“No, seriously,” she continued. “It might be hard to believe, but walking is good for your baby. Great, even. Even at seven months—which I’m at, by the way, not that you asked—I mean, I’m available to answer any questions if you have them. It’s just stunning, you know? It’s no wonder they write books and books about it. I’m not so much into the parenting books—not yet, anyway—but I’ve kind of been obsessing over the science behind it all. For instance, did you know introducing exercise while you’re pregnant helps protect against gestational diabetes? I didn’
t even know that was a thing. So once I read that, I had to step back a bit, and learn what gestational diabetes actually was—”
Olive’s monologue seemed to be having the same winding effect on her attacker as a physical blow. Levon identified the man’s loosening grip, the awkwardness in the way he was standing—still holding onto Olive but almost gently now, carefully. Whether the other regretted coming after Olive because of her pregnancy, or whether he was just confused because of her motor mouth, Levon didn’t care to discover. But this did change his own tactic.
Levon melted out of the shadows. He allowed his approach to be seen, only for an instant—they could do this one of two ways, but the outcome would be the same. Olive would be released. If the guy fought, Levon would take him down. If he ran—Levon would let him. All that mattered was Olive’s, and her child’s, safety; this concern overrode everything else, even a possible apprehension. Olive’s attacker saw him in that split-second; the man dropped his arms from around her and bolted, giving Olive a rough shove in the process. She stumbled, her small cry cutting off her Web MD-style lecture. Levon wrapped her in his own arms the next moment.
“Shhh.” He cupped a massive hand to the back of skull and pulled her in. He could feel her quaking all over. If he hadn’t had it in him to kill before, he definitely did now—whoever was responsible for her scare was going to pay that fear back tenfold. “It’s me. I’ve got you now, Liv. You’re safe.”
“Did you see him?” Olive craned her head around to look, but her attacker was long gone, vanished back into the surrounding treeline.
“Not clearly. I’ll check the school security cameras later.” Though instinct told Levon the cameras wouldn’t have caught much in the dim light. If they were lucky, the cameras might have caught someone before it got dark out, but with the haze, it seemed like a long shot. “Are you hurt?”
“No.” Olive shook her head. “I guess I shouldn’t have just… left you like that. I figured you needed space.”
“I shouldn’t have let you go,” Levon blurted before he could stop himself. He had realized his mistake the split-second after she ducked out of the shed, but that was still a split-second that could have cost them… both of them. And the baby…
The baby. His baby. The thought was still revelatory, but he knew he’d have to adjust quickly. There would be no more fuck-ups on his watch, not where Olive was concerned.
“That was a pretty good deflection,” Levon mentioned once their adrenaline died down. He loosened his grip on her, and Olive stood tall on her feet; he felt a swell of pride at that. He skimmed his hands along her shoulders, her arms, checking for any signs of injury she might be overlooking in her shock. It was habit, and he didn’t think to explain himself as he worked his way down her body. If his examination took her by surprise, she did a good job of keeping it to herself.
“Yeah, well, hearing about pregnancy does funny things to people,” Olive remarked. “Especially to men when they’re not prepared for it.” Levon paused in a crouch near her knees, and Olive practically jumped to fill the awkward silence. “I mean… that wasn’t a dig at you. Sorry, that’s not what I meant. Not at all.”
“No apology necessary.” He continued his once-over and gave no further indication that her words had stung him. He deserved worse than that, he was sure. Especially after letting her walk out into the open like that…
“I just meant no man has been able to stand strong against the power of my brain,” she joked.
“That brain of yours is fairly intimidating,” Levon agreed with a chuckle. He expected her to laugh as well, but she was silent as he rose. “Right?” he asked tentatively. He was at a complete loss at the moment for what else to say. He was agreeing with her, wasn’t he? Olive could run mental laps around just about anyone he knew. He had barely made it past the starting line in high school, but that didn’t keep him from recognizing smarts when he saw them.
“… right. Ha-ha.” Olive forced a laugh and looked away, tucking an unruly lock of hair back behind her ear. “But I’m not smart enough to figure out what happens next, I’m afraid. So… what now?”
“Now I find out if you really did walk here,” Levon replied. He crossed his arms and fixed her with his best stony look. Even if she wasn’t really able to see it in the dark, it still must have had an impact because he saw the way her shoulders slumped forward, giving him his answer. “Right. I’m taking you home. And I don’t want you stepping foot on campus again until the bell rings tomorrow morning.”
“Taking me home… in your truck?” Olive allowed herself to be guided along toward the parking lot. Levon kept his hand nestled protectively at the small of her back so she couldn’t second-guess whether or not he was near. He had a way of moving silently without meaning to.
“Yeah. Is there a proble—”
Levon stopped short of continuing his question, because of course he didn’t have to boast a big brain of his own to know what Olive was thinking in that moment; or rather, remembering. Him in the driver’s seat, thrusting; her lithe body astride his lap, fingers spread wide on the roof of the cab to hold herself in place as he drove into her. That particular memory had returned to him more than a few times since he’d come back to town and had discovered, at the car rental place, that the same truck was available for him to use again. Just sitting in it for the first time, in the rental shop’s parking lot, had been enough to have him reliving how divine she had looked in that moment, how goddess-like, as she milked him for every last drop he was able to donate—
Christ. His cock was already hardening at the memory of how tight she had been. Think of anything else, he ordered as he pulled open the cab door for her and extended his hand to help her in. Anything else. Had they made the baby the night before, or that morning? Olive had assured him she was on the pill…
“Feels kind of like returning to the scene of the crime.” Olive interrupted his thoughts with an awkward laugh as they pulled out of the parking lot. Levon gripped the steering wheel and grimaced his agreement. It was uncanny how she seemed to be able to just read his thoughts like that.
Maybe she’d found those moments as hard to forget as he had.
He let her chat idly and offer up directions as he drove. He wanted to say the right thing to her this time—but before he could uncover what that might be, Olive’s voice cut through his thoughts again: “Well, this is me.”
Already? Levon craned his head to look as Olive let herself out of the truck. The home was single-story, modest; it was one he had walked and driven past countless times before, growing up in Harper’s Forge. He couldn’t remember if this had been her parents’ house or not.
“Olive.” Levon pulled his keys from the ignition and followed her out into the driveway. She was already halfway to the front door; if he didn’t know any better, he would suspect her of running away from him. “Can I come in?”
“Uh…” Olive blinked owlishly, adorably, as the automatic outdoor light came on. “Are you sure that’s—I mean, I haven’t had a chance to clean, or anything—”
“Let me walk you to your door, then.” Levon stood outside the golden pool of light, giving her space to process without backing down from his request. After a few seconds’ deliberation, Olive nodded, and led him up the porch steps.
“Really, Levon, the security detail isn’t necessary,” she told him. “You can see for yourself how close I live to my neighbor. They know I’m pregnant, and have already said I can come over anytime I need to—”
He was still trying to devise a polite way in by the time they arrived at her door. He didn’t want Olive alone right now; more than that, he didn’t want her out of his direct line of sight. But he didn’t know how to make that happen without making himself sound like a controlling asshole.