Chapter14
She immediately fought back. She had been through too much to just freeze up again. Her immediate reaction was to freak out, as she still had so much to process, but her body took over and naturally started to fight the predator off. She had wondered if she was next, being a witness to everything that had gone on. Some might think that she was disposable, but after everything she had been through, she wasn’t about to let it all go without a fight.
She kicked whoever had grabbed her hard in the groin, swinging her leg back as hard as possible. They were much taller than she, so it didn’t do much but helped a little. She tried to throw them over her body as hard as she could, but they were still too strong. She was finally able to break one hand free and elbowed the attacker in the chest, freeing her other hand to punch up towards his nose. Olivia could feel her fingers smashing against his face but pushed through the pain to try and save herself.
The person fell back against the wall and Olivia was able to break free, though they were blocking the door. She had two options. Either try to make a break for it through the door or jump out the window and run away in her socks. Neither seemed realistic but pushing past the intruder through the door seemed like the best option.
She had a lot of built up aggression and was ready to take it out on someone. She suddenly felt brave enough to accomplish anything. She wasn’t going to let anyone hurt her or the other two girls in the house again. She might have barely been five feet tall, but whoever was attacking would have to knock her out before she gave up.
Using all of her body weight, she lunged towards the intruder in the corner. They barely budged, like a brick wall. She thought it might be Nikolai but realized quickly he wasn’t quite as big. She knew who it was, sinking her heart further into her stomach than it already was. She pushed him again hard into the wall, this time actually doing something. It made a loud thud, but she didn’t care what kind of noise she caused.
“Olivia, stop!” Ruslan whispered in a worried tone, grabbing her arms. She wasn’t completely positive that it was him in the dark, but now up close, she could smell and feel that it was Ruslan who had managed to make his way into her bedroom.
He must have been hiding in the closet. She knew she should have checked before she locked herself up in the room. Knowing Ruslan, he could have come in at any point throughout the day and she wouldn’t have noticed. She didn’t use the closet attached to her room and just lived out of her suitcase and a dresser. If only she had double-checked sooner, she might have caught him when the cops were there. Olivia was sick of thinking of things she could have or should have done. She was ready to get rid of Ruslan and move on with her life. If that was even possible.
“I’ll scream! You need to leave, now!” Olivia told him. She had built up so much resentment in the past 24 hours thinking about how much he betrayed her, but still, it was hard to really push him away. The only thing she really wanted to do was jump into his arms and have him carry them both away. She didn’t want to have to think of the vacation-turned-nightmare she had been enduring the past couple of weeks. She wanted her mind to go numb and to stop reliving the horrors over and over again. Ruslan being there was only making it harder. There’s one thing she wanted more than anything.
She wanted Ruslan to be hers again, if he ever was. She wanted to go back to a time when he was a good person and someone she could kiss and hold. She wanted to lay in bed with him, talk for hours until their throats hurt, make breakfast together in the morning and play in the snow. She didn’t want to have to fight him off, scared that he might kill her. She didn’t want to have to think about the two other mourning women in the cabin that she had to help take care of. No matter what she wanted, she only had one option: to listen to what Ruslan had to say.
“Olivia, please, you have to listen to me. Just give me a few minutes to explain, please. Then I’ll go, and you’ll never have to see me again,” he explained.
That wasn’t exactly what she wanted. She didn’t want to see him again, at least not that Ruslan. The murderous Ruslan who killed his own business partner was not someone she wanted to ever think about again. She still wasn’t so sure that that was even who he was. She missed the charming man from the dinner party and charity events. The man who held her tight while kissing her neck. That’s the man that she missed. She wanted to believe him before he said anything, but she knew she had to be smart about it all, so she didn’t get hurt again.
“You have a minute. Go,” she told him.
“It wasn’t me. I didn’t hurt Joseph. When I got there, I saw the knife laying on the ground first, and then I saw you and Joseph. I promise you Olivia. I parked further away because I thought that someone was standing by the tree. I didn’t want us to get caught. Then I saw you approach. As I was walking up, I saw the knife in the snow. I grabbed it, not thinking, and then saw what you did, Joseph propped up against the tree, dead. Everyone thinks it was me, but I swear on my life Olivia, it wasn’t. I would never. I don’t know what to do to make you believe me,” he said, a tear streaming down his face.
