Retreat Again (The Retreat Series Book 2)

by Christina Benjamin

  Alex tensed. “Maybe we should leave.”

  That was the last thing Olivia wanted. But she took in the copse of gigantic trees surrounding them. It wasn’t safe to stay there during a lightning storm. She nodded and picked up her dress, suddenly feeling very exposed. She was almost naked, in the middle of the woods with a guy she barely knew.

  An insanely sexy guy, but still . . .

  Olivia’s cheeks flushed with shame. She’d been foolish and let herself get swept up by physical desire. This wasn’t the beginning of some romance. That sort of thing didn’t happen to her.

  They dressed quickly and gathered up their picnic as the rain poured down harder.

  “Ready?” Olivia asked, unable to meet Alex’s eyes.

  “Not quite,” he replied pulling Olivia to him and kissing her in the rain.

  Her embarrassment vanished in his arms. She wasn’t a fool. There was something between them. Or at least there could be.

  She was grinning and breathless when he released her.

  “To be continued,” he added taking her hand.

  Olivia laughed. “Promise?”

  “As long as we don’t get struck by lightning first,” Alex added as another flash lit up the woods.

  “Come on,” Olivia called pulling him along behind her as they ran toward the house.

  The storm built quickly and the wind made the rain feel like tiny needles ravaging their skin. They were only halfway back to the house when Gran’s old pickup truck came into view.

  “Oh, thank God!” Olivia cried racing toward it.

  Before Olivia was born, her grandfather had towed it out of the lake and fixed it up as a gift for her grandmother. But now it sat on the property, ‘out to pasture’ as Gran liked to say. All Olivia knew, was at that moment, she’d never been so happy to see the old truck.

  Alex followed her into the warm cab, creaking the rusty door shut behind them. It was dry and silent inside the truck, the only sounds their ragged breathing and the the rain pinging against the battered metal of the old truck.

  Olivia broke out in a fit of laughter. “Why is it I keep finding myself soaking wet and trapped inside vehicles with you?”

  “I think it’s sort of our thing now,” Alex admitted, a playful grin dancing across his handsome face.

  He reached over to smooth back a piece of Olivia’s rain-soaked hair and she instantly felt her desire for him pooling again. He moved closer and the old bench seat groaned. “I think I liked the other car we were trapped in better.”

  Olivia laughed. “I don’t know. This one’s pretty special.” She ignored the groaning springs and settled onto Alex’s lap.

  “It’s starting to grow on me,” he murmured nuzzling her neck.

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah, but I seem to remember you were wearing less the last time we were trapped in the rain. Maybe if you take your clothes off . . .”

  “Oh, I see,” Olivia said playfully pulling away from Alex’s kiss. “This is your thing! The old, take-your-clothes-off-to-stay-warm trick.”

  He grinned. “Works every time.” Then he pulled her closer, trailing kisses down her neck.

  “Does it?” Olivia asked breathlessly. She was trying to play it cool but her body was already racing for the finish line.

  “Yep. You know the drill. Clothes off. We need to use our body heat to stay warm.” Alex separated each word with a kiss as he pulled the thin straps of her dress down her shoulders.

  “I don’t think you need this whole routine,” Olivia purred.

  “No?”

  “I think you were doing just fine getting me out of my clothes earlier.”

  “Was I?”

  “I think we should pick up where we left off,” Olivia whispered as she pulled Alex’s soaked shirt over his head.

  That must have been the sign he was waiting for, because the next few seconds were a tangle of limbs until they were fully undressed. Alex’s warm body pressed against Olivia’s as she lay across the bench seat. Desire spiraling at her core as Alex ran a hand slowly up her thigh until he reached his target. She was slick and throbbing when he slipped two fingers inside her. A gasp escaped Olivia as Alex pressed his length against her entrance.

  “I don’t have a condom,” he whispered.

