Bad Intentions by Tara Wyatt

9

“Sorry I’m late!” Madison called out as she came dashing up to the table already occupied by Olivia, Whitney, Kate, and Nicole.

“Another flour delivery?” asked Whitney, and based on the way Madison’s cheeks went pink, Whitney’s guess was right.

“More like another dick delivery,” deadpanned Nicole, and they all laughed as Madison dropped into her chair. A pang of jealousy shot through Olivia. Her skin still felt over sensitized after the surprise make out session with Lucian at the restaurant a couple of days ago. God, if he’d wanted to fuck her right there against that wall with the construction crew only fifty feet away, she would’ve let him. The list of things she’d let that man do to her was ridiculous.

But while she was frustrated, she also felt more hopeful than she had in a long time. They’d gone further than they ever had before, and maybe this time things would be different. Maybe this time he wouldn’t pull away and give her his same excuses. Excuses that she accepted as true but not as valid.

She and the girls hadn’t had much time to get together since her birthday last week, and as always, they had lots of catching up to do, even though they had an active group chat going all the time. Finding that they were all free tonight, they’d booked a table at Coco’s, a Mexican restaurant in Hell’s Kitchen with an amazing terrace. The warm, early evening air swirled around them, mingling with the sounds of tropical music and the mouthwatering scents of Mexican food. Lightbulbs were strung up around the posts, and several lush plants separated each table from the others. The terrace itself looked out over the city, giving them a spectacular view of the buildings poking up into the sky.

“So, I have some news,” said Whitney, who looked boho chic as usual with her blush pink crocheted bralette top and flowing white skirt, a yellow flower tucked behind one ear. Her long, blond hair tumbled around her shoulders in beachy waves. “I’m taking off for Europe for a couple of months. Maybe longer.”

Olivia’s heart sank. While she knew her friend was a free spirit and did this sort of thing regularly, it was always hard when she left for extended periods of time.

“Where are you going?” asked Kate, taking a sip of her mojito.

“I’m going to spend some time in England, Scotland and Ireland. The book I’m writing has a lot of elements of Celtic magic in it, and I want to do some research. Plus, you know me. I get restless after a while.” Whitney was a successful author who wrote paranormal and fantasy romance under a pen name, which was how she was able to take off and live on a completely different continent for extended periods.

“When will you be back?” asked Olivia, reaching out and squeezing Whitney’s hand. “I need to start the countdown now.”

Whitney shrugged. “I’m not sure. But before the end of the year.” A guilty look flashed across her face. “I’m actually leaving in a couple of days.”

“A couple of days!” Nicole exclaimed, her eyebrows furling together. “That’s so soon!”

“I know. But I got a great deal on the plane ticket and this house I wanted to rent in the English countryside became available, so it all just kind of came together.”

“We’re happy for you,” said Madison. “Even though we’ll miss you, I know you’ll have another amazing adventure. Maybe you’ll find some British aristocratic hottie to hook up with.”

Whitney laughed. “Those stuffy types don’t do it for me. Give me rough and tumble any day. Throw in an Irish accent and I’m toast.”

The server came to take their orders and then they settled back into their conversation.

“So,” said Kate, turning her attention to Olivia. “You ended up taking that job that Lucian offered you?”

She nodded, heat swirling in her stomach at the mention of his name. “I did. It’ll be a great addition to my portfolio and I think I can really nail it.” She felt the heat rise to her cheeks and Whitney pointed at her.

“What aren’t you telling us?”

Her mouth suddenly dry, she took a sip of her drink. “The other day, in the restaurant, Lucian…kissed me.”

Everyone at the table let out a loud whoop. Olivia grinned, butterflies swirling in her stomach as she replayed the kiss again.

“We need details,” said Madison, scooping up a chip and drowning it in guacamole. “Was it as good as you’d hoped?”

Olivia’s face heated as she nodded. “Even better. He backed me up against this brick column and…” Her stomach bottomed out as she replayed it for what had to be nearing the millionth time. “Just kissed the absolute daylights out of me.”

Nicole studied her thoughtfully. “And now you’re waiting for him to push you away again.”

Olivia grabbed the cloth napkin and twisted it in her lap. When she’d left the restaurant after that kiss, she’d felt as though she’d been walking on air. But gradually, she’d deflated, bit by bit. He’d apologized. He was going to push her away again. Going to go over his usual litany of reasons why they couldn’t happen.

“I know he thinks the age difference is an issue, and that his life is busy and complicated.” She took a breath, playing with the napkin. “He basically admitted he has feelings for me, and has for a long time now. But it’s still not enough. I haven’t seen him or heard from him since, and I know he’s distancing himself.”

“What did he say? About having feelings for you?” asked Whitney, leaning forward.

