Ethan nods and extends his hand to Olivia, helping her to her feet.
“Ethan…” Eva adds. “We have to make difficult decisions to better the lives of the ones we love the most.” She maintains steady eye contact with him. “Sometimes, no matter how difficult it is, the journey must be walked alone.”
Ethan averts his eyes away and focuses on Olivia, watching as the little one pushes and rolls, making her stomach move. Olivia grunts quietly, rubbing her stomach.
“It’s time to go,” Ethan urges.
“Ugh,” Olivia groans, getting into the Hellcat. “She’s really active right now.”
“I saw that.”
“Maybe we should forget about going to Scott’s tonight.”
“I want to go,” she says pouting.
“You had a really rough night.”
“I think, I’d like to be around friends tonight.”
“You feel better then?”
“Yes, much better now that I’ve got some answers.”
“Well, maybe for a little while.”
“The pout always works,” she says proudly.
“Yes, it does.” He shakes his head, defeated.
“It will be the first thing I teach our daughter,” Olivia laughs.
“Lord, help me.”
“What do you think Eva was talking about when she said sometimes the journey must be walked alone?”
Ethan knows exactly what Eva was talking about. He’s had that thought many times. He is the source of Olivia’s torment. Past memories of him remind her of a tragic past. His temper and accused actions haunt her present; threaten her recovery. “I have no idea. To be honest I don’t understand ninety percent of what comes out of her mouth.”
“Huh, I just found it odd she was talking about walking alone, when she’s been pushing us together since the moment you got off the plane.”
Ethan shrugs. “She’s crazy. It’s the only reasonable answer.”
Olivia flits around the room, socializing with her friends. Ethan pours himself another drink and joins Scott.
“One of the benefits of having a pregnant wife,” Scott jokes.
“You know it. She’s always the designated driver.” They clink glasses together and chuckle.
“Ethan, about what’s going on at Aurora.”
“Don’t spoil a great evening with talk about work.”
“Who are you? And what have you done with Ethan O’Connell?”
“You’re an asshole.”
“Oh, my mistake, it is you. Seriously. You know that I’ve always got your back.”
“I know. And you understand that I expect you to do whatever you need to, to save your own career.”
“You know that Hammond has already asked several of us to decide where our loyalties lie. I’m an engineer. I can find work elsewhere.”
Ethan shakes his head. “No, Scott. Stay where you are. As long as I have Olivia, nothing else matters. I always land on my feet. She just recently pointed out, that I should just give it up and take over for my father at O’Connell Industries. I was angry at her for suggesting it, at first, but she may be right.”
“I hate that Hammond’s put you in this position.”
“It’s not in me to back down. It’s hard trying to shelter her from what’s going on there. Sometimes, I feel like I’m going to lose my shit.”
“To be honest, I’m surprised that you haven’t. You’ve come a long way with your anger management, my friend.”
Ethan acknowledges Scott’s honesty with a nod. “She’s the most important thing in the world to me. Some days it takes everything I have to control it. The stress isn’t good for her. I need to shield her from that bullshit, as much as I can.”
Scott nods. “When do you have to go back to Ireland?”
“In a few weeks. My court date is set for the first week of December. I’m trying to get things resolved here before we go. She needs to have some closure on this thing with Sam.”
“She looks tired,” Scott notes, watching her cross the room.
“She’s exhausted. The nightmares have started up again. I don’t think she’s slept for more than an hour in the past couple nights.”
“That can’t be good for either of them. Especially with her complications.”
“It’s not,” Ethan sighs.
Scott raises a brow. “Well then, O’Connell, time to Dom up. Get your woman sorted.”
“Hi! Are you two having a good time?” Olivia asks, smiling.
“Yes, we are.” Scott grins.
“Say goodbye to your friends. We’re going home now.”
Olivia’s face turns red. “Says who?” she asks unimpressed.
“Says me,” Ethan replies in his usual authoritative tone.
