Was he seriously getting a massage from Olivia Knight of all people? The one person in town he’d been determined to evade from the minute he stepped foot back inside city limits?
He had spent the majority of his younger years detesting her. Teasing her. Taking his anger over his family situation out on her. And the hatred was definitely mutual. The fact that they were grown now didn’t change past events or the circumstances that forever tethered them together.
But before he could get a handle on his emotions and act like a goddamn adult, he reverted back to his old ways. Casually leaning back on his elbow, he stretched out, acting for all the world like her presence wasn’t throwing him for a serious fucking loop.
“Well, if it isn’t Livvie Knight. Long time, no see.”
You would think his head had just rotated around 360 degrees before he projectile vomited all over the place for how fast she scurried to the other side of the room.
“Not long enough,” she hissed. “And don’t call me Livvie.”
He clutched his chest dramatically. “You wound me. What, no smile for your old pal?”
“Oh, there are many things I have for my old pal,” she gritted out. “And all of them would require you to wear some sort of protective gear.” She snorted. “Or not.”
Damn.
Even as she spewed venom like a viper, her eyes murdering him on the spot, she was still one of the most gorgeous women he’d ever seen. Even more gorgeous than she’d been in high school.
And that had always been the crux of his contradicting feelings when it came to Olivia. His unwanted attraction toward her. It had slowly and unwittingly developed in high school and evolved with every encounter they’d had. He’d been disgusted with himself, which had caused him to lash out at her even more viciously. As if the way she had stirred his dick to life every time he saw her was her fault. He supposed it was, in a way, but it wasn’t like she’d been doing it on purpose.
Fortunately, he’d been able to focus on other aspects of her personality that he’d convinced himself drove him crazy. Like the fact that she’d been a goodie two shoes, straight-A student who never broke the rules. Never got reprimanded by the adults around her. That everyone she’d come into contact with swooned within two seconds of meeting her. More than anything, the fact that she’d been the perfect child.
Basically, she had personified everything Ben wasn’t.
As his eyes traveled over her, he mentally replaced all the teenage images of Olivia he had stored in his brain with the adult version. A hell of a lot of appreciation accompanied those images, too. Her toffee brown hair fell past her shoulders now, with blunt bangs that framed her oval-shaped face and complemented her features well. Her breasts had gone from a small A to a full C—clearly a late bloomer—and her shorts hugged her flared hips like a dream. There definitely hadn’t been that much shape to her figure at sixteen years old.
She was no girl now.
Beauty aside, how did he really feel about seeing her? He honestly had no fucking idea. It wasn’t completely enjoyable, but it wasn’t wholly unpleasant either. He had years of negative impressions of her swirling around in his head, but he couldn’t discern whether those still held water or not. Or if they rationally ever had in the first place.
The sound of her snapping fingers had his eyes darting up to meet hers.
“You getting a good look?” she bit out acerbically.
Like it always had in the past, her sassy attitude only partially annoyed him. The rest of him was amused by it. Though there was one noticeable new reaction it seemed to have on him that he definitely didn’t remember from the past.
He just hoped she couldn’t see it through the sheet.
If she wanted to look at the rest of him, however, he didn’t mind at all. He had changed a lot since high school, too. Maybe part of him wanted her to see that.
“Figured I’d return the favor,” he drawled. “You know, since you’ve been getting a good look for the past half hour or so.”
Her nostrils flared.
It pissed him off that he found that cute.
“Believe me,” she seethed, “if I’d known it was you, I would have dumped holy water on you.”
“Funny. Sounded like you were enjoying yourself a minute ago.”
She raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think it was me asking you out for a drink.”
She had him there. A minute ago, he’d been ridiculously attracted to the faceless woman who’d gotten him hard with her dry wit and magical hands.
“I thought I was asking out a funny, intelligent, charming woman.” He waved down at her. “Amazing how anonymity can warp the mind.”
She crossed her arms over her chest with a haughty air, pushing up her ample breasts. Her tank top revealed just enough cleavage to have him discreetly adjusting the sheet to conceal more of his rising issue.
Stay down, you dumb bastard. This one’s not for us.
“Great attitude, Sheriff Crawford. I’m sure you’ll be very popular among all the other jackasses in town.”
Wrapping the sheet around his waist, he swung his legs off the table and stood at his full height. Which was almost a foot taller than hers. He fought the urge to grin when she refused to back up. Classic Olivia, always giving back as good as she got, never afraid to stand up for herself. For such a goodie two shoes in school, she’d never been a pushover. At least, not with him.
