A Beautiful Mess (36 page)

“Faster, Alex. Please,” she begged as she wrapped her legs around his waist, desperately bucking him with her hips.

“No, Love. I want you to feel me. Do you feel this?” he asked as he continued his slow movements, the closeness almost unbearable.

“Yes, Alexander. I feel it.” And she knew he wasn’t just talking about his erection inside her. He was talking about something else entirely.

The voice grew louder.

Alexander’s breathing became heavier as he picked up his pace, maintaining a quick but gentle rhythm. He leaned down and softly pulled on Olivia’s nipple with his mouth, sending her over the edge, her orgasm taking her by surprise. She moaned out Alexander’s name as she trembled around him. The feeling of Olivia pulsating around him in absolute ecstasy caught him off-guard and he soon found himself spiraling down from his own orgasm, collapsing on top of her. She held his head to her chest, stroking his hair and forehead beaded with sweat.

“That was a fantastic way to wake up,” Alexander stated once his breathing slowed down.

“I’m glad I could be of assistance,” Olivia smirked.

“Come on, Love. Up and at ‘em,” Alexander said, pulling Olivia up with him and leading her into the shower. “Big day today. Let’s go get all your race stuff.” He turned on the water, testing the temperature.

Olivia groaned, leaning against the bathroom wall. “Can’t I just spend one day in bed with you all day?”
It's the only way I can try to dull this voice telling me to run
, she wanted to say to him.

“That sounds like heaven, dear, but it will have to wait. At least until next week sometime,” he replied, winking. “Here, Love.” He held out his hand and helped her step into the shower, the entire time, Olivia thinking she may not make it to next week.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Nervous, Love?” Alexander asked as they left the race expo, Olivia clutching her race packet.

“A little bit, I guess."

“Come, let’s take a drive. It’s a beautiful day, and you still haven’t really done much exploring around this town.” He opened the door to his car for Olivia, helping her in.

“Well, that’s because someone’s kidnapped me and used me as his sex-slave the past few days,” she giggled. “Kinky bastard.”

Alexander laughed, turning the ignition on his convertible.

“That I am.”

A few moments passed as Alexander drove the streets of Newport heading to the other side of the town. “I like it when you take control in bed,” Olivia said out of nowhere, hoping he would take the hint and stop with the slow, emotional sex. She needed it rough. It was the only way.

Alexander looked at her, wondering what had brought that up.

“I used to never let anyone be like that toward me,” she continued. “I always needed to maintain total control in bed. That way it was easier to kick out whoever it was. I guess I always wanted to remain a cold-hearted, detached bitch. It’s less painful.”

Alexander was floored by Olivia’s admission. He knew she had attachment issues, for obvious reasons. She had her family ripped from her when she was so young and had very few memories to fall back on.

“That’s what I go to therapy for. You’ve been so good about not asking questions and I am thankful for that. I’ve been trying to get over my issues and my dreadfully overpriced therapist has been helping me get close to people again.”

“I’m going to have to thank him or her, then,” Alexander replied, grabbing Olivia’s hand and kissing it. Several minutes passed as they drove around Newport in silence.

“You’re my first boyfriend, you know. I would never date people before you.” She stared out the window as the landscape changed from small houses to larger estates, wishing that talking about things would silence the increasingly loud voice in her head.

“Well, I’m glad you changed your outlook on the whole boyfriend thing,” Alexander remarked. “I’m glad you gave me the opportunity to get to know you.” He pulled the car into a parking lot. “We’re here.”

“Where are we?”

“Are you up for a little walk?” he asked, opening the door for her.

“Of course. It’ll be a nice little warm up for tomorrow.”

Alexander led her out of the parking lot and down a few blocks onto a rocky path. “This is the cliff walk. It follows the beach and all the old mansions are on it.”

Olivia had never seen anything like it before. As they walked, the ocean rolled in far below them. High on the cliffs they were walking on, gorgeous, sprawling mansions sat overlooking the coast. Olivia relaxed as she basked in the warm sunshine and ocean breeze, inhaling the salty sea air.

