Desperate (Cunningham Security Series Book 3)

by A. K. Evans

  As I stood under the warm spray of the shower, I finally started to settle into the break that was before me. My plan for tonight was to spend my night reading the rest of my book from the library until Dom got home and we could have dinner together. I really enjoyed spending time with and talking to him, so I was looking forward to doing that tonight at a reasonable hour.

  Tomorrow, Dom was taking me on an official date. I knew he’d have to work during the day, so I planned to make a trip to the library and to reach out to Ryan. I wanted to let him know that I had found a place and that I’d be getting my things out of his apartment within a few days. Part of my plans for the day also included figuring out what moving company I could hire to get my bed moved for the cheapest price.

  After I finished in the shower, I got out and threw on a pair of shorts and a V-neck t-shirt. For the past couple nights, I’d woken up in the middle of the night to change out of pants and put on shorts. Dom’s bed was just that warm and cozy.

  Once I was dressed, I grabbed my book off Dom’s nightstand and went back downstairs to check on the soup. It was perfect, so I kept it on low to keep it warm and set the rice aside. I didn’t want to add that until Dom got home; otherwise, it would be nothing but mush. My belly was growling, so when I glanced up at the clock on the microwave, I was thankful it was quarter after six.

  Curling up on the couch, I opened my book and dove in. I was so caught up in my book that I never noticed how much time had passed. I only realized it when I finished the last page. I went back out into the kitchen and noted it was just after eight-thirty. Frowning, I turned off the stove and went back to the couch. Minutes later, I was asleep.

  My eyes shot open when I felt my body being moved. That’s when I realized I was in Dom’s arms and he was carrying me up the stairs.

  His voice was low and sweet when he spoke, “Hey, sugar. I saw you made dinner. Sorry I missed it and you had to eat alone.”

  Still slightly disoriented, I shook my head.

  Dom curled my body tighter into his. If I wasn’t so tired, I would have fought to have him put me down. Instead, I enjoyed how great it felt being pressed against him. I especially loved the feel of his hands on my bare legs.

  When we reached the bedroom, Dom walked over to the bed, looked down at me with a heart-warming gaze, and gave me a gentle squeeze before he lowered me to the mattress. His hands left my body and I immediately wanted them back.

  “Good night, Ekko,” he said softly.

  I didn’t want him to leave.

  “Dom?” I called, my voice raspy with sleep, as I reached out and wrapped my hand around his forearm.

  “Yeah?”

  “Will you stay with me tonight?”

  Dom held my eyes in silence for a long while seemingly battling thoughts he was having. I watched as the muscle in his jaw twitched.

  Finally, he answered, “I had a long day; I’ve got to shower first.”

  “Okay,” I replied, my eyelids growing heavy.

  “Go back to sleep.”

  At his request, I rolled to my side and closed my eyes. I listened as I heard the door to the bathroom open and close. I tried to wait to fall back asleep until after Dom was finished and got in bed, but once I heard the water running in the shower, it quickly lulled me to sleep. It was a good thing it had because otherwise I would have known that after taking his shower, Dom decided against staying in bed with me and preferred taking the couch instead.

  Walking out of my bedroom last night and leaving Ekko there alone in my bed to sleep after she’d asked me to stay with her was the hardest thing I’d ever done in my life. Having had the opportunity to get to know her over the last few days, I felt myself growing more and more attracted to her.

  The need in her voice and the hunger in her eyes when she asked me to stay had rocked me a bit. I wanted nothing more than to climb in the bed and curl up behind her, but I decided against it. Ekko deserved more than she allowed herself to believe. She was at a point in her life where she was vulnerable, and I didn’t think it was fair to take advantage of that the way I could have with her invitation.

  I had been looking forward to coming home from work and spending time with Ekko. She spent all day Monday and Tuesday working. The only time I got to see her was first thing early in the morning or when she got home late at night, exhausted and overworked. While I loved the drive she had to work hard so she could give herself more in life, I hated seeing how much of a toll it was taking on her. She was beyond tired and, given how much she worked, she never seemed to have any time for herself. Other than the library, she never did anything fun.

