Harvey (A MacLaughlin Family Novella Book 3) (3 page)

“I thought I could just forget, but every time you touch me I remember more of what my ex said before he left.” She pulled away and leaned against the wall. “I’m sorry. You should go. I’m a mess.”

Harvey didn’t leave. In fact, he stepped closer and wrapped his arms around her body, pulling her tight. He tucked her head sweetly below his chin. “What did this guy say to you, Liv?”

The question rumbled up from his chest gently. He wasn’t angry or upset. True concern was all she could
distinguish in his tone.

“He said I was horrible in bed. That no guy would ever enjoy sleeping with me.” A sob shuddered through her.
Why am I telling him this? He’ll never want to see me again.
“He only slept with me once before he broke it off. He said once was all he needed to know we wouldn’t work out. After that, I’ve just avoided men. But, you...”

“What about me? What made you take a chance on me?”

“You seemed so charming. Even remembering the name of the traffic reporter on your news channel. No one remembers my name...You talked about your family like you really loved them. Like you’d want me to meet them and you’d just met me. You look at me differently than Todd ever did.”

“Why did you take one man’s opinion to heart? He’s just one asshole of a guy from the sound of it. I assure you. Sleeping with you will not be a chore or unenjoyable or terrible. It will be fantastic and beautiful and fun and I won’t be able to get enough of you.”

“How can you say that? You’ve only just kissed me.” She turned in his arms to face him and pressed her hands against his chest. He was so strong. His arms flexed around her and the muscles on his chest rippled beneath her fingertips.

“I don’t know how any man could say otherwise after kissing you. Why do you give him the right to be the judge, jury, and executioner on your sex life? Liv, you’re a beautiful, sexy, sweet woman.”

“He’s the only man I’ve slept with.” There. It was out.

He stilled.

Here it comes.
She prepared herself for the let down. She’d known it would come. Todd said no man would ever enjoy her.

“You said that asshat only slept with you once.”

“Y-yes,” she whispered.

“He told you that crap after taking your virginity?”

Why was he making this worse? Instead of releasing her, his hold tightened.

She nodded to answer his last question. It was embarrassing. Why did he keep asking? Nobody wanted an inexperienced virgin who didn’t know what she was doing. She wasn’t holding him back. He could walk out the hotel room door at any moment. Why was he still clinging to her like she was the one about to slip away.

He dropped to his knees. She looked down at him and tried to step back, but he snaked his arms around her waist. “Let me prove to you he was lying. Give me a chance to show you.”

Shouldn’t it be the other way around. Shouldn’t I be the one begging?

He pulled up the hem of her shirt and kissed her stomach. His teeth nipped along her side and her body roared to life. Pleasant sensations rippled across her skin. The all-to-familiar ache in her womb started and radiated outward.

“Please, Liv. Trust me.”

She wanted to. She wanted to banish those mortifying accusations from her mind forever.

“I do.”

“I promise, you won’t regret those words.”

His lips went back to her stomach and those butterflies jumped a few more times. He pulled the waistband of her yoga pants down, a little at a time, until they dropped, pooling around her feet.

She trembled, wondering if he was going to take her panties off and just take her right here in the middle of the hotel room. But, he didn’t. Instead, he stood and slowly removed her hoodie and then the tank top.

“You’re so beautiful, Liv.”

A shiver ran down her spine, but she managed a smile. It couldn’t be as bad as last time. Harvey had to be right. Todd was an ass. Maybe he really had lied.

She shivered. Cool air rushed across her mostly bare body. Her nipples pebbled and poked at their lacy confines. He put his mouth on one and nipped through the black lace. She gasped, but stood still. It had been so long since a man had touched her —in a sexual way. Harvey didn’t stay there long, but moved his mouth to the other nipple. Her breathing sped up and her panties got even wetter, if that was possible.

He looked up and met her gaze. His soft blue eyes asking for permission to continue. He was being so sweet and kind. Could she be so lucky? She nodded and he unsnapped her bra. He pulled it from her shoulders and groaned.

“Perfect breasts.” He dipped his head and licked across the nipples of each in turn. “Liv, you taste so good.”

She bit back another moan and held her breath. He slipped his fingers down her torso, ever so lightly, hooking in the waistband of her panties and pulling them down. Kneeling down, he pulled them all the way to her ankles. His nose brushed against her smoothly waxed mons. His tongue delved between her labia and caressed her clit.

