Dangerous In Love

by Alexa Davis

  “Because you look like you need a kiss,” I told her instead with a smirk. “Why else?”

  She pressed one hand onto my chest to keep a distance between us. “I don’t need a kiss from you or anyone else, thank you very much,” she replied firmly. “And, I don’t really appreciate the suggestion that I might.”

  I shrugged, acting like it didn’t bother me. “If that’s what you think, that’s fine.”

  I moved towards the door and waited for Lark to come out from the bedroom. It was awkward for a few moments, but soon he was there and he could instantly tell from mine our body language that it hadn’t gone well.

  “You struck out, huh?” he asked me quietly as we made the journey across the hallway. “Shame. I thought I sensed some chemistry between you two today.”

  That bucked me up. If Lark could see it, then there had to be something between me and Olivia. He wasn’t very observant when it came to things like that. She was resisting it, probably for all the sensible reasons, such as the fact that we had to see each other every day and I was her patient. But if there was something between us, then she would succumb to it eventually. If I continued to be my charming self, then it wouldn’t be long.

  “I didn’t strike out,” I told Lark warmly. “I’m playing the long game. You’ll see.”

  “Hmm, it sounds like you’re being too optimistic, but we’ll see.” Lark paused thoughtfully for a moment. “But her kid is cool. I actually like Meghan, she’s sweet.”

  “Yeah, me, too. A lot of fun, you know, for a three year old.”

  “Well, that’s good.” Lark shrugged and smiled at me. “In case you’re right and things do work out between you and her mom.”

  “I don’t know about ‘work out,’ but I am right. You’ll see soon enough.”

  I felt certain that I was right.

  Chapter Ten

  Olivia

  Early Saturday Morning

  I tossed and turned in my bed, managing to tangle myself up in the sheets as I did. I was so tired when I got into bed, I thought I’d drift off right away, but ever since my head hit the pillow, I’d only been able to think of one thing.

  Zack. And that kiss. Well, actually both kisses.

  I didn’t like to admit it, but his lips against mine felt wonderful. He awoke a desire in me that had lain dormant, that I didn’t think would come back to me again for a very long time. After the way that Meghan’s father behaved, I didn’t think I would ever like anyone again…

  I hated Zack, but there was something about him that made my body react. It was as if my deep down, powerful subconscious instincts didn’t care about his dickhead personality. It only cared about his hot body. I wanted him, despite the fact that I didn’t actually like him, which was something that I’d never felt before. It was driving me crazy. I had a deep and powerful itch inside of me, and it really needed to be scratched.

  How dare he get under my skin like that! What gave him the right to make me think about him in such a way?

  It wasn’t fair. He could have easily just left me alone and things could’ve remained at the awkward stand-offish relationship that we had before. That sucked, but this was so much worse. This left me with absolutely no power, and I didn’t like that at all. I didn’t like the ball being firmly in his court. It made me vulnerable, and damn it, I did not move to New York City to be vulnerable again. No way!

  I jumped out of bed, giving up on the idea of sleep, and I padded through the apartment, grabbing the monitor as I walked. I knew that she was older now and that we lived in a much smaller place, so if Meghan woke up I would like hear her without the device, but I spent a fortune on it when she was born. I ensured I got one with a very long distance range because at the time I was sure that I needed it, and damn it, I was going to get my money worth from it.

  I carried it with me into the kitchen and set it down on the counter while I poured myself an ice cold glass of water. I wanted to calm myself down, to stop myself from doing something stupid, but it didn’t do anything. I was riled up, my body was absolutely on fire, and it made me furious. I sucked back the cool liquid like there was no tomorrow, but still nothing within me changed. It was as if Zack had shifted something completely and there was no turning back.

  As I glanced at the clock and saw the irritating time of 1:26 in the morning, the unfairness grabbed hold of me. Why should I be struggling to sleep while he lay probably soundlessly asleep just across the hall?