  That’s part of why I was excited to get home from work to spend time with her last night. I wanted to come home, make dinner, and watch a movie. We were going out on a date tonight and I had been planning on taking her out to dinner and to do something fun, so last night was really just about being close to her. All I wanted was to have her next to me on the couch while we watched a movie.

  But my plans were shot to shit because of work. Levi, my boss and the owner of Cunningham Security, got into a situation on a case he was working on. He needed back up and I was available. As much as I wanted to get home to Ekko, Levi needed me, and I’d never let any of the guys on my team down. Aside from that, Levi was going to be getting married in a few weeks and I was certain his fiancée, Elle, would have lost her mind if something happened to him.

  In the end, Levi and I got done what we needed to get done and I eventually made my way home. Unfortunately, it was a lot later than I had anticipated.

  And if it wasn’t torturous enough to know that Ekko was getting some time off from work and I couldn’t spend it with her, I had to walk into the house and see everything that I did. To start, she was on my couch, asleep, looking like an angel. She had on a pair of tiny shorts that showed off her gorgeous legs. It was the first time I had seen her bare legs and I couldn’t take my eyes away from them.

  It was as I stood there staring at her that I noticed the aroma filling the house. Reluctantly, I tore my eyes from Ekko’s legs and walked out into the kitchen to find that she had made dinner. It made me feel awful that she had gone through the trouble and I wasn’t here to share it with her.

  I left the kitchen and went back to Ekko. I slipped one arm under her back and the other under her soft, sexy legs before I lifted her up. Just holding her close to me with my hand on her leg, the scent of her consuming me, I felt my cock jerk.

  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, hoping to rein in the sexual frustration. After rescuing Ekko that night months ago, nobody else piqued my interest long enough for me to care about having even just a one-night stand. It had been a couple of months since I’d been with anyone and I was well past the point of being over pleasuring myself. But every time I did, it was always with thoughts of her filling my mind.

  Climbing the stairs, I kept my eyes on Ekko’s face. She looked so peaceful until her eyes fluttered open. I quickly apologized to her for not being there to have dinner with her. She didn’t respond, and it made me feel even worse. That was, I felt awful until I put her down in the bed and she reached out to touch my arm.

  Will you stay with me tonight?

  I wanted to.

  But I couldn’t.

  It wasn’t how I wanted things to go with her.

  So I gave her an excuse about needing a shower and told her to go back to sleep. Thankfully, by the time I got out of the shower she had fallen back asleep. I crept out of the room and made my way downstairs again. After putting some of the food Ekko made into a bowl and heating it in the microwave, I put the rest into containers and put it in the fridge. Before I fell asleep, I savored every bite of the delicious dinner she made.

  Now, I was here on the couch, it was early in the morning, and I knew she was awake because I’d heard the toilet flush. I suspected she’d be walking down the stairs at any moment and I tried to prepare myself for the possibility of seeing her legs in those shorts again.
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  When too much time had passed and Ekko hadn’t come downstairs, I decided to go up. I knocked on the door and waited.

  “Come in,” I heard.

  I opened the door and saw Ekko sitting on the edge of the bed, her bare legs and feet dangling over the side. She looked sad.

  “Are you alright?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” she replied, but I could tell she didn’t mean it.

  I walked over and sat on the edge of the bed next to her. The urge to touch her was overwhelming, but I resisted.

  “Is something wrong?” I pushed for the truth.

  She hesitated a moment before explaining, “No, I’m just thinking about everything I have to get done today.”

  “You don’t work today, right?”

  She shook her head but didn’t offer anything else.

  I decided to take a different approach. “Sorry about last night,” I lamented.

