“We should probably go eat before Nepenthe gets into the sushi,” she said, wiping the tears that had fallen down her face. “He’s got a thing for raw fish.”

Alexander released her, kissing her on the cheek. “Well, let’s go eat then.”

After finishing all the sushi Alexander had brought over and downing a few beers, they drudged back up the stairs to continue packing her belongings, deciding to start in the bedroom.

“I’m going to miss this room most of all,” Alexander said after over an hour of boxing up Olivia’s shoes, barely even putting a dent in her enormous collection of footwear.

She looked up from the dresser. “Oh, yeah? Any particular reason for that?” she asked, her eyebrows raised.

He stood up and strode across the room toward her, pulling her to her feet and pressing her body into his. “If I remember correctly, Miss Adler, you gave me the most amazing, earth-shattering blow job in that bed,” he commented.

His words sent a warmth through her body, her heart racing.

“The first of many incredible blow jobs, I might add.” He pulled back, winking.

“Perhaps one more for the road, Mr. Burnham?” Olivia asked, brushing her lips against his neck, planting soft kisses across his collarbone. She slowly lowered herself, running her hand down his chest before kneeling in front of him and unbuckling his belt.

“Olivia,” Alexander exhaled, staring down at her. “You drive me crazy. Do you know that?”

She nodded her head slowly as she unbuttoned his jeans, sliding them down his muscular legs, his erection springing free. Even after months of being intimate with Alexander, she still got incredibly excited every time she saw him. Grabbing on to his arousal, she took him into her mouth and sensually dragged her tongue across his length.

He closed his eyes for a moment, enjoying the sensation of Olivia’s tongue on the most intimate part of his body. He immediately hardened even more in her mouth.

She moaned, loving that she turned him on like that. Continuing her slow motion, she looked up at him, his eyes now open and trained on her. Her heart stopped when she saw the primal stare he gave her. It made her burn for him even more. She was completely unable to break her gaze from his.

“That’s right, baby. I love it when you look at me with my cock in your mouth.”

She moaned again, not breaking eye contact with him because that’s what he liked. That’s what made him happy and, for the first time in her life, she was with someone who she wanted to make happy.

Alexander reached down, gently placing his hand on her head, helping to guide her motions as she continued torturing him with her mouth and tongue. Nothing turned him on more than looking down at Olivia, her eyes wide as she took him into her mouth.

“Faster, Olivia,” he said softly. “I’m close, baby.” Slowly exhaling, he closed his eyes and tried to fight against his impending orgasm. He wanted it to last longer, but he knew that nothing was going to stop him from exploding in a matter of seconds. “Damn, you give amazing head.” He thrust into her mouth, signaling with his body the rhythm he wanted Olivia to maintain.

She picked up the pace in response, meeting his motion, gently licking and sucking as she continued to drive him crazy. She loved that she could make him fall apart so quickly from such a simple act. She felt him tighten his grasp on her head and knew he was about to release.

She slowly bared her teeth, pushing him to his breaking point, and he came in her mouth, shouting her name. She slid her tongue against his length until the aftershocks of his orgasm subsided. Meeting his eyes, she smiled, a feeling of complete satisfaction enveloping her. A year ago, she would never do that for anyone. Now, she loved pleasing him that way, and she didn’t even want anything in return.

“Damn, Olivia. I love your lips,” he said, helping her to her feet.

She giggled at his compliment, sending Alexander’s heart soaring. Placing a hand on the small of her back, he carefully dipped her back, kissing her full on the mouth, his tongue invading where his erection had been seconds beforehand.

“That’s the most beautiful sound in the world,” he murmured against her neck. “Now, back to packing.” She yelped when he smacked her ass, causing an infectious grin to spread across her face.

They spent the remainder of the afternoon going through her things while she decided what she wanted to keep and what she would donate or throw out. By early evening, they had boxed up most of her bedroom and study.

“Moving is more of a pain in the ass than I remember,” Olivia joked.

“Let me hire some movers to deal with the rest of it. I get not wanting people sorting through your personal stuff, but I think we tackled most of that already.”

Olivia looked around the kitchen, not thrilled with the idea of having to pack up the cabinets. “That’s fine. But what are we going to do about all my furniture? You already have everything we need.”

“Well, is there anything you can’t live without? Anything you like better than what I have?”

She surveyed her living room. “I’ll have to think about it. Maybe I'll just keep the rest of the house like it is and rent it out fully-furnished or something instead of bringing it all over to your place.”

“Great. And stop calling it my place. It’s our place.”

Olivia smiled, snuggling against his chest. “I like the sound of that.”

Alexander kissed the top of her head. “I do, too, love.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

PLANNING

OVER THE COURSE OF the following week, movers transported all of Olivia’s personal belongings from her house over to her new home, while Alexander was out of town on a training exercise with a group of his latest “mercenaries-in-training”, as Olivia liked to call them.

After returning from her appointment with Dr. Greenstein on Thursday, she decided to open a bottle of wine and enjoy a glass out on the enormous balcony overlooking the waterfront. The sun was shining and there were only a few clouds in the sky as a light breeze blew through the city.

It was the type of day Olivia loved. Normally, she would go for a walk through the city, take her e-reader, and read in the park. But lately, after Simon’s warning, she took Alexander’s security detail a little bit more seriously. Before bumping into Simon, she thought Alexander was overreacting. Now, she knew he had every reason to overreact. Someone wanted to hurt her. Simon inferred that the accident that had taken her parents from her was not an accident at all. If that was the case, maybe she was supposed to die in the crash, too. She wondered why anyone could possibly think that she was worth hurting…or worse.