Chapter 1
~ Olivia ~
“Excuse me, but is it okay if I sit here?” a deep voice quietly whispered down to me.
Ten words. That’s all it took to change my life. Twelve syllables… and I was a goner. I just didn’t know it yet.
I quickly looked up from the novel I was reading and found myself staring into the most beautiful pair of brown eyes that I had ever seen. Brown eyes which were studying me as their owner waited for an answer.
“Ummm, yeah. Sure. I mean, yes you can. If you want to. Which of course you do, or you wouldn’t have asked. Sit. Yes,” I whispered up to him. As soon as the words left my mouth, I could feel my cheeks warming up. I let my head fall to the table and I softly banged it against the hard surface in embarrassment.
“C’mon now, no need for that,” he said softly as he sat down. “I didn’t mean to startle you, but it’s not often we get new students so I wanted to introduce myself. I’m Dante Wolfe, and it’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said with the sweetest smile I had ever seen.
As he was speaking, I slowly lifted my head from the table and stared at him. I didn’t even realize he had stopped talking until he cleared his throat and laughed. I knew he was waiting for me to answer him, but I honestly had no idea what he asked. I was mesmerized, plain and simple. Our close proximity would have normally kicked my anxiety into overdrive, but not with him. If anything, we felt too far apart.
“Ahhhh… I’m sorry, but what?” I stammered as my blush deepened even further.
“I asked you what your name is,” Dante said with a smile.
“Oh, yes. Of course. Olivia?” I somehow squeaked out.
“Olivia? Are you sure about that? It kinda sounded like you were asking me,” Dante said with a smile.
“No. Olivia. That’s me. Olivia Stone,” I said.
“Olivia,” Dante whispered to himself. “It’s beautiful, just like you.”
That was it. I was hallucinating. I mean, I had to be. There was no way that a man like Dante Wolfe would ever think that I was beautiful. I mean, sure, I wasn’t ugly, but I had no misconceptions about my appearance. I was too small, borderline frail looking, and my blue eyes always seemed too big for my face. My pale, white skin blushed over everything, and my mass of brown curls were near impossible to tame. I favored comfy clothes over trendy ones, so I usually looked more like a little girl than a senior in high school.
Dante, on the other hand, had an aura about him that screamed power. That, coupled with his insane good looks, and I didn’t stand a chance. He was tall, at least 6 ft 5 in, and his muscles bulged from beneath his polo shirt. He had an olive complexion, and his ebony hair fell in waves around his defined jawline. He looked as if he belonged on a runway in Milan, not in a high school library talking to someone the likes of me. The tiny bit of hope that was building within me slowly started to die as I realized how completely out of my league he was.
Dante sat with me in comfortable silence, completely unaware of the battle raging within me. It almost seemed as if he was studying me in much the same manner as I was him. I was lost in my thoughts, but it didn’t escape my attention when he scooted his chair a little bit closer to mine. It was then that I noticed how close we actually were to one another. I could smell the sweet scent of pine and fresh rain, and I instinctively knew that the scent belonged to Dante. It ignited this fire within my soul, and I yearned to bury my face in his neck and just inhale his scent for days. My cheeks flushed at the thought, and I quickly fanned my face in hopes that he didn’t notice.
“So, Olivia, when did you move here?” Dante asked while subtly sniffing the air.
My paranoia started to rise when I saw him do this. OMG, do I stink? Did I forget deodorant? I sniffed the air as well, but I could smell nothing out of the ordinary. His face contorted into an unreadable expression momentarily, however, he quickly replaced it with a smile.
“Last week. My dad got a new job, so we had to relocate,” I answered.
Well, so much for my vow to fly under the radar and keep to myself. Five minutes with Dante and I would tell every secret I ever knew if he asked. My plan for the school year was to simply survive, and the biggest part of that plan centered around me keeping my past a secret. I had a sinking suspicion, however, that would be near impossible with Dante in the picture. Be that as it may, I couldn’t bring myself to be upset about meeting him.
I quickly checked my phone and saw that there was only 10 minutes left of lunch. I started to pack up my bag, thankful for an excuse to escape from both Dante and my undeniable attraction to him.
“Wait. Where are you going? Is it me? I’m sorry if you’re uncomfortable, Olivia. Sit down, I can go,” Dante quickly said.
I stopped what I was doing and giggled. It was so refreshing to hear that the Greek God sitting before me actually sounded nervous. The thought that I, plain ol’ Olivia, had this effect on Dante was impossible for me to fathom.
“The bell is about to ring,” I whispered. “I’ve got to find my next class, so I need to leave a few minutes early.”