  I wanted to wake him, to yell at him, to ensure he couldn’t get any rest just like I couldn’t. I needed him to know how fucking pissed off I was that he had taken it upon himself to put his hands on me without me asking for it, without me even wanting it…

  Okay, so maybe I wanted it but that was beside the point. He didn’t know that, did he?

  As I thought about him in that reptile house, claiming me with his mouth, I bit down on my bottom lip while my core buzzed with excitement. My whole body hummed with desire, and I knew there was only one thing that could give me the release that I so desperately needed, but that didn’t mean anything. It was just a fantasy…wasn’t it?

  I hook my head, trying to throw the idea out of my brain, but it wasn’t going anywhere. The less I tried to think about Zack, the clearer the image of him became in my mind and the more I wanted to get my hands on that damn picture.

  Without thinking any more about it, I grabbed hold of the monitor and the apartment keys, and I stalked across the hall to give him what for. Zack was probably very happy in the knowledge that he had me exactly where he wanted me, and I wanted to let him know that he didn’t. I wasn’t going to lie back and let him silence me.

  Actually, I wasn’t really sure what I was doing. I just knew that I needed to see him.

  I hammered so loudly on his door that I probably woke up the whole building, but by that point I truly didn’t care. I’d made my decision, and I wouldn’t leave until I woke at least him up.

  Finally, the door swung open and his sleepy looking face greeted me. With his ruffled hair and his eyes half closed, my heart dipped and lifted all at once. I didn’t know how to feel, which was only made worse when he spoke to me.

  “Olivia? What are you doing here?”

  “I… I don’t know,” I admitted. “I…” All the endless yelling that I had in my mind faded to one side as my eyes trailed down his half-naked body. Did he have to sleep in just his underwear? Was he really that determined to send me insane? “I have an itch,” I heard my mouth speaking without me really considering my words. “Can you scratch it?”

  His eyes went wide for a moment before he regained himself. He grinned brightly, all of sudden looking much more awake, and took my hand in his. As he led me into his bedroom, he kept his eyes fixed on mine the entire time, and it felt like he was seeing deep into my soul. For the first time in a very long time, I didn’t mind that sensation. I was pretty sure that was because I didn’t even like this man. I was just there to use him physically.

  Okay, so I hadn’t exactly told him off, but I was here to use his body. That was just as good, wasn’t it?

  Oh fuck it, I needed to stop thinking. I needed to switch my brain off and to listen to my body for once.

  I placed the monitor down on the bedside table, finally thanking my past self for having the sense to get one with such a long range, and grabbed onto Zack’s hips. As my skin touched his, I spotted a look of shock cross his face again. Maybe he thought this was part of a game and that I wasn’t actually about to go through with it. To prove that I was, I yanked him towards me and brought myself onto my tiptoes, pulling him in for a kiss. This time, it was much more passionate, and we could both tell that it was leading somewhere exciting.

  I didn’t even care that it wasn’t wise – that hardly mattered. There were so many reasons why this shouldn’t be happening, and only one reason why it should. But the fact that I wanted it to was powerful enough to overshadow any other reasoning.

  Zack grabbed at the oversized t
ee shirt I slept in and pulled it up over my head, leaving me standing in front of him in only my lace panties. It was dark, so he couldn’t see me too well, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t overly fond of my post-baby body, but since I didn’t even like Zack, it hardly mattered what he thought of me. We were only here together for a physical release.

  I ran my fingers lightly along the waistband of his underwear, which caused him to shiver lightly. I knew then that I was turning him on. It gave me a confidence boost that I didn’t even realize that I needed. As I dipped my hand into his underwear and felt his thick, throbbing erection, I actually had to gulp to keep myself from crying out with glee. Touching him for real was even better than the idea of him in my mind – he was bigger, pulsing, exciting.

  “Oh God,” Zack groaned while tossing his head backwards. “Olivia, you have no idea how good that feels.”