“He told me that he’s wanted me for five years because of how he feels when he’s around me. That being around me is like stepping into the sun after living in the shadows for decades, like breathing fresh air after being buried alive. He said, and I quote, ‘You do something to me that I can’t even explain. For five years now, it’s been you.’”

“Holy shit,” said Maddy, fanning herself.

“Uh, yeah,” agreed Nicole, eyes wide.

“Hang on, I’m writing that down and using it in a book,” said Whitney, taking notes on her phone.

“But if that’s how he feels, and we’re still not, you know, together, maybe it’s me. Maybe there’s something fundamentally lacking in who I am or my life that turns him off.” Otherwise, wouldn’t she have heard from him after that bone melting kiss? She wasn’t normally so insecure, but she also didn’t normally make out with the man she’d been obsessing over for the past five years.

“Nah,” said Whitney, dropping her phone down on the table. “This is a him issue, not you. It sounds like he’s still struggling with the age difference and probably struggles to let people in in general. Often, excuses like ‘my life is complicated’ really mean something like ‘I don’t know how to let you into my life.’”

Their food arrived and she bit into her roasted chicken taco, chewing thoughtfully, her mind swirling with everything—the kiss, the distance, and if she and Lucian would ever actually wind up together. How could he say those things to her, kiss the life out of her, and then just go radio silent for days on end? That felt unfair. Unfair, and a little shitty.

“Olivia, there you are,” came a familiar male voice, but not the one she wanted to hear. No, the sound of Massimo’s voice was completely unwelcome. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” She pressed her lips together, her chest tight. God, she did not want to deal with him right now. She turned in her chair and saw him standing there, an enormous bouquet of flowers clutched in his hands. She narrowed her eyes at him as she pushed up out of her chair, stalking towards him.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she hissed, leading them away from the crowd of tables and into a secluded corner, not wanting to cause a scene. He held out the bouquet of flowers but she crossed her arms, refusing to take them. “How did you even know I’d be here?”

A smug grin flashed across his face. “One of your friends posted a picture on Instagram and I recognized the terrace.”

Her irritation gave way to fear, and she took a step back from him. “Are you stalking me? Because that’s really creepy.”

“It’s not creepy, it’s resourceful,” he said with a cocky smirk. “And I’m not stalking you, but what else am I supposed to do when you won’t take my calls and you don’t return my texts?”

“I blocked you, asshole. Get a fucking clue. Don’t talk to me ever again,” she said, her lip curling.

As though he hadn’t heard a word she’d said, he took a step closer, his eyes sliding all over her body, making her glad she was relatively covered up in a black sleeveless blouse paired with pale yellow wrap skirt that ended around her knees. “You look beautiful. Why don’t we go someplace quiet where we can talk? We could go back to my place. Here, these are for you.” He extended the flowers to her again and she recoiled, taking another step back.

“Did you not hear what I just said? We’re done. Lose my number and stay the hell away from me.”

And just like that, he dropped the flowers to the ground, his face morphing from concerned to snarling in half a second. She spun to head back to her table, instinct telling her to get away from him, but he shot his hand out, grabbing her wrist. Strong fingers curled around her in a bruising grip. “Don’t talk to me like that, baby doll. I don’t like it.”

“Let go of me,” she ground out, trying to pull her arm from his grip. His fingers tightened around her wrist and he yanked her close.

“You’re an ungrateful little bitch, you know that?” he snarled in her ear, his hot breath washing over her and making her stomach churn. “I came all the way down here, brought you these beautiful flowers and all you can do is complain. I should put you on your knees and stuff my dick in your mouth. Can’t complain if that pretty mouth is full.”

Fear cascaded through her, making her arms and legs feel shaky and weak, but along with the fear was anger. A lot of anger, and so she reached down deep, letting the anger take hold, and kneed him in the balls with everything she had.

He immediately dropped to his knees. He curled into a ball, his hands cradling his junk as he moaned beside the discarded bouquet.

She glared down at him, hot satisfaction at the damage she’d inflicted coursing through her. “I might be an ungrateful little bitch, but at least I’m not a pathetic stalker who has to bully women into being with him. Don’t ever talk to me again.”

“Everything okay over here?” asked a female server, her eyes bouncing between Olivia and Massimo, who was still lying on the ground, moaning.

Her heart was racing and she shook her head. “He grabbed me and threatened to assault me.”

The woman’s eyes widened. “Do you want me to call the police?”

Olivia nodded. “Yes. Please.”

By this point, all of her friends had come over, forming a protective circle around her. Whitney hugged her, her arms tightening when Olivia trembled against her.

Slowly, Massimo rose to his feet, his eyes locked on her. “This isn’t over. You just made the biggest mistake of your life, baby doll.” He kicked at the flowers on the ground and stormed out of the restaurant, shoving off one of the male servers who tried to restrain him.

“Do you still want me to call the police?” asked the server, phone in hand.

