“It’s okay, Olive. Everything will be okay, yeah, baby?”
She nodded even though she felt anything but fine. “I know.” Spearing her hands through his short dark hair, she pulled away, looked into his face, and felt a genuine smile form on her lips. It had only been a few days, but here she was feeling so many intense feelings for this male. He really was everything she had hoped for, and that wasn’t just because he had been the one she had turned to for her escape. He was everything that made a mate perfect, and he gave everything to her without thought. That including risking his life to help Holden and her.
“Thank you for everything.”
He cupped each side of her face, and that familiar spark of electricity slammed into her.
“You have nothing to thank me for.” He was so very wrong about that.
“But I do. Lor got us out of there, but if you weren’t there to help us escape, I know Holden and I wouldn’t have been able to get away.” Before he could respond she stood on her toes and kissed him on the cheek. The light scruff on his face from him not shaving for a day or two was abrading on her lips, but it sent a spiral of heat right to her core. He was masculine in every way, and this little five o’clock shading was only the tip of that manly exterior. Kissing him on the cheek was far from what she really wanted to do, but right now it was all she had to offer. His whole body stiffened, and when she pulled away and looked into his face she saw a hint of hidden lust and barely restrained need reflected right back at her. “So, thank you, Liam.” She would also be thanking the other men, because without them also this wouldn’t have been possible. She pulled away from him and made her way into the other room. Olive stopped right before she entered, her heart lodged in her throat as she stared at her brother. He even looked worse than when he was all drugged out, as hard as that was to imagine.
A look behind her showed Liam and the other two males talking softly. She focused back on Holden and moved to the edge of the bed. The sound of the IV machine seemed overly loud, and even though the lamp on the bedside table was on, the glow was muted. Holden still looked ten shades too close to death.
“Oh, Holden.” She desperately wanted him to open his eyes and to tell her everything would be okay now. He had apologized over and over again since all of this had happened, but none of that mattered anymore. The only thing she wanted to worry about was the here and now. Sitting on the edge of the bed and taking hold of his hand, she was grateful that Holden’s sheep was strong inside of him. She could feel it trying to heal them both from the inside out, but it would take time.
Olive didn’t know how long she sat at the edge of his bed, but it was only when her eyes started to become heavy, and she was having a hard time holding her head up, that she finally felt someone lightly touch her on the shoulder. But she didn’t need to look behind her to know it was Liam. The scent of him and his polar bear was strong and potent, and she wanted nothing more than to curl up beside him and sleep until everything became better and was more optimistic.
“Come on, Olive. It’s really late, and you’re going to make yourself sick if you don’t get some rest.” She let Liam help her off the bed and back into the other bedroom. There he pulled the comforter and sheets back, and walked over to the dresser to take out a long t-shirt. “You’ll be swimming in it, but I doubt you want to sleep in those clothes.” She looked down, saw the dirt and pieces of dried leaves stuck to her shirt, and slowly shook her head. Everything was hazy, and exhaustion was making her head hurt and her belly queasy. “We’ll get some clothes for you tomorrow, and for Holden, too.” He stood in front of her again, set the shirt on the mattress, and gently eased her to sit on the edge of the bed with his hands on her shoulders. “I’d offer to help you get undressed, but I don’t think that would go over very well.” Despite how tired she was she chuckled, and when she lifted her eyes to look at him she saw him smiling, too.
“I think I can probably handle it from here.”
He kept his smile, but nodded.
“I’ll take the couch, and if you need anything I’ll be right on the other side of the door.”
“Okay.” That lone word was soft. He leaned down, placed a kiss on the top of her head, and left her alone in the room. Once the door shut softly behind her she fell back on the bed and let her eyes finally close. That was the last thing she remembered before darkness took her away from reality.
Chapter Nine
The sound of a cupboard slamming shut was what initially woke Olive, but the smell of bacon and eggs and then her belly cramping painfully, were what really roused her. She pushed herself up in bed, looked around until her mind caught up with her body, and the memories of what had happened last night finally slammed back in place. The small clock on the wall by the door told her it was already one in the afternoon. Shit. She had slept the whole afternoon away. She scrambled off the bed and nearly ran to the door, needing to check on Holden, but as soon as she gripped the handle the door swung open and she nearly ran right into the hard, wide chest of Liam Dakota. Craning her neck back so she could look in his face, she was greeted with a lopsided grin.
“Heard you stumbling around in here.” She offered him a quick smile, but she found herself looking around his shoulder at the partially opened door that her brother was behind. “He actually woke up a little bit ago, but ordered me to not wake you because you needed your rest.” There was humor in his voice, and she could only imagine her brother ordering this polar bear shifter to do anything. For one thing, Liam was double the size of her brother, and that was saying something since Holden was big for their breed.
Her heart started to beat fast, and although she didn’t want to seem rude, she couldn’t help mumbling her thanks and all but rushing to Holden’s room. She heard Liam chuckle behind her and was thankful he hadn’t taken offense. When she reached the door she slowed and grabbed the handle, and then pushed it open. Holden was still in bed, but awake and staring at the ceiling. For several seconds she didn’t do anything but watch his chest rise and fall. It was like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders now that she was actually seeing Holden awake and on the mend.