Olivia reached out and grabbed him, pulling him in close. She looked into those eyes and knew the truth. She had known the truth all along in the back of her mind but was just too afraid of what she had seen to let herself believe it. A part of her wanted Ruslan to be bad and for her heart to be broken, because heartbreak was all that she knew.
She was scared for what might happen to Ruslan and thought about how he could still hurt her later. She was too self-destructive in times like these and certainly was in this situation. She couldn’t resist anymore. She was ready to give herself all back to Ruslan.
She collapsed into his arms and he held her close. She could tell it had been a minute since he showered but she didn’t mind. There was nothing that felt better than being wrapped in his arms at that moment. She cried into his chest for a moment before pushing him back.
“If not you, then who?” she cried. She really didn’t know what else to believe but knew now more than ever that Ruslan did not hurt anyone. She knew from the first time she looked into his deep brown eyes that he wasn’t going to hurt her, and she believed he didn’t kill Joseph either.
“I don’t know, but I’ll do everything I can to find out,” he explained. “My stitches, I haven’t been taking care of them, will you help me?” he asked. He pulled his sleeve back to reveal a bloody wound. It still looked better than it did the first night he came to Olivia.
“They’re not ready to come out. But I can wrap them up,” she explained. She sneaked out to the bathroom to grab whatever bandages she hadn’t already packed. They had some stocked at the cabin but being the nurse she was, she had brought plenty of her own. She thought about the first night when she had to sneak out to help Ruslan and how she had no idea what was coming next. She couldn’t hear any other movement in the house and Vera’s door remained closed. While out, she went into the kitchen and grabbed some leftover spaghetti for Ruslan. The last time she had served it was for Joseph.
She hadn’t brought herself to throw it away yet. They were supposed to be leaving soon and no one was likely to eat the leftovers, but it still felt strange tossing them out. Joseph always loved Olivia’s spaghetti and was always ready to remind her what an amazing cook she was. She would never get to make him food again and didn’t realize until now how much being able to serve his family meant to her. She didn’t like being in the position of “the help” that she was but knew that it was important for that family. She felt like Joseph was a fatherly figure, and when he told her he was happy with her work or liked her cooking, it made her feel like a proud daughter.
When she made her way back into her bedroom with the bandages and spaghetti, she walked in on Ruslan taking his clothes off. It wasn’t anything she hadn’t seen before, but it was still certainly a welcomed sight. Every time she tried to count how many abs he had, she would get lost in studying another part of his perfectly sculpted body. She wondered how such a busy man was able to keep such an amazing shape, but she reminded herself he probably owned a gym in addition to the hotels.
“I haven’t changed my clothes since after the ball, I’m sorry if I stink,” he told her.
She didn’t know where he had been staying and she was a little afraid to ask. There were police at all the places that they thought Ruslan might go. His apartment, his hotels, his friends’ houses, and especially the cabin. She wondered how he had managed to sneak past all of the officers and make his way back to Olivia. She knew if she were him, she would do the same to get to see his eyes just one more time. “You can stay here tonight. But our flight is in the morning. We have to check out of the cabin by 10.”
“I’ll be gone by then. Thank you for helping me Olivia,” he told her. “What would I do without you?”
She started to cry. “What am I going to do without you? How do I know when I’m going to see you again?” If Ruslan got caught, he would surely be sent to prison. Would he ever really be able to find out who killed Joseph?
“I don’t know. But I’m going to do everything possible to clear my name and make my way back to you,” he told her, leaning in for a kiss.
She kissed back hard, grabbing his face. He pulled her body in close and they just held each other for a moment. She seemed to fit so perfectly in his chest and arms that it was as if they were made for each other. They both lay down on the bed and she curled up into his side. He wrapped both arms around her, planting kiss after kiss on her head. Each one gave her a little buzz. She started to drift off but caught herself before she fell all the way asleep.
