You'll Think of Me (13 page)

“What's so funny?”

Olivia shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

“Liar. Your face lit up. You’re thinking of something. I want to know what made you smile so I can do it again. Your face glows when you smile.”

Olivia's smile faltered for a moment. Should she give him another point for his honesty? Or was he just laying it on thick? He was difficult to read and made it harder for her to keep her wall up when he made comments that appeared genuine. Olivia felt herself wavering.

Don’t let it happen…

Olivia licked her lips and thought about how to answer his question.

“When you were talking about your job and how you're looking forward to taking over the business one day, I saw the enthusiasm and passion that you said you saw in me. You love what you do. It’s hard, physical labor that I'm sure wears your body out more than other days. Some days probably even back breaking work, but you love it. It's obvious.”

“That’s what made you smile?” He didn't seem to believe her.

“Well, it was the afterthought that made me smile as well. I like that you love your work... So I said to myself 'Nate-1, Livy-0'.”

She took a sip of her drink and waited for his response.

Nate crossed his arms and leaned back. “Ahhh, so this is a competition to you,
Livy
? And I'm winning so far? How does that make you feel,” he posed. A grin formed on his face. He was definitely enjoying this.

Olivia puckered her lips and thought for a moment. She didn't want to admit she liked it, that would only lead him on and make his ego grow even bigger.

“Not a competition per se...but just watching how fast you move, Mr. Alexander. How easy it is for you to ‘woo me’. I have to be careful. I'm sure you've broken hearts in the past.”

A shadow cast over Nate’s eyes for a split second, the golden yellow specks abruptly disappearing and leaving a dull, sullen brown. Curiosity weighed on her shoulders. She wanted to know what caused that reaction, but decided against asking since she wasn’t planning on staying around. Guilt ate at Olivia again. She was withholding, not being completely honest. And the last time that happened, things didn’t turn out so well.

Olivia needed to brush off the sympathy she was unexpectedly dealing with. She couldn’t afford to allow herself to fall again.

“So, tell me…Why did you pick this place?”

Nate slanted his head to the side and answered her question. “I knew you were worried about the whole doctor/patient thing so I picked a place where no one would know us. I wanted you to be comfortable with me so you’d want to go out again. Call it selfish, but it’s the truth.”

She took a sip of her drink and nodded. “I’m comfortable right now and enjoying the night more than I expected. Way more,” Olivia answered honestly.

“Didn’t think you’d have a good time with me?” Nate jokingly clutched his chest as if to say he was hurt over her comment.

“It’s just been awhile is all. I can’t help but be on the fence about how this night came to be. This is very out of character for me.”

“Nate-2, Livy-0?” he questioned.

“Slow it down, Casanova, don’t get too cocky.”

Lifting a brow he said, “Hey, can’t blame a man for tryin’.”

“Guess not.”

“Want to get out of here?” he asked.

Outside, Olivia noticed Rum Bar was livelier than when they arrived and didn’t seem to be dying down anytime soon. Nate must have noticed her stare because he asked, “You want to go there sometime?”

“I do,” she answered, then realized she answered too quickly.

“Then we’ll go.”

Shit.

“Nate,” she groaned with a sigh. “There can’t be anymore dates between us. I’m sorry, but this is the one and only date. I had a great time tonight, but this is it.”

“How about you let me decide that,” he said in all seriousness.

“No. We can’t. As much as I enjoyed myself tonight, this is it. No more. Don’t you see the lines we’re crossing?”

Olivia’s forehead wrinkled with concern. How was it that he didn’t have a drop of worry? Was he only thinking about himself?

“I do see that,” he said moving in closely, “but I don’t give a fuck about any imaginary lines, Olivia. I want you, and I’m pretty sure you want me too. So what’s the problem here? And don’t give me that patient/doctor shit. I told you I would switch doctors. What’s
your
problem? You can’t deny the chemistry between us. It’s there. It’s pulling at us both and you know it. I can read your eyes and see it. It’s been there since the day we met. Don’t deny it.”

Olivia glanced around the parking lot. Deep down she wasn’t sure if she was ready to put herself on the line again, but by the deep undertone he used, she knew Nate was fuming.

“I don’t have a problem with us. What I do have a problem with is you finding a new doctor. Dr. Thatcher is the best.”

“I understand,” he answered staring down at her, “but you diagnosed my problem and it seems like an easy one to fix at that. So I could switch doctors with no issue. Nate-3-, Livy, still 0. Go ahead. Give me another reason, Liv, and that will put me at 4 points and you 0, because you know I’ll win that one too.” He formed his fingers into a ‘0’ as he said it with a know-it-all-defensive-fucking-try-me attitude.

Shit. She was all out of reasons, not that she had many to begin with. She
was
holding back. Her one gripe was the fact that she was his doctor and he just blew that argument out of the water.

Olivia didn’t want to get hurt and feared she would. It was a gut feeling she didn’t want to ignore. She was afraid to be around Nate. He managed to knock down some of her walls, expose her layers so early on and she wasn’t used to it. No one other than Luke had done that to her. She knew she’d fall hard for him, but not until she was ready to on her terms. When the time came she would let go and love again.

“Stop,” he ordered.

“Stop what?”

“Stop thinking so hard,” he demanded with a drawl. “I can see it spinning in your pretty brown eyes.” He was just an inch away from her now and breathing down on her.

