Obeying Her Racy Firemen [Racy Nights 8] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting), page 10
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Cameron smiled. “Hope that means they won’t be seeking his expert advice.”
“Oh, for sure. But that’s not the best part.”
Cameron refreshed the radar. Benton County was now under a severe thunderstorm warning. “Where’s Olivia? Is she with you?”
“No, she’s home, I’m at the new warehouse. I had some final reports to file about the fire investigations, and I admit I was curious to see what they’d done here. Why?”
“Severe weather is moving in.”
“I can do the rest of my work from home.”
“You sure you don’t mind?”
Storm laughed softly. “Not at all. I need to get out of here anyway. It’s a clusterfuck. Bernie is fit to be tied. Gina’s former administrative assistant, Tina Gaughan, was made acting head of IT, and she has no fucking clue what she’s doing. The computers are crashing every five minutes, and no one on Gina’s former staff seems to know how to fix them. Gina did so much here to keep this place running, and apparently no one on her former staff did shit to help. If we have a bad storm, the whole system will probably crash anyway, so I might as well watch that happen from home.”
Cameron breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t want Olivia alone during a storm. “So, what were you telling me about Cale?”
“Oh, yeah. He made a bid for several of the projects downtown, only it never came across Zach’s desk. And, Zach didn’t know about that piece of it until Morgan Riddle said something in the meeting this morning, mentioning Cale’s name. My ears perked up, and I caught a look pass to Morgan from Bernie that would have melted the polar ice caps. Bernie glanced at Zach, and I’ll eat this phone if he wasn’t thinking ‘Oh shit.’ Zach pretended to ignore it, but he asked Gina to poke around in the new company’s background. Something is not right.”
“Holy fuck. Did you ask Chase or Ellis if Cale is working on any of the projects downtown?”
“I left voice mail messages for both of them.”
“Can Bernie hire someone on his own like that?”
“Hell no. But he knows it’s such a mess right now downtown because of the recent fires that it would be easy to slip something like that past Zach, Chase, or Ellis.”
More thunder rumbled overhead and lightning flashed. Cameron refreshed the radar screen again. “Hey, how soon can you leave for home? This storm is moving in fast.”
“On my way. I’ll call you when I get there.”
Cameron refreshed the screen, watching a huge thunderstorm move directly toward Racy. He wasn’t sure which worried him more right now. The impending storm, or the possibility that Bernie was in bed with a crook. One thought wouldn’t let him go. Was Matthew Cale somehow behind the fires that had been set?
All sorts of questions raced through his mind. Cameron jotted down notes so he wouldn’t forget them. How does Bernie know Cale? Which firms are working on the reconstruction of City Hall, the warehouse and Busler’s Department Store? Do Sylvia and Billy Crider know Cale? And how is Kevin Newark connected to Cale?
As the storm moved closer, bringing frequent lightning and loud thunder with it, Cameron rose and began to pace the tiny office, wishing he were home with Olivia right now.
Chapter Twelve
Storm had rarely worked at his office at City Hall even before the tornado, so he hadn’t been surprised when he’d shown up this morning at the new warehouse and it had taken him half an hour to find out where they’d stuck him. His office was now no larger than a broom closet, which was just fine as far as he was concerned. It meant he had a perfect excuse to work from home.
Fat raindrops began to fall as he slid into his car. By the time he made it out of downtown, the sky was dark and threatening. He pulled up the weather on his phone as he raced toward the condo, but it was still only a severe thunderstorm warning. When he opened the garage door and pulled inside, Olivia was waiting at the door.
He gave her a big hug after he exited his car. “Afraid of the storm, hon?”
“A bit.”
“I think everyone in this town will be afraid of them for a long time.”
“It’s weird not to be at work today.”
“It’s a mess there. Gina’s replacement is clueless and Bernie is fit to be tied.”
She smiled. “Then I guess I’m glad I’m not there.”
The wind kicked up and Storm pushed the button to close the garage before going inside with Olivia.
“I just made a fresh pot of coffee,” she said. “Want some?”
“Sure. And then I’ll you the news about Matthew Cale.”
She poured him a cup. “Who?”
“He was on the list of names you got from Westwood. You probably wouldn’t have heard about this, but five years ago he was involved in a kickback scheme that included extortion. Unfortunately, he has so many friends in low places they couldn’t gather enough evidence to convict him.”
