Olivia
After his appreciative gaze practically undressed her, Drake helped her to her feet. “Santiago has spent enough time with you for one night. Hell, for the entire week. If what Miranda told me—” His voice trailed off as he peered at them.
Olivia folded her arms across her chest. “What trash is Miranda spewing now? Will she ever leave me alone?”
Rylan’s shoulders shook as he fought to contain his laugh. Clearly amused, he stared out at the colliding waves to allow them space.
“You know she’s a longtime family friend, babe. Her parents and mine are tight. Miranda said Tory told her that Allison saw Santiago and you real close at The Crab Shanty a bunch of times last week. Then I heard you were at The Lavender House for some fancy dinner tonight. That’s what you wore there, isn’t it? I mean, you look gorgeous and everything, but you never dress up for me.”
“I work at the Shanty. You know I did some stuff for the hotel. What’s your point?” Olivia huffed.
Drake’s face fell. “The point? You have a boyfriend. Why didn’t you invite me?”
“Invite? Boy….” She shut her lips and dropped her arms to her sides.
Rylan piped in. “Tonight’s event was a way to say goodbye to our guests until we see them again next summer. Many are repeat customers and we like to reward that loyalty.”
Olivia waited a few seconds to hear more of an explanation as to why she had to there but when she didn’t, she added in, “The part of thanking the summer employees and interns was a last-minute idea.” Hers in fact. “There wasn’t time for a plus one.”
Drake nodded. “Great. So your little gig with Santiago is done, right? I can go to school and not worry about him trying to steal you away?”
Rylan coughed. “Man, I need another beer. Later.” He got up and hurried off.
The time had come. It was after midnight and she had to get up early for the market before doing her closing shift.
“Can you walk me to my car? We need to talk.” Olivia took hold of Drake’s hand and began to walk across the sand. His warm fingers felt familiar and safe. Like old times.
They passed a group of Drake’s closest friends piercing marshmallows onto sticks before extending them above the campfire by the dunes. Their companions, seated on large driftwood pieces arranged in a cozy circle, grasped graham crackers and chocolate bars in foil. Olivia had chatted with them earlier, catching up on news and gossip.
“I got a feeling whatever you’re going me tell I’m not gonna like.” Drake made a wide berth around Marty, his best friend. Stretched across a beach chair, Marty strummed an acoustic guitar, desperately trying to impress the blonde who stood conversing with some girls sipping trendy bottled drinks. Shadows from Tiki lights danced across their backs.
Too busy watching everyone, Drake had to hurry to keep up with her. A few feet away his flip-flops smacked down against the wooden steps.
“Did you have a good time?” Drake’s sun-bleached blond curls bounced as he took charge and headed up the walkway first. Animated voices from below faded the higher they climbed.
“Yeah,” she answered softly. Every Friday this summer he threw get-togethers. And every time she left, he escorted her, asking similar questions.
He slowed a bit in their routine to let her reach him. When she did, he grinned. “I tried to get you alone most of the night. You’re impossible, Livia.” They continued up.
“You can text me.” Teasing her bottom lip, she still enjoyed how he said her nickname in that sweet manner. Rylan called her “Livy” like everyone else did.
Begin again, she reminded herself.
As if catching the flash of an inner conflict in her eyes, Drake tightened his hold as they trotted along the winding pathway. “You rarely reply to my texts and never pick up when I call. You know that.”
Again, her features mirrored the same emotion which had slipped into his tone. Melancholy mixed with regret. The corner of her mouth twitched, but she bit back her words.
She’d known Drake had wanted more from her besides twenty minutes in his bed or some quickie wherever they ran into one another. He asked her for normal dates. Concerts. Dinners. Together time. But she couldn’t give him that. She had her reasons. Would he find the real Olivia as easy to love? The weight of the past and its secrets had taken a toll on her. Trust didn’t come easy. And she hardly ever dropped her walls. For anyone.
