Always With You Part Two (5 page)

CHAPTER NINE

Olivia

When I
see Cash, Gavin and Jason King reappear through the emergency exit, I relax. I see Cash shake Jason’s hand and clap him on the shoulder, man-style, before Gavin says something to him and heads into the crowd with Jason following slightly behind. 

As Cash is ducking into the office, he catches my eyes on him and winks, sending a little thrill down my spine. I can’t help smiling. All is well. 

When the office door closes, I let my gaze wander to Gavin and Jason as they make their way through the thick cluster of dancers.  Easily six inches taller than most everyone else, Jason moves with a feline grace that reminds me of a lion picking his way through clumps of grass on the plains of Africa—strong, lithe, fearless.  Certain that he can outmatch any other creatures in his world. 

He glances in my direction and gives me a penetrating look.  This time, I recognize that little something that put me at ease earlier.  There’s a protective light in the honey-gold orbs.  Steely yet warm.  Like being wrapped in comfortable Kevlar if a look can convey such a thing.  It assures me we’re in good hands.

At the doors, before he slips into the night and out of sight, one side of his mouth curves up into a lop-sided grin.  That’s when I know that everything is going to be okay.  We
are
in good hands. I can feel it.

CHAPTER TEN

Olivia

The next
day, it didn’t take Dad long to shoo me off, so I declared it another work night.  Cash would be working since Gavin had something to do. I might as well be there, too.  No one has heard from Sophie, so no one knows if she plans to show up for her shift or not.

I vote for not.

Ever.

It’s just past seven when I walk through the front doors to find Sophie behind the bar already, turning on her biggest smile and her snake-like charm for none other than Jason King.  I frown automatically.

I didn’t get the impression that he’s the type of guy to be swayed by a pretty face, but he
is
a guy.  As long as he has a functioning penis—which I fully suspect that he does, based on his behavior last night—there’s no telling what kind of trouble a beautiful woman could lure him into. 

And Sophie is more trouble than most, I think.

Of course, I don’t think Jason King is the average man either.  Between the two of them, I couldn’t be sure who’s the most dangerous to the opposite sex.  But then I hear him laugh and he turns that gorgeous face toward me when the door clicks shut and I have my answer.

Jason. Hands down.  He’s absolutely deadly to anything with a pulse, I think. In one way or another.

I shake off my unease and plaster on my professional, unaffected smile as I nod and make my way forward into the empty club.  Jason nods and more or less forces Sophie to stop her audacious flirting and acknowledge me, which she does with a sickeningly sweet amount of sugar.

“Olivia!  Hi, hon!  How are you feeling today?”

If I had false teeth, they’d probably fall out of my gaping mouth. 
Hon?  How am
I
feeling today?

Something’s rotten and I know just what it is.  Or, rather,
who
it is
.

“I’m
great,
Sophie!  How are
you
feeling? I’m assuming you’re not still sick. I mean, you
were
under the weather last night.  Right?”

She isn’t fazed.  “I wasn’t feeling very well. I think I must’ve been overexposed to something that didn’t agree with me.  An irritant maybe.”  Her eyes harden on mine, making it clear to me
precisely
what she means.  She looks quickly back to Jason and smiles.  “I have allergies.”

Good thing you’re not allergic to bullshit! 

I think that, but I say, “Yes, there are some unbearably annoying irritants around this year.  Seems like the holidays brought some pests along with our presents, doesn’t it?”

My tone is saccharine.  My expression is passive.  My heart is kickboxing inside my chest with the rush of adrenaline I feel sparring with her.  I just wish I was able to throw jabs at her actual face. 

She laughs, handily reaching out to touch Jason’s forearm where it’s stretched along the edge of the bar.  “Do you know Olivia very well?  She’s so funny! It’s like she lives in her own little world, all by herself.”

I fume at her insinuation, but another, more rational part of me pipes up to remind me that if she sets her sights on Jason King, she’ll be leaving Cash alone.  And, of course, she has no idea that Jason is here to investigate her.  Oh, the slam to her ego!  This just might turn out to be a good night after all.