She sat at the kitchen counter and wrapped her hands around a mug of coffee. He took a seat beside her, and wondered how he’d ever thought that no woman could touch his heart the way Caitlin had. Olivia had not only touched his heart, she’d seared her name into his very soul.
“What did he do?” she asked.
Thunder crashed overhead at the same time as lightning flashed, and Olivia cast an anxious glance out the kitchen window. They could hear the tornado sirens from here, so Storm resolved not to worry about the weather unless he heard them start to wail. He told her about Cale’s prior company, the string of suspicious commercial fires in the Lafayette area, and Cale’s attempts to blackmail business owners into using his firm for the restoration of those buildings.
“Why couldn’t they gather enough evidence to convict him then?”
“Ah, my beautiful Olivia. You don’t know how much shady shit goes on in this part of the state. We like to say it’s because of all that mob activity in Chicago.” He winked at her.
“Well, you know, I’ve heard people say that Indiana is nothing more than a suburb of Chicago, so there you go.”
Storm laughed. “That is great. I’ll have to remember that one.
“So, I take it we shouldn’t use him as a contact then?”
He shook head. “No, definitely not. But this is the part you’ll find really interesting.” He told her about the bids on the contracts downtown that Cale made under his new company’s name, and that Zach had never known about. He also described Bernie’s reaction in the meeting that morning when Morgan Riddle mentioned Cale’s name in connection with the reconstruction downtown.
“Oh my God, Storm. Obviously Bernie knew and so did Morgan. They’re supposed to run any bids past the entire committee.”
Storm nodded. “I know. And it wasn’t only the fact that Bernie looked guilty. There was something about his reaction that smacked of bigger things than simply pushing through contract bids without having them approved first. Gina is digging around right now to see if she can find anything out about Cale’s new company. We should ask her to try and find a connection to Bernie or the Criders as well.”
“What do you mean by something bigger? Do you think Bernie is involved in something underhanded with Cale?”
“I wouldn’t be a bit surprised. And if he is, it goes deeper than bids on contracts. You didn’t see the look on his face, Olivia. It was as if he’d been caught striking the match that started the fire.”
Olivia’s eyes grew wide and she put her hand up to her mouth as Storm’s words finally sunk in. “Oh my God,” she whispered. “You don’t think…”
“I don’t know, and we can’t say anything to anyone, okay? Let Gina dig around. And as soon as Chase and Ellis call me back I’ll know more. If they didn’t know about Cale’s bids either, Bernie might be in deep shit.”
“That man has persecuted you and others for no good reason other than his narrow-minded self-righteous bullshit. He’s a mean bully, plain and simple. But to find out he might be a crook as well is just too much. Storm, if you nail his ass to the wall, I’ll give you anything you want for the rest of your life.”
Although her comment made his dick hard, what touched him most at that moment weren’t the fantasies running through his head. It was her love for everyone in this town, and especially for the BDSM community, of which she’d only been a part for a mere few weeks. She was so unlike any sub he’d ever had that there were times Storm forgot about correcting her protocol. He only wanted to be in her company, and hold her in his arms.
She frowned. “Are you okay? You have an odd look on your face right now.”
“Yes. Olivia, I never told you about Caitlin. I’d like to. I want you to know as much about my past as I know about yours.” He didn’t know why it was suddenly so important to tell her about his former sub, but he wanted to.
“Okay.” She looked a bit confused.
He pulled up the radar on his phone. The warning was close to expiring, but there were more heavy rain bands behind it. This was going to be a long day. “Let’s move into the living room. It’ll be more comfortable.” And away from the southwest window where they would be distracted by the storms.
Once they were settled on the sofa, he took a deep breath. “I had a sub named Caitlin Marks. I met her in Kentucky when I was in school and we dated for a while, but I was just getting into BDSM and I can’t really say we had a Dom/sub relationship. We drifted apart, but then one day five years ago she showed up at Maddox’s club, looking for me. Her Dom had just let her go, and she told me she’d never gotten over me. Of course I was flattered, and things took off from there.”
Olivia smiled sweetly, but Storm couldn’t help but notice the flash of jealousy in her eyes. Was he making a mistake by telling her? “She moved to Racy and we were together for three years.”
“What happened?”
“I wish I knew. Cameron and I didn’t live in the same condo back then, but he was at the club all the time and we hung out a lot together. Caitlin kept dropping hints that she wanted me to make her play with other Doms, especially Cameron. On one hand I was fine with it, as it was understood that I would be there to watch or participate, but the very idea also made me jealous as hell.”
