“Fuck, Olivia,” he finally said, breaking the silence. “You were too young for me. Too pure and innocent. I would’ve destroyed you. Your future. You had such promise. Look at you now. You’ve become a nurse. A healer.”
The pride in his voice shocked her to pieces. “Let me guess. You heard that from my dad?”
“Folks here talk,” Saint said with a shrug. “I have little mice everywhere, willing to tell me what goes on in my town.”
My town. Of course. Redemption was Saint’s little kingdom. He was king here and she was—what was she exactly to him? A charity case? The girl he regretted not fucking? Whatever the case was, she refused to believe he was genuinely interested in her as a woman, an equal or a potential partner. Still, Saint had a good side.
Olivia went over his words in her head. Most of the locals would call Saint a monster. A heartless criminal, but they didn’t know the real him. Saint might do plenty of bad things in the name of his club, but deep down, he was a good man. Or so she still continued to believe.
“What about now?” she asked. “Am I still too young for you?”
“Fuck no.” Saint ran his inked and scarred knuckles over her left cheekbone, making her shiver in anticipation. The wind blew at their faces. The cold made her nipples pebble. She shifted her feet together, all too aware of the moisture gathering between her legs. How was it possible she still had such a visceral reaction to this man she hadn’t seen in years?
“No?” she inquired.
Saint leaned in to whisper close to her ear. His breath was warm. “You don’t know it yet, but I’m going to make you mine, baby.”
“There you go again, being all presumptuous.”
“Get on the bike, Olivia.” Saint mounted his bike. He gripped one of the handlebars and the other, he extended to her. “You getting on or you planning to stand there all night?”
Olivia slung one leg over his ride. She hesitated at first, then hugged his waist. Olivia inhaled the scent of him as he revved up the engine. Beer. Smoke. Old leather. Underneath that all was the scent of Old Spice and everything nice.
She remembered perching herself on his desk in his private office, swinging her legs back and forth as she told him about Brad and her ill luck with boys. He smelled like this, she thought, pressing her nose between his shoulder blades.
She rested her hands on his steel-hard abs and held on as tightly as she could. Tonight was an illusion. A dream. Saint would listen to her request. He might even help. If he demanded payment that didn’t involve cash, then she might even willingly offer herself up to him.
Olivia however, wouldn’t make the same mistake as she did ten years ago. She wasn’t letting this man anywhere near her heart.
“You’re going to be the fucking death of me,” she heard him murmur. Then he blasted off into the cold night.
Chapter Four
Saint had a hard time focusing on the road, especially with the warmth of Olivia’s body pressed behind him. Tonight, he’d risked taking a kiss from her just to satiate his growing need.
The brief clash of their mouths proved futile because he wanted more. He would’ve stripped off her baggy clothes right there and then if he could. Then he’d ravage her. Show her what she was missing out on.
Turn your mind away from the gutter, he reminded himself. Saint couldn’t act like a beast when it came to her. Olivia was the one who’d gotten away. She was special. He’d always known that truth in his bones. He passed Main Street and started on a small road that would take them to Heartbreak Hill. That was what the teenagers used to call the hill that sat on the edge of the town. Saint encountered no one during their ride.
All and good. Saint brought her here so they’d have privacy. He killed the engine when they reached the top. He felt her dismount.
“I can’t believe this little lookout spot is still here,” she murmured.
Saint dismounted and took the helmet she offered.
“This is where couples used to go to make out,” she said. “There’s no one here now. Why is that?”
“The kids think this place is haunted,” Saint with a scoff. “Three years ago, two hikers, a couple, took their lives here. Since then, locals avoided coming here. Do you believe in ghosts, Olivia?”
She shook her head. They walked to the edge and stared out at the town. From this view, Redemption was a small glowing dot in the distance. Saint often came here alone when he needed time to think and reflect.
“Tell me everything,” he prodded.
“His name is Brett,” she started, wrapping her arms around her body.
Saint was tempted to pull her close to him. He wouldn’t try anything funny, merely wanted to offer her comfort. Saint didn’t just want her for sex. Hell, he wanted to know every single goddamn thing about her. What made her laugh. Weep. The things she liked. Hated. All. He stood his ground.
“Another nurse introduced us. He’s a retired investment banker with plenty of time on his hands. Back then, I thought he was charming, a complete gentleman.” She paused. Olivia stared off into the distance, her gaze faraway.
Screw being polite. Saint brushed his hand over her arm, and she blinked, returning to reality. Olivia flashed him a grateful smile that didn’t fail to wake his cock. Focus, he reminded himself. Unnamed jealousy rammed into him as he thought of her being with someone else. Olivia didn’t need to explain any further. This fucker Brett had left plenty of inner scars on her. She spoke his name with fear, and he didn’t like that. The Olivia he’d known had been terrifyingly fearless. Confident. Bold. A queen in her own right.
“We dated for a few months. Then we moved in together. Part of me kept thinking something wasn’t right, that I was just riding along the current. There always seemed something off about Brett. There were moments when I didn’t recognize him, especially when he lost his temper.”
“He hurt you.” Saint phrased those words as a sentence.
Olivia went back to rubbing her arms and Saint wondered if she was feeling for now-invisible bruises. Anger simmered inside him like a living storm. No one had any right to hurt his woman. He’d hunt Brett down to the ends of the earth and make him regret ever laying eyes upon what rightfully belonged to him.
Saint pulled her close to him. She tensed at first, but relaxed when he only wrapped her arms around him. Olivia felt so tiny against his big body. A soft bundle of warmth, intoxicating and vulnerable.
“The first time he hit me was after this charity event we went to. It just happened. The next day, he sent me flowers, texts, asking me to forgive him. I don’t know why I did.”
“Did you love him?” Saint didn’t know why her answer to his question was so important to him.
Maybe he did know. He didn’t want anyone else taking what was his to take. All the other women he’d been with before paled in comparison to Olivia. He didn’t just want her body but all of her, including her heart and soul. Saint wanted to own her in every sense of the word. If she agreed to be his, he’d cherish her and protect her for the rest of her life.
Olivia didn’t answer him immediately. She leaned against him and Saint marveled at how perfect her body fit against his. Like the missing puzzle piece he’d been searching for his entire life.