She gasped and jumped away. Her mind knew what he was doing, but it felt so foreign.

He smiled, peeling his shirt off as he stood. “Didn’t mean to startle you, but I just couldn’t help myself.” He licked his lips. “You’re going to let me have another taste, right?”

“You like it?” She hesitated, meeting his hungry gaze. “The way I taste.”

He nodded vigorously, moving toward her like a big cat stalking its prey. His chest muscles flexed and rippled. He was cut like some of the movie stars she’d seen in magazines.
What in the world does a man do to look like that?
Video games on the couch at night isn’t it.

“How do you work for your parents company, play video games as much as you do, and look like you walked out of a fitness magazine?”

He herded her toward the bed and pushed her down to her back. A wide grin split his face. “I’ll have to take you rock climbing some time. It’s my other favorite pastime.” He nuzzled her neck, trailing kisses from behind her ear down to her collarbone. “Though I think making love to you might take over as my absolute favorite pastime.”

She relaxed into the mattress and wrapped her arms around his chest, running her fingers up and down his taunt frame. “I’m finding this quite pleasant too.”

He jerked his head up. “Only pleasant?” he asked, wearing a grin. “We’ll have to increase the pleasure rating then.”

She whimpered as he slid down her body off the bed. “Where are you going?”

“To the pleasure center, precious.” He knelt on the floor next to the bed and pulled her bottom to the edge of the mattress.

Realization hit. She raised her eyebrows in surprise. He placed her legs over his shoulders and licked the length of her slit. His tongue was warm and soft and felt like heaven. There was no toy on the market that could even compare and she’d played with most of them. A sigh slipped between her lips and she lay back on the bed, relaxing into his hold on her hips.

He worked over her sex like it was a delicious dessert. Her clit throbbed and every time he sucked her there, electric currents would sizzle through her body. The energy built until she was rocking against his mouth.

Her heart was racing as she dragged in each ragged breath.

His lips closed over her clit once more and he pulled hard. The world around her fell away and she flew into the ethereal space of orgasmic bliss. She fisted handfuls of the bedding and bit back a scream, letting it resonate in her chest like an animalistic growl.

“That’s it, baby. Fly.” He scooted her back, toward the center of the bed. Stripped himself of his jeans and crawled over on top of her. Then paused and backed off. He reached for his pants and pulled out his wallet.

She raised her head and gave him an arched eyebrow.

He held up the condom and she mouthed ‘oh’ and laid her head back.

The wrapper crinkled and she watched him roll the condom on. He crawled forward, lowering himself to rest over her. The head of his cock rubbed the entrance to her vagina and she arched her hips, wanting with every fiber of her being to have him fill her.

“Please,” she murmured into his ear as he nuzzled her neck and nipped at her earlobe.

He moved just a smidgen and pressed just the tip inside. “You’re tight, precious girl. Bear with me a minute.”

Liv moaned. Her body wanted something only he could give, and he was taking his sweet time. Which was good, but frustrating at the same time.

Inch by inch, he slid deeper. She took a deep breath as he seated himself fully. His length and girth were much bigger than any toy she’d played with.

Then he moved. In and out. Pressing gently and pulling slowly. Her body still ached for more. It felt so good. It hadn’t felt good with Todd. She rocked her hips, matching his rhythm.

“You’re amazing, Olivia Hampton.”

She looked up into his beautiful blue eyes. “Really?”

“We’ve only just begun and I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to let you go.”

Her breath caught. She started to respond, but then he changed his angle on her body and she lost all reasoning as another orgasm began building within her.

He moved again, working his way up onto his knees, adjusting her thighs to lay flat against his chest. His thrusts slowed a little, but they went so much deeper. Her toes curled in the air and she pulled down on his shoulder with her calves, urging him on. She wanted to find that place again, but this time she wanted to share it.

Her world shuddered and then exploded in a blinding wave of pleasure. Her pussy clamped down hard on his hard cock and she held in another scream, willing herself not to completely embarrass herself in a hotel. His body stiffened and jerked and he moaned, pushing her legs back even further and driving himself deeper.

She panted, riding wave after wave.