“Do you feel that way when I’m with both of you at the same time?” she asked quietly.
Storm cursed inwardly. He hadn’t considered that. It wasn’t the same thing, but how could he tell her that? She wouldn’t understand. He could barely explain it to himself. He shook his head. “No, I don’t. But let me finish, and then we’ll talk about that, okay?”
She nodded, but the light had gone out of her eyes. Fuck it all. Why had he said anything in the first place? He couldn’t stop now. He had to see this through. Otherwise she’d blame herself for the rest of the day for something she’d had no part in.
“Did you love her?”
There was no point in lying to her. “Yes. And I wanted to make her happy, so I started letting her play with other Doms, including Cameron. But soon it became apparent that she was having more fun doing that than anything we did together.”
“And you couldn’t handle that.”
“I couldn’t, but not for the reasons you’re thinking, Olivia. Not because another Dom was playing with her. There was no sexual contact between her and another Dom, but soon she began to ask me if there could be. I couldn’t bring myself to allow that. I had to finally admit that she was bored with me. That’s why she wanted to be with other Doms.”
“I’m sorry. That must have been very difficult to realize.”
He stared at her for so long that she averted her gaze the way she always did when he made her uncomfortable. This time, he didn’t bother to tell her to keep her eyes on him. How could he? He had to try and explain this.
When she rose to take their coffee cups to the kitchen, he didn’t try to stop her. Instead he recalled what she’d told them about Bill Turner, and he realized that Olivia had never said anything about being with another man. She’d told them that Bill had been her one and only sexual experience, but he and Cameron had assumed she’d at least dated other men. Now he knew they’d been mistaken. And that meant Olivia had probably never been in love.
He sat forward and rested his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands, trying to imagine what that must have been like for her all these years. Was she in love now? There were times he swore he saw the emotion on her face and in her eyes, but then he convinced himself he had to be wrong. Now, he wasn’t so sure.
When she came back into the room, he waited until she’d sat next to him again and then pulled her into a tight embrace and stroked her hair the way she loved. “Olivia, I didn’t tell you about Caitlin to upset you. I’m so sorry.”
“I’m not upset, Storm. I just don’t know what to say.”
He pulled away and looked into her eyes. “You’ve never felt that way about anyone, have you?”
She sighed heavily and looked away, but this time she didn’t look uncomfortable. This time she flushed.
“It’s okay to tell me.”
She shook her head. “No, I’ve never felt that way before.”
“Caitlin left me over two years ago, Olivia. I’m not still pining away for her. I want you to know that.”
“I know that, but thank you for telling me.”
“Then what’s bothering you right now?”
“I told you.”
He turned her face toward him so that he could see her eyes. “Tell me again.”
“I don’t understand how you were jealous when Caitlin played with other Doms, but you aren’t jealous when I’m with you and Cameron at the same time.”
The pain on her face was killing him. Why in the hell had he started down this road? “And you think that means I don’t care for you, right?”
He actually saw her swallow as she nodded.
“Olivia, I swear to you that it’s not the same thing. Cameron and I started this together, and that’s what makes it different. Sure, my male ego tries to get in the way at times, but the fact that I’m okay sharing you with Cameron absolutely does not mean that I don’t care for you. I couldn’t be happier to have you in my life.”
The relief that filled her face told him that what he’d suspected was true. She’d fallen for him. Did she feel the same way about Cameron? Had she said anything to him? No. Cameron would have told him. How long had she been holding this inside?
“Honestly? You are?”
With anyone else, a question like that would set his teeth on edge, but not with Olivia. She wasn’t fishing for compliments. She was desperate for reassurance. He pulled her close again. “I have never been this happy, Olivia. I mean that. You are everything I’ve ever wanted.”
She clung to him tightly, and he didn’t move a muscle or even breathe. He wanted nothing to break this spell. If she was going to tell him how she felt, he wanted her to do so without another distraction before she had a chance to speak.
“Storm, I’m happy too. With both of you. It’s…sometimes I can’t even believe I’m here. You’re both so beautiful, and so good to me, and I never thought I’d find anyone to care about, or who didn’t laugh at me, or…I don’t know. Thank you so much.”
“Olivia, we’re the ones who should be thanking you. You’re such a blessing in our lives.”
“You both are in mine. I never want to leave here.”
