Chapter 19
Olivia
Past
Bastien opened the door on my side of the truck. It startled me because he was gone for so long. We'd been driving for what seemed like forever, then when we arrived, he told me to wait in the truck for a while.
“Are we at a beach?” I stepped out and one of my heels sunk into the dirt and broken gravel of the aged parking lot.
“You might want to take those off,” he motioned to my suddenly impractical heels. He was lit by only moonlight. The sound of the tide receding in the distance gave him, and this place, a hint magic.
“You want me to go barefoot? I'm in a prom dress.”
“You can take that off too, if you like.” His dark eyes seemed to twinkle with mischief. That look always melted me, especially because I knew he wasn't kidding.
I shivered in the crisp air. Summer was supposedly right around the corner, but New England didn't seem to care. Bastien covered me with the heavy work coat that his had dad left in the trunk. It looked absurd over my dress, but it was too warm to complain. We both kicked off our shoes and he led me down the deserted beach.
“What's in the bag?” I asked about the satchel Bastien had swung over his shoulder. The ground wasn't cold enough to make my feet go numb so I was able to feel the sand between my toes.
The sky was clear, which made the white sand almost shine. The black ocean was alive with crashing waves and a brilliant wavering reflection of the moon and stars. I could see all the way to the horizon and felt like Bastien and I were the only two people in the world.
“You'll see.” Bastien wrapped an arm around my back and pulled me close.
If my life were a fairytale, I would want this to be my 'lived happily ever after' moment.
I shifted to put my arm around him as well, when something crinkled in the breast pocket of the coat I was wearing. I pulled it out. It was a picture of his mother holding Bastien as a baby.
We stopped at a wooden staircase leading to a boardwalk that would bring us back to the parking lot. Bastien snatched the picture away from me, crumpled it in one hand, then dropped it. The anger at his mother for abandoning them still simmered within Bastien. He might have come home, but he'd never truly been the same after those Marines showed up to give him the news about his father.
Bastien never came out and said it, but I could tell that he was upset with himself for not having a better relationship with his father while he was still alive. Bastien loved his dad, but was always pissed at him for bouncing his family around. He could never make any real friends because he would never be in one spot long enough.
“I'd seen pictures of my mother growing up. My father had them all in a drawer somewhere.” I wanted to help Bastien through this, but I didn't really know what to say. So I just said the first thing that came to mind. “She was a fashion designer, I guess. And she was so pretty. Prettier than the models that wore her clothes.”
“That explains where you got your good looks from.” Bastien offered a half smile, trying to ignore his own pain. “You sure as hell didn't take after Delvin.”
He wasn't the first one to tell me that my father and I looked almost nothing alike. I think it was because my father wore a perpetual displeased scowl on his face whenever he wasn't acting.
“How did she—” Bastien stopped himself, he was searching for a way to ask that wasn't too abrasive.
“Me.” I took a breath. “Complications during my birth. They couldn't save her.”
It was in the news at the time, but I'd never told anyone directly before. I didn't know why I told him, but it felt strangely good to get that off my chest.
“That wasn't your fault.” Bastien was kind, he just rarely showed it. I could tell he wanted to take my pain away.
“I know.” I said, quickly. “I just wanted you to know that I understand what it's like to carry grief around. I don't know if it'll ever go away, but I do know that being around people you care about...” I looked up at him earnestly. “It helps.”
Bastien's normal mask of carelessness fell away. His upturned eyes looked at me in a way I’d never seen in him before. Real hope glimmered in those hard, dark orbs of his. Maybe someday things would be ok for him, maybe even for both of us.
Bastien leaned in and kissed me so quickly that when it was over I barely knew what just happened. Looking back at him, my eyes became huge saucers. I'd fantasized about that moment for as long as I had known him and, when it finally happened, it caught me completely by surprise. It wasn't earth shattering or time-stopping, but it was wholly ours, and it was still wonderful.
That was our first kiss!
“C'mon, Olivia.” Bastien's mouth parted in a genuine smile, amused by my paralyzed shock. He swung an arm under me and picked me up. “There's one more thing I want to show you.”
Bastien carried me up the wooden walkway and as we crested the final sets of stairs, I began to see the light. Glow sticks lined the entire boardwalk on both the right and left sides, giving the wood a fluorescent green glow. Bastien set me down on a blanket that was about midway down the walkway.
He pulled out and lit a few candles that were stuffed in his satchel, then he grabbed a bottle of champagne. Bastien looked at me and shrugged. “It's not prom, but it's something.”
