“Oh god… What am I doing?” I started shaking violently, wondering how I got myself into this situation. Clarity seemed to form in my head.
I’m at a soup kitchen. I’m at work. What in the hell am I thinking
?
I felt Kit’s arms tighten around me as I fell into him. “Shh, it’s okay, Olivia. I got you. I’ve always got you.”
My heart was thundering against my chest so hard, it was starting to hurt. “I didn’t mean to... I mean, I wasn’t going to...” What was I saying? I had every intention of drinking from that bottle. There was no point in denying that.
“It was my fault. I’m sorry.”
I shook my head against his chest. “Don’t you dare make excuses for me, Kit. This was one hundred percent me. No one else. Me. I used to blame everyone for my actions, but I now realise that was just a feeble excuse for my own downfalls. This was my doing. It has always been my doing.”
He pulled away and cupped my face in his hands. Immediately, my breathing calmed. “I wasn’t mad at you. I was mad at Charlie. Mad that he made you feel uncomfortable about going back to work. I could never be angry with you.”
I smiled, feeling myself calm a little bit more. “I know. And I’m sorry, too. Please don’t think that every time we have an argument, I’ll immediately turn to that.” I pointed at the bottle and shuddered. “I need to get out of this room.”
Kit nodded, took my hand, and walked out of the office. Tammy was just heading in again as we came out. She gave a stern look at Kit, then saw my hand in his.
“I came looking for you. You said you’d only be a minute.”
I blushed. “Yes, sorry. I just felt a little dizzy.”
Tammy frowned. “Are you okay now?” I nodded and she looked at Kit. “What is
he
doing back here?”
I got a little flustered, not knowing what to say. What
was
he doing here? Thankfully, he answered for me.
“I understand there was a little altercation in the dining hall yesterday. I just wanted to make sure Olivia was safe. I won’t bother anyone. I promise. I just want to sit in the hall and make sure no one does anything stupid.”
My heart swelled at the news. If I didn’t think I loved this man before, I certainly knew I did now.
Tammy snorted, bringing me out of my dreamy haze. “I didn’t know we were hiring bodyguards now.” She rolled her eyes like she was disgusted and walked off.
“I better get back out there. Did you really come here for that reason?” He nodded and my urge to kiss him was so great, I pulled him towards me. We stood there kissing for a few seconds then, reluctantly, I pulled away from him.
I was breathless. “Thank you.” I smiled, kissing his mouth tenderly. “I really need to get back. No doubt the queue will be a mile long.”
And it was. The moment I walked back in, they were all lined up, wondering what in the hell was going on. There were normally two people there at all times, but we had lost someone in the last couple weeks and no one else had volunteered to fill the position.
Kit smiled and walked over to the corner, leaning against the wall, just watching. He was far enough to be out of the way, but not too far away from me.
Service went on for another hour. When all was finished, I sighed and turned to Kit. “Thank you for staying...although you didn’t need to.”
Kit smiled. “Anything for you, Olivia. I think you know that by now.”
I welcomed the light-headedness that Kit brought me. After everything that happened today, I still wasn’t one hundred percent, but it was a start.
Once I gave the bottle back to Jack and everyone had left, I turned to Kit. “I think it’s safe now.”
Kit nodded and pulled me to him. “I need to do something, but I’ll meet you back at the house?” I nodded, wondering what he needed to do. I didn’t ask, but I was still desperate to know.
He leaned down and kissed me, moaning as he pulled away. “I better get going. I’ll see you soon.” Kit winked at me and walked off.
Flabbergasted, I must have stood there with my mouth wide open for at least five minutes. Kit being Kit was one thing, Kit smiling was another, but Kit winking?
Oh, my days. I think I’ve died and gone to heaven
.
When my legs were steady enough to walk again, I started to clean up. When I looked up, Tony was there, smiling at me in a funny way.
“What?”
He winked. “I saw you.”
I blushed. “Saw what?”
Tony smiled. “You playing tonsil tennis with that guy out there. Who was he anyway?”
I bit my lip and smiled. “His name is Kit.”
Tony laughed. “Why do your eyes glaze over like that when you say his name? You have it bad, don’t you?”
I couldn’t deny it. “Maybe just a little,” I teased.
Tony laughed, as we got on with the rest of the chores. I was, for some reason, eager to get out of there. Knowing Kit may be home and waiting for me did it. I couldn’t wait to be in his arms.
Once I was done, I briskly walked back home. When I walked inside, I was met with silence. Frowning, I placed my handbag down and put my coat on the hanger.
“Kit?” I called out, looking around the hallway.
Kit emerged at the top of the stairs. “Up here, beautiful.”
I looked up and caught my breath. As far as Kit was concerned, it usually didn’t take much. He was topless again, having only his pyjama bottoms on. I didn’t have to guess at the afternoon he had planned for me.
He motioned for me to come up, his hand reaching out to me once I got to the top of the stairs. “I have a surprise for you.”
I gasped with a smile. “What is it?”
Kit smiled. “Close your eyes.”
I did and he led me down the hall. He stopped and I felt him open a door. He guided me in and the urge to open my eyes was too hard to resist.
“No peeking.”
I gripped my eyes shut again. “Sorry.”
He manoeuvred me inside the room and I heard him shut the door. I felt him stand behind me, lightly placing his hands on my arms.
“Now you can open ‘em.”
I opened my eyes to see my easel, a blank canvas ready to go. Beside it was my little table I used to put my watercolours on, a brand new set sitting there, a little red bow wrapped around the box.
“Do you like it?”
I think my heart just stopped
. I turned towards him with a big smile and wrapped my arms around him. “I love it. But how? Why?”
He pointed. “Open it first.”
