by Diana Gardin
My skin prickles when he uses the word baby to refer to her again, and I’m about to let him know where he and his uncle can shove it when Olive steps out from behind me.
I tug her wrist, ready to pull her around to the shelter of my back, when she turns to me. “Ronin.”
Staring into those sapphire eyes that have the ability to suck me in and keep me there, I try to read what she’s saying with them. There’s a note of finality in her stare, and my hand tightens on her wrist.
Facing Mick again, she speaks. “You’ll leave Ronin out of this if I come talk to you?”
A real growl breaks free of my chest as I whip back in front of her. Refusing to turn my back on Oakes, I come at Olive from the side. Letting go of her arm I grip her chin in my hand to get her attention back on me. “Olive. This isn’t happening. You hear me? No. Just fucking no.”
She blinks, and there’s real desperation in her eyes. “I just want him to go away,” she whispers. “Maybe if I go with him…let him say whatever it is he needs to say, he’ll let me go once and for all.”
My stomach lurches at the thought of her leaving with him. I’ll throw her over my shoulder if I have to, but I won’t let her go. Not with him.
“No. He gets you alone, there’s no telling what he’ll do. You don’t need to do this. You need to trust me, Red. I will keep you safe.”
Glancing at Mick, I can see the joy on his face. He thinks he’s got Olive right where he wants her, but he doesn’t know me well enough yet.
She swipes at a tear before it can fall, and I slide my hand to the back of her neck. Leaning down so that she has to look me straight in the eye, I say each word succinctly. “Stay. With. Me.”
She holds my gaze, and everything that’s been on my mind today fades away. All that matters right now is her. Her safety, her happiness, and the fact that I need her next to me.
Something passes between us then. I’m not sure what the fuck it is, but understanding and something so much warmer than that appear in her gaze. Her expression softens, and she opens her mouth to speak, just as the sound of an engine roars up behind us.
Another truck screeches to a stop beside us, this one red and raised up on lifts. The driver’s-side door opens, and Bennett jumps down. Walking up to stand next to me, He faces off with Mick without glancing at either me or Olive.
With a half-frustrated, half-amused eye roll, I release Olive’s neck but drop my hand to rest in hers instead. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Bennett, still staring at Mick, inclines his head in my direction. “I got your six.”
Smirking, I make eye contact with Mick. “Anything else? Or are you ready to get the hell out of here now?”
Glancing from Bennett to me, Mick’s expression transforms from one of elated triumph to obvious rage. He settles his eyes on Olive. “Mistake, baby. I’m comin’ for you one way or another. And your boyfriend here will burn.”
Bennett speaks up. “Someone’s gonna burn, but it ain’t gonna be Ronin.” There’s a promise in his tone.
With one last look at all three of us, Mick turns and walks away. When he’s gone, Olive sags a little and I tighten my hold on her hand. There’re words I need to have with her, but first I turn to Bennett.
“How’d you know?”
He lifts a shoulder and lifts a hand to the back of his neck. The gun he carries in a hip holster is visible when his shirt rides up. “Something he said before he ran out of the bar. He’d been holed up in the office for a few hours, but when he came out he made a beeline for the door.”
“What’d he say?” I ask.
Bennett glances at Olive. “He said he’d be back later, he had to go pick up his woman. Figured that meant he’d be headed straight for you, and I wanted to make sure it worked out in your favor.”
Holding out a hand, I wait for Bennett to shake it and pull him into a bro hug. “Thanks, man.”
Bennett nods, turning for the truck. “It’s all good. Take care of her. When Mick decides he wants something…well, he stomps his feet until he gets it. I’d hate to see Olive hurt by him.”
I shove my Sig back into my holster and scowl. “That’ll never happen.”
Bennett nods before climbing into his truck and driving off.
As soon as he’s gone, everything that just went down comes rushing back, and a surge of emotions threatens to swallow me whole. She was gonna leave with him. Maybe it was because she wanted to protect me from his family, or because she wanted him to leave her alone for good. But none of that matters, because one thing is glaringly obvious.
