A Beautiful Mess

by T. K. Leigh

  Alexander remembered pulling up behind the DeLuca’s crashed car. He and his father had been following them when they saw a large black SUV pull out of a highway turnout and careen toward their car, pushing it over the side of the freeway. When his father saw the car, he thought they were dead. No one could have survived that crash. But Alexander saw movement in the back seat. He remembered rushing toward the car, searching for his best friend.

  “How so?” Alexander asked, returning to the present.

  “Well, last week, a little boy was in the dream and he’s been there every night since. And then I saw my uncle with a scared look on his face when he was trying to help my mama.”

  “What was your uncle’s name?” Alexander asked quietly, almost as if he didn’t want to know the answer.

  “Charles. Charles Wright.” She looked at Alexander.

  Now he knew that his father had used one of his alternate identities in order to protect this girl. He had found the paperwork on that alias when he was going through some of his father’s things after his death. His father’s real name was Thomas.

  “What was the boy doing in the dream? Are you okay talking about it?” he asked, grasping her hand in his.

  “Yes. I’m fine.” She took a deep breath before continuing her story. “He pulled me out of the car. He ran me over to another car telling me that he would always protect me from then on. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a man dressed in black knocked him out with the butt of his gun. That’s when I woke up.”

  Alexander started to rub the back of his head almost in the same place where the boy had been hit in the dream, recalling that moment like it was yesterday. He remembered the darkness, knowing that he could no longer protect his little Olivia.

