Return to You

get past
the pearly gates. He'd done a few things in the past that surely
bought him a one-way pass to hell.
    Which left one possibility: he was still
alive and the last hour actually did happen.
    He ran his hand down Olivia's side to the
curve of her hip. She was warm and firm with muscles.
    His cock stirred.
    He was definitely alive.
    Olivia sighed and burrowed
closer to him. "I'm having a strong case of deja vu ."
    "What?"
    " Deja vu . This is just like my
sixteenth birthday. Except we're indoors and there aren't any
thistles poking into my back." She caressed his back, alternately
running her fingers down his spine and kneading his muscles. "Do
you ever think about it?"
    "About it?"
    "About the past. About my sixteenth
birthday."
    "Sometimes." He wasn't about to tell her he
carried the locket he gave her in his pocket all the time.
    "When you think about it, what comes to
mind?"
    He rolled onto his back and scooped her
against his chest. "That I miss having you in my life."
    Shit. He didn't mean to say that. She'd take
it the wrong way. Having fabulous, wake-up-the-neighbors sex was
one thing. It was a far cry from getting back together.
    He tasted the possibility of being with
Olivia every night. It was scrumptious.
    But unfeasible. His life was in LA, as much
as hers was here in Northern California. Their paths didn't mesh.
It would never work and he didn't want to lead her on. The last
thing he wanted was to hurt her.
    He shot her a look to see how she took his
comment.
    Her brows were furrowed. He resisted the
urge to smooth them out. "That's what I think too," she said.
"Right before I wish I'd never met you."
    "Ouch. That was below the belt."
    Her lips twisted wryly. "What did you
expect? That I'd be blown away by the sex and fall under your
spell? Again?" she asked. "I don't think so."
    "So why are you here?"
    "Same reason you are. I was locked in."
    "No." Michael pointedly
looked at where she lay against him. "Why are you here ?"
    "Temporary insanity. Don't take this to mean
more than it does." She rested her cheek on top of his chest,
rubbing it in like she was trying to nest.
    He frowned. What the hell
did that mean? Okay—yes, he admitted he didn't want her to think
this meant a lifetime commitment, but tonight should mean something .
    "Don't get me wrong. It was
really good." She lifted her head and looked at him with a wicked
gleam. " Really good. But it just wouldn't be feasible. You hate Northern
California, and I won't leave. Gran is getting older, and then
there's my business." She shrugged and fell silent.
    "So we're on the same page." Then why did he
feel so disgruntled?
    He needed to change the subject. "Do you
think they'll let us out tonight?"
    "I don't know, but we should get dressed
just in case. I wouldn't want to give Gran the satisfaction of
finding us naked. Not like that'll make a big difference. She'll
probably know anyway."
    He shuddered. "Granny Mae is scary."
    "Tell me about it. And you don't have to
live with her."
    Neither did she, but apparently she didn't
realize it. And she'd probably get out of joint if he mentioned it.
He didn't want to do that. The moment was sweet, and he didn't want
to disrupt it.
    Olivia propped her chin on his chest and
gazed at him. "We're going to have to discuss this eventually, you
know."
    He sighed.
    "We have to be realistic about this. How
much longer are you going to be around?"
    The way the movie was going, another three
years. "At least several more weeks."
    "Good."
    He didn't like the way that sounded.
"Good?"
    "If you were leaving tomorrow, we wouldn't
get to have much more sex, would we?" She lifted her head and
looked at him. He couldn't read the expression on her face. "Unless
you don't want more sex."
    Not want more sex with Olivia? "That's not
it at all."
    She looked relieved. "Good. Great. I'd like
it too."
    He should be jumping for joy at the prospect
of no strings attached sex, but he didn't think anyone would find
fault with him for being leery. For one thing, he didn't think
there was such a thing as no strings attached sex. Second, this was
Olivia. Why would she want it? Especially from him. And third, was
she actually talking about no strings attached sex?
    Wait a minute—what about Lurch?
    He drew her face closer to his. "You want
more sex with me?"
    "We obviously have chemistry, and it only
seems to get worse the more we ignore it."
    "So this is just a for-the-good-of-mankind
kind of thing?"
    Her lips quirked into a smile.