She didn’t trust me to keep her safe.
Anger blooms like a flower.
Turning to Olive, I incline my head toward the elevator. I’m not sure how long I’ll last before I explode, and I want her safe and inside my condo before the fireworks start.
18
Ronin
Olive and I are silent the whole way up to my place. I don’t look at her, because I’m scared of what will happen if I do. If I hold my hands up to my face, I’m pretty damn sure they’ll be shaking. During the elevator ride, I try to figure out why.
Is it because I now know that Mick Oakes has the resources to figure out where I live? Is it because he actually dared to come here and try to take Olive right out from under me? Is it because Olive is all tied up with the mob, and her past seems to keep following her around?
But, if I’m being honest with myself, I’m shaking like a motherfucking leaf because the reason I almost lost Olive tonight is because of Olive.
We walk into the condo and she flicks on the lights as she enters. Closing the door behind her, I toss my keys on the entry table and follow her into the living room. Olive continues to the kitchen island, placing her bag on the bar before she turns around to face me.
Our stares hold from across the room, and she brings one unsteady hand up to brush a stray lock of hair away from her face. The delicate gesture, something so simple and goddamn innocent is what finally causes something inside my chest to snap.
“Don’t ever do that again.” My voice is steady, belying the storm roaring to life inside of me.
Somewhere inside me, I know that starting this conversation out with those confrontational words isn’t going to go well. I know that Olive won’t respond to it, and that it’s way too hard for a woman as strong and independent as she is not to react in anger.
But that’s the wise side of me. That side of me is asleep right now, buried under the pissed-as-hell part who just came out to play.
Olive’s hand snakes up to her hip, and the soft expression that crossed her face back in the garage after I asked her to stay evaporates. Now, her eyes flash with something dark and angry.
“You don’t tell me what to do, Ronin. I was going to leave with him because I wanted to spare you the trouble I’ve been causing just by being here.”
At the sound of her voice, my strides eat up the distance between us before I can stop myself and think about what I’m doing.
“I’m the one who asked you here, Red. Don’t you know what I am? I’m not some pussy Oakes can push around. I’m strong enough to protect you and make sure he doesn’t come near you ever again. You’re just too damn stubborn to accept it.” Stopping only a foot away from her, my hands curl into fists just so I won’t reach out and shake her.
“Oh, yeah?” She reaches out and jabs a finger into my chest. I stare down at it, stupefied. “If you’re so tough, than how come the man I never wanted to see again was standing just a few feet away from me? God, Ronin. Your ego is too big for this condo. There’s not enough room for me and my goddamn problems.”
Reeling back like she slapped me, I narrow my eyes. “He was there, but you were still safe, Olive. I’ll never let anything happen to you. Not after…fuck. Why don’t you know that?”
There’s a lump the size of a grapefruit forming in my throat, and I try hard to swallow around it. Why doesn’t she realize that after what happened with Elle, I’ll
never let anything happen to her? I’d die before I let it happen again. A woman that I’m supposed to be protecting will never be harmed.
Especially not this woman.
Sorrow floats across her face, reaching inside me, but she turns and storms away. My hand flies out, slapping down on the counter beside her to bar her exit. When she turns the other way, the look of desperation on her face clear, I trap her with my other arm. The sweet scent of her pours into me, and I almost lean in to catch a stronger whiff. She stares me down, no longer trying to run.
“You think I’m scared of you?” she asks. Her voice strengthens. “I’m not, Ronin. You might be bigger and stronger than me, but there’s nothing you can do that could hurt me. Not after what I’ve been through.”
I lean closer to her. Her chest rises and falls with her breaths, and the tips of her breasts graze my shirt, effectively awakening another kind of beast inside me. My dick twitches in my jeans and I’m suddenly so damn aware of every single part of her and how close she is to every single part of me.
“I. Will. Never. Hurt. You.” Each word causes her to flinch, and the heat in her eyes could melt an entire candle into a pool of wax. My voice drops to a rough whisper. “I just want to keep you safe.”