  “I don’t care,” Olivia practically moaned. Alex was pressing the broad head of his cock against her while teasing her with his thumb.

  “Are you sure?”

  Olivia didn’t care about anything but being ravaged by him. “Do I have anything to be worried about?” she whispered.

  He shook his head and teased her with the tip of his cock. “Do I?”

  “Only falling in love with me,” she said coyly as she rocked her hips to meet him.

  “It’s too late for that,” he growled and plunged deep inside of her.

  Olivia cried out the first time Alex sheathed himself fully inside her. He was gigantic, filling her more than she thought she could take. But he was gentle with her until her body gave in to his size. They moved together and soon she was coiling around him, every nerve narrowing as she hurtled toward release. Her muscles clenched around him and Alex groaned her name. “Olivia!”

  God she loved the sound of that.

  She tightened around him again, grabbing his fine ass. He swore, thrusting harder and deeper until Olivia couldn’t hold on any longer. Her body spiraled into ecstasy as Alex cried out her name, spilling himself into her until they were both trembling with pleasure.

  Chapter 28

  Alex

  Alex awoke in the warm cramped interior of the old pickup truck. He was still cradling Olivia to his chest, her hair in damp waves across him. It was like a dream. He could stay like this forever, listening to the soft fall of the fading rain, naked, with this angel in his arms.

  It wasn’t just that Olivia was gorgeous and brilliant, but the sex . . . it was the best sex Alex had ever had. Even in the tight quarters of the truck cab—they just fit together perfectly. And Olivia had surprised him. She’d known what she wanted and wasn’t too timid to ask for it.

  Christ, he was already getting hard again just thinking about the way she grabbed him.

  Alex loosed a calming breath and Olivia began to stir. He lightly kissed her temple and brushed her hair back as she gazed up at him.

  “Hi,” he murmured not even trying to hide his grin.

  “Hey.” Olivia’s cheeks flushed, but she smiled back.

  “You were right, ya know?”

  “About what?”

  “This truck is special.”

  She laughed.

  “I’m serious,” Alex murmured, pulling her on top of him. “That was the best sex I’ve ever had.”

  “Do you say that to all your rainstorm conquests?” she smirked.

  Alex tucked back a curtain of her dark hair. “Just you,” he said before kissing her deeply. He couldn’t get enough.

  Olivia sighed when she came up for air. “Well, I think you might be right about the truck.”

  “It was good for you, too?” Alex asked, his cock already twitching against Olivia, ready for more.

  “I think it’s been good for a lot of people.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

  “You really don’t know?”

  “Know what?”

  “I thought you knew so much about my family that you would have recognized this truck.”

  “Oh my God, this isn’t . . . it is, isn’t it?”

  “Yep, it’s the truck my grandmother drove into the lake—”

  “The one Thomas Crain rescued her from. Holy shit! Olivia, we just had sex in a national treasure. Do you know how many album covers this truck has been on? I mean . . .”

  Alex was sitting up now, trying to wrap his mind around where he was. He’d grown up on the music that was recorded at Carter Ridge. And this truck was basically the symbol of the Crain’s music institution. It was a badge of honor to be in it, let alone . . . “Wow, I w
onder how many rock legends have had sex right where we are?” Alex mused.

  Olivia didn’t seem to share Alex’s appreciation of music history. Her mood changed after he voiced the question. She started gathering her wet clothes from the floorboards.

  “Where are you going?”

  “Back to the house.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” she replied curtly.

  “Liv . . .” Alex reached for her arm. “Did I say something wrong? Talk to me. Please?”

  She ripped her arm away from him. “I’m not some sexual conquest you know? I’m not even involved in the family business. And currently my family is falling apart, so if you thought fucking me was going to get you somewhere, you’re going to be sorely disappointed.”

  Alex was stunned. “You don’t really think that, do you?”

  “Why not? It’s not like it hasn’t happened before.”

  “What?”

  “Never mind,” Olivia mumbled turning her back on him.

