Now Open Your Eyes (Stay With Me series Book 3)

by Nicole Fiorina

  Mia bit her lip and wrapped her tiny fingers around my wrist. When I thought she’d yank my wrist down, she surprised me with a twist of her body and throwing her elbow up, slamming it into my forearm, breaking the connection as I’d taught her.

  Her knee came up, and I quickly blocked it. “I said, not the groin,” I growled.

  “Then you shouldn’t have mentioned it.” She fell back against the tree with a smirk. “Let’s do it again. Don’t be a baby. I know you can fight me harder.”

  Grinning like a fool, I shook my head before grabbing her neck. Her skin was soft under my fingers, pulse ticking at an all-time high. My eyes landed on her lips, distracted in the way they’d begged to be kissed. If Mia didn’t hurry with a move, I’d lose all self-control.

  “Make a move, Mia.” My hand moved up the length of her throat, and she swallowed beneath as the pad of my thumb grazed her jawline. There was something in the chilled spring air, it smelled like roses dipped in desire, and the changing mood swirled inside our bubble. Mia grabbed my waist to pull me closer, and her breath shuddered in response to my growing knob pressing against her pelvis. With my free hand, I flipped my cap backward before my palm hit the trunk of the tree above her head. Though my fingers were dangerously around her throat, Mia had complete control over me.

  Perhaps it was in the way she moved in a delicate defiance. Every breath pulled me closer until my nose skimmed her cheek, and my lips brushed her skin. My arm shook, and the only hope at this point was for her to breathe strength back into me by caving and kissing me already.

  Instead, her knee came up and bucked into my lower abdomen, knocking all air from my lungs.

  The blow sent me backward, and I automatically went down to the ground on all fours, my hands fisting leaves. “Mia,” I croaked, then rolled over to my back. “What in the bloody hell was that for?”

  “I don’t know why I just did that,” panic buried in her voice, and she paced above me, the sun’s rays appearing and disappearing, back and forth, “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. Ollie.”

  Groaning, I dropped my arm over my eyes to wait for the pain to subside.

  I’d read the situation entirely wrong.

  “Mia Rose, you’re breaking my heart.”

  She fell to her knees at my side and pushed my arm out of the way. Horror marred her features as her eyes darted from my face to my stomach. She lifted my hoodie and shirt and pressed her lips against my tattooed stomach. “What on earth are you doing?” I chuckled, cupping her head and pulling her up so I could see her. I moved the loose strands from her face.

  “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over me or what just happened.”

  I raised my brows, laughing. “So, you kiss my stomach?”

  “I’m desperate.” She shrugged.

  A grin spread across my lips, and I jutted my chin. “How desperate?” Mia’s top lip disappeared into a pressed smile in my hands, and I dropped my arms back, a fucking goner for her. “Come here.” An impulsive plea, but I was utterly defenseless against her criminal smile.

  Mia shook her head, lowering it until, finally, her lips clutched on to mine. A pivotal moment erupted, and suddenly, nothing else mattered. My heart skipped inside my ribcage, my lids fluttered close, and every worry detached, floating outside our space. My tongue pushed through her seams, until it stroked hers, back into a merciful slow dance of the two of us. The only strength I had was in my arms, and I pulled her fully on top of me, locked in sweet slow motion. Every small whimper coming from her throat had been fuel, and her tantalizing taste shot missiles packed with fireworks through my bloodstream, breathing me back to life. She sank inside my arms, but I held her together. I always would. “Mia,” I breathed into her mouth, not recognizing my voice. My hand gripped the back of her neck and the other on her hip, pressing firmly against the part that ached to fill her, and to keep me anchored from floating away …

  A clearing of a throat sounded, and Mia broke away first to lift her head.

  “Ollie,” she whispered, but I was still under the spell from her perpetual lips. She smacked my arm. “We’re in trouble.”

  I snaked my arm around her back, sat up, and looked behind me.

  Two police officers stood there. Behind them, a family of five.

  “Stand up,” one of the men in blue said. “You two are coming with us.”

