Over the Edge (Bridge #3)(11)
She crossed her arms, bringing my attention away from her beautiful face for only a second.
“That’s fine. I’m talking about outside of it. I’m not going to be at your beck and call. If you want me, you can tell me. But I’m under no obligation to come running every time you have a pressing need.”
Fair enough. “I want what you want.”
She swallowed. “You have to use protection, always.”
I smirked. “That’s a no-brainer.”
Relief flooded me, settling in my shoulders and feeding a fresh rush of desire through my veins. “You’ll have to excuse my forwardness, but since you’ve made me wait longer than I expected to, and since I’ve been hard for you for days, when might I have the pleasure of your company…Olivia?”
She stepped away, glancing around the room like she was suddenly interested in it. “I’m free tonight.”
“Perfect. I’ll have a car pick you up after work.”
“I can make my own way. Cameron’s going to get suspicious if you keep picking me up in private cars.”
I nodded. So Cameron didn’t know. Thank f*ck. She completed her circle of the room and came toward me, leaving more space between us than I had.
“And we should think of tonight as a trial run. If this doesn’t feel right for whatever reason, I reserve the right to change my mind and forget you exist.”
If she only knew how much that challenged me… “Harsh, but I’m confident you’ll leave happy and wanting more.”
“Your confidence is reassuring, but you need to know I’m not cheap and I don’t want to be treated that way.”
I frowned. “You’re anything but cheap, Olivia. I would never call you that or treat you that way.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“Have you negotiated this arrangement to your satisfaction, then?” I had a feeling the terms meant less than the power she was trying to hold onto in changing them. I’d never hold her to anything. I just wanted to get inside her, if only for a night.
“I’m satisfied. For now.” She lifted her chin again.
God, she was adorable when she was trying to hold her ground. She didn’t like the games, but watching her play them was a huge f*cking turn on.
“I’ll meet you at your place tonight. Text me the address. I’ll be there at nine.”
“Dinner?”
She shook her head, seriousness shadowing her eyes. “You don’t need to wine and dine me, Will. I know what this is about.”
OLIVIA
This is crazy. You’re crazy.
The voice in my head had been harassing me the whole way to Will’s. I’d taken the train and walked from the station to his building. Once inside the lobby, I changed into heels. I tossed my flats into my oversized purse and leaned back against the wall. I closed my eyes and drew in a deep, steeling breath. My nerves couldn’t get the best of me now.
I’d entertained this. I’d said yes to this.
“Liv?”
My eyes opened to a familiar face. Ian Savo was walking my way. He looked like he was going out, dressed in dark jeans and a black collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up, showcasing his muscular forearms.
A flurry of words lodged in my throat before I finally found my voice. “H-Hi.”
Something about the man had always left me a little tongue-tied whenever we’d run into each other before. Whatever their heritage, his parents had produced a straight-up beautiful man. He paused in front of me, all six-foot-plus of muscle and taut tawny skin, affording me a closer view. His combined features were lethal—dark-brown hair trimmed short to his scalp and light gray eyes.
“You here to see Will?”
My stomach dropped out, and the growing list of Ian’s best features came to a screeching halt.
Shit. How did he know?
“I didn’t know you and Will were friends,” I said.
“Friends and roommates, for now. Let me walk you up.”
“Sure.” I pushed off the wall and wobbled on my heels.
Ian caught my hand, steadying me. His grasp was easy and warm, and my heart did a funny extra beat.
He didn’t release me until we were in the elevator.
I watched the numbers illuminate with our climb. My anxiety seemed to climb right with it. Darren was going to kill me if he found out about this…and I didn’t even want to think about Cameron’s wrath.
I only had seconds left when I finally broke the silence. “I don’t know how to say this delicately, Ian. But I’d rather my brothers not know about me visiting Will like this.”
I chanced a look up. His expression was steady, like he knew exactly why I was here. But there was something else, something dark and hungry in the stormy gray of his eyes.
“Understood.”
The doors opened, and I followed Ian out, feeling no more steady on my feet than I had been. I should have stuck with flats.
“Here we are.” He unlocked the door to the apartment and let me cross the threshold first.
I took a few steps in, not seeing Will but catching his voice and snippets of conversation from another room.
The space was clean and new. A soft gray that reminded me of Ian’s eyes colored the walls against ornate white trim. The kitchen was state of the art and led into an open floor plan living room. An enormous picture window offered an expansive view of Manhattan across the river. Leather and dark-wood furniture filled the space, for function over style. Everything had modern finishes but lacked the warmth that made a house feel like a home.