The boarding school that turned her into what she was.
The school that stripped her of a life she could never have.
A life of snowball fights and laughter.
It was all there. Every dirty detail of her past.
How had it been missing when it was all right there?
Sasha, who she’d had in a few classes, but didn’t really get to know until they’d beat the shit out of each other in Amelia’s apartment. And AJ, Amelia’s brother. Neil, Isaac, Lars . . . all of them.
All of them knew who she was all this time. None of them said a thing.
Olivia fell to her knees, her eyes lifted toward the sky, which had started to drop snow on them again.
She was not safe there.
They were not safe with her there.
Nausea built in her throat.
Get out.
Run.
Run . . .
Yes . . . all of that.
Her brain screamed and her heartbeat leapt out of her chest, ready to follow any direction or run and hide. But she needed a plan.
A plan that was already forming in her head.
“You don’t stand a chance, beautiful lady,” Leo called, laughing from behind his tree.
Olivia placed a hand on her chest, felt a sting of tears in her eyes. She cleared her throat. “No way, Mr. FBI. I’m locked and loaded.” It hurt.
All of it.
She reached down, grabbed a fistful of snow, and rubbed it in her face. The cold snapped her backbone into place.
With hands filled with snowball ammo, she pushed away the images of the people on the other end of the scope and stepped out from behind the tree.
They stumbled into the mudroom, sloshing snow with every step.
They eventually called their fight a tie and let the new snowfall drive them inside.
Leo helped her out of her snow gear and accepted her help when he worked his way out of his.
He tossed his stuff to the side, and she carefully hung hers up to dry.
“Time to get started on that warming-up stuff,” he said, coming behind her and kissing the side of her neck.
“An excellent idea,” she said. “My shower is bigger than yours.”
With an invitation like that, he followed her out of the mudroom and up the double flight of stairs to the bedrooms.
“Did you remember my firewood?” Lars asked from the chair he’d claimed since breakfast.
“Exercise is good for you,” Olivia said as she walked right on by.
Leo pointed toward Olivia.
Lars grunted and unfolded from his perch.
Once in her room, Leo pulled her into his arms.
Her lips were there, offering . . . trembling. “You’re still cold,” he said after a quick kiss.
“Freezing.”
He reached for her shirt, she reached for his.
They made it to the shower, but unlike the night before where every touch was slow and thought out, this time the buzz from the good-natured snowball fight sparked them in an entirely new direction. The water was just warming up, and Olivia had dropped to her knees, taking him into her mouth.
He’d never been so turned on and so ready to explode in his adult life.
Leo tried to pull back, attempted to slow them down. But no. Olivia wouldn’t have it.
Considering their condom supply was limited, he supposed this was probably a better option.
When he warned her of his release, she kept going, taking all reason from his brain.
She looked up at him, smiling.
“Happy with yourself?” he asked, mimicking her words from the night before.
“Yes, sir. I am.”
Such a dangerous emotion swelling in his chest.
He helped her to her feet and kissed her. He found the soap and made use of his hands, touching the edges of her sex until she hummed. With her back against the wall of the shower, he lifted one of her legs until one foot was up on the shower bench, giving him much more room to work.
The feel of her hands on the back of his head as he pleased her felt like heaven. He found all the spots he’d discovered the night before, and new ones that drew out her cries. And when she was tipping over the edge, he sucked her in a little harder and heard his name on her lips.
Later, with steam still filling the bathroom and both of them wrapped up in towels, he kissed her, slowly this time.
Just a kiss.
“What was that for?” she asked when he pulled away.
“A promise,” he said.
Her eyes did the flickering thing they often did. Blinking. “What promise?”
“That I will always show you how you make me feel.”