  The minute the words were out of my mouth, Ekko’s body tensed beside me. My instincts kicked in and my hand immediately went to her thigh. She tensed further, and I watched her as her eyes stayed glued to my hand. Slowly, her stare left my hand and traveled up my arm, to my shoulder, and finally, my face. I wanted her to tell me what was wrong, so I waited.

  “I guess it’s safe to assume we aren’t going to be going on a date tonight anymore,” she stated so matter-of-factly.

  My head jerked, and I questioned, “What? Why not?”

  Confusion washed over her face. “I assumed you didn’t want to.”

  “What could possibly make you think that?”

  Her voice was just a touch over a whisper when she answered, “I asked you to stay with me last night.” Once she got the words out, her eyes went to the floor.

  I watched in complete shock as her breathing grew quick and shallow. I could tell she was struggling to remain calm. And then I felt the wetness on the top of my hand.

  A tear.

  She was crying.

  “Ekko, look at me.”

  She didn’t.

  My hand left her thigh and came up to the side of her head. I ran my fingers through the hair there and used my other hand to turn her face toward me.

  It was a good thing I was sitting because the anguish in her face would have brought me to my knees.

  With my hands framing her face, I asked, “Sugar, why are you crying?”

  She didn’t respond immediately, but eventually spoke and completely gutted me. “It’s not your fault, Dom. I’ve been on my own for as long as I can remember. And it’s completely fine; I’m used to it. But I just wanted one night where I wouldn’t have to feel so lonely.”

  I hated myself and could do nothing other than stroke my thumb over her cheekbone.

  Even if I had wanted to, I couldn’t even respond to her because she went on, “I’m sorry. It’s just that you’ve shown me such kindness and generosity. I haven’t had that since Ms. Grace gave it to me. I’m so confused about everything I feel when I’m around you. The only thing I know for certain is that for the first time in my life, it feels good.”

  I moved quick.

  Keeping my hands on the side of her face, I brought my mouth to hers. The second my lips touched Ekko’s, her hands went to my wrists and squeezed. A second later, she pushed past the shock and gave into what was happening. As we kissed, one of my hands dropped to her waist as the other slid into her hair and held her at the back of her head. My fingertips at her waist dug in while my tongue dipped in her mouth to taste her. The desperate sounds of Ekko’s moans filled my ears as her hands found their way up my arms to my chest. I fell to my back in the bed, taking Ekko with me. She straddled my hips and my hands went to her thighs. Ekko and I continued to kiss as she began rocking her hips over me and my hands roamed over her body.

  When I thought I might die from the torture of having her sweet, little body writhing over mine, I wrapped my arms around her and rolled her to her back. Disconnecting my mouth from hers, I kissed along her jaw and down her neck. I moved back up her throat, over her jaw, and to her mouth again before I pulled back to look at her. There was nothing but pure lust and desire in Ekko’s eyes. I’d never seen her looking sexier than she did in that moment.

  “Never, Ekko. As long as I’m around, you’ll never be alone. I promise you.”

  “You feel so good, Dom,” she croaked. “Everything about you just feels good and I don’t want to lose that.”

  “You won’t,” I assured her.

  The truth was, I didn’t know where things would lead between the two of us, but I knew that I wouldn’t just abandon Ekko. There was something about her that I was drawn to, and even if things didn’t work out between us on a romantic level, I was certain I didn’t have it in me to ever turn my back on her.

  There was something innately good about her, and I knew it was something I wanted in my life.

  “So then we are still going out on a date tonight?” she asked, hopeful.

  “Fun size, you just proved to me exactly how much of a good time you can be. We are definitely going on a date tonight because I want more of everything you’ve got.”

  A smile formed on her face briefly, but it was quickly replaced with a frown.

  “What’s the matter?”

  “What should I wear?”

  It was evident she was genuinely curious, but there was a touch of worry in her voice at her question. I knew exactly where it was coming from, too.

  “Keep it casual,” I advised. “Tonight is all about having fun. Jeans, sneakers, and whatever top you want to wear. Ultimately, you’ll need something long-sleeved, but a light jacket will suffice if you aren’t wearing long sleeves otherwise.”

