Olive giggled as he jerked her up to his shoulder and she swung slowly over Wayne’s back. They entered his elevator and that was when he dropped her slowly by his side. He gazed into her green orbs that seemed so bright and happy, and he remembered the first time he saw them. They were filled with fear and hopelessness. Moist with tears and dull, just awaiting death.
He felt satisfied with himself at what they now looked like. And he vowed, yes he vowed to himself that he would always do whatever he could to keep her eyes bright and happy.
“You seem to love gazing into my eyes,” she mused after noticing how he was just peering at them, as if he was traveling through them to another dimension.
“I love them,” he said firmly and with certainty that Olive immediately believed he loved them for real.
“Because of the color, I guess,” she laughed and looked away from him.
“A lot of people said I had beautiful eyes,” she added and shrugged, like it was nothing that actually mattered. Wayne caressed her shoulder while hugging her sideways to himself.
“I don’t love them because they’re green,” he said casually.
“Then why?” Olive asked with curiosity as she looked at him. He was looking at the elevator door.
“Because it’s your eyes,” he half whispered, as if he was very tired. He heaved a sigh and leaned against the wall of the elevator, closing his eyes after he did so.
Olive gaped at him or rather, at his words. He loved her eyes not because they were green but because they were her eyes? That was the sweetest thing ever. She blushed and looked away towards the door.
It soon opened and they stepped out into the receiving hall. Jake, Jericho, Terry, Crusoe and Shem were standing there looking agitated. Wayne froze as he saw them. He frowned immediately.
“Alpha,” Jake called and the men all bowed their heads in a haste. Olive could sense something was wrong.
“Hello, Olive,” Jake faked a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
“Is something wrong?” she asked instead of returning his kind gesture of acknowledgement. Jake raised his eyebrows but immediately lowered them and smiled, again not reaching his eyes.
“It’s nothing serious. Just a little report we have to give,” he said casually. Olive looked to Jericho and she saw that deathly look he had worn when he was defending her against Gia that afternoon in the Circular Cabinet. Her heart thudded faster. Wayne heaved a sigh as he felt her getting nervous. He looked at her and lifted her face with her chin.
“I’ll see you at dinner, Olive. Wait for me in here. If you’re lonely, have the guards at the door call Dolly,” he said calmly that you would think he was just going to grab a bottle of water from downstairs. He was wearing that tired look he carried from inside the elevator. He looked unfazed, compared to his men.
“But.. but, dinner… would be anytime soon,” she stuttered.
“We would have dinner as soon as I come back. Okay, baby?” he now wore that sly smile, as if he was teasing her again. She nodded nervously. His eyes left her eyes and traveled down slowly to her lips. He paused there as he looked at the pinkish skin. He wanted to place a soft kiss there, to calm her but-
“Alpha,” Jake’s agitated voice called again. He looked at Olive’s eyes and smiled. He let go of her and stepped two feet back.
“See you later,” he said and without waiting for her to respond, he turned around and made way towards the elevator they had just come out from. All his men followed him, and they all bowed slightly at her or gave her fake smiles before hurrying into the elevator. She stood frozen as she watched it close and whirr downstairs. She gulped and hugged her arms. She felt chilly, but it was from an internal source inside her.
Olive turned on her heels and walked across the hall. She stopped at the fountain and looked at how water played around, forming bubbles and ripples as it fell smoothly into the flowing water below. She walked ahead and hurried into the kitchen. She had wanted to go to the room, but that large place would suffocate her and choke her fears out.
So, she decided to settle for a cup of very hot coffee that would warm up her body. This cold she was feeling, she hated it.
As she entered the kitchen, she saw the coffee machine sitting there on the counter close to the stoves. She would have made coffee from it, but she preferred instant coffee from those packs. She loved that one more. She made a huge mug of it and leaned against the counter while sipping it. She couldn’t help but worry. Why was she worrying? Wayne could totally take care of whatever it was.
But… what if he got hurt?
She shrugged that thought away. Nothing was going to hurt her mate.
She took a large sip of coffee and slowly swallowed it, allowing the hot liquid to burn her throat.
What if it was The Vrek Cult that was after him again?
“I doubt! Not so soon,” she spoke out loud to herself. The Vrek Cult would take their time to strategize and try to bring him down for real this time. But then, that instilled more fear in her. She knew her mate was terrible. She had heard his name for years and knew how he did great, mighty, terrible things. She and her friends often swear with his name, The Big Bad Alpha, when they were filled with anger and wanted to take a certain action. His name being sworn by, meant they could do it and would do it eventually.
So yes, she knew her mate was bad ass. He could take care of himself. Which was obviously why he was still alive after all these years. Despite the enemies he had all over the country.
But why? Just why was she feeling nervous for him? This was the same nervousness she had got when he travelled. But that time, it was mixed with her missing him. More of her missing him actually. This time however, she knew he was around so she wasn’t missing him.
Olive heaved a deep sigh, but not from relief. She gulped down all her coffee in one go and rinsed the cup. She would take a long bath in that jacuzzi and wait till he returned. She went into the bedroom and removed her clothes which she dumped in the laundry basket. She entered the bathroom and stepped into the steaming jacuzzi she had warmed up. She knew how to do that by the frequent visits to VIP clubs which had them. She shoved off the bitter memories that wanted to arise and lowered herself deeper into the water. She had spent approximately ten minutes there when her eyes flung open at a voice.
“I’d love to let you stay in there but then, our dinner might get cold,” Wayne said with a smirk on his face. He was leaning on the door again, like he did earlier. She sprang up.
“Wayne,” she called with surprise laden in her voice.
“You look hot, baby,” he cooed as he walked closer. He looked okay, same as when he left. But he smelled of wet dirt, terrible smoke and… blood.