Rush and Restraint

Chapter Eleven

"Well, the future can only exist if you allow the past to be past," I said, forcing a smile no matter how wobbly. "Otherwise, aren't you just stuck in an endless loop of the present?"

"Like Ground Hog Day between the worst part of your life and what promises to be the best of it?" Oliver asked, returning my smile.

"Something like that."

Oliver just laughed softly and took my hand, slipping his fingers in between mine. We stayed that way until the elevator doors slid open, delivering us to a private lobby with a modest sitting area.

He helped take my coat off and I wandered into the front hall, appreciating the simple mix of dark, warm wood and industrial metals. It wasn't exactly too masculine but it was a bit rugged and cozy at the same time.

"Here you go," Oliver said, handing me a plastic key card he'd taken out of a bureau by the hallway. "This gets you in and out of here anytime. It'll let you set up your own security pin when you activate it the first time."

"Are you giving me full access to your domain, Oliver?" I teased as I slipped the card into my purse. "Aren't you worried I'd intrude on you all the time?"

He dropped a kiss on my forehead. "I'd prefer you intrude on me all the time but I'll let you do it at your own pace."

I raised on my tiptoes so our noses bumped. "That's not what confirmed bachelors ever say."

"I haven't been a confirmed bachelor for a while now, Viv, and guess who's to blame for it," he said before he tipped my head up for a kiss that well and truly reminded me of his very un-bachelor status and the part I played in that.

My fingers curled around the hem of his shirt before they slowly pushed it up to give me access to his rock-hard abs. For all his scuffs and scars, flaws and fragments, he was a physically perfect and he was mine at long last.

"I'm not going to push you too far too soon but it'll be hell trying to keep my hands off you," Oliver said after he released my mouth, his thumb tracing my bottom lip where he'd sucked hard.

I smiled. "Good thing I like your hands on me then."

Not wanting to torture him too much, I pulled away and strode into the hallway where I quickly halted to look at a row of four black and white photos on the wall. Bordered with brushed steel frames and wide white linen, the pictures were smaller squares in the center and gave the feeling of peering into a viewfinder.

There was one of Oliver with his family when he was about twelve and Harry was eight. His parents were in the front seat of his Dad's vintage red Ferrari and the boys were leaning against the door. Harry shared Oliver's dark hair and light-colored eyes but his features were softer and kinder. We did play together a few times when his family would visit ours or vice versa but Harry had been quiet and reserved child, preferring his own company more than others. The only thing that made him glow and bubble with excitement was taekwondo. Nevertheless, Oliver adored his younger brother and was often protective of him. I knew how much he regretted never seeing Harry grow up and live a full life, and always blamed himself for it. Maybe now he knew Harry would never want that for him.

The second photo was of Oliver with Stellan, Max and Sebastian at Whitewood when they were still lanky thirteen-year-olds. They were all in board shorts, standing by the beach, grinning and showing off their snorkeling and surfing gear while Dad took the picture. Oliver had bleached the spiky center of his hair blonde then and Stellan was still wearing what we all referred to as his old man's glasses with the heavy black frames and the thick lens. Max was beaming proudly next to his surfboard that he'd bought from a local kid after he and the three other boys mowed a few lawns that summer to save some money. His parents wouldn't buy him one saying it was too dangerous and he didn't have access to any of his money at the time. Many people on the island found it amusing that four of the richest kids in the world were mowing lawns for cash. It was Max's first major rebellion and he'd been proud of it. Sebastian, who'd lived away in England most of the time, was even smiling a little in the picture and he rarely found anything amusing in life. It was an interesting contrast to the large, powerful men they were now and the different lives they'd led since all those years ago.