16. Victor

Chapter sixteen

Victor

S he doesn’t reply. I’m met with silence and erratic breathing. Fuck. She probably thought Donovan found her. I turn away from James to get some privacy. He seems to understand because he walks away.

“Olivia, it’s me. Breathe.” She doesn’t say anything. “Come on, sweetness. Breathe with me. Five seconds in and out.” I inhale deeply and exhale. It takes a couple of times before she begins to follow along with me. After a few times, I check in with her. “Are you okay?”

“Yes. I think so,” she replies.

“I’m sorry, Olivia. I wasn’t thinking. We haven’t seen each other in a few weeks, so I wanted to surprise you with lunch.,” I explain, hoping it calms her more.

“Did you bring me pretzel balls?” she asks.

I chuckle. “I did, and a turkey club sandwich.”

She hums. “I guess I’ll forgive you then.” There’s a smile in her voice. She might not be one hundred percent better, but she’s on her way there. “I’ll be down in just a few minutes.”

After saying bye, I hang up and turn to face James. He arches an eyebrow at me as I rub the back of my neck. “Olivia doesn’t like surprises.” He nods slowly as I try to figure out a way to tell him to keep an eye on her without telling him why. I decide to just tell him. He understands not all secrets can be shared. “Can you try your best to keep her safe while she’s in this building?”

He doesn’t hesitate. “I will. I’ve always had a soft spot for Liv. The way she runs to her car and how it seems like she’s always looking over her shoulder. I know she’s scared of something or someone. I don’t need to know what that is in order to watch out for her.”

“Thank you, James.” I extend my hand to him and we shake. “If you ever need more details, I’ll make sure you're informed.”

“And any details you give me will stay between us,” he promises. It helps that we’re part of the Outsiders and we’re friends. He looks over my shoulder and I know the elevator is probably opening. “I’ll see you this weekend for the ride?”

“Yes, I’m going to ask Olivia to come with me.”

He smiles. “Good.” He steps behind the security desk.

I turn to greet Olivia. Her pale face and trembling hands make me want to kick my own ass. I quickly walk to her, but force myself to slow down so I don’t spook her. She offers me a small smile, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. We walk over to the corner with the high table, but she doesn’t attempt to get in the chair.

“My sweet Olivia.”

Her eyes widen, and she shakes her head. “Please don’t call me that.” She swallows and looks down at the floor. Are we back to that? “I mean, just call me Olivia,” she clarifies.

I squint at her. “Okay.” I want to ask her why she doesn’t want me calling her my sweet Olivia, but let it go for now. All my questions will be answered eventually. I need to tread lightly with her until she trusts me completely. Lifting the bag, I show her I was telling the truth about bringing her food.

“Thank you.” She takes the food and opens the bag, inhaling. “I forgot to bring my lunch today and Caroline is out the rest of the afternoon for a doctor’s appointment. So, I really appreciate it.”

I step closer to her, testing the waters. She doesn’t step back, which makes me want to pump my fist in victory. “Do you not like to go to lunch by yourself?”

“No. Sometimes I’ll order something and have it delivered, but I don’t like to do that either.” I’m surprised she admits that.

“Why?” I ask softly, hoping she’ll confide in me.

She stares at me. “I think you know why.” She sighs and looks away. I slowly lift my hand and grip her chin gently between my thumb and forefinger, guiding her eyes back to mine.

“Olivia, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. You can trust me.” My voice drops an octave. Not on purpose, but that part of my personality is hard to control with her. I’m going to kill Donovan, slowly . Whatever he did to her to make her fear him so much is cause for him to suffer and I know quite a few men that will enjoy doing it.

“I’m terrified Donovan is going to find me. I wish I wasn’t, but I can’t help it.” Her words come out in a rushed whisper. Wrapping my arms around her, I pull her into a hug. She stiffens for a moment before she relaxes in my arms and wraps her arms around me, the bag of food hitting me as she does. She giggles, but doesn’t pull away. “Sorry.”

“That’s okay, sweetness.” She sighs at the endearment and holds me tighter. “I promise I won’t let Donovan hurt you ever again.”

She pulls back slightly and looks up at me. “How do you know Donovan hurt me?”

