Olivia’s POV:After that shocking encounter with Brandon, I distanced myself from his potency. I try my best not to be alone with him and I leave the hotel in a haste. Being an Aunt to Ethan is overwhelming and draining. But I’m not complaining. Before heading home, I pass by this small bar to pass the time and for drinks. It’s a small bar uptown that we visited last time with a client, and I can’t say I won’t be sad. This place works because of location and size and the chill ambiance. Mostly, members of the workforce who wanted to relax before heading home.The main bar is busy, crews running around wiping down surfaces, restocking and hoovering. It’s late, so they are almost done with the ritual clean up.“Hi, Olivia!” The bartender waved at me. “The usual?”“Yes, Millie.” I nodded and went for my usual spot.I watched one of the bar girls meticulously inspected shelves and wiping them down before giving her co-worker hell for missing some grubby spots, and my attention is piqued. I
Olivia’s POV:I throw my third sexy dress on the bed and slumped down in a deflated heap, annoyed with myself that I’m doing exactly what I said I wouldn’t do. I’m actually prettying myself up for him and stressing over how to dress and what to wear like some sad little teenage idiot on a first date. I can’t believe myself sometimes. Brandon texted me and told me to be ready for six and dress casually. Ironic, really, as that was my original plan, to show a lack of effort, and now, here I am with a bed full of dresses, and he is the one telling me to dress down. Whatever that means. “Damn it, Olivia! Could you relax?!” I hissed at myself. “You’re overreacting and it’s not fine! Look at your room! You turned it upside down to find an outfit that says ‘dressed down’!”Frankly, I don’t know if he means casual, pretty for somewhere like an Italian restaurant, or jeans and sweater casual. I’m not asking him because he will think I’m keen for tonight and definitely not. This is my first s
Olivia’s POV:I get a warm smile thrown back at me, and I’m once again hauled behind him, rather aggressively for a guy attempting charm and adoration. I try to wriggle my hand free, but he holds on tighter and flashes me that look of his that says, ‘keep trying, I’m not letting go’.I get pulled at a brisk pace to the front door, where I’m silenced with a chaste kiss thrown on my lips when he paused. My heart threatened to drill my ribs from the inside and keeping it cool was a chore. “You know kissing me isn’t the one thing we should do when we aren’t actually a thing.” I point out blandly.“Well, we kind of hugged last time, so I’m guessing it’s not really a step too far to do it.” I get that cheeky arrogant smirk, and I slapped him in the shoulder impulsively.“Hey! That’s rude and not very gentlemanly. In case you want to know, you’re not doing a great job of making me want to date you.” I huffed and get even more annoyed when that smirk turns into a wider grin, Brandon was amuse
Olivia's POV:“Brandon!” I freaked out, hating this feeling of trapped, muffled isolation and I only stopped when his voice came through my ear from the side loudly, almost like he is in here with me.“Liv. Hey. Can you hear me?”Immediately, I stop the manic panic and nodded mutely. Not sure how the hell he can be inside my helmet, but it has the calming effect. “How?”“Technology. You can talk, you know. These helmets have built-in wireless speakers and mics, so we can still hear each other over the bike.”He tapped the visor in my face as though motioning to inside the helmet, and I giggled nervously, so much tension whooshing away as I do so. The sudden lack of panting makes the visor clear up again, and I can see perfectly out of it. It just takes some getting used to.“Right … weird.” I don’t know if it is because I’ve never been on a bike before, or I find it odd that helmets have wireless comms now. “You sound so close.”“I’m close, and in a minute, you will have to hold on to
Olivia’s POV:The place doesn’t feel unused, but it’s chilly considering the season and warmth will complete its perfection. I’m also sure he must have had a cleaner recently as there is not a speck of dirt and the whole place smells fresh with a washcloth hanging on the tap over the sink. It looks damp and is hung neatly to dry out. Everything is gleaming from a very recent scrub, most likely in the last few hours. It’s cute that he got this place worthy of a visit. As always, his attention to detail is something we have in common.“This looks too small for both,” I added with a giggle, anticipation pushed me to flip up the lid on the cardboard box that’s barely big enough to fit a mug or maybe a corsage. I laughed out loud when I spied the chocolate cupcake covered in pastel-colored sugar flowers. A generous-sized cake for one from my favorite bakery. I would recognize one of their cakes anywhere. “Really, Brandon?”It’s touching and gave me a warm gooey feeling.“What? You like cak
Olivia’s POV:I like this place; it gives you that instant calm feeling of being somewhere safe and welcoming. A bit like being in his arms. I shook that thought from my head before my brain follows the ‘being in his arms’ part to something a little more X-rated and reminded myself, I’m supposed to be dissecting this man and figuring him out. “Hmm, ladies first.” Brandon urged me. “I already told you I like you.”“Okay…that depends on how much I’m allowed to know,” I asked with a slight brow raise and a half-smile. My seductress side is smoothly flowing now I am more at ease.“Whatever you want. I meant it when I said I would earn your trust. If that means being an open book and telling you whatever you want to know, then here we are.” He gestured around him, overseeing me.“You could have done that at the hotel. Why bring me here?”“This is my little corner away from reality, Liv. A sanctuary, I guess. I get to leave the corporate me at the door and just be me. A teen kid who’s stil