  “Liv, please. That’s not what I think of you. I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression, but the truth is I’m crazy about you.”

  She laughed. “You don’t even know me.”

  “True, but I want to. I want to know you, Liv. Not your family.”

  She remained silent, facing the rain-spattered window. Alex slid closer and slipped his arms around her waist, kissing her shoulder. “Let me in, Liv.”

  She sniffled but relaxed in his embrace.

  “At least tell me what I did wrong,” he pressed.

  “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

  Alex pulled her hair to the side and traced kisses up her neck. “Clearly I did. Tell me so I can fix it.”

  “Unless you can change who my family is, this isn’t something you can fix.”

  “I told you I’m interested in you, not your family.”

  “That’s not true. You’re obsessed with them, just like every one else. It’s not your fault. I get it, fame is magnetic.”

  “Olivia—”

  “It’s okay. It’s not like this is new to me. I’ve been used by people to get close to my family before.”

  “Liv, first of all, that’s not okay. No one should use you for any reason. And you know you’re more important than any of this, right?” Alex asked gesturing to the truck. “And I’m not using you or your family for fame. I’m honestly not into all of that. I’m just a huge music fan. Music was there for me when I had nothing else. It saved my life. So I can’t help but appreciate the fact that some pretty incredible music came from this place. It’s had an impact on me. Does that make sense?”

  Olivia nodded, but there was still hurt in her eyes. Alex couldn’t leave things like that. Not with her. Not if he wanted to stop taking two steps back after every step forward. Anger flared inside him at the thought of men using Olivia to gain access to her world. But it explained why she was so distrustful and cold. She thought he was just another person stalking her family’s fame.

  Sadly, nothing could be further from the truth. Alex was content to live quietly. He just wanted to have enough money to get by so he could focus on his art. He only hoped Olivia would give him a chance to prove that to her. He knew it was crazy to have such strong feelings for her so quickly. He told himself it was just the sex. But deep down he knew it was more. And if he wanted them to have any sort of chance at something more than mind blowing sex—which he wasn’t opposed to—he was going to have to tell her the truth and see if it sent her running.

  Alex sighed. “I get it, ya know? Being prejudged because of things that aren’t in your control. It sucks.”

  Olivia wouldn’t meet his gaze. “What would you know about it?”

  “I may not have had famous parents, but that didn’t stop everyone from giving me hell because of who mine were.”

  She finally looked at him with her steely blue gaze. “Who are your parents?”

  “Nobodies. Wasters. Junkies. My dad was an abusive alcoholic and my mom OD’d on heroin when I was thirteen.”

  Alex felt Olivia tense beside him.

  Here it comes, the pity—just like everyone else—right before they leave.

  “Oh,” she murmured.

  “I’ve been running my whole life to escape the world they brought me into, but it always has a way of sneaking back in. Once people found out I was from the street, the doors shut in my face. But now, because of a stupid article, I’m an inspiration and the upper crust thinks it’s a cool cliché to have my art in their homes. But they don’t really want to know what it was like. They don’t want to know the real me. I don’t think anyone really does . . . I know that’s my fault. I don’t let people in, but it’s just not easy. Not when everyone who you’ve trusted has turned their back on you.”

  Alex’s heart was pounding like he’d just run a marathon. It was always like that when he tried to talk about his feelings. He hated the anxiety and weakness that crawled back in so easily when he thought about his parents. But he was almost there. He just needed to get through the next part. He knew he’d only get one chance with a girl like Olivia.

  That is, if she’d even give him a chance.

  He took a steadying breath preparing to continue.

  “Alex, you don’t have to tell me any of this . . .”

  “I know, but I want you to know who I am. How can I expect you to trust me?”

  She nodded and waited for him to go on.

  “One day I made the mistake with my father. Even though he didn’t believe me, I tried to tell him about the colors I saw in music.”