  Relief swept through her.

  I knew it. She had been worried that I was going to take her somewhere fancy and she wouldn’t have anything nice enough to wear. I expected I’d want to have her all dolled up for me at some point, but I wasn’t ready for that yet. Tonight, I wanted her to let loose and enjoy her night off.

  “Are you hungry for breakfast?” I asked.

  She jerked her head up and down quickly. “I haven’t eaten anything since yesterday morning,” she shared.

  “What?”

  “I was waiting for you to come back from work last night so we could eat together, but I fell asleep before you got here.”

  “I thought you ate.”

  I was so angry with myself for not confirming it with her last night.

  She shook her head.

  “I’m sorry,” I apologized. “Let me make it up to you this morning.”

  She grinned and agreed.

  With that, I slid my arms under her body, behind her back, and instructed, “Keep your legs wrapped around me. I’ll carry you down.”

  Maybe I was a sucker for punishment, but having Ekko’s legs wrapped around me with her little body pressed against mine was worth it. I took her downstairs, where I made breakfast for her. I spent the entire time struggling to keep thoughts of how hot she was that morning from clouding my brain.

  I was unsuccessful in that venture.

  “I’ll be back here no later than five-fifteen,” Dom informed me as we stood at the front door.

  “Okay,” I replied. “I’m going to run some errands today, but I’ll be here way before you get back from work.”

  Dom smiled at me, took two steps toward me, and used his thumb and forefinger to hold my chin. Then, he lowered his mouth to mine. He kissed me, but his kiss was much different than the one from this morning. There was no tongue involved, yet Dom somehow made it just as hot as if there had been. This kiss was soft, sweet, and deliciously slow.

  When he pulled his mouth from mine, Dom grinned and promised, “I’m looking forward to more of that tonight.”

  “Me too,” I said softly.

  Without another word, Dom turned and walked out.

  Even though I had a few things I needed to get done today, I went over and collapsed on the couch. Then, I allowed myself to take the next twenty
minutes to relive my morning with Dom.

  It was crazy. I never suspected that Dom wouldn’t have joined me after I asked, but when I woke this morning and he wasn’t there, I had to admit just how much it hurt. I had been utterly devastated about how things had happened last night.

  I had been sitting there on the edge of his bed contemplating how I’d gotten everything so mixed up. With everything he said to and did for me over the course of the last few days combined with the words we spoke and the looks we gave one another, I had gotten the impression that there was a bit more between us. When I woke up alone, I realized I had been wrong.

  But then he walked into the bedroom this morning and knew something was upsetting me. It was never my intention to tell him the truth about what was bothering me, but I figured one more embarrassment wouldn’t matter. And the moment I finished telling him what was bothering me, he kissed me.

  And my entire world changed.

  It was the most incredible kiss of my life. I had kissed guys before, Ryan being the most recent, but nothing compared to kissing Dom. If I hadn’t been so turned on, I’m certain I would have cried at the feeling that swept through me. Dom kissed me with such passion and need, the evidence that he was just as turned on as me was pressed right up against me. I grew hungrier for him and he effortlessly rolled me to my back.

  Being here on his couch now remembering the feeling of his mouth on my skin as it traveled down my throat, I failed to suppress a moan. The physical attraction to Dom was beyond anything I’d ever experienced before and that didn’t even come close to the attraction I felt to him on a level that had nothing to do with how he looked.

  Hearing him make that promise to me that I’d never be alone, that I’d never lose him in my life, had my heart bursting with emotions. I had wanted to latch onto the feeling of excitement about how things might develop between us, but I was worried. Life had taught me to be cautious and the uncertainty of the situation with Dom caused a bit of anxiety. It had been less than a week and I was already finding myself growing attached to Dom. The problem with this was that I had a feeling that getting close to someone like him only to have it end would be the kind of thing that could destroy a woman like me.