Connections (8 page)

Out of his hate came a singular, clear thought.
 
“Remember when I said I didn’t think I’d be a good father?”
 
He didn’t wait for her to respond.
 
“I know now that I will be.
 
I could never be like him,” he whispered, still struggling to breathe.

“Let’s not talk about that right now,” she replied softly.
 
“Just try to focus and calm down, okay?”

Alex closed his eyes, concentrating on the gentle sounds of Olivia’s breaths.
 
He still felt dizzy but after a few minutes it began to subside.
 
Someone knocked on the door, but Olivia sent them away.
 
Five, ten, twenty minutes could have passed and he wouldn’t have known.
 
But after a while, he almost felt like normal.
 
His heart was still racing, but he knew from experience that it wouldn’t subside for another hour.
 
But at least he had more control.

Alex buried his head deeper in Olivia’s stomach, pressing his lips against her.
 
After a few more moments of silence, Olivia quietly asked, “What did your dad mean?
 
About the hallway?”

Alex closed his eyes, knowing he owed her an explanation.
 
He pulled his head away and looked up at her.
 
“My father’s office is at the end of the hallway.
 
So is the door to the basement.”
 
Tensing, he glanced away.
 
“When we first moved to the house, when I was seven, I made the mistake of disturbing him during a conference call.
 
He didn’t say anything about it when I walked in, but after he was done, he came to find me in my room.
 
He was furious.
 
He told me he’d make sure I never did that again.”
 
Alex could still see his red face, his white lips as he screamed.

“What did he do?” Olivia whispered, her brow furrowed in an expression of apprehension.

Swallowing, he started, “He dragged me downstairs to his office.
 
I got the belt there, but he wasn’t done.
 
I could tell even then because he was still so angry.”
 
Alex’s palms began trembling so he clenched them into fists.
 
“He locked me in the basement and shattered the lightbulb so I couldn’t turn on the light.
 
And…I just…”
 
He cleared his throat, feeling his hands begin to sweat.
 
“I panicked.
 
I was begging and crying, but he wouldn’t let me out.
 
He shut the door to his office and worked for another hour before he came to get me.
 
And after that, up until I started high school, that’s how he would punish me.
 
I couldn’t tell you how many hours I was down in that basement.”

“Alex…” Olivia whispered, her voice anguished, but he wouldn’t look at her face.
 
Because if he did, he felt like he’d start crying.
 
And despite his relationship with his father, he hadn’t cried in years.
 
Because he’d been disciplined not to.

“It was so long ago, but I was so young.
 
Too young.
 
That kind of thing leaves an impression, you know?”
 
He shook his head, trying to clear the lump in his throat.

Alex glanced up at Olivia then.
 
He saw her tears and he stood, brushing them away with his fingertips.
 
“You were just a boy,” she said softly.
 
She looked up at him with glassy eyes.
 
His chest squeezed because he hated seeing her cry.
 
Especially for him.
 
“You could never be like him, Alex.
 
Never.
 
Don’t ever think that you could be.”

He nodded his head because he couldn’t do much more.
 
His heart swelled for her and he felt too many emotions at once.
 
They threatened to overwhelm him, but he anchored himself to Olivia so that he wouldn’t drift away.

Another knock sounded on the bathroom door.
 
The spell was broken and Alex took a calming breath and kissed her lips lightly.
 
“I think we’ve held up the bathroom long enough,” he said, almost sheepishly.

Olivia simply nodded and grabbed the damp towel still hanging from his neck.
 
She went to ring it out before replacing it on the rack to dry.

“Liv,” he called quietly.
 
She turned to face him, her eyes still watery and the tip of her nose red.
 
“Thank you, darling.”

Olivia sighed heavily as she plopped down in Alex’s car, leaning over to shut the door behind her.
 
On her left, Alex waved goodbye to Derrick before he plugged the key into the ignition and buckled himself in.

The last hour of the party had gone by relatively easily compared to how the first half of the evening played out.
 
Olivia was thankful that Alex hadn’t had any further encounters with his father because seeing him break down in the hallway had been pure agony for her.
 
She never wanted to see him hurt that badly again.

She glanced over at him as exhaustion crept over her.
 
It had been a trying evening but Alex seemed to be holding up well.

As if reading her mind, he smiled and said, “Let’s get you home, darling.
 
You look beat.”

Half of her wanted to protest because all she wanted was to go home with
him
.
 
She wanted to crawl under his sheets and breathe in his scent until she felt dizzy and warm and safe.
 
And loved.
 
Because he made her feel all those things and more.

But she bit her lip, knowing that she needed to process everything she’d learned this evening.
 
Nothing changed the way she felt about Alex.
 
If anything, she respected and admired him even more.
 
But he probably needed a little space too.

The car ride back to Olivia’s apartment was quiet.
 
Olivia imagined that he was thinking about the evening, since she was doing the same.
 
And in less than a half hour, Alex parked himself on the street in front of her building.
 
Letting the engine idle, he grabbed her hand and brought the back of it to his lips.

“Thank you for coming tonight, Liv.
 
I don’t think I could’ve gotten through it without you,” Alex admitted.
 
Olivia’s throat tightened at the sincerity she saw in his darkened eyes.

Giving him a wobbly smile, she protested, “You’re strong, Alex.
 
You would’ve done just fine.”

He didn’t say anything.
 
He simply gazed at her, stroking her palm with the tips of his fingers, unintentionally awakening her body.

Finally, he said, “I’m going into the office to work tomorrow—,” she cut him off.

