A Beautiful Mess (32 page)

“God, Olivia. There is nothing like being inside of you,” he said, leaning down, softly licking and sucking on her neck.

She moaned out, the sensation of him being inside of her and licking her making her nerves stand on end. She still hadn’t come down from her previous orgasm and felt like she was going to explode.

“Do you like me inside of you?” he asked, thrusting harder.

“Yes, Alexander. Yes,” she breathed out, climbing higher and higher toward the peak she had just come down from.

“Say I’m the only one that’s filled you like this,” he commanded, his breathing becoming more and more erratic as he leaned back and stared deep into her eyes, his pace increasing.

Olivia could tell he was close. So she gave him what he wanted to hear. She wasn’t lying. “You’re the only one, Alex,” she replied, moving with his rhythm, a familiar clenching sensation building through her core.

He felt it and nuzzled back into her neck, inhaling her delicious scent. “Come with me, Olivia,” Alexander grunted. He emptied inside of her, the warm feeling putting Olivia over the edge. She shuddered around him, screaming out his name in ecstasy.

His eyes met hers as they came down from their orgasms, their breathing slowly returning to normal. “I will never tire of being naked with you, Love,” he said sweetly before feathering his lips against hers. She pulled his head toward hers, running her hands through his sexy morning hair, and deepened the kiss.

He slowly withdrew from her and picked her up, tossing her off the bed. “Shower, now,” he growled, slapping her ass.

She jumped. “God. You can be so bossy.”

“Oh, Miss Adler. You haven’t seen bossy yet.”

She laughed as she jumped in the shower, knowing she would probably be late for her first class that morning. When she came out, Alexander was sitting in her bed with his laptop, typing an e-mail and drinking coffee. He left a coffee for her on her nightstand. It all seemed so domesticated. And it didn’t scare Olivia at all.

“L
IBBY
!” Kiera shouted when Olivia walked into the empty pilates studio a few minutes before six that morning.

“Hey, Kiera. What’s going on?”

“Not much. We need to catch up. I feel like I haven’t seen you much lately, except for Friday nights. Do I have to start booking my time through Alexander? He’s hogging you!”

“I know. I’m sorry. I’m free around nine if you want to grab coffee.”

“I can do that,” Kiera said.

“Great! It’s a date.” Olivia turned to boot up the audio system for the class.

The first three classes flew by and, before she knew it, Olivia was heading out to meet Kiera.

“Hey, Libby,” Jerry said when he saw Olivia run from the elevator into the building’s lobby. “Heading out?”

“Yeah. Meeting Kiera for coffee. I’ll be back soon.”

“Okay. Just tell Mr. Burnham, please. He’ll have my ass on a platter if I don’t tell him.”

Olivia rolled her eyes as she continued past the security desk. “Okay, Jerry. I’ll send him a text right now.”

She grabbed her cell phone out of her purse and shot off a quick text to Alexander.

Olivia:
Mr. Burnham. Heading out for coffee with Kiera. Back soon. XOXO, Miss Adler

She felt her phone buzz as she turned the block, making her way through a crowd of people strolling the busy Boston streets on that sunny fall day. She read the text as she reached the neighborhood Starbucks.

Alexander:
Okay. Be safe. Carter will be on watch
.

Olivia groaned. He was so frustrating sometimes.

Olivia:
I haven’t agreed to accept your bodyguard services yet, Mr. Burnham. ;-)

Alexander:
Humor me, Love
.

There was that word again. Olivia didn’t think she would ever tire of hearing that word fall out of his mouth. Even via text, she could just hear his lips caressing the word as he whispered in her ear. She began breathing heavy as she stood in line to order her coffee. She immediately snapped back to reality and returned Alexander’s text when the barista asked for her order.

Olivia:
Fine. :-P

Olivia dropped her phone in her purse and ordered two coffees while she waited for her friend. A few minutes later, Kiera walked into the shop, making her way toward Olivia’s table.

“Hey, Libs,” she said, sitting down as Olivia pushed the coffee cup toward her. “Thank God. I don’t think there’s enough caffeine in the world to get me through this day.” She took a long drag of her drink.

“That bad, huh?”