  Alexander got up and went to turn out the light. Climbing back into bed, he pulled Olivia close. “Go to sleep, angel, and forget about that dream. It was just a dream, like you said.” He didn’t sound too convinced. He knew it wasn’t a dream. But he didn’t want Olivia to know that. Not yet. Not until he had all the answers. Alexander had a feeling that he already had the answers in his possession, but he had just been too selfish to look.

  ~~~~~~~~~~

  The early morning sun awoke Olivia as it began to seep into her bedroom. She looked at the clock on her nightstand and saw that it was not yet six in the morning. It had only been a few hours since she woke up screaming, waking Alexander. She rolled over, hoping to snuggle with him, but he wasn’t there. Olivia got out of bed and went downstairs, wondering if he was still in her house or if he left because he saw how clearly unstable she really was.

  To her surprise, upon entering her living room, she saw Alexander sitting on the couch in his boxer briefs, a perplexed look on his face as he held an envelope in his hands.

  “What’s that?” Olivia asked. He looked up quickly, a hard look on his face that immediately softened when he took in Olivia’s frame standing in the doorway.

  “Hello, Love. I hope I didn’t wake you.” He smiled.

  “No. You didn’t,” Olivia answered sleepily as she yawned. “The sun woke me up. I rolled over and you weren’t there.” Her face had a disappointed look on it. Alexander made a mental note of how beautiful she looked first thing in the morning, her hair slightly disheveled, rubbing her eyes.

  Olivia walked over to the couch where Alexander sat with his elbows on his legs, holding the letter with both hands. Sitting down next to him, she noticed a brown leather messenger bag had somehow arrived during the night. He had files spread over the coffee table along with a nice journal with the year embossed on it in gold. He keeps a journal, she thought to herself. It warmed Olivia’s heart that he felt comfortable enough with her to make himself at home in her house.

  “Is that the letter?” Olivia recalled Alexander mentioning a letter his father wrote him before he died that he still hadn’t opened.

  “Yes, it is.” He looked conflicted.

  “What is it you’re afraid of?” She was curious.

  “I guess I’m afraid of what it says. I have a feeling I know what’s in that letter. I don’t know if I want my suspicions confirmed. That would mean that I had been letting my father down since he died. I guess I’m hoping to remain blissfully ignorant.” He laughed.

  “Well, you need to do what you think is best. If you need more time, take it. If reading this letter will re-open old wounds, you’re better off being prepared to deal with that.” Olivia smiled.

  He wanted to scream, “It could mean that I’ve been letting you down! It could mean that I would have found you years ago! I could have saved you from your pain!!” But he didn’t. He just stared ahead, relishing in the closeness of Olivia.

  “Come back to bed.” She stood up and extended her hand to him. He placed the letter on the coffee table before taking her small hand in his.

  They crawled back into the bed, a nice glow in the room from the sunlight creeping in. Alexander wrapped his arms around Olivia, enjoying the feel of her soft skin. She turned toward him, noticing he had a distant expression on his face. He was clearly still thinking about that letter. She made it her mission that morning to help him take his mind off it.

  Smiling, Olivia pushed Alexander on his back, pinning him down with her legs on either side of him. His eyes flung wide open for a moment before becoming dark with desire. He placed his hands just below her hip bones, feeling her muscular legs as she sat on top of him, unable to hide his erection. Leaning down, she brushed her lips softly along his jaw line. He moaned and a smile spread across Olivia’s face, knowing that she made him do that.

  She slowly started to move her hips in a circular motion, causing his erection to get even harder.

  “Happy to see me this morning, Mr. Burnham?” Olivia smirked.

  “Why Miss Adler, I’m always happy to see you. Haven’t I made that quite clear?” He let out a small breath as she continued torturing him with her body. “God, Love. I can feel how wet you are through our clothes.” Alexander found it hard to keep his head. He wanted to be intimate with her, but he wanted to be truthful with her first. He didn’t know which one of his heads would win out. He had a feeling it would be the wrong one.

  “Well, let’s get rid of them, shall we?” She slowly trailed kisses down his chest and torso, taking her time to enjoy the taste of his skin. Olivia looked up and could see that he barely held it together, desperately looking for release.

  She slid his boxer briefs down his muscular legs and he sprung free. Her eyes grew wide as she looked at him and gasped, surprised at his size. He smiled, stroking his erection.

  Olivia pried his hand off, her hand taking its place. She slowly lowered her lips to him while staring into his green eyes, taking him in her mouth. He moaned with obvious pleasure as she continued moving her mouth over his length, slow and then fast, and then slow again.

  “Fuck, Olivia,” Alexander growled. He couldn’t believe that his Olivia was there. And that she was doing that to him. It was so much more spectacular than anything he had ever felt before with any other woman.

  Olivia started to pick up the pace. She felt him get harder, tasting the bit of pre-cum that escaped his tip. He wrapped her hair around his hand, helping to guide her as she continued torturing him.