He could actually feel her heart pounding. “You never have to. You’re stuck with us, slave, until we say so.”
She pulled away slightly and looked up at him with fear and desperation in her eyes. The sight of it nearly broke him in two. “Then never say so.”
He brushed a finger across her cheek. “Olivia, you aren’t going anywhere, okay? We simply won’t have it.”
Something shifted inside him as he stared into her eyes, so full of hope and love. How could he make her understand what she meant to him? If he said the three little words would that be enough? He’d gladly say them twenty times a day if it would help, but he knew by now that Olivia’s self-doubt went deeper than that. When she lowered her head and leaned into his embrace again, he simply held her, wishing he never had to leave this room or her arms again.
He’d talk to Cameron and lay all his cards out on the table. He had to find out if Cameron felt the same way about her, although he had little doubt that he did. And then together they’d decide what to do.
Chapter Thirteen
Olivia thought Storm agreed all too readily to allow Gina and Annalise to come over to the condo Monday evening so they could work on their firm’s website. He said he had to talk to Cameron about something anyway and made plans to go to the fire station while she, Gina, and Annalise worked.
The power had gone out briefly at the height of one of the storms, and when it came back on, they’d watched TV for a while, but Olivia was distracted. She hadn’t been able to get her mind off her earlier conversation with him all day. Storm’s thoughts seemed to be elsewhere as well, and even though she’d asked more than once if he was all right, she still wasn’t convinced that he was, no matter how many times he responded by telling her he was merely a bit tired.
For the rest of the day Olivia had been left wondering whether she’d done or said anything wrong. It was almost a relief when Gina called and asked if she and Annalise could come over. The website Gina had put together was amazing, and together the three tweaked and played with it until they all pronounced it perfect.
They had a few things left to work out on their business plan, so they had started on those when Olivia’s cell phone rang. It was Storm, so she answered it.
“Are Gina and Annalise still with you?”
His voice sounded anxious, and a chill ran through Olivia. She glanced toward the windows, but the storms had stopped several hours earlier. “Yes. We’re working on our business plan.”
“Stay put. And make sure the doors are locked. I’m on my way home.”
Gina and Annalise had heard him. Olivia stared at both of them while she answered Storm. “What’s wrong?”
“Someone has been shot outside the new warehouse.”
“Oh, for sure. But that’s not the best part.”
Cameron refreshed the radar. Benton County was now under a severe thunderstorm warning. “Where’s Olivia? Is she with you?”
“No, she’s home, I’m at the new warehouse. I had some final reports to file about the fire investigations, and I admit I was curious to see what they’d done here. Why?”
“Severe weather is moving in.”
“I can do the rest of my work from home.”
“You sure you don’t mind?”
Storm laughed softly. “Not at all. I need to get out of here anyway. It’s a clusterfuck. Bernie is fit to be tied. Gina’s former administrative assistant, Tina Gaughan, was made acting head of IT, and she has no fucking clue what she’s doing. The computers are crashing every five minutes, and no one on Gina’s former staff seems to know how to fix them. Gina did so much here to keep this place running, and apparently no one on her former staff did shit to help. If we have a bad storm, the whole system will probably crash anyway, so I might as well watch that happen from home.”
Cameron breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t want Olivia alone during a storm. “So, what were you telling me about Cale?”
“Oh, yeah. He made a bid for several of the projects downtown, only it never came across Zach’s desk. And, Zach didn’t know about that piece of it until Morgan Riddle said something in the meeting this morning, mentioning Cale’s name. My ears perked up, and I caught a look pass to Morgan from Bernie that would have melted the polar ice caps. Bernie glanced at Zach, and I’ll eat this phone if he wasn’t thinking ‘Oh shit.’ Zach pretended to ignore it, but he asked Gina to poke around in the new company’s background. Something is not right.”
“Holy fuck. Did you ask Chase or Ellis if Cale is working on any of the projects downtown?”
“I left voice mail messages for both of them.”
“Can Bernie hire someone on his own like that?”
“Hell no. But he knows it’s such a mess right now downtown because of the recent fires that it would be easy to slip something like that past Zach, Chase, or Ellis.”
More thunder rumbled overhead and lightning flashed. Cameron refreshed the radar screen again. “Hey, how soon can you leave for home? This storm is moving in fast.”
“On my way. I’ll call you when I get there.”