I did, pulling the ribbon from the box. I opened it to see paints, brushes, graphic pencils, and a sketch pad. On top of all that was a folded note. I unfolded it.
Do more of what makes you happy. xx
I gasped and held my hand over my mouth, tears in my eyes. I looked up at Kit and saw the most adoring smile I had ever seen.
“You told me painting made you feel better when you were down. I figured after what happened today, you could use a little of what makes you happy.”
A tear rolled down my face. “Oh, Kit, it’s beautiful. How can I ever thank you?”
He brought me closer and planted a kiss on my forehead. “You can start by doing what makes you happy. Paint me.”
My eyes widened. “Really? You’ll let me?”
Kit chuckled. “Of course. Do your worst.”
I nudged him. “Hey.”
Kit laughed and the sound was like angels singing in my ears. “Okay. I meant to say do your best.”
I smiled, placing the note back in the box. I didn’t know where he got the means to pay for all of this…the box looked expensive…but I didn’t want to ask. That would be rude.
Instead, I walked over to my extra stool and placed it in front of my easel. I instructed Kit to sit down, making my way over to my stool. I took my time trying to find the right brushes and colours, squeezing out some paint…different shades of gold, pink, grey, and blue.
Once done, I sat there studying Kit for a moment. It wasn’t hard to take him all in. Most of his hair was swept away from his face, but there was one little strand that fell on his cheek. It was sexy. The fact that his hair wasn’t perfect just added to his raw energy. The grey of his eyes burned more than the blue today, giving him a much softer look. His lips were full and pouty. They even had that sexy curve at the top that women would die for.
As I lowered my eyes, Kit moved a little and his muscles flexed. Heat radiated right to my core. Just that one little movement had my fires raging. The flawlessness of his skin, coupled with the tattoos marking them, had me wanting him all over again.
But I knew I had to do this.
Kit
knew I had to do this, needed this.
I took a deep breath and found myself in the zone. I loved being in that zone. I could be happy and free there. No one could hurt me in my zone.
I found myself effortlessly gliding the brush across the blank canvas, glancing his way every now and then to take in every detail of him.
And oh, what detail.
I didn’t know how long it had taken me to do it, but once I felt I had gone as far as I could, I leaned back and just studied it for a moment.
“Are you finished already?”
I looked over at Kit and nodded with a smile. “Yeah. Do you want to see?”
Without another word, Kit got up from the stool and made his way over. The painting was not like the others at all. Minus the obvious hair, a light smile touched his lips. His eyes looked gentle and welcoming, rather than hard and menacing. The look of loss and heartache was gone, replaced by a sense of serenity and peace. He was simply beautiful.
“Your talent never fails to amaze me. How do you know how to capture the right look?”
I shrugged and felt him run a finger across the base of my neck. I shuddered and moaned, looking back at him. Kit ran his hand around my neck, then down towards my chest. The closer he got to my breasts, the more my breath came out in gasps.
Suddenly, he pulled away and the loss I felt was intense. “Turn around,” he commanded, and I didn’t hesitate. I got up and watched as he took a step towards me, then started to slowly unbutton my blouse…so agonisingly slowly.
He captured my eyes and held me there, neither one of us looking away. I could feel a wetness form on the inside of my legs as I struggled to contain my breathing.
Kit stepped away from me and it was only then that I realised I was naked. He had managed to completely undress me without me even noticing.
I watched as Kit picked up one of my brushes and dabbed it into the gold paint. He walked back to me and gently swiped it across my nipple.
I moaned at the coldness, but also at the feel of how erotic the brush felt against my skin. My nipples instantly reacted, earning a smile from Kit. How could one ever tire of his smiles?
Delicately and slowly, he painted around my other nipple. To say I was turned on would be an understatement. This was a new side to painting I definitely wanted to explore.
Feeling left out, I walked up to the paint and dabbed some on my fingertips. I rubbed them together and walked over to Kit. I placed my hands on his chest and slowly stroked around his pecks. Kit hissed in a breath, gazing at me with a hooded expression. I could tell he decided to skip the brush because my idea was a better one.
He walked over to the blue paint, dabbed his hand in, and rubbed it on my chest. Once he was done, he stepped back and, judging by the tent in his pyjama bottoms, he was very turned on. Kit proceeded to run his hands across my breasts. I closed my eyes and moaned, relishing in the feeling he gave me. The paint was cold but, combined with his touch, my pulse was skyrocketing.
We both got more paint and went to town, touching as much skin as possible. I could tell the areas I had touched before by the colours on his skin. Funnily enough, I seemed to favour the middle of his chest where his ribs met. It was then I realised this must be my favourite part about him...apart from the obvious, of course.
“Do you know how beautiful you look?”
I stared at him and he gently pulled me towards him, positioning me so we could both look in the mirror in the corner of the room. I had blue and gold paint all over my breasts, stomach, and hips. There was no guessing what areas Kit favoured. With one hand under my arm, he trailed the fingers of his other down until he met the curve of my waist.
“Stunning,” he whispered.
I shuddered underneath his touch, desperate for him to explore further. Placing my hand behind his neck, I slid my fingers through his hair. Kit rewarded me by placing light kisses on the base of my neck. I closed my eyes, feeling his erection pressing into my behind. I wanted him so much. The feel of him was filling up all my senses.
“I’ve missed a bit,” he whispered, then moved away. The loss of his body heat hit me with full force.
“Kit, what are you doing?” I turned around and saw him rubbing more blue paint on his hands. He stalked over to me, wrapped his arms around me and...
thwack
.
My eyes went wide as I felt two hands on either side of my butt. Kit smiled. “I can’t ignore those. I would never forgive myself.”