Page 21 of Protecting Olivia

“Okay.”

I scooped her off the bed and headed for the door. Zane was point going up in front of us, Jaxon took our six and nearly hugged my back. It was unnerving not having my own weapon drawn, but I couldn’t safely carry Olivia and have my gun in my hand at the same time. I had to trust my team to cover us.

Zane opened the truck door, and before I could deposit Olivia in the seat she lifted her face off my chest, placing her lips close to my ear.

“Thank you, Leo.”

My body instantly responded to her breathy exclamation. No woman had ever had this kind of control over my emotions. Hormones, sure. My mental state – never. I needed to keep my distance not only for my sake but for hers.

She was a mission objective – nothing more.

Or so I told myself.

Chapter Ten

Olivia

The moment I brought my lips to his ear, I regretted it.

He smelled like soap and something I could only describe as manly. The scent was unique and instantly set my body on fire. The frat and country club boys I was used to always doused themselves with so much cologne you couldn’t actually smell them. Their scent was masked with some designer concoction. I liked this smell better.

It was hot.

I wanted to lick his neck to see if he tasted as good as he smelled.

“No need to thank me, tesorino,” his voice rumbled against my chest.

He quickly sat me in the seat and pulled the seatbelt over my lap clicking it in place. The moan that slipped past my lips was completely accidental. An involuntary reaction to his strong forearm brushing my sensitive nipples.

Leo’s body went still, his head slowly turned, and his eyes met mine. Sweet baby Jesus, this man. There was no part of him that was not intoxicating. With his face only inches from mine, it would be so easy to press my lips against his. Maybe I should drive with Zane. Not that he wasn’t as good looking as Leo. All the men on the team were super hot, but I was a little afraid of Zane, and I certainly didn’t feel…this…whatever this was when he looked at me. I kind of wanted to pee my pants when Zane leveled his mean look in my direction.

He didn’t say a word as he shut the door and rounded the hood to the driver’s side. He remained silent as he drove us down a series of back roads out onto the main highway. It felt like an eternity before he finally spoke again.

“You need to drink. There’s a bottle at your feet, it’s twelve ounces. Doc said at least six ounces every hour. Try and drink at least half of the bottle.”

There was something wrong. His tone wasn’t angry, but neither was it friendly. Something had changed.

I picked up the bottle and unscrewed the top. “Did I do something wrong?” I wracked my mind trying to remember if I had kept my head down like he’d asked. I was sure I had.

“No.”

Huh? One-word answers now. Fine. I could be silent as well. I drank the orange liquid that tasted like watered down orange drink and settled further into my seat.

“Are you hungry?”

“No.” Two could play at the one-word answers.

“You have to eat. Doc said small meals every few hours. You should try some crackers and maybe a protein bar.” Seemed he had something to say when he was passing along the doctor’s orders. “I’m serious, you’re gonna need to keep your energy up.”

My mind conjured up a whole lot of reasons why I would need energy. Unfortunately, none of them were what he meant. I didn’t know what it was about Leo that made my mind wander to naughty places.

His phone rang, and he fiddled with a few buttons on his steering wheel, a second later the call connected.

“Yo,” he answered.

“You’re clear. The tickets to Hawaii have been purchased. You have a straight shot,” Zane said. through the truck’s speakers, his deep voice was unmistakable.

“Copy that.”