  Alex remembered it perfectly. His thirteen-year-old self had been obsessed with Green Day. Their new song was on the radio and Alex had turned it up to max volume. His dad had banged on his door and screamed at him to keep it down. Against Alex’s better judgment he told his dad the song was too colorful to turn down. He knew how his father felt about Alex talking about synesthesia, but sometimes Alex couldn’t help it. He cranked the radio and started pointing out the colors while he played air guitar.

  “He wasn’t pleased?” Olivia asked.

  “No. He was drunk as usual and thought I was high so he beat the shit out of me and then he beat my mom just because that’s what he liked to do. After that he left to go get more booze. I felt like such a coward for letting it happen and not being able to protect my mom. And that wasn’t the first time. My father was nothing if not consistent. But I was just a kid. All I could do was crawl over to my mom after he left and hold her. She was shaking so badly. She said she just needed another fix. I begged her not to, but she screamed at me until I brought her stash over. She kept everything hidden in my old Pac-Man lunch box. I watched her take the hit that killed her. I didn’t know she was dead at first. She always looked all still and dazed like that after she shot up. But an hour later her lips were blue and she wasn’t breathing.”

  A barely audible gasp escaped from Olivia.

  “I tried to help her, but I couldn’t. She was gone. I called 911 anyway and sat across the street to make sure they showed up just in case there was some chance they could help her. But when I watched them bring her out in a body bag . . . That’s when I knew I had to leave. My dad would’ve beaten me to death. He’d beaten me unconscious for nothing, so this . . . I knew I could never come back.”

  “Where did you go?”

  “Anywhere I could find food or shelter. It was the street for a while—abandoned cars or buildings. Skimming food and scamming tourists. I’m not proud of it, but I did what I needed to survive.”

  “How long did you live like that?”

  Alex looked down. “Long enough. It wasn’t all bad. I met some guys at a shelter. We got to talking and found out we had a lot in common. They were taggers—street artists, among other things. We got along pretty well and they let me join up.”

  “Join up? As in a gang?”

  Alex swallowed hard and nodded. “I never did anything I couldn’t live with. I never hurt anyone an
d I never dealt. After what I’d been through I could never do that. I don’t touch drugs or booze of any kind. I don’t trust myself to. I just did what I needed to get by, Liv. I wasn’t ready to give up on life. I always felt like there had to be something better waiting for me. And I had music and art to get me by until I found it.”

  He couldn’t bring himself to look at Olivia. She was probably eager to get the hell out of the truck and away from this suffocating conversation. She was most definitely regretting having sex with him—no matter how great it had been.

  But when she took both of his hands in hers, Alex was stunned to see tears in Olivia’s eyes. And they weren’t from pity. They were something different. Something that spoke of understanding and pain. That’s when he realized he had tears in his own eyes and Olivia wiped them away as she spoke.

  “I understand,” she whispered.

  “You do?”

  “Yes. We’re the same Alex. I’ve never met anyone who got it. What it’s like to grow up alone while you’re surrounded by others.”

  That simple sentence sent him reeling. Olivia understood him. He’d admitted who he was—not the shiny version the art studio’s PR person cooked up—but the real him. And she wasn’t running away. A lump rose in his throat and the only thing Alex wanted to do more than cry with relief was kiss Olivia. So he did.

  Chapter 29

  Olivia

  “So . . . you-you’re not freaked out?” Alex asked Olivia after she’d untangled her lips from his.

  “No. Am I supposed to be?”

  “No, but I thought . . . I just didn’t think a girl like you would give me the time of day.”

  Olivia smiled. “And here I was thinking a guy like you would never give a girl like me a chance.”

  Alex kissed her again. This time she wound her hands around his neck and pulled him closer. They were still naked and the friction of his warm skin against hers stirred an ache within her. She wanted to give in to her lust, but their conversation was too important. Olivia pulled away breathless. Alex was panting but seemed to feel the gravity of their discussion as well.