Like the kind of person who fucked around with his only brother’s girlfriend.
I pushed the thought away, even though I knew it was impossible for it to go away completely, and scooted closer to my desk where I had set up my laptop when I came in. Thankfully, it was still charged from the last time I used it. Only when it died would I call it a night and head home, providing the power wasn’t back on by then. I pulled it closer and reviewed the program I was so familiar with—the same one I used on a daily basis to run security code for our camera systems.
The digits on the screen called out to me, steadying the rhythm of my heartbeat and shooing away the thoughts that hammered their way into my subconscious. It took seconds to get lost in it and nearly forget where I was. That the power was still out and rain continued to slide down the stretch of windows on the far wall of my office.
And then the briefest noise caught my attention—a click—that triggered a spark of curiosity. I lifted my gaze, looking over at my open door. It took a second for my eyesight to adjust from my computer screen, but once it did, my body sang out in whispered satisfaction that not many people in my life triggered.
Olivia’s outline stood at the threshold, her hands linkedtogether at her stomach. I could smell her from across the room, that’s how fucking in tune and desperate I was for her. Her scent was flowery and sweet like honey—my favorite goddamn sweetener of all.
Nothing artificial compared to it.
Nothing ever would.
Irritation billowed from within me and took hold. Because as much as I wanted her here, I also didn’t.
It’d been hard enough all these months to keep my distance. What the hell was I supposed to do when she was willingly encroaching upon my space? I couldn’t push her away. I already did that, and I couldn’t do it again. We were in this new, weird territory now, which meant I had to acknowledge her. Even if I knew it’d ruin me.
“What are you still doing here?” I snipped out, hating how harsh my words sounded.
“It’s nice to see you again, too,” she replied, that sarcasm laced in her tone. She had no problem giving it back to me and putting me in my place.
My heart picked up speed, thumping against my ribcage with each step she made as she walked over, rounding the edge of my desk to stand in front of me.
I held onto the armrests of my chair to keep myself from reaching out. “I wish I could say the same.”
It was the wrong thing to say, even if it was a little bit true. That quick, she swiveled on her foot and moved away from me. Those few feet felt like miles. I must have been a masochist, because even while knowing this wasn’t—couldn’t—go any further, I darted up from my chair and reached out.
My hand curled around her arm, her skin wet from the rain. My fingertips pressed into her soft flesh in a squeeze before slowly slipping down to her wrist and then her hand. I weaved my fingers through hers and brought my other handup to her hip, holding her steady. Holding her in place. Holding her to me. Because I wasn’t ready for her to walk away.
Not yet.
“Wait,” I breathed out, inhaling her honeyed hair. I closed the space that existed between us, knowing how damn dangerous it was being so close to her. My brother could walk in on us at any time. “Where’s Lennon? He did pull the car up for you, didn’t he?”
“Yes,” she murmured, “but then he left.”
My hand tightened around her fingers. When she turned her head to the side, her hair tickling my nose for a split second, my body eased the tiniest bit.
She was so good for me she was bad. I knew it down to my damn core.
Still, I said. “What do you mean, he left?”
“I mean,” she said, “he went home.”
“You’re being vague, and I don’t like it. I need to know what’s going on, Olivia. I need to know if the possibility exists that he’s going to walk his ass back in here and find my hands on you.”
She huffed out an annoyed breath. “Did you not hear what I said?” A beat lingered. “He left, Weston. He wenthome. He’s not going to find you in a compromising position. It wouldn’t matter, anyway.”
“You know it would,” I told her, my voice low.
“I broke up with him.”
My breath caught in my throat, and my heart skipped a beat. Both of my hands fell from her, dropping to my sides. Her news was a bucket of ice-cold water down my back. “You told me you weren’t going to do that tonight.”
“Yeah, well…” She turned on her heel, facing me. She was a good few inches shorter, but that didn’t matter. It changed nothing. Certainly didn’t take away from the fact that there was something about her that called out to me. “I decided I didn’t want to put it off any longer.”
“Jesus Christ, Olivia,” I hissed. “You really know how to time things, don’t you?”
“So we’re back to that, then?”
