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“Why didn’t you ever reach out?” This is one of the things holding me back from fully immersing myself back with them. The fact that they just let me go so easily.
“I thought you were happy. The only photos we’d see were of you on his arm at events, smiling. As our professional lives have taken off so have our criminal pursuits. After a while, I convinced myself that you were better off without the danger that shadows us.”
“I’ll take your danger if it means we stay together.”
He stills for a moment before a deep rumble comes from his chest, and he flips us so I’m on my back. “We don’t deserve you, but we’re going to take you anyway. Especially when you talk like that.” He settles his body over mine as he kisses me deeply.
21
OLIVIA
The beach house is incredible.It’s modern but with a lot of natural touches. The main level is almost entirely open, aside from the kitchen which is off to one side and enclosed for entertainment purposes. The back wall off the living room is made of glass panels that open to provide indoor/outdoor living. The pool house opens in the same way with the classic round walls and thatched roof that is common throughout the country. The deck is teak with a dual-level infinity pool. There are hammocks hung from several trees on the sides of the patio.
It’s nighttime, so I can’t see the water, but I can hear it. The waves crashing from the Pacific Ocean already have my tension melting away. A loud yelp echoes through the trees on one side of the property, startling me.
“Just a spider monkey,” Lake assures me, running his hand up and down my back. “You’ll get used to them.”
A short, older woman steps out onto the deck with us speaking in rapid Spanish to Lake. She pulls him in for a hug and then moves onto the rest of the guys. They each lay on the charm and speak to her in flawless Spanish. She moves to step in front of me, her expression full of warmth.
“Welcome Olivia. Is it your first time in Costa Rica?”
“Si, pero creci en Peru y Equador,” I answer, glad that my fluency in Spanish is still strong. “Estoy emocionada de estar aqui.”
“Olivia, this is my aunt Maria. She lives in a bungalow at the end of our property.” Lake steps beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “You can go home; we’ll take care of all the bags.”
“Buenos noches.”She gives him another kiss on the cheek and then grabs me by the shoulders giving me a quick squeeze. “Tomemos cafe juntos por la mañana.”
“Si.”I already feel a warmth toward the friendly woman. I watch her disappear down a lit path into the trees before turning my attention back to Lake. “Show me the rest of the house?”
He takes me on a tour of the main level first. It has a formal living room and dining room on the other end of the house. There is also an office in dark mahogany and oozes masculinity without being overdone. We walk up a metal and glass staircase to the second level where eight rooms are located. There’s four on each side of the landing, so they all have views of the ocean. Each room is connected to one long balcony with lounge chairs.
Since there are so many rooms, Grant drops my bag off in the one between his room and Sawyer’s room. I’m glad he did that. I don’t want to sleep alone, but I don’t know how to navigate this buddy relationship between the five of us. How do I keep them all satisfied and fulfilled when I’m only one person?
The guys go to their rooms to get ready for bed. I walk into the bathroom attached to my room and turn on the shower. There’s a window at the top of the stall that I can barely see trees through. The sky is overcast, so I can’t tell how many stars are visible. I take my time, shampooing and conditioning my hair, shaving my legs, using a delicious smelling coffee scrub on my body. When I step out of the shower, I look at my body through the fogged mirror, noting the changes that have started to occur. My hips no longer jut all the way out, my stomach is flat but not concave, and my face looks younger and healthier. I’m being loved back into good health by these amazing men, and I’m not going to take it for granted.
I dry off and pull one of Sawyer’s undershirts on as pajamas. If he’s noticed that a bunch of his shirts have gone missing, he hasn’t said anything. They’re just too soft not to steal for bedtime. As if conjured by my thoughts, I walk into my room to find him stretched out on my bed. He’s shirtless in a pair of loose pajama pants and looking like a damn model.
“You know, I was wondering where all my shirts have gone.” He gives me a boyish grin.
“They’re comfy.” I walk toward him. “I’ve only taken a few.”
“That’s alright, I can always buy more. I love the thought of you sleeping in my shirts almost as much as I love the thought of you sleeping in my arms.”
“Can I do both?”
“Fuck yes, you can do whatever you want.” He pulls me on top of him. “Do you want me to stay here with you tonight?”
The answer is yes, I do, but I’m a little sore from the plane. I don’t even know how to broach that though, ‘can we just cuddle because I fucked two of you guys on the plane?’ just seems to be a statement in poor taste.
“We don’t have to have sex,” he says as he watches my internal struggle play out over my face. “I know that you, Nolan, and Lake had some intense fun on the way down here.”
My entire body flushes and feels like it’s caught fire. I cover my face, too embarrassed to see whatever I’ll see on his face if I look at him.
“Look at me, Liv.” He pulls my hands free from my face.
“You heard us?” I whisper.
“I think the entire flight crew heard you.” His eyes are filled with mirth and zero judgement.
