Exposed by Fate (Serve #2)(44)

He devoured the sight of Eliza as soon as Caroline turned her back to fuss with the coffee. “How’s the club, Caroline? Jonah?” he asked to distract her.

“Great.” A drawer opened and shut, but he could barely hear it over his pulse. Would it be obvious if he just walked past Eliza and stroked her smooth inner thigh under the island? “Actually, Eliza and I were at Serve last Friday.”

“Really.” He hadn’t known that. Didn’t f*cking like it. Why hadn’t she told him? It wasn’t exactly a destination for girl’s night out. “Good crowd?”

Eliza went still, which worried him even more. “Great crowd, as usual,” she hurried to say. “Jonah asked me to redec—”

“Oooh,” Caroline broke in. “Tell Oliver about your admirer. What was his name? Porter something? The guy was ready to club you over the head and take you back to his man cave.”

The ache that had been throbbing behind his eye since yesterday spread, encompassing his entire skull. Around him, the kitchen closed in. His limbs felt heavy, his chest tight. “Is that so?”

“She’s exaggerating.” Eliza’s skin had gone pale. “We talked for a few minutes.”

Caroline turned and gave Eliza a sly look. “But you sure made those minutes count. I never knew you were such a flirt.”

Leaving that final line hanging in the air, his sister picked up two coffee mugs and sailed out of the room. Oliver wasted no time closing the distance between him and the object of his lust. His misery. His need. His everything.

“You didn’t follow the rules, Eliza.”





Chapter Nineteen


Eliza didn’t have a chance to prepare before Oliver’s hands found her ass and hauled her off the ground against his hard body. She thought he was going to kiss her, was dying to be kissed, but he didn’t. Instead, he walked them back through a doorway she’d never been through. He didn’t bother turning on the light, but she could tell, thanks the faint moonlight trickling in, that they were in an enclosed porch, one that overlooked the backyard.

Then she stopped giving a damn where they were because Oliver demanded all of her attention. He was mad. It shocked her into staying silent, so unusual was it for her to see him angry. In fact, she was pretty sure she’d never seen him anything put mildly put-out. His shoulders and chest muscles were so rigid with tension, they shook against her. His teeth were bared in a way that suggested he might bite if provoked. Yet, she wasn’t scared. Not for a single second.

No, she was pissed. How dare he get mad at her for talking to Porter? He couldn’t even walk through a room or cross a street without fielding a marriage proposal. Wasn’t the whole point of this arrangement to prepare her for men like Porter? Underneath her outrage, though, lay the real reason for her ire. She’d fallen for this man, fallen flat on her silly, na?ve face, and he wanted to discuss rules? God, she’d never wanted to punch someone more than she did at that moment. Just to see him in a fraction of the pain she would be in leaving his apartment tomorrow night. Or maybe he didn’t even want her there now. Was that to be her consequence for simply talking to Porter? Fear eclipsed her anger momentarily, but when he leaned in and nipped her bottom lip, it came rushing back.

“Put me down.”

He released her bottom, grunting as she slid down his body. As soon as her feet hit the floor, he pinned her to the wall and buried his face in her neck. “You’ve never needed to remember your safe word more than you do right now, Eliza. I don’t know what’s happening to me.”

“I do.” She could barely hear him over the flood of emotions. “You’ve started taking this too far. I know there are rules for a reason, but I only talked to him. Nothing happened.”

With a shake of his head, he met her gaze, but it looked fevered, lost. Nothing like Oliver. “It’s like it doesn’t even matter. I don’t want anyone f*cking near you.” He ground his head against the wall over her shoulder. “God, you were flirting with him?”

Hope took flight in her sternum. It was a dangerous thing, that hope, but his behavior far exceeded a Dominant being upset over his rules being broken. This wasn’t a scene or a game. His possessive attitude came from a different place. Was it possible he felt something more than attraction for her? Hope’s wings beat faster. Digging deeper would require some stealth. If she was wrong, if this was merely a case of his ego being bruised, she didn’t want to reveal herself. Her feelings for him.

“Oliver, we decided this would be casual.” She listened to his breathing slow. “Has something changed…for you?”

“Why?” His gaze bored into hers, colder than she’d ever seen it. “The sooner we get this over with, the sooner you can be with him, right? Put all the skills I’ve taught you to use?” He nudged her belly with his erection. “Well, I’m not done f*cking you yet. I need more time.”

All about sex. This is all about sex for him. Sex and ego. He couldn’t stand the idea of her wanting someone else. It had nothing to do with him wanting her back. “Sorry, playboy. Rules are rules. One more lesson and we’re done.”

A broken sound fell past his lips and twisted something sharp inside of her. The fact that she could still hurt for him when he’d just proven himself a self-entitled jerk, told her she must have fallen even harder than she thought. How long would it take to get over this man? Would she ever? The questions were shoved aside when Oliver pulled her off the wall and spun her toward the middle of the porch. When she came to an oversized chest, he gripped her hips to stop her. His movements were controlled, precise now, as opposed to jerky and desperate as they were moments ago.