“Okay, let’s go check and we can go.” Her hand is still in mine, so I lead her back to the kitchen.
“Are you sure?” she asks, but she follows me.
I turn around and let her walk into me. Wrapping an arm around her waist, I rub my fingers up and down her arm, needing to feel her soft skin. “I understand how important it is to you to feel safe. If it’s important to you, it’s important to me. Idon’t think you’re crazy. You’re taking precautions to make sure you’re never a victim again. I admire you for that.”
Her eyes become glossy, and I wonder if she’ll allow herself to cry. “Thank you,” she whispers. “I really needed to hear that.”
I pull her close for one more hug, then lead her out to the backyard. I stop in my tracks at the beauty of all the flowers.
“Olivia, this is breathtaking.”
She stops beside me with a smile on her face. “These are my babies,” she says, extending her hands to gesture to everything she’s done.
I know some people that would hire her to do this for them. As we begin the trek around the yard to check the gate, I wonder if she’s ever thought about doing that, but not done it because she’s too afraid of the possibility Donovan might find her.
I watch her to see how she checks the gate. She touches it every few feet, I’m assuming, to make sure there aren't any loose boards.
“Do you have cameras?” I ask her.
She glances at me over her shoulder. “No. I was going to get one of those doorbell cameras, but I was afraid someone could hack into it.” She rubs her hand over another board. “I know I sound paranoid, but it’s hard to stop thinking and feeling this way. Even with therapy, I can’t seem to stop.”
I wonder if she’s told her therapist everything, but don’t ask. “Well, I have connections that can guarantee no one will hack your system. If it’s okay with you, I can speak to them and have them install cameras for you.”
She stops and stares up at me, her mouth open slightly. “You would do that?”
I step forward and rub the back of my knuckles along her cheek. “Of course I would.”
She smiles and leans into my touch. “Okay, as long as you’re here when they do it.”
I lean down and kiss her forehead. “Deal.”
Chapter nineteen
Olivia
On the way to Victor’s house, I place my hand on the shifter before he instructs me to. He smirks and winks at me. “Good girl.” I suck in a breath at his praise.
Why does that simple phrasegood girlhave such an effect on me? And why does it feel so right coming from him? If it were anyone else, I don’t think I’d like it, but with him… It’s different and it makes me want to be so good for him.
He places his hand on top of mine, but lets me guide the shifter into each gear. By the fourth gear, I’m hyper aware of how his rough palm feels on top of my hand, his scent, and every move his legs make when pushing the clutch in. I wasn’t lying when I said I loved his hands, especially when they’re on me.
His deep voice catches my attention. “Fifth gear?”
“Oh, uh… Sorry.” My chest tightens at the thought of disappointing him, but he only chuckles and takes over.
“It’s alright, baby. I got you.”
My stomach dips at the endearment like I’m riding a roller coaster. The rest of the ride I let him lead. My gaze switches between his strong legs as they change gears, to the veins in his hands and arms when he moves the stick shift, to the tattoos on his neck, then I start all over again.
“I think I’ve lost my student.”
My eyes fly up to his face and I nearly melt in my seat at the smile I find there. “I’m studying,” I protest.
He glances at me, his smile growing wider. “What exactly are you studying?”
My cheeks become so hot I know they’re bright red. I gesture to him with the hand that’s not still grasped in his. He tilts his head back and laughs. The sound washes over me, and I want to figure out how to make him do that again. First, I realize we’re sitting at a stoplight, then I realize I’ve felt safe from the moment he knocked on my door.
He leans across the console and kisses my cheek. His lips linger, the scrape of his mustache and beard tickling slightly, wishing I had the courage to turn my head so I could feel what his lips would feel like against mine. What would his beard feel like if he kissed me somewhere else?Where did that thought come from?