Alice couldn’t help but rely on the gut feeling that Brandon wasn’t being completely honest with her. He hasn’t texted her the whole day and didn’t drop since yesterday. It was something very un-Brandon-like. He adored her---no, he’s a very devoted partner and this was sacrilege on Alice’s part.She tried calling his phone but all calls went straight to voicemail. “Where are you, Brandon? You better have a good reason for doing this to me.” She muttered under her breath as she entered the luxurious hotel lobby.They were never out in the public but it wouldn’t hurt to check on his natural habitat if he’s there and just deliberately trying to avoid her. Poised and dressed to impress under the designer coat she had on, she made her way to the receptionist who smiled at her like she was the most important person in the planet.“Good evening, Miss. How may I be of service to you?” She politely queried.“I’m looking for Brandon Pembroke, by any chance, is he still here in his office? I’m o
Olivia’s POV:Brandon tilted his head as my lips meet his aggressively and cupped my jaw with his hand to pull me snugly and comfortably as he ducks lower. Not that I’m surprised or complaining. Pushing his fingers into the underside of my hair, clamping me to him possessively and taking immediate control.I have a severe weakness for this man dominating me the second kissing is involved. Weirdly, as in life, I hated it whenever he exerts his authority over me at any other time. He’s an alpha male, though, and in this, I don’t want his submission.Right now, I want him to devour me. He’s most impressive when he is in control. He makes me feel desirable and addicted when he overpowers me sexually. Damn.He kissed me softly at first and then opens his lips to tease mine with them and traced my tongue with his. Sensations are swirling, making me dizzy and giddy all at once. Waves of flutters rush from my head to my toes, and my body responded quickly.Brandon kissed me tenderly rather th
Olivia’s POV:I lift a little higher, pausing and looking away to his chest, letting his eyes scan all of me as he stands motionless, listening, watching, taking it in and analyzing me with that quick brain. I get nothing from him, even when he slides his gaze down over my naked breasts and curves and comes slowly back up to lock on mine with a serious look that penetrates my soul. The smile faded away, but he still has a joyous aura surrounding him. “I will never give up on you. If you want this, you will never get rid of me again. I swear. I’m in this for the long haul, Liv.” “Good. Now take your clothes off, get over here and make love to me. It’s about time we stopped fucking around and got down to the real business.” I smirk as I say it. Hardly a sweet romantic seduction, but one thing I have learned is that I need to find my backbone with him.I was made to deal with this arrogant man. I need to remember that when dealing with him. He then breaks into the most gorgeous ungua
Olivia’s POV:I like this apartment; it somehow seems like I have been here before even though I have never laid eyes on it. I love the open space and simple furnishings. Nothing overly showy or flashy, nothing fussy. Just enough to feel comfy and relaxed in a way that invites you to come in and lounge your cares away. It’s peaceful and feels like home, even though I’m a stranger within its walls.It’s no surprise I like it, though; one thing I found when making the club gorgeous was that Lexi and I have a similar taste in décor, and we gel well in terms of style. We can argue about most things, but we never argued over styling choices.I waste no time in sinking into the hot bath and letting my weary bones blend with the water, turning my limbs to fluid weightlessness. I exhale with relief at the comforting feel of hot liquid overtaking my skin as it submerges and slides over all the tiny marks and grazes, littering the surface, cleansing them of grime and blood. Stings and nips beco
Olivia’s POV: She smiles again, nothing but warmth in that wrinkled little face, and I wonder if she was an attempt at giving himself a stand-in mother. She has that maternal vibe, and I could see why he wouldn’t want the hassle of a live-in maid whom he has banged. He hates women trailing around after him when he’s done with them.He made himself what he lacked, and I can see why he never let me come here before. A cozy home he never lets on is his, a dog and a motherly maid. Like his small apartment, this place is somewhere he can be someone else, and it feeds a side of him that his mother never nurtured. “Of course.” I falter, covering my sheer lack of knowing what’s happening or even something as basic about him as not liking reheated food. It’s not something that ever came up, seeing as I don’t cook for him or have ever had to get food for him. A girlfriend should know these things, though. I want to know these things about him.After today I guess that’s a moot subject, and I