Soon they reached the top with stone steps surrounded by lush, green fauna. Low lights from inside his parents’ contemporary home bathed the area in a soft glow.
“Working tomorrow?” he inquired.
“I’m the assistant manager now. I open during the summer.”
He nodded. “That’s some promotion, babe. And you have to close too? No wonder I never see you.”
She shrugged his remark off. He’d spent vacation tagging along with his mother while she showed various properties to potential customers. Many afternoons Olivia received notifications of uploaded pictures or videos of him surfing posted on his social media accounts. Guess he didn’t have to deal with any time clock devices in order to get paid.
That free time had paid off. The tight white tee he wore outlined his six-pack abs with his every step. Even his butt appeared more defined in his shorts. They passed the outdoor patio and the balcony to his darkened bedroom. Memories surfaced of him bare-chested, sucking on her neck, while they made love in that room.
Drake halted abruptly. She knocked against his side. Steadying her, he grinned. “If you wanna get close Livy, all you have to do is ask.” He ran his index finger along her jaw up to her ear lobe. Her favorite spot. That tremor in response didn’t happen. It hadn’t in months.
There were occasions she craved his touch. Those good times made her smile.
“I sometimes forget how beautiful you are.” His focus dropped to her red painted lips.
Suddenly self-conscious, she frowned. Drake liked being sappy.
Chuckling, he drew his face to hers and closed the distance between them. “Why don’t you stay the night, Livy? It’s been so long.”
His warm breath was gentle as a caress against her cheek. That’s how things began between them. All she needed to do was reach over and stroke his chest. He’d grab her hand, rush them inside, by the time they made it upstairs he’d be hard and her panties wet. They would be done in fifteen- or twenty-minutes tops. The craving for contact would be temporarily sated. As usual.
Instead, she stepped away from the temptation.
The problem was she wanted more now. Touch. Need. Connection on a physical and a cerebral level.
She also needed to be honest. With him. With herself.
They reached the top. To the left was the circular driveway usually filled with the family’s cars, Olivia’s on the end. None of his other friends ever parked there. Beyond the open gate, parked vehicles lined both sides of the street. He pulled her towards the house, towards their private spot by the garden shed. The corner provided a dark spot, perfect for quickies.
No more stalling. Go.
But he was the first to burst. “Damnit, Livia, I miss you! Us. I hardly see you. You don’t knock on my bedroom window at night anymore.” He pushed her against the siding. When he wedged himself between her legs and grasped her hips forward to feel his arousal.
This was what they did. Work each other up. Get him off. Satisfy her.
Her hands, raised to press onto his chest in a stop motion, turned momentarily paralyzed as he leaned in, suckling her neck while his fingers caressed her ass.
“Oh, babe,” he huskily said. “Stay tonight. I’m leaving for school on Sunday.” He lathered her skin with his tongue and ground against her.
They had a complicated history. She saved him in kindergarten by punching a girl in the face. The other girl wouldn’t leave him alone and made him cry. Olivia declared herself his ‘guardian’ after that. Ever since, Drake had held a special place in her heart.
Olivia’s hold on
her willpower would not crumble. Not tonight.
The truth was she loved both guys. Her body had been satisfied by Drake, but her soul craved Rylan, even if he didn’t feel the same way. That was a chance she was willing to take.
“Drake, stop.” Olivia yanked herself away, leaving him wide-eyed and almost panting. Inflamed blood vessels gave his eyes a weird look, yet she knew it was from a combination of allergies, smoking weed and beer.
He gave in and walked her to her car. “What did you want to talk about?”
The immediate space was quiet. Music and laughter drifted up from the beach while Drake waited for her response.
She inhaled and before she could let it out, Drake said, “You’re breaking up with me.”
“Yes.” Why bother stretching it out?
“Then again, Livia, we weren’t exactly dating, were we? We were the typical friends with benefits, right?” He laughed, the sound cruel and twisted, especially when he wrapped his hand around hers and stared at their conjoined fingers.
