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“Fuck,” Aiden and Olivia said, in perfect unison.
They looked at each other, surprise all over both their faces. Then Aiden chuckled. “All right, my wonderful, naughty girl. I guess I’d better go calm Jonathan down. How much of this do I have your permission to tell him?”
Olivia frowned as she thought about it. “I trust you completely. Do whatever you need to so I can stay here with you.”
Giving her a slow, sweet kiss on the lips, Aiden said, “You can’t possibly know what your trust means to me.”
Jonathan knocked again before calling, “I’m starting to lose my patience,” through the door.
“I’ll be right out,” Aiden called back, then helped her stand. “I don’t know how long I’ll be. Why don’t you get into bed and try to rest while I’m gone? You’ve had one hell of a day.”
She certainly had. Grateful for the suggestion, Olivia crossed the room and flopped facedown on top of the duvet, burying her head in one of the ultra-soft pillows.
“Christ, you’re beautiful,” Aiden said, running a single finger down the center of her spine. Goosebumps popped up all over her skin. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. I promise.” With a parting kiss to her temple, he joined Jonathan out in the hall. Their voices were a low murmur as they walked away.
Jonathan had better fucking let her stay. Once he understood, he had to.
Didn’t he?
If Aiden couldn’t convince him, maybe she could. All she needed was to come up with the exact right thing to say tomakehim understand. If he truly knew how Stacey had made her feel—like she was back in her parents’ house, trapped in the one place she swore she’d never be again—he’d have to forgive her.
She must’ve drifted off while she planned and schemed, because next thing she knew, Aiden was gently shaking her awake.
“Jonathan is in the hall,” he said, helping her sit up. “He wants to talk to you.”
Olivia studied him as she got to her feet, searching for some clue of what was to come. But his face was like a perfect mask, and she was too afraid to ask.
“Here,” Aiden said, helping her slip into a short satin robe. Even the smooth fabric burned against the marks on her ass and thighs, but she was grateful for it anyway. This wasn’t a conversation she wanted to have naked.
She made it to the end of the bed, but her feet would take her no farther. Aiden seemed to understand, for he let Jonathan into the room rather than try to force her the rest of the way to the door.
When Jonathan entered, his expression was as unreadable as her Dom’s. Fucking fuck, was she seriously getting thrown out? She fisted her hands in the robe, crushing the thin fabric between her fingers.
“Thank you, Olivia,” Jonathan said after a strained silence.
Her brows shot up. “For what?”
“For trusting Aiden with your story. And for allowing him to trust me with it in turn. I understand what happened now. I know that couldn’t have been easy, and I’m deeply impressed with how strong you’ve been through this ordeal.”
All the tension went out of Olivia’s shoulders. He was going to let her stay.
“However,” Jonathan continued, before she could get too excited, “I assume this isn’t a story you want anyone else to know.”
He didn’t phrase it as a question, but was clearly waiting for her to respond. “No. I’ve never actually told anyone about all this before tonight.” Not even her five therapists. Which probably explained why none of them had ever been much help, come to think of it.
“Aiden thought as much.” Sighing, he rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Unfortunately, all six partners have agreed that, for the sake of maintaining the Manor’s stellar reputation, we can’t let you stay here after evicting the person you attacked. Not when we can’t give an explanation of why. We even got our silent partner on the phone, to get a more”—he pondered his word choice for a moment—“neutralopinion.”
Olivia’s gaze flew to Aiden’s, accusation in her eyes. “Youagreedto this?” The fucker didn’t even have the good grace to look guilty. He stood there with no expression at all, still as a statue. Turning her glare onto Jonathan, she spat, “You gonna make me a reservation at the inn eight miles away? Or do I not get that courtesy since I swung first?”
A hard Dom look stole into his eyes. “That’s quite enough. You aren’t being kicked out, Olivia. Not necessarily.”
“I—what? I’m not?”
“We’re not finished, Liv,” Aiden said, his mask finally slipping. There was desperation etched into every line in his forehead, into the downward tilt of his mouth. “Not even fucking close. You remember how I told you about my cabin?”
Heart in her throat, she nodded.Oh God, please mean what I think you mean!
“Aiden’s willing to open his cabin to you for the rest of your stay. Normally, we obviously wouldn’t take our guests off Manor property.” Jonathan gave a little shrug. “But, given the circumstances, I have no objection to this arrangement, as long as you’re comfortable with it.”
