Securing Blake: Cavanaugh Security Series

by Steele, C. M.

  Rolling my eyes I glared at her. “You never quit, do you?”

  “Nope. Someone around here needs a sex life.”

  “I’m glad to hear you don’t have one,” Uncle snarls.

  “I’m sure you are, until there are no grandbabies and you and Mom move to Florida to hang in an old folks resort while all the other oldies have their grandbabies visiting.”

  “Relax, child. You’re making it seem like your mother and I are ancient. We have another decade before the whole Florida thing. By then I’m sure you’ll find some wonderful jackass that I won’t like.”

  “And when I do, I’m going to live it up before dumping him for the next husband.” My cousin was ridiculous. She always pretended that she wasn’t waiting for prince charming to sweep her off her feet, but she most definitely was.

  “Come on, princess. Let’s go find you a prince.”

  “More like a toad,” her dad grumbled.

  “Whatever. I’m hungry.” She jumped in the backseat, and I slid in next to her.

  “So where are we going?”

  “How about Mexican?”

  “Jalisco’s?” I asked.

  “Sounds great. I haven’t been there in forever. I could really go for some of their chicken enchiladas and guacamole.”

  “Dang, I’m going to have to run five miles because you know damn well I have no resistance for the chips and salsa.”

  “I think we all need that, sweetie.”

  “I love the curves you have, woman.” Uncle cupped her head and pulled her in for a kiss. We both rolled our eyes and giggled at the same time. If they weren’t related we would be all gushy about it, but since they’re family, it was gross to us.

  Dinner turned out great. Full and tired, I yawned loudly.

  “Stay the night. You’re sleepy.”

  “Thanks. I will take that offer, Aunt.”

  “It wasn’t an offer. It was an order. Have you been sleeping well?” my uncle asked.

  “Not as much as I’d like.”

  “You aren’t having nightmares still?”

  I couldn’t fool them. They knew me too well. “They are back, but I’m working through them.” I wasn’t going to tell them that Tate was the one who brought them back. My stalker attacked me and Tate tried to save me, dying in front of me. I had that dream almost every night that he traveled.

  “Maybe you should see a therapist.”

  “It’s not a bad idea, cuz.” She patted my hand, but I brushed her off.

  “No. I’m not interested. It’s pointless to see a therapist because soon the bastard will be out and free to chase me down. The only thing I can hope for is he moves on and puts me in his rearview mirror. That, or he dies.”

  “I could make the latter happen. I do have some friends.”

  “No, Uncle. I wish I could go back in time and say no to the date.”

  “We can’t change the past. Let me make you a glass of hot chocolate and you girls can head to bed.”

  “She still treats us like little girls.” Kayleigh sighed, pressing her head on my shoulder.

  “Because you two are my little girls.” She hugged us both and despite our protests, we went into the kitchen for our hot chocolate. I loved these moments of normalcy.

  Chapter 8

  Tate

  I entered the office early on Monday. Not that I needed to be here at five, but I couldn’t sleep. When Blake didn’t come home after work, I fucking freaked out and drove all the way back to Weston. I had to know she was okay. I checked the records for her stalker and he was still locked up, so she could have just gone out straight after work, which didn’t make things better because I assumed she probably had a date.

  Fuck, I seethed. Unable to resist, I opened the tracking on her phone. She was in a Houston suburb, and then I remembered that her family lived over there. A calm came over me. By Sunday night, I hated myself for how I’d gone down that road to actually stalking her.

  Most of the time, I did it because I wanted her safe, but this time it was out of pure jealousy. I could rip a bastard limb from limb if he stole her before I could find out if she actually cared. Damn it, Sean needed his ass kicked for telling me that she shared some feelings for me. All this time I thought she feared me; knowing she was interested didn’t make matters better.

  I paced my office for what seemed like forever when the lights came on.

  I exited to see the woman who tortured me without even knowing it. Fuck, she was stunning. "Does someone have the case of the Mondays?" she asked me.

