Chapter 47: Secrets

OLLIE

We were back at the house, and my thoughts were trying to catch up with all the information I had received.

There was so much darkness in him, so much power, so much potential for destruction.

It was unsettling.

I was sure he let me in, but had I let him in?

I might be crashing into him, but I wasn’t ready to lose my identity again as I had with Roger.

~No, never again.~

This was just a strong infatuation.

It had to be.

Yet here I was, in his shower.

Exactly where he wanted me.

Why was I already letting him boss me around?

I exited the bathroom with a towel around my body.

His smile widened when he saw me, and my reaction was just as gooey.

~Damn it!~ I was in so much trouble with this man.

“Aren’t you sweet?” I noted everything he was carrying in his arms.

He’d retrieved my phone and some clothes from the guest room while I showered.

Did I just refer to him as someone sweet?

~You are so stupid, Ollie. Pull the brakes!~

When was he going to treat me like an asshole again?

He was being too nice!

I studied him with disbelief as he gazed back.

So deep, so intimate.

It was disarming me.

“Only for you,” he said, kissing me softly on my back.

~Oh.~ I shivered, closing my eyes.

~This wasn’t a product of my imagination.~

~Darius Rothschild was treating me like a…princess?~

~His ~princess~.~

My heart fluttered.

I was in deep shit.

Surely I was the only one feeling this way.

He was playing.

He had to be playing.

With one look and one kiss, I was a mess.

A wet mess, drenched and so ready for him.

I couldn’t think clearly around him.

My heart wanted to jump out of my mouth.

I walked away from him, looking for a distraction, hiding the blush on my cheeks.

While he sat on the sofa across the room, I inspected the clothes he’d laid on top of the bed.

~Oh, so he likes feminine clothes.~

Dresses from the selection Sarah had picked for me.

Not my style at all, but it seemed those two agreed on style.

He had no idea the tomboy I was, with my bun and sweatpants.

The thought alone made me laugh.

I continued searching between the dresses.

“No underwear?” I asked.

“You can try,” he teased, his eyes darkening.

I turned my head slightly, observing his parted legs.

His arms and hands stretched across the sofa were so manly and confident, it made my mouth dry.

“Now,” he drawled dangerously, catching my attention.

“Drop the towel.” His voice was so low that my toes curled.

“And. Come. Here.”

My heartbeat hiccuped.

“Here. Olivia,” he ordered, tapping his lap, his lip curling upward wickedly.

~Oh, fuck.~ I was more than horny.

I was possessed.

I would, without a doubt, do anything he wanted, asked, or demanded.

I followed his words, under his spell.

“This?” I asked, grabbing the front of my towel.

It brought a toothy smile to his lips that killed me.

His jaw clenched and he grabbed the edges of the sofa.

“Yes,” he said between his teeth.

The towel dropped to the floor, leaving me completely exposed.

My eyes stayed glued on him as I walked painfully slowly toward him, while his gaze consumed me.

“Olivia,” he muttered my name and pulled me onto his lap.

His big legs made me feel so small.

“Yes?”

“I just wanted to say your name.”

He embraced me and I sighed, exhaling a breath I’d been holding for so long.

His hands caressed my waist, his fingertips sending fire to my skin.

“It’s your fault.” His lips kissed the hollow of my neck.

“What you are doing to me…”

What was I doing to him?

“Kiss me,” he demanded, bringing me close to his minty breath.

His eyes were so silver.

He’d never asked me before to kiss him, and it felt like he was shattering me to pieces.

I opened my legs to sit comfortably on top of him.

We fit together like a puzzle, perfect for each other.

I kissed him, softening my body, melting under his touch, and he received me, his hands pressing my ass down to meet him so deliciously that I moaned all the air I had left in my lungs.

“Tell me, how do you want me?” I was lost.

I was completely at his mercy.

“Soft?” He kissed my breast.

“Raw?” He sucked so hard I shivered.

“Name it. Tell me what you need, baby.”

“You,” I panted.

He knew it.

He knew what he was doing to me, and he kissed me again so deeply, with such fire, that we were going to burn together.

***

I woke up to the delicious smell of truffles making my stomach growl.

I didn’t know how long I’d slept, but it was enough to miss him.

~Look at you, all needy.~

I picked up my phone.

I had three missed calls from Archibald and some messages.