  “Stay calm, love,” Ollie whispered from beside me. “They have nothing to hold us. We weren’t doing anything wrong.”

  My arms crossed and uncrossed from around my chest, pacing the length of the cop car. “I can’t keep calm. I have court in a week. What if they arrest us for something stupid like open lewdness or destruction of nature.”

  “Destruction of nature? I don’t know what you’re talking about. That kiss was beautiful.”

  I snapped my head in his direction. “This is serious, Ollie.”

  Ollie’s head was tilted back, facing the sky, and his eyes fell to the side until they met mine.

  An unstoppable grin crept along his lips.

  My arms crossed again, and my foot tapped on the pavement. “What’s so funny?”

  Ollie lifted his shoulder, his smug grin glowing. “You remember when we couldn’t get you back through the vent, and I was terrified you’d get caught in my room? It was the first night after you returned from the looney bin. I was going mad, but you were shockingly calm. It seems like lifetimes ago.”

  I smiled, the memory invading my brain and simultaneously turning my worry to ash. “It does.”

  Ollie turned his body to face me and drummed his fingers over the top of the police car, his black cap secured back over his head. “It’s going to be fine, all right? Just let me do the talking.”

  One of the two officers broke away from conversation off to the side and approached us. He looked to be almost fifty, but fit with salt and pepper hair. “Do you two know why you’re standing here right now?” he asked, pulling his aviators from his eyes and folding them into the pocket of his uniform shirt.

  “No,” I said, as Ollie said, “Yes.”

  Ollie nudged me in the arm.

  The cop crossed his arms. “So, what were you two doing out there?”

  “Nothing,” we said in unison, then exchanged glances. If I chanced a look again, Ollie would make me laugh, and this wasn’t funny. We could get arrested.

  The cop’s eyes darted between the two of us. “Did you know that open lewdness was grounds for an arrest in the state of Pennsylvania?”

  “Yes,” I said when Ollie said, “No.”

  The officer laughed, amused by us, and I couldn’t understand why. “Are you two married or something?”

  “Engaged,” we said in unison, and I rolled my eyes.

  The cop lifted his brow. “Oh, this is great. You two have a long road ahead of you.” The cop lowered the volume of the radio secured to his belt. “Since you’re not from around here,” he pointed at Ollie, “I’m going to let you off with a warning. But next time, try to keep actions that belong in the bedroom, in the bedroom.”

  “Thank you, sir.” Ollie exhaled and grabbed my hand. “So, we’re free to go?”

  “Yeah, get out of here,” he said through a chuckle.

  With our freedom intact, we drove around every curve, dip, incline, and drop on the road, Ollie more confident and braver than before driving on the opposite side of the car. I had no idea where he was taking me and said, don’t count on going back to my dad’s tonight. With the windows down, and cold wind tangling in my hair, Ollie grabbed my hand from the driver side as an Ed Sheeran song played in our ears, a haunting beat tapping my chest. The only thing on our minds was the kiss and what was to come. His lips brushed over my knuckles before he pulled my hand over his thigh.

  I was exactly where I should be.

  This past week had been a whirlwind. Hell, the past two years had been a whirlwind. When Ethan dropped me off at my dad’s, it stung at first. I’d thought I’d go back to the girl before Do
lor and the last two years wouldn’t have counted. I thought, for some God-awful reason, Ethan was the answer after everyone had taken off and abandoned me. With Ethan, I could have kept the person I grew to be and Ollie’s memory alive because Ethan was attached to Dolor. But what I never expected, after all the misfortunes, heartache, and deceit, was Ollie showing up at my dad’s doorstep.

  The morning after Ethan had dropped me off, I’d heard Ollie in the kitchen talking to Dad and freaked out, jumped out of my window, and ran. Confusion and heartache was a terrible concoction, and it motivated all actions over the past week.

  But Ollie stayed. And each day, he showed. For an entire week, he chipped away the black paint suffocating my heart all over again. There was something to be said about a love like that. I just didn’t know the right words. Maybe I’d ask Ollie. He’d weave words together like an epic string of notes on an electric guitar.

