OLIVIA
Chapter Thirty-Two

As the days passed, Olivia found herself spending more and more time alone. What was supposed to be a leisurely vacation for her and Cal turned into a prison of solitude for her when Cal’s work kept him away until late in the evenings.

They would be leaving for home in a few days, which was fine with Olivia. This trip had not turned out as she had intended. Much had occurred that she would rather forget. Rose being among them, and Patrick, as well. Things between them had reached a point where she didn’t know how to feel anymore.

She had played the scene from the other night in her mind many times over, and every time she did, the intensity of what he had spoken to her still sent shivers coursing down her spine. He had no right to put her in this position. The line between their worlds were very clearly drawn out, and it was never meant to be crossed.

And yet, here she was thinking of him, wondering how his kiss would have tasted on her lips, wishing he would have done what he had so clearly wanted to do. It was wrong. It was so wrong, she knew. He had opened Pandora’s Box, and it wasn’t fair. It just wasn’t fair that he done this to her.

Olivia sighed and laid her book aside. She had far too much on her mind to concentrate on what she was trying to read. She glanced outside the window from the chair in their room to take in the hazy evening. The sun had not yet set and was creating a beautiful array of colors across the beach. She wished she could enjoy the scene, but she could not. She could only think about how tired she was of everything in her life being turned upside-down. She only wanted peace in her life, and yet, somehow, she never seemed to attain it.

In the distance of the other room, she heard a slam of a door. She sat up and listened for any other sounds, but didn’t hear anything. Could it be that Cal was home already? She decided she had better go check and see, so she left the room and came down the small hallway. At the doorway, and from where she stood, she could see Cal on the patio. He was sitting so that she could see him, his face dark, withdrawn, and drawing heavily on a cigarette. She walked to the doors and hesitated for a moment, but it was enough for him to see her.

"Where have you been?" he asked as she came through the door. He threw his silver lighter on the table and scowled at her.

"Inside, reading," she answered quietly. She could feel the tension coming off of him as she neared the table. "Cal, is something wrong?" she asked as she sat opposite him.

He scoffed and rolled his eyes upwards. "Is something wrong?" he parroted her ,and then shook his head tightly. "Just leave me alone, Olivia."

"Maybe I can help," she offered sympathetically, wanting to do something to improve his mood.

"There’s nothing you can do," he replied testily, and stood, walking to the railing to look out in the distance. He flung his cigarette butt aside, leaned forward, and lowered his head.

Olivia stood, as well, and came over to him, placing a gentle hand on his arm. "Is it your business?" she asked. He snapped his eyes towards her and stood straight, staring down at her harshly.

"I told you to leave me alone. You can’t possibly comprehend what is going on, so don’t even try."

"But--"

"Enough!" He grabbed her by the arms and jerked her towards him. "You want to know what is going on? Well, I’ll tell you. This deal is slipping out of my hands, and there isn’t a damned thing I can do about it. If I fail at this, I have to go back to my father with my tail between my legs. Is that what you wanted to hear? Is it? That your husband is a failure?"

Stunned by his outburst, Olivia gripped his arms to steady herself. She had never seen Cal this upset, and now that she was closer to him, she could smell the faint odor of alcohol. It frightened her a little, but she still tried to stay calm. "Cal, please, calm down. I’m sure it’s not as bad as it seems."

He growled down at her and squeezed her arms. "Don’t tell me what to do. You have no idea what is at stake here. And even if I told you everything, you’re too simple-minded to even begin to understand."

Shock reverberated through her body. She pushed back from him and faced him hotly. "How dare you say such a thing to me?"

Cal gritted his teeth and reared his hand back to slap her. But he stopped himself and grabbed her hair, bringing his face down over hers. "Don’t act so imperious, my dear," he nearly snarled at her. "How many times have I needed a wife, and instead, I get a child? I can never depend on your support. I can never depend on you to be the woman I need for you to be."

"I do try to help you. I do try to support you, but you won’t let me!" she cried, hurt by his insult.

"I don’t need your help," he ground out, and flung her aside callously. He stalked to the door, and in the process, he kicked the table over, sending everything crashing to the ground. Olivia jumped back as he swung around to her and pointed his finger at her. "I don’t need anything from you! What I do need is a drink and to be left alone." He kicked the door open and slammed it behind him as he entered the bungalow.