“But it’s the weekend, Alex.
 
You work too much,” she said, frowning.
 
She knew how stressed he got about work.

He smiled, “You’re one to talk.
 
You’re at the shop everyday.”

“I just check in on weekends.”

“And that’s what I’m doing,” he replied.
 
“Just for a longer period of time.”

Olivia laughed, conceding.
 
The sound echoed in the car, reminding her just how close they were at the moment.

“Anyway,” he started again, giving her a playful—and sexy—reprimanding look.
 
“Since I’ll be working tomorrow, I’d like to cook for you on Monday night.
 
Or go out, if you’re free.
 
Your choice.”

Olivia’s stomach fluttered.
 
She already knew which option she’d pick, because she wanted to be with him, and only him.
 
“I do so love your cooking.”

Alex grinned, that slow, toe-curling grin that she loved so much.
 
“I was hoping you’d say that.”

“It’s settled then,” she murmured softly.
 
Impulsively, she leaned over the seat and closed the distance between them.
 
His lips immediately parted for hers once she initiated their kiss.
 
His tongue lightly stroked her bottom lip, as though seeking an invitation.
 
She let him in and moaned as fire ignited in her belly.

She mentally reminded herself to remember to take her birth control pill when she got back to her apartment upstairs.
 
Because she had a feeling that she would need to be prepared for sex sooner than she’d anticipated.

She wanted to kiss him all evening, but the seat belt was starting to cut into her side and the stick shift was pressing uncomfortably into her abdomen.
 
With regret, she leaned back.
 
Alex’s eyes remained closed for a brief second before he leaned his head back against the headrest, exhaling a harsh breath.
 
She almost smiled, feeling infinitely pleased that she could put such a look on his face.

He glanced over at her, his voice husky, “I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”

Olivia frowned when she suddenly remembered her phone and the mysterious, disturbing texts.
 
She’d turned it off at the party, but she realized that she’d have to turn it back on sooner or later.

“Okay, sounds great,” she said brightly, before he could question the look on her face.
 
“I’ll see you soon,” she said, smiling, before she unbuckled the seatbelt and pushed the car door open.
 
She waved once she shut the door behind her.
 
Alex waited until she made it safely into her building before he pulled away from the curb.

Olivia decided to turn her phone on in the elevator.
 
She tapped her foot nervously while waiting for the signal to reconnect and for text messages or missed calls to come through.
 
And by the time she reached her apartment, she felt so relieved that she’d received no further text messages from the blocked number.
 
She nearly danced with joy from the respite.
 
The only message she’d received was from Christie, asking about her evening.

Relaxing, she decided she’d fill in her friend tomorrow.
 
Of course, she’d leave out what Alex had confided in her because that was just between them.

By the time she finally crawled into bed, she sighed with happiness, feeling relaxed for the first time all evening.

Olivia woke in the middle of the night, gasping softly.

She was wet and aroused, having awakened from a very explicit dream involving Alex and a vibrator she’d owned in college.
 
He’d been toying with her, bringing her to the edge of release over and over again with that pink vibrator, only to deny her at the very last moment.
 
But he’d been pleasuring himself.
 
She thought she’d begged him for a taste, but she couldn’t remember clearly enough to be sure.

Groaning, she rolled her hips into her mattress, seeking reprieve from the tension built up inside her.
 
This was what she got for denying the both of them.
 
A wet dream.
 
And Alex wasn’t even here to give her a hand.
 
Or something else…

It was a cold night outside, but she felt warm.
 
Her nipples were tight with arousal and, through her tank top, she softly ran the tips of her fingers over them, feeling the pleasure running down from her breasts to her sex.

She glanced over at her phone on the nightstand, briefly considering calling Alex.
 
She wanted to hear his voice when she came and she knew he’d appreciate the call…a lot.
 
Despite the time of night.

However, her judgment outweighed her desire…but it didn’t stop her fingers from traveling over her belly and slipping into her panties.

Her hips jerked once she’d made contact with her soft lips and she moaned softly, lightly stroking and teasing herself.
 
In her mind’s eye, she pictured Alex with his head buried between her legs.
 
She could almost feel the stubble of his chin, the way it felt at the end of the day, scraping against the delicate and sensitive skin of her inner thigh.

She teased herself because Olivia knew that’s what Alex liked to do.
 
He drove her crazy until she begged him to finish her.
 
But even then he waited, biding his time, drawing out the anticipation and desire until it overwhelmed her and left her a quaking, shuddering mess.

Biting her lip, she slipped a finger into her slick opening while her other hand petted and toyed with her breasts.
 
She drew the moisture out and circled her clit softly before speeding up.
 
She felt her legs tense.
 
She felt her orgasm building up inside her.

After a few more pleasurable moments, Olivia moaned Alex’s name as she pushed herself over the edge, falling fast and hard.
 
Her whole body constricted and she tossed her head back, riding out her orgasm.

She was panting when she was finished and there was a thin sheen of sweat evident on her skin.
 
She drew her hand from her panties and tugged down the hem of her night shirt, which had ridden up whilst she’d been in the mindlessness of her orgasm.

Once she calmed back down, feeling sated although not completely satisfied, she blushed.
 
She was turning into a wanton, but she couldn’t help herself.
 
Over the past month, she’d been getting more sex on a regular basis than she’d ever had before.
 
Olivia couldn’t count the number of times her and Alex had been at it.
 
But on average, they had sex at least five or six times a week.
 
And most of those times, Alex had been revved up enough for another one or two rounds afterwards.