~Shit!~ I quickly checked the screen to read.

Archibald

The meeting is settled. Tomorrow, eleven am in the city.

Archibald

I’ll send you the address in the morning. Ollie, don’t be late.

Olivia

I won’t; I’ll be there on time. See you tomorrow.

Olivia

Thank you, Archer!

~You better hold your pants, Roger, because I am coming for what is rightfully mine!~

I entered the kitchen, leaving my phone on the counter.

At the far end, wearing dark, fitted jeans and a white T-shirt, Darius sipped a glass of wine while moving a hot pan with the other hand.

~Oh my, oh my.~ Wasn’t he a multitasker at his best?

He looked so casual, like I could bump into him randomly on the street.

Had anyone ever had the delightful pleasure of seeing him like this?

He was too handsome and big to get lost in a crowd.

Especially when he looked like a…

“Aren’t you an underwear model?” I said with a smile.

He frowned.

“What did you just call me?”

“You do know that you could have a living as a model,” I added.

He raised an eyebrow without answering.

Of course, he knew he was smoking hot, so I decided to tease him a little bit.

“That smells so good.” I brought my hands to his waist, touching his abs with my fingertips.

And because I was a greedy girl, I moved my hands to his chest and to his strong arms, squeezing his muscles.

“And I am so hungry.”

He was too delicious.

This man was changing me into a forever-hungry creature.

“Careful,” he warned me, “or I’ll bend you over this countertop right now.”

I giggled and stepped back, but my eyes were glued to his butt and that delicious back.

While he was focused on cooking, I checked him out, more like a piece of steak than a person.

I even bit my lips at the sight.

“Is my body making you horny, baby?” He looked at me with those dark eyes, noticing what I was doing. “Would you rather I cook for you naked?”

I was quiet as a mouse, hypnotized by him.

I chuckled at the effect he was having on me.

I could feel the red-pink blush on my cheeks.

“You haven’t completed your end of the deal,” he said, opening the oven and taking out some short ribs. Impressive.

Deal? ~Oh.~ My book for his answer.

“Okay, a deal is a deal.” I took his phone from the table and, with mine in hand, airdropped him some files.

He was serving the food, a truffle mushroom risotto with a braised short rib on top that looked fork tender.

Where was this man made? From what fabric?

He was playing with my senses, making it hard for me to choose whether to eat him or the food first.

Probably him.

“Now I have your number,” I said dangerously.

“Hmm… I can’t wait to hear your sexy voice when I’m at work,” he said in that husky voice, placing the two plates aside.

“I might, now that I know that distractions are fully encouraged.” I gave him a wicked look and leaned against the countertop.

He laughed, grabbing my thighs and lifting me onto the countertop while opening my legs.

“Stay with me this weekend,” he murmured, touching my hips under the soft silk of the dress.

A shiver ran through me at his touch, but his words hung heavy in the air.

“For New Year? I need to go to the city tomorrow,” I replied, my voice steadier than I felt.

He wanted to spend New Year with me?

This thing happening between us was a fling with an expiration date.

It was a fling that was sure to end as soon as I drove back to the city.

Why would Darius Rothschild be interested in someone like me?

He leaned in closer, his lips grazing my neck softly, sending warmth cascading down my spine.

“Something important?” he asked, his breath warm against my skin.

Should I tell him I was going to meet up with Archer?

A knot twisted in my stomach at the idea.

No, he might not like that.

And truth be told, I still didn’t trust him fully, and we were nothing.

“Something about my new apartment,” I lied, the words slipping from my mouth as smoothly as silk.

“Anything that I can help?” His voice was low, sincere, but I felt the weight of his gaze.

“No,” I added quickly, perhaps too quickly, trying to fortify the wall I had built around myself.

His eyes narrowed as if he could see through the cracks of my facade.

It felt wrong, but I couldn’t shake the urgency to protect my secrets, and also I was feeling insecure.

No, Darius Rothschild was not that into me, and also, I wasn’t the kind of person who quickly asked for help, nor was I the type to lay bare my problems.

I preferred to keep my struggles hidden behind a facade of strength.

“Don’t ever think that I can’t get your secrets out of you.” The playful challenge in his tone made my heart race as he pressed my body against his, causing a soft gasp to escape my lips.

