One Night in His Custody (2 page)

“
So what brings you back to town?”

“
That's a long story, and I don't have the energy to tell it.”  She stopped to rest a palm against the wall, puffing a little from the effort of staying upright and walking fast.  “Do you mind if we slow down a bit?”

“
Sorry.”

Olivia fell into step beside him again, finding it much easier to walk and talk now he'd stopped marching her through the streets.  Her stomach dropped at the
realization that she should at least ask him about his personal life, and she tried to prepare herself for whatever the answer might be. 

“
So, what about you.  Married?  Kids?”

Michael shook his head. 
“No.”

“
I find that hard to believe.  A good looking guy like you, and a policeman at that, is still single after all these years?”

“
Sad but true.”

“
You must have a girlfriend at least?”

Michael shook his head.
“Not in a long time.  There's been nobody serious since ... well, ages.”

Olivia watched the flush spread over his cheeks and wondered what he'd stopped himself saying.  He'd always kept his emotions buried deep inside, which is why she'd had the feeling she never really knew him. She'd never doubted he cared for her though, and the fact he'd always refused to have sex with her had hurt more than just her ego.

Her mum had suggested, after they'd split, that he might have been struggling with his sexuality.  Olivia had dismissed it at the time, certain in her teenage heart that she would have known ... but now, she wasn't so sure. There was no way a guy as gorgeous as Michael would still be single after all this time.

“
I've got to ask you something.”

“
Okay.”  He stopped walking, as if sensing the question she was about to ask him required his full attention.

“
Are you gay?”

He stared down at her a moment, his green eyes almost hidden under the shadow of his helmet, although the streetlamp overhead cast just enough light that she could see him frown. 
“Why do you ask?”

“
Just wondered.  I mean, it would make sense.  You're still single, against the odds, and you never wanted to ... have sex, with me.”

“
Who said I didn't want to?”

“
You acted that way.”

Michael sighed. 
“Stopping myself from doing it isn't the same as not wanting to.”

“
It felt the same to me.”

He turned back towards her house and began to walk again.
“That's the reason I ended it between us.  I couldn't put a name to what I felt at the time, and it's taken years for me to understand it and to come to terms with it.  But, take my word, I am not gay, and you were not the reason we split.”

Olivia grabbed his arm and tried to turn him around to face her. 
“Then what was?  Don't you think you owe me an explanation?”

“
No, I don't.  I told you what I knew to be true at the time.  Anything that's happened since is nothing to do with you.”

Tact had never been one of Michael's strong suits
, and Olivia was relieved to find that his blunt words did not hurt her as they had earlier.  She felt strangely comfortable in his presence, despite the circumstances of their meeting and the topic of their conversation.  His brusque manner just made her feel more connected to the Michael she once knew.  And she had the same urge now as she'd always had—to rattle his reserve.

“
So, don't you want to know whether I've got someone special in my life?”

“
I would assume not. No self-respecting man would let his woman roam the streets drunk and alone at this time of the morning.”

Olivia groaned and raised her eyes skyward, reminded once more how old fashioned he could be. 
“Sorry to break it to you, but it's 2013.  Women are allowed to drive and even carry their own money these days, Michael.”

“
Sorry.”

“
And it's a bit insulting that you assume I'm single. Just because you didn't want to fuck me you think it means nobody else does either.”

Where in the hell
did that come from? 
Olivia was almost as surprised as Michael looked.

“
Don't talk like that!”

“
I can talk any damn way I want. Besides, it's true.”

Michael grabbed her wrist and spun her towards him.
“Or maybe I just don't like thinking of you fucking someone else, has that occurred to you?”

Olivia tried to steady her voice, ignoring the way her body reacted instantly to his touch, and how insanely happy she was that she could still make him jealous.
“Why would you care?”

She watched a muscle tick in his jaw and knew he was fighting for restraint. His nostrils flared as he let out a long, deep breath and let go of her, and Olivia knew he'd won the battle to control his emotions.
“You're right. I don't care. I apologize for my outburst.”

The walk had sobered her up a little, but she was still too drunk to make much sense of what had just happened.  Whatever there was between them hadn't gone away, that was certain. The years seemed to melt away
, and she suddenly felt as if they'd never been apart.  The realization that she was not over him, would probably never be over him, was not a welcome one. She resisted the urge to provoke him again, a little scared of what more she might discover, and they finished their walk in silence.   

She tucked a strand of what she hoped was still a sleek bob behind her ear and stopped outside a red front door. 
“Okay, this is it.”

Olivia fumbled in her bag for her key and swore when she tried and failed to glide it into the tiny opening of the lock. She took off her glasses and squinted as she tried again.  This time, the key slid home without resistance
, and the door swung open wide.  Putting a hand on the frame to steady herself, Olivia raised her foot to step through the doorway. Hoping her voice would hold just the right note of nonchalance, she turned to bid Michael goodnight.

“
Thank you for seeing me home. As you can see, I am quite—”

Michael's face sp
un out of view as her foot caught the lip of the doorstep, and she tripped into the house, sending everything in her hands clattering across the hall. Olivia squeezed her eyes tight shut, bracing herself for the no doubt excruciating pain of hitting the floor, but the pain never came.  Strong arms wrapped around her waist, and she found herself pressed against a warm body rather than the hard, cold Victorian tile of the hallway floor.

