Since then, it’s been a succession of worries: keeping the companies on top, making sure my brothers had everything they needed, and supporting my mother.
I didn’t have time or desire, to be honest, to dedicate myself to anyone. Layla was just one of many random liaisons I had, and I’m sure the feeling was mutual, but then Valentina came along and the game of life was changed once again.
I wanted my daughter to have everything, not only in terms of finances but also in terms of love. That’s why, upon discovering Olívia’s existence, I decided to try to get close to her. I could have simply found a way to get the money—which I believe she’s entitled to—into her hands, but I believe in family.
I remember that from the moment I saw Olívia’s photo for the first time, I had this intuition that she was special. It was a recent photo, although there were several others, from different stages of childhood and adolescence, on Layla’s computer.
In this particular photograph, she had her hair tied up in a ponytail, and at first, I didn’t think it was possible for her and my late wife to be related. Not only because of her appearancebut also because of the sweetness that, even through a photograph, I could see there.
The blue eyes captivated me, as did the disarming smile, with teeth as small as a child’s. The long, full hair, the dimple on the left cheek, which I now know only becomes visible when she smiles . . . All of this shook me in a way I wasn’t prepared for.
But being a rational guy, the last thing on my mind when I went to meet her was an involvement between us. However, the attraction I felt knocked me out. The woman I found beautiful in a picture personally made my blood boil.
If someone had pointed Olívia out to me on the street, I would have said she wasn’t my type.
Restless, with serious motor coordination problems—if I’m to consider her tendency to knock things over or, more recently, the fall she had—besides being very open with strangers.
The problem is that from the moment I saw her delicious body swaying to the music in the café, all bets were off. Overwhelming physical attraction pulled me towards her.
I have no restrictions on touching or being touched. I give a lot of hugs to everyone in my family, but Olívia takes my need for contact to another level. I want to feel her all the time, be with her, be in her. Merge with her and dive into this crazy and unexpected thing that grows stronger every day between us. See where it goes.
I’m different around her. Even with all the concern surrounding my world, Olívia makes me smile, something that only Nina had done before.
If I were to follow my desire alone, I would be loving every inch of her curvy body right now, recording her taste on my tongue, lost in her warmth, but I don’t have the right to do that for now.
I run my hand over my face and check the clock. Two in the morning.
My skin burns as if I have a fever. Despite being tired, there’s an energy dominating me, and I know the chance of me being able to fall asleep is minimal. I don’t bother to put on a T-shirt as I leave the room. She shouldn’t be awake at this hour, so I just grab Nina’s baby monitor and head down to the office. If the night is lost in terms of sleep, all that’s left is to work.
I look up from the screen when I see a silhouette in the doorway. She’s standing there, wearing a white cotton nightgown that falls a little above her knees. It’s not the kind of outfit a woman would wear to seduce her man, but Olívia is so hot. The simple garment molds to her sensual body, especially around her breasts. My pulse races just looking at her, and the arousal I’ve been fighting against emerges.
“Not sleepy?” she asks.
“I sleep little, usually.”
She smiles. “I love to sleep, but I think I overdid it the past few days, so now I’m restless. Want some company?”
No,my mind says.I want to devour you.
Before I stop to think about what I’m doing, I reach out. She takes hesitant steps, but without averting her gaze. When she’s standing next to my chair, I grab her by the waist and sit her on my desk, facing me. Her womanly scent immediately knocks me out.
“Are you in pain?”
Her response is just shaking her head from side to side. She doesn’t ask why I sat her on the desk, and I can sense her irregular breathing.
“So why can’t you sleep?”
“Because being so close to you gets me all worked up.”
“Worked up how, Olívia?” Heat spreads across my skin, blood warming as if someone has turned on a heater inside my body.
Instead of answering, she takes my hand and places it just below her left breast. “Can you feel my heartbeat? I can’t relax with you within reach.”
With a will of its own, my thumb moves up and lands on the hard nipple, pushing through the fabric of her nightgown. Our eyes are locked, and when I circle my finger around the stiff nub, she bites her lip.
Instead of stopping me, she rests her arms behind her on the desk, offering herself to my hands. “When I’m like this, I usually make myself come before I can sleep.”
I lightly pinch her nipple in response to her provocation. I don’t know if she realizes what she’s doing, if she knows the effect her words have on me, so I decide to push her to see where we stand. “Do you enjoy masturbating alone?”