Cameron refreshed the screen, watching a huge thunderstorm move directly toward Racy. He wasn’t sure which worried him more right now. The impending storm, or the possibility that Bernie was in bed with a crook. One thought wouldn’t let him go. Was Matthew Cale somehow behind the fires that had been set?
All sorts of questions raced through his mind. Cameron jotted down notes so he wouldn’t forget them. How does Bernie know Cale? Which firms are working on the reconstruction of City Hall, the warehouse and Busler’s Department Store? Do Sylvia and Billy Crider know Cale? And how is Kevin Newark connected to Cale?
As the storm moved closer, bringing frequent lightning and loud thunder with it, Cameron rose and began to pace the tiny office, wishing he were home with Olivia right now.
Chapter Twelve
Storm had rarely worked at his office at City Hall even before the tornado, so he hadn’t been surprised when he’d shown up this morning at the new warehouse and it had taken him half an hour to find out where they’d stuck him. His office was now no larger than a broom closet, which was just fine as far as he was concerned. It meant he had a perfect excuse to work from home.
Fat raindrops began to fall as he slid into his car. By the time he made it out of downtown, the sky was dark and threatening. He pulled up the weather on his phone as he raced toward the condo, but it was still only a severe thunderstorm warning. When he opened the garage door and pulled inside, Olivia was waiting at the door.
He gave her a big hug after he exited his car. “Afraid of the storm, hon?”
“A bit.”
“I think everyone in this town will be afraid of them for a long time.”
“It’s weird not to be at work today.”
“It’s a mess there. Gina’s replacement is clueless and Bernie is fit to be tied.”
She smiled. “Then I guess I’m glad I’m not there.”
The wind kicked up and Storm pushed the button to close the garage before going inside with Olivia.
“I just made a fresh pot of coffee,” she said. “Want some?”
“Sure. And then I’ll you the news about Matthew Cale.”
She poured him a cup. “Who?”
“He was on the list of names you got from Westwood. You probably wouldn’t have heard about this, but five years ago he was involved in a kickback scheme that included extortion. Unfortunately, he has so many friends in low places they couldn’t gather enough evidence to convict him.”
She sat at the kitchen counter and wrapped her hands around a mug of coffee. He took a seat beside her, and wondered how he’d ever thought that no woman could touch his heart the way Caitlin had. Olivia had not only touched his heart, she’d seared her name into his very soul.
“What did he do?” she asked.
Thunder crashed overhead at the same time as lightning flashed, and Olivia cast an anxious glance out the kitchen window. They could hear the tornado sirens from here, so Storm resolved not to worry about the weather unless he heard them start to wail. He told her about Cale’s prior company, the string of suspicious commercial fires in the Lafayette area, and Cale’s attempts to blackmail business owners into using his firm for the restoration of those buildings.
“Why couldn’t they gather enough evidence to convict him then?”
“Ah, my beautiful Olivia. You don’t know how much shady shit goes on in this part of the state. We like to say it’s because of all that mob activity in Chicago.” He winked at her.
“Well, you know, I’ve heard people say that Indiana is nothing more than a suburb of Chicago, so there you go.”
Storm laughed. “That is great. I’ll have to remember that one.
“So, I take it we shouldn’t use him as a contact then?”
He shook head. “No, definitely not. But this is the part you’ll find really interesting.” He told her about the bids on the contracts downtown that Cale made under his new company’s name, and that Zach had never known about. He also described Bernie’s reaction in the meeting that morning when Morgan Riddle mentioned Cale’s name in connection with the reconstruction downtown.
“Oh my God, Storm. Obviously Bernie knew and so did Morgan. They’re supposed to run any bids past the entire committee.”
Storm nodded. “I know. And it wasn’t only the fact that Bernie looked guilty. There was something about his reaction that smacked of bigger things than simply pushing through contract bids without having them approved first. Gina is digging around right now to see if she can find anything out about Cale’s new company. We should ask her to try and find a connection to Bernie or the Criders as well.”
“What do you mean by something bigger? Do you think Bernie is involved in something underhanded with Cale?”
“I wouldn’t be a bit surprised. And if he is, it goes deeper than bids on contracts. You didn’t see the look on his face, Olivia. It was as if he’d been caught striking the match that started the fire.”
Olivia’s eyes grew wide and she put her hand up to her mouth as Storm’s words finally sunk in. “Oh my God,” she whispered. “You don’t think…”
“I don’t know, and we can’t say anything to anyone, okay? Let Gina dig around. And as soon as Chase and Ellis call me back I’ll know more. If they didn’t know about Cale’s bids either, Bernie might be in deep shit.”
