Distractions (The Rebound Series) (12 page)

Alex shot a sinful grin her way when she came down from her orgasm, panting.
 
“Oh, yes, Ms. Ward.
 
I think you’ll be a wonderful fit for the position I have in mind.”
 
And before she knew it, Alex had flipped her over on the desk, pulling her hips out a bit until her feet touched the floor.
 
Her backside was exposed to him, vulnerable.
 
Olivia bit her lip as she felt cool air travel over her newly exposed flesh, making her shiver in anticipation.
 
She couldn’t see Alex in this position but she heard rustling behind her.

And then he was inside her, filling and stretching her deliciously.

He didn’t hold back.
 
His flesh pounded into her own, filling the office with noises of sex and desire until her head was spinning.

In, out, in, out, in, out
.

The repetitive motion made Olivia’s teeth clench as her arms flailed out to grasp the sides of the desk.
 
She would have bruises tomorrow but it was unbelievable how her whole world was completely focused on that fleeting contact of his flesh against hers.
 
It was maddening and wonderful, all at the same time.

Alex came before her, for once.
 
He bit out a strangled curse, his thrusts becoming jerky and unmeasured.
 
He murmured words that she couldn’t make out as he continued his relentless assault.

And a few moments later, Olivia joined him.

The week passed quickly for Olivia.

She was busy at work since Alice had come down with a bad cold.
 
Olivia couldn’t fathom the time when she had gotten by without her employees, especially since she relied so heavily on them now.
 
She felt terrible that Sarah also had some extra work to make up for Alice’s absence and it made Olivia scribble out a mental note to take a good long look at her books and see if she could afford another employee.
 
At least for the holiday season.

But the complete immersion in her bakery turned out to be a relief from other distracting thoughts.

Alex had been busy too this past week.
 
She had spent the night at his house on Tuesday, but she had woken up in the middle of the night to an empty bed with Alex nowhere in sight.
 
The coolness of the sheets had informed her that he hadn’t been there for some time.

She had discovered him hard at work in his office, the light from the computer screen illuminating his bare chest.
 
He had barely even noticed when she entered his office and only looked away from the screen when she had touched his shoulder.

“I’m sorry, darling.
 
I hope I didn’t wake you,” he had murmured, leaning back in his chair to gaze up at her.

“Are you coming back to bed?” Olivia had asked gently as Alex brought his lips to her hand.

Regret swarmed in Alex’s eyes as he shook his head.
 
“I have to finish this proposal tonight.”

“You mean this morning,” Olivia said, smiling lightly as she glanced at the clock.

Olivia had gone back to Alex’s bed alone, but it had taken her another hour to fall asleep again.
 
And Alex still hadn’t returned by then.

Olivia spent the rest of the week at her own apartment.
 
The moment she walked through the door, she realized how long it had been since she had last slept there.
 
Less than a week, to be fair, but it seemed like a lifetime to her.

Curling up in her own bed had been comforting, but she missed Alex and his reassuring heat.
 
And she missed the smell that enveloped her when she wrapped herself in his sheets…and in his arms.

Today was Friday.
 
And she hadn’t seen him since Wednesday morning.

Olivia knew he was a busy man.
 
He probably had huge responsibilities at work because of his high position.
 
But she quietly admitted to herself that it bugged her.

Miles had worked a lot too.
 
She wouldn’t see him for days on end sometimes.
 
It hadn’t really bothered her, since at that point in their relationship, things had started to slide downhill.

But Alex working a lot did bother her.
 
And she knew it was selfish.
 
She had only known him for close to a month now and she had no right to be upset with him.

But still, it made old insecurities rise up and take hold of her until she had to forcefully banish them from her mind.

The ugliest thought was that he had somehow changed his mind about her.
 
He had texted her last night, but that was the only contact she had received from him even though she had attempted to call him the day before.

She had seen him almost everyday.
 
And to go from that to not seeing or hearing from him at all was a little worrisome.
 
Especially after they had talked about some serious topics, like children.
 
Olivia wondered if it had been too much and as a result Alex was pulling away from her.
 
The thought sent a sharp pain streaming down her chest.

But no.
 
Olivia knew he was just busy.
 
He’d even told her that he would be busy since he had interviews next week.

But it still made Olivia feel a bit superfluous to him.
 
It was frightening how important Alex had become to her, but she suddenly feared that her feelings ran too deep.
 
That they weren’t returned to the same degree.

Especially if he couldn’t even pick up the phone to return her call.

But at ten o’clock on Friday night, there was a knock on Olivia’s apartment door.
 
And she knew who it was without even having to look through the peep hole.

Alex released a breath when she pulled open the door for him, his hands buried deep within his pockets.
 
He looked tired.
 
Olivia could feel some of her anger drain as she looked at the dark circles under his eyes.
 

“You look like hell,” she told him bluntly.

He didn’t smile or laugh but the corner of his mouth quirked up in tired amusement.
 
Olivia ushered him inside quickly and felt her stomach flutter when he wrapped his arms around her, solid and warm.
 

She inhaled his scent and murmured, “I missed you.”

But he didn’t say anything in return and some of Olivia’s initial worry came flying back to her, making her bite her lip as she pulled away.

“Are you hungry at all?” she asked, averting her gaze as she padded over to the refrigerator.
 
Pulling it open, she automatically searched for something he could eat even though he had yet to reply.

