Oliver (15 page)

Who’s the Master now?

No wonder their relationship was all skewed. Lucas could play sub in bed, but the man had Dom written all over him. The three of them hadn’t worked then. They wouldn’t work now. Besides, what need was there for Oliver in their lives? Lucas could give Merideth all she needed. That was clear.

What about what Lucas needs?

He scrubbed his eyes clear and tried to focus on dinner. His heart wasn’t in it. Looked like sandwiches would have to do. Thank God he’d gotten bread. That made him smile.

“Here’s your phone.”

Oliver kept looking out the window when he heard Becky place the phone on the island counter. “Thanks.”

“The picture’s up. Hits and posts are coming fast and furious.”

“Good.”

“Everyone’s helping. It’s only a matter of time.”

“The clock’s definitely ticking.” For so many things.

“Merideth’s in her room, very much opposed to all this.”

She’d made that abundantly clear. The in-your-face argument was too reminiscent of the way things had been when the three of them were together. The constant arguments and tug-of-war. It’d driven them insane. It’d driven them apart. And here it was, starting all over again. He pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Lucas and Merideth are returning to New York in the morning.”

There it was. That arrow to the heart he’d been waiting for since the second they’d walked back into his life. So much for keeping emotional distance. He squeezed his eyes shut. He could face their leaving like a man or pout like a kid. Help or hurt.

He opened his eyes to home in on the reflection in the windowpane, hoping to solicit Becky’s opinion only to find himself alone.
Thank God
. The last thing Oliver needed was to have Becky see him falling apart.

Turning to retrieve his phone, he pressed his palms flat on the counter to keep them from shaking. His mind kept screaming,
Don’t leave me. Damn it, Merideth, I love you. I’ve always loved you
. All words she’d use against him. All words he should have said years ago and didn’t…and lost her because of it. Help or hurt? Hurting was too painful. Even knowing that, he was paralyzed with fear and indecision.

He jumped when his cell phone tweedled and stared at the caller ID in disbelief. Pulling in a breath he hoped calmed his nerves, Oliver answered. “Commissioner, what a surprise. I was getting ready to call you.”

“I would hope so,” Clint Waltham replied. “Excuse the French, but…what the fuck, Oliver? Who is this woman? Someone I know?”

Given Clint’s persuasion, Oliver thought about that answer. It was possible Clint had been one of Merideth’s clients. But did Oliver really want to violate Merideth’s confidence by telling Clint she was once Lady Begood?

“She’s a dear friend who is very afraid.” That was all anyone needed to know until Merideth was ready. If she ever would be.

He laid out the sordid details, the plans they’d undertaken to corner the men responsible, and where they stood. Not once did Oliver ask how Clint learned of the picture so quickly. But he knew the power of a community committed to helping each other. A pity Merideth had forgotten support went both ways.

“We’re heading to New York tomorrow.” Because there was no way Oliver was going to let them go without him. “Composite sketches will be coming to you sometime tonight.” That much he could convince Merideth to do. Identifying these men in person… He’d cross that bridge when they came to it.

“I’ll put together a task force. Uh…a
police
task force. The community has already jumped on it, searching every nook, cranny, crack, crevice, and chasing rumors all over the city.”

“Long night.” For all of them. “Thank you.”

“United we stand and all that. See you tomorrow.”

Oliver couldn’t wait to tell Merideth, to see light and hope come back into her eyes. To tell her… He shook his head. He couldn’t risk her throwing his feelings back in his face. Couldn’t risk laying his heart at her feet and having her stomp on it.

Panic seized his heart. He stared into the rain again but found no solace in it. The walls closed in. Each breath took effort. He raced outside for air, swinging the door open so hard the glass cracked. Hard gasps filled in his lungs, made him light-headed. He sank to the nearest chaise and buried his head in his heads. He was Oliver Holbrook, damn it. He wouldn’t run begging to anyone.

Some things are worth begging for.

Oliver dug his fingers into his scalp to drown out her voice and the images that went with it. Merideth straining into the bindings, the way she rocked into the pleasure he’d given her, the heat and comfort of her grip when they came. The tight union when all three of them writhed as one.