“That man has persecuted you and others for no good reason other than his narrow-minded self-righteous bullshit. He’s a mean bully, plain and simple. But to find out he might be a crook as well is just too much. Storm, if you nail his ass to the wall, I’ll give you anything you want for the rest of your life.”
Although her comment made his dick hard, what touched him most at that moment weren’t the fantasies running through his head. It was her love for everyone in this town, and especially for the BDSM community, of which she’d only been a part for a mere few weeks. She was so unlike any sub he’d ever had that there were times Storm forgot about correcting her protocol. He only wanted to be in her company, and hold her in his arms.
She frowned. “Are you okay? You have an odd look on your face right now.”
“Yes. Olivia, I never told you about Caitlin. I’d like to. I want you to know as much about my past as I know about yours.” He didn’t know why it was suddenly so important to tell her about his former sub, but he wanted to.
“Okay.” She looked a bit confused.
He pulled up the radar on his phone. The warning was close to expiring, but there were more heavy rain bands behind it. This was going to be a long day. “Let’s move into the living room. It’ll be more comfortable.” And away from the southwest window where they would be distracted by the storms.
Once they were settled on the sofa, he took a deep breath. “I had a sub named Caitlin Marks. I met her in Kentucky when I was in school and we dated for a while, but I was just getting into BDSM and I can’t really say we had a Dom/sub relationship. We drifted apart, but then one day five years ago she showed up at Maddox’s club, looking for me. Her Dom had just let her go, and she told me she’d never gotten over me. Of course I was flattered, and things took off from there.”
Olivia smiled sweetly, but Storm couldn’t help but notice the flash of jealousy in her eyes. Was he making a mistake by telling her? “She moved to Racy and we were together for three years.”
“What happened?”
“I wish I knew. Cameron and I didn’t live in the same condo back then, but he was at the club all the time and we hung out a lot together. Caitlin kept dropping hints that she wanted me to make her play with other Doms, especially Cameron. On one hand I was fine with it, as it was understood that I would be there to watch or participate, but the very idea also made me jealous as hell.”
“Do you feel that way when I’m with both of you at the same time?” she asked quietly.
Storm cursed inwardly. He hadn’t considered that. It wasn’t the same thing, but how could he tell her that? She wouldn’t understand. He could barely explain it to himself. He shook his head. “No, I don’t. But let me finish, and then we’ll talk about that, okay?”
She nodded, but the light had gone out of her eyes. Fuck it all. Why had he said anything in the first place? He couldn’t stop now. He had to see this through. Otherwise she’d blame herself for the rest of the day for something she’d had no part in.
“Did you love her?”
There was no point in lying to her. “Yes. And I wanted to make her happy, so I started letting her play with other Doms, including Cameron. But soon it became apparent that she was having more fun doing that than anything we did together.”
“And you couldn’t handle that.”
“I couldn’t, but not for the reasons you’re thinking, Olivia. Not because another Dom was playing with her. There was no sexual contact between her and another Dom, but soon she began to ask me if there could be. I couldn’t bring myself to allow that. I had to finally admit that she was bored with me. That’s why she wanted to be with other Doms.”
“I’m sorry. That must have been very difficult to realize.”
He stared at her for so long that she averted her gaze the way she always did when he made her uncomfortable. This time, he didn’t bother to tell her to keep her eyes on him. How could he? He had to try and explain this.
When she rose to take their coffee cups to the kitchen, he didn’t try to stop her. Instead he recalled what she’d told them about Bill Turner, and he realized that Olivia had never said anything about being with another man. She’d told them that Bill had been her one and only sexual experience, but he and Cameron had assumed she’d at least dated other men. Now he knew they’d been mistaken. And that meant Olivia had probably never been in love.
He sat forward and rested his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands, trying to imagine what that must have been like for her all these years. Was she in love now? There were times he swore he saw the emotion on her face and in her eyes, but then he convinced himself he had to be wrong. Now, he wasn’t so sure.
When she came back into the room, he waited until she’d sat next to him again and then pulled her into a tight embrace and stroked her hair the way she loved. “Olivia, I didn’t tell you about Caitlin to upset you. I’m so sorry.”
“I’m not upset, Storm. I just don’t know what to say.”