“It's perfect.” I crushed him in a great big hug. It was simple, thoughtful and beautiful. I could never have imagined someone doing something like this for me. “Even if the champagne is just sparkling apple juice.”
“What?” Bastien took a closer look at the bottle, then sighed. “I should've just gone with a case of beer.”
“Oh, God, I'm glad you didn't!” I laughed at him. “That stuff was terrible.”
Bastien didn't pack any cups so we just drank the sparkling cider out of the bottle. I put the jacket I was wearing over our feet to thaw them a bit and protect them from the sea breezes. Bastien held me close, keeping me warm as we gazed at the stars together for a while.
“I think it's past midnight.” I nuzzled my head into his.
Bastien shrugged. He didn't care what time it was.
“You know what that means?”
“Please don't.” He sighed, suddenly realizing why I'd brought it up.
I didn't have a musical bone in my body, but that didn't stop me from singing him the worst rendition of 'Happy Birthday' that had ever been sung. He groaned, rolling his eyes, but smiled all the same.
“I also got you something.” I peeled his hand away from his face and put my present in it.
“What is—” Bastien turned it over in his hand. It was a small pendant of an anatomically-correct heart, ventricles and all. There was a little 'O' carved into the middle of it.
He had my heart.
“This is super lame.” His small smile broke into a full grin.
Bastien slid a hand past the side of my face and kissed me. This time I was ready for him, and this time the kiss was more than a quick peck. It lasted long enough for all the fireworks to go off in my heart. This was the kiss I always hoped for, and in so many amazing ways, it was even better than I could have imagined.
“But I also kinda love it,” Bastien said, between kisses.
Present
“Studio, please.” I told the limo driver as he lowered the little window between us and him.
“Yes, ma'am.” The man nodded and started the car.
“This is so goddamn unnecessary,” Bastien grumbled, reluctantly getting in. He did not like to be pampered in any way. “Look at all this shit. It's a ten minute ride, why the fuck do we need a fully stocked bar at ten in the morning?”
“This is just how it's done when you sign on with a production company.” I shrugged. It wasn't a big deal to me because of how my dad always traveled when I was growing up. Limos were just a thing we did.
I’d just received my advance from the studio. I was really appreciative of Bastien’s mysterious employer, but it was nice to have some money of my own again. I’d offered to pay him back for all his help, but Bastien turned me down right away.
Who was John Warwick, really? I looked him up, of course, and there was a ton of information, but nothing that gave me any real insight into who he was. The main takeaways were that he was eccentric with his interests; had no family and no one had seen him anywhere these last few months.
I really hoped I’d get the chance to meet him and properly thank him for all the help he’d given me during all this mess.
“You get any word about that thug who attacked you?” Bastien asked, tearing me from thought as he rotated the labels on the champagne bottles.
“The police said they're still looking into it. They did link the attacker to a major NYC loan shark, but I didn't get many more details.” All of it still made me really anxious. Were there more people out there looking to hurt me? I didn't want to think about it anymore. I switched gears to something else that had been on my mind for the last few weeks, ever since we met Phillip. “Hey, I have a favor to ask.”
Bastien cocked his head for me to continue.
“I don't think you should come to set when I do the topless scene.” Production wanted it to be a full on sex scene, but Michelle had it knocked down considerably. Unfortunately, I'd still have to be half naked in at least a few shots.
“Why the hell not?” Bastien's tone went flat. He was not pleased.
“Bastien,” I said, raising my eyebrows. “You were my estranged boyfriend, turned bodyguard...who I'm also still having sex with. Let's be honest. You're a PR nightmare.”
“So what? We've kept it a secret so far. I'm going to be there, Olivia. Remember what they almost made you do last time? These guys are fucking assholes.”
“That's exactly my point. Are you going to be able to not tear Phillip's head off if you see him touch me?”
Bastien went dark for a moment, and I knew right away what the answer was. Bastien was incredibly possessive, and I loved that quality about him. But parts of my life were water to his oil, they just couldn't mix.
I braced for a massive argument.
Surprisingly, he nodded. “You're right. I'd rip his fucking arms off and shove them up his ass.” He looked off into the distance with hard eyes. “You'd better not enjoy any of it,” Bastien demanded, but it was a more playful than domineering.
At this point, he had to know that he was the only man for me. Didn't he?
“You can't drive me anymore, and no one's attacked me since we've been on the West Coast.” He seemed crazy reasonable about my request, so of course I had to push the limits and rib him a bit just to make sure it actually was alright with him. “You're not the least bit worried that I won't need you anymore?”
'Challenge accepted,’ flashed in his eyes. His hand grabbed my knee. “You could never stop needing me.”