Olivia shook her head, some of her triumph ebbing out of her and leaving her feeling deflated and shaky. “Don’t bother. He’s gone.”

“Do you have someone to take you home?” she asked. “I don’t want you to leave alone.”

She nodded. There was only one person she wanted right now. She turned to her friends. “You guys go back to dinner. I’m just going to make a quick phone call, and I’ll be back in a second,” she said, not wanting Massimo’s assholery to ruin their night, especially since Whitney was leaving so soon.

They all hesitated, clearly reluctant to leave her side, but she shot them a smile and tipped her head in the direction of their table. “I’m okay. I’m just going to call someone to help me get home and I’ll be right back.” After a few more seconds of hesitation, they moved back to their table, not taking their concerned gazes off her.

She moved to a quiet corner of the terrace, her hands shaking as she pulled her phone out of her purse and called Lucian. She stared out at the city as she listened to it ring on the other end. Shit, what if he was busy?

What if he was with another woman? Her stomach twisted itself into cold, hard knots at the thought of Lucian on a date with someone else. She could already picture her. She was older than Olivia and far more worldly and sophisticated. She probably ran her own business and had singlehandedly saved an endangered species. She’d be tall with the world’s most incredible body, the kind of body he’d—

He answered on the third ring. “Hello, Olivia.”

“Hi,” she said, her voice cracking on the single syllable. Her heart was still pounding in her chest, and her entire body felt shaky.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” he asked, his deep voice making some of the fear and panic start to ebb away. A part of her thrilled at the fact that he could tell something was wrong from one tiny word.

“I’m…uh, no.” She sighed. “I’m having dinner with my friends and Massimo just showed up.”

She could’ve sworn that he growled from the other end of the line, sending a little shiver down her spine. Quickly, she told him the entire story of what had just happened, everything Massimo had said, and the fact that he’d left and she didn’t know where he was.

“I’m worried that he’s going to be waiting for me outside the restaurant or on the street or by my apartment. The things he said…” She swallowed around the tightness in her throat. “If he was willing to talk to me like that and grab me in front of all of these people, I’m terrified of what he’d do to me if he got me alone. I…I felt like I should call you.”

“I’m glad you did. Stay where you are. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

“Okay. I’m…I’m really sorry to bug you. I hope you weren’t in the middle of something important.” She held her breath, waiting for him to tell her that he was with someone or annoyed with her for calling.

“I can’t think of a single fucking thing that would be more important than making sure you’re safe,” he said, that delicious growl back in his voice. “Ten minutes. Don’t move.”

“Thank you.” Her voice broke again on the last syllable, and she swallowed around the thickness in her throat. She didn’t want to unravel here, in front of everyone, because she was afraid that she wouldn’t be able to pull herself back together again. What had happened was both unexpected and intense, and had shaken her up.

“Of course.”

She disconnected the call and went back to her table, all of her friends watching her with worried expressions. As soon as she sat down, Whitney pulled her into a side hug.

“Are you okay? That was really intense.”

She nodded, then took a long drink of her water, trying to get the tightness in her throat to ease up. “It was, but I’m okay. Lucian’s on his way and he’s going to make sure I get home safe.”

“Good.” Kate reached over and laid her hand over Olivia’s. “If he couldn’t come, I was half a breath away from calling Liam,” she said, mentioning her older brother who was a firefighter with the FDNY, and who had the muscled body to go with his job.

“Please, let’s just…Whit’s leaving soon, and I’m really sorry that that asshole showed up. Let’s just talk about something else. Please.” Even though she knew it wasn’t her fault, she felt embarrassed at the scene they’d caused and the fact that her ex was clearly stalking her.

They all eyed her warily, but then Nicole started telling them all about a new project she’d taken on at work and Olivia relaxed a little. Massimo had already scared the shit out of her. She didn’t want to let him take this evening with her friends away, too.

Even though her back was to the entrance to the terrace, she felt it the second Lucian arrived. The hairs on her arms stood on end, and the back of her neck tingled with awareness. She sucked in a breath and spun in her seat, and sure enough, there he was, his dark gaze on her.

“I will never get used to how fucking hot he is,” said Madison, her eyes trained on Lucian.

“I know, it’s a little ridiculous that there’s someone who looks like that just walking around Manhattan,” said Nicole. Olivia was powerless to do anything except murmur in agreement.

He looked more casual than she’d ever seen before. Anytime she’d run into him, he’d been in a suit, or a tux, or at the very least wearing a button-down shirt and dress pants. But this evening he was wearing a plain black V-neck T-shirt and a pair of worn, dark jeans. A pair of aviator sunglasses dangled from the front of his T-shirt, and his hair, normally meticulously styled, was a little damp, as though he’d showered shortly before she’d called. Her mouth went dry at the mental image of Lucian in the shower, water sluicing off his hard body, soap running over his skin in bubbly rivulets, his big hands making sure that soap got everywhere.

