by S. J. Tilly
My gaze travels across his face. The dark stubble gracing his cheeks and wide jaw. With the sun streaming in behind him, I can see traces of grey in his dark locks. He almost looks like an angel, but I know better than that. Fallen angel, perhaps.
“Keep looking at me like that, and I’ll be canceling my next meeting.” Vincent’s arrogant tone halts my pursual.
I smirk, not ashamed of getting caught. “I’m okay with just looking.”
His hand tightens on my side and he pulls me harder against his lap. Rolling my hips, I can feel him hardening beneath me.
Both feeling the pull, we lean into each other. Our lips meet halfway. Mouths gliding together. Later, when I’m alone and my hormones aren’t out of control, I’ll realize that this is the first time we’ve ever met in the middle. The first time we’ve ever really been on even ground.
His taste is exotic yet familiar. His body warm, yet hard. His hands gentle, yet claiming.
The logical part of my brain doesn’t want to believe what he says. It wants to question his sincerity. But his touch does what his words can’t. His touch removes all remaining doubt. I know he wants me. I’ve known that since our first night in Vegas. But this, I think I’m finally getting it. Finally understanding it. He needs me the same way that I need him.
Breaking our kiss, Vincent rests his forehead against mine. The move is familiar and comforting.
“Come home with me tonight.” His voice is deeper than usual. Thicker.
I inhale the scent of him around me. “I can’t.” I slowly exhale. “I want to, but I can’t. The longer I wait to go back to my apartment, the more I’ll build up the break-in in my mind, and the worse it will be.”
He hums in understanding as one of his big hands runs up my spine. “I could come stay with you.”
I give a small shake of my head. “No, we’ve disrupted Annie enough already.”
His hand stops on the back of my neck. “You don’t have to go back at all. You could move in with us.”
It takes me a long moment to process his words. I can’t tell if this insane man is serious or just saying what he thinks I want to hear. I won’t let myself read into it. I can’t. It’d be absolutely crazy for us to move in together so soon. Right?
“Vincent…” I don’t know what to say.
“Or I’ll buy you a new condo. Whatever you want, sweetheart. But you don’t have to go back there if you don’t want to.”
Choosing to jump over that tangled mess, I drag my hands across his shoulders. “Thank you. But I need to do this. I can’t run away.”
“I understand.” I believe him. Vincent is so headstrong that I’m sure he does understand. “Remember that I’m just a phone call away. Eric will be there with you, but if you need anything, anything at all, promise me that you’ll call. No matter the time.”
I press my lips against his. “I promise.”
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
SASHA
H aving Eric walk me through the many steps of my new security system was exactly what I needed to get my mind off the last time I was in this apartment. But now… Now as I lay here in my bed, with Captain at my side, I have this creepy, foreign feeling. I know it’s safe. I know it’s safe. But like a kid with a closet door ajar, I can’t seem to trust it. I can’t let my guard down.
Eric checked every square inch of this place when we got here. He didn’t even let Mrs. Peterson inside when she returned Captain to me. After Eric sent her away I'd mistakenly made a joke about her planting a bug if he’d let her come in, and he had assured me that Vincent had the entire apartment swept for listening and video devices. I’m sure he said that thinking it would make me feel better, but I hadn’t even considered it as an option. Which was dumb of me since Randal is supposedly a tech genius. Needless to say, his little comment made me even more paranoid, and I keep checking the room for blinking red lights indicating a live camera feed.
With a shiver, I pull the blankets up to my chin, looking around at the dark corners of my ceiling.
“There’s nothing there.” I say out loud to myself, hoping it will stop my worrying.
It doesn’t. But it does cause Captain to lift his head and blink his sleepy cat eyes at me. I slip an arm out from under the blanket to scratch the spot he likes under his chin.
“I know I’m being foolish, Cap. But I can’t help it. I just wish someone was here with me.” Vincent’s handsome face flashes into my mind and I sigh. “I should have just stayed over there. It’s the chicken way, but at least with someone nearby I’d be able to fall asleep.” Captain looks towards my closed door. “You’re right. I should just go ask him.”
