Oliver (7 page)

Slow steps brought him toward the bathroom. He pushed the unlatched door open with one finger. Merideth was outlined to perfection behind the opaque shower door. She was seated, bending forward.

Shaving her legs.

Her head turned his way. “I’ll take the sheets down to the laundry once I’m done.”

“I thought I was very specific last night when I said you would be sharing my bed.”

Merideth sat upright. “You were. You said we would be sharing your bed last night, not for the duration. I remember how particular you are about your space, Oliver. I thought it best to set up a bathroom for myself. I changed the sheets. And honestly, without you and Lucas there, claustrophobia crept in. I need light and open windows. If I’ve misunderstood, I apologize and will be glad to rectify the situation.”

Not the response Oliver expected, and not one he could fault. Calling her on a technicality felt cruel. Why the hell did she have to be so sweet about it? Where was the shrew he once knew?
Living inside your faulty memory?
He cursed his conscience and closed the door.

“No, all’s well.” His erection disagreed. “Lucas went hiking.”

“I’m almost finished.” She bent back to her work. “Everything else will have to wait until I can find a salon. I’m sure there’s one you can recommend.”

“There is.” Oliver undressed. Temptation was too hard to resist. She’d do whatever he told her, and he had a long list of demands.

She glanced up when he slid the door open. The sight of her took his breath away. Her hair was slicked back, draping her shoulders in a silken sheath. Eyelashes were spiked from the water, and her eyes were wide and bright. Expectant. The light in them dimmed when she saw his erection. It killed Oliver to see that.

“So…where are we?” He knelt at her feet, cupped her legs, and brushed his fingers up her smooth calves.

Merideth fumbled to place the razor on the ledge above her. “All done. Just need to rinse.”

“All done…everywhere?” He licked the inside of her knee. Though a quiver ran through her, Merideth remained tense.

“Yes.” Her voice barely carried over the shower.

“Hey there.” Oliver drew circles over her skin. “Have I ever hurt you?”

She shook her head.

“And what is your safe word?”

“Red Rover.”

Red Rover, Red Rover, this game is over.

“Good.” He smiled and felt it deep in his soul.

Oliver urged her knees to part, dotting soft kisses and licks here and there, brushing his thumbs higher and higher. She opened her thighs by slow degrees on sighs that twined around his heart. He wedged his shoulders under her knees, nibbling toward his goal. She scooted her hips to the edge of the bench, giving him the perfect view of her smooth pussy. Only a tuft of auburn hair remained at the top. A peekaboo tease when viewed from above.

He took his time reaching his goal, content to hear her soft moans and feel the warm water cascading over his back. Lost in the wonder of exploration, Oliver closed his eyes and inched his lips over her soft flesh. Bathing had temporarily masked her scent, but he could feel her heat building. He nosed his way into her, kneaded her labia between his lips, up one side and down the other until she writhed beneath his tongue.

“Please. Oh please, Oliver,” she whimpered.

He tunneled into her heat, backed away, and dragged his tongue through her valleys, over a clit growing harder by the second. Her hands fluttered to his shoulders. Her heels dug into his back. Oliver thrust his fingers inside her, poised his lips over her, and lightly circled his tongue over the hard flesh.

Merideth gasped and clamped her thighs around his head. He sucked her deeper, slipping a finger into her anus as well. She bowed against the tile, thrashing as orgasm overtook her. Oliver licked her clean, eased his fingers from her body and her legs off his shoulders. She slithered into his lap, mouth seeking his, pussy on the hunt for the cock ready to split its seams.

Oliver had the presence of mind to halt her progress before she connected. “No condom.”

Merideth’s kiss barely covered her groan. She wedged his erection between them. Long sweeps of her tongue accompanied the glide of body over body. He cupped her ass and moved harder, faster. Laughing, she dragged her mouth down his torso. She paused long enough to torture his nipples with nips and sucks while her hands continued the journey for her.

Oliver groaned when she skirted his cock, then again when she cupped his balls. She kneaded and tugged at them, divided and squeezed. Drove him deliciously insane. She cradled his cock between her breasts. He pressed them together and fucked the valley. Merideth flashed her tongue over the head of his dick with every plunge.