“My ride is here,” she said, gathering up her purse and phone and laying down enough cash to cover her meal plus a generous tip. Kate let out a little sigh.

“God, he’s so sexy.” She gave her head a little shake. “And I’m glad he’s here to make sure you get home okay.”

She stood and then pulled Whitney in for a hug. “I’m gonna miss you, babe.”

“I’ll miss you, too. But we’ll Skype and email and I’ll be home in the fall. It’ll go by fast.”

Olivia nodded, her eyes burning. She hated when Whitney left, but she was a free spirit and exploring the world and everything it had to offer was just who she was. They said their goodbyes and then she made her way over to Lucian, who hadn’t taken his eyes off her the entire time. She knew, because her skin was practically burning by the time she reached him.

“Thank you,” she said, looking up at him.

He didn’t say anything, just took her hand and wove his fingers through hers. A hot tingle worked its way up her arm at the contact, and she felt the last of her tension and fear start to ebb away now that he was here. He led her through the interior of the restaurant and then down the set of concrete stairs that led to an industrial door. When they stepped out onto the sidewalk, he pushed his sunglasses back onto his face, and she swooned a tiny bit. Lucian, in this T-shirt and worn jeans, aviators on, looked like a total badass, maybe even more so than when he wore designer suits.

A sleek, black car with the elegant Aston Martin logo on the front of the hood sat beside the curb, illegally parked. It unlocked automatically as they approached and he opened the passenger side door for her, holding it open as she tucked herself inside. Walking quickly, he strode around the car to his side and dropped in behind the wheel. He started the car, the engine purring, and pulled smoothly away from the curb, then hung a quick left onto 11^th Ave.

The interior of the car was all buttery leather and polished metal finishes with a high-tech dash. She sat back in her seat, her body relaxing fully, letting herself get absorbed in the soothing motion of the car and the calming scent of Lucian surrounding her.

“I know you live in the Financial District, but you’ll have to give me your address.”

“It’s an apartment building on William Street. Keep going straight until you hit Battery Park, and then take a left onto Murray. I can direct you the rest of the way when we get there.”

He nodded, then reached over and laid a hand on her thigh. There was no mistaking the protectiveness of the gesture, or the way her entire body came alive at his touch.

“Thank you for coming,” she said quietly. “I’m sorry that I interrupted your evening.” She glanced sideways at him. “Were you busy?”

He shook his head. “I was at the gym. And you don’t need to thank me.” He came to a stoplight at West 43^rd and looked over at her. Even though she couldn’t see his eyes through the dark sunglasses, she could feel the heated weight of his gaze on her, and she fought the urge to squirm in her seat. “I promised that I would keep you safe. I’m the one who’s sorry.”

Her eyebrows rose as they moved forward again when the light turned green. “You’re sorry? For what?”

“I thought I’d solved the Massimo problem, but clearly what I tried didn’t work. I was aiming for subtle, but subtle doesn’t work on this asshole, apparently.”

“No, it definitely doesn’t,” she said, shaking her head. “I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve told him to leave me alone.”

Lucian’s grip tightened on the steering wheel, his knuckles going white. “Still, I’m sorry. I told you I’d handle it. And I will.” He gave her thigh a squeeze that had her melting in her seat. “He’s dangerous, Liv.”

“Well, he’s obviously a total nutjob based on what happened tonight,” she agreed.

“He’s more than just a nutjob,” he said, and then paused, hesitating. “Tell me again how he said he found you.”

“Stalking me on Insta. One of my friends posted a picture of us and he said he recognized the terrace.”

Lucian’s mouth twisted to one side. “Turn your phone off.”

“What?”

“I’m not trying to scare you, but Massimo is capable of a lot worse than just stalking you on social media. Turn it off.”

Watching Lucian navigate his way through traffic, she reached into her purse and powered off her phone. “There. It’s off.”

“Good. I’m going to get one of my guys to look at it and find out exactly how Massimo’s been tracking you. Because I don’t believe his bullshit excuse about recognizing the restaurant. He’s shown up when you’re out too many times for it to be a coincidence.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “Tracking me? Like, you think he did something to my phone to find out where I am?” She shuddered. “Is that even possible? That seems like Hollywood movie shit.”

“It’s not. It’s definitely possible.” He came to another stop light. “I know because I’ve done it to many people. Well, my tech guy has, but still. It’s entirely possible to track someone based on the location of their phone and not have them know about it.”

“Tell me what you know about Massimo,” she said, sitting up a little straighter. “You know something that you’re not telling me.”

This time, he didn’t hesitate. “Massimo’s in the mob, Liv. The Italian mafia.”

“What?” Her eyes went wide as her blood turned to ice in her veins. “He’s what?”

“He’s a hit man for the mob. He’s extremely dangerous.”