by Terry Towers
Elijah cringed. “I’m sorry.”
“Yup, which is why I was getting drunk by myself in the bar and...” I shuddered, lowering my eyes to the floor. If Elijah hadn’t been there to stop them… I didn’t even want to think about it.
I didn’t even hear him cross the room, but I yelped when I felt his hands on my upper arms. “Hey, it’s all right.” He gently rubbed my upper arms. “It’s over. We got you out of there and you’ll never see them again.”
A thought sprang to my mind that sent a surge of fear through me. I looked up into his concerned eyes. “What if they know who I am? What if they come after me?”
“Did they make any indication they knew who you were?”
I shrugged. “I don’t think so. I don’t know. I’d drunk a few and I’m not sure.”
“Did you give them your real name?”
“I told the one I was dancing with my name was Sidney, but I’m positive I didn’t tell him I was an actress. I try to keep those things to myself when dealing with strangers.”
“That’s smart.” Despite his words he frowned. It didn’t make me feel good that he seemed concerned.
Chapter 5
Elijah
I really should have killed them. I could track them down to whatever hospital they were taken to and finish the job, just to be sure, but chances were that until the investigation was over they would have guards and be closely monitored.
“Did they tell you their names?” The thing was, even if they didn’t know who she was all they needed to do was see a commercial for her show, or see a picture of her in the tabloids; considering the break-up with Anthony she was sure to be headlining many tabloids over the next week and they’d know who she was. If they wanted revenge – I know I sure fucking would – she’d be in danger. I could be overreacting. Chances were I was, but I wasn’t about to take a chance on her life. Even if it meant upping my stalking until I was sure she was safe.
“The one I was dancing with was…” She scrunched up her nose as she attempted to remember. “Darryl.”
“Are you sure?” I released her arms and took her hands in mine, giving them a gentle squeeze., She seemed to relax at the gesture and gave me a tiny smile. “Did they tell you where they worked? Do you remember the Darryl guy saying the other guy’s name?”
“I – I don’t remember. I’m sorry.” Tears began to form in her eyes. “Oh God, I’m sorry. I’m going to have to up security. I hate having people following me around everywhere.” Her blue eyes met mine. “Do you think I need to hire more guards?”
On impulse, I leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead and leaned back onto my heels, catching her gaze with mine again. “I won’t let anyone hurt you. Let me think on it, okay?”
“Maybe we should call the police. I didn’t want to get them involved because of all the publicity and the last thing I want is to spend the next few months reliving the ordeal in every interview I do, but maybe…”
“No. No, that’s not an option, Sidney.” The thought of involving the police any more than they may already be was a horrifying notion to me. My fingerprints weren’t in the police database and I didn’t have any intention of them getting put in there anytime soon. I didn’t even have a solid cover if they were to come snooping and started asking questions over where my money came from. If they were to find my control room hidden behind a shelving unit in my basement they’d know everything about me. I’d go to prison for a very long time – if I was lucky.
Fuck, I was getting ahead of myself. Way ahead of myself.
Her eyes lowered to the gun still holstered to my side. “Unless. Are you a…”
Shit, I’d completely forgotten the gun was still strapped to me. I had so much going through my mind between my attraction to her and trying to figure out the best course of action going forward that I’d completely forgotten she’d have questions about what I did and why I carried a pistol with silencer. An illegal firearm at that, although she’d never know that. Being legally allowed to carry a firearm meant fingerprinting – I was always very careful on jobs, but it wasn’t worth the risk.
“Unless, I’m a what?” I knew what, but was buying a few seconds to come up with an excuse.
“A bodyguard?” She looked up at me with such a look of hope and desperation in her eyes, how could I not lie?
“Why do you ask?”
“Could I hire you?”
I clucked my tongue off of the roof of my mouth. It was perfect. Really fucking perfect. If it weren’t for the fact I had every intention of killing the motherfuckers who hurt her I would have thanked them. Maybe I would, then put a bullet in their heads. It would fuck with my work routine, but I hadn’t taken a new job yet and it’s not like I needed the money from the jobs or on some sort of killing quota.
“I’m sorry. I just thought… I mean, you know what they look like and I’m comfortable with you.” She cringed. “I don’t even know you. But, I feel like I do.” She released a nervous laugh as she looked around the room. “Kinda crazy, huh?”
There’s a reason for that, I thought but kept it to myself. “It’s not crazy. And I’d love to.”
“How much do you want?”
“What do you mean?”
“Pay. How much do you charge? I’m on location in a few days for three weeks and then I’m back to conventions for a few weeks and then straight into movie production. At least I think, I’ll have to double check the schedule.”
I reached out and brushed a strand of dark hair from her eyes. “I wouldn’t charge you, you’re in this mess partially because of me.” Besides, I already have travel booked to be wherever you are going to be anyhow.
“Hardly. I’m in this because I was stupid and went to a strange bar by myself and got drunk. If it weren’t for you I’d have been raped, or abducted or maybe dead. I owe you.”
“Nah, you don’t.” If anything I owed her, I’d simply leveled the playing field a bit. I gave her a reassuring smile. “Besides, I’m a fanboy, remember? Just being with you is payment enough.”
