Forbidden Love With the Marine by Burke, Dez (great novels txt) 📗

few minutes before dinner was to be served, Olivia arrived. Just like that, Ivan’s heart lifted.

Seeing her appear looking so feminine and beautiful in her demure green dress draped over her

gorgeous figure made the stirring in his heart give him cause to worry. It wouldn’t do to let her know how he really felt…

She was less distant to him than before, but he could still sense her tension. He figured she

knew about him and Molly. Ivan now felt like an idiot for taking Molly back when the redhead had

come begging a few weeks ago. Telling him she’d always loved him but hadn’t been happy with his

detached attitude to her feelings. This time, she’d promised, she’d give him the space he needed in their kind of relationship. Ivan felt guilty now for using her, but all she really was to him was a kind of foil to keep him from missing Olivia. And to keep Olivia from having any ideas about changing his mind.

And yet now…sitting close to her at the table – catching the faint waft of her sexy scent and

seeing the way her long black hair tossed silkily over her bare shoulder…It was so easy for Ivan to see that he just might be missing his chance with the one woman who’d ever drawn out the fire in him.

It was too late now anyway. He’d pushed her too far away and she probably wanted nothing

more to do with him. Which was just as well, he decided. With him going on a mission tomorrow,

one that left a twist in his gut at the chances of him making it back in one piece…Maybe it was best not to have any distractions. Olivia would never really be his and he had to keep reminding himself of that fact.

Dinner was perfect, as usual, so much so because no one really alluded to the fact that he’d be

leaving tomorrow. Once the meal was over, Olivia made her excuses, saying she needed to catch a

cab home. Without thinking, Ivan offered to drop her off. He could see she wanted to refuse, but

seemed to reconsider it. Perhaps, she didn’t want to make her parents think there was any friction between the two of them.

Ivan didn’t really care about the reason. He simply knew he’d be glad for the few extra minutes

around her before he had to go home alone, and sleep things off before he had to make it on base by nine am the following morning.

As he expected, she wasn’t very communicative on the drive to her place. Ivan’s gaze was

drawn to her lovely profile more times than he could count. If he’d thought his attraction to her would have waned over the past weeks, he was so wrong. With her just inches away, it was all he could do not to reach for her and just bury himself in her sweet smelling embrace.

At last, they arrived and almost at once, she said a hasty goodnight and made to leave. Ivan said

quietly, making her pause, “You know I’m going off on a mission tomorrow?”

He couldn’t be sure in the shadowy confines of the Jeep, but he thought he saw a pained wince

cross her face. “Yeah. I guess…well, I hope you’ll be okay,” she said, shrugging jerkily.

“Me too, trust me,” he rejoined, suddenly chuckling. His hand reached out before he could stop

himself, and he tucked a strand of her glossy hair behind her ear. She seemed to start at his touch, and he withdrew slowly, reluctantly. Damn. It would be hard leaving and driving home to his empty

apartment.

Every part of him wanted to be with Olivia, just to be close to her presence which seemed to

have the most calming effect on him. Around her, everything seemed balanced. She brought a peace to his soul at this point in his life that he was beginning to realize how important the little things were.

“So…I’m hoping you’ll miss me, little dove. If just a little bit,” he teased.

Her beautiful eyes flashed up at him suddenly. “Oh, I’m sure you have enough people out there

to miss you. Your dear Molly, for example.”

The jealous tone in her voice made his heart surge with delight. She still cared. That felt good;

fleeting though the pleasure was.

At last, he sighed deeply. “About Molly and I…we’re simply going through a trial phase,” he

finally confessed honestly. “I don’t even know why I’m telling you this…but I haven’t…well, I’m not sleeping with Molly. We haven’t taken our reunion quite to that stage yet.”

She was looking away so Ivan couldn’t tell how she was taking that morsel of information. It

didn’t really matter. At least his conscience felt better; he hated to think Olivia had been hurt thinking he’d jumped straight in between Molly’s legs so soon after he’d shared that monumental night with

her.

Olivia gave that jerky shrug again. “Interesting, Ivan. But trust me, I don’t wish to be privy to

your bedroom tidbits just as I’m sure you’d rather not be privy to mine.”

“Oh, that’s where you’re wrong,” Ivan drawled, his eyes narrowing as he turned to her with

darkened interest. “I think I do want to know. I’d hate to think you’d go on the rebound, getting hooked up with the wrong sort.”

Olivia huffed, finally facing him, her eyes stormy. “Well, surprise, Ivan; it’s actually none of

your business. Who I see…and who I fuck – has nothing to do with you. You gave up the chance to

have a say about that when you told me what we’d shared was not worth building on.”

The hurt look that suddenly flashed in her eyes pierced him straight in his chest. “Olivia…”

“You know what? I’ll say goodnight now. I’m sure you’ll need your rest. And I’ve had a long

day, so…”

“No goodnight kiss? For good luck?” he asked, the same teasing light in his voice though he

knew his eyes blazed with banked flames. He wondered if she could tell how much he wanted…

craved her right then. How he so wished he hadn’t drawn those invisible boundaries that made it

impossible to cross