“Careful, Livvie,” he warned in a low voice. “You don’t want to get on a law officer’s bad side.”
She rolled her eyes. “What are you going to do? Slap handcuffs on me and haul me down to the station?”
“Now there’s an idea.”
“Just try it.” Her chin notched up. “I dare you.”
Shaking his head, he tutted his tongue. “You’re playing with fire. Do you not remember how much I love a challenge?”
Her sharp laughter oozed condescension. “I remember how much you love trouble. Ironic that the guy who still holds the record for the most suspensions from school became the local sheriff. You must feel right at home around all those bars, huh?”
He cursed his dick up, down, and sideways when it hardened underneath the sheet. Was he having a goddamn stroke? Why did her bitchiness inspire fantasies of her handcuffing him to her bedposts? Then holding his dick hostage inside her until he came so many times he begged to be let free? That wasn’t even his usual M.O. He liked to be the one in control. Always. Insisted on it, actually.
He had to subtly shift his body to the side so she wouldn’t see what she was doing to him. He refused to give her the satisfaction. He needed to take back the upper hand.
“You always did have sharp claws, Livvie. But admit it.” He bent his head toward hers. “You liked touching me, didn’t you?”
Her jaw clenched. “This is my job. I have to touch a lot of people that make my skin crawl.”
He tilted his head to the side, studying her expression. “I think you’re lying. I think you wanted to do more than just touch me.” As his mouth ghosted past her ear, he felt the thin material of her shirt graze his bare chest. “My body turn you on, Olivia? Were you hoping you’d like the front as much as you did the back?”
He heard her sharp intake of breath and reacted without thinking. In a bold move he could hardly believe of himself, he reached down, took her hand, and brought it to his chest. Trapping her gaze with his, he slowly dragged their joined fingers down his abs.
Holy shit, she’s not pulling away.
When the moment came where she should have yanked her hand back and slapped the tar out of him, she…didn’t.
What the freaking hell was he doing? And why the freaking hell wasn’t she stopping him? His cheek should have been stinging by now. He was just trying to throw her off her game a little, get a rise out of her. He hadn’t expected her to actually go along with this.
His dick swelled larger when her fingers acted on their own, her nails lightly scraping over his heated skin. He could see her pulse jumping in her neck, so he knew she wasn’t unaffected. And if that hadn’t clued him in, the pink tinge to her cheeks certainly would have.
“Well?” he rasped. “How do you like it?”
She didn’t answer. Instead, her teeth dug into her lower lip as she intently watched their hands trail across his stomach. Was he not the only one fighting this unexpected temptation? The thought made his fingers tingle with the desire to get them on her.
Fuck.
He had clearly lost his handle on the situation.
Unfortunately, his dick got the best of him.
“You wanna get on that table for me, Livvie? I’m thinking maybe it’s you who wants to be touched this time.”
Her whole body stiffened.
The room dissolved into silence.
Then he was shoved across the room so hard he struggled to remain upright. Her eyes flared with heat and not the good kind. He wanted to kick his own ass for ruining whatever had been happening between them. On the other hand, they’d been venturing into some dangerous territory with all that touching. Enemy territory, because that’s most definitely what they were. And nothing more. His asinine comments probably saved him from impending disaster.
Olivia Knight was the last person on the planet he needed to get on top of any tables with.
“You’ve got some damn nerve, Crawford,” she snapped. “I can’t believe you’d even try that routine with me. Do it again and you’ll get your ass kicked by my best friend Mace.”
He glanced down at the massage table. “You touched me first.”
Real mature, man. Jesus.
With a huff of exasperation, she stomped over to the corner and gathered up her belongings.
“I don’t think we were finished with my massage yet,” he pointed out in a teasing tone. Her hand clenched on the strap of her purse. “And I did pay for a full hour.”
She slapped a few bills onto the table. “Here’s a partial refund. Next time you’re in the mood to be rubbed down, try the gentleman’s club over in Ridgefield. I hear they’re not discerning at all with their customers.”
“Good to see you again, Livvie,” he called out right before she slammed the door behind her.
He stood there thoughtfully rubbing his jaw for the next ten minutes, playing the entire scene back in his head.
It only took him eight minutes to realize he’d been smiling the whole time.