He was Oliver Holbrook. His guidance made careers, helped people reach their full potential and take chances. It was time he started taking his own advice. If Merideth and Lucas walked away without even knowing how he felt, there’d only be himself to blame for the heartbreak. It was time to stop talking with his money and power and to let them see inside his heart. To bare his soul.

He handled the door gently this time when he went back inside to keep the crack from lengthening or exploding into shards. He’d have to warn the others, have to admit to the flare of temper. Yeah, he was human after all.

Becky’s “he-he-he” filtered his way as he neared the office. Lucas’s “yeah, baby” echoed. He looked inside and watched them high-five each other. Merideth was nowhere in sight.

“Good news?” he asked.

“One person’s stepped up anonymously to admit participation.” Lucas’s smile stretched the confines of his face. “Swears he only doctored them afterward. Others are eating him alive.”

That explained the lack of medical records for Merideth.

“You reach your cop contact?” Becky asked.

Oliver grinned, braced himself against the door frame, and crossed his arms. “Will the police commissioner do?”

Another “he-he-he” filled the room. “You rock.”

He shrugged. “I try. But I can’t exactly take too much credit for this one. He called me.”

“Your name on the picture upload is going to make a lot of people sit up and take notice.” Lucas nodded. “Might be why this jerk decided to fess up.”

“Possibly.” He pushed away from his stance. “I’m going to tell Merideth the good news.”

“And tell her she needs to get her ass down here.”

Oliver jerked his head toward the door. “Come with me, and tell her yourself.”

Lucas waved off the suggestion. “I’ll let you fight this battle. I’ve got to drag her kicking and screaming to New York tomorrow.”

“You’ll have help. I’m going with you. We’ll take the company plane. I’ll take care of getting her on it.”

Lucas stared unblinking at his monitor. “Thank God for that. I’m tired of being a hard-ass.”

Oliver laughed. “But you do it so well.”

“Just because you’re good at something doesn’t mean you should be doing it. Being a hard-ass takes way too much energy.”

“Tell me about it.” Oliver could write a book about the subject.

“I’ve got a killer headache.”

“Nothing a stiff drink and a good sandwich won’t cure.”

Lucas gave a slow nod. “As much as I love both, it’s going to take more than Scotch and a sandwich to fix this.”

“It’s a start, though.”
One step at a time, my friend
. “Some things can’t be fixed overnight. It takes time and commitment. We can do it together.”

Lucas lifted his head, locked his gaze on Oliver’s. “Are we together?”

Suddenly choked up, Oliver managed a smile. “We are. At least I want us to be.”

“We are.” Lucas’s eyes teared. He waved Oliver away. “Go, before I give in to the urge to bear-hug you and start blubbering.”

“We wouldn’t want to ruin your hard-ass image.” Oliver cleared his throat and blinked his vision clear. “Or mine either.”

“Especially not in front of the B-A-B-Y D-O-M-M-E.” He punctuated each letter with a finger point at Becky. Her evil glare of death made the jab worthwhile.

“Speaking of battles… I’ll leave you to this new one.”

Two giant steps back took him from the room, laughing all the way and earning another of Becky’s lethal leers. A crisp about-face propelled him to the stairs. His heart raced him to Merideth’s open door…and the empty room beyond.

Oliver did a visual sweep, even though it was fairly clear she was gone. He allowed hope to battle reality and hurried across the hall to his room. Nothing. Merideth had packed up and left, and it looked like she’d taken the keys to Lucas’s rental car with her.

He stood there numb, like he had the first time she’d walked out. All the hurt rushed in. One word kept hitting him over and over and over again.

Run.

Merideth pushed the gearshift to park, rested her forehead on the steering wheel, and cried until her tears matched the velocity of the rain pouring down around her. Strength had to come from within herself, not from others. That realization gave her the impetus to do what she knew in her heart needed to be done—go back to New York on her own and make this right, take these men down, no matter what it cost her personally. She could deal with that and hold her head high in the knowledge she’d put these men behind bars and saved other women. All she had to do was get to the airport, get on the plane…go. She couldn’t force herself to do any of it. Not without Oliver and Lucas by her side. She’d barely made it to the end of the driveway before she’d stopped.

