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“I don’t know. He hasn’t seemed to care so far. He knows I’m there.”
“I don’t know how smart of a man he is if he’s still tryin’ to fuck with her while you’re there,” Cage chuckles.
“That’s true. He’s fast, though. Every time he does somethin’, he moves quickly.”
“That’s the issue, huh? Does she not have cameras outside?” I nod.
“She does now.” Knight snorts a laugh before looking over at Cage.
“He likes her,” he says.
“No shit. You fuckin’ her?” Cage asks.
“What difference does that make?” I ask, looking between the two of them. They both burst into laughter as they fist bump.
“I knew it. You’re fuckin’ her. She’s supposed to be your job,” Cage reminds me.
“No fuckin’ shit, Cage. You think I don’t know that? I’ve been doin’ my job,” I snap before shoving out of my chair and heading toward her. She moves her hips slightly as she dances to whatever song is playing on her headphones. I walk up behind her and place my hand on her back, and she jolts, turning to look at me with a smile on her face.
“What do you think?” she asks, stepping back a little.
“I think it looks amazin’, Princess. You should paint more,” I tell her.
“I miss it. It’s like an outlet for me,” she says softly as we look at her work. It’s perfect. Maybe even better than the first one that was up there.
“Then you should do more of it. You’re good. Real good.”
“Did you know that before I went to California, I wanted to be a painter?”
“No shit? You could do it,” I tell her.
“I have a life now. I have people who need me and rely on me to be there. It’s weird, ya know? One day, you’re just a girl from Iowa, and the next thing you know, you’re on someone’s TV. Some days it’s a blessing, but others …” she says, shaking her head instead of finishing that sentence.
“Others what?”
“It’s a curse. You know they only want you around because of your fame or your money. Wealth is a huge thing for some.”
“But not you.”
“Not me. I don’t care about the money, and if I’m being honest here, I don’t care about the fame. I like it when people don’t bother me. I like it when they don’t notice me.”
“You just want to be invisible.” She nods her head as she smiles.
“Yeah. I just want to fade into the background.”
“You could never fade into the background, Olson. That’s not you. You’re far too beautiful for people not to notice you.” Her smile only gets brighter as she looks at me.
“Thank you, Ridge. For everything.”
“Don’t thank me. I’m just doin’ what any good man would do.”
“And you’re a good man.”
“I’m not. I’m the bad guy here, but given the right circumstances, I can be good,” I tell her with a wink. She laughs and throws herself into my arms. Her lips come down on my neck, and I freeze. She’s comfortable with me. She’s comfortable here in my space. And I didn’t think she would be.
Her lips trail up my neck as I suppress a groan. I want her more than I should, and I know that’s a bad thing. She continues to kiss me and I lose it. I grab her face in my hands and crash my lips onto hers. I kiss her hungrily. The guys laugh around me, and I know what they’re laughing at, but they haven’t been kissed by Olson before. They wouldn’t get it. There’s something about her I just can’t shake, and I don’t really want to. Not even knowing that soon she will be going back to her life in Cali. It doesn’t matter to me.
All that matters is there and now. All that matters is that I’m kissing her the way she deserves to be kissed. If this could go any other way, I would keep her, but I know she has a life back in Cali. I know I can’t live there either. I know I need my brothers and so this is what we have. This little bit of time.