He loosened his hold on her legs, pulling back far enough to lay them gently to her right, rolling her hips to the side.

“I’ll be right back, precious.” He patted her ass playfully and scooted off the bed.

After he disappeared into the bathroom, she rolled back flat and sighed. If she’d know sex could’ve been this good, she wouldn’t have wasted so much time obsessing over what her ex had said. Though, if she hadn’t wasted it, she might not have ever met Harvey. Maybe things worked out just they way they should’ve.

He emerged from the bathroom and crawled into the bed to lay next to her on his back.

She stared at the ceiling a few more seconds before turning on her side to look his direction. He was just staring at the ceiling, too. A grin parted his lips and he turned to meet her gaze.

“Well?” he asked.

“Well what?” She tilted her head, wondering what he was refering to.

“How was it?”

Ahhh.
“I thought it was phenomenal.” It had been. She wasn’t sure anything would ever top what she’d experienced with him tonight.

“Ooo, I like that word,” he chuckled and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. His hips leaned forward against hers and he slid a hand over her ass and squeezed.

“But, you... You, my precious Olivia, rocked my world. How did I get so lucky to stumble across a woman like you three thousand miles from home? And, you live in the same town I do.”

She shook her head. “Fate.”

“I never believed in fate before, but now, I think I might have to.” He pulled her closer and rolled to his back. She snuggled into the crook of his arm. The heat from his body was comforting. The secure feeling of lying in his arms was wonderful. She threw a leg over his hip. Her thigh rested on his cock. She was surprised to feel it twitch beneath her leg and couldn’t help a small giggle.

“No laughing. He likes you.” Harvey chuckled and squeezed her closer.

“I like him too,” she murmured back, sleep stealing her away quickly.

“That’s good. We are a package deal.”

She smiled and kissed his chest. He pulled the bedding up over them both and the sandman carried her off into pleasant dreams filled with making love over and over again.

3

She was gorgeous. Perfect for him. Sweet, funny, liked to play video games, and was fantastic in bed. Whatever that jerk wad of a boyfriend had said was complete bullshit. He must not have known how to have sex, if he had messed up so royally with a woman like Olivia. And then to go blaming it on her. He’d bash the guy’s face in, if he ever met him.

She yawned and stretched, bumping her arms into his chest. She opened her hazel eyes wide and then took a deep breath.

He grinned at her, she looked startled at first, but quickly relaxed. “Morning.”

“Morning,” she answered quietly.

“I’d say we could play more, but we might need to get dressed.”

That woke her up. She sat up straight, holding the sheet over her bare breasts like she’d forgotten he’d already seen them and tasted them. “Are we late?” She shrieked, reaching for her cell phone on the bedside table.

“Nope. We’ve got a couple of hours.”

“You made me worry for nothing.” Her body let out a loud sigh of relief.

He ran his hand up her leg, torso, and then cupped one of her breasts underneath the sheet. She turned and smiled down at him, eyes dilating with arousal.
That’s it, Precious. Let’s play.
“Come on, we have a little time.”

She slithered out of his grasp and padded across the room toward the bathroom.

“I think a shower is in order,” she returned, running her fingers through her long wavy blonde hair. “It takes me a little longer to get dressed than you.”

He jumped up from the bed and followed her into the bathroom.

“Hey,” she balked, waving him away as she turned the water on in the large shower. “I need to rinse off and wash my hair.”

“I’ll do it for you.” He moved forward and crowded her into the shower.

She squeaked a tiny protest, but he didn’t quit. He closed the door behind him and leaned down to kiss her neck. She tasted so good. Losing himself in this woman was so easy.

He grabbed her bottle of cinnamon sugar shower gel, poured a little in his hands and then worked his way from her neck down to her toes, taking extra special attention with her breasts and labia.

Unable to restrain himself, he slid two fingers up into her vagina and curled them back toward his palm. She shuddered in his arms and moaned. He pushed her back a step and she hissed when her ass touched the marble shower wall.

“Cold?”

“Mmmhmm,” she murmured. Her eyes were closed and she rode his fingers. The contractions in her pussy were building, but she wasn’t there quite yet. He pulled his fingers free and she whimpered, opening her eyes to watch him.

“Turn around, precious,” he said, gesturing for her to face the wall.