“Yeah. Well, I had a late night last night, so I need it.”

“Oh really? What were you doing?” Olivia raised her eyebrows.

“None of your business, slut. So what’s going on with you and Alexander?”

“Not a whole lot, except he’s still wonderful,” Olivia blushed, looking at her friend.

“Okay, spill it.”

Olivia hesitated and then told her all about her run-in with Adele the previous day. “God, it felt so good to just punch that bitch. I was proud of myself for not running. A year ago, if the same thing happened, I would have run as far as I could to avoid dealing with it. But yesterday, I just don’t know what came over me. I knew she was talking shit and, well, she deserved it.”

Kiera laughed. “That’s fantastic. Maybe you’ve finally stopped trying to push Alexander away. He is definitely quite the catch.” Kiera took another sip of her coffee. “So, he’s going with you this weekend to Newport?”

“Yup.”

“Nervous?”

“Yeah. A little. I mean, we’re going away together for the weekend, so there’s nowhere for me to run to when things get bad.”

“Oh, stop it. You’re so negative. Things aren’t going to get bad. He’s going there to support you in your race. It’s a big deal. Not everyone can run a marathon.”

“I know,” Olivia replied, nervously tapping her nails against the black bistro table. “But I’ve never gone away with a guy before. I am looking forward to spending some time with him away from the city. We’ve only done things around here, and most of the time lately we’ve just been going to his place. He feels better knowing that he’s close to me. For some reason he’s still all worried about Simon. Which reminds me…” Olivia said, sipping her coffee and lowering her voice.

“What is it?” Kiera asked, her interest piqued.

“I got a call from the D.A. yesterday. I guess Simon took a plea deal. He’s pleading guilty to a lesser charge of assault and will serve about a year in jail. But with his lack of priors and over-crowding, they’re saying he’ll probably be out sooner.”

“Hmmm…” Kiera said, looking at her friend. “How do you feel about that?”

Olivia glared at Kiera. She knew how much Olivia hated that question.

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry, Libs,” she said, winking at a man dressed in a business suit as he walked past their table to order his morning coffee. “I just want to make sure you’re okay with it.”

“I am okay with it,” Olivia admitted. “What Simon did was wrong, but I just don’t think I handled the break-up, if you can call it that, the right way and he snapped. I’m not making excuses for him, but he didn’t seem like the violent type. So I’m sure this is the only time he’ll ever be in prison, ya know? He made a mistake and he’s paying for it. It’s all good.”

“Well, okay. As long as you’re good with that.”

“I am.”

“So, getting back to Alexander all worried about Simon.”

“Oh, yeah. He’s still concerned about someone attacking me. It’s sweet, but at the same time a little overbearing.”

“I could see that.” Kiera paused for a moment. “Have you ever thought that maybe he’s hiding something from you? I mean, he runs a private security firm and has the ability to get any information he wanted. Maybe he found out something that has him on edge a bit.”

“I don’t know what he’d possibly find out. No one out there has any reason to want to come after me, so…”

“Yeah. I guess you’re right.” Kiera looked at her watch.

“Crap. I need to get to the office. I have a meeting with some new client about publishing their manuscript. I barely read the damn thing so this will be interesting.” Kiera stood up and Olivia joined her, clutching her coffee.

“Well, you are the queen of bullshit. I’m sure you’ll do just fine.” Olivia laughed as she opened the door, leaving the coffee shop. She noticed Carter standing on the sidewalk and waved.

The two girls walked toward Olivia’s office building, Kiera’s being just a few blocks past that.

“So, what’s with the bodyguard?” Kiera muttered under her breath.

“One word. Alexander,” Olivia said. “He can be very domineering sometimes.”

“Oh, I bet he can,” Kiera laughed. “He looks like the type that would be into tying you up and having his way with you.”

Olivia blushed. “KIERA!” she exclaimed, slapping her friend.

Kiera looked at Olivia, her face bright red.

“Oh my God. I knew it! He’s into that shit, isn’t he?” The two girls stopped walking. “I mean, he’s not fucked up and into beating you is he? Because that shit is so not cool. But hell, I’d go for being tied up and blindfolded.”