I’m still not sure what to think about Vincent’s declaration of wanting to go official. But I bet he’d run the other way if he saw me lying here talking to my cat. Either way, that’s a suitcase of baggage that I still can’t unload right now. First step: be able to sleep at home. Second step... deal with the rest of life’s problems.
Climbing out of bed, I grab my phone off the nightstand. Looking down at my outfit I debate if I should change, or put on a bra, but then discard the idea. There is nothing flattering, snug, nor sexy about my flannel Christmas pajamas. The long pants and long sleeves are a little warm for summer, but I needed max comfort. Both physical and mental.
Walking down the hall, I can see that the light above the stove has been left on, leaving the main room dimly lit. The quiet makes me hesitate; what if Eric is already asleep? I don’t want to bother him.
“Everything okay?” His voice sounds from the couch.
Clearly he’s awake, so I step out of the hallway.
“Yeah. Everything is fine.” My fingers fidget on my phone.
Eric is sitting on the couch. Blankets and pillows stacked next to him, just where I left them.
“Are you going to sleep?” I ask, walking over to one of the armchairs and sitting down.
Eric nods. “Eventually. What’s wrong?”
Crossing my arms, I break eye contact. “I can’t sleep.”
“Okay. Did you want to watch TV? I can get out of your way.” He offers.
“Oh, no. Thank you. It’s just…” How the hell am I supposed to ask this? I take a deep breath and force the words out. “I can’t sleep alone. I’m freaked out, and I know it’s dumb, but I want to know if I could sleep out here with you. Or maybe you could come sleep with me.”
Eric clears his throat and I realize how that sounded.
“Oh my god, that’s not what I meant!” My hands fly up to cover my face, and I smack my cheekbone with my phone, forgetting I was still holding it. “Shit!” Springing to my feet, I feel my face flame red. “Please forget this happened.”
I’m about to sprint to my room but the sound of Eric’s laugh has me freezing. It’s not just a laugh, it’s a full freaking belly laugh. I didn’t even think this man was capable of smiling. With my mouth hanging open I watch him lean forward, placing his elbows on his knees, as the laughter eventually dies off.
Glancing up at me, Eric has a genuine grin on his face. It makes him look like a whole new person. Like a real human rather than the combat robot he’s been acting like all day.
“Are you broken?” I choke out.
Eric shakes his head and lets out another huff of laughter. “No, ma’am.”
That has me rolling my eyes. “Okay. So, we agree that this never happened?”
“No, ma’am. We’ll get this sorted. And I’m sorry. I wasn’t laughing at you.”
“Yes, you were.”
“Okay, I was. But not at you being scared. Just at you being flustered.” He waits a beat. “And hittin’ yourself in the face.”
I drop back into the chair. “Laugh it up, Chuckles.”
Gathering his composure, he sits up. “Let me call Mr. Mazzanti.”
“Oh, um, is that necessary?”
Eric nods. “He wanted me to check in once you went to sleep. I’m sure he’s about ready to call me anyways, but I was just waitin
g a bit. Making sure you were actually asleep.”
“Oh.” I feel torn. I want to talk to Vincent, but I also don’t want him to know how scared I am. I close my eyes. “Let me be the one to call him. Please.”
If Vincent really wants to have a relationship, then this is the exact sort of thing I would share with him. I know he won’t think of me as weak, or pathetic. But I do know he’ll want to sweep in and fix everything. If Eric is the one to call him, that’s exactly what will happen.
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
VINCENT
W hen Sasha’s name flashes onto my screen, I stop pacing. I’ve been waiting for Eric to check in, since she should be in bed already.
“Sasha, sweetheart, what’s wrong?”
“N-nothing’s wrong.” She stutters a bit.
“Then why are you calling me?”
