Chapter 4
Olivia woke up to something tickling her shoulder and tried to bat away the sensation. Unfortunately, every time the tickling stopped, it would start up again, pulling her out of her dreams of making love with Pete.
The deep, sexy chuckle so close to her ear, not to mention Pete’s strong hand sliding down her bottom, woke her up faster than she normally would have. She wasn’t a morning person, preferring to sleep until late morning, then have several cups of coffee while contemplating the day ahead. That tendency was beneficial to her job since most of the flights seemed to take place later in the afternoon, requiring her to be up late into the night during the flights across the country.
But now she wanted to sleep and grumbled when she felt Pete’s hand sliding around her stomach.
Burying her face against the pillow, she tried very hard to ignore him. “Did Mr. Steele call and ask to fly out?”
“No,” he replied, his hand smoothing up her back.
“Did anyone else call, needing us to fly up and pick them up?”
“Nope. We’re still in wait mode.”
“Then go away,” she grumbled, once again trying to bat his hand away.
“You don’t have to do a thing, Liv,” he teased, his hand tickling up her spine. “Just relax.”
She arched her back, her face a mixture of desire and irritation. “I can’t relax when you’re doing that!” she gasped, then his hands shifted, moving to her breasts. His thumb and forefinger tweaked her nipple and she slapped a hand over his, trying to stop the movement because it sent spikes of desire shooting through her body.
“Pete!” she yelled, unconcerned about whoever might be in the room next door. Pete was doing things to her breasts that…well, she wasn’t sure how to handle what he was doing!
“Yes?” he asked, his mouth latching onto her breast, his tongue darting out to torment her. Olivia’s fingers dove into his hair, holding his head in place until she couldn’t take it any longer. But he wouldn’t let her pull his mouth away.
“You have to stop!” she gasped, but then her hips shifted, pressing against his erection.
Suddenly, she was flipped over to her stomach and Pete was nibbling along the length of her spine. “What are you doing?” she demanded, peering over her shoulder at him.
“Enjoying myself,” he told her, finding a particularly sensitive spot on her shoulder blade. He only laughed when she hissed, but then she curved her spine, silently asking him to do that to her again.
“You’re gorgeous, do you know that?” he said softly as his fingers trailed along her back, curving around her bottom. She wiggled, not liking his hand on her bottom but he only smiled and took her hips, lifting them up. Grabbing a condom, he rolled it down his shaft, watching her as she peered over her shoulder at him again. “You’re not too tender from last night, are you?”
“No!” she groaned, pressing back against him, silently begging him to continue.
His hands gripped her hips as he pressed into her heat once again. “Damn, Livie! You feel so good!” And that was the end of their conversation other than Olivia pleading with him to move faster. Finally, he leaned forward, his hand and fingers helping her over the edge. Just like the previous night, her climax brought him over to his own orgasm, but this time was even more intense than the previous night.
When it was all over, he collapsed down onto the bed, pulling her closer, stroking her slowly as their breathing slowed and their bodies relaxed.
“I take it you’re not a morning person,” he commented when he could form words once again.
She laughed and snuggled closer to him. “I can be if I’m woken like that every morning,” she teased, then blushed when she realized what she’d just said, as well as because of his raucous laughter.
“Deal,” he told her, then bent to kiss her shoulder. “Come on, woman. We have some sightseeing to do.”
For the next three days, they drove all over the island, visiting the various sights, talking, starting to genuinely understand each other and, by the time evening rolled around, falling into bed to make love until they were too exhausted to move before curling up and sleeping in each other’s arms.
When the message came that Mr. Steele was ready to head back to Seattle, Olivia was completely sated and…confused. She’d started this trip hating Pete but after spending so much time in his company and in his bed, in his arms, she wasn’t really sure how she felt about him.
As they drove to the airport, both of them back in their uniforms, she kept stealing glances at him, wondering what was going to happen once they touched down in Seattle. Would things change when they got back home? Would he revert back to teasing and taunting her? Would she learn to hate him again?
Olivia didn’t want that. She wanted…well, she wasn’t sure what she wanted. She didn’t want to dread flying with him again. In fact, just the opposite. She wanted to fly with him all the time. She wanted…she wanted to talk to Mindy and ask to be paired with Pete all the time!
When that thought hit her, she was so stunned, she actually shrank back from Pete. He was doing his pre-flight check and walking her through the whole process, explaining in detail what he was looking for.
“Thank you,” she told him softly, feeling awkward and relieved as she walked away from him, sliding her sunglasses onto her nose to cover her eyes, cover up her confusion.
“Livie?” Pete called out, watching as she practically ran up the stairs to the plane. What the hell? Everything had been fine…better than fine…up until a moment ago. What had just gone through her mind? What was she thinking?
There was no way in hell he was going back to their previous relationship. Not happening! Now that he knew the sweet, funny, tender woman she’d been hiding, he wasn’t letting her slip back into her ice queen mode. No way! He loved her. After spending so much time with Olivia, he knew that he loved her, wanted her with him for the rest of his life. She was The One. And he knew all about The Others. He’d dated The Others and had been fine with The Others. Now he wanted Olivia. He wanted all of her laughter, her shy glances right before that look turned into heated desire. He wanted her enthusiasm for life and he wanted her…love. Yeah, he wanted Olivia forever.
So what had he said or done to make her run away?
Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to ask her since the limousine driving Zeke and Marcy just pulled up. He looked at one last issue on his pre-flight check and nodded. Everything was in order. Time to fly.
Six hours later, Pete was still fuming. They’d just landed in Seattle, their passengers had disembarked and Olivia was still avoiding him.
Locking up, he watched out of the corner of his eye as a car drove up onto the tarmac and a cute brunette popped out of the car. This new person was a stranger and looked…was she crying?
Pete started to walk over to the two women, but Olivia pulled away from hugging this new person, tears in her eyes. She looked over at Pete and he would have sworn that she was debating going to him. Everything inside of him wanted to pull her into his arms and comfort her. Seeing the tears in her eyes was like someone ripping his fingernails out.
But before he could even react, she dove into the vehicle and the other woman drove away, taking Olivia. Taking her away from him.
He stood there for a long moment, stunned. Had she just…was she…?
Oh hell no! Not after the past week. Not after the way she’d laughed with him. Not after the way she’d given her body to him night after night!
If he knew one thing about Olivia it was that she didn’t give herself to just anyone. The fact that she’d spent the week in his arms meant that she cared. He loved her. She most likely loved him.
His woman was hurting. That meant only one thing.
He was going to his woman!