Olivia's POV:Walking in the door, ushered by Orlie, we are all in complete silence. I don’t even take the time to acknowledge him. I have no words anyway. I'm disheveled, filthy, and broken inside as I’m led into a massive open plan penthouse apartment that I would never think of putting him in. A building in Upper Manhattan’s most luxurious area.“He owns this.” Orlie stated as if reading my mind.It’s warmer and homelier than the other one he took me to. There are substantial soft corner couches, side tables, and furniture for lounging and laying cups by your side, in front of vast windows spanning entire walls and showing New York at its finest in sweeping views. I feel like we are on top of the world as we are so high up in a vast modern yet comfy home. My eyes scan the roaring glass fire in the natural brick pillar standing imposingly in the middle of the room, giving no natural heat, so it’s a digital screen. It serves as a divider to the metal railed stairway behind it at the
Olivia’s POV:Oh, God no.He twists my wrist painfully, causing me to release the shoe finally and its clatters to the ground with an anticlimactic little noise as it slides from his gaping wound. My only hope of fighting a man this size. He overpowers me cruelly, and all I can do is grasp at his legs to stop myself crying out with the pain he’s inflicting. He is going for a broken bone.And then, she’s there. Alice.“Well, look at you. Not so pretty in a disheveled state are you?”“Boss, we can play with her, right?” The other man insisted.“Not yet. I’m waiting for Harvey. He’s on his way here, say, fifteen minutes with the documents because Olivia here will transfer all her money to me. Did you know, it was our original plan, me and Brandon? Unfortunately, he fell in love with you----so the money comes first and then, I’ll take him back. And we live happily ever after because you are dead.”“You’re lying.”“Oh, wait until Harvey shows up. I sent him the photos and the record and hop
Brandon’s POV:I stopped just when Harvey was about to ride with us. An idea dawned on me. I know Alice. I know how she thinks. “Harvey, go back to your office. Alice will call you. She will want Olivia’s money in exchange for her life. I’m sure. Don’t let her know that you already know. I’ll open my GPS, you know what to do.”Harvey nodded. I thought he was going to be difficult. “Okay, be safe. Take care of her. I’ll take of things on my end.”I hope I know how Alice mind works. Or else.Olivia’s POV:The noise in the alley comes back down towards me, echoing eerily, and I completely freeze, pushing my attention fully on Brandon to zone out the fear. He is quiet, but I can hear noises on his end as I clutch it to my ear. I think he is checking his screen for my location and leaving the call open, but he isn’t listening. I can hear voices in the background, Orlie and the other men as he tells them which turn to take. I can hear so much of where he is and the fact they are on the mov
Olivia’s POV:These are not from the hotel’s security. They might be the men Brandon warned me about, I just gave them all of me, with my stupidity. God knows how long they have been hanging at a distance watching the comings and goings in case they got a chance at picking me off. It’s horrifying to imagine they may have been out here this whole time, waiting for a time like this.I glance at him moving in, and the man from the car is now behind me, blocking my path. Eyes doing a quick scan of every avenue around me. I am aware of both, and my senses tell me how far away from actually touching them. I am more aware of the one behind me as it instils a higher fear factor, but my brain calms, and the part that works well in a crisis moves in to formulate an exit strategy. Adrenaline kicks in, and I do what I do best. I lift my feet and run like a bat out of hell crazy woman with no desire to die, to my right, down the alley.I used to be an athlete so I’m pretty swift in my departure. T
Brandon’s POV:“Where are you, Olivia? I told you to stay. Damn, how stubborn can she be?” I asked myself out loud, pacing her office for the nth time.“Relax, for all we know, she’s here and there’s nothing to worry about, sir.” Orlie tried to calm me but I can’t help myself.I’ve given her strict orders not to go anywhere alone. My guts tell me that Alice was just biding her time and she’s not really walking away even if I bribed her with money. She’s better than that, cunning and dangerous all rolled into one. My phone is in my hand and I’ve dialed her number so many times and sent her text messages that went from pleading to threatening if she didn’t show up any moment from now.The door knob to her office moved and I braced myself. But it wasn’t her. It was Harvey and the moment the lawyer laid his eyes on me----he was instantly enraged. He scanned the office before returning his gaze on me.“You…” he seethed. “Where is Olivia?”I shrugged. “That makes the two of us. I can’t find
Olivia’s POV:I wander a little further onto the cracked concrete pavement and walk in small circles for a while, hidden from view by the tall half-standing wall that used to be some sort of barrier. It’s high enough to act as a shade for me. I pace absentmindedly to try to calm my erratic swishing insides and breathless angst until the air penetrates my clothes and cools me down to a mild shiver. One eye on the group of men for no real reason and satisfied they haven’t acknowledged me over here at all.It’s not overly freezing today, and my dress is made of wool, so it’s warm enough not to go in for a jacket. I keep moving until I’m around fifteen feet from them, gazing out into the street and the traffic coming and going at the far end of the long lane ahead. The hotel nestles in a side alley not far from the main road, so the immediate area in front of me is car-free even though it's noisy out here. It can be peaceful if you walk far enough from milling security groups.I stare up