  I wrapped my fingers tightly around him and started to move at a slow pace, picking up as I saw how much it thrilled him. Watching the man who’d tortured me over the last few days turn into a shuddering mess felt a whole lot better than yelling at him could’ve done. I enjoyed having him as putty in my hands.

  But then Zack tugged my hand out of his underwear and slammed me back against the wall. The cold surface shocked me, but it did nothing to dull the heat radiating throughout my body. The fire had been fully lit now, and it seemed that nothing was going to put it out.

  “You have been driving my crazy for days,” Zack murmured against my neck as he traced his fingers tantalizingly up and down my thighs. “I never thought I’d end up having you here.”

  I was animalistic and wild. I didn’t need to have any kind of serious conversation about this. I just wanted to act, so I dug my nails into his sides and pulled him closer to me. I rolled my hips into him, trying to show Zack that the storm was brewing inside of me and if he wasn’t careful, it would become a tornado.

  Luckily for me, Zack seemed to get the hint and moved his hand to where I was desperately gagging for him. He slid my panties to one side and ran one of his fingers down my hot, wet slit.

  Until that very moment, I hadn’t noticed just how rough and calloused his fingers were. It had to be from his time in the Forces, and was actually surprisingly sexy. It made my heart beat faster, the sizzle in my stomach explode, and my knees grow so weak it was challenging for me to remain upright. If things didn’t move on soon, I wasn’t sure how much longer I’d be able to keep standing.

  “I need you,” I hissed at him. “Oh God, Zack.”

  He nudged my knees further apart, and he pushed my underwear further away from me. I felt his length tantalizingly teasing my entrance, as if begging to be let inside. I tried to press against him, to give him that permission, but he was determined to tease me for a moment first.

  He pressed his forehead up against mine and stared into my eyes with something that looked a deeper than lust. I wasn’t sure how to take that, so I pushed harder and soon, he was in me.

  “Oh fuck,” I groaned as he filled me up amazingly. This was exactly what I needed, fuck knows how I’d managed to survive so long without it. It felt so fucking good. I’d forgotten that it could be so amazing. “Oh, Zack.”

  As his thrusts intensified, I lost myself completely to the sensations. Nothing else mattered, the whole world shrunk down to just me and him. It was fucking phenomenal, and I never wanted it to end…

  Chapter Eleven

  Zack

  Saturday

  I stretched my arms across the bed even before I opened my eyes. I needed my body to feel awake before I could even begin to bring my mind back into the life of the living. This was very different for me, these lazy mornings where I could get up at whatever time I wanted, and I found myself still getting used to them. Everything used to be so regimented, so controlled…but back in those days, I still had a purpose.

  Here and now, I was still trying to figure out what the hell I was doing.

  As my hand hit the pillow next to me, I half expected it to bang into the warm body of the beautiful young lady who had shocked me in the middle of the night by turning up for a very random, very passionate screw. All day long, she had acted like she hated me, then just as I was drifting off to sleep, she hammered on the door and demanded that we had sex. It was hot as fuck, and just proved my theory right – that she did actually feel something when I had kissed her. I knew it!

  Of course, she wasn’t going to be lying in bed next to me. I knew that since she left straight away afterwards, clutching onto her baby monitor as if it was her life line. But at some point she must have infiltrated my dreams because I had this vision of her remaining by my side all night long.

  But this way was better. It made everything far less complicated if everyone knew where they stood.

  My phone bleeped, and for a heart-stopping moment, I allowed myself to believe that it was Olivia. I grabbed onto it like an excitable schoolboy with a crush, but was sent flying into an abyss of disappointment when I noticed the word “Dad” on the screen.

  “Hi Son, I’m coming over today so we can discuss this charity of yours more. See you about right thirty-ish.”

  Eight thirty-ish meant eight thirty on the dot. My father might not have been in the military for a very long time, but he still clung onto the discipline like it was the only thing keeping him alive. His hair remained in a buzz cut, he loved everything to be neat and organized, and he was never, ever late.