“I am not having this conversation with you on the street.” Olivia continued walking, a grin on her face, thinking about the previous morning.

“Dude. That is so fucking hot,” Kiera laughed as she ran to catch up with her friend.

“Okay, you’re right. It is so fucking hot.” Olivia’s face was flushed from the memories of Alexander restraining her.

“I bet it is.”

“And he gets turned on when I call him Mr. Burnham,” Olivia said, smiling.

“That’s sexy. I’d call him Mr. Burnham.
Yes, Mr. Burnham. Whatever you want Mr. Burnham
,” Kiera said breathlessly, giggling. “I so need to find a man like that. I want to be dominated.”

“It’s not like that. It’s almost as if he knows that I need that sometimes. And other times, he’s so sweet and gentle.”

“So sometimes you fuck and sometimes you make love.”

Olivia froze in her place. “No, Kiera. We don’t make love. That would entail…”

“What?” Kiera asked, interrupting Olivia. “That would mean you love him. And he loves you. And it’s true. So the sooner you admit that to yourself, the sooner you can move past it. Stop freaking out. I see the way he is with you. Why do you think he feels the need to protect you? Because you’re some girl he’s banging? Hell no. Because he loves you.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Fine, whatever. Keep denying it. You love him. Deep down. You may not realize it just yet, but you will. You’re in deep already, girly, though I know you’re scared to death to admit it. But you need to realize that your fear of getting close to people is not real. It’s merely a product of choice, of thoughts that your mind has created. So get the fuck over yourself, Olivia, and let yourself be happy for once. Because no matter what happens, you are going to get hurt in life. But it’s so much better to have jumped into the ocean and get stung by a jellyfish than to never have felt the salt water between your toes at all.” Kiera turned and walked away, leaving Olivia speechless.

Olivia walked through the front doors of her building and hurried to the elevator, wanting to get back to her office and some sense of normalcy, even though nothing had been normal about her life since she met Alexander Burnham. He entered her life in a whirlwind and had quickly implanted himself in nearly every facet of Olivia’s existence. She thought about him every second of every day. And Olivia didn’t know how she felt about that.

“C
HERYL
, I need some good news,” Donovan said into his phone.

“I wish I had some, boss. We’re getting there. He has Carter on an unofficial protection detail as of now. She noticed Matthew following her yesterday. It was good that he made it so obvious. That’s got Burnham spooked.”

“Yes, but I was hoping he’d assign you to the protection detail.”

“I know. I’m working on that. But as of now, there’s no official detail anyway. From what I’ve been able to find out, she seems hesitant to agree to it, thinking it’s entirely unnecessary.”

“Well, do something to make it necessary,” Donovan growled into the phone.

“Yes, sir.” Cheryl hung up and threw her burner phone into the nearest trash bin. She walked to a nearby drug store and bought a replacement.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Hello, Mr. Burnham,” Olivia crooned into her phone.

“Good afternoon, Miss Adler. Come to my place after practice at Mo’s tonight?”

“Is that a question or an order?” she asked as she sat at the desk in her office, looking out the window at the bustling Boston streets below.
 

Alexander chuckled, listening to Olivia’s voice, happy to break the monotony of pouring over case files. “Maybe a little of both. We’ll order sushi and watch a few movies. Take it easy. Keep you off your feet. You’ll be pounding the pavement pretty hard this weekend.”

“That’s not the only thing I want to pound hard this weekend,” Olivia said coyly.

Alexander inhaled quickly at her words, feeling a familiar twitching in his pants before regaining his composure. “Be there at seven, Love. And be ready to leave direct from my place tomorrow when we get up.”

“So demanding.”

“Don’t you know it. Till then, Olivia...”

“Bye, Mr. Burnham.”

“Good-bye, Miss Adler.”

She hung up, collected her items, and headed out of her office. She sent Kiera a quick text reminding her to check on Nepenthe over the next few days.

“Bye, Libby! Have fun this weekend and good luck!” Melanie said as Olivia walked out the front doors of the wellness center.

“Thanks, Mel. See you next week.”

When Olivia walked out of her building a few minutes later, a black SUV pulled up front.