Come Together (29 page)

I scowled. “Anyway.”

“Anyway what?”

“I don’t know,” I said, grasping for a change of topic.

“
Anyway
, write something. Do it now. I’ll stop bothering you.”

“I wouldn’t even know what to write,” I said, but it wasn’t true. I thought back to a short story I’d written for a creative writing course in college. I only had a handful of pages, but it was something . . . .

He leaned under the seat in front of me and grabbed my bag. “Here,” he said, excavating my laptop, “just try it for twenty minutes. If you hate it, we can have sex in the bathroom.”

I sat up and widened my eyes. “Really?”

“Really. But I’ll be timing you.”

I accepted the computer. “Deal.”

~

“Ma’am? It’s time to stow your laptop.”

I looked up, blinking slowly at the flight attendant. “But . . .”

David snickered into his fist.

“Are we here?” I asked.

“Yes, ma’am, please stow the laptop and bring your seatback to the upright position.”

“So how’d it go?” David asked, grinning as I packed up the computer.

I answered him with a frown. “I didn’t want to do it in a disgusting airplane bathroom anyway.”

“Liar.”

I snuck my arm between his back and the seat to wrap him in a sideways hug, resting my head on his ribcage.

“You realize that you wrote for an hour straight,” he said, rubbing my arm.

I had read over my story, decided I liked it, and created an outline. I started thinking harder about characters, the ones I already had and the ones I would add. I’d even written another handful of pages. I smiled. He was right, of course. I had enjoyed it. “Thanks for making me do it.”

“If it’s going to interfere with our sex life though, I may have to forbid it.”

“Impossible,” I said through a smile, glancing up to catch his adoring gaze. As the plane began its descent, I reached up to finger a piece of his hair, and then I touched his lips. “I want to move in, David.”

He squeezed me against him and kissed the top of my head. “Yeah?”

I nodded. “Let’s do it.”

~

I followed David into the apartment and then to the bedroom. I put my suitcase next to his and waited for his next move. Just saying out loud that I wanted to move in didn’t make the apartment feel like mine. It still felt like sleeping at my boyfriend’s place.

“Did you do this?” I asked, nodding at my side of the closet. I’d noticed while getting ready for work a few days earlier that my shopping bags were unpacked, everything neatly hung. All my new shoes were displayed like artwork on one of many shelves.

“The housekeeper.”

“And she took off the tags?”

“I did that. To show you that I kept the faith.”

“Well, that’s just bad business, Mr. Dylan. You would’ve been out a pretty penny if things hadn’t worked out.”

He stepped forward and pulled me against his hard body. “I would’ve been out a lot more than that. Don’t do it again.”

I nodded.

“Say it.”

“I won’t leave again.”

“Now tell me you’re mine . . .”

“I’m yours . . .”

“And that you love me.”

“I love you.”

“I’m hard,” he said.

I giggled. “I can feel. Is it all right if I shower first though?”

“Olivia, Christ, you don’t need my permission to take a shower,” he said, releasing me.

“It’s going to take some getting used to.”

“Why? Just do as you please.”

I looked at him skeptically. “I’ll be in the shower.”

“If that’s what pleases you.” I rolled my eyes, and he laughed. “Listen, no bad behavior in the shower. I’ve barely fucked you in a week, so I want your complete attention tonight.”

“Yes, sir,” I said, squirming slightly.

“That means hands off my nozzle.”

I raised an eyebrow and gave him my most lascivious smile. Then I left him and his hard-on in the closet. It might be some time before I got used to my new home, but it wouldn’t take forever. He made it easy because now, he was my home. And like Davena had tried to tell me, it didn’t matter where we were as long as we were together.

Like Davena and Mack. Without really grasping it, I had always envied their love. And now I had it. I had no more doubts that David and I had the exceptional love that Mack and Davena did. The thought filled my heart with happiness.

I hoped Mack’s reaction to my news would be positive once he saw how much David meant to me, but I still worried. I was finding that people’s reactions varied greatly, and it wasn’t always what I expected.

The heat and steam from the shower loosened my body, but did nothing to diminish my mounting arousal. After I slid into the heavenly fabric of my white silk robe, I found David focused on the computer screen in his office.

“Come in,” he said without looking up.

“You look busy.”

“I am. I’m not used to taking days off.”

“So I’ll let you work,” I said with a step backward.

“Wait.”

I froze.

“Turn around.”

I bit my lip and rotated slowly.

“I maintain that that robe was the best purchase.” My body, out of my control, reacted to the way his eyes drifted over me. My breasts swelled, my tummy tightened and my hands burned with the thought of touching him. I had urges that I wanted to satisfy by climbing into his lap. He looked like a god, backdropped by the nighttime Chicago skyline. A god in a plain, white t-shirt and, I hoped, those sexy grey sweatpants.

He pointed to the couch. My gaze followed until it landed on my laptop. “Work with me,” he said. “Write.”

“I won’t distract you?”

“You will most certainly distract me, but this way I won’t worry about what trouble you’re getting into.”

I smirked. Because I couldn’t help myself, I crossed the office and kissed his coarse cheek. My finger ran over the spot my lips had just been.

“Sorry,” he murmured. “I haven’t shaved all weekend.” I kissed him again, because I loved the way he felt.

It was easy to get caught up in my new project even though David was distracting as well. When he focused, the angles of his face sharpened so he looked equally menacing and attractive. I sighed longingly even though he was mine for the taking. All mine.