  Before long, he felt that familiar sensation, surprised at how quickly he reached that point. Something about Olivia’s mouth and tongue on his most sensitive part made him feel things that he never thought possible. “I’m going to come,” he breathed, warning her. She looked up at him, continuing her relentless motion. He gazed at her, wide-eyed, knowing what that meant. She gently barred her teeth, pushing him over the edge, and he released into her mouth as she continued to suck on him, the sensation overwhelming his entire body. He shuddered as he began coming down from his orgasm, trying to remember the last time anyone had made him feel that good. “Fuck,” he exhaled, giving one last jerk.

  Olivia slowly crawled back up to him when he grabbed her, throwing her on her back and kissing her d
eeply, their tongues engaged in a passionate dance. Alexander was so incredibly turned on. He could taste him and Olivia. It was an intoxicating combination.

  He released her and Olivia tried to catch her breath. Alexander collapsed next to her and they both laid on their backs, attempting to slow down their breathing after such an intense moment.

  “Fuck,” he breathed again.

  “You’ve got that right, Mr. Burnham.” She turned and smiled at him. She didn’t know what had come over her. She would normally never do that for anyone, but there was something about Alexander that made her want to please him. She felt amazingly satisfied.

  “Oh, Olivia. What am I going to do with you?” he asked, running his hand up and down her stomach.

  “You keep saying that. What are you going to do with me?” She raised an eyebrow and leaned in, kissing him softly on his mouth. He pulled her in toward him, wrapping his arms around her small frame. She nuzzled against his chest and fell back asleep, listening to the rhythm of his breathing.

  Several hours later, Alexander begrudgingly got out of bed, needing to get into the office. Olivia walked him to the door to say good-bye. “I’ll miss you this weekend.” She embraced him, taking in his scent. She wasn’t looking forward to her weekend without him.

  He looked down at her and gave her a deep kiss. “I’ll be thinking of you every day, Love,” he said sweetly. He pulled out of the embrace and looked out front where there were two black SUVs parked, just like the night before. Olivia wondered if they were out there all night. When his eyes returned to her, Alexander’s expression was serious. “Carter is out front keeping an eye on things. I have two of my best men coming over this afternoon to install your security system. If you need to run any errands, Carter will escort you. Do you understand, Olivia? This is just for today.”

  “Yes. I understand. I just have an appointment at eleven, and then I was planning on going to the gym to work out.”

  “All that’s fine. You can do whatever you need to do, just do not go anywhere without Carter. I cannot emphasize that enough.”

  God. Why is he treating me like a child? Olivia thought. “I got it, you overbearing ogre.” She winked.

  He glanced down at her, a menacing look on his face. “Oh, you have no idea how overbearing I can be, Love.” He embraced her again and she was back in his arms. She never wanted to leave those arms. She could have died happy at that moment. He planted an affectionate kiss on her forehead before leaning down and quietly whispering, “I’m always going to protect you, Olivia.” He turned to leave, closing the front door behind him.

  Olivia’s heart started racing, remembering her dream, that boy’s voice, and those green eyes.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  NUMBER ONE PRIORITY

  “MISS Adler, ma’am. Where can I escort you to?” Carter asked as Olivia locked her front door later that morning before heading to her appointment with Dr. Greenstein. Carter was big, black, and very no-nonsense. Olivia wondered whether Alexander had anyone working for him that couldn’t bench-press five hundred pounds.

  “Um, hi. You can call me Olivia. Libby. Whatever.” It wasn’t the first time she had an escort. Her uncle had usually insisted on her having a chauffeur when she was growing up. Of course, that had become a point of contention between the two of them as she got older and wanted more independence to do whatever she wanted. Plus, she never really liked telling people what to do.

  She immediately thought of all the romance novels she had read, having her very own escort ordered by her hot, rich, handsome whatever he was. She giggled before regaining her composure. Carter must think I’m crazy, she thought to herself.

  “I have an appointment at the Prudential Center. I was just going to walk.” She didn’t live that far from the Prudential Center and she loved walking through the streets of Boston. Olivia thought there was no reason for Carter to drive.

  “Ma’am, I have very strict orders from Mr. Burnham to drive you wherever you need to go. It’s just a precaution.” Olivia realized that she wasn’t going to win that battle and she didn’t want to disappoint Alexander so early on in their relationship, if it was a relationship.

  “Okay,” she said, walking down her front steps toward the idling SUV. In a matter of minutes, they arrived at the Prudential Center. Carter proceeded to park in the underground garage.

  He intercepted Olivia as she left the car to go into the center and up to her appointment. “Ma’am. I need to escort you into the building. Again, just a precaution. This should all be over by the end of today.” She could tell that Carter knew she wasn’t a fan of being subjected to constant security, but Olivia bit her tongue.

