Madness (3 page)
Authors: Allyson Young
In just over half an hour, she was dressed and nicely made up, ready for the day. She opted to try the restaurant, rather than room service, and tucked her key card into her purse, grabbing a light sweater as she headed out the door. For the first time in a very long time, she felt optimistic. She had faced her past and dealt with it, she decided, and hadn’t given Cameron Fraser one more unnecessary thought. She would manage never to see him again. He was probably just visiting anyhow. Jennifer probably still lived here.
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Chapter Two
Olivia managed to take in a deep breath and steady her hands as she reached for the coffee carafe. Cameron was at a far table in the restaurant, engrossed in some sort of document that was spread across his table and anchored at each corner with what appeared to be the sugar container and salt and peppers. Why on earth was he still here?
Was he staying at the hotel? Living back in the Grove? Surely he was just visiting. She didn’t dare look his way again for fear he would feel her gaze on him and come over to talk to her. This was a nightmare.
Everything she had kept locked up tight inside was pushing against its prison walls and threatening to deluge her. It wasn’t fair. She had thought it through last night and believed it was over. But instead it was like the intervening years hadn’t taken place. Only her superb training as Andrew’s wife had gotten her through that brief moment in time in the hotel lobby. If he hadn’t taken the hint and left, heaven knew what she might have said to him. And she was above that, past that. So why was her body aching? Please God, she wasn’t one of those fictional creatures who fell once for a man and was doomed to be with him or alone forever! No, of course she wasn’t. She hadn’t been alone. She had been married, if in name only, and was now a widow, and a wealthy one at that. Cameron didn’t live here. Her careful inquiries had established that fact. He must be visiting someone or just passing through. Her life would go on as planned and she would forget ever having seen him. Starting right now. She slipped from her seat and made her way to the till, quietly asking the clerk for her bill. She scribbled her name and room number across the bottom and added a tip, carefully keeping the small cubicle with its
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cash register between her and Cameron’s line of sight, ignoring her body’s clamoring and attributing its hunger to her missed breakfast.
She went back to her room and spent a few minutes composing herself before carefully exiting the hotel without seeing Cameron.
Olivia didn’t like to think she ran from anything, but there were times when discretion was indeed the better part of valor. She quickly made her way to her car and was inside and starting it up almost in one motion. She then latched her seat belt and put the Beemer in gear, forcing herself to drive sedately out of the lot to go and view her new home.
The house looked much the same on the outside as it always had, albeit with new and improved, eco-friendly exterior products. The windows were no longer casements, but awning style, more appropriate for the climate. The front porch looked inviting and Olivia could envision heavy planters gracing the steps, perhaps with some ivy twining up the pillars. No jasmine or other flowering vines. She loved the sound of honeybees but was terrified of wasps and resistant to having them drawn to the porch. The landscaping was going to be the last thing done and the lawn was in sad repair, although the huge oaks had been retained as per her instructions. They would be pruned, having been assessed by a local arborist, and pronounced healthy.
However, given the stress of construction, any trimming should wait until the following year. She exited the car to follow the temporary pathway and trod up the wide steps to poke her head inside the front door. There were several large pickup trucks in the drive and at the curbside, so she assumed her contractor was present, and she could hear male voices from within the big house.
“Mr. Fortune?” she called.
A large, fit man appeared in the doorway to the living area. She had seen his picture among the e-mails sent regarding the house, and only his hair seemed different, and that probably because he was covered in dust and wore a hard hat perched atop his large head.
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“Mrs. Foster,” he said, “I didn’t expect you! Here, let me help you navigate some of the debris. And I’ll find you a hard hat. Regulations, you know. And call me Steve!”
Olivia allowed Mr. Fortune, Steve, to plunk a horrid yellow hard hat on her head and take her arm. He led her toward the kitchen, explaining that all the permits were fine, the inspection done, and now that the security specialist was there to oversee the installation of the system, they could complete the sheetrock and in no time she could pick out her colors and make things pretty! Olivia thought for a moment he might pat her head and managed not to correct his condescending tone.