After a weekend of breaking through barriers and uprooting longtime fears, I was more relaxed than I had been in a long time. But I knew I could’ve lost him, and so, I was extra grateful to have him. With that in mind, I wanted to make things right with Lucy. I knew once she saw my happiness, my transformation, she would understand everything. When I’d finished writing for the evening, I decided to e-mail to her.

From:
Olivia Germaine

Sent:
Sun, November 18, 2012 08:16 PM CST

To:
Lucy Greene

Subject:
Hi

We need to talk. I miss you dearly, and I want a chance to explain. I’m happy, Luce.

Will you agree to see me for a coffee this week? Or maybe, if I dare, lunch?

-O

David was watching me when I looked up. “Busted,” I said.

“You’re the only one allowed to stare?”

I blushed, cursing under my breath.

“Don’t think I don’t know,” he said. “I’m acutely aware of when your eyes are on me. It’s actually very frustrating.”

I smiled because I knew the feeling well. “It’s bedtime,” I informed him. I’d had enough staring and was ready to act on the fantasies I’d been having all day.

“It may be your bedtime, but I usually work for another hour.”

“Oh.” I slammed my laptop shut and stood to stretch. I reached for the ceiling, aware of where that would place the hemline of my short robe.

His gaze dropped to my thighs just as he licked his lips. When he looked back up, he smiled sinfully. I was suddenly wondering what he planned to do to me with that sinful mouth.

“But I guess things are different now,” he said. “Give me a few minutes to wrap up here.”

I smiled giddily and tried not to skip to the bedroom. On my way, I imagined how and where he might fuck me tonight. Against the refrigerator? On the bathroom counter? On the balcony? Standing? Sitting? Right side up? Upside down? An excited thrill was making its way through me when I grabbed my phone from my purse and found a text from Bill.

Nov 18, 2012 8:01 PM

If you don’t come get your stuff tmrw night, it’s going out w/ the trash

Nov 18, 2012 9:25 PM

I’ll do it while you’re at work

Nov 18, 2012 9:27 PM

I changed the locks. It’s already in boxes, I’ll be home after 6

I sighed and immediately texted Gretchen to ask if she would help me in exchange for dinner. Bethany had a truck I knew she’d let us borrow, since David’s cars wouldn’t fit the boxes. I doubted he’d let me drive his car anyway.

I bit the inside of my cheek to discomfort as I read Bill’s texts again. He’d changed the locks already. His patience seemed to be dwindling. I reasoned that my things were constant reminders of my absence, and if I were in his position, I’d want them out too.

“You’re deep in thought.”

I snapped my head up. I was right: David was a god in yummy grey sweatpants. “It’s nothing,” I said, tossing the phone aside and already envisioning him shirtless.

“Nothing?”

“Bill wants me to clear my stuff out tomorrow night.”

His brow furrowed. “That’s fine. We can go after work.”

I folded my knee under my bottom and held my palms open in front of me. “Actually,” I squeaked, “I thought I’d just go with Gretchen. We’ve already arranged it.”

He snorted. “That’s not gonna happen.”

“Hear me out,” I said. “Bill’s been through enough. Showing up with you would just be pouring salt in the wound.”

“Did you think I was joking when I said you couldn’t be alone with him?”

“I wouldn’t be – ”

“Did you?” he barked.

“No,” I answered slowly, and then, “that’s why I made plans with Gretchen.”

“Having her there won’t do shit. My answer is no.”

“I wasn’t asking.”

My heart faltered when his face tightened into a steely gaze. “Do not test me, Olivia. I’ll take you if you like, but you’re not going alone.”

I gawked at him. “Are you forbidding me from seeing my husband?”

“Yes.”

“You can’t – ”

“The hell I can’t!” he roared. “You are not to be alone with him
ever
.”

I recoiled at his tone, and we stared at each other for a tense moment.

“It’s not safe,” he said, softer but still heatedly.

“Is this about my safety? Or something else?” I stood and walked across the room, stopping a couple feet in front of him. “I’m so sorry for how I handled things this week. But I’ve made up my mind. Things are completely done with him; he’s not a threat.”

“That’s not my concern,” he said, unmoving. “I don’t want you in a position where you might get hurt.”

“He’s not going to hurt me. All my things are packed, I just have to pick them up.”

“How will you transport them?”

“Gretchen’s roommate has a truck. My stuff won’t fit in either of your cars anyway.”

“I’ll find something.”

“Thank you for the offer, but you can’t come. I’m sorry. It’s not fair to him, and it’s not necessary.”

His eyes narrowed. “You’re with
me
now, not him. Don’t take his side.”

“I’m not,” I insisted. “But I’m not going to rub his face in it. Honey, it’s just a few boxes.”

“I don’t care. Your safety isn’t a game to me.”

Everything in my body tightened and frustration coursed through me. “Well, it’s happening, so get over it.”

“Excuse me?”

“I said:
get over it
.”

His face marred with a menacing glare. “Are you trying my patience on purpose?”

“I’ve made up my mind. I’m going tomorrow, and you can’t stop me.”

“Don’t test me.”

“Or what?” I challenged.

“Or you’re going to piss me the fuck off.”

“What do you call this?” I asked, jutting my hand at him. His frame suddenly seemed overwhelmingly big, so I stepped back.

“I call this angry, but I’m about to get pissed.”

I bit my lip and took another step back when he took one forward.

“So what’s it gonna be?” he growled.