Shackled (The Lord Series) by Carlos

Her eyes shine with unshed tears, I pick her up in my arms and take her to my desk. My eyes are still hurting, and I often get headaches during the night. I should rest right about now but Olivia is more important than my vision. I sit on the chair with her on my lap. Her head comes to rest on my shoulder, her palm on the free one. My fingers massage the back of her neck.

"For years, I was so lonely." Her voice is always soft, but right now it's full of pain. "I wanted to die, but I held on to the hope that you would return to me one day." She lets out a bitter laugh. "Hope it's just a lie. You never came." She falls silent for a moment before saying, "In the forest, when you all hovered over me like I was some piece of meat in the butcher's shop, you said little rabbit. Did you know it was me?"

I don't remember a lot from that night except for being in shock when Rueben took off her blindfold. I didn't expect to see Olivia. All I knew was that she was no longer in the US. "No. I never thought I'd see you again. I hoped I'd never see you again. All that Rueben ever talked about was how he would kill you and...I didn't want that."

"You wanted to be the one to kill me?"

For years, I imagined all the ways I would make her suffer, but I never once wanted to end her. "I wanted you to live so you would be as miserable as I was." My throat bobs. "If I had known the pain in your heart...."

A few tears fall down her cheeks. "What then?"

"I would have held you like I am now."

A sob leaves her. "I want my baby." My hold on her tightens. "Our little Spencer."

"It's all my fault-❞

Olivia puts her finger on my lips, silencing me. "I shouldn't have said that. My father is the one who ordered the doctor to let Spencer die, not you. Besides, my body failed our son. I couldn't carry him full term."

I remove her hand from my mouth and kiss her forehead. "You did wonderful, and I should have been by your side, doting on you every second of your pregnancy. Do you know where he is buried?"

More tears fall down her face. "My father let Jason take care of Spencer's funeral. Jason refused to tell me what he did with our son. It is one of the reasons I keep returning to him because I want to think that one day he will tell me." Jason is my next target. What I did to his friends will be nothing compared to what I'll do to that son of a bitch. Talking about Spencer is causing Olivia too much pain, so I change the subject. "The job offer is still available." Olivia cleans her face on my T-shirt before saying, "The muse thing you were talking about earlier?"

"I was being truthful when I said you inspired me all these years. Why do you think I've become an author in the first place?"

Olivia blows her nose on my sleeve. That's gross, but I don't say anything about it. I do deserve it. "I don't know. You tell me."

"Because I wanted our story to have a happy ending."

I rewrote our love story in each of my books. Now, I have the opportunity to live all my fantasies.

"I was never meant to be happy in this life," Olivia says.

I cup her cheek. "You were born to be loved by my blood-brothers and me." She snorts before using my T-shirt as her handkerchief once more. "It won't be easy, but one day, you will be happy again."

"I doubt it. Regarding your offer, I'll think about it," she says. "Having my own money sounds very tempting. What would I have to do?"

"Be here while I write."

A crease appears between her bows, and I kiss it until it disappears. "Won't that distract you?"

"On the contrary, your presence here will help."

After chewing her bottom lip for several seconds, she says, "I'll have an answer in a few days. Can I go now? I want to take a shower and change my clothes."

I open the top drawer of my desk and take out the phone Alma brought for Olivia. "I meant to give it to you earlier, but I never found a good moment. Alma is still missing. I don't know what the Senator did to her. For all I know, she could be dead. She might be noisy as fuck, but she is not a bad person."

Olivia takes the phone from me. "Why are you telling me all this?"

"You've always thrived when you had a friend. Camila brought out the best of you." Olivia's face turns pale. So, I try to say the next part as clearly as I can so she won't misinterpret my words. "One of the Lords who was present the day we found Mose and you in the desert has a cousin. Some years ago, a dog bit her on her face, and it resulted in her having scars. Because of that, she barely goes out."

I don't want to tell her who she can befriend or not, so I let her draw her own conclusions.

"I hate my scars too," Olivia lets me know. "But I would love to talk to her. What's her name?"

"Anne." I press my lips to her temple. "I love your scars. It's proof of how strong you are."

Olivia tries to stand, but I'm reluctant to let go of her. "Cum is dripping from my pussy. You either let me shower, or you use your tongue to—"

I stop myself before I shove her off of me because I don't want her to know how hot I find the idea of licking Jasper's cum from her pussy. What the hell is wrong with me?

Olivia gets up and goes to the book I dropped on the floor. "If I like this book, I'll be your muse," she says before leaving.

**Tyson and Olivia seem to be making some progress. Anyway, the next update will be in 2 days**