Chapter Ten
The driver, Marco, Nico had called him, parked in a small lot behind a strip of stores. Nico opened his door, and following suit, Olivia reached for her handle when she heard, "Wait." She turned her head, but Nico was already out of the car and walking around the back to her side. He opened her door and offered his hand. She hesitated before reaching for it, not used to such gallantry and let him help her from the car.
His hand landed on her back, and she looked at him, to tell him he didn't need to trouble himself by helping her from the car, but the words stuck in her throat. His attention wasn't on her, it was on their surroundings. His expression, usually blank, was now stone, and his eyes were in constant motion, scoping out the area. She couldn't see Marco as he followed at their backs, but had a feeling if she turned and looked, she'd catch him doing the same thing.
A shiver ran down her spine. She'd grown so comfortable in Nico's presence, she'd forgotten exactly who and what he was. And that could be a deadly mistake.
They reached the back entrance of one of the larger shops. The back door was open, but a security door filled the open space. Nico pounded on it with the side of his fist, creating a loud racket as the metal jangled in its frame.
"Use the front door!" a woman shouted from deep in the store.
Nico's only reply was to bang again.
Olivia heard a loud huff and a grumbled, "I said, use the front—" A woman came into view, and she stopped mid-sentence when she spotted Nico. Her disgruntled expression turned into a broad grin. "Well look what the cat dragged in. Long time, no see, Nicoló."
"Open the door, Teresa."
She was quick to do his bidding, turning the deadbolt so Nico could pull the door open. Nico's hand, still at Olivia's lower back, applied pressure, silently directing her into the store. Teresa stepped to the side so they could pass. The hall was narrow, and Teresa wasn't, so it was a tight fit.
The interior of the store was quaint. Dark woods lightened by a decor of white lace, pink ribbons, and pastel flowers. The place was very... feminine, and Olivia barely contained a giggle at the sight of a dark and brooding Nico amid its surroundings. He turned, looking at her, and she hastily tried to clear her expression of all amusement. His raised eyebrow let her know she hadn't succeeded. She forced her smile away but still felt her lips twitch.
Nico walked to her side. The scowl he wore didn't tarnish his handsomeness, and if she were honest, the feminine decor only enhanced his masculinity. But instead of admitting her thoughts to remove the scowl from his face, she kept quiet. A man like him didn't need his ego boosted. It seemed to be working just fine on its own.
"We need a few things." He was talking to Teresa, but his eyes were still trained on her.
The look he was giving made it impossible for her to turn away even when she heard Teresa say, "Well, of course, you do. I didn't think this was a social call."
Nico took Olivia's hand, leading her farther into the store. He stopped, looked around, and then, obviously spying something that caught his eye, moved that direction.
A white dress hung on the wall. The top was done in a Grecian style and had silver rhinestone straps with silver swooping chains attached that would hang over someone's shoulders. More rhinestone chains crisscrossed under the bust and would hug someone's ribcage. The skirt was long and made of some flowy material with a see-through layer on top. It was the most beautiful dress Olivia had ever seen.
Nico nodded. "We need that in a size five."
Olivia looked up at him. Though she would love to try it on, heck, even just run her fingers over it, she said, "I have no need for that."
He looked from the dress back to her. "Humor me."
She shook her head, her eyes wide as she deadpanned, "I didn't think you had a sense of humor."
He released a bark of laughter then looked almost as shocked as she felt by the sudden outburst. A smirk replaced his smile as his hand came up, and he traced a finger down the side of her cheek. "I haven't been surprised in a long time." His face turned serious. "You do nothing but surprise me."
Her heart pounded as her thoughts started to spin. She wanted to lean into his touch. Wanted to ask if being surprised was a good thing. But she did neither. Instead, remaining silent, she stared into his eyes as his looked somewhere in the vicinity of her lips until Teresa came up to them, breaking the moment.
Nico took a step back as Teresa held the dress high, waving it in front of her. "Size five, you said, right?" She lowered the dress and obviously noticing the tension said, "I'll just stick this in one of the dressing rooms."
Teresa stepped between them as she passed, and Olivia lost sight of Nico for a second. By the time he came back into view, his features were once more shut down, impassive and unreadable. He raised an arm out indicating the expanse of the store. "Look around. Find a suit and whatever else you want."
He walked away to go stand by Marco. Olivia scanned the shop, a little overwhelmed.
Teresa came out from the back and walked over to her. "Can I help you with anything, hon?"
"Um, bathing suits. Do you have any?"
"Sure. Over here."
Olivia followed her to a rack in the corner. Her hand moved through the hangers, bypassing bikinis and going straight to the one-pieces, looking for one in her size. She found the one with the most material—a black, Olympic style suit—and plucked it off the rack.
Teresa was eyeing her. "Do you want to try it on?"
Olivia shook her head. "I'm sure it will be fine. Can you just ring it up so we can go?" She tried to hand her the suit, but Teresa took her arm instead. "Come on, you need to try on the dress anyway."
Olivia was already shaking her head before Teresa started pulling her to the back, but Teresa was stronger and other than wrenching her arm free and causing a scene, she saw no other option but to follow.