“
For God's sake! Be careful.”

Michael's voice rumbled through his chest where her ear was pressed against it
, but the words were spoken so softly, they seemed almost like a caress.  She lifted her face, her gaze meeting his intense green one, about to thank him for saving her again when an overwhelming desire to cry took her by surprise.  Olivia buried her face in his jacket, bunching the fabric in her hands and holding on tight as he tried to set her upright with a strong grip on her shoulders.

“
Are you all right?”  Olivia gave a muffled sob, and Michael stopped trying to push her away.  “Sorry.  Stupid question.”

His hands began to move in slow, soothing circles, reminding her of the gentle and respectful way he used to touch her all those years ago, usually after he'd rejected her latest attempt to get him to have sex with her. Each time he'd sworn he wanted her just as badly, but thought they should wait until after they were married. Olivia had never had the chance to find out if he'd told her the truth because they never made it to the altar.

So he's rejecting me again?
A wave of anger chased away her tears.  The naive nineteen-year-old he used to know would have let him get away with it, but she didn't exist anymore. In her place stood a slightly drunk, totally pissed off, and now, mildly horny thirty-year-old who would hang up her Jimmy Choos in shame forever if she didn't give him something to remember her by before he disappeared out of her life again. 

She grabbed his helmet off his head and ran
farther into the house, flying up the stairs with an agility she wouldn't have thought herself capable of.  Olivia heard his curse behind her and the sound of his boots hitting the tile. For one awful moment she thought he was leaving, but then she heard her front door close and heavy footsteps getting closer.

She tiptoed into the bedroom, leaving the door slightly ajar so he would know where to find her when he came to look for her. Her fingers shook as she fumbled with the straps on her bodysuit, barely managing to slip them off her shoulders it and let the outfit fall to the floor. The underwear she had on wasn't her sexiest, or even that nice, but if she got her way he would rip it off anyway, so it was probably for the best.  Olivia ruffled her hair, plonked his helmet on her head and put her hands on her hips just as the door began to creak open.

Michael froze in the doorway, his hand wrapped around the handle. The trembling in her knees got stronger as the seconds ticked by and neither of them moved. Her nerves dissipated when she heard him suck in a raspy breath, and he blinked a couple of times, as if not believing what he was seeing. Finally, he spoke.

“
Give me back my helmet.”  His voice held an edge that she would never have dared challenge in the past, but things were different now. He didn't intimidate her like he used to.

“
Make me.”

Michael released his grip on the door knob and took a step towards her, a small grin creasing his cheek but doing little to disguise the tension evident on his face. 
“You don't know what you're asking for.”

The subtle threat in his words and the power radiating from him, made the breath still in her chest.  But she wasn't scared
... she was more turned on that she had ever been in her life.  The memory of him manhandling her earlier, and the little fantasy she'd indulged in regarding his handcuffs, sprang in to her mind.  The reaction of her body made it crystal clear, even to her intoxicated brain, that she still wanted Michael, but not in the gentle way she used to fantasize about as a kid.  She wanted him to take her.  She wanted him to make her do things.  And not to stop doing them even if she begged him to.

Olivia reached around to undo her bra, sending Michael into action.  He cleared the room in two huge strides and reached behind her to grab her wrists, stopping her from undressing further.

“You're drunk and I'm on duty. Behave yourself.”

“
Make me behave.” Olivia stretched up on tiptoe, her lips straining to meet his.  Michael allowed her the briefest touch, then pulled away, his eyes blazing with a heat that didn't match his actions. “I'll do anything you tell me to just ... please. Just this once.  Please fuck me, Michael.”

Olivia waited for his answer, her heart beating out of her chest as he stayed where he was, staring down at her with that infuriating unreadable expression on his handsome face. She dropped his gaze, unable to deal with being able to see in his eyes that he was going to reject her before he actually did.

Disappointment gave way to desire when he released her hand and brushed his fingers across her cheek, his caress continuing down over her throat and along her collar bone.  Olivia looked up at him to see his gaze was following the path his fingers had taken, then moved further down to where she desperately wished his hands would go, too.

He let out as sigh so deep, it sounded like he'd been holding it forever.
“I've never seen anything as beautiful as the color of your skin.” He fell silent as his thumb rubbed back and forth across her collarbone, but then it stilled and she knew he was going to speak again. “You want me to fuck you?”

“
Yes,” she whispered, staring at his mouth as he spoke, afraid to look into his eyes again.

“
And you'll do anything and everything I ask?”

“
Anything ... everything.”

“
Then tell me exactly what you want me to do to you.  And don't be shy about it.”

Michael released her and went to sit on the edge of the bed, leaving her standing in the centre of the room with his helmet on her head and her bra half off. Olivia moved to either do it up or finish taking it off, she wasn't sure which, but it didn't matter because she never got the chance to do either.

“Liv! Did I tell you to move?”

“
No.” Some part of her brain wanted to react to his bossy tone and tell him off for snapping at her like that. But the part of her that wanted him to take control of her thrilled to the authority in his voice and told her brain to be quiet.

“
What did I ask you to do?”

“
You asked me to tell you what I want you to do to me.”

“
And what is that?”

Olivia dropped her head, until he told her to look at him.  It was easier to stand under his intense scrutiny when she wasn't wearing her glasses, because she couldn't see him clearly enough, now he had moved across the room, to feel self-conscious about it.