  Not to mention that kiss.

  We’d kissed before, many places, under many different circumstances, but that kiss brought me to new places and new beginnings. It was the kind of kiss that shook you awake and walked you out onto a candlelit floor under a galaxy raining warmth, euphoria, and the promises that everything would be okay.

  Ollie pulled into a parking lot, the sign out front reading “Old Mill Inn.” I’d remembered seeing the old churning mill up the hill off the main road, tucked away in a mountain. I’d passed by it numerous times before. My entire focus shifted to Ollie and the way he was trying so hard to hold back. The engine cut, and he forced his eyes in front of him. “You have three seconds to tell me no before I take you up to the room, Mia.”

  I started counting in my head, wondering if my seconds were shorter than his.

  One.

  Two.

  Nope, his were shorter.

  Ollie got out of the car, and I followed suit. My heart beat so hard, the vibrations hummed in my ears to the tips of my fingers. I knew what was coming. Ollie wore his emotions and needs as if it was written all over his skin. Mia. Mia. Mia. Mia. Down the lengths of his arms, chest, stomach …

  “Bud, Mia. Mia, Bud,” Ollie quickly introduced as he pulled me through the already opened door, Bud, I assumed, was holding with a sparkling smile painted on his face, dressed in a blue vest, blue slacks, and gray hairs branching in all directions. Ollie climbed each step of the narrow staircase in a hurry, desire emitting from his pores like a toxic poison, and I was already infected by it.

  The red door before us had chipped paint with a number three inside a small frame above the peephole. Ollie released my hand only to shove his in his pocket to withdraw a key and fumbled with the lock. His hands shook from anticipation, and the silence screamed from desperately waiting for too long. Seconds ticked by, but it seemed like forever. This was happening.

  As soon as we were both inside, my back hit the door, and mouths crashed. But this kiss wasn’t hurried.

  His hands slipped under my layers and over my skin.

  But his hands were slow.

  His heart exploded against my chest, his lips grazing neck.

  But his lips weren’t rushed.

  And this was what it feels like to be in love.

  Warm and pining hands grabbed my face, and Ollie slid his mouth back to mine. Tongues stroked in sync, lips sucked, and his throbbing cock rubbed against my pounding heat when a chill ran down my spine, and a whimper stuck in my throat. Ollie turned desperate, hips grinding between my legs, and his palms slammed the door on both sides of me without losing our cadence.

  Don’t hold back now.

  And in an answered prayer, my pants were yanked down and discarded in an urgent need. Ollie’s finger swiped through my slit to find me soaked. “Please,” I begged, and he picked me up, pinned me against the wall, and wrapped my legs around his waist. Dizziness swept through me as my sex slid against his lower abs, and if he didn’t hurry, I’d come from the friction alone.

  Ollie freed his hard dick, fisted it in one hand, and thrust inside me, cracking me open. His eyes slammed closed upon an exhale, and our foreheads connected before everything turned into a whimsical love song.

  There was no time for skin to skin, the connection alone drove Ollie’s scattered emotions into full speed, proving with every grind that he felt safe in my arms, and I in his. Our hands linked and threaded above our heads, holding on as the length of him filled me and touched places we’ve been before, but still feeling like the first time, every time. His hips, fastened to mine, skillfully moved like he was made for this, sliding his pelvic bone against my clit. The friction turned into a pleading life-line: stay with me, Mia. Open your eyes and see me, Mia. Feel me, hear me, taste me, wake me, Mia.

  Yeah, Oliver Masters was made to make love, and I was made for him.

  So, I guess no one else stood a chance.

  “Mia …” Ollie breathlessly hinted, and my name upon his lips pulled the climax out of me, and I nodded, clenching and shaking as he hit deeper. His mouth returned and his fingers curled around my hips to hold me down and attach himself to me. My fingers pushed through his sweaty hair as hot spurts pumped inside. And not long after, Ollie melted in my arms as our hearts begged to dance with one another, pounding inside our heaving chests.