She led her to a hanging curtain at the back of the store. Sweeping it aside revealed a large changing room with a couple of floor-length mirrors and a few bench seats. The white dress was hanging on a hook, and Teresa went over to it. "Will you need help changing into this?"
Olivia shook her head, her eyes fastened on the dress. "No, um, thank you. I should be okay."
Teresa made for the exit. "Okay, hon. Just give a holler if you need help."
Olivia nodded, but she wasn't really paying attention. Her focus was on the dress. She took a few steps toward it and reached out a hand but stopped at the last minute, afraid to touch and maybe harm it. She debated a full minute, but in the end, the part deep inside of her that really wanted to try it on won.
Stepping out of her flip-flops, she shed her clothes and after examining the dress, knew she'd need to ditch the bra, too. She was careful as she removed it from the hanger as well as when she stepped into it and pulled the silky fabric up her body. The ropes of stones and chains were cold as she adjusted them on her bare shoulders. The bodice dipped low, and she pulled her eyes from the mirror to look down at herself.
She didn't sense a presence behind her until she felt a finger skim the length of her bare back through the gaping material. Her head snapped up, and she saw Nico in the mirror, standing behind her. The slow trek of his finger reached her lower back before she felt a tug as he started to raise the zipper.
His eyes met hers in the mirror as his hands skimmed over the tops of her shoulders to travel down her chest, dipping into the front of the dress to cup her breasts. "I knew this would look fucking perfect on you. You're a goddess."
His stare was intense, and she found she couldn't look away. As his hands squeezed her breasts, she kept watch in the mirror, transfixed. His head dipped to trail kisses down her exposed neck and shoulder, her gaze never breaking from the top of his head as his lips trailed feather-light kisses down her skin. She felt his teeth nip at the juncture where her neck and shoulder met, shivering as his warm tongue swept away the slight sting.
Her body, at first stiff, started to relax back into his embrace. His hands at her breasts grew bolder, plucking and twisting at her nipples as his teeth bit the strap at her shoulder, pulling it down, causing the bodice to gape and give his hand freer access.
Her head fell back against his chest, her neck no longer able to support its weight, and Nico took advantage of the exposed line of her throat, his lips, tongue, and teeth consuming every inch of exposed skin.
A hunger grew between her legs. An ache she tried to relieve by squeezing her thighs together. Nico must have sensed her need for he tried to plunge his hands farther down her gown, but they were hindered by the tight bands that crossed under her breasts.
With a frustrated growl, he ripped his hands free from the inside of her dress, capturing her at the hips and moving her forward, commanding, "Put your hands on the mirror."
She had no choice but to do as he said as he moved one of his hands to her nape, pushing her upper body forward, the hand still at her hip holding her lower body in place.
The mirror was cold against her fingers, and her face was so close, she left a white fog of condensation with her breath. Cool air hit her legs and ass as he threw the skirt of the dress up around her hips.
"Fucking beautiful," he said, giving the globe of one cheek a caress before his fingers tangled in the waistband of her panties and with a yank, tore them from her body.
She let out a small gasp but didn't have time to think about her ruined panties as his foot came between hers, tapping them to either side until her legs were spread to the width he wanted.
With his hand still at her nape, he held her in place as his other moved to her front, skimming through her folds, obviously satisfied with what he discovered if his small grunt was any indication.
With her forehead pressed against the mirror and her eyes closed, she felt his upper body drape along her back, his lips finding her ear. "So fucking wet. Tell me," his finger did a swirl around her clit before running through her folds to slip inside her, "are you sore?"
She was a little tender, but not enough to have the willpower to tell him to stop what he was doing with his finger. The slow glide in and out, along with the light tapping of his thumb against her clit, had her pushing herself against him, seeking relief.
She supposed that was answer enough for him because he removed the hand at her nape. She felt it come between their bodies, fiddling with something she assumed was the fastening of his pants. And then his finger was gone, both of his hands capturing her hips, lifting her to her toes as he planted himself deep inside her with one smooth thrust.
Her neck twisted when her cheek landed against the glass. Her fingers clawed at the slick mirror, trying to gain purchase. He pulled out and then slammed back in, his fingers digging into her hipbones as he held her in place.
A pressure started to build even as she warred with herself, knowing she shouldn't be enjoying this. But she was. Every thrust hit something inside her, building her up, taking her to an edge that, with just a few more well-placed strokes, she'd be tipping over.
He pounded into her harder, his pace quickening, and the tide of pleasure washed over her. Her body shuddered as he slammed into her two more times, and she felt his own shudder before he stilled above her.
He slipped from her. Her cheek was still against the glass. Her eyes were closed, and she tried to control her panting breaths. He took her by the shoulders, pulling her up, the hem of her skirt falling from her hips to cascade down her legs. One of his arms snaked around her waist as his other hand captured her jaw, turning her head so their eyes caught in the mirror.
His eyes did a slow sweep down her body before meeting hers in the mirror once more. "Get the dress."
That was all he said as he turned on his heel, sweeping up her discarded panties from the floor and tucking them into his pocket before walking from the room.