They walked for a while, Alexander pointing out the various estates. “This is the Breakers,” he said after a while. “Probably one of the most famous of the Newport Mansions.”

Olivia looked at the enormous estate. “It looks so familiar.”

Alexander’s heart stopped. He didn’t want her to remember. Why did he bring her there? Her mother was part of wealthy Newport society. “Well, probably because of how famous it is,” Alexander replied nervously.

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” she responded, deep in thought. Everything seemed so familiar to her. As if she had been there before. It wasn’t just that mansion. It was all of it. The roads. The trees. The houses. The ocean. The cliffs. Everything. As they made their way down the walk, Olivia’s mind raced with various scenarios of how she could know that area of Newport so well when she never recalled ever visiting there. The voice was back and Olivia had a strange feeling that her entire world was about to come crumbling down on top of her.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey, do me a favor. Take a right up here. Onto Webster,” Olivia ordered as Alexander drove on Bellevue, heading back to the marina half an hour later.

Alexander looked at her with a questioning look, his heart beginning to race. “Just humor me, please.”

He hesitated before sighing loudly. “Your wish is my command, princess.”

Olivia smiled weakly as Alexander put on his blinker and turned his car onto Webster.

“Here. Slow down a little, please,” Olivia said, gazing out the car at the large estates on her right. “Okay, stop. Pull over,” she ordered.

He obeyed, albeit reluctantly, and pulled the car to the side of the road before putting it in park. Olivia got out of the car and started walking up the street. “Where are you going, Olivia?” Alexander asked as he jumped out of the car, following her on foot. He cringed when he realized where they were.

“Alex. I know this house,” she replied quietly, looking at a large home behind a wrought iron fence. “Why do I know this house?”

Alexander stopped and stared at the large estate. The massive brick pillars held a nameplate. “Harrison House.” He knew the house well. Olivia had spent a great deal of time there her first few years of life. Her grandparents’ home.

“I don’t know, Love,” he lied. “Please, get back in the car before someone hits you.”

She continued to stare, pressing her hand against the brick of the pillars holding the entry gate and running her fingers against the nameplate bearing the name “Harrison House.” She stood there for several long minutes, trying to remember why she knew that house. Finally, she shook her head and turned to get back in the car.

The voice grew louder.

The car was eerily quiet on the way back to the marina, neither person wanting to initiate conversation. Alexander knew his time was running out. Olivia had started to remember certain things. It would probably only be a matter of time until she put two and two together and realized who he was. She had already had a dream where the younger Alexander morphed into the older one. He needed to read that letter, if he could only build up enough nerve to do so.

The remainder of the afternoon passed with a relative unease between the two, neither one really wanting to address the elephant in the room; Olivia not wanting to talk about why she knew that house, fearful it would bring up shadows of the past, and Alexander worried that Olivia was starting to remember.

Olivia decided to lay down and take a nap before dinner. Alexander said he had some work to do, so he left her to sleep while he attended to some business.

Olivia curled up in the comfortable king sized bed and pulled the covers tight around her. She dozed off within minutes, her brain exhausted from the afternoon.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Olivia, darling. Come get ready. Our guests will be here shortly,” her mother yelled across a massive lawn to a young Olivia.

Olivia looked to her right where the green-eyed boy stood, covered in dirt. “I’ll race you,” she giggled. “Loser has to worship the ground the winner walks on for all eternity!”

“That’s not fair!”

“Ready! Set!” Olivia ran through the large front yard of her family’s enormous estate as she shouted, “Go!”

“Olibia’s a cheater,” the little boy shouted, chasing the little girl.

Olivia reached the front steps first, jumping up and down, cheering for herself as she turned to watch her friend take the last few steps toward her.

“She cheated, Aunt Marilyn,” the boy complained.

“Olivia, darling, you need to play fair.”