“I’m going to come on your tits.”

“Are you?” A smirk lifted one corner of her mouth.

He expected her to pull away. Instead, she screwed a finger up his ass and deep throated him. Jism shot from him with lavalike intensity. Oliver thought he’d never stop coming. He lay spent and gasping under the shower spray, torn between wanting to do it all over again and running away as fast as he could.

She slithered over him until she was nestled under his arm, her cheek resting on his chest and his turgid, sensitive nipple a toy for her nimble fingers. Oliver fought the stirring in his groin, the tightening in his heart, the emotion that choked him.

How many times had the three of them lain like this? How many years had they not?

She pressed her palm on his chest. Visions of her came, of her plunging her hand inside and ripping out his heart. She’d left him when he’d needed her most, taking Lucas with her. There was nothing to stop her from doing so again once she had what she needed from him.

Only if you let her.

Oliver slammed invisible walls into place. Donned his public mask, the one that boasted he was the man in charge. And damn it, he was! She cuddled with him because he
let
her, not because she’d caught him in a vulnerable moment. Time to remind her of who was Master.

He peeled her hand from his body and righted them both. “Well done. At this pace, we’ll have you on your way in no time.”

Merideth drew from him, her eyes cold, mouth tight. She hugged her knees to her chest. “Because the sooner we’re out of your hair, the better?”

“Exactly.”

She jerked a little from the word’s impact. Oliver turned to shut off the shower before regret pulled him to her side. He further covered his response by grabbing the towels off the bar outside the stall, handing Merideth hers without looking at her, without falling into the trap of caring about her hurt feelings.

“I’ll let you finish getting ready while I whip up some breakfast. We’ll discuss salon options while we eat.” Oliver walked away before he caved, only pausing long enough to snag his clothes before he hurried to the privacy of his bedroom.

Once he got there he sank to the edge of the bed, buried his head in his hands, and cursed the sting of tears in his eyes. He couldn’t do this, couldn’t give them what they needed, couldn’t let them know. His reputation and pride refused to allow him to admit defeat. But he had other options, and he was damn well going to use them.

Oliver grabbed his cell, set it on speaker, and called Will Sullivan while he dressed. Rachel, Ben, and Will were the perfect team to guide Merideth and Lucas on the path they desired. What better way to retrain a Domme and subDom than with a Domme, Dom, and former Dom now sub.

Will answered on the second ring. “What’s up?”

“Put me on speaker. I have a favor to ask of the three of you.”

A press of a button gave him what he asked. Rachel and Ben announced their presence. Then Oliver told them
everything
, laid out his plan for them. The silence on the other end when he finished was telling.

There was a deep breath—Rachel’s. “No, Oliver,” she said. “We’ve been very specific with our wishes regarding this issue. The three of us are exclusive. We can’t help with this. We
won’t
help with this. This is something you have to face on your own. We’re happy to lend you an ear or a shoulder, emotional—”

“I don’t need your fucking emotional support!” he screamed into the phone. “You three owe me!” He stabbed his finger at the device.

“Then I’ll write you a check,” Ben replied and disconnected the call.

Oliver grabbed the phone and slammed it against the wall. It shattered to pieces. His walls crumbled with it. Hard breaths shuddered through him. His body quaked with… Panic. He was having a fucking panic attack.

You’re better than this. Deep breaths. Deep, cleansing breaths
. He sank to the mattress and willed control to return and with it, the answers he needed.

Merideth sat huddled under the plush towel, indulging in self-pity for longer than she cared to admit. In the end, she realized Oliver’s response was appropriate and the wake-up call she needed. She’d come to him to help her be strong again. Latching on to former lovers and feeling all warm and fuzzy was only going to give her a crutch she didn’t need. She wanted to walk on her own two feet.

She’d expected physical discipline at his hand, much like she’d gotten from Lucas the night before at Oliver’s direction. Maybe that was still to come. Right now it wouldn’t have had the impact this interlude did. Being with Oliver had empowered her, helped her remember the joys of give-and-take sex. The sharp words warned her against attachment.