She nodded out of guilt and pity.
Drake swallowed, taking a handful of seconds to calm himself. “After losing your mom and Liz that way, I knew you were going through some shit…and then you acted weird. Secretive. I understood. When we started going out in high school, I told you I was always here for you.”
Olivia remembered that conversation. They’d kissed for the first time that night. She wasn’t accustomed to seeing such pain trapped in his eyes. The reason it existed was her fault.
He pulled away from her completely and stood there, eyes dejected but his shoulders straight, defiant. “You’re too strong for me, Livia. You never needed me.”
“I never let you in. It’s too ugly and painful inside. I let it go on for too long. I’m sorry.”
Drake gasped when she kissed him.
Finally, he met her gaze. “I’m always gonna love you, Olivia Masterson.”
“I love you, too, Drake. Just not the way you deserve. I hope you find the one who can.” She hugged him. Drake chuckled and rested his head on her shoulder. These last seconds between them had a finality to them.
He opened her car door and waited as she got in and slipped on the sandals left on the passenger seat. After he closed it, he leaned on the open window. “If you’re putting the past behind you, be careful, Livia. Sometimes the monsters come back.”
Unable to reply, she started the engine. That one word really got under her skin.
Drake moved back but remained with his hands in his short’s pockets, longing etched across his handsome features. He deserved better than someone consumed by vengeance.
When she pulled out, she waved and caught his nod before she hesitated by the gate. She’d left without speaking to Rylan. His family’s job offer could wait until tomorrow.
She drove off. If she took a paid position at The Lavender House, she would have to quit the restaurant. Staying with her family would be out of the question. Besides, Aunt Jessie held some type of grudge against the Santiago family. Olivia didn’t know the reasoning, nor did she want. Sometimes a problem with small town life was too many people got into one another’s business. Grudges could last forever.
Olivia could handle living somewhere new. A change of scenery.
What remained of her family had become disjointed these past few years. Breaking away from an uncle who always had to control those around him had been on the top of her list. He was the cause of her secret life and the problems living it brought.
Turning right, she pressed down on the gas and let her car fly down the empty asphalt. The taste of freedom mixed in with the salty air. Gripping the wheel tighter, Olivia raced to face the next part of this night’s tasks: putting the past to rest by seeking her revenge.
Rylan
I’ve addressed a banquet hall filled with people, complete strangers, and yet I can’t say what I really want to say Livy. She’s my best friend. My confidant. I believe we trust each other or maybe that’s one sided. Still, I want more.
So much more. I want it all.
What did I manage to tell her? That I needed to talk to her. About future employment opportunities. What the hell’s wrong with you, Ry?
The party blows after she leaves. I gave it fifteen minutes to improve and all I got was hassled. By girls. The same girls who have thrown themselves at me every time I run into them. My wolf howled until I yelled at him to quiet the hell down.
These girls in Lavender Cove have never held my interest. They never have.
My heart was accounted for the moment a ten-year-old girl with long braids wearing shorts and a Totoro tee took my hand. She entered my grandfather’s mausoleum first. I was petrified to go in. With one yank, I was forced to follow. The interment space wasn’t as scary as I had originally thought. Obviously, I survived the experience. Besides, I’d been taught when our kind passed, we became one with the earth. All that building meant was a place for us to pay our respects to our ancestors. And hold special meetings when needed.
When that girl told me to talk to him, I did.
I told him I remembered the days I spent with him at the hotel as a little kid. The way I thought he was the coolest old person I’d ever seen. Then my dad had an argument with him—his own father—and the next thing I knew, we’re moving. To Washington. So far away.
I also told him I loved him, and it wasn’t his time to die. My wolf knew he had been murdered. By a hunter. I vowed to find out who and rip out his throat.
