoid. Outside on the street, there was a short man standing next to the building, scanning the lobby. His eyes met mine and he just smiled. It was this creepy kind of smile and he just kept staring at me. I didn’t know what to do. It was like he was looking for me. But why would he be looking for me? It didn’t make any sense.”

Alexander looked down, caressing her small hand in his. “I know. It doesn’t. Have you heard from the D.A. about Simon’s case?”

“I have a message from her. She wanted to talk to me about a plea bargain I guess Simon struck.” Olivia looked up at Alexander. “Why? What do you know?”

“Just what my sister told me. That he pled down to a lesser assault charge and would be released in a year, maybe sooner. He did get some jail time, so that’s good. I guess he got such a good deal because he had absolutely no criminal record.”