  “Damn it,” I muttered, forcing myself up quicker. I liked neatness, too, but things in my apartment had grown a little sloppy recently, the same way it had with my appearance. I needed to straighten things up if I didn’t want to spend all day being lectured. Dad and I butted heads at the best of times, I didn’t want to make things worse.

  I straightened out the bed and organized my things a little better in the bedroom, despite the fact that it was unlikely my father would come into this room, then I made my way into the living room, which would take some more work. I glanced everywhere, trying to decide what I needed to do first, when suddenly, I spotted something that seemed out of place. A piece of paper that looked like it had been stuffed under my door in a hurry.

  “What the...” I walked purposely, almost forgetting the pain in my leg for a moment, and grabbed the paper. The swirly writing I could see on it suggested that it had been written by a woman...and since there was only one woman on my mind at the moment, that filled me with excitement.

  “Zack, do not mention last night again. Ever. Olivia.”

  Her writing seemed pissed off and stressed, but it only made me smile. I certainly didn’t want to stick to this rule. I wanted to talk about it all the damn time. Last night was amazing. It made me feel rejuvenated again. Yes, we both knew where we stood and it wasn’t ever going to become anything serious, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t have a repeat performance, or three, did it?

  Anyway, now was not the time to think about it. I folded the paper back up and shoved it in the nearest drawer that I could find. For now, I had to concentrate on getting this place tidied up, then I needed to deal with a fun day with my father. Oh joy.

  ***

  As I heard the rapping on my front door, I glanced down at my outfit. I had actually chosen to pull on nice pants, and to wear one of my smarter tee shirts. There was nothing cruel about my dad, but I didn’t like the idea of disappointing him. And since right now I was a major disappointment to myself, I didn’t want to consider what he might think of me.

  “Coming,” I answer rapidly as soon as I decided that I would do. I did one last sweep of the place, noticing the time as I went – eight thirty, of course – and I swung open the door open to greet him. “Hey, Dad...”

  However, I couldn’t really concentrate on him because there was another sight that had me captivated: a flash of red hair followed by a young little girl exiting the apartment in front of me. My heart skipped a beat and a coat hanger seemed to slide between my lips as the brightest smile ever plastered across
my face. The thought of Olivia’s body crashing against mine as we made hot, passionate love sent tingles racing right through me.

  Olivia seemed to sense my eyes upon her because her eyes snapped towards mine like magnets. A cheeky smile played on my lips as I lifted my hand into a wave, but she didn’t return the happy look at all. Her lips twisted downwards into a frown. Meghan, however, waved and giggled enthusiastically at the mere sight of me. At least someone was glad to see me.

  “Who was that?” Dad asked as they turned towards the stairs.

  “New neighbor,” I commented casually. “They moved in the other day.”

  “Hmm.” Dad looked like he didn’t quite believe that was it, which was fair since it was probably written all over my face. In an effort to distract him, I led him inside and I flicked the kettle on to make hot drinks while we spoke. “I’m glad we’re finally going to get to talk about this properly,” he remarked as he took his spot at the dining table. “It’s about time.”

  I loved the way he acted as if this was a prearranged meeting rather than something he forced upon me. There was no point in bringing that up because now that he was here, we might as well have a productive day. Ever since I won that lottery money I wanted to do something useful with it. And to be fair, I needed my father’s organizational skills and knowledge. I wasn’t often one to admit to needing help, but this was one situation where it was utterly essential

  “I’m glad, too,” I admitted as I handed him his drink. “It’ll be good to have something useful to do again.”

  “How are things with the physical therapy?” Dad asked, reminding me again of Olivia. I didn’t think she could be quite so harsh on me again now that we’d overstepped certain boundaries. Maybe she would even have to be nice. That would be interesting.

  Maybe, just maybe, things could get a little spicy in her office. Now that I knew she had a sexual deviant locked away inside of her, I wanted to get to know that version of her so much better...