“Yeah?” I teased. “And what can you do that my vibrator can't?”
“With a vibrator, you'll only get touched. With my cock,” Bastien dragged his nails up my nylon-covered thighs, creating little bunches and tears. If there was one thing Bastien didn't care at all about, it was my clothes. For every ruined outfit I had, I also had an amazing, heart-stopping memory of how he ruined it. “You'll get fucked.”
My gaze darted toward the open driver's window. I was jerked forward, when he grabbed my thighs and pulled them toward him. We were in plain sight of the driver's rear-view mirror.
“Bastien!” I quietly scolded him, while frantically slapping at the console. Finally, the tinted window between the driver's seat and us went up. Jesus, that was close. “You can't be doing that in public!”
“Public?” Bastien looked around, mockingly. “Now, can your vibrator do this?” He reached up under my skirt and dragged down my nylons. Bastien slipped his fingers into my panties and pushed them up against my sensitive lips, hard. “Does your vibrator know exactly how to touch your pussy?”
“It is pretty good,” I moaned. I was already wet. “It's got a bunch of settings. What else you got?”
He curled his fingers into my pussy, up between my lips and across my clit, one by one. Each finger caused a mini spasm to shoot into my stomach. Then he pulled his hand out and licked his fingers, one by one. I moaned again at the sight of him sucking me off his fingers.
Now I was soaked.
“Mmmm, I think I need a little more of that.” Bastien abruptly grabbed my ass, pulling my crotch into the air before him. I was thrown onto my back. My shoulders were the only thing that touched the leather seats, everything else hovered in front of his chest.
He didn't even bother taking my underwear off. He just pulled them aside and dove in with his tongue. Bastien was rarely ever gentle with the things he wanted, but he was a gymnast with his tongue. He touched places inside of me that I didn't even know how to reach.
I shifted over to one side to get away from him. I didn't want to come just yet. Bastien readjusted to get a better grip on me and sucked my clit, my eyes rolled back and I bit my lip.
“Fuckfuckfuck... Don't stop, I'm so fucking close!” He had me. He knew he had me. There was no stopping it now. The intense pleasure of his tongue coupled with the image of Bastien sucking his fingers, wrecked me to the core.
I came. And I came loudly.
“Uh, ma'am?” The limo driver's voice came out of the small speaker next to the intercom button... that my elbow was digging into! “Are you alright?”
Oh shit!
I jerked my arm away. My elbow had been propping me up, with it gone, I slapped down awkwardly onto my shoulder. He knows it's just me and Bastien back here. My chest seized up, this could be what does it! If the limo driver wanted to make some extra money with the tabloids I was screwed!
Bastien and I had gotten more relaxed lately and if we kept doing things this way, it was only a matter of time till we got caught. When that happened, I could say goodbye to my dream movie...
“Just practicing my lines!” I blurted out unconvincingly. When I didn't hear a response, I pressed the button and repeated myself, but this time with a little more conviction.
“Uh, yes, ma'am.” The driver replied, equally unconvincingly. “Also, we'll be arriving at the studio momentarily.”
“Circle the block please.” I paused, searching for an excuse as to why I didn't want to get out of this car as a wet, sticky mess, on the cusp of another orgasm. “I need more practice. For that scene…that I’m working on right now.”
I cursed myself for not being nearly as good at improv as I should've been. To be fair, I wasn't thinking straight. That was by far the most intense orgasm I'd ever had.
“He's gonna have to go a hell of a lot farther than that.” Bastien casually remarked, burying his mouth back into my clit.
“Make that ten blocks!” My voice pitched an octave higher at the end, when Bastien bit one of my lower lips. The pain pushed me back over the edge of bliss. I had no idea how I managed to turn off the intercom system before I came.
Bastien's tongue and fingers destroyed me over the course of those ten blocks. I was actually physically dazed from the orgasms he put me through. Even still, I needed more. I wanted his cock inside me. It wasn't a want anymore, it was a need.
I reached for it, but he slapped my hand away. Did he really want me to beg? This was Bastien, of course he did.
“Please...” I whined as the car came to a stop.
No! We couldn't have arrived back to the studio already? In that moment, I didn't give a damn about being caught or that I was already past the call time to show up. What I needed was more time with Bastien.
I wasn't done with him yet.
He reached into his pants and stroked himself. “When you get in there, you just remember that it was my cock you were begging for not a vibrator.”
“Oh, you are such a fucking monster!” My mouth dropped, he was going to make me suffer. Bastien could play me like a musical instrument. He would never have to worry about Phillip or anyone else. I'd always been his.
Bastien's had my heart since prom night, all those years ago.