I’m not sure who wins the standoff. All I know is that her eyes, those melted pools of blue, grow wide, and I see that she believes me. Then that plump bottom lip disappears into her mouth. Her heat seems to expand, surrounding me with all things Olive and then fucking hell, I’m kissing her.
It’s not gentle.
It’s her lips fused against mine. Her mouth opens at the insistence of my tongue, and a soft, breathy moan slips out that I swallow whole. It’s my hips rocking against hers, me pressing the hard length of my erection against her so that she knows exactly what she’s doing to me right now. It’s my answering groan as she sucks my tongue into her mouth.
Her fingers skate across my neck on their way into my hair, and I let go of the bar so that I can yank her up into my arms. When her legs wrap around my waist and the soft heat of her pussy meets my hard-on I almost go weak in the knees.
I’m fucking blind, lost to everything except for her. Placing her on the bar I pull my mouth away from hers long enough to trail kisses along her jaw, and down her neck. Using my tongue, I draw a line to her shoulder at the same time my hands yank the hem of her shirt up and over her head. Next, I reach for the ponytail holder keeping all that dark red hair out of my reach. After I slide it free, her locks tumble out around her shoulders and I grip a handful, gently tugging her head to the side so I can lick another path up her neck.
There’re no words. We don’t need any because whatever this is that’s been building between us is coming to a head now and we both know it.
We both want it.
For a second I pull back and stare at her. Sitting on my island in her black satin bra, miles of creamy skin exposed, head tilted to the side and lips swollen from my kiss, I let my mind briefly wander to Elle.
To the moments when she might have been propped up on an island similar to this one. Waiting for me to come and get her. My stomach clenches.
But then Olive does something so totally her, that any thought of Elle disappears completely. Olive takes control. She wraps her legs around my waist again, pulling me to her and presses her hands against either side of my face. My lips land on hers again and I know that with Red, it’s always going to be a battle for supremacy. She’s going to want control just as surely as she wants her next breath, and it’s something I’ve grown to understand and to crave about her.
I’m smiling against her lips, and she returns it with a grin of her own. Impatient hands reach for the button on my jeans, ripping them open and sliding the zipper down. Helping her out, I reach behind me and yank my shirt off over my head as I toe off my boots and socks. Stepping out of the pants and kicking them aside, I slide my hands down her shoulders, taking her bra straps with me. My attention is held there, to the slender curve of her arms as I reach behind her and undo the strap.
Plump, perky breasts swing free as the garment hits the counter and I zero in on the pretty pink peaks screaming for attention. I reach for them, palming the weight of her in my hands while my thumbs caress the hard, pebbled tips. Olive moans, her eyes sliding shut as she shoves her chest toward me, silently begging for more of my touch. I give it to her, leaning forward and sucking a nipple into my mouth.
She tastes as good as I imagined, when I allowed myself to fantasize about her. She’s somehow sweet and tart at the same time, and I suddenly feel the need to touch her everywhere. Still without speaking, I reach for the button on her jeans and she leans back on her hands and lifts her hips, her heavy-lidded eyes watching my every move as I remove the pants inch by painstaking inch.
Her legs are long and lean, firm to my touch and ending in dainty red toenails that make me want to suck each one of her toes into my mouth. I’ve never been a foot fetish kind of guy, but every single part of Olive is just so damn pretty, I want to taste every single inch.
The only scrap of clothing left on her is a tiny, black pair of panties, and she’s sexy as hell sitting on my counter in them. But I want her bare, nothing stopping me from exploring all of her. So I peel them off, watching her reaction. Her lips are parted, her eyes hooded and heavy. Tossing the panties aside, I move her legs, placing her feet up on the counter so that she’s spread wide open before me.
Like a goddamn buffet.
Stepping between her legs, I wrap one hand around her waist and slide her to the edge of the island. She watches me, her breath coming fast, her hands curving into the countertop as she holds on.