At that (and to Sophie’s consternation), I throw off my anger, toss back my head and laugh.  Genuinely laugh. “Oh, Sophie,” I say when my glee dies down.  “If you only knew.”

Still beaming, I leave her to wonder about my meaning and I head for the office to gloat in private.

φφφφφφφφ

Working with Sophie who is determined to flirt with Jason King, and watching Jason King who is investigating Sophie, makes for a disturbing and interesting night.  The disturbing part comes from Sophie of course. She’s nauseating.  She is at her very best (which is, as much as I hate to admit it, good for business), lively and fun, casting her sexy glances at Jason at every possible opportunity.

The interesting part comes from watching Jason.  Good Lord, that man is potent!  His attention isn’t even directed at me this time, but damn!  I can still feel the heat from those whiskey eyes and the energy from that sexy smile.  My heart and soul are taken, so I can look and enjoy from a distance.  Which is
totally
what I’m doing.

A couple of times, when Sophie has been either engaged with a customer or had her back to Jason doing something at the cash register, he’s glanced over at me and winked.  All I can say is that Ginger had better be glad she’s not working tonight.  I’m not sure her fondness for Gavin could withstand the attention of a guy like Jason King.

I’m fond of his little winks.  They’re playful and almost…conspiratorial, like we’re sharing a joke. Or a common enemy, which we are in Sophie.  Those cute little gestures reassure me that he’s no more under her spell than Cash is, penis or not.  I love that he comes with superhuman powers to resist a beautiful woman.  I like the guy already and I’m very encouraged that he’ll get results. 

When the crowd dies down enough that Sophie can handle them
and
flirting with Jason, I make a quick trip to the office.  Cash is sitting at his desk, leaning back with his hands laced behind his head, deep in thought.  I close the door and launch myself at his lap, wrapping my arms around his neck.

“That Jason is—”

His finger to my lips cuts me off. He rolls his eyes toward the cracked apartment door and I cringe.  “She’s sleeping,” he explains.

“I’m glad she can sleep through a lot of noise,” I say in a hushed voice. I’m not sure why.  My talking voice isn’t much louder than the muted music on the other side of the office door.

Cash nods and smiles. 

“Um, I think Jason is a very nice and competent guy.  I can see where he and Gavin would…get along.”

He nods again.  “Come on.”

He nudges me off his lap and takes me by the hand, leading me out the office door and to the exit that leads to the back of the club.  He uses his key to deactivate the alarm and we slip into the night.  When the door closes, the noise of the club is replaced with a shroud of quiet that falls down around us like a cozy blanket.

Before I can even ask what we’re doing, Cash pushes me up against the rough brick wall and kisses me.  And not just a quick peck, but one of those long kisses that leaves me breathless and achy.  The languid swipe of his tongue along mine reminds me of the hundred of wonderful nights (and days and afternoons and mornings and evenings) that we’ve spent together, touching and kissing and licking. 

When he raises his head, his breathing is labored, too.  “Been wanting to do that all night,” he says in his sexy-hoarse voice.

All I can hear is the beat of my own heart and my wispy gasps echoing off the brick walls that surround us in the little rear courtyard.  For all intents and purposes, we are alone.  In the cool, quiet night, we are finally all alone.

“If I’d known that, I’d have managed to get away sooner.”

He nips my bottom lip with his teeth then pulls it between his own lips to suck gently. A little bolt of want shoots straight through me and lands in my core like a crack of thunder.  Suddenly, I don’t care what’s on the other side of the door; I just want Cash’s hands on me.

“You know it’s rude to leave a girl in this condition, right?”

One raven brow arches over one raven eye.  “Is that right?  And what would you have me to do about it?”

My grin barely has time to form before I slide my tongue into his mouth and kiss him with everything I have, letting all that I feel for him flow between us.  Suddenly needy, urgent, I fist my fingers in his hair, I press my bent leg into his hip, and I cry out with my every muscle and nerve for Cash to touch me.