I rub the palm of my hand up and down her spine to soothe her. “It was an educated guess. Why else would you be so scared of him?”

She places her forehead on my chest and takes a deep breath. I want to run my hand through her hair to see if it feels as soft as it looks. Instead, I continue to rub my hand up and down her spine, letting the ends of her hair tickle the back of my hand. When she relaxes more, I pull back and offer her an encouraging smile.

“I am so sorry I scared you earlier. Me trying to surprise you backfired, but I won’t do that again.”

“I like surprises as long as you don’t scare me in the process.” Her lips tip up into a small smile.

“Deal. Now, I want you to sit here with me and eat.” My voice has dropped an octave, but I did it on purpose this time.

Her small smile grows as she relaxes even more, nodding up at me. “Yes, sir.”

Fuck, I love the sound of that coming from her lips. I know she’s not saying it in the way I heard it, but I have a hard time stopping my body from reacting to her words. Guiding her to the chair, I help her climb up. She’s so tiny. I’m not sure if I ever noticed before. Maybe because I’ve never been as aware of her as I am right now. She places the bag on the table as I walk to the other side and sit on the chair across from her.

Fighting the urge to pull my chair right next to her so I can feed her, she’s not ready for me to push her boundaries. Not yet, but I do pull the food out for her. She rubs her hands together when I pull the pretzel bites out, making me chuckle. Folding the bag, so it’s not in the way, I lay it down and push the sandwich toward her. I glance toward the drink machine against the wall.

“What would you like to drink?” I ask her, standing from my chair.

“I’m okay. Don’t leave.”

I place my hand on top of hers. “I’m not leaving, sweetness. Just getting you a drink. What would you like?”

She swallows and nods. “Diet Coke, please.”

Rubbing my thumb over her hand, I smile at her pleased she answered. “Good girl.” Her eyes light up and mouth parts slightly at my praise. It hits me in the gut. Has no one ever praised her? Stepping forward so I’m closer to her, I slowly lift my hand to rub my thumb along her cheekbone. I didn’t mean to say that, it just came out, but her reaction to it makes me want to say it again. “You are such a good girl.”

She stares at me with those beautiful blue eyes and leans into my touch. “I don’t think anyone has ever said that to me before.”

Taking another step toward her, I drop my hand to cup the side of her neck, and run my thumb along the column of her throat. She swallows and pushes her neck so it’s more firmly grasped in my hand. Her eyes dilate as she stares at me. Does she realize how she’s reacting to me? She’s perfect.

“Such a shame, because you are. I’ll make sure to remind you as often as possible.” My cock twitches when she exhales sharply, her breath causing goosebumps to break out over my arm, but I force it to behave as I focus on her and how she reacts to me. The way she’s leaning into me, how her breathing has sped up, and her sweet smile tells me everything I need to know. I want to lean forward and kiss her, but know she’s not ready yet.

Instead, I turn toward the drink machine and grab her a Diet Coke, unscrew the top, then place it in front of her. She takes a bite of her pretzel ball and closes her eyes as she savors it.

“These are so good,” she says as she swallows.

I chuckle as I climb onto the chair across from her, then push the turkey club toward her. “You need to eat some of this too.”

She smiles at me as she grabs one half of the sandwich and takes a bite of it. It’s like she was made for me and she has no idea. Realization dawns on me that I’m going to break my vow to never take another submissive after my divorce from Josie. I grit my teeth. Not that Josie was a real submissive to begin with. Forcing myself to look away from Olivia so I don’t make her feel uncomfortable while she’s eating, I stare out the large windows, watching the street.

Does Donovan know where she’s at? I haven’t heard from him in a while. Maybe I need to reach out to him to feel him out and see if I can get some answers.

“This is really good.” I turn to look back at Olivia. She’s a lot more relaxed than she was earlier. “I think I like this better than the Korean Cheesesteak.” She takes another bite, and it takes all I have not to lean forward and touch her.

“Good to know.” I can’t take my eyes off her as she finishes that half of the sandwich.

“Can I have another pretzel bite?” she asks. She glances down at the table and licks her lips like she’s not sure she should be asking. This time I do lean forward and place my index finger beneath her chin, lifting her head until her eyes are on mine.

“See, you are a good girl. Of course you can have another pretzel bite.”