“Are you going to come in or just watch me like some kind of overprotective Momma Bear?”
Olive let her smile spread across her face and had her arms wrapped around his shoulders and her face buried in his chest seconds later.
“I’m going to be an overprotective Momma Bear.”
Holden wrapped his arms around her, and for a long time all they did was hold each other. The scent of the infection she had smelled just last night had lessened, and for the first time she breathed out in relief. She wasn’t going to lose him after everything they had been through. When Olive finally pulled away it was to have Holden brush away the tears that had started to fall down her cheeks. “I am so happy to see you up. You have no idea how worried I was, Holden. I thought I had lost you when we had finally gotten free of Trent, or the drugs … or everything.” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Do you remember anything, of how we got here?”
“I don’t really remember much of anything after that guard got me out of the cell and took me to you. Everything was hazy and dreamlike.” She heard her brother swallow and saw his throat work from the act. “What about Trent? Surely he’ll come after us.” She opened her mouth to tell him about the explosion when there was a knock on the door. She looked over her shoulder right as Liam pushed it open. “Sorry, but you guys need to see this.” He picked up a remote that was on the dresser and pointed it at the TV that hung on the wall. The television clicked on, and after he found the channel he wanted she watched in horror at the scene playing right in front of her.
“The explosion that destroyed the multi-million dollar home owned by the entrepreneur Trent Sharpe has rocked the town of Kashton. There are no official reports in yet, but authorities say it may have been caused intentionally due to Mr. Sharpe’s affiliations. Officials are saying that there are no survivors, as they found the re
mains of more than thirty individuals inside and around the property. They also believe one of those bodies to be that of Mr. Sharpe, but there is no definitive confirmation as of yet.”
Liam shut the TV off and turned back around to face them. “I have Maverick looking into whether or not the leopard is dead. He has connections with some of the law enforcement in the surrounding areas, but we probably won’t know for a few days, at least not until they finish checking the remains.” Liam kept his green stare trained on her, and although this whole thing scared the shit out of her, Liam had everything under control, and she had never felt safer than knowing she was with this male.
“Holden, are you up to eating?” Liam addressed her brother, and she turned her attention back to him and saw how exhausted he suddenly looked.
“Not really. I think I’d like to try and get some more sleep.” She didn’t want to leave Holden’s side, but he needed all the rest he could get. Leaning down and kissing him on the forehead, she straightened and brushed a lock of blond hair from his forehead. “I’ll be fine, Olive.”
The self-hatred reflected in her brother’s eyes was tangible, and she wanted to tell him that blaming himself for everything that happened wouldn’t make anything better. What was done was done. There was no going back, and all she wanted to do was move forward. Once she and Liam were out of the room and the door was shut, she stood there and tried not to let her thoughts of everything that happened over the past twelve hours consume her.. Liam moved away from her, and she lifted her attention to him and saw he was behind the breakfast bar in the kitchen. His back was to her, but even through his t-shirt she saw the muscles that were hard and bunched right beneath the thin material. He looked over his shoulder at her, but there wasn’t any warmth behind those emerald eyes. He was thinking about what had been on the television.
Liam turned back around and said, “I know you have to be hungry.” Her stomach chose that moment to let out a growl, and she hear him chuckle softly. “It’s past breakfast, but I’m a sucker for pancakes and sausage links for lunch and dinner.” He turned around with a frying pan in one hand and gestured with his other to the small table. Olive just now noticed it was set with a carafe of orange juice, a plate of biscuits, butter and jelly, and an array of other breakfast items. The last time she had eaten was yesterday morning , but with the chaos of the escape and everything with Holden, food had been the last thing on her mind. Now that things had settled down she was starving.
She took an empty seat and scanned over the pancakes, bacon, and sausage, and thought to herself that there was enough food to feed an army. As if Liam read her mind, or maybe her thoughts had been easily projected on her face, he answered her.
“I tend to have a pretty healthy appetite.” He walked up to her and scooped out some of the scrambled eggs that were in the frying pan onto her plate, and then did the same to one of the other empty plates. Once he had the pan in the sink and was sitting on the seat across from her, silence stretched out between them. “Go on, eat up. I don’t want you wasting away.” He slowly looked down at her chest, and her face heated, not from embarrassment but from her increasing arousal inside of her. “I like that you’re not all skin and bones, but have curves that make me think…” He cleared his throat and shifted in his seat. Seconds ticked by, but when he lifted his eyes o hers once more he grinned, all straight white teeth. “Like I said, I have a very healthy appetite.” With a wink he started grabbing a hearty amount of food and placing it on her plate. She should have told him about portion control, that a female needed to watch her weight and all that, but she knew it wouldn’t have done any good. Besides, Olive had never watched what she had eaten. She was thick and rounded, but she had always loved the way she looked, and it seemed her mate did as well. A gush of wetness spilled from her at the thought of just how hearty this male could be if he was really hungry. He stopped what he was doing, but kept his eyes fixed on the table. There was no doubt he could smell her wetness, but he didn’t call her out on it. He inhaled deeply once more, let out a deep, very aroused growl, and then seemed to snap out of whatever trance he had been in. Once he was satisfied with what he placed in front of her, he started piling food on his plate and slathered it all in maple syrup. The sexual tension that had been bouncing between them since they had first met lessened enough to where things grew more at ease. Watching him eat shouldn’t have been arousing, but seeing a male that clearly took care of his body and worked out, feeding his animal appetite, had that damn desire that she thought she had reined in, coiling tighter and tighter inside of her. She was crazy, she had to be, and she quickly looked down at her food so she didn’t draw attention to herself. But by the low chuckle that came from Liam, and she felt his stare on her as if it were an actual touch, Olive knew he was very aware of right where her thoughts were.
