Chapter 480

Olivia

“Here we are, my love.”

Nathan opened the car door for me. I took his hand and stepped out onto the cobblestone street where we were parked; the amber-colored street lights cast the nearby storefronts in a warm golden hue, and the people that walked by filled the air with the sounds of their voices and laughter.

As we walked up to the fancy Italian restaurant that Nathan had picked out for us, I took his arm. He glanced at me, noticing the faraway look in my eyes—it had been there since he had taken that call earlier.

“You’re still mad at me,” he said softly.

I shrugged and shook my head at the same time. “I’m not mad,” I assured him. “I just… wish that you didn’t always have to answer Dan’s calls. At least on a holiday.”

“I know,” Nathan said with a heavy sigh as he opened the restaurant door for us. “But right now—”

“Trust me, I know. Until the end of the probation period, you have to do what he says.”

“But it’s already almost halfway over,” Nathan said gently.

I nodded. “Let’s just enjoy our date now,” I replied with a soft smile. I leaned up on my tiptoes and pressed a warm kiss to Nathan’s cheek.

He grinned. “As you wish.”

…

Sitting at our table, with its pristine white tablecloth and flickering candle in the center, made us temporarily forget about all of our worries and inhibitions.

Nathan sat across from me, stroking my hand with his thumb as we talked in hushed voices. Our plates sat empty now after a filling meal, and soft piano music played by a live pianist filled the air.

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” Nathan said gently for the thousandth time that night. “I hope you’re enjoying yourself so far.”

I offered him a smile and an exuberant nod. “For the millionth time, yes,” I teased. “And now I can’t wait to get home so we can—”

“Hold on there,” Nathan laughed, holding up his hand to stop me. “So soon? How promiscuous of you, Mrs. Ford.”

A slight blush colored my cheeks at his words. “Did you have something else planned, then?” I asked.

Nathan shrugged and peered out the window onto the crowded cobblestone street. Couples wandered past, holding hands and laughing. The night was cold, but not too cold. “I was thinking we could walk around for a little bit, at least,” Nathan said. “If you’re feeling up to it, of course.”

I paused for a moment, thinking as my hand absentmindedly stroked my belly. The back pain hadn’t gotten too bad yet. “I could go for a walk,” I said with a grin.

“Perfect.”

Nathan paid the bill, and together we walked out of the restaurant. The cold night air nipped at my skin, and I shivered a bit beneath my coat. But with Nathan’s arm around me and with my heart so full, I barely felt it.

“Oh! Look!” I said, pointing at a sign up ahead. “An opera!”

We walked up to the sign and peered at the advertisement for the traveling opera. I had never been to one, but they had always intrigued me. But the show had already begun.

“Damn,” Nathan said with a sigh as he ran his hand through his hair. “It started twenty minutes ago. Sorry, Liv.”

I couldn’t completely contain my disappointment. “It’s alright. Maybe next time.”

But as we began to walk away, Nathan suddenly stopped. I felt him tug on my hand, and I turned to see a mischievous look flash through his eyes. “Hey,” he whispered, jerking his head toward a nearby alleyway behind the theater. “Follow me.”

“Nathan, what are you—”

“Shh. Just come,” he insisted.

With Nathan pulling on my hand, it seemed as though I had no choice. I let him lead me into the dark alleyway, where he pulled open a side door. The sound of distant singing caught my attention, and my eyes widened as Nathan ushered me inside.

“Nathan, what if we get caught?” I whispered.

But Nathan just smirked. “Since when do you shy away from a little adventure?” he teased.

I couldn’t argue against that. With grins plastered across our faces, we followed the source of the beautiful singing voice. We made our way down a narrow, dimly lit hallway until the voice became so loud and clear that I was certain we were backstage.

And then, peering around the heavy velvet curtains, that was when we saw it; a beautiful woman, dressed in a costume of silk robes with a beaded headdress, belting beautiful notes in a high voice. The spotlight shined down on her like an angel as the audience looked on in awe.

At that moment, though, I felt another tug on my hand and looked over to see Nathan pulling on me again. He silently pointed at a nearby ladder leading up to a maintenance balcony. I followed him, and he helped guide me up as I hiked up my skirt.

“Isn’t this better?” he whispered once we were perched high overhead, leaning on a metal railing.

“Yeah,” I breathed. “It is.”

And it really was. This high up, we could see everything; the woman, the stage, the audience. Her voice sounded even more beautiful from up here, as if her song was appealing to the heavens themselves.

And all the while, no one even knew we were here.

I felt Nathan’s arms loop around me from behind, holding me fast against his chest. Together, we closed our eyes and swayed to the woman’s sweet voice. A soft smile tugged at the corners of my lips as I listened.

It felt like a dream.

The woman finished her song, and the crowd burst out into raucous applause. I couldn’t control the giggle that escaped my lips as Nathan suddenly turned me around, pressing me against the cold bars of the railing.

“And now, for the encore,” he whispered huskily into my ear.

My eyes widened a bit in shock as I felt his tongue trace along the soft skin of my neck. This was risky. “Nathan—”

“Shh,” he whispered. “She’s about to sing again.”

Nathan was right; the woman did begin to sing again. A man joined her on the stage, their voices melting together into a beautiful harmony. Even though I couldn’t understand the words, the passion that emanated from their lips was all too clear.

Or maybe it was the sensation of Nathan’s lips on my breasts, his tongue tracing across the neckline of my dress, that intensified it.

As he kissed and licked along my chest, I tangled my fingers in his hair and closed my eyes again. The soft sounds of my pleasured moans mingled with the sounds of the voices below, and those, too, appealed to the heavens.

I felt Nathan’s fingers slowly work their way up my skirt, pressing against my wet panties. He moved his fingers there in circles, and then…

“Hey! Get out of here!”

A harsh voice whisper-shouted across the balcony, causing both Nathan and I to jerk our heads up to see a security guard standing on the other side.

“Shit,” Nathan and I whispered in unison as the security guard began storming toward us.

But, just as Nathan had said, I was never really one to stray from an adventure. Now, I was the one who took Nathan’s hand.

Together, laughing, we ran away from the security guard and practically flew down the ladder. The heavy velvet curtains swooshed around our feet as we ran backstage, giggling under our breath. We ran down the dimly lit hallway until we eventually burst out into the dark alley, but we didn’t stop there.

I don’t even think that the guard followed us beyond the back door, but we didn’t stop running until we were all the way back at the car.

And there, with our feet aching and our chests heaving, we leaned against the hood. Our laughter mingled in the cold air of the night sky until it eventually became stifled by our lips pressing fervently against one another.