Holding her gaze, I touch my index finger to her lips. Sliding it down, I follow its progress and so does Olive as it dips down between her breasts, over her flat stomach, and down between her folds. I hiss as I finger her, because she’s so goddamn wet that I can’t wait to taste her. Instead, I suck in a breath and sink two fingers inside her. Her eyes flutter closed as her hips tilt forward, fucking my fingers. I slip a third finger inside, watching her respond, and it’s the hottest thing I’ve ever seen. She moves like she’s made to react to me, and I’m pretty sure my other hand is making dents in the flesh of her ass I’m squeezing her so hard.
My fingers make two more pumps before I can’t take it anymore. Sinking down in front of her, I let my tongue swipe a path from her inside of her knee and up her thigh before taking my first taste of the one part of her I’ve been waiting for.
She moans, and I almost miss it over the sound of my own approving groan. She’s fucking incredible, my Red. She melts on my tongue, and the sweetness of her is almost more than I can stand. I lick her from bottom to top, and then I have to take ahold of myself in my hand because my dick is throbbing so hard I’m afraid I’m gonna explode.
I stroke myself as I lick her, and she thrusts against me with no shame. The little agitated noise she makes as I avoid contact with her clit draws a rumbling chuckle from me, and she pulls the hair on my head hard in response.
She’s the hottest fucking thing I’ve ever seen, and she’s going to ruin me.
When I finally circle her clit with my tongue, so painfully slowly, I glance up to watch her. Her eyes roll back and she drops her head, the moan that escapes her a sound of pure ecstasy. And fuck me, I’m in serious danger of exploding in my boxer-briefs. Letting go of my own hard length, I sink two fingers inside her, curling them upward to find her G-spot while my tongue flicks the heart of her over and over again.
When she clenches around my fingers, I hum against her and she comes apart around me.
“Ronin.” My name falls out on a rough sigh and I can’t explain the ball of emotion that gets clogged up in my chest at the sound of it. It’s bigger than me, than her, than both of us together.
It’s bigger than this moment.
After she comes, I expect her to be lazy and sluggish, but she pulls me toward her almost frantically. Her nails dig into my shoulde
rs and she fumbles for the elastic band on my boxer-briefs.
I grab her hands. “Easy.” Leaning toward her, I take her mouth with my own and she kisses me hungrily. Her body molds to mine and damn if I don’t notice how perfectly she fits there.
Pulling back, I look into her eyes, seeing all the things I thought I’d never want again. “I’m going to fuck you on this island, and everywhere else in this house, but not tonight. Tonight I need you in my bed.”
Her eyes flash with darkness and heat, and I lift her into my arms and carry her to my bedroom. Not bothering to close the door behind us, I lay her down on my bed. Propped up on her elbows, she watches me as I strip bare, grab a strip of condoms from the nightstand, and then crawl over her.
Hovering above her, I study her. “Okay?”
One of her palms slides up, cupping my face. The room is dark, but moonlight streams in and I can see her expression clearly. There’s emotion in her eyes, real emotion, and the sight of it shifts something inside of me. Out there in the front room, I wanted nothing more than to make her feel good. We were reacting, on a high from the situation we’d faced earlier in the evening. And once I touched her, I couldn’t stop. The feel of her, the taste of her, was a mind-fuck the likes of which I’ve never experienced before.
Even with Elle.
But here, in my bed? I don’t want to just please her. I want to make her feel safe. I want to make her feel owned. I want to make her mine.
She nods. “That was…God, Ronin. I didn’t want to admit to myself that I wanted this. But I do.”
There’s a vulnerability in her eyes, in her voice, that I know Olive doesn’t allow just anyone to see. I want to protect that openness with my life.
I kiss her, with every confusing thing that’s going through my head right now, because it’s the only way to convey what’s happening inside of me. Maybe it’s wrong, fucking a woman I’m supposed to be protecting. Maybe I shouldn’t be with her, knowing that she deserves more than I can give. There’s a whole lot of maybes going through my head, but I can’t bring myself to care about any of them.