Olivia met Kiera’s gaze and gave her a grateful smile. “Thanks, Care Bear.” She loved her friend’s perspective.

“Okay. Back to important shit,” she said, releasing Olivia’s hand. “Pick a weekend for Vegas!”

She laughed, relieved to be discussing a lighter topic.

The friends spent the next several hours enjoying the weather and each other’s company, as well as a few bottles of wine. As the sun began to go down, a chill set in and the girls retreated indoors.

“Shit,” Olivia said upon noticing the time. “I should probably call Alexander before he freaks out.”

“Yeah. You’re probably right. Jack’s expecting me, as well.”

Olivia raised her eyebrows.

“Yup. That’s right, Libby. Kiera’s getting laid tonight.”

“Jesus, Kiera,” she responded, her face turning bright red. “I don’t want to hear the details about you and Mo.”

Kiera laughed. “Okay, Libs. Thanks for the fun afternoon. Dress shopping this Saturday.”

Olivia hugged her friend and said good-bye. When she was all alone, she grabbed her cell phone and walked up to the bedroom, eager to hear Alexander’s voice. She hated when he had to leave town for work.

“Burnham here,” he barked angrily into the phone, picking up on the third ring.

“Hi. It’s me,” she said quietly.

“Olivia, angel.” His voice relaxed. “How are you?”

“Good. Everything okay?”

“Yes. As good as it can be. I miss you terribly.”

“I miss you, too. How much longer will you be gone?”

Alexander exhaled loudly. “It’s hard to say. This mission isn’t going as well as I had hoped. I wanted to be home by tomorrow to see you sing with the band but, at this rate, it will probably be after the weekend before I can get back.”

“Oh,” Olivia replied, clearly disappointed.

“I’m so sorry, love, but I have to make sure these guys are properly trained.”

“It’s okay, Alexander. I understand. I just miss you.” She sat on the bed, lying down. “I don’t like being apart from you.”

“I don’t like it, either. I miss falling asleep next to you, listening to your gentle breathing. I miss the feel of your skin on mine.”

She moaned, thinking about his body moving on top of her.

“I miss the taste of your sweet pussy,” he breathed out, his voice turning husky.

“Fuck, Alex,” she said quietly. “I need you here, inside me.”

“Touch yourself,” he ordered.

She obeyed, slipping her hand into her panties.

“Are you wet for me, Olivia?”

“I’m always wet when I’m thinking about you,” she replied coyly.

He groaned. “Tease your clit for me. Gently.”

She followed his instructions, her breathing becoming heavy with longing. Alexander was over a thousand miles away, but he still had her bundled up in knots, the desire for him building with every stroke.

“How’s that feel, Olivia?”

“Good,” she whimpered, feeling overwhelmed with sensation as she fondled herself, listening to Alexander’s sultry voice over the phone.

“Good. Now I want you to put two fingers inside. Slowly.”

She bit her bottom lip as she complied with his request, the pleasure starting to overtake her body.

“Now, picture me on top of you, Olivia. Picture me fucking you senseless. Are you doing that?”

“God, yes, Alex. I need you.”

“Pretend I’m there, slamming into you, filling that delicious little pussy,” he growled into the phone, his breathing heavy. “Sliding in and out as I bite your perfect nipples. You like it when I do that, don’t you?”

Olivia moaned, thinking about his teeth on her breast, loving when he was gentle and rough with her at the same time. Her heart rate increased and she felt that familiar tingling feeling from her stomach down to her toes.

Alexander must have sensed it as well. “Come for me, Olivia. Give me your pleasure.”

She rubbed harder, screaming Alexander’s name as she felt herself spasm around her fingers, her orgasm ravaging her body for several long moments. Her breathing began to slow down, neither person saying anything for a while.

“Did you enjoy that, love?” Alexander asked, finally breaking the silence.

She giggled. “I would have enjoyed it better if it was your hand, but I guess beggars can’t be choosers.”

“I’ll let you beg when I get back,” he replied. She could almost hear the smile on his face. “Till then… I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“Hey, Olivia?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you.”

Olivia scrunched her eyebrows. “For what?”

“For letting me love you. For letting me in. For letting me beneath your skin…your beautiful, perfect skin.”

Olivia’s heart swelled at his words. She loved how one minute he could be telling her how much he loved fucking her, and then the next, he could say the most sweet and sentimental things. “Thanks for not giving up on me, Alexander.”

“Olivia, I’ll never give up on you. No matter what this life throws at us, no matter what obstacles we face, I will always stand by your side, looking out for you, protecting you. I love you. I’ll hurry home.”

“I love you, too, Alexander,” she replied quietly, a lump forming in her throat from his sweet words. Placing the phone on the nightstand, she curled up on the bed, feeling completely satisfied. Not from the orgasm she just gave herself, but from Alexander’s loving words.

CHAPTER EIGHT

FIX OR RUIN

OLIVIA SAT IN HER office Friday afternoon, thinking about Alexander. She longed for his arms to be wrapped around her, for his body to be next to hers as she drifted off to sleep. Instead, she woke up that morning in an empty and cold bed. She was rather disappointed that he would be unable to make her gig that night, but understood he had obligations and couldn’t be expected to blow off his job just to see her sing with a band in a bar.

She began to think about how much her life had changed since she met him. Just a year ago, she would shudder at the thought of having an actual relationship with anyone, and now she was planning a wedding. Maybe Alexander was exactly what she needed in her life. She still worried about losing him, but she no longer let that fear control her.

As she gazed out her window at the city streets below, her brain rewound to the phone conversation she had with Alexander the previous night, a smile creeping across her face. Her body warmed when she recalled his sweet words, amazed at how his sensual tone could send her over the edge so quickly.