  "A have a case of something."

  She put her hands up and backed up. "Oh, no. I get sick too easy. Stay back." She used her fingers to make a cross.

  "Relax, I'm not sick, and I'm sure as hell not a vampire."

  "I'm just kidding. I rarely get sick. Although, I might just start drinking some OJ just in case—"

  "You jinxed yourself?" I finished her sentence.

  "Exactly. Why were the lights off?" she asked, looking around the room.

  "I didn't see the point of turning them on when it was only me here."

  "I don't like the dark. It's a childhood thing I never grew out of."

  "You need a dog. They make the dark less scary."

  "Do you have a dog?"

  "No. I travel too much for a pet. Besides, I'm not afraid of the dark."

  "So how do you know that?"

  "My parents have several dogs. I used to have two growing up, but they died. They would be there at the foot of my bed every night and in my bed during a thunderstorm."

  "A man that loves animals...you're a surprising man." She blew a piece of hair out of her face with a disheartened huff. I sensed the attraction that Sean mentioned in that one tiny reaction. She didn't want to like me. I supposed that fucker made sure she couldn't trust a man again. I'd have to find a way to make her trust me.

  "I'm a pretty average guy. Excuse me. I didn't mean to delay you. I have to get some coffee."

  "Thanks. I'll see you later."

  Plan on it. I'd find any reason to see her throughout the day.

  I entered the kitchen and started a pot of coffee because some of the guys would be getting here in the next hour.

  By the time I got to my office, Denver had arrived and was in his office. He was the head of personal security, so he would be selecting several men to work for the company and their assignments.

  I headed over to the main printer to check on the supplies when he came in there. "Hey, Tate. I need a couple of minutes of your time later to go over the security clearance for the new hires as well as their ID cards."

  "Not a problem. I'll be available after I meet with Sean this morning."

  "Great. Thanks."

  The rest of the day passed by in a blur and left me pissed off. I hardly had a chance to see her in passing. I went to give her a new laptop, but she was in a meeting with Denver. Then our meeting followed, so I couldn't speak to her. I ended up pretending to forget about the laptop and would give it to her in the morning. It helped that Sean called off and stayed home with Macy, only to call us at the end of the day saying Macy went into labor. All thoughts of work flew out of the window.

  * * *

  I drove home, checking on her movements every ten minutes. Damn, I was becoming a stalker. I had to stop. If only I could leave her alone, but I'd worry too much about her safety.

  Two days later, I’d gone out to the local supermarket just as Blake did purely by accident. In fact, I’d just opened the tracker app when she walked up. “Hey, are you following me?” I flinched and slapped my phone against my chest.

  “What?! No. Actually, I just needed some groceries. You?”

  “Following you? No. I’m here for groceries, too.”

  “What a pity. Well, since you made me swipe left, I suppose I can be seen with you.”

  “I don’t want to cramp your style, so I’ll see you at the office.” She turned on her heel, but I couldn’t let her think that.

&nbs
p; I stretched out my hand and grabbed her elbow, stopping and spinning her back to me. “I was just kidding.”

  “So was I?” She had a huge grin on her face. “I really only stopped by to say hi, but if you want to shop with me, that’s cool.”

  “Okay.” I grabbed a shopping basket while she pushed her empty cart.

  “You must not need a lot.”

  “I really don’t. I could use some eggs, bacon, and bread. I like to eat breakfast for dinner,” I informed her.

  “Wow, we could never be together. I don’t care for breakfast. If I could eat a burger or tacos for breakfast, I would.” She blushed as if she didn’t mean to say that, but I’d give up breakfast for the rest of my life if it meant she’d be mine.

  “What do you need to pick up? Avocados?” I asked as we walked through the produce section.

  “Everything. I have nothing in my place. I meant to go yesterday, but I spent the night reading a book. You don’t need to come with me since it’ll be wasting your time.”

