Complications (11 page)

Her throat tightened at his words and she struggled not to tear up again. How many times had she wished Miles would say that to her in the six years she’d been with him? And here, Alex said it within a week of knowing her.

In order to not cry all over him again, she brought their lips together for a passionate kiss.

Oh yes, Alex Matlock was definitely an amazing man.

Chapter Eleven

Alex poured fresh coffee into two mugs as he looked out the kitchen window to his backyard. Bright sunlight filtered through the trees at this hour, casting a serene glow over the dewy grass.

He had slept in later than usual. It was only eight in the morning, but it was two hours after he normally woke up. Smiling to himself, he blamed it on Olivia.

Last night had been intense. In more ways than one. The sex, of course, was always mind-blowing with her. But he hadn’t expected the conversation that followed their first round. He hadn’t been comfortable sharing things about his father, but he felt relief saying them out loud. It was as though he released the bitter memories just by getting them off his chest.

He hadn’t told anyone about August. No one. Ever. But telling Olivia last night had seemed so right. And he was even more in awe of her after seeing her reaction and hearing more about her ex. Alex had been right about one thing. That jackass really had cut her deep.

Stifling the irrational anger and slight jealousy that arose, he carried the two mugs back to his bedroom, navigating around the piles of clothes strewn across the floor. He smiled when he saw Olivia still wrapped up in his sheets. He gently set down the mugs on his nightstand and crawled in behind her, kissing her neck and inhaling her soft feminine scent. She mumbled something and slowly woke up as he continued to nibble her ear.

She had told him before they fell asleep—after their second round of sex—that about five months ago she had hired a weekend manager for her shop. It was why he didn’t bother waking her up earlier and a part of him wanted to keep her in bed all weekend now that he knew she didn’t have to work. He wondered if she would object or if she had any plans.

“Mmmmm, I smell coffee,” she murmured sleepily, turning over to face him. Alex smiled and grabbed her mug from the nightstand. The enticingly strong aroma made her sit up against his headboard. To his disappointment, she clutched the sheets to her breasts. “Thank you,” she said huskily, as she accepted the mug and took a small sip.

“Sleep well?” Alex asked, eyeing her mussed hair and the enticing pink color of her cheeks and lips.
I did good
, he thought with a small smug smile. She looked like sex and it pleased him…immensely. He felt an irrational urge to thump on his chest like a caveman.

Shit
. Alex knew things would get complicated between them, but he hadn’t counted on it happening this quickly.

A smile played over her lips as she caught his eyes. He was pleased she didn’t seem shy this morning. Not after everything last night at least. “I slept like the dead,” she admitted. “I don’t think I woke up once.”

Alex grinned, brushing his lips over her forehead as affection bubbled up in his chest. “You can thank my amazing sex skills,” he teased.

She laughed in disbelief, her eyes turning wide with amusement. “Your amazing sex skills?” she repeated slowly. “You’re so full of it.”

Alex nodded in mock seriousness as he gave her a heated look. “It’s a natural talent. Side affects include multiple orgasms and the best damn sleep of your life.”

She was already starting to blush even as she pushed at his shoulder playfully. “You know, you could probably list that on your resume in the skills section. I’m sure it would open up a lot of doors.”

He chuckled, “If only I knew that in college, I probably wouldn’t have had to work in a kitchen.”

“You did?” Olivia asked curiously. “Doing what?”

He grinned, unashamed, “You are looking at the best dishwasher on the planet.”

Olivia smiled, her eyes sparkling, “Ah, it’s starting to make sense. You
did
wash my pans really well.”

“It’s another talent,” he shrugged nonchalantly as she rolled her eyes in amusement. “I eventually talked my way up to a waiter position.”

“I believe it, Mr. Sales Director,” she murmured, taking another sip of coffee.

He leaned down to nibble her ear as he lowered his voice, “Director of Sales, you little minx.” Her giggle filled the room and Alex smiled at the sound before pulling away. “Come on, breakfast time.”

He tried to tug the sheet away from her, but she gasped in surprise. “I am
not
walking around your house naked.”

