Protecting Olivia

CHAPTER FORTY FIVE

ETHAN

Livy was quiet after I mentioned my impending deployment. I could see the wheels turning in her head, completely lost in thought and I had no idea what she was thinking. Would she wait for me while I am away? Can I even ask that of her? I know it's something that we need to discuss, along with figuring out what is actually going on between us. I know what I want, what I've always wanted, I just hope that we are on the same page.

We'd left Fran's house late afternoon, despite the emotional start to the day it turned out to be a nice little get together. Martha and Donald made it clear that they want to be in my life, that they would like to meet Kate and have a relationship with Matthew. I couldn't deny them that, we were the only thing left of the daughter that they lost long ago.

Before we left, Donald had pulled me aside, asking about funeral arrangements for Mary. He wanted to have her buried in the family plot here in Port MacDonnell. I didn't disagree, I had no idea what she would have wanted and had no clue what happened to my fathers' body. At least now they can bury the little girl who had left, rather than the woman she had become. I told him I'd make the arrangements for her body to be sent over from Perth, he and Martha would handle everything from there. I'd told him that I wasn't interested in attending her funeral, and with the pending deployment it would be impossible anyway, he understood, she was pretty much a stranger to me after all.

I gripped Livy's hand in mine as we made our way into the cabin that has been our home the past few days, she's still quiet, a faraway look in her eyes as she's lost in thought. As soon as we enter the cabin and shut the door, I turn to face her, squeezing her hand to get her attention.

"Livy..." I say softly, she interrupts before I can ask her to talk to me.

"When would you have to leave?" her blue eyes meet mine, looking so vulnerable that it breaks my heart.

"Within the next month." I tell her, watching her closely trying to gauge her reaction. She steps into me, wrapping her arms around my waist and burying her head in my chest. I wrap my arms around her and rest my chin on the top of her head.

"Everything will be okay." I whisper, knowing I can't make any promises, despite our training and our skill, things happen that are outside of our control. It doesn't mean I wouldn't do anything possible to come home to her. it's a strange feeling, actually having something to come home to. She nods her head against my chest but doesn't say anything else. I'm not sure how long we stand there for, but I have no desire to move, wanting to just stay like this forever with her, but eventually I know I need to pull away as I'd planned an evening for us.

"We're going out tonight," I tell her as I loosen my grip on her. Livy raises her head to look up at me, her brows furrowed in confusion. "Go get dressed up, well as dressed up as you can anyway." I say, realising that she may not have packed anything dressy. She nods her head and raises herself up, capturing my lips with hers. I smile against her, pecking at her lips before deepening it, wanting nothing more than to devour her. How I went eleven years without kissing her, I will never know.

She pulls away, way too soon for my liking and untangles herself from me, throwing me a seductive smile, she walks away making me groan out loud. I hear her giggle before she shuts the door to her room, obviously going to get ready. I chuckle out loud at the little vixen, my chest feeling lighter than it ever has before. This is what happiness feels like, something I have only felt a few times in my life, and I'd be fucked if I ever let it go again.

Running a hand through my hair, I turn around and make my way to my room to get ready. It doesn't take me long, changing into a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, making sure my hair isn't looking too bad, I find myself ready with plenty of time before Livy would be. I make my way out of the small cabin and moving towards the flower beds I'd seen not far from where we are staying.

I'd planned to take Livy out on a real date, before anything had ever happened between us, and I'm determined to make it the best date she has ever been on. To be honest, I'd never actually been on a real date myself, never having had more than a one night stand apart from Livy, so my knowledge is reliant on TV shows and movies.

I return to the cabin with a haphazard bunch of flowers in my hand, I have no idea what they are, there is every chance that most of them are weeds, and had I thought about it ahead of time I would have arranged for some from a florist, which would have looked a lot better than what's currently in my hand.

I re-enter the cabin just as Livy leaves her bedroom, wearing a long flowing yellow dress with small white flowers over it, she's put her hair up and I can tell she's wearing the slightest bit of makeup. She looks stunning, but then she always does.

"Is this alright?" she asks, breaking me from my obvious ogling. I swallow the lump in my throat and nod.

"You look beautiful," I tell her, watching as her cheeks start to redden at my compliment. I clear my throat before stepping forward and offering her the handful of flowers, or weeds, I had gathered for her. "These are for you."

Her smile is bright as she takes them from me and brings them to her nose. "Thank you," she whispers, her cheeks almost a permanent shade of red. "So, I take it that this is a date?"

"Um, well," I stutter, bringing my hand up to massage the back of my neck, I don't know why I feel so nervous right now, I never get nervous. "I just thought... I never got to take you on a date before... and I thought, you know, you deserved that..." I cringe at how much of an idiot I sound like, Livy just giggles in amusement, closing the distance between us and placing a chaste kiss on my lips. I sigh in relief, pulling her closer to me and resting my forehead against hers.

"Let's just pretend I didn't sound like a muttering fool just then..." I chuckle.

"It was cute," Livy shrugs her shoulders as she plays with the collar of my shirt, her eyes dancing with amusement, obviously at my expense. I groan and pull away.

"I don't want to be cute, I'm manly, sexy..." Livy giggles, resting her hand against my chest.

"Of course, you are," she patronises.  I grab her by the hips and pull her flush against me, bringing my lips to her ear, I give a gentle tug with my teeth to her ear lobe before whispering.

"I'll show you how manly I can be," I smile triumphantly at the small shiver she responds with, loving that I can elicit such a reaction from her. "But, right now we have to go." I pull away, grabbing her hand and bringing it up to my lips. I can see the slight disappointment before she smiles and grabs her denim jacket.

"Lead the way," she states, gesturing towards the door.