“Oh?” she says, beginning a hormone induced rant. “Go ahead, tell me that again because you know how much I love to be told what to do.”
Scott and Ethan look at each other uncomfortably. “Olivia,” he warns.
“Maybe past life Olivia put up with your traditional the man wears the pants bullshit…” She turns, walking away. “Current life Olivia… not so much.”
As she crosses the room, she spews out words that make Scott look at Ethan in shock.
“Dear God, is that the hormones talking?”
“Yep.”
“I’ve never heard her carry on like that before. Does she do that often?”
“Yep.” Ethan glances over at the horror on Scott’s face and starts to chuckle. “There’s only one thing that shuts her up.”
“I find it hard to believe anything would shut her up.”
“I’ll bet you five bucks, not only can I get her to shut up, but I can get her to go home and rest.”
“Oh, you’re on. Wait. You’re not going to do anything obscene in the middle of my party, are you?”
Ethan throws his head back in laughter.
“New bet,” Scott offers. “You get her to go home and rest without an argument…but you have to do it without using your cock.”
“Deal. Watch this.” He crosses the room to where Olivia stands, repeating the conversation to a friend.
“Olivia.”
She turns to look at him, shooting daggers with her eyes. Ignoring him, she resumes her rant.
Scott taunts him, waving his five-dollar bill as he joins him.
“Just watch and prepare to be amazed. It works every time,” Ethan promises. “Olivia,” he interrupts again, tapping her on the back.
She glances briefly over her shoulder. “I will go home and rest, when I’m ready to go home and rest, and maybe I won’t rest at all.”
Scott laughs.
“Don’t celebrate just yet. I’ve only just begun,” Ethan advises. “Are you ready for this?”
He grabs her by the waist and pulls her against him. Lowering his mouth to her shoulder, he nibbles and nips that sensual little spot that only he knows how to find. She struggles at first but quickly relaxes as he moves along her neck. He knows the exact moment that she’s ready and he turns her, claiming her lips.
Scott admires his handiwork.
Her hands move to his shoulders and then around his neck. She holds him, deepening the kiss and moaning as she runs her fingers through his hair.
He bites at her lip, teasing her with a series of brief kisses, pulling away in between. “I’m taking you home now,” he insists. “You need to rest.”
She brushes her fingers across his cheek and smiles. “Okay, I’ll get my purse.” She walks away, eager to get back to the house.
Ethan turns and gives Scott a cocky grin. He stands beside him in complete awe, his mouth open and his hand holding a five-dollar bill. “That was fucking brilliant.”
Ethan snatches the bill out of his hand. “I know! Right?”
“What are you going to do if that stops working?”
“Then my friend, I’ll hide, until the whole ugly thing is over with.”
“Jesus, maybe it’s a good thing Rachel doesn�
��t want to have kids. I don’t think I’d survive her pregnancy.”
They break into a hearty laughter.
“What’s so funny?” Rachel asks, as she comes around the corner.
“Doh! Nothing, Honey,” Scott says nervously, as they scatter in different directions.
Chapter Twenty-One
“So dear I love him that with him,
All deaths I could endure.
Without him, live no life.”
Olivia opens her eyes and blinks them rapidly, trying to focus. She turns and finds him, right where he’s supposed to be. Even in his sleep he protects her, guarding her from the darkness. The warmth of his breath against her skin settles her. The words she recalled as she awoke from her sleep, linger on her mind. She doesn’t remember what she was dreaming about, only those words.
The cycle repeats itself for the next two days. She tries to keep herself occupied, but those words are burned into her brain. Ethan has been so busy at Aurora that she has countless hours alone to think about them. For the first time in days, he’s going to be home for dinner. She sets the table and boils a pot of spaghetti. When Ethan comes through the door, she’s so excited to see him that she quickly crosses the room in her bare feet with a huge smile. Ethan drops his stuff on the floor and looks up at her amused.
“Well, it’s nice to see that someone’s happy to see me.”