“I’ll introduce you to him while he’s here. You might have some questions or changes. Fraser! Here’s the new owner, man.” Olivia literally felt her heels catch on the wooden subfloor as Steve tried to move her along via the grasp on her arm while her legs simply ceased their forward momentum, independent of her brain.
She felt as though someone had punched her in the chest for the second time that morning. How could this be? She tried to be a good person, a kind one, and she so didn’t deserve this. Maybe she had done something unforgiveable in another life and now it was time to pay up. Cameron Fraser stood staring at her, quickly masking his shock, a totally different expression standing in his eyes.
* * * *
Cameron moved quickly toward Olivia. She looked nearly ill given her pallor and trembling mouth, and Fortune looked for all the world as if he were dragging her along like a recalcitrant child, his large frame dwarfing her slenderness. He reached down to her right side and took her hand in his to shake it briskly. Her fingers were unresponsive and felt like ice. He marveled at his own ability to recover from the surprise as quickly as he had and suddenly appreciated how much her cool and collected response the night
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before had cost her. Olivia wasn’t at all unaffected by his presence, and he felt himself rise to the challenge. She was well defended, but he had considerable experience at breaching emotional walls. He had to convince her that he was back in her life and that they needed to spend some time talking. As well as other things. Cameron didn’t want to get ahead of himself and tried to dial things back. Her response the previous evening had cooled his jets, put him off, but now that he knew she was hiding her feelings, well, all he wanted to do was strip her bare and connect with her on the deepest level of his being.
“You must be the new owner of the Donovan house, Mrs. Foster,” he said. “I knew you as Olivia Drader all those years ago so I didn’t realize it was you who had purchased it.” He locked eyes with her and felt her withdraw her hand and watched as she visibly pulled herself together.
“Hello again, Mr. Fraser,” she replied, her cool tone back, as was her composure.
Steve looked between them and laughed. “Well, I guess no need to introduce old friends. I’ll leave you to it then!” He went back to his crew.
Cameron reached to take Olivia by the elbow and usher her outside, but she slipped away from his grasp and hurried outside ahead of him. She stepped gracefully down the temporary path of plywood and pallets and stopped in the shade of one of the oaks.
Cameron joined her there.
“I wasn’t aware that you were the new owner, Olivia,” he repeated himself, “when I bid on the job, for the house and the golf course. I would be happy to discuss the system with you.” Olivia stared back at him, and he was unable to read her. It disconcerted him, because he thought he had just begun to get a handle on her. Someone or something had taught Olivia well. She then gave her head a tiny shake and the light caught the blue black of
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her glossy hair. Cameron wanted to stroke it and wrap it around his fingers, release it from its confines.
“I’m sure that whatever you and Steve discussed will be suitable.
If there are any issues, then we can address them at that time. I’m late for my next appointment, so if you’ll excuse me…” Cameron found himself refusing to move aside and let her by. He didn’t think he would ever have the opportunity to talk with her again if he did and didn’t question why he had an overwhelming need to do so. He simply went with his gut. She was running away again, and this time there was no reason for it.
“I’d like to take you to dinner, Olivia,” he said quietly. “I feel as though I owe you an explanation.”
She shook her head, more vigorously this time. “You owe me nothing, Cameron. I had never thought to see you again and was somewhat startled. It’s been what, twelve years? More? People change, move on. Forgive me if I sound rude, but I have no interest in hearing any explanations.”
“Then just have dinner with me.”
“Why?”
Cameron was taken aback. Why indeed?
“Because I want you to.” He heard the dark, dominant tone in his answer and knew it registered by the flash in Olivia’s eyes before she tipped her head back that royal inch and dismissed his presumption.
“Well, then I suppose I am rude, Cameron. I don’t want to have dinner with you. And before we argue the issue, I’ll tell you why.
