by KD Jones
Oh shit!
Chapter 15
Olivia’s heart was pounding hard. He was here. She stood up but didn’t know where she was going to go to escape him. It was a small conference room. She slowly moved around the table trying to keep some distance between them.
“What are you doing here?” she asked. He looked a little angry, she was the one who should be angry.
“That’s what I’d like to know. You haven’t been accepting my calls.” He stalked her, moving closer and closer.
“I figured you were too busy with other women to care what I was doing.” Damn, she didn’t mean to say that.
He caught her arm, keeping her from moving farther away from him. “Amelia is just a friend.”
“A friend that comes to your suite late at night and can’t keep her hands off of you?”
“She had a fight with Nigel over him and Lydia setting us up. She came to apologize and to torture Nigel a little by staying away from him most of the night. If you had stayed around longer last night you would have found out all this. Nothing happened between Amelia and I, and never will.”
“Because she’s in love with Nigel?” she asked. His closeness had her trembling in response and his scent was surrounding her.
She shivered as his other hand came up and caressed her face. His face leaned closer until his lips hovered a little bit over hers. “No, because I’m in love with you.”
Olivia gasped as what he’d told her sunk in—he loved her. She wanted to ask him if he was serious but didn’t have a chance.
Phoenix took advantage of her mouth being open and kissed her. At the feel of his firm lips against hers she felt an electric current spread throughout her body. She knew she should push him away, but as his kiss deepened, her body responded. Her eyes closed of their own accord.
When his tongue stroked hers that electric current felt like lightning striking her with each stroke. He reached for her arms and wrapped them around his neck as he pressed the front of his body against hers. His hands started to explore her body, first her shoulders, then down to her waist. When he reached behind her and cupped her ass to give it a squeeze, her whole body lit up with pleasure.
Oh God, how she had missed his touch. She felt herself melt under his seductive invasion. She felt helpless but to sigh and surrender to his tongue’s exploration of her mouth. Her natural response was to move her lower half against his, which allowed her to feel his hard arousal throbbing against her, making her need for him grow.
Olivia wanted him with a need so great she couldn’t deny it. “Phoenix,” she managed to whisper as he released her mouth and began a fiery trail of kisses down her neck.
“I love you and want you more than anything, Olivia,” Phoenix admitted as his fingers began to pull at the T-shirt she was wearing.
She lifted her arms and allowed him to pull the material over and off her, tossing it to the side. Maybe she should have stopped him then, but his nimble fingers had already begun to undo the front clasp of her bra, freeing her flesh. His hands cupped her and she leaned back against the table as he took a hardened nipple into his mouth.
“Oh God,” was all she could say as he suckled her flesh. The male worked magic with his mouth and hands. He was so skilled at his seduction that she didn’t realize he had unsnapped her jeans and started pulling them down her hips until he growled with frustration at the obstruction her shoes caused.
She giggled, kicking the shoes off so that he could proceed, and watched in fascination as he knelt down to remove her pants. His fingers pulled at the edges of her panties and she felt her dampness growing.
Phoenix leaned forward and closed his eyes as he inhaled her scent. “Olivia, my Olivia.”
His hands gripped her inner thighs and spread her open wider for him. She was leaning back against the table and reached for the sides to have something to hold onto. She looked down and locked eyes with him as he kissed his way up her inner thigh. She couldn’t catch her breath to speak a single word, but Phoenix seemed to have no problem.
“I’m going to show you exactly how much I’m in love with you. When I’m done you will have no doubts about whether I want you or someone else.”
Then he licked her damp seam and she literally quivered with anticipation. He sucked her clit while inserting a finger inside. He pumped into her, adding two then three fingers. She felt her whole body burning and she didn’t give a damn. She wanted the burn, welcomed it. His tongue replaced his fingers and he fucked her while drinking from her.
She lost her grip on the table and reached down to cup his head, keeping him close to her. It wouldn’t take long now. Just a little more…
“Oh yes!” she cried out as she came hard. Everything was a blur to her as she floated from her release. She barely registered when he stood up and lifted her to lie on the table, pulling her ass to the edge.
Dazed, Olivia looked up at his face, so handsome and strong. The little lines of concentration formed on his forehead called to her. She reached up and caressed them lovingly.
Phoenix quickly shrugged out of his shirt, opened his jeans, and shucked them down his hips. Then he took his manhood in his hands and began stroking. “Look at me, Olivia. Tell me, who do I want?”
She couldn’t take her eyes off him as she whispered back, “Me.”
“And who do you want, Olivia?”
“I want you, Phoenix. Only you.”
Phoenix touched her again, making her hot and aching. He used her natural juices to coat his cock before placing his tip at her entrance. She watched in wonderment as he slowly entered her until he filled her completely. How could something so large fit perfectly inside her?
“You are mine, Olivia,” he growled before he started to move in and out of her.
She wrapped her legs around his waist and raised her arms over her head. His hands went to her breasts, squeezing and caressing. He liked to pay special attention to her breasts. She had no complaints about that.