She’d loved them like crazy before. Loved them like crazy now. Yet it took more courage for her to risk her heart by telling them than it did for her to go to New York and watch the life she’d worked for crumble into dust around her feet. She was a coward, pure and simple. She could see the pattern of run, hide, take risks etched into her life. She’d tossed aside the good she’d done. Subconsciously punishing herself time and time again. Why, she didn’t have a clue.

“Quit feeling sorry for yourself and do something.”

“So do it.” Merideth beat her fists against the steering wheel. She had nothing left to lose and everything to gain.

She slammed the shift into drive and spun the car around into a wall of rain so dense she couldn’t see the road in front of her. Interminable minutes ticked by while she waited for the storm to pass. Downpours this intense never lasted that long in the desert. This felt like eternity. Time in which she drove herself insane, questioning all the mistakes she’d ever made and wondering if this was one of them. Time she used to envision the future she wanted with the men she loved, to imagine children around their feet. Laughter and love.

Merideth couldn’t wait any longer. She was wasting precious time. Time for her insecurities to edge out her hopes. She inched the car forward, crawling back up the drive to the house. A shadowed figure burst through the rain—Oliver, running her way. She slammed on the brake, put the vehicle into park, and jumped from the car.

“I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t do it.” Merideth tossed herself into his waiting arms.

He anchored her close, wedged her against the fender, and buried his face in the curve of her neck. “It’s okay, sweetheart. We’re here. We’ll help you.”

She pulled away far enough to grab his face so she could look in his eyes. “No.” Merideth shook her head, willing the right words to come. “I couldn’t leave you. It tore my heart in two. I love you. I love you so much. I never stopped, even when I hated your guts.”

“Ah, sweetheart.” He pressed his hands over hers. “I love you too. I came to tell you and… You scared me half to death.”

Tears mingled with the rain. “I scared me too. I’ve been so stupid, so stubborn.”

“Haven’t we all.” He nipped a kiss over her lips. “No more.”

Merideth couldn’t believe he was here, in her arms, loving her. “I want to make this work.”

“What the hell, you two.” Lucas snapped a plastic garbage bag over their heads and moved in tight.

She maneuvered until she was tucked between them and nuzzled her nose into his cheek. “I love you.”

“Oh, baby, you don’t know how much I’ve wanted to hear those words from you.” He melted against her, his arms surrounding them. The wind whipped the bag from his hands and into the nearest palm tree. “I love you too. I love you both.”

“But you have to know—”

Lucas shushed her. “I know all I need to know for now. We’ll figure the rest out as we go.”

“Come on.” Oliver squeezed a hug around them. “Let’s get out of the rain and into some dry clothes.”

Lucas tucked her against the shelter of his body and led her to the house while Oliver parked the car. Once they were out of the rain, he swooped her up into his arms and carried her to Oliver’s room and straight to the bathroom. He had her under a warm shower in record time. Merideth couldn’t remember when she’d been stripped so quickly. He pushed her onto the marble bench, soaped his hands, and knelt between her feet.

“No.” She poked her toe into his shoulder. “This isn’t the way it’s going to be. Sit.” She shot her gaze to the seat and stood.

Without question, he took her place, his eyes never leaving her. Merideth filled her palms with soap. She might not be able to give Lucas all he needed, but she could do this.

“Close your eyes. Relax. I’ll take care of
everything
,” she finished in a whisper across his fingers.

Lucas spread wide and gave himself up to her. She knelt between his thighs, spread suds over every accessible inch of him, rubbed his erection between her breasts, and rolled his nipples into elongated points. The fire built in his testicles. She loved how they hugged his body, ready to spew with the slightest provocation. Every so often he’d fumble for her. A slap to his hands put them back where they belonged. That she could handle. The rest?

Merideth refused to dwell on it. Not here. Not now. Not when she had her men, or at least one of them, right where she wanted. Just as she thought that, the shower door slid open. Oliver knelt behind her. He braced one hand on her hip. The other gripped his cock.

“Suck him,” he ordered.