“I’ve already seen all the bits and pieces, Liv,” he argued.

“Not in broad daylight you haven’t,” she said, clutching the sheets, her eyes wide.

He threw up his hands in surrender, knowing it was a touchy subject for her and that she wouldn’t budge. “Okay. Do you have something to wear?”

She nodded, “I brought a change of clothes in my bag.” Her eyes went to the tote he had brought in the room before they fell asleep the night before.

Alex shook his head. “You can borrow mine. Yours will just end up on the floor again after breakfast.” He leaned down to give her a quick kiss, as her eyes became dazed. “We wouldn’t want to wrinkle them unnecessarily.” He winked at her as a blush started. He was beyond amazed that she still blushed so much even after all they had done together. But he wasn’t complaining. Not one bit.

He walked over to his dresser, pulling out boxers and a t-shirt for her as he pulled on sweats over his half-hard erection. Her eyes were on the bulge when he turned around and he felt himself harden even more as she bit her lip.

“Don’t give me that look, darling,” he said roughly, stalking towards her with the clothes. “I’m starving after last night, but if you keep looking at me like that we won’t be eating until lunch.”

“Okay,” she whispered, taking a hurried sip of coffee as a distraction. He smiled in satisfaction.

“I’ll meet you in the kitchen,” he murmured.

* * * * *

Olivia held her breath as she watched Alex walk out of his bedroom. Once he was gone, she hopped out of bed, her stomach fluttering as she pulled his boxers up her legs.

She glanced at the navy blue t-shirt he had given her. It was soft from use and had a white logo over the left breast, which said
Branford Construction
. She inhaled the smell of it like a woman possessed before pulling it guiltily over her head, shooting a look at the door to make sure he wasn’t watching. He would tease her about it to no end if he had seen.

Even though she was a curvier woman, his clothes still swamped her. It made her feel almost petite. As petite as she could be at five feet eight inches, at least.

Next, Olivia made her way to the bathroom to brush her teeth. Last night before they fell asleep she came into the bathroom to do the exact same thing, but the cleanliness still surprised her as she entered now. Like the rest of the house, it was completely upgraded and spacious with a shower and a separate tub that she would die to use. Olivia wondered if Alex had a cleaning service that came through, but she figured he didn’t after thinking about it. He didn’t strike her as a messy person and he definitely didn’t clutter his space.

Once she finished, she inspected herself openly in the mirror.
Battle wounds
, she thought as she spotted faint bruises along her neck from Alex’s kisses and nibbles. She blushed a little when she realized he was probably sporting some too. She would have to look when she saw him.

Her cheeks and lips were naturally flushed a dark pink so she decided against makeup. And once she smoothed her hair back as best as she could into a ponytail, she made her way out of the room, stopping to quickly snag her coffee off the nightstand.

She stopped wandering when she spotted Alex in the kitchen. She lingered a bit, admiring the way his back muscles shifted and stretched as he finished cleaning the pan he used for last night’s dinner. She realized they hadn’t cleaned up, since they had been so intent on other activities…

Hearing her enter the kitchen, Alex turned around, wiping his hands on a dishtowel as he finished rinsing the pan. She laughed at the sight and he smirked, tugging her towards him as she rounded the island counter. “What?”

“I just never imagined that you were so domestic. Washing dishes, cooking dinner, doing yard work. Any other hidden talents I should know about?” He opened his mouth, a devilish glint in his eyes. She realized what he was going to say so she cut him off, “And don’t say your amazing sex skills. We’ve already covered that one.”

He blew out a breath and raised an eyebrow suggestively, “Good massages?”

“So I’ve heard,” she murmured in response.

He smiled, moving away from her to dry the pan he had just washed. “Anything in particular you want for breakfast?”

Olivia shrugged, “What do you normally have?”

“Pancakes.”

She raised a brow in surprise, “You have pancakes? I imagined you eating a can of spinach or cottage cheese and turkey bacon. Or a glass of raw eggs at the very least.”

He laughed but admitted, “I
do
eat egg whites a lot during the week. But on weekends, I go for pancakes or waffles.”