The girl waited for me outside the crypt. She sat on the steps and blew bubbles. That seemed like a strange thing to do. I said that out loud and she laughed. “The dead like to be entertained too, silly. See that bubble?” She pointed to the largest one. We watched it float away before it slowed down by a freshly dug grave filled with the prettiest wildflowers I’d ever seen.
“See? My mom has always loved bubbles. I do it for her.”
When she walked away, I couldn’t understand why she left me.
Days later, I realized she didn’t like to cry in front of anyone.
I was the same way.
I prepared by making sure I always packed tissues somewhere on me. In the pocket of my shorts or whatever shirt I wore. Whenever I saw her inside that cemetery, I handed her one and looked away. Weeks later, she held onto the hand that offered the tissue. That became our special together time.
The first time I visited grandpa alone, I revealed a secret: I loved someone. A girl named Olivia Masterson.
The tradition has been carried on even now that I’ve grown up. Frequently, I stop by Drake’s stupid parties to see if she’s there. I’m not a moron. They have a history too. Thank God this is the last get together for the summer. Finally, after Gracie licked her lips at me for the third damn time, I got up and walked away. She tried to follow but was too drunk to move. She dropped face down onto the sand. My wolf found that hysterical and he told me I could eat her. Fresh drunk white girl didn’t sound appetizing. Someone helped her, Marty. It wasn’t me. I was already halfway up the boardwalk steps when my sandals came to a screeching halt.
First, I smelled it. Pheromones.
And then her scent swarmed my senses. A guy moaned.
Livy and Drake were in the parking lot of his parent’s home doing it?
I didn’t own her. I meant, I had no claim on her, despite how many times my wolf mournfully carried on like he’d lost a member of his pack. Wasn’t she breaking up with that guy? Was that the way it gets done today?
The truth settled in. I was stuck here for the time being. If I went back down the steps, I’d have to deal with Gracie again.
If I continued up, I would catch the woman I loved getting it on with the guy who was her boyfriend, but he never really was. In the true sense of the word. Real. I swear I had only one beer. Not that alcohol affected me.
I dropped to the step and immediately raised my palm to the closest solar light. I drew some of its power out until it dimmed and went out. Good. I wasn’t visible
in my hiding spot. Our wolves were not magical creatures, but we did rely on magic to be able to dress ourselves after a shift, to communicate telepathically with others within our pack, and especially if we located our true mate. Each pack had their own witch who created specialized spells for them.
This wasn’t the first time I’ve overheard ‘private time’ between people. When one was a shifter, we adjusted to the enhanced speed and power. We learned how and when to use our stronger hearing and sight. And we did our best to blend in.
All they did was talk. Then she’d broken things off. It took a lot of my control when I danced with Livy not to blurt out my true feelings and introduce her to my wolf.
Through five songs—two fast and three slow—I considered myself fortunate to have felt her against me, I heard her breathe, and I inhaled her essence.
The idea of revealing my true nature to Olivia concerned me. After her honest admission about killing monsters, I wondered what she really meant. The murder of her mother and cousin had been covered up, but my pack knew some type of beast had killed them. Maybe Olivia’s words reflected her hatred for that creature.
Some humans considered shifters monsters too.
Spots of gray fur erupted across my arms and legs. Wolf wanted out. I could deal with a break. After I cloaked myself with a spell, I rose, and released him. My clothes immediately minimized and were swept into the intricate moon tattoo on my left forearm. A wave of agony momentarily impaired me while bones reduced, lengthened, changed shape. My snout elongated. Teeth changed shape. Hands morphed into paws.
Seconds later, I was no longer a man but an animal. I bounded up the stairs, all four legs moving gracefully, and raced across the lot to the empty road.
I didn’t need to turn and look back. Their voices told me what I needed to know.
Olivia and Drake were no longer a couple. She was free.
Together, my wolf and I howled.
Falling for Shifters: A Limited Edition Autumn Shifters Collection Page 118