  “So, what kind of book?” I questioned. She wasn’t getting rid of me that easily. We had the boss’s blessing, so the next step was to work past the barriers to find a way to get her to fall for me.

  “I thought you would have guessed a romance book?”

  “I would guess romance since it’s a woman’s genre, but I don’t know you that well to say it.”

  She giggled, causing her face to flush and a lock of her hair to fall over her right eye. She tucked it back behind her ear before reaching for a bag of grapes. “It was a romance book. A classic. Jane Austen’s Persuasion.”

  “I’ve never read it.” I raised my hands out and shrugged.

  Another smile graced her face. “Yeah, it’s kind of a chick book. I wouldn’t have expected you to read it.”

  “Speaking of chick stuff. Have you gone to see the newest member of the Cavanaugh family?” I just wanted to see what she would say about babies because I intended to give her a half-dozen at least.

  “I did. He’s adorable. It’s amazing how it can send a woman into baby fever.” My balls pulled up and my shaft beat against my zipper, ready to give her the baby she wanted.

  After an hour of going through the aisles and paying, we made it out to her car. I helped her load her groceries inside the trunk and then took her cart back to the corral as she got in the car and started it up. “Thank you, Tate. Drive safe,” she called out.

  “Thank you. You too.”

  She waved to me through her open window as she pulled out of the parking spot, smiling to herself. Fuck, my cock stiffened with that gorgeous mouth of hers. I moved my two bags to the front of my pants to hide it and then made my way to my pickup. Another night of jerking off to fantasies of Blake and her wicked lips.

  Chapter 9

  Tate

  It had almost been a year since she sauntered up with those sexy legs into my life, and I was still going home to jerk off every damn night like a teen boy instead of claiming her. Like a pathetic ass, I watched her walk into her office, hips swaying, her hair bouncing. She couldn’t be any more perfect.

  “What the hell do you mean that he’s out? He had a two-year sentence,” I screamed at Sean as I sat in his office like somehow it was his fault that Blake’s stalker was out of prison. I’d had enough of this shit.

  “I’m sorry, man. I did my weekly search, and he was paroled last week for good behavior.”

  “We’ve got to do more to protect her. She’s gonna flip out, and I’m going to lose her. Fuck, I still haven’t even made a move.”

  “Calm down. We’re not going to tell her yet. Macy thinks that it’ll only make things worse. After what Macy went through, she lived in fear every day until it all came to a head. Now she’s happy go lucky.”

  “I don’t want to lie to her.” Not only did I love her, but I’d just started building her trust and friendship with me. In fact, she wanted me to stop by for dinner because she was testing out her cooking skills and needed a guinea pig.

  “You’re not lying because she’s not asking you,” Sean reminded me. It still was a lie by omission.

  “Hell, she doesn’t think I even know about him, or at least she doesn’t act like it.”

  “Do you two talk regularly now?” He cocked his brow up with a smirk.

  “Not at all. We just run into each other once a week.” I made it a priority of mine to do that.

  “Run into each other? You mean you make the meetings happen.”

  “I need to protect her, now more than ever. I’ll do whatever I have to do to keep her safe.”

  “I understand more than any other person, but she’s going to be vulnerable when she finds out. Don’t push her before she’s ready.”

  “I love her beyond reason. There is no fucking way I’d do that to her.” I ran my hands through my hair. She should already be my wife and in my bed every night if there wasn’t something always in the way.

  “I’ve got to get my work done so I can get out of here in time for my trip. Shit. The thought of leaving her—”

  “If you don’t want to go, I can send Reese. He’s green around the ears, but he’s good at it.”

  “No. It’s short notice for him to do it. I need his ass to be properly trained because if he fucks up, it’ll ruin your rep.”

  “Thanks for looking out. I’ll have the guys looking out for her while you’re away.” He knew how to hit me hard with that shit. They monitored the cameras outside her place and the office, but they didn’t follow her around like I did. With Strickland out, we needed to find his parole officer and check in with him. Then again, we couldn’t because then he’d find out someone was tracking his whereabouts in Texas.