Olivia stood staring after him, stunned at what had just occurred. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes, but she held them in check. Refusing to give into the hurt that threatened to overwhelm her, she turned and headed toward the beach. With her arms crossed tightly under her breasts, she reached the shoreline and began to walk away from the bungalow, away from Cal.

Frustration and anger coursed through her body when she thought about his outburst. For a few minutes, she gave into it, wanting with everything within her to scream, but she was longer the naïve young woman she used to be. She was not going to allow this to break her.

She was hurt, yes, but she had learned that if she were going to survive this marriage to Cal, she was going to have to attain a thick skin and so, she realized, she had. With this in her mind, she walked until she came to the enormous boulders that sat strong and sure against the pounding of the crashing waves. An idea began to form in her mind, and so, steadying herself against the gray rock, she pulled her stockings and slippers off.

She climbed one of the smaller rock formations, being careful to watch her balance. She came down the other side and discovered several pools of low water where the waves sometimes crashed over the boulders and landed. She sat down on a rock and covered her face with her hands, letting the serenity of the cool air and the sound of the crashing waves soothe her.

She took a deep breath, threw her head back, and saw that close by was by far the largest rock formation she had come across, but it looked easily accessible and had several deep crevices for climbing. She went over to it, looked up the side of it, and decided that she needed to climb this. She needed to be alone.

Olivia lifted her skirt high and began her slow ascent to the top. The rock felt cool and smooth against her skin and she had no trouble making her climb. Each step up brought her closer, and she could see that near the top it smoothed out like table. She wanted to make it there, to sit for a while to collect her thoughts, and then maybe, just maybe, she could go back and face him.

She gripped the smooth rock and was almost to the top when a loud roar sent a huge wave crashing over the boulders and filled the pools beneath her. The water splashed so high, it startled her, and she lost her grip. In one terrifying moment, she slid from her position and bounced down the side of the rock to land with a hard thud in one of the pools.

Stunned and shaken, Olivia sat up and looked above her at how far she had fallen. Thankfully, she wasn’t hurt, but she was drenched now and had a hard time standing. Just as she did, another huge wave crashed over and knocked her backwards into the nearest rock. With a slam, her head connected with the stone, and immediately she felt a sharp pain ringing in her ears. She winced and grabbed her head.

Before she could do anything else, yet another wave came over and hit her. She swallowed a mouthful of the bitter, salty water that started a spasm of coughing, which compounded the pain in her head.

Olivia finally understood what was happening. The tide was coming in, and soon the shallow pools would fill. The water was up to her thighs now and rising. She knew she had to get out of there, and quickly. Pushing the pain in her head aside, she grabbed the now slippery rocks and tried to pull herself up. It was harder than she thought, and it didn’t help that the water was coming in stronger now and throwing her off balance.

"Olivia!" she suddenly heard above her. She gasped, and looked up to see an anxious Patrick looking down at her.

"Patrick!" she nearly cried.

"Hold on! Don’t move!" he yelled down at her. She stood back and watched as he climbed down the precariously slippery rock face. He slipped once, but with a final jump, he splashed down into the water next to her. "Are you all right?" he asked worriedly as he reached for her.

"The water is coming in too fast. I couldn’t get out," she told him frantically.

"The tide’s coming in." He confirmed what she already knew. The water was up to her breasts now, and still rising fast. "We have to get out of here."

He took her hand and started the climb up the side of the slippery rock. She gripped his hand tightly as she followed him, foot for foot. She slipped once, but Patrick quickly grabbed her and pulled her up in front of him. He wrapped his arm around her waist as they made the slow climb to the top.

"Look there," he breathed heavily in her ear, and pointed toward a small cut-out in the rock that formed somewhat of a cave. They climbed up into it, going as far back as they could, and huddled together.

It was a small space, and Olivia was immediately aware of how close Patrick was to her. She tried to move away a bit, but there was nowhere to move to. His wet body was pressed against hers, and there was nothing she could do about it. She looked down, and saw that the water had completely covered the pools now, and she realized they were trapped.

Patrick glanced over at her, concern etched on his handsome face.

"Are you sure you’re all right?" he asked her.

"Yes. I think so. I didn’t expect it to rise so fast," she answered, and rubbed her arms to ward off the chill that came over her.

"When I saw your shoes and stockings, I had a feeling where you’d gone."