Needing his kiss, she pulled his head down to hers. Their tongues dueled and then danced as their bodies moved in sync with one another. He pulled her leg higher to reach a deeper angle inside her, hitting her inner pleasure zone.
She moaned his name over and over, feeling the fire burning her again, and this time she knew it would turn her to ash but she didn’t care. It felt too good.
“Give it to me, give me your pleasure.”
She couldn’t hold back. Arching her back, she screamed as she felt her body convulse with her release. She squeezed his waist and shortly after felt his warm semen as it shot inside her. Phoenix didn’t stop right away, continuing to thrust inside her and pinching her nipples with his fingers. Caught by surprise, she found herself screaming another release. For a moment she couldn’t see clearly so she closed her eyes and waited while her body came back down from the pleasure high.
Reality started to set in. She looked around the room and shook her head. “I can’t believe that we had sex in a conference room. Anyone could have walked in on us.”
He didn’t pull out from her but rolled over to lie on his side. “Actually, someone did walk in but as soon as they saw us they went back out.”
She covered her face in humiliation. “Oh man, I’m an exhibitionist.”
He chuckled. “Honey, you have to know someone’s watching to be an exhibitionist. Besides, whoever it was didn’t see much more than my ass. Do you regret what we did?”
“No, of course not. I just don’t want anyone watching us.”
“Good, because I don’t share what’s mine.”
“What time is it?”
“Twelve fifteen.”
“Shit!” She pushed away from him and scooted to the end of the table.
“Where are you going?”
“I only had the room reserved until twelve. No wonder someone came in and saw us.”
She reached for her clothes and began dressing. Phoenix sighed as he moved off the table. He pulled his pants up and reached for
his T-shirt.
“I have practice this afternoon, but we need to talk more. Come by my place at seven.”
“No, if I go to your place there won’t be any talking. We’ll just end up in bed all night.”
“I can’t say I don’t like that idea.”
She put her hands on her hips in frustration. “Phoenix…”
He moved so fast she didn’t see him until he had her in his arms. “I want you, beautiful. I love you.”
God, how could she resist him when he was saying all the things that her heart longed for? Especially when she didn’t want to resist him. She kissed him before pulling away.
“I’ll come but we’re going to talk.”
He smiled a devastatingly sexy smile at her as he turned and walked backward toward the door. “We’ll talk, then I’ll make love to you all night long.”
She could only stare at him as he winked then left her. Her body tingled from their coupling and in anticipation of what was to come. “Oh boy.”
Chapter 16
Twenty minutes later
Olivia entered her sister’s suite. Lydia was waiting for her on the couch. She had a lot of explaining to do. She took a deep breath and went to face her sister’s wrath.
“Hi.”
Lydia folded her arms over her chest. That was a sure sign that her older sister was about to let her have it. “Where have you been?”
She sat down across from her in a chair. “I reserved a conference room to use to get some work done on my cases.”
“Why did you leave before I woke up?”
Olivia ran a hand through her hair. “I’m sorry, Lydia. I didn’t want to talk about—”
“Phoenix. I confronted him this morning. He told me that you must have seen Amelia leaving his suite.”
“Yeah, I misunderstood the situation and I got upset.”
“I would be upset, too, if I saw another woman leaving the room of the man I was falling in love with.”
She glanced over at her sister. “How did you know how I feel about him?”
Lydia waved it off. “Please, I’m your big sister. Of course I know when you are falling for someone.”
She kind of felt put out by everyone knowing so much about her love life. She crossed her arms over her chest. “This is what you and Nigel wanted all along, right?”
Lydia’s anger faded as she reached over for Olivia’s hands. “Nigel just wanted someone who would distract Phoenix for a little while. I wanted you to spend a little time with someone who could distract you from your all-consuming job. I have never met anyone who is as obsessed with their work as you are. It’s not healthy, honey.”
Her sister meant well. She really wasn’t angry at her anymore, not really. “Phoenix wasn’t a distraction for me. I fell in love with him.”
Lydia smiled as she moved to give her a hug. “Did you tell him that?”
“Not yet, I’m not ready.”
“How does he feel about you?”
“He says that he loves me.”
“You doubt him?”
“It’s all happening so fast. How do I know this will work out? What if what he feels for me fades?”
“How do you know it won’t? You have to take a chance.”
“What about our living arrangements? He’s here on the GCFA ship full time, not just during the circuit season. I’m back on Teran II in a tiny little apartment working as an advocate. I can’t simply give up who I am and what I do because I’ve fallen in love.”
“No one says you have to give up anything. There are sacrifices to be made, though, to anything worth having. You need to consider what you are willing to compromise on if you want to keep your relationship with Phoenix. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. What are you willing to do to have him in your life?”