  “They better keep their hands to themselves.”

  “They know better. Only Blake is unaware that you’re nuts about her.”

  “For now, it’s for the best. I need to get tabs on Strickland.”

  “You have time off. I’d say take it to go on vacation to the wonderland that is Ohio.”

  “Wonderland because so many fuckers are on drugs. Seriously, maybe he could OD?”

  “That’s a possibility, but he’d have to be a known user.”

  “There was one way to find out.”

  “Remember—whatever you do, be careful.”

  “I won’t risk losing her to go to prison. I’m just saying if he comes after her, I will kill the fucker however I have to.”

  “Unofficially, I’m there with you, brother.”

  “Thanks.”

  I left his office and headed into mine to make it through the day without feeling obliged to tell her about Strickland.

  “I still have to run to the store after work. Are you still willing to be my guinea pig?” she asked, peeking her head into my office.

  “Shit. Well, Sean does offer hazard pay. Does it count for this?”

  She tapped her chin and lifted her eyes to contemplate it. Shaking her head, she answered, “Sorry. You’d just have to risk it as my friend.”

  “Then I suppose I can. So what time works for you?”

  “Seven?”

  “That’s great. I’ll be there.” She smiled, blushing.

  Damn, I wanted to kiss her so badly. Control yourself, I mentally chided myself. Adjusting my cock in my jeans, I turned back to my computer and ran the diagnostics on some new toys I picked up. I was busy here until six, but that didn’t mean that I couldn’t keep the tracker on her.

  By the time she left, the app on my phone tracked her to the local Target and then to the house. I watched her enter the door and then she dropped a bag. Falling right out onto the ground and clearly visible was a female vibrator. Shit. I didn’t know Target carried that. Fuck, my cock slammed on my zipper. She quickly hid it back in her bags and then looked around to make sure she hadn’t been seen, but I saw my sweet girl’s new toy.

  One day, I planned to use that on her sweet cunt. I licked my lips and then shut everything down to get to her house at a proper time. Seei
ng that thing told me that she had no intention of hooking up with me. Still, I hoped to hell she used it while picturing me between her legs, servicing her clit until she came all over my face.

  I pulled up to her apartment twenty minutes later, pressing my thumb on her buzzer. I wanted to press my thumb on her other button. Damn, how the hell did I plan to make it through the night staying off of her?

  “Hello?”

  “It’s me, your test subject, ready to eat whatever you want to feed me.”

  I heard a cough like I expected. “Come on up.”

  She buzzed me in, and I took the stairs two at a time with two bottles of wine in my hand because I had no idea what she was cooking me. I knocked on her apartment door, and looking through the peephole like a good girl, she let me in.

  “I brought red and white wine.”

  “Thanks, but for this dinner I don’t think we need it.”

  “What are we having?”

  “I’m attempting to make breakfast.”

  “Ah, for me, sweetheart? You shouldn’t have.”

  “Oh shit, something’s burning.” She dashed into the kitchen and waved a kitchen towel at the smoke alarm. “Damn it,” she screeched, burning her hand on the handle. I moved her out of the way and took a potholder, and gripping the burnt frying pan and carrying it to the sink, I flipped the water on. The telltale sizzle and smoke from something too hot filled the kitchen.

  “Now I’ll forever hate breakfast,” she sighed, running her wrist under cold water.

  “I’m sorry. So you might need these anyway,” I teased. “To numb the pain.”

  “Ugh. This is going to make typing hard.”

  “Do you have a first-aid kit around here?”

  “Nope.”

  “Come on, sweetheart. You need to take care of yourself while I’m gone.” I popped open a bottle of wine and gave her a glass. “How about we order a pizza and watch a movie?”

  “Sounds good. I’m going to need that bottle.” I handed her the bottle.

  “I’ll go through your medicine cabinet. Hopefully, you have something.”