She started eating and after a few minutes forced herself to relax. It wasn’t that she was uncomfortable with this male, but her emotions and the mating hormones were already running high, and the pull of being so close to her mate had Olive feeling unbalanced. She ate nearly half of the food he had put on her plate, and pushed it away once she was finished.
He had finished everything on his plate and had even gone back for seconds. He leaned back in his seat and kicked out one of his legs. He had one arm propped on the table and the other resting over the back of the chair. They sat in silence for a few more minutes, just Liam staring at her with that ever-present smirk, and her body refusing to stay cooled in his presence. He cleared his throat, but she watched as his smile grew. “I’m not making you feel uncomfortable, am I?” Yeah, he was, but she couldn’t really say it was a bad thing. Olive felt alive being with Liam. “Maybe later I can show you the pond. Candace and my dad are getting ready to close it down for winter, but it’s still running.”
“Pond?”
He lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “I figure you need some fresh air, and the scenery is pretty gorgeous.” He had heat behind his eyes, and her whole body tingled because of it. “Candace, my dad’s mate, brought down some of her clothes. Hopefully they fit, but I’ll take you into town to grab some things so you have your own things to wear. We can get some stuff for your brother, too.” Her heart clenched at the fact Liam included her brother in their plans. Even though Holden obviously couldn’t go anywhere right now, her mate was a considerate male. “That is, if you’re up to it.” She didn’t know how she felt being out in the open so soon after everything that happened, but she also couldn’t deny that if there was one male she felt most safe with, it was the one sitting right across from her.
“Okay. I’d really like that, Liam.”
He slowly nodded, but there was a lot more he was saying without really speaking any words.
“If you want you can go take a shower. I put the clothes on your bed.” He stood, grabbed his plate, and when she took hold of her dirty dishes and stood, he placed his hand right over hers, stopping her. She looked into his eyes, felt herself melting, and knew that if she wasn’t careful she could easily fall for this male hard. But Olive couldn’t deny that the thought of fully giving herself to Liam was the most pleasurable feeling she had felt in a very long time.
Chapter Ten
After Olive had taken a shower and put on the clothes that Liam had placed on her bed, she had felt like a new woman, well, as new as one could feel given the situation. Liam had taken her into town, and although she had felt on edge every step of the way, she couldn’t deny that every time he placed his hand on her lower back and guided her into each store, she felt a little safer. There was just something about him that calmed her, and after only knowing this male for a few days, and several times of actually trying to push him away, she was wishing that things didn’t have to end up the way they did. For one thing, she liked his company, his strange yet charming sense of humor, and the fact that at only twenty-four he was more mature than most males his age. He had old eyes, as if he had seen far too many things for his age. But despite h
ow safe she felt, until she knew for certain that Trent was dead she would always feel as if she stood on a ledge. Luke had come by to check on Holden again and was surprised and pleased that his recovery was going smoother than he had anticipated. The cougar shifting physician told them he’d stay with her brother, help him eat something so his stomach settled, and told them to get some fresh air. It was a nice offer, and one she had accepted, especially when Holden all but ordered her to leave.
Even when Holden became healed, and they could finally start their lives over once more, her brother’s drawbacks and the darkness that had claimed him at one time were still a powerful influence. Holden was a strong male, one of the strongest that she had ever met, but temptation was a nasty bitch, and even the strongest sometimes succumbed to it. They would just have to take this one day at a time, and she would be hoping for a better outcome than the one they had been dealt.
So now she and Liam walked on the small, almost intimate path through the forest surrounding his father’s house, and the silence that stretched between them was very comfortable. The sound of birds singing in the background and the smell of nature around them, could have had Olive picturing her life very differently, but reality was reality. She couldn’t help but wonder how she could have a stable life with Liam when her life was anything but. “Why don’t you tell me what you’re thinking?” They had been walking for the last five minutes, and this was the first time he had said anything. She looked over at him, but he had his focus on the path before them. The fact a muscle under his jaw ticked added to the scent of his anger told her that he knew what she was thinking. He couldn’t read minds obviously, but being his mate it was clear she really was shit had hiding her emotions. He stopped, which had her doing the same, and turned so he now faced her. “Go on, Olive, tell me what’s on your mind.” His voice was low, and he kept his tone bland and without the anger she knew was inside of him. He seemed to be the master of keeping a stoic, unaffected appearance.
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