And he does.  His big hands skate along my sides, teasing the curve of my breast, brushing the dip of my waist, and digging into the meat of my ass.

I arch into him, into his hands, rubbing my body along the hard planes of his.  I drag my palm down his stair-stepped abdomen and cup the thick ridge of his erection, desire pooling in my panties like a moist plea.

He stops dead, nothing but our own brand of magic and passion vibrating between us.

“Olivia,” he breathes into my mouth, a question or a statement I don’t know. Either way, I answer with a moan that tells him all that I’m feeling inside.

And just like that, we are lost.  Swept away.  His hands are working at my zipper and my nipples are throbbing against his chest.  He pushes my pants and panties down my legs and I step hurriedly out of them, anxious to be back in contact with him.  With a quick yank, Cash’s own jeans are open and he’s free.  Long and hard and free.  And all mine. 

I wind my fingers around him, stroking from wide base to silky tip in a single swipe.  One is all I can get before he pulls me roughly against him, plants his lips onto mine, and lifts me off my feet.

In one smooth motion, Cash sets my back against the wall and drives his body up into mine.  Hard, deep, desperate.  It steals my breath, that sensation of being home, of being filled to the brim with the hardness of the man I love.

He growls, sinking his teeth into my chin as I scrape my fingernails along his bare shoulder, urging him on.  He withdraws and then slams back up into me, going even deeper.  Flame explodes from his tip and scorches my insides, detonating behind my eyes in a fiery pulse that sets my whole world on fire.

I cry out, unable to hold in the name that tumbles from my lips.  “Cash!”

“Jesus!” he groans, grinding his body into mine.  Seconds after my own release, I feel the hot spurt of his, filling me with more warmth, turning my muscles to jelly.

I sag against his chest, leaning away from the wall.  Without pulling out of me, Cash turns until he is the one leaning against the brick, still holding me, my legs still wrapped around his waist. 

“Christ Almighty, my knees don’t want to work,” he pants, half laughing.  I laugh with him, loving that I turn his body into butter, like he does mine.

“I love you, Mr. Davenport,” I tell him, burying my face in his neck, inhaling the scent that’s all Cash.

“I love you more, Mrs. Davenport,” he replies breathlessly.

“Not possible.”

“Quite possible.”

“Never.”

“Always.”

I smile against his skin when he kisses my shoulder, fully aware that when we are like this, nothing else in the world matters. Nothing.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Cash

I don’t
really want to set my wife down, but I know I have to. We can’t stay out here forever, no matter how much I’d like nothing else.  Her little grunt of displeasure tells me she feels the same way.

I bend down and pick up her clothes to hand to her and turn to lean one shoulder against the wall.  “As much as I
loved
what just happened, I actually brought you out here to tell you something.”

“I figured,” she says, her grin saying she doesn’t regret our…sidebar one bit.

I watch her pull her flimsy panties up her long, toned legs and I lose my train of thought for a few seconds.  “Well?” she says, forcing my attention back to the reason I brought her out here.

“Right, ummm, Jason King.  When I talked to him this morning, he said Sophie left the apartment last night while I was out with Isabella.  He saw her sneaking back in right before
he
came in.”

Olivia frowns, pausing with her leg bent, getting ready to put it into her jeans.  “Maybe she had to run out for something.”

“I texted her before I brought Isabella back to make sure she didn’t need anything.  She told me no, that she was fine. Said she’d been asleep and was just going to take it easy for the rest of the night.”

“Oh,” she says flatly.  “So where do you think she went?”

I shrug.  “Hard to say.”

“What does Jason think?”

“He doesn’t say much. I don’t know what he found out about her life back in Canada, or what she’s been doing since she left here.  Maybe he’s piecing it all together, but I’m sure he’ll tell me when he has something.”

“Hopefully sooner rather than later.”