  Ollie buried his face in the crook of my neck, and we stayed there for a moment, clothes that felt like stone walls between us, but still connected and finally home.

  “What just happened?”

  “Magic,” he whispered.

  Our bodies spent, Ollie and I laid over the bed, staring up at the ceiling. We’d left our bags and burdens in the hatchback, not needing anything aside from one another, leaving us both in a comfortable daze.

  “Okay, so I swear I was not expecting that. Hopeful, yes, but bloody hell … I was only supposed to take you to lunch,” he laughed, “and don’t make me drop you off, love. Stay with me for the rest of the week.” His head tilted toward me, and ecstasy lingered in his eyes, still stuck in a high. Ollie was content—happy—which made me happy. “No Bruce or Diane. No Scott, no Dolor. Just you and me, here until the court date. What do you say?”

  “We deserve this.” It was supposed to be a thought, one that should’ve stayed in my head, but it still slipped my tongue. Things with Diane had gotten better. We could finally be in the same room without ripping each other’s throats out, and though I was on the path of redemption, I don’t think Diane or Dad could ever forget the wrath I’d brought into their home. The sneaking in strange boys, wrecking her car, and my destructive behavior over the last ten years.

  Ollie obliterated my thoughts. “We absolutely deserve this.”

  But did I? “It’s not—”

  He sat up completely. “Don’t say it, Mia. Don’t even have those thoughts.”

  “You don’t even know what I was going to say.”

  “I know you. I know you as if I wrote you myself. It’s not going to last,” Ollie mocked. “Well, bring on the madness, the hurdles, every thrown rock, because I’m ready for it now. You are too. I know it. And what we did right there … Mia, we got this. We so got this.”

  He had felt it too. Of course, he would’ve felt it. Ollie felt everything. He was capable of feeling a worry before I ever voiced it. He’d always known when I was bothered before a frown crossed my lips. Ollie knew as if he’d written my pages. “What about after?”

  “No more plans. I tried that already. For two years, I made plans and you see how that turned out. I published my work and planned to adopt Zeke. I bought a house and planned to marry you. I planned to meet you at three,” he shook his head, “I’m not thinking about the future anymore. I’m thinking about here and now.”

  “You bought a house?”

  “Yeah, love, I bought you a house. A home. We have a home, always.”

  Ollie’s phone vibrated inside his pocket. It had been doing that all day, and not once had he retrieved it to see who it was. I tossed a few assumptions. Probably Laurie, his agent, or something that had to do with
his work. “Are you going to answer that? It’s probably important.”

  “You’re important. Whoever it is can wait.”

  “They’ve been calling all day. Just see who it is.”

  Groaning, Ollie dipped his thumb and forefinger inside his front pocket. At this angle, I didn’t have a chance to look at the screen, but a quick debate battled in his eyes before he decided to answer.

  “This better be important,” he snapped, but his long fingers stroked my hair calmly. Until they stopped. Ollie sat up completely, pushed his legs over the bed, and dropped his head into his hands. “I don’t have any answers right now.”

  I sat up and hugged my knees to my chest. Ollie’s jaw flexed, and the vein in his neck popped. I was on one end of the conversation, and I didn’t like it. Curiosity at whoever turned Ollie’s entire demeanor around so quickly pinched my nerves. Whoever was on the other end was male and loud and shouting, but I couldn’t make it out. The call ended, and he squeezed the device in his fist.

  “What is it? What’s wrong?” I didn’t know if I wanted to know. Ollie pushed his fingers through his hair and ran his palm down his face. Then up. Then down again. Then his head cocked, and he searched my expression. I saw the question in his eyes—the wonder whether he should tell me or not. “Tell me,” I gritted.

  Mia’s eyes fell into slits, and they burned a hole into mine. I couldn’t escape them. If I told her I’d been playing hopscotch with the Links to find her, she’d immediately recoil and ask me to take her back to her dad’s. But I couldn’t lie to her either. We had a week left before I had the option of taking her home. And after the phone call I just got, I didn’t want to take her anywhere near the UK.