  “Okay. But, just so you know, I have an appointment with my shrink. That’s where I’m going.” His face remained fixed with no reaction. He was probably trained to be rather discreet. “I guess that’s better than having to accompany me to the gyno, huh?” She nudged him in the elbow as they walked into a waiting elevator, trying to get a laugh out of him.

  He smiled at her. “Yes, ma’am. It definitely is better.” He chuckled.

  “This is her office,” Olivia said as they stepped out of the elevator, nodding toward the office immediately in front of them.

  “I’ll wait out here,” Carter said after assessing the arrangement. The doors to the doctor’s office were all glass, so he would be able to keep her in his sights while she waited for her appointment to begin. And since she was seeing her therapist, he figured it would be good to give her some semblance of privacy.

  When Olivia walked through the doors into the reception area, she received a warm greeting. “Olivia. It’s wonderful to see you again.” Dr. Greenstein had been waiting for her by the receptionist’s desk. She was a middle-aged woman with short blonde hair and a tall frame. “Come on in.” She followed the doctor into her office.

  It didn’t look like a typical shrink’s office. It was large with floor-to-ceiling windows, black tile floor, and several comfortable white couches with green, orange, and yellow accent pillows. Dr. Greenstein had great decorating style.

  She sat at an oversized white chair, motioning for Olivia to have a seat on the couch in front of her. “So, what brings you back to me, Olivia?”

  “Well, I figured it was time.” She laughed.

  Dr. Greenstein picked up a notepad and a pen, looked at her patient, and said, “Do you think? What was the reason for you calling me? It’s been quite a while.”

  “Yeah. Several years. I know.”

  “So, tell me. What’s going on?”

  “Well, I met this guy.” Olivia smiled as she proceeded to give Dr. Greenstein a general overview of what had been going on in her life recently. About how she would refuse to get into a relationship with anyone, but would hook up on occasion. She talked about Simon and how she met Alexander. She mentioned that she asked him to stay over the previous night.

  “And how do you feel about that?”

  She hated that question and her doctor knew it. “I don’t know how I feel about it.” Olivia glared.

  “Okay, okay. Sorry. But we need to discuss your feelings, Olivia. What was going through your mind when you asked him to stay over? You’ve said that you never let guys stay over your place. If they were invited over, you would kick them out after sex. So, why Alexander?”

  “Hold on. We haven’t had sex.”

  “Okay. So you haven’t been intimate yet.”

  “I didn’t say that,” she interrupted the doctor. “I mean, we’ve done some things, just haven’t had sex yet.”

  “Hmmm… And do you think that’s why you don’t have a problem with him staying over?”

  “No. I mean, I want to have sex with him. But, I don’t know. We seem to be taking our time and I’m actually enjoying it. It’s weird. Normally I just want to jump straight to sex so I can kick the guy out of my bed.” Olivia looked down as she fidgeted with her skirt. She hated talking about her sexual habits with her doctor. Unfortunately, it was neces
sary for her to do so.

  “Well, the act of sex is an intimate act, but you haven’t made it so. When you jump right into things, you skip over the act of forming a bond with another individual. You use sex as a coping mechanism while, at the same time, keeping your subjects at arm’s length so that you don’t get attached. What is it about Alexander?”

  Olivia looked up and met the doctor’s eyes. “I don’t know. Before me, he would kind of do the same thing I did, but I think his reasons are vastly different from mine. He doesn’t have these attachment issues like I know I do. But now, I don’t know. He said he wants more with me. He’s sweet. He cares about me. He’s always trying to protect me. He’s incredibly sensual.” Olivia’s face flamed just thinking about some of the things he had said. “He’s very gifted with words.” That was the best way she could think to say he liked to talk dirty.

  A smile crept across Dr. Greenstein’s face. “So he’s prolonging the seduction and you’re enjoying it.”

  “Yes. Definitely.” She was absolutely enjoying every fantastic minute.

  “Olivia,” the doctor said, removing her reading glasses from her face. “You, unfortunately, had your parents taken from you at such a young age. You never had the means to learn how to form a relationship with someone. You were so traumatized by that event that you pushed everyone away. When you were older and discovered sex, you wanted that without the emotional attachment. Now, you’re experiencing a slow seduction for the first time. Most of us have experienced that early on in our development. Granted, early on, it’s not necessarily about sex. But later in life, our bodies crave that release, so it becomes a slow seduction, which can sometimes last years before the actual act of intercourse.

  “You need to embrace this. Enjoy it. Go for the ride and face your fears. Don’t worry about whether Alexander will ever leave you or be taken from you. We can’t control those things. But you can control your actions. If you want to have a meaningful relationship with this man, and it sounds like you do, don’t push him away. Let him in. You’re a beautiful, intelligent young woman. Let him fall in love with you. And keep yourself open to fall in love with him in return.”