“But I’ll let you keep your secrets,” he continued, a mischievous smile playing on his lips. “Because I like my secrets too.”

Perhaps it was safer this way, shrouded in our private worlds.

Relief and dread.

In that moment, standing wrapped in his embrace, I could see that he was a mystery, a puzzle, just like me.

“What kind of secrets?” I asked as I enjoyed his sweet torture.

He was squeezing my hips and my butt cheeks.

Had he seen Archibald’s missed calls?

“Don’t push. I already told you one today.” He kissed and sucked lightly on my neck.

Maddie.

“Food is getting cold,” I said as he moved the silk dress toward my waist, leaving me exposed.

“Oh, baby, you are my food.” He kissed my belly. “And I am planning to eat you again, and again, and again…”

My breathing got deeper as we began this dance.

He continued speaking. “I’ll drive you to the city tomorrow, and then when you are ready, I’ll pick you up, and we will leave together for the weekend,” he said confidently.

There was so much control in him.

He wanted to control me.

“Where?”

“Anywhere you want to go, baby.”

#

We drove back to the city together.

Mostly in silence, watching the road.

I peeked at him, his manly hands on the wheel and that serious expression on his face.

“Tell me about your new apartment.”

“Sarah gifted it to me,” I said to him, already feeling some electricity building between us.

Darius asked, placing his hand above my thigh and questioning me. “The apartment?”

~Ha!~ I wished.

“The first months of the lease,” I muttered, my breathing increasing as he squeezed my thigh.

“Are you sure you don’t need help?”

“Nope, all good, thanks,” I said and quickly changed the conversation to distract him from that topic.

“Is it okay if I change my clothes while you drive?” I told him, trying to bring him back to the past, where all this had started.

“Stop that; you are giving me ideas,” he warned me.

“Well, you got what you wanted. Now what?”

“Now you are mine,” he said too seriously. “Does that scare you, Olivia?”

“Uhm.”

~Being his? I was his?~

He was intimidating, but when he saw me looking at him, he tangled his hand in mine, pulling it to his lips for a quick kiss.

“Do I need to fuck you in my back seat to get the truth out of you, baby?”

“No,” I said.

Darius turned the wheel off the highway into the woods.

“Darius, what are you doing?”

“Solving this,” he laughed, stopping the car and getting out. “Right now.”

Shit, the unpredictability of this guy was scary.

I watched him walk to my door.

He opened the door and leaned forward.

“What are you going to do in the city once we get back, Olivia?” he asked me again.

Fuck, those silver eyes of his were incredibly scary when he focused them this sharply.

Did he know about the meeting with Archibald? No, that was impossible.

“I told you,” I said to him.

“No, as you haven’t told me about ~R~.”

“R?”

“Yes, ~R.~ Who is he?”

I frowned, clearly lost at this sudden questioning.

“From your book, the one you shared with me yesterday? You also dedicated your book to him, as he dedicated one to you.”

Oh, he already started reading it?

Was Darius Rothschild jealous? This version of him was creeping me out.

“R—I mean, Roger is in the past.”

“In the past?” he mirrored my words.

“Yes,” I spoke frankly.

He softened his face at that and got closer.

His face was now inches away from mine.

“You are scaring me,” I said to him.

“Fiercely independent,” he thought out loud. “Figuring things out for yourself, kind of girl?”

“I have a life, Darius. Meeting you didn’t stop that.”

It was true.

My life was waiting for me.

These days in the Hamptons were finished, and my reality was hitting me hard in the face.

Darius smiled, but not with his eyes.

“Are we keeping secrets, Olivia?” he asked.

“I am not hiding anything.” Shit.

Why did lying to him make me this nervous and scared shitless?

~Shit. Shit. Shit.~

“Sure, baby, if you say so,” he said, kissing my forehead. “Let’s take you home, so you can deal with your ~things~.”

I sighed in relief as he closed the door and walked back to his seat.

What was that?

He drove in silence, his hand holding mine, and once we arrived, Darius kissed me again on the steps of my building.

He caressed my hair, watching me intently.

“I will pick you up in a couple of hours,” he explained. “I will come for you, Olivia.”

Darius Rothschild walked back to his car.

This man. This beautiful man.

“Darius?” I called him back.

Should I tell him?

“Yes?” Darius turned.

Fear got me closing up.

“Nothing.” I said, waving goodbye at him.