Olivia wasn’t sure she knew how to answer that. She needed to talk to Phoenix and figure this out. Was it possible to have him and her job, too? Or would she have to give up one or the other? The idea of being able to have Phoenix in her life permanently was tempting. She really wanted him. Was it enough to change her whole life for him?
“I don’t know what to do,” she admitted.
Lydia squeezed her hand again. “You guys have plenty of time to figure things out. Right now, just enjoy spending time together and get to know each other better. This is the fun part of relationships, when your in love and everything seems brand new.”
She smiled, “I guess it won’t hurt to spend more time with him. Unless it all falls apart and leaves me completely brokenhearted.”
“Take a chance and give it a try. Life doesn’t come with guarantees but I can guarantee that if you don’t make an effort, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”
She looked at her sister in surprise. “It sounds like you know something about regrets.”
Her sister laughed but there wasn’t really any humor in it. “I know way too much about regrets. I fell in love once a long time ago.”
“Was it with a Venetian?”
“No, he was a Plutian.”
“A full Plutian or a halfsie?”
“Full Plutian, so beautiful and sweet. I tried to fight my feelings for him at first but he was just too hard to resist.”
“What happened?”
“I had just signed a contract lease with the GCFA when I began seeing Lison. He wanted me to give up the contract for him.”
“You didn’t.”
“No. I thought I could have it all. I wanted to keep my contract and I wanted to keep my Plutian.”
“He had a problem with you…counseling others.”
Lydia snorted. “That’s an understatement. The thing was I would have willing restricted myself to the management of the other workers and not do any of the counseling myself, but Lison didn’t believe in me. He said some ugly things about how I was addicted to sex.”
“Ah, the ole ‘once a Venetian always a Venetian.’” Olivia knew what others thought about her people. None believed a full Venetian could be in a monogamous relationship for any length of time. She and Lydia grew up watching how their father and mother loved each other. If her mother hadn’t gotten sick, she truly believed they would have stayed together happily. “I’m sorry, Lydia.”
Her sister shrugged. “I’ve made peace with it, but I know you, Olivia. You won’t get over Phoenix as easily. Is your job something that you can do from anywhere?”
“I…don’t know.”
“Just think about it, okay? I’ve got to go meet a client for a late lunch. How about dinner tonight?”
“Um…Phoenix wants me to come by his suite tonight to talk.”
Lydia laughed. “I’m sure there will be plenty of talking. Fine, but I want you home for breakfast tomorrow. I feel like I haven’t spent any time with you at all.”
“Okay, breakfast tomorrow,” she agreed as her sister waved and left the suite. She leaned back against the chair when her phone beeped. She pulled it out of her purse and stared at the message.
Back off your case or else.
She shivered with unease. She didn’t recognize the number but knew what case the person who sent the message meant. This was about to get ugly and possibly dangerous. She dialed the number for security. A male answered whose voice she didn’t recognize.
“GCFA Security.”
“Yes, I need to speak with either Rachel or Trig. It’s urgent.”
“Who is this?”
“Olivia Mann. They’re helping me with a case.”
“One moment.”
She was put on hold and couldn’t help pacing back and forth. Rachel’s voice came on the line.
“Olivia, is something wrong?”
“I’m not sure. I just got a strange text telling me to back off my case or else.”
There was a short pause. “Did you recognize who sent the text?”
“No.”
“Stay there. I’m sending security up to get you. We’ll want to try to track the messenger down.”
<
br /> “Am I in danger on board the ship? I thought there was top-of-the-line security here.”
“I can’t promise that someone isn’t on board who could be a danger but I know that we scan heavily for any kind of weapons. We need to keep you under watch until you’ve testified at the Venetian council hearing.”
“Are you saying I need a bodyguard?”
“Yes, and I would like to give you a tracker just in case.”
“In case what?”
“Just to be safe. I will arrange security twenty-four/seven.”
She didn’t like the idea of someone following her around, but that text message really made her feel uncomfortable. She started to think about how her father was given a hard time about her case. “What about my sister, Lydia? Could they target her, too?”
“While you are with her at night your security guard can secure the suite and watch over both of you.”
“Um…what about tonight? I’m not going to be with my sister this evening.”
“I’ll have a second guard watch over your sister.”
“Okay, thanks, Rachel.”
“Don’t leave your suite until your security shows up and don’t open the door to anyone you’re not expecting.”
“Got it.” She hung up and felt upset. She needed to warn her father, and tonight she was going to have to let Phoenix know exactly what was going on. He could be a target, too.
Chapter 17
Later that evening
Phoenix looked at the table he’d set up with a dinner he made himself. It was only pork chops, something simple, but he wanted to make this perfect for her. He had the lighting set low with soft mood music and there was a surprise for Olivia in the bedroom. He had flower petals sprinkled across the sheets. He heard once that females thought that these things were romantic. He hoped so because he was going to do everything that he could to show her how much he loved and wanted her to be here with him.
A knock on the door had him moving quickly to open it. He smiled for a moment before his eyes focused on the male standing directly behind her. “Cor, what are you doing here?”