Her eyes widened questioningly, but she complied, sucking in a quick breath when her breasts pressed against the cold stone this time. He pinned her with his chest and lifted her until she was on her tip toes. Then guided his hard cock to her warm slick entrance.

“You feel so good,” he rumbled into her ear. Then pumped into her, seating himself completely in her pussy. She moaned against the wall and turned her head to the side, catching his gaze for a moment, before her eyelids fell closed. He thrust slowly then faster then slow again, changing the pace back and forth until she was writhing between him and the wall begging him to come.

“Harvey, please.” She rocked her hips backward and he slipped one hand around her abdomen and down to her sex. He rubbed her swollen clit and she came apart with a husky shout. She flexed in his arms. Her pussy clenched down and he came hard. He pinched her clit and she shattered again, moaning as she rode him.

Her body released and he stepped back. The water from the shower cascaded over his shoulder and ran down his body.

She turned and stepped into the water next to him. A small shiver fluttered through her and he wrapped his arms around her chilled skin. That wall must have been colder than he realized.

“Here,” he moved so the warm water hit her shoulders and ran over her body. “Sorry, precious girl. I didn’t realize the tile was that cold.”

“I-I’m f-fine,” she chattered, and grinned. “O-okay m-maybe I’m a l-little c-cold.”

They stood in the center of the water stream until she started to move a little more. He went to pull off the condom and froze. He hadn’t worn one. Her gaze followed his movement.

“I...Liv, I didn’t...I forgot to—”

She pressed two fingers against his lips to stop his babbling.

“I’m okay. I’m on the pill, so we should be safe.”

A huge sigh slipped from his body. Not that the idea of having a child was bad. He rather liked the idea of her body round and heavy with his child, but it should be a mut
ual choice, not a careless oversight.

<><><>

An hour and a half later they were standing in front of the Rock Star Entertainment stage. Hundreds of people milled about, the roar of voices  almost deafening. Lots of people were excited to watch the top twenty high scoring players duke it out in less than ten minutes.

The screens were set to loop the trailer for the new version of the game. The graphics were fantastic and the avatars allowed for a lot more customization. It also boasted fifty new battle domes and over thirty new weapons.

She and Harvey waved their guest badges and a Rock Star rep waved them over.

“Hi! We have stations ready for you. Can I see your badges please.” She held out her hand, compared them to a list on her clip board, and then handed them back. “Ms. Hampton, you’re supposed to be on station ten, over here at the end of the row. Mr. MacLaughlin, you’re right over there in the middle of the aisle.” She pointed to her right and then straight ahead. “Go ahead and log in and set up your avatars. Once everyone has reported in, you’ll put your headsets on and enter the dome.”

Adrenaline was pumping. Liv took a deep breath. “Good luck,” she whispered into Harvey’s ear and then backed away.

“We’ll all need it once Harbringer12 arrives,” he replied with a smile. “Maybe he won’t show up.”

She shrugged her shoulders and bit her lip to keep from smiling.
Oh, Harvey. If only you knew.

Sitting down at her station, she logged in and started building her profile in the new game. It imported all of her settings from the old version’s server, but there were a few new options. Like the customizable avatar. A monitor camera took her picture and suddenly the soldier on her screen was female and looked a lot like her, blonde pony tail and everything.
Shit. Harvey’s going to notice this.
Maybe I can redo it. She clicked back and tried to log out and restart.
Nope.
It was done.
She
was Harbringer12.

The computers locked on the start screen and a big countdown clock started on the mega screen on the wall above the panel of players.

Five minutes.

The Rock Star rep came out onto the stage and gave a short introduction of the game and how pleased they were to be able to bring in the top twenty high scoring players from the year.

“Welcome to the new Soldier’s Call! I hope you enjoy the show!” She shouted into the mic. “Players you may put on your headsets. Your soldiers will be called in three...two...one!”

Liv flipped the mute switch on her headset mic and grinned at all the trash talk that immediately began.

“Liv, you here?”

Damn. He would get suspicious if she didn’t respond.
She flipped the switch on. “Liv is here.”

“What’s your callsign? I’ll make sure I save you for last!” His voice rumbled through the headset and she snorted out a laugh.

“Good luck with that, Harvey. See you at the end. Liv, over and out.”

“What! No, don’t go,” he pleaded.