“I’m sorry, mama.”

“You know better than that. That’s no way to play with your best friend, now is it?”

“He cheats sometimes, too,” Olivia said, winking at her friend.

“It still doesn’t make it right. Now upstairs with you. You’re both filthy. Everyone will be here soon.”

“Where’s Daddy?” Olivia asked.

“Oh, sweetheart. You know how it is. Your daddy has a very important job and he can’t just leave it to be with us whenever we want him to.”

“Okay. But when can we go to the beach, mama?”

“We’re going to the beach house next week for the entire summer, Love. Now I mean it. Go clean up. Your grandparents are expecting you both to look like civilized human beings for once.” She winked.

The two children stumbled up the stairs into the large playroom. Her mother entered the room a few minutes later to help them clean up and change. Soon, the two kids were dressed in their spring-time best. Olivia’s mother grabbed the two kids by the hand and walked them down the hall to the music room.

“One song before our guests arrive?”

“Yes! Mama! Play us a song,” Olivia squealed with delight.

Instead of sitting down at the grand piano, she picked up an acoustic guitar and checked its tuning.

“This one is for you, my two favorite babies…” She looked toward where the green-eyed boy and Olivia sat, both kids excited about her performance, as she began playing the opening measures of the Beatle’s ‘I Will.’

“Dance with me Olibia?” the green-eyed boy asked, holding his hand out to her.

“Okay,” Olivia replied, grabbing his hand.

They danced awkwardly across the room as the green-eyed boy sang along with Olivia’s mother, never taking his eyes off Olivia. When the song ended, the green-eyed boy got down on one knee, morphing into an older Alexander. He opened a small ring box.

O
LIVIA
woke up, gasping for breath through the tears that flowed uncontrollably. She ran to the shower, needing to cover up her tears in case Alexander had heard her. She turned on the water and stripped out of her clothes before stepping into the shower, letting the water flow over her body. Tremors coursed through her as cries consumed her entire being.

It was that house. She remembered that house. It was in her dream. Was it there because she saw it earlier that day or did she really spend time there when she was younger? She didn’t know.

Then she remembered how happy she was when she danced with the green-eyed boy. Who was the green-eyed boy? What happened to him? Why did everyone she was close to disappear from her life? Why was she so incredibly alone? What did it all mean?
 

Her heart beat rapidly as she tried to figure it all out. Alexander was there. The green-eyed boy morphed into him. And he got down on one knee. And there was a ring. She could see it in his eyes, not only in her dreams, but when Alexander looked at her on a daily basis. Kiera was right. The love Alexander had for Olivia was apparent. And that was the one thing that scared Olivia most. Love. It chilled her to her core. Because once you loved, then you could lose, and she didn’t know if she could deal with that pain.

Her sobs overtook her again as she cried even louder. The voice was back and it was screaming at her to run. Something about that place and everything going on with Alexander made her realize she had lost all control. And she needed it back.

~~~~~~~~~~

Alexander hung up the phone in the study after getting a status update from Marshall, one of his top security agents. He thought about everything that had happened that weekend, wondering if Olivia was starting to regain her memory. He knew that some places could be triggers, but he hoped she wasn’t remembering things. Her lack of memory could be the only thing that had protected her all those years.

As he was deep in thought, he heard a loud cry come from down the hallway.

“Shit. Olivia!” he yelled out, running toward the master bedroom. He looked at the bed and saw it was empty. He scanned the room when he heard more cries and the shower running. He walked quietly toward the bathroom, drawing his side-arm and taking off the safety. He kicked the door open slowly and saw that Olivia was alone in the shower, sobbing uncontrollably.

“Oh my god, Olivia!” Alexander cried out, putting the safety back on the gun before placing it on the counter. He jumped into the shower, fully clothed. “Olivia, please. Talk to me.” He pulled her into his chest, trying to sooth the tears that had overtaken her entire body. She cried into his chest, not caring how unattractive she looked at the moment.