Her lips quirked up, “Count me in then. What can I help you with?” But then she suddenly remembered his ‘territorial kitchen people’ remark at her bakery. “Or are you afraid I’ll misplace the dried oregano?”

He shot her a playful look and remarked, “I don’t know if I’d let you help if you think dried oregano and pancakes have any relation with each other.”

It was hard not to laugh around him. Olivia realized now that she did it quite a lot. She probably laughed more in the past week with him than she had in the past couple of months combined. It warmed but sobered her at the same time. She didn’t know where they stood after all. She didn’t even know how long he wanted this little arrangement to last.

“You can grab the milk and eggs out of the fridge. I’ll get the dry stuff,” he said, already walking towards his pantry.

She nodded and walked over to the fridge. She stopped short though as she reached for the handle, her heart leaping in excitement.
Finally
, she thought. There were two pictures tacked on his fridge. Personal pictures. Probably the only two she would find on display in his entire home.

Extremely curious, she peered up at them closely. One was a photo of a beautiful older woman. She was dressed in a simple black dress that accentuated her hourglass figure, her hands clasped demurely in front of her. Her dark hair was loose in waves around her shoulders and she had the most mesmerizing bright green eyes.

“My mother,” came Alex’s deep voice behind her.

“She’s beautiful,” Olivia replied quietly, only slightly startled that she hadn’t heard him creep up on her.

She could see the resemblance, but Olivia assumed that he probably looked more like his father. Alex had his mother’s hair but beyond the almond shape of his mother’s eyes, there weren’t that many similarities. Alex’s face was too masculine with his sharp jaw line and strong nose. His mother, on the other hand, looked downright delicate, as though she were made of glass.

But as her eyes shifted to the other picture, she immediately knew what side of the family Beth was on.

The second picture was of a group of girls—Beth and the infamous three sisters Alex had told her about—with a handsome couple. She realized immediately the woman must be his mother’s sister. They looked so much alike; it was hard to believe they weren’t twins. But there was no doubt that Beth and her sisters inherited their mother’s beauty.

“I don’t think I need to tell you who they are,” Alex said, sounding amused. Olivia relaxed a bit, glancing up at him. She wondered if he was uncomfortable with her snooping and whether he would freeze up on her again. But he seemed calm, even though he stood like a statue behind her.

“No, I guessed that for myself,” she said smiling as she tugged open the fridge. She was happy he didn’t turn cold on her again, but she didn’t want to risk anything by pestering him about his family.

One step at a time,
she thought.

She wasn’t surprised to see an organized fridge and she easily located the eggs and milk, pulling them out and setting them on the counter.

Alex was uncharacteristically quiet as he measured out the dry ingredients. Olivia touched his arm softly, suddenly worried she misjudged his reaction. But when he glanced at her, he smiled apologetically and leaned over to kiss her forehead. “I’m sorry, darling,” he murmured. He seemed to shake off whatever was bothering him and returned to measuring out another cup of flour. “Do you have anything going on this weekend?” he asked, breaking the silence.

“I usually pop in my shop for a couple hours to make sure everything’s fine. But other than that, no,” she replied, wondering what he was thinking.

“Will you come back here once you’re done?” he asked.

Olivia bit her lip, her chest warming as she realized what he was implying. “Do you want me to?”

“Yes,” he replied immediately. He turned to face her, wrapping his hands around her waist. Olivia swallowed as she stared up into his hazel eyes, suddenly nervous. “Stay with me until you have to go to work on Monday.”

“Are you sure I won’t get in the way of you working?” she asked, already wanting to say yes. A whole weekend with him sounded like heaven.

He smiled, “I try not to work on weekends if I can help it.” He tugged her closer until she was pressed up against his bare chest. The warmth radiating off him felt amazing and she wrapped her arms around his center, inhaling his enticing smell. He leaned down to kiss her softly, his lips brushing ever so lightly against her own. “I have on demand movies, and a hot tub in the back, and I can give you orgasms whenever you want them,” he murmured.

She blushed even as her sex throbbed in interest. “I think you just convinced me,” she said, dazed. “You had me at the hot tub.”

“Good,” he replied, smiling.