“Wow, Vincent. Really rocking the whole boyfriend thing. Does this mean that you’ll never want to talk on the phone?” I can hear a smile in her voice, and it has some of the tension releasing from my body.
I should probably be offended, but hearing her call me her boyfriend has me practically preening. “I’ll always have time to talk to my girl.”
Sasha hums. “Good answer.”
“So, are you really just calling to tell me how much you miss me, or is there something else?”
I can hear her sigh over the phone and that has me tensing all over again. “Nothing’s wrong, I just can’t sleep.” She starts talking quicker and I know she doesn’t want to be telling me these things. “I know it’s safe, but I just can’t relax. Every sound has me jumping and… And I know I won’t get to sleep by myself.”
“I’ll come over.”
“No, Vincent, you can’t. I’m sure Annie’s already sleeping. And I don’t want you to wake her, or anyone else who would have to come stay with her.”
This feeling of affection spreads through me so rapidly I have to put a hand on the wall for balance. This woman. She shows such thought and consideration for a child that isn’t even hers. If I had any lingering doubts about this relationship, her worry for Annie has evaporated them.
Ignoring my emotions, I focus on our conversation. “Then come to me.”
“I want to. You know I want to. But that defeats the whole point of me coming here tonight. I need to stay here.”
“I’m beginning to rethink your stubbornness as being a positive quality.” I sigh.
“You love it.”
“Maybe.” Definitely. “Okay, so if you won’t let me come there, and you won’t come here, then how can I help you? Do you want me to stay on the phone with you until you fall asleep?”
“Oh! That’s a good idea.”
She sounds surprised, so it has me wondering. “If that’s not why you called, then what was your plan?”
“Umm, so just hear me out.”
“I have a feeling I’m not going to like this.”
Sasha chuckles. “Probably not. Okay, I couldn’t sleep, right. And I just kept getting more and more freaked out and I realized that I needed someone else nearby. My mind knows that Eric is here, and that the other security guy is down in the lobby, but I still felt creeped out. So, I came out to the living room and I asked Eric if maybe I could stay out here with him or if he could stay with me.``
I clench my teeth. “Sasha.”
She cuts me off. “Not to like share a bed or anything. I just need to see another person. It doesn’t have to be weird. Eric said he would call you, but I wanted to be the one to explain it to you.” Her voice is quiet by the end of her explanation.
“Let me talk to Eric.”
“Don’t get all mad, this was my idea.”
“I’m not mad, sweetheart. Just let me talk to him, okay?”
I use the time listening to the shuffle on the other end of the phone to calm myself. I understand what she’s saying. I really do. And I understand her reasons for wanting to stay in her apartment. I do. But I don’t like it. I don’t like a single thing about it.
“Boss.” Eric’s tone is no nonsense. Good.
“Eric.” I shake out the fist I wasn’t aware I was making. “My Sasha needs to sleep. But so do you. You’re no good to her if you’re dead on your feet. Here’s what you’re gonna do. Drag that couch down the hall and park it right outside her bedroom door. The hallway is wide. It’ll fit. And leave the door open so she can see you. Stay there all night. And if you get up to go to the bathroom or walk the perimeter, leave a flashlight lit on the couch. I don’t want her stepping out of the room to find it empty and not know where you are. You understand me.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And Eric, if you so much as lay an inappropriate finger on Sasha, I’ll castrate you myself and sink your body in the Mississippi. You understand me.”
“I understand, sir.”
“Good. Now let me talk to my girl.”
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
SASHA
“E
ric.” I huff.
He doesn’t even blink. “No.”
“Are you for real right now? It’s just a few blocks.”
“I am for real.” Eric replies, not changing his tone.
I’m annoyed but he sounds so ridiculous that I almost laugh.
I look at the dark sedan and then back at Eric. “But it’s so nice out.”
He pulls open the rear passenger door. “Boss’s orders.”
I give up the fight and slide into the rear seat. Figuring he’d take shotgun; I’m surprised when Eric circles the rear of the car and joins me in the back.
