Chapter 5
Olivia was lookingup at him, her beautiful, round eyes filled with fear and pain. Jake wanted to kill the bastards who’d made her feel those things. More than that, he wanted to kiss her quivering lips and never,everlet go.
He almost did, too, but then he remembered he had no clue what she’d endured these past few weeks. The last thing Liv needed was a man—anyman—forcing himself on her.
“Yeah, Liv,” he reassured her. “It’s really me.”
Olivia’s eyes grew wide, as though she’d needed to hear his words before trusting herself to believe what she was seeing. She threw herself at him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.
“Jake! Oh, my God.” Her hot breath hit his ear as she spoke. “I can’t believe it’s really you!”
Jake hugged her back just as forcefully. Her entire body shook beneath his as she struggled to keep it together. Burying his face into her hair, he wondered if she could tell she wasn’t alone in that fight.
He held on for dear life and squeezed his burning eyes shut, absorbing every ounce of warmth from her touch. Then, he sent up prayer after silent prayer, thanking God for bringing her back to him.
Olivia’s hot tears fell against the skin on his neck as she spoke between sobs. “It’s s-so...good to...s-see...y-you!”
“Ah, sweetheart,” he choked out. “You have no idea.”
Overcome with his own emotions, Jake held her even tighter, afraid she’d disappear if he let her go. She flinched beneath his strong grasp.Back off, dickhead. You’re hurting her.
Jake loosened his hold before kissing the top of her head. He stood, instantly missing her warm embrace. Taking her hand, he helped her to her feet.
A flash of powerful anger struck when he stepped back just far enough to get a good look at her face. He’d been so busy struggling with her, waiting for her to trust that he was who he said he was, he hadn’t looked anywhere other than into her eyes.
Assessing her now, Jake noticed a fresh bruise forming across the left side of her face. There was another one in center of her forehead, and blood was starting to dry where it had trickled from her nose.
Some bastard had hit her, hard from the looks of things. Seeing bruises like that on any woman pissed Jake off beyond reason. Seeing them on Olivia’s delicate skin made him want to fucking kill. Then, when he glanced down at the front of her dress, his heart damn near stopped.
“Jesus, Liv. You’rebleeding?Where’s the wound? How bad is it?” He didn’t wait for her to answer before reaching for the buttons on her dress.
Olivia grabbed his wrists and shook her head. “It’s not mine.”
Unable to hear past his fear, Jake fought against her grasp, determined to assess her injuries. She squeezed his wrists tighter and raised her voice, finally getting his attention.
"Jake!I’m okay. It’s not my blood.”