She had to stand on her own. Nothing else would do. Understanding that gave Merideth the strength to move, reinforced her determination. Love had no place here. The best she could hope for would be that they’d reestablish a friendship. That made her smile. Friendship would be wonderful. It wasn’t too much to hope for, was it?

Merideth didn’t dwell on it. Instead, she stood in the sunlight of the big picture window, enjoying the view as she dried and semistyled her hair. Urban sprawl had overtaken the Coachella Valley since she’d last been here, but the profusion of buildings didn’t detract from the beauty of the mountains surrounding the valley. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed this until now. It felt like she’d come home.

She stuck a pin in that thought. Her life was in New York. Her career, such as it was, was there. No sense letting herself get carried away. Impulse decisions were her downfall. The one bringing her back into Oliver’s orbit being the exception…so far. Although that hadn’t really been impulse. She’d been dwelling on it for months. The impulse had been to tell Lucas, to bring him into her need as well. Maybe that hadn’t been impulse either, simply opportunity. A gift from the universe she didn’t deserve. A second chance.

So much for dwelling.

Merideth shook away the rambling notions and pulled cotton shorts and a tank top from her suitcase. Makeup and sunscreen could come later. Oliver would have breakfast ready and be expecting her. The last thing she wanted was to antagonize him.

My rules. My way. Only one Master.

The edict grated against her nerves. Maybe she wasn’t as far gone as she’d thought.

Plush carpet padded her bare toes as she made her way downstairs. Oliver worked at the stove. Lucas had his head stuck in the refrigerator. The more time they spent together, the more comfortable they seemed. Like there’d been no passage of time at all. They were in sync. It was the little differences in their personalities that intrigued her. Dominance was second nature to Lucas now, where before he’d been content to follow. Oliver was cold and remote…professional to a fault. Where were the men she’d once loved? Buried under hurt she’d created? Did she care enough to dig them out? Yes, she did. But then what?

It was best to leave it alone. To accept what she came here to get, and hold out that they’d part as friends.

“You really
don’t
have any bread.” Lucas pivoted toward Oliver.

“I told you,” he said with a laugh. “Breakfast’s almost ready.”

Merideth helped herself to a mug of coffee, then slid onto the stool at the island and looked over in Lucas’s direction. “Thought you were going hiking.”

“Grabbing something to snack on. Something that doesn’t require bread.”

Lucas came out of the fridge with an apple and two mozzarella sticks.

“The car keys are on the dresser in Oliver’s room. Could you grab a loaf today while you’re out?”

Merideth tensed. She hadn’t driven in years. Another confession she didn’t want to make. Judging from the under-the-eyebrow look from Oliver, she had little choice. “I lost my license years ago. Too many speeding tickets coupled with a bad accident in Pennsylvania. No one was hurt,” she quickly added.

She glanced from Oliver to Lucas. Admonishment was written all over their faces. She braced herself for the I-told-you-so.

“Humph.” Oliver whipped the wooden spoon through the pan of eggs. “Imagine that.”

“Who would’ve thought.” Lucas returned to scavenging for snacks. His target this time was the pantry.

“I suppose when one goes tearing down the interstate at one hundred twenty miles per hour, it’s a given something bad’s going to eventually happen.” Oliver turned the burner to low.

“She’s lucky no one was hurt or killed.”

Merideth drummed her fingers on the counter. “I’m right here, boys.”

“Thank God for that.”

Lucas swatted her thigh as he passed by. Heat rushed through her.

“I’m off.” He held up a box of crackers in triumph and snagged his backpack as he walked to the door.

“Plenty of food for all of us,” Oliver called to his back.

Lucas turned and walked backward. “I’m good.” He rattled the crackers, then stuffed them into the pack. “Got carbs now. Buy bread. Whole wheat. Many-seeded grain.”

“Storms are expected this afternoon. Flash floods. Don’t make me have to come drag your ass out of a wash.”

“Not me.” Lucas thumbed his chest. “
I
follow the rules.”

Another shot her way. “Aren’t you a good little boy,” she countered.

Lucas snickered. “I’m damn good.” He grabbed his crotch. “But there ain’t nothing little about me.”