Page 14 of Feel Me

He keeps staring, but then finally shakes his head. “That’s a million-dollar question, and I’m broke.”

The lame joke seems out of place, yet I’m grateful for it. The tension definitely needed broken. My reaction to Lake is confusing and scary. The only other man who made me feel something intense was Bear—not even Blade got this type of response from me, and I thought I loved him once.

Shit. Maybe it was better when he just acted like an asshole.

10

TIME BOMBS & KISSES

LAKE

“Livy? Are you sure you don’t want me to take you home?” Carson asks.

I don’t say anything. I know I was an asshole to her. She’s also skittish as fuck around me. It wouldn’t surprise me if she takes Carson up on his offer. I can’t even blame her. If I were her, I wouldn’t want to be around me either. Shit, it might be better for both of us if she did. When I grabbed her arm before, instant heat ran through my body. It was so powerful my cock went hard. I wanted her right then, and it took everything I had not to claim her. It was crazy as hell, but not as crazy as the feeling I had that touching her was what I was meant to do. It felt like she was … mine.

It sounds crazy. I’m already planning on going back to the doctor Monday morning and getting my head checked out. Maybe my injuries did more than any of us realized to my noggin. I have had a headache for the last two nights. I figured I just got overly stressed about Ray getting fired and then upsetting my bosses by questioning them. Maybe it’s more. Maybe there’s something wrong. I mean, it can’t be normal that I feel like I’ve been struck by lightning just by touching a woman’s arm. It shouldn’t make my dick rock hard either.

“There’s no point in you getting out, Carson. Since you won’t let me walk there⁠—”

“No way,” I speak up at once. Carson looks at me strangely, but he doesn’t say anything. Thankfully, Olivia seems oblivious, and she just laughs.

“Lake can take me. It’s fine. You need to follow your wife and go give Claire her goodnight love.”

“She’ll be fine, Boss. I’ll even go in her house and make sure it’s clear before I leave.”

“I don’t think that’s necessary,” she argues at once.

“Probably not,” I concede. “But I’m going to do it anyway.” I fight a smile when she rolls her eyes. If Carson saw me do that, he’d really know something was up. Hell, if Colt told him I all but argued to get put in the house toward the end of our security gig tonight, he already does.

“Whatever you say,” she mutters before going to hug Carson. “Thanks for worrying about me so much.”

“I told you, you’re our sister now—whether you want to be or not.”

“I couldn’t be happier having you, Coop, and Colt as brothers. I know Dad is resting easier knowing you all are in my life,” she says softly.

My heart squeezes in my chest. Something about Olivia seems so innocent and gentle. I don’t know about my past, but I know she’s not like anyone I’ve encountered since waking up in the hospital. I hate that I tried to paint her as the bad guy when it came to Ray. Though, I think that has more to do with my reaction to her and who she is as a person.

I watch as they say their goodbyes. I ignore the irritation I feel watching Carson hug her. There has to be something seriously wrong with my head. Maybe they can do another scan. I pull my thoughts back to the here and now as I put my hand on Olivia’s lower back and escort her to the UTV. This one is better than the one I used the other day. There’s a cab with AC and heat inside. The seats are thicker and more comfortable than the ones in my pickup. I had Colt change out with me, not wanting Olivia to catch a chill in the night air. Yeah, I’m fucked if he spills his guts to Carson.

I keep my hand on the small of her back, then gently help her inside the vehicle before going to the driver’s side. “Are you warm enough?” I ask for no other reason than to find something to say to fill the silence.

“I’m good,” she says, looking intently through the windshield.

“What are you looking at?”

“The sky. Isn’t it beautiful?”

I glance upward before moving my gaze back to the road in front of me. The road is basically an extra-large cement path. There’s one running from building to building here on the ranch. The cement has been bronzed to match the mulch around the flower beds that are scattered throughout the property. It actually makes it look more natural and doesn’t detract from the beauty of the ranch.

“It’s a sky,” I point out.

“Well, duh,” she answers. “Look how gorgeous the moon looks, though. It has a faint red glow around it. Then, there’s how bright the stars are. It’s beautiful.”

“I guess I never really thought about it.”

“Well, you should. Life can be very ugly. You should appreciate beauty when God reveals it to you.”

“I think I’m the wrong person to talk to about that,” I say at once. If there is a God up there, I don’t think I’m his favorite person. Whatever happened to me ended up with me being shot, stabbed multiple times, and what the doctors could only describe as torture. The doctors still aren’t sure how I survived. One said I must have something really important to live for. That was the biggest joke of all—since I can’t remember a damn thing. I push those thoughts aside when I realize Olivia has been talking.