Because we may have to see one another in the next few months unless you have someone else to replace you. Seeing you, spending time with you, feels awkward, and I don’t make time in my life for that or for any other feelings that encumber me. I don’t have to.” Cameron wanted to spank her, steal her breath with his mastery, break that self-possession, and find the woman he remembered from all those years ago. He wanted to find out what had happened to her during the intervening years that she felt she could separate herself
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from life the way she seemed to think she could. Instead, he pulled her to him, taking advantage of the fact that she couldn’t pass him without sinking deep into the torn-up lawn and losing her shoes, and kissed her. Olivia struggled in his arms, but he easily subdued her with his superior strength and height, and kissed her breathless. The attraction, the chemistry, boiled up between them, and he felt her knees weaken, felt her muffled whimpers against his lips and felt deep satisfaction in her surrender. He wanted to drag her to the nearest level surface and take her, make her come again and again under his touch and take his release deep inside her body. This should have happened all those years ago if only he had taken the chance. He raged against his hesitancy and the waste of those intervening years.
When Cameron finally dragged his mouth from hers, Olivia shuddered and then brought her hands up between them and shoved hard. Fury seemed to fuel her strength, and the arousal in her eyes mingled with fear. She managed to put a few inches of space between them and took him by surprise when she ducked to pick up the shoes she had slipped off. The muddy ground was then no deterrent, and she stepped off the makeshift walkway, eluding his outstretched hands.
“You’re fired,” she announced over her shoulder. “Get off my property and let Steve know where to return anything of yours that can be returned. Send your bill to the agent.” Cameron nearly swallowed his tongue. Holy shit. Another Queen of England moment. He struggled with his need to dominate her, teach her who was Master here.
“Olivia,” he said, “we need to talk about us.”
“There
is
no us, Mr. Fraser.”
Cameron watched her pick her way across the ruined lawn to her car, his erection throbbing with the need to chase her down.
Regardless of their history, something had just awoken within the woman and it had frightened her, shaken her poise. He hadn’t kissed her before and lamented that he hadn’t done so. If he had, the odds were huge that they would have explored his dark needs, and hers,
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together, twelve fucking years ago! He needed to see this thing through, but how, now that she had dismissed him? No matter. They would be on equal terms now. He hadn’t taken any vacation for the past two years, and the boss could dictate his own terms. Trevor would step up for him and manage things until, well, until things played out with Olivia. The predator in him lifted its head and aligned with his cock.
* * * *
Olivia wiped her feet on a tissue from her car and put her shoes back on, wincing at the feel of the residual dirt. She climbed in and had the Beemer started and was wheeling down the road when reaction set in. She was able to find a place to pull over, well out of sight of the house before the shakes precluded her from driving. She practiced deep breathing and thought of other things until the adrenalin levels in her system dissipated and her arousal became manageable. Olivia thought words that she had never voiced in her life. Words that she longed to shriek at Cameron Fraser. Asshole!
Bastard! And worse. He had turned her world upside down with one kiss, and it was only the years with Andrew and his circle that had given her the fortitude to hold him off. Firing him had given her a modicum of satisfaction, and now she had to call Steve with the news.
Steve wasn’t happy with her, particularly when she gave no explanation. He complained that finding another company with the reputation of Cameron’s would be extremely difficult in order to finish the house on time, and she suggested that she would counter with a 10 percent bonus. Steve backed off at that, probably because he believed he could add all of that to his own coffers. He made a show of disagreeing, and then grudgingly told her he would take care of it.
Olivia snapped her phone closed and debated whether she would make her way to the golf course today or retreat to the hotel. She found herself in need of activity, of people and distractions. It
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wouldn’t do to think about Cameron and how it felt when he kissed her. No, he hadn’t kissed her. He had possessed her and she had been transported. If he had put her under him, right down on the dirt and mud and clods of grass that made up her front yard, he could have made love to her and she would not have resisted him. It was madness, a total loss of control and she was scared silly. Making love was hardly the right term for what Cameron would do to her, for what she wanted him to do to her. Olivia somehow knew that Cameron would not have changed his sexual lifestyle, merely explored and honed it. And in those few moments, during that mind-blowing kiss, she had wanted to put herself under his guidance and trust him to teach her and include her, to fulfill a longing deep inside of her.
Madness. She could never to see him again, never be tempted. She would follow her path as she had decided she would after Andrew died, and her life would go on. She wished she could convince her body so easily.