“No, not really,” he said, his voice deep.
 
She let the sound wash over her, as if savoring it.
 
“But can I get some water?”

She nodded and closed the refrigerator after pulling out a bottled water.
 
She studied him, separated by her kitchen counter, as he took a swig of it.

“Are you okay?” she asked hesitantly.

“I had a bad day at work.
 
A bad week, really,” he replied, shaking his head as he set the now half-empty bottle down on her counter.

“What happened?” she asked, still biting her lip.

“I don’t want to talk about work, darling,” he said, running a hand through his already mussed hair as his eyes wandered around her apartment.

“Okay,” she replied immediately, still trying to gauge his mood.
 
He still hadn’t smiled and the little lines between his brows told her that even though he didn’t want to talk about work, he was probably still thinking about it.
 
He must have had a
really
bad day because Olivia had never seen him like this.
 
He was definitely in a black mood.

This was probably not a good time to inform him that she scheduled the dinner with Christie for next week Wednesday.
 
She now wondered if he would even be able to make it.

Alex released a breath after a generous amount of silence passed between them.
 
He turned to look at her and seemed to make an effort to lighten his mood with a small smile.
 
But it was tight and it didn’t quite reach his eyes.
 
“I haven’t seen you in a few days,” he started.

“I know,” she said hesitantly.
 
“Since Wednesday.”
 
This awkwardness between them worried her even more.
 
Even when Alex had first strolled into her bakery and asked her out to dinner, there had been a natural ease to their conversation.
 
This felt stilted and stiff.
 
Cold.
 
Just like the counter separating them.

He must have heard something in her tone because his mouth compressed into a line.
 
“I’m sorry I haven’t been around much.
 
Are you upset with me?”

“I know you’re busy,” Olivia said, hoping to pacify him.
 
She really couldn’t make demands of him or expect anything.
 
While they both liked one another, they’d made no significant or lasting promises.

Alex studied her and his hands returned to his hair, running through the thick, soft mass in frustration.
 
“You’re upset,” he declared.

Sighing, she figured there was no use in denying it.
 
When she was in her relationship with Miles, he had walked all over her because she never liked confrontation.
 
She always let things slide that she shouldn’t have.
 
With Alex, she didn’t want the past to repeat itself.
 
“I don’t want to be one of those girls who always complain that ‘you never called me back,’ but I guess I
was
a little thrown by it.
 
I know you were busy, but you could have at least called.
 
I thought the worse.”

Alex’s eyes flickered and Olivia recognized the beginnings of emotional detachment when she saw it.
 
“Oh?
 
And what exactly did you think?”

Olivia flinched slightly at his cold tone as anger and sadness stiffened her body.
 
“Don’t do that, Alex,” she said softly.
 
Please don’t start this again
, she pleaded in her mind.

“Do what?” he asked clearly, every syllable carefully articulated until the crispness of his words hurt her almost as much as a physical strike.
 
“I don’t know what you want me to tell you, Olivia.
 
I work a lot.
 
You know that.”

The difference between this man before her and the man who’d held her by the fire earlier this week was startling and unbelievable.
 
Her throat tightened at the realization and the back of her eyes started to sting.
 
But she bit her tongue because she refused to cry in front of him.
 
Not when he was like this.

“What exactly do you want from me?” he asked quietly.
 
But the tightness in his voice was still present.

“Alex, please.
 
You’ve had a bad day.”

“And I see it’s just getting better and better,” he retorted sarcastically.
 
Hurt fizzled down Olivia’s chest making it hard to breathe.

She swallowed thickly past the lump forming in her throat.
 
She felt ice start to settle in her veins.
 
She didn’t deserve to be treated like this.
 
“Don’t get mad at me because I told you how I felt.
 
It hurt me, Alex, that I could be cut out of your life so easily for work.
 
Especially when I thought we really had something.”

“Don’t give me that shit, Olivia.
 
You couldn’t even introduce me as your boyfriend to your five year old cousin.”

“Because we never talked about it!” Olivia protested violently, heat rising to her cheeks.
 
“I didn’t know how you felt.”

“Yeah, well, we really have something then, don’t we?” Alex asked, shaking his head, smiling.
 
It was a cold smile and it chilled Olivia to the bone.
 
Why was he acting this way?

“Break up with me then if you feel that way.
 
But I won’t be the one to do it, because despite what you may think, I really care about you,” Olivia said, her voice shaking but strong.

That sobered him because he wasn’t smiling anymore.
 
Anger replaced his cold indifference.

She suddenly felt tired.
 
And emotional, trying to keep her tears in check.
 
“Just go home, Alex.
 
Get some sleep.
 
I don’t want to fight anymore,” she whispered, looking down at the counter as she traced distracted patterns over the top.

And she didn’t look up until she heard the door close behind him on his way out.

Only then did she let the tears fall.

But Alex didn’t go home.

Still shaking from pent up anger and frustration, Alex pulled out his phone as he walked towards his car parked in the guest stall of Olivia’s apartment complex.

“What’s up, man?” Luke asked when he answered his phone.

“I want to drink tonight,” he rasped into the phone.
 
“Are you free?”

His friend didn’t hesitate.
 
“Hell yeah, I’m free.”

“Good.
 
Call Adam and Caleb and meet me at our regular place downtown in twenty minutes.”
 
And with that, he hung up before Luke could reply.