I catch the driver watching me through the rearview mirror.
I smile. “Hi. Sorry for making you wait. I didn’t mean to be a pain. I just wasn’t expecting the car.”
The driver nods to me. “No problem, ma’am.”
My eyes narrow and Eric lets out a very fake sounding cough. I cut my gaze over to him. “Keep it up, Chuckles.”
He ignores me and speaks to the driver. “We’re making a stop at BeanBag.”
“Copy that.” The driver replies as he pulls out into traffic.
“Really?” My mood instantly brightens. “Thank you.” I tell them both.
Settling back, I watch the pedestrians as I think about how much my life has changed in the past 48 hours. I have a bodyguard. Apparently, I have a driver. And - most notably - I have a boyfriend. Though the term hardly seems fitting for a man like Vincent. There is nothing boy about him.
At first glance, Vincent seems like he’d be terrible at relationships. He is Mr. Sin after all. My Las Vegas Devil. But he proved that he can be a good partner last night. I’m not sure what he all said to Eric, and I probably don’t want to know, but his idea of putting the couch in the hall was brilliant. Although I think the credit for my good sleep needs to go to Vincent himself. He stayed on the phone with me all night. Literally, all night.
When I climbed into bed, he had me plug my phone in and then set it to speaker on my side table. In that sexy, deep, rough voice of his, he told me to lay down, shut my eyes and listen.
So I did. I laid there, listening to him talk to me. He talked about work mostly, telling me that he would bore me to sleep. Before I had called him, he’d been reviewing some documents for a building he’s buying in New York, so he just started reading that to me. He could read a cookbook and it would still be panty-melting. Which probably explains my filthy dreams.
When I woke up this morning, I saw that our call had lasted for over six hours. I’m assuming Vincent also fell asleep with the phone on. I just hope he got enough sleep for himself.
The car pulls to the curb in front of BeanBag.
“Would you like anything?” I ask the driver, realizing I never got his name.
“Oh, no. But thank you for asking.” He smiles at me.
I start to reach for my door handle when Eric’s hand lands on my forearm. “Wait for me.” When I widen my eyes at him, he adds, “Please.”
“Ugh, fine.”
&
nbsp; Feeling like a total snob, I let Eric open my door, guide me across the sidewalk to BeanBag, and then hold that door open for me as well. The telltale sound of the coffee bean filled rain stick announcing our entrance.
I give Eric a slight bow as I pass. “Instead of ma’am, you can address me as her majesty from now on.”
“Hmm, that has a nice ring to it.” The reply doesn’t come from Eric.
I spin around and find Vincent striding towards me, Angelo not far behind him.
The grin on my face is instant. “Vincent! What are you doing here?”
He doesn’t stop until our chests are nearly touching, wrapping his hands around my upper arms. “Buying you coffee, of course.”
“Of course.”
He leans in as I go up on my toes. Our lips press together for just a heartbeat. But it’s enough to settle that last bit of me. The bit that’s been off kilter since going home last night.
“Good morning, your majesty. How’d you sleep?” Vincent asks while he runs his hands down the length of my arms.
“I slept great. Thank you.” When our fingers twine together, I say it again hoping he’ll know how much I mean it. “Thank you.”
He gives my hand a squeeze. “Anytime. Now let’s order. I know I could use a pick me up.”
Benny the Barista only made it 90% obvious that he was gawking at my new entourage. I’m fairly sure showing up with just Vincent would have gotten me that same look, but tack on Eric and Angelo and we really are a sight to be seen. Eric is in another set of all-black bodyguard gear, and Angelo looks like an oversized NFL player wearing the dressier version of Eric’s outfit. And Vincent… Vincent looks just like the devilishly handsome business mogul that he is.
Standing amid my group of men while we wait for our beverages, I’m zoned out and not paying attention to the people coming and going until someone says my name.
“Sasha? Is that you?”
I can feel Vincent tense next to me. I turn and find myself frozen in indecision, not sure how to handle this new development.