She didn’t want to spend her potential last night ever with Ruslan asleep. She could sleep on the long plane ride back or after that. She might see Ruslan again soon, or she might never get to touch his soft skin again. Either way, she needed to make this night count. She trusted that Ruslan could do what he needed to do to get back to her. He had proved himself once already. She had to be realistic, however, and remind herself that this was her last chance to show Ruslan she actually did love him.
He could never clear his name and get caught, serving a life sentence all because she told the police she saw him there that night. She didn’t lie, but she certainly helped make him look all the guiltier. She knew she needed to make the most of their final moments together. She didn’t want to live with the guilt of knowing she might be the reason he went to prison. There wasn’t much she could do then in the bedroom other than show him that she belonged to him. She was willing to give everything for him.
She started kissing his side, working up to his mouth. She ran her hands around his chest and stomach, feeling his body pull towards her hand. She tickled him a little bit, enjoying the way she could make such a big man like that squirm with a soft touch. He moved her hand away from his sensitive areas and placed it around his waist. He pulled her close, giving her sleepy kisses back. It was a lot slower of a pace than they had done in the past.
Her mind drifted off and she felt completely at peace. She didn’t worry about anything that had been going on. The only thing she thought about was how good Ruslan’s body felt against hers. His giant hands running all over her body made her feel so small. She still felt completely safe wrapped up in his arms, mouths connected like they were glued together.
He pulled her on top of his chest, kissing her tenderly and stroking her back delicately. The other times they were together, she couldn’t wait to get his clothes off and feel him inside of her. She needed to take her time this time, knowing that it might be the last time she ever got to feel his skin against hers. She realized she hadn’t seen him that naked before. The other times, he only had his shirt unbuttoned slightly or kept his pants on. Being able to take so much of his skin in at once was really incredible for Olivia. She wanted to make everything last.
She held him close and kissed him tenderly, careful not to make things too heated. She wanted to take it slow and easy. She wanted to go further but also would have been satisfied only kissing because his lips felt that amazing against hers. She ran her fingers down his torso, rubbing across the top of his underwear. He wasn’t all the way erect, and Olivia could feel him growing as she continued to move her hand over and over his member.
He pushed her down onto the bed, climbing on top. She could feel his penis hard against her leg, causing her to get wet as well. He grabbed her breast, slowly moving his hand down her stomach and into her underwear. He slipped a finger deep inside, feeling her warmth and wetness all over his hand.
He kept working that area and eventually started kissing her neck, working his way down below her waist to finish what he had started the other night. He teased his tongue around her lips, using his hand down there at the same time. Olivia thought she might orgasm instantly but was doing her best to hold out and wait for him to climb back on top.
She pulled his head up, signaling she couldn’t take much more. She thought she might be almost too wet, but her readiness only excited him more as well. He took his own underwear off, slowly crawling back above her, lingering for a moment before slipping his penis deep inside Olivia, filling her body with warmth. It felt so smooth and soft going in and out of her pulsing body slowly.
He was having trouble lasting again, as was she, but they both knew they needed to make the most out of their night. He moved back and forth slowly and smoothly, less mechanical than the last two times. She was doing her best to elongate the process but knew they were both about to climax. Olivia loved nothing more than looking him in the eyes while he came, filling her with even more warmth. He reached down to kiss her neck and head, sweaty and tired from their moments of passion.
Afterwards, Ruslan toppled over next to her once again. She would finally get the chance to sleep next to him that night. She decided this wasn’t all she wanted to do, however, and after about an hour, got him ready again for round two, and three, and four. She wasn’t planning on stopping until her body broke down. As long as her body kept moving and her lips kept kissing, he gave everything back with the same persistence. It was clear that he hadn’t felt this way about anyone either. Olivia knew that they were each other’s person.
She never wanted their night together to end. She could live it over and over again, each second getting harder knowing that she might be getting closer to never seeing each other again. She didn’t think she would survive without him next to her, holding her, touching her, kissing her. Being with him was the greatest thing she had done in a while. It wasn’t often that she had felt something so deep for anyone or anything.
She didn’t want to let Ruslan go. She didn’t want to go. She thought about the other two women in the house mourning a loss and how she was going to have to feel the grief too. She never expected to leave with only half of her heart, but it was clear that’s exactly what she was going to have to do.