Several other gamers laughed at their exchange. She was the only girl on the panel. If she wasn’t careful, someone would catch sight of her and the anonymity she wore like a second skin would dissolve. Her face was on this avatar and she was the only female player.
Doomed.

She shook her head and ducked her avatar into a niche between buildings just as another player walked by. She lunged with her knife and took down the soldier, stealth style. Poor guy never even saw it coming.

A string of curses pounded into her ears and one of the guys stood up and left his station. She turned her focus back to the game and quickly moved away from the body after grabbing up his extra ammo.

“Harbringer12 takes the first kill,” the rep said excitedly.

Crap, woman. You can’t announce stuff like that. They’ll all come after me.

And they did. She saw several approaching from her left flank and two more were coming head on. Their voices were in her head telling her what they saw. They didn’t know who she was. Each of them kept asking if they had line of sight.
Shit.
Someone was setting up for a sniper shot.

She crawed backwards and into the building behind her. Keying open her artillery she found a couple of mines, powered them on and place them around the entrance of the building. They’d get at least one before they figured out to look for them, then she ran out the back door of the beaten down building and ducked around some broken down cars.

An explosion rattled her controller, signaling someone had tripped her mines. She chuckled when two more guys loosed an unhappy word or two into the headset before getting up to leave.

She peered around the cubby wall to see if either of them were Harvey, but she pulled back immediately when she heard him talking to another guy. They were ganging up on her and going on a hunting trip.

Fine. If you want to play dirty, I can play mean too.
She swirled her avatar’s view around looking for high ground. She stopped on a large windmill.
That would work if I can get there without anyone seeing me.

She moved toward the ladder and climbed up about halfway.

No chatter.

The rest of the climb was done in a few seconds and she sprawled out on the platform, keyed up her sniper rifle and began a little hunt of her own. From this far away, she wouldn’t know who she was shooting. So she had no control over leaving Harvey for last like she’d told him at the beginning.

One guy emerged from the back of the building where she’d set the mines. A quick aim and click took him out before he had a chance to look around. The sniper rifle was her weapon of choice. Her ability to site a target and take really fast aim was the biggest reason for her top score ranking. She was a defensive player and much preferred the targets come to her than to have to go out into the jungles, or post-apocalyptic town, or whatever the game had cooked up for the battle dome. High ground was her friend.

The rep announced her kill along with several other player’s take downs. At least she wasn’t the only one now. She glanced at the board to her left. There were ten players left out of the original twenty, including herself. Harvey’s callsign was still up there, HoundDog23.

She swung her scope to the left and then to the right. No movement. She belly-crawled to the other side of the windmill platform and did the same thing. A slight move down to her right caught her eye. She zoomed in through the scope and took the shot. Another player’s name fell from the scoreboard.

“Come out you chickenshit!” One of players shouted as he unplugged and left the panel.

Liv giggled and swung her scope wide again. “And now there are eight,” she whispered. She checked the horizon and then swung back to the body of the one she’d just taken down. Another guy was crouched on the ground beside him, swiping up the extra ammo and guns. She aimed and fired. He fell right next to the first. “Seven.”

She watched the board, waiting to see who fell off. The rep announced it was some player named BloodTaker28. Harvey was safe –for now. She smiled and crawled back to the other side of the platform.

Shit.
Three players were advancing together.

“Teaming up are we?” she asked softly, even though no one could hear her. She waited until they were just at the edge of the clearing before firing.
One. Two. Three. Gotcha all.

The rep announced the names of the three she’d just taken out –MoneyMan210, GunSlinger54, Baller43. She said a few more things to the crowd, but Liv tuned her out and listened hard through the headset. If those last four didn’t know where she was before, they would as soon as they saw the three bodies below the windmill. She really needed to move, but there wasn’t time.

“I see the sniper!” One voice called through the headset. “Got you now, fucker,” a deep voice rumbled. A shot hit the wall near her avatar’s head and she squeaked a little.

“It’s the chick! Harbringer12 is the chick at the end of the row,” another unfamiliar voice yelled through the headset.

Damn.
The guy in the cubby next to her had heard her little squeal. She searched through the scope and sighted one guy trying to hide behind an overturned truck.
Patience is a virtue.
She waited, unmoving. Only a few seconds passed before he impatiently poked his head up to look and she took it off.