Page 25 of His Cabin Obsession

I can see that she’s confused, and I don’t like it one bit. I need to get to the bottom of this, and that means figuring out exactly what’s going on in her head.

“Why did you think I wanted you?” I ask. “Did you really think I found you unattractive, after all of this?”

Olivia shrugs helplessly, her shoulders moving up and down in a miserable gesture. “I don’t know,” she says. “I didn’t understand it.”

I shake my head, gripping her by the shoulders. Then I shift my hand to cup her chin, because I need her to look at me – I need her to understand. “I think you’re beautiful,” I tell her, looking deep into her eyes. “Inside and out.”

Olivia closes her eyes for a brief moment. I think I see an old pain there, something she’s spent a lot of time dealing with. I bristle at the thought. Anyone who’s ever hurt her – I would love to get them in a dark alley with no one around to witness. I’d pay them back tenfold.

Another concern rises to the top of my mind, if she thought that I wasn’t really interested in her physically – just using her for sex – then what else must she think? That this wasn’t serious? That there’s no future in it?

That’s something I have to correct right away.

“Olivia,” I say, gently, calling her attention back to my face. “What do you think will happen after this? When our stay is over?”

“I don’t know,” Olivia admits, biting her lip again. She makes an attempt at a smile which clenches my chest with pain. “I guess we’ll just go our separate ways.”

“That’s what you think of me,” I murmur softly. How could I have given her the opposite of the intended impression? Maybe I didn’t account for Olivia’s low self-esteem, the way I guess others have made her feel about the way she looks. She’s only just going to college; until now, she’s been surrounded by boys and girls, not adults. She hasn’t had the chance to learn what a real man would think of her.

“I’m sorry,” Olivia whispers. When I look at her again, her eyes are brimming with tears. “I didn’t mean to offend you.”

I cup her face gently with my hands, then bend to ghost a kiss across her lips. “I’m not offended,” I say. “I’m sad. I didn’t want you to think this was just a throwaway thing. I guess I didn’t get the message across clear enough.”

“What message?” Olivia asks, a little frown appearing between her blue eyes.

I smile slowly, rubbing the pad of my thumb across her lower lip. “I could tell you,” I say. “But I won’t. I’m going to show you.”

“What does that mean?”

I laugh a little at the expression on Olivia’s face, confused and a little indignant. She wants to know now. I get it. But that will make the build up all the sweeter. “It means you’re going to have to wait just a little while,” I say. “Now, go for a walk. I’ve got some calls to make to arrange a surprise.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Oliva

I take my time on my walk through the trees, trying to understand what Aaron meant by everything we talked about. I made sure to grab some clothes before heading out – despite what he said, there’s no way I’m risking some random hiker coming across me stark naked in the woods. Aside from being embarrassing, it sounds pretty dangerous, too.

Could he really mean that he actually has feelings for me – that he wants to see me again after this trip ends? I hadn’t even considered that he might feel that way, because it just seemed so ridiculous. He’s so gorgeous, with his height, his broad shoulders, his handsome face – and he’s so much older than me. Surely, there must be women at home who would be better suited to him.

But what he said earlier seems to dispute that. And now I’m confused; more than that, a little scared. I’m scared because there is a flare of hope inside my heart that has started to burn brightly, and if it turns out to be one big joke, then I know it’s going to hurt bad.

Because the truth is, I’d love to stay here forever. Just me and Aaron, never getting out of bed again. I don’t know if I would even miss the rest of the world. Being with him – it’s amazing, and not just because of the sex. I want to have this forever. I yearn for it. I’ve fallen for him hard and fast, and I’m so frightened that I’m about to hit the ground at a hundred miles an hour and have my heart smash to pieces.

When I arrive back at the cabin, Aaron isn’t alone. The sight of the first stranger since the beginning of the week is a shock – I had almost forgotten that other people exist or how to deal with them. There’s a man in a dark suit, neatly turned out with sandy blond hair combed back across his head, standing beside a black car. It’s parked right outside the cabin, and he’s talking to Aaron, relaxed in his more casual black clothing.

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