Olivia raises her hand. “Me!” Startled, she holds her stomach and grimaces. “And baby. Ouch. I wish she’d stop doing that.”
Ethan caresses his hand over her stomach, enchanted by the movement. The muscles in his jaw relax. She can see the exact moment when all the tension leaves his body. Baby O’Connell is the best medicine for her daddy’s stress.
“I made spaghetti.”
“Smells delicious.” Ethan pours himself a glass of wine and picks up her glass. “Did you ask Dave if it was safe to have a glass, now and then.”
“He said it would be fine, but I’ll pass.”
“More for me.” He tips the bottle and fills his glass to the rim.
“Been a rough day?”
“It’s been a rough week.”
Olivia frowns. “I hate that you’re so stressed.”
“Don’t be worrying about me. I’m fine.”
“Tell me what’s going on.” Olivia places a plate of spaghetti in front of him.
“Hammond is doing everything he can to see me fail.”
“That surprises me. He obviously knows who he’s dealing with.”
“Yes, but I think he’s more afraid of his wife than me.”
“Well then, why doesn’t he just fire you and give his nephew the job.”
“My contract, I suppose. I’m pretty sure he’s exhausting every possible resource, trying to find a loophole.”
“Did you have Shannon go over it?”
“I did.”
Olivia lifts her fork to her mouth but before she can close her lips around it, it unwinds and slides off. She looks down and the trail of red sauce and sticky pasta that disappears between her breasts and growls.
Ethan grins. “Shall I get that for you?”
“This reminds me of the first time I cooked you dinner. Remember?”
“Oh, I don’t think I’ll ever forget that night.”
Olivia’s face turns red. “Me neither.” She looks down at her wedding ring and her face lights up. “Back then, would you have ever thought that this is where we’d be now?”
“Back then, all I thought about was you, looking up at me from your knees, with my cock in your mouth.”
“Geez. There goes my hope for romance.”
“Are you wanting romance tonight, Love?”
“Yes, please.”
“Then how about we move the after dinner party over to the couch? We could do a little reminiscing.”
Ethan stretches out on the couch and turns on the TV. “Feeling better now?” she asks, getting to her feet and heading into the kitchen, stark naked.
“Let me think. Oral sex followed by a rigorous hand-job at the end of a very stressful day. I think I feel much better now.”
“Good.”
“You know what would make me feel even better?”
“I’m afraid to ask.”
“If my wife made me a sandwich.”
“Seriously? You just had a huge spaghetti dinner.”
“Being your sex slave burns off a lot of calories.”
Olivia smiles and opens the fridge, looking to see what his sandwich options are. “Do you want tuna or ham?”
“Mother Fucker!” he says loudly from the other room.
“Oookay.” She sticks her head around the corner. “Which suggestion offended you? Fish or pig?”
Ethan stands in the middle of the room, staring at the TV, and looking absolutely distraught. Gone is the stress free man she left, just a few moments ago. “What’s wrong?” she asks, stepping back into the room.
Ethan turns up the volume on the TV and looks at her with an expression of excruciating distress.
International business executive and local restaurant owner, Ethan O’Connell, has been charged with domestic violence and aggravated assault. Our sources have told us that, Mr. O’Connell transferred to the Canadian branch of Aurora Technologies to escape the accusations that he assaulted his girlfriend, at the time. The Irish Guard has confirmed that Jessica Keane of Ireland, who is pregnant with O’Connell’s child, has indeed pressed charges and a hearing has been set for later in the month. Those who know O’Connell say that he has a reputation for having a bad temper and a weakness for pretty girls and Irish whiskey. O’Connell, owner of the newly opened restaurant, “Ireland’s,” is currently residing in Dufferin County with his wife, Olivia James. Ms. James wed O’Connell in a private ceremony, just days after finding out that she too is pregnant with his child. Authorities say that although it is a legal marriage, O’Connell will still have to return to his native Ireland to face the charges. At the time of this broadcast, O’Connell was unavailable for comment.
