Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 359 -

*Giovani*

Our alarm went off, and Olivia moaned next to me. I rolled to face her and could immediately see that she needed about five more hours of sleep, even though she had to get up for her classes.

I wished it was summertime again, and I could just give her a kiss and tuck her back into sleep for a few more hours before I left for work, but I knew these days she was almost as busy as me. The poor thing had dark bags under her eyes and a slightly haunted look that made me nervous. She dropped a quick kiss on my cheek and got out of bed before I even had the chance to tell her good morning.

I pulled my phone out to check if I had any messages and heard the shower start running. I was surprised; normally she liked to try to pull me in there with her. Whatever she'd dreamt about last night, it must have been horrible to have her acting so strange. I hurried through the few updates that I'd received while I was sleeping. I wanted to try to get into the shower with her before she finished up.

I shot off a quick text to Gabriele to let him know the plans for the day then rolled out of bed myself. I groaned as I stood up. Olivia wasn't the only one who hadn't gotten enough sleep last night. I just hoped that we could both get our asses back in bed early tonight. Cuddling up under the covers with her was the best reward after a long day of work.

I walked into the bathroom to discover that it was already steamy from Olivia's shower. I pulled my underwear off and stepped in with her. The shower was plenty big enough for the two of us, and we often took advantage of it. It was our usual morning routine to get in a good fuck before starting the day, but I could tell she was too preoccupied for anything like that.

My cock throbbed a bit when I stepped into the hot shower and I got to see her naked and slippery body, but I forced myself to get it under control. The last thing she needed when she was scared and exhausted was for me to be shoving my erection in her face.

She had been facing the water instead of me, but when I stepped in, she turned back around. That horrible look of fear was still there in her eyes, and I was determined to get rid of it. She was far too precious to be living her life in constant fear. If I was being honest with myself, I was ashamed at how often she looked scared these days compared to when I'd first met her.

She had been a shy but confident girl in her first days here in Italy, excited to take on a new country with her friend by her side. I had fallen in love with her innocent optimism, and now I was terrified that I was ripping that happy view of the world away from her.

"Good morning," she said softly.

Her face was slightly flushed from the heat of the shower, and it melted my heart to see how vulnerable she looked with her hair slicked against her head and water dripping down her body. That I got to see her like this was a gift more precious than gold.

"Hey, baby." I pulled her in close and nuzzled my face in her neck, kissing her gently just above her shoulder and taking in her delicious scent. I loved how she smelled when she had just woken up.

I was rewarded with her body relaxing slightly into my touch. It never failed to amaze me that I could get her to feel better just by being present with her. I took pride in knowing exactly what she needed and how to give it to her, and right now I knew she needed comfort from me.

"Let me help you out in here," I said while reaching around her for her favorite body wash. It was some kind of fancy perfumey stuff that sudsed up into a light purple lather.

She and Dahlia had spent a small fortune at a local soap and fragrance shop sometime before school started. Dahlia had insisted that starting at the university meant they needed new "signatures scents." I wasn't so sure about that, but when I showered with Olivia, I loved the look of the little purple bubbles against her slightly pink skin. And I couldn't deny that it smelled heavenly on her. I loved her natural scent, but her new "signature scent" was great too.

I lathered the soap in my hands to ensure it was warm before rubbing it onto her. I had made the mistake once of just squirting the soap directly onto her body, and she had jumped and squealed that it was cold. Although the memory made me smile, I had no desire to shock her into squealing this morning.

Once the soap was lathered nicely, I started with her shoulders and worked my way down her arms, massaging her fingers and hands as I went. After rubbing my way back up her arms, I chastely washed over her breasts, taking extra care to be gentle without turning my touches sexual. Her delicate nipples peaked tightly under my hands, and my dick responded, but it didn't matter. This wasn't about release; this was about comfort.

I needed her to know that I would take care of her, always. As much as I loved fucking her, I also loved taking the opportunity to worship her body without needing to put my dick inside her.

Satisfied that her breasts were clean, I moved down her stomach and washed her hips and thighs, stopping only briefly in between her legs. I kneeled in front of her to wash her shins and feet. She moaned with pleasure as I massaged her feet, so I took extra time making sure to work out all the soreness. I knew that walking around to all her classes had been making her feet tired lately. I made a mental note to buy her some new shoes that would be better for walking. She turned so I could suds up her backside. I was still kneeling, so I worked my way up her calves and the backs of her thighs before standing back up. Treating her ass the same as her breasts, I washed it carefully but briefly.

Finally, I made it to her back and finished off with another long massage. Once she was totally soaped up, I pulled her back toward me so she could lean against me while I rinsed her off. I grabbed the shower head from where it hung and held it over her chest so that the water would run down her front. The light purple suds fell away, leaving her clean and lightly perfumed.

She laid her head back against my shoulder as I rinsed her off; her eyes were closed in total bliss. I might not be able to keep her from having nightmares, but at least this I could give her. I put the shower head back where it was before turning her back around to face me while her back was rinsed off. Her body looked more relaxed, but her eyes still looked troubled.

"Carino, what has you so worked up?" I asked, my eyebrows tense with concern.

She just shrugged and turned away to get out of the shower. It was so unlike her to ignore me like that. I rushed to get myself showered as she stood in the bathroom and toweled off her hair. I got out and wrapped a towel around myself just as she was finishing up and heading back to the bedroom.

"Olivia, please, what's wrong?" I begged.

I needed the closeness we'd had in the shower. I tried to grab her around the waist and pull her toward me, but she pushed my hands away.

She started out so quietly that I had to lean in to hear her. "I had a dream I was kidnapped. They were trying to get information about you. They were going to hurt me... they did hurt me. I wasn't going to say anything. I was going to let them kill me before I gave you up. I was so scared, but I wasn't going to give you up..."

She trailed off as tears began to fall down her cheeks. I felt fucking horrible. I wanted to replace her dream captors and kill them. I didn't care if they weren't real. They were real to her, and that was enough for me to want to get rid of them.

Unable to stop myself, I reached for her again. This time, she let me pull her toward me. I hugged her tightly, with nothing but our towels between us. The shower's warmth still clung to us, making our skin stick where it touched. She roughly wiped her tears away. I knew she hated crying in front of me, but I hated that she felt that way. I wanted her to come to me any time she felt upset.

"I'm so sorry, Olivia. That sounds terrifying. I hope you know that I would never let that happen to you. I will always keep you safe."

Without warning, she shoved up against me. I stepped away in shock. She had never touched me so viciously before. I didn't know why her face was suddenly screwed up in anger.

"You always say that, but you have no fucking clue! You can't promise that, Gio. You have no idea what could happen. You make these empty promises to keep me safe, but you can't keep me safe."

She turned away from me, and my heart twisted. Why did she feel like I couldn't keep her safe? I had always done everything in my power to make her feel secure. I had no idea where this newfound fear was coming from, and even worse, I had no idea how to stop her from feeling like this.

"What are you saying?" I asked, fearing the worst.

"I can't get into this right now. I have to get to class. I'll see you later," she said, her voice tight and movements jerky.

I stood there in shock, unable to say a word as she finished getting dressed and ready for class and then stormed out of the room. I had started to think of our relationship as being a sure thing, but this outburst of anger had me second- guessing everything. For the first time since we had moved in together, I wondered if maybe this was all too good to be true. I didn't know what I would do if Olivia decided to leave me. Losing her would be the worst thing that had ever happened to me.