No, that was a lie, I could get a read on him. Everything he did had a purpose. There were no games in his words, no way to misinterpret what he was telling me. The only time he had ever actually hurt me, I had asked for it. I wanted it.
I swallowed again, my mouth suddenly dry. I glanced at the kitchen doorway before finding his eyes again. “He gave me gifts when he wanted to apologize for what he did,” I confessed, eyes falling to his dark red tie. “But it was never an actual apology. He was always sorry that I caused him to do whatever it was he was apologizing for. You said something yesterday…I thought you were taking it back.‘I’m sorry that you pushed me to this point’or something like that.”
He was quiet for so long, I almost looked up to see what his eyes were saying, but just before I did, he grabbed my jaw and lifted my face until my eyes found his anyway.
They were flaming, but not in the chilling, angry way they usually did, this was different. It caused my heart to thrum and butterflies to erupt in my stomach. It made my head spin and my pussy pulse. It made me feel something real. “I was very aware of the decision I made yesterday,” he told me carefully. “I don’t regret it, I never will. I told you I owned you, Olivia. Your orgasms, your heartbeat, the very air you breathe, I own it, and if you had opened that box in your bedroom, you would have found a letter in there, with specific instructions on how this works, with that being said, it’s under your pillow. You will read it tonight under your blanket, do you understand me?”
Waves of relief washed over me as I searched his eyes. “I understand,” I breathed out. Not an apology. It was confirmation. His gifts were confirmations of what happened yesterday. An addition to the promises he had already made.
His throat bobbed, his eyes shifting. “It’s sacred,” he finally mumbled, his eyes falling to my lips. “And it stays between us until I say.” He stared at my lips long enough to cause them to part. To cause my breath to hitch and my eyes to fall to his own lips. Fuck, I wanted to kiss him. I wanted to kiss him more than anything else in the world.
“You are the air in my lungs, Olivia,” he spoke quietly, his lipscaressing each word, his voice a song that spoke melodies to my heart.
I felt as if I were floating. “Then let me help you breathe.”
I heard the door open, and Everett’s grip tightened, my eyes lifting to his. His gaze had changed, chilling and unforgiving. “Do you understand?”
So, they weren’t allowed to know. Not yet. I had to play the game, just like he wanted me to do. I needed to be a good little pup for him.
So, I hardened my own eyes, challenging him, fisting my hands at my sides. “Yes,” I said through my teeth.
And I could have sworn a flash of pride shimmer through his eyes before he hardened his gaze and finally released me.
I worked my jaw, fighting the urge to rub it as we both turned to face Evelyn, Mr. Kingsmen, and a beautiful woman I had never seen before.
I looked between them, my eyes lingering on the woman’s beautiful brown eyes before finding their way back to Evelyn. “Sure, come in,” I said dryly, hiding the fact that I wasvery awareof what I was wearing, and now that I knew for sure that we had to hide it, how was I going to explain away the fact that I was wearing Everett’s sweats?
Not to mention that Lucy was the absolute worst guard dog on this planet.
Evelyn looked between the two of us suspiciously again. “We need to talk to you about our steps moving forward.”
I bit back the retort as I headed for the coffee pot. I couldn’t react like I normally would now, not with Malachi in the room.
So, I took a deep breath. Shutting off Everett’s Olivia, and turning on a quiet, reserved, more respectful Olivia. I could take whatever frustrations I had out on him later, but for now, I was going to breathe and try not to simmer in the words Everett had just told me.
“You are the air in my lungs, Olivia.”
“Then let me help you breathe.”
“I didn’t make that much coffee, so I can offer two cups,” I said, turning back to the four as they stood around my table, Lucy sitting a few yards to my right, her tongue out, her tail wagging, as if to say ‘Look at all of these brand-new friends’.
“I would love some,” Malachi smiled. “Thank you, and one for Diedra too.”
Diedra. My eyes flicked to the woman. She looked so…detached from them, but not in a bad way. More in the way of the fact that she didn’t seem apart of whatever family Everett, Evelyn, and Malachi had. She was separated from that, and I couldn’t help but wonder if she laid down at night wondering what it would be like to be a part of something like that.
I nodded and turned back to the coffee pot, pulling out a couple of mugs. “I wasn’t expecting company, so I apologize for my appearance. You may all have a seat.”
“Well, we weren’t truly planning this either. Everett told us yesterday of the men hunting you down, and I am terribly sorry that it happened. We thought we would swing by and discuss it with you.”
I filled up the two cups. I had been trying hard not to linger on the actual hunt of it. I didn’t want to linger on anything other than what had happened between Everett and I. “I’ve done my fair share of research into loan sharks,” I told them. “But I honestly didn’t expect for your customers to go after people seen with your sons.” Evelyn had already told me they weren’t just loan sharks, but it was easier to just start from the beginning. Maybe I could get more information if I acted dumb.
I slid the coffee pot back and picked up the glasses heading back for the table.
“That’s what we’ve come to talk to you about. Evelyn has assured me that you can be trusted, and now that theseparticular people are after you, we have no choice but to tell you the truth of the matter.”
I set the cup down in front of Diedra, my eyes lifting to Malachi. “The truth?” I asked, walking over to him.
“Thank you,” he smiled, “it smells divine.”