“Hopefully.  But we know she’s lying to cover up
something,
which means she might be lying about more.  With Sophie it’s hard to say.”

Olivia crosses her arms over her chest and leans up against the wall beside me. Her eyes are focused on the tips of her shoes and her voice is small when she speaks next.  “Was she like this when you knew her before?”

“Pretty much. She’s always been a wild card.  It’s what I used to like about her.  Before I knew better.”

“Before you knew better?”

“Yeah, before I knew what I really wanted, what I really valued in life.  Before I knew
who
I really wanted.  Sophie was a phase.”

“So you don’t regret that she said no?”

Damn you, Sophie!
I think to myself, gritting my teeth.  I can hear the hurt in Olivia’s voice, even though I know she’s trying to hide it.  I would’ve told her if she’d asked, but I dreaded it. I knew it would hurt her to know.

“That’s not what you think.”

She raises hopeful eyes to mine.  “It’s not?”

I smile, reaching out to tenderly trace the delicate curve of her cheek. “No, it’s not.  She told me she was pregnant. I was trying to do the right thing.  Nothing more.”

“But Isabella…I thought you didn’t…”

“She wasn’t actually pregnant.  She just wanted me to run away with her.  Not bad enough to marry me to get it, though.”

“She lied about being pregnant to get you to run away with her?”

I nod.

Olivia’s mouth works open and closed and few times before her lips thin and she scowls.  “That bitch!”

“She cried, said she just wanted to be with me, away from her dad.  I sort of understood, I guess. Her father was a real piece of work, but to go to those lengths to get away from him…”

“I thought she moved to Canada
with
her father?”

“She did. She had to.  When
my
father found out what had happened…well, things were strained between them already, so…”

“He asked them to leave?”

“Yeah. Pretty much. I’m not sure they had much choice. He never went into too much detail with me.”

“Were you…were you upset when she left?”

“I was.  We’d been friends for years before we were…more.  I hated that she lied to me, even though I understood her reasoning, but I still missed her when they left.  If she’d just been honest with me…If she’d just told me up front… I think that bothered me more than anything.”

“So she
did
break your heart?”

One side of my mouth crooks up at her. “No, Olivia.  There’s only one person who has ever
had
my heart to break.  And that’s you.  If something happened to you…or something took you from me…”  I shudder, literally, at the thought. I can’t imagine my life without her.  Hell, I don’t even want to try.

She cups my cheek with her cool hand.  “That’s never going to happen. We are forever, Cash.  You and me?  Nothing can tear us apart.  Not even some blonde bimbo from your past.”

“Blonde bimbo?” I ask, amused.

Her grin is sheepish. “Yeah, I’ve been holding that one in.”

“Well don’t.  Say what you feel.  It won’t bother me in the least, I swear.”

“I just didn’t want to make things awkward between us if…if…you
did
have feelings for her.”

“I did, but not feelings like you were thinking.  Everyone else on this whole planet…they’re tiny in comparison to you.
You
are what matters to me most.  Always.”

Seemingly satisfied, she leans her head back against the wall.  “So, what’s next? What are we going to do about Sophie?”

“We’re going to let Jason find out what she’s up to and wait on the results of that paternity test.  She doesn’t have to be a problem for us.”

“I know. I guess her arrival here, with a kid no less, just made me even more insecure about things I was already feeling uneasy about.”

“I know, baby.  I wish I could make you see that you’re all I need to be happy.  Ever.”

“I’m beginning to get the picture.”

“Good, because if we stay out here much longer, those pants are gonna have to come off again,” I warn her, taking her hand and placing it on my straining zipper.

“Already?” she asks with a devilish giggle.

“Any time you’re around…”

“Well, as much as I want to torture you about this right now, I should probably get back. I left Sophie out there alone.”

“Go be a bartender then,” I say with a sigh, smacking her delicious ass when she turns to wiggle toward the door.  “You can be my wife again later tonight.  Deal?” I ask as I open the door.

“Deal,” she says, leaning back to give me a loud kiss before we enter the club.