The look of relief on Dante’s face was instant. He quickly stood up and took my books from my hands before I had time to blink.
“Of course,” he laughed quietly. “Let me see your schedule, and I can be your personal tour guide.”
I once again fell under his spell as he was speaking. It was almost as if my brain turned to mush the minute his eyes focused on me, leaving me incapable of thinking, let alone speaking.
“Schedule. Right. Yes, it’s here somewhere,” I shakily replied as my brain finally allowed me to somewhat focus on Dante’s words instead of his hypnotizing eyes.
I hastily patted my pockets as I scoured my memory as to where I stuck my freakin’ schedule. Dante looked at me with a small smile on his lips, which did nothing to help my frame of mind.
“Finally,” I smiled triumphantly as I located the folded paper in my back pocket. “Ummmm, I have AP English next.”
“Perfect. I have that class, too. We can be English buddies,” Dante answered with an even bigger smile. “C’mon, let’s get going.”
All I could manage was a nod, and I quickly packed up my untouched lunch and dropped it in my bag. I shyly moved next to Dante, and we made our way out of the library.
The bell rang as soon as we stepped into the hallway, and a squeal forced its way past my lips.
“OMG! We’re gonna be late. I can’t be late! Not on my first day. Everyone will stare…” I cried. All of my shyness and uncertainty of Dante vanished with the threat of being made the center of attention by being tardy. I wanted, no I needed, to keep a level of anonymity to be able to make it through the year.
I had no clue where we were going, but I knew we needed to get a move on it. I grabbed Dante’s arm without a second thought, and I was prepared to sprint down the hallway, if need be, to make it on time. My plan flew out the window, however, the moment my hand touched his bare skin.
He shocked me. Or at least it felt like a shock. It was almost as if he was full of electricity and passed some along to me when I grabbed his arm. A gasp left my lips from the sensations that exploded within me. Happiness, love, excitement, and fear… my head was practically spinning from the emotional overload.
I quickly turned to question Dante, but the words died on my lips when my eyes met his. The look of complete adoration that Dante was giving me almost took my breath away. I never knew eyes could convey such emotions, but his brown eyes were speaking volumes to me. And, needless to say, I was freaking out.
Dante quickly realized I was on the verge of some sort of breakdown, so he gently took my hand and started to walk down the almost empty hallway.
“It’s okay, little one,” he said softly. “Let’s get to class. We have plenty of time to talk later.”
I nodded my head dumbly and he gave me another heart-stopping smile. I had barely known this man for an hour, but I would already trust him with my life. When he looked at me, I felt safer and more loved than I had ever felt in my 17 years of life.
We made it to the classroom right as the late bell was ringing. As we walked into the room, it felt as if every pair of eyes were focused solely on me. So, of course, my cheeks had to turn the brightest shade of red possible. My anxiety was growing with each passing second, and all I wanted to do was turn and run away. I might have actually succeeded in my escape if not for Dante.
It was almost as if he was tuned into my thoughts, because as soon as I decided to bolt he softly grabbed my arm. This time it was more of a tingling sensation than a shock, but the effect was the same nonetheless. An overwhelming feeling of calmness overtook me, and I couldn’t help but smile up at him.
I was almost hypnotized by his eyes once more, until I remembered where we were. I slowly turned to face the room again, but this time with Dante slightly in front of me. Every pair of eyes were still focused on us, but the faces wore varying expressions of shock and/or excitement, with the exception of a few girls glaring at me from the front row.
The teacher finally cleared her throat, and the spell seemed to be broken. Everyone turned away from us, and we were able to take the last two empty desks in the room, which were conveniently in the back corner.
I sat down with a sigh, and Dante immediately slid his desk closer to mine. It was almost as if he felt the same as me, and any sort of distance between us was too much. My head was spinning and I felt as if I had entered some sort of parallel universe. Yep, that had to be what was happening. Or maybe I was asleep. Dante was definitely the stuff that dreams were made of! I decided to test my theory and gave my arm a hard pinch.
“Ouch!” I whispered.
“What’s wrong, Olivia? Are you hurt? Let me see…” Dante said in a rush.
I looked up at him and my heart skipped a beat. He was frantically looking me over in search of injuries. His brows were furrowed in concern, and his body was almost shaking.
“No, no, no. I’m okay, Dante. I pinched myself to see if I was dreaming.”
His eyes softened, and Dante gently took my small hand in his much larger ones.
“If anyone is dreaming, little one, it’s me,” he softly replied. “And if that’s the case, I hope I never wake up.”