She turned wary eyes onto him at this. "You followed me?"

"Yes. I was worried about you," he answered matter-of-factly.

She stiffened then. She knew he must know what had occurred between her and Cal. She was embarrassed at his knowing what Cal had said and done. "I don’t need you to worry about me. I’m fine, and anyway, it’s none of your business."

"No, it’s not. But I can’t stand the way he treats you. I…I don’t know how much longer I can stay, Olivia. I need this job, but not this badly."

Olivia’s heart jumped in her chest. Leave? "You can’t," she said before she realized she had even said it. "I mean…" She paused and turned away from him. "I don’t know what I mean."

The silence that surrounded them was thick with tension, and then Patrick turned to her, his face tight with control. "How can I stay, Olivia? It’s getting too hard. I care too much for you to stand by and not say or do anything."

"I wish you wouldn’t say those things to me," she admitted to him. "This…" She motioned with her hands between them. "…cannot be, Patrick. You said as much yourself the other night. I can’t be responsible for you losing your job on top of everything else."

"You ask too much of me, Olivia." He rubbed his face. "Just now, what I saw happen between the two of you…it was all I could do not to smash his pompous face. He doesn’t deserve you."

Olivia closed her eyes at his words. "He’s my husband," she whispered hoarsely. "Deserving has nothing to do with it."

"Leave him," he said suddenly as he turned to her and bore his eyes into hers. "I know what I said the other night, but after what I saw today, there’s no way I can stand by and let you go back to him."

Olivia’s eyes widened in shock. "What? What are you saying, Patrick? I can’t leave him."

"Yes, you can." He nodded tensely and cupped her face. "You can come with me. I’ll take care of you."

"No." She shook her head and tried to pull back. "My children--I could never leave them. This whole conversation is absurd."

"We’ll take them with us when we get back," he replied. "Olivia, I care for you. I didn’t mean for this to happen. I didn’t want this to happen, but it has. When you’re with him, I get sick to my stomach. Don’t you understand what I’m saying? Don’t you understand what I’m trying to tell you? I love you, Olivia…God help me, but I love you so much."

She searched his face and saw his feelings so clearly, it was almost more than she could take. He loved her? Had he said those words? She felt her heart pound in her chest as he pulled her up to face him. Something strange was happening to her. As she looked into his blazing green eyes, she saw what she had longed to see in Cal’s eyes but never had...and that was love. He did love her, and it was real. Slowly, she lifted her hand to touch his face, her breathing coming fast and hard as she did.

"This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to admit," he whispered softly. "I didn’t want this. You have to believe me when I tell you I never wanted this to happen."

"I know." She nodded slightly. "I tried to stop it, too. This is crazy…how can this be happening?"

"We should stop…" He trailed off as he ran his thumb across her lips.

"Yes. We should stop," she breathed, but she moved closer even as she said the words. They were inches apart now, the heat between them nearly palpable. "Patrick, please, I…I don’t know what to do."

He smiled then, and moved closer until his lips hovered over hers. "My beautiful Olivia, you just have to trust yourself…that’s all."

With a one deep sigh, she knew then what she wanted and had wanted for so long. She lifted herself to him, and slowly, oh, so slowly, their lips met. Softly at first, they came together, their lips touching, exploring, and then Patrick gently cupped her head and opened his mouth over hers.

Tingles shot through her. She had never felt anything so erotic as his tongue sliding against hers. She moaned and wrapped her arms around him, bringing him as close to her as she could get. Feeling her resistance abate, he shifted and lifted her body to lie against his. He ran his fingers through her tangled hair as he plundered her mouth hungrily. She offered herself to him, holding nothing back. The kiss deepened, their mouths searching hot and hard together, their lips and tongues tangling in the age old dance of lovers before them.

Pulling back to get a breath, she ran her hands through his thick hair. "Oh, God, I love you, Patrick. I don’t want to feel this, but I do."

"I know. I know," he breathed hotly against her neck. "We’re playing with fire."

"What are we going to do?" She nearly groaned from the impossibility of the situation.

"We’ll think of something," he answered.

Suddenly, in the distance, they heard a sound. Both of them stopped, alerted to what was obviously her name being called.

"Olivia!"

She heard her name again, and looked at Patrick frantically.

Dear God, it was Cal.

Chapter Thirty-Three
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