John McCabe knocks on the door at the crack of dawn. “The media is already parked out on the road, waiting for you to leave,” he advises Ethan when he opens the door.
“Fuckers.”
“Can’t you just stay home today? Let it blow over?” Olivia pleads.
“It’s not going to blow over.” He twists her curls around her finger. “Try and get some sleep, please.”
“I was going to go into the office today and see if Jeremiah has any projects for me to work on.”
“Like hell you are. You need to rest.” He turns and gives John a very serious look. “Make sure she stays put today. I want you to stay with her. I don’t trust anyone else.”
John nods. “Travis and his team are waiting outside. Whenever you’re ready, they’ll escort you downtown.”
Ethan moves toward the door, but Olivia holds on to his shirt. He looks down at her hand and then back at her worried look. He forces a small smile and pulls her in for one last hug.
“I’m sorry to drag you into my shitshow.”
“It’s our shitshow now. You’re stuck with me.”
“I’m a very lucky man.” He presses his lips to the top of her head. “Don’t cause John any grief today, Love.”
“I agree,” John chimes in. “Don’t cause John any grief today.”
Olivia makes a face. “Well, there goes all the fun I had planned.”
Ethan quirks a small smile as he pulls open the door. “Just behave and do what you’re told. I need you to be safe.”
She pulls her sweater around her, protecting herself from the cool breeze. Ethan turns one last time and locks onto her gaze. The energy between them is strong, he feels like he can take on the world as long as she is standing by his side. She blows him a kiss, returning his unvoiced thoughts.
Travis and Adam are waiting outside on the front porch, dressed all in black and sporting security earpieces. John closes the door quickly, forcing Olivia to move to t
he window. She peeks through a small opening in the curtain, watching as a team of burly men hold back screaming reporters at the end of the driveway, while Ethan is escorted safely to the car. The black sedan with heavily tinted windows pulls slowly out of the driveway, inching forward, and forcing them out of the way.
“Jesus.” Olivia lets the curtain close. “I don’t know how Nate and Maddie cope with this all the time.”
“It’s intense, that’s for sure,” John agrees. “I don’t know if anyone ever gets used to it.”
Olivia’s phone rings and she rushes into the other room to answer it. She’s already disconnecting the call when she returns to the room. She frowns and it makes John nervous.
“Who was it?”
“It was Officer Kessler. She said she needs to see me today. She has information about Sam’s case.”
John cracks open the curtain and a bunch of meandering reporters jump to life. “Go and get dressed. Maybe they’ll get bored soon and leave.” He sighs, “Then I’ll take you in.”
Ethan arrives at the Toronto office of Aurora Technologies and fights the same crowd of reporters, all eager for his side of the story. The security team clears a path for them to get into the underground parking. Nobody is getting past this crew. Well, almost nobody. Ethan gets out of the car and runs his fingers through his hair. “Hello, Eva.”
“You’re in the thick of it, aren’t you, boy?”
“Yes, I am. I suppose you’re going to tell me you saw this coming?”
“It’s what’s coming, that’s brought me here.”
“Oh, and what’s that?”
Eva stares at him choosing her words carefully. “Stars can’t shine unless they’re surrounded by darkness.”
“What the ever-loving-fuck does that mean?” he says, feeling frustrated.
“Ethan,” Travis urges. “Let’s get you inside. Away from any clear camera shots.”
Ethan walks away, his eyes following Eva as he passes.
“It’s the path she’s meant to walk, boy. You’ll know what you have to do, when the time comes.”
Adam rushes him through the doors and closes it behind him. They choose to take the stairs to the lobby, to avoid any further crowds. Ethan runs his hand along the wall on the landing, remembering his time here. He wishes he had her pressed up against the cool cement right now. Forget all this madness.
Indivisible Souls: Book 3 of the Bound4Ireland Series Page 22