He pulled away and looked into her eyes. “You’ve never felt that way about anyone, have you?”
She sighed heavily and looked away, but this time she didn’t look uncomfortable. This time she flushed.
“It’s okay to tell me.”
She shook her head. “No, I’ve never felt that way before.”
“Caitlin left me over two years ago, Olivia. I’m not still pining away for her. I want you to know that.”
“I know that, but thank you for telling me.”
“Then what’s bothering you right now?”
“I told you.”
He turned her face toward him so that he could see her eyes. “Tell me again.”
“I don’t understand how you were jealous when Caitlin played with other Doms, but you aren’t jealous when I’m with you and Cameron at the same time.”
The pain on her face was killing him. Why in the hell had he started down this road? “And you think that means I don’t care for you, right?”
He actually saw her swallow as she nodded.
“Olivia, I swear to you that it’s not the same thing. Cameron and I started this together, and that’s what makes it different. Sure, my male ego tries to get in the way at times, but the fact that I’m okay sharing you with Cameron absolutely does not mean that I don’t care for you. I couldn’t be happier to have you in my life.”
The relief that filled her face told him that what he’d suspected was true. She’d fallen for him. Did she feel the same way about Cameron? Had she said anything to him? No. Cameron would have told him. How long had she been holding this inside?
“Honestly? You are?”
With anyone else, a question like that would set his teeth on edge, but not with Olivia. She wasn’t fishing for compliments. She was desperate for reassurance. He pulled her close again. “I have never been this happy, Olivia. I mean that. You are everything I’ve ever wanted.”
She clung to him tightly, and he didn’t move a muscle or even breathe. He wanted nothing to break this spell. If she was going to tell him how she felt, he wanted her to do so without another distraction before she had a chance to speak.
“Storm, I’m happy too. With both of you. It’s…sometimes I can’t even believe I’m here. You’re both so beautiful, and so good to me, and I never thought I’d find anyone to care about, or who didn’t laugh at me, or…I don’t know. Thank you so much.”
“Olivia, we’re the ones who should be thanking you. You’re such a blessing in our lives.”
“You both are in mine. I never want to leave here.”
He could actually feel her heart pounding. “You never have to. You’re stuck with us, slave, until we say so.”
She pulled away slightly and looked up at him with fear and desperation in her eyes. The sight of it nearly broke him in two. “Then never say so.”
He brushed a finger across her cheek. “Olivia, you aren’t going anywhere, okay? We simply won’t have it.”
Something shifted inside him as he stared into her eyes, so full of hope and love. How could he make her understand what she meant to him? If he said the three little words would that be enough? He’d gladly say them twenty times a day if it would help, but he knew by now that Olivia’s self-doubt went deeper than that. When she lowered her head and leaned into his embrace again, he simply held her, wishing he never had to leave this room or her arms again.
He’d talk to Cameron and lay all his cards out on the table. He had to find out if Cameron felt the same way about her, although he had little doubt that he did. And then together they’d decide what to do.
Chapter Thirteen
Olivia thought Storm agreed all too readily to allow Gina and Annalise to come over to the condo Monday evening so they could work on their firm’s website. He said he had to talk to Cameron about something anyway and made plans to go to the fire station while she, Gina, and Annalise worked.
The power had gone out briefly at the height of one of the storms, and when it came back on, they’d watched TV for a while, but Olivia was distracted. She hadn’t been able to get her mind off her earlier conversation with him all day. Storm’s thoughts seemed to be elsewhere as well, and even though she’d asked more than once if he was all right, she still wasn’t convinced that he was, no matter how many times he responded by telling her he was merely a bit tired.
For the rest of the day Olivia had been left wondering whether she’d done or said anything wrong. It was almost a relief when Gina called and asked if she and Annalise could come over. The website Gina had put together was amazing, and together the three tweaked and played with it until they all pronounced it perfect.
They had a few things left to work out on their business plan, so they had started on those when Olivia’s cell phone rang. It was Storm, so she answered it.
“Are Gina and Annalise still with you?”
His voice sounded anxious, and a chill ran through Olivia. She glanced toward the windows, but the storms had stopped several hours earlier. “Yes. We’re working on our business plan.”
“Stay put. And make sure the doors are locked. I’m on my way home.”
Gina and Annalise had heard him. Olivia stared at both of them while she answered Storm. “What’s wrong?”
“Someone has been shot outside the new warehouse.”