“I see what you’re doing, finding ways to say no,” he whispered. “You’re so easy to read, Liv. I know you already in this little amount of time. I paid attention to you, your body. Your incredibly sexy body that I want so, so fucking bad…” Nate trailed off, growling under his breath as he slid an arm around her lower back and pulled her up against him.

“Stop looking for an out,” Nate insisted.

“Nathaniel,” she whispered. “I can’t.”

“Says who? You? You’re the one fighting me on it right now, Liv. Don’t tell me you don’t feel it between us. Just let go and give us a damn try.”

She did feel it. That’s what scared her the most.

“Okay,” she said breathlessly.

“Okay?”

“Okay, I’ll back down; stop looking for an out, as you say.”

A slow, but incredibly sexy grin stretched across his face. Nate’s eyes lit up like he’d just won the Heisman Trophy.

What the hell had she agreed to?

“Thank. Fuck,” he said and then leaned down for a kiss.

Olivia gripped Nate’s shoulders. He pressed his hips into hers, surging against her hard as his other hand held the side of her neck. A small groan vibrated on her lips as Nate pushed her beside his truck and kissed her with purpose.

Olivia’s body trembled at the touch of Nate’s mouth. She’d never been kissed like this back in New York. She’d almost forgotten what it felt like. Nate sparked something inside of her that had long been buried.

Nate’s tongue slid along her lips, as if asking for permission to enter. She obliged and opened willingly, allowing him to take control. This wasn’t the first time he had taken over. The control thing with Nate was something she wasn’t normally used to, but her body responded like a firecracker from the raw sexual urges in the kiss. Desire streamed through her at warped speed and she needed to take control of herself before things went too far.

Breaking for air, Nate rested his forehead against hers.

“Had I known that you were going to cave so soon, I would’ve pushed harder earlier just so I could get that kiss from you.”

“You knew I was fighting?” she said breathlessly. Her lips tingled.

Nate laughed, his hand sliding up and down her back. “You bet I did. It was written all over your face. I knew you were going to be stubborn about us the moment I met you, but I told you I wasn’t giving up.”

Olivia didn’t know what she was getting herself into, but this time she was doing what she wanted, what her heart was telling her to do, not her head. Maybe meeting Nathaniel at this stage in her life was right. Maybe it was how her life was supposed to go.

Olivia wasn’t sure of anything other than this moment. She knew what she wanted, and that was to take a chance with Nate.

past

“A
nother round, comin’ up!”

Finishing off the shots, Olivia and Tessa slammed their glasses down simultaneously on the shellacked wooden counter top. Bringing the back of her hand to her mouth, she swallowed the Fireball Whiskey that tasted like Big Red gum. Her eyes closed shut as they watered for a second. She was definitely a whiskey kind of girl, but taking it straight always drew this reaction from the cinnamon flavored burn.

The bar was packed and rowdy. The easygoing style set the mood. Tessa’s plans of having everyone hang out at the live bar panned out, except the part where Luke was expected to sing. Tessa had made it Olivia’s job to convince Luke of that, but she still hadn’t brought it up to him. He probably wouldn't mind. When he was on stage, he’d pull his baseball hat down low, close his eyes and lose himself to his music and lyrics, as if it was just him and his guitar alone. His mouth and fingers danced at their own tempo, syncing together in sweet harmony, the same way they would graze her skin.

Luke had one of the sexiest voices she'd ever heard. It was a sexy southern drawl like sweet molasses; dark and thick. Top it off with him fingering the guitar strings and she was done for. People walking by would stop to look and see where the voice was coming from. She liked the attention he received, except when the girls would flock to him. That didn’t exactly bode well with her, but then again would any girlfriend like that? Most likely not. That husky voice and full bodied male was hers. All hers.

Olivia had been trying to get Luke to sing more often over the years. In fact, everyone did. He penned his own lyrics that were full of emotion that flowed from his heart. Not that Luke would ever admit it, but she
knew
him. Plus, he had that good ol’ southern charm. Really, he was the perfect package.

A large hand slapped the counter, bringing her back to the present. She looked over and saw Luke grinning down next to her.

“Hey, whiskey girl,” he said huskily in her ear.

Bringing his other arm around, Luke caged her in. He leaned down and rubbed his nose tenderly against her neck, pushing the hair to the side, causing her to shudder. Olivia leaned against his chest and he nearly growled as her scent drifted up to him.
Damn.
She smelled delicious tonight. Just like coconuts again. It had to be some new stuff she was using lately. He had to admit, he loved the smell on her. It was incredibly sexy and fucking hot as hell. He’d love nothing more than to take her out to his truck and have her climb on top of him. He’d wrap his lips around her taut nipple, tugging on it as he flicked it with his tongue while he manipulated the other as she rode his cock. It was hot, dirty and she loved it as much as he did.

Olivia held onto the chair as Luke spun the barstool around. Her wavy hair lifted in the air as the chair rotated toward him, gently trailing across his chest. The sweet coconut scent drifted up into his nose. He took a deep breath and inhaled the invigorating aroma again. Luke’s eyes dilated and rolled shut. Between the scent and the images playing in his head like a movie, he had to force himself not to throw her over his shoulder and head out to his truck.

Livy stopped spinning the chair and widened her legs, allowing him to get closer. He was close enough that he could smell the whiskey on her breath now. She smelled like she had been sunning at the beach with a drink all day.