She threw her head back and laughed so hard she actually started to choke. I loved watching her laugh, and it made me feel amazing to know it was me who made her happy. When she finished laughing she had to wipe a tear from her amused eyes. “So, does that mean you’ll do it?”
“Of course.” We stared at each other a moment, silence overtaking the room.
But the silence was broken by a low grumble of her stomach. She cringed in embarrassment. “Sorry, I haven’t really eaten today. I’m starting production of a movie in a couple of months and they want me to lose 10 pounds.”
I cocked a brow up at her, eyeing her in disbelief. “From where?” I couldn’t imagine her losing any more weight unless they began cutting off body parts.
She stood before me and pulled the front of her shirt up to just beneath her breasts and pinched some flesh from her stomach. “I’m too thick and I have a bit too much fat on my thighs.”
“Yeah.” I stood and took her hand and began leading her from the bedroom. “Well, you’re eating tonight. I didn’t save you to let you starve in my house. I just got back into town so there’s not much in the way of food here, but we can order in.”
She cringed.
“You’ve had a hard night. Treat yourself, you can go back to salads and soup tomorrow.”
~*~*~*~
Sidney
“Why do you like me so much?” I asked, putting my Chinese take-out container on the glass coffee table and eyeing him.
Elijah lifted his gaze from the little Chinese take-out container of rice to look up at me, his brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, why me? What about my work, or me or whatever do you like so much? Honestly. I hear all kinds of fans telling me the same things over and over and then my agents and such, but in all honesty, why do you like me so much? I can see you like me more than a normal fan. I’m not fishing for compliments or anything. You get this odd look in your e
yes when you look at me. It’s making me curious.”
He sighed and placed his container on the coffee table and leaned back into the sofa, thrusting a hand into his hair. “That’s a hard question, Sidney.”
“No, it’s not. Not really, if you’re being truthful. If it’s just because you like my tits then by all means,” I motioned towards my breasts, “I can take it.”
A roar of laughter erupted from him and he gave his head a little shake at me. “As much as I –” his gaze briefly lowered to my breasts, which were covered in a tight-fitting black t-shirt with plunging neckline, and then back up to meet my stare again. “– like your breasts, that’s only a small microscopic part of why I like you.”
“But you don’t even know me.”
He got an odd expression on his face as if he were thinking about something, but just as quickly as the look appeared it disappeared and he smiled. “I know more than you would think.”
“It’s only half true you know.”
“What?”
“What you’ve read or heard about me. It’s always only halfway true. The media and my publicists always makes things more sensational about me than they truly are. In all truthfulness, I’m a pretty boring person.”
Leaving his corner of the sofa, Elijah moved closer to me, until he could reach out to me and take my hand. “Sid, the reason I care for you. It’s not about what I hear about in the media, or because you play some hard-assed demon fighter on television, although I’m very impressed that you do most of your own stunts. It’s remarkable.”
My face flushed and I lowered my gaze. “Thanks.”
“But, the real reason I take every chance I can to see you at conventions or whatever is because of how I feel when I’m near you.”
That was kind of an odd statement considering he really never saw me, but I didn’t say anything, but simply waited for him to finish.
“I know the kind of person you are. You’re kind and giving. You’ll sacrifice yourself just to help someone less fortunate. You’d risk losing everything from your friends to your position in life if you felt it would help someone else. You’ve got a good heart, Sidney, and you make me want to be a better person, just so I can be worthy of you.”
My mouth dropped open, I mean, fucking literally dropped open. Between the words, the sincerity in his voice and look in his eyes I was thrown. I knew when people fed me lines of bullshit and this wasn’t bullshit, he really believed it. But how? How could he be so sure about these things when he didn’t even know me? I wasn’t sure if I should be scared or touched. Maybe both.
“I was shooting for a blush and maybe an embarrassed giggle. Stunned silence is a little disconcerting,” he joked, but there was actual worry in his eyes.
“You believe that…” It was more of a statement than a question.
“I do. Sidney, I really do.” He took my hands in his and gave them a gentle squeeze.
“No one has ever said anything like that to me before.” And they hadn’t. I’d been complimented a million times, but never like that. “Should I be scared?”
“Probably. But not in the sense that I’ll lock you in my basement or anything like that,” he said, a smile spreading across his lips. “I’m not delusional crazy or anything of the sort. But I appreciate who you are and who you strive to be. When I think about the type of women I want to be with, you set the bar.”
My hands felt good in his, just having him hold my hands made me feel like I’d always be protected with him at my side. “I don’t know what to say. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
He started to pull back, but I held tight his hands and leaned into him. It was a crazy impulsive thing to do and I was hardly thinking clearly, but I closed the distance between us and grazed my lips across his. I caught a whiff of his cologne, a deep woodsy scent. It suited him and drew me in.
“Sidney. What are –”
I pressed my lips to his, cutting off his protest. It took him a second to respond, but when he did a rush of relief washed over me and I smiled as I nipped at his lower lip. He groaned softly, pulling his lip from my teeth and kissing me. His kiss was tender, his lips faintly tasting of soy sauce. I was touched that he held himself back waiting for me to take the lead, even though I could feel the tension in his body as he reined himself in. With reluctance, I pulled myself back.
“Do you mind if I head to bed? Between the flight and Anthony and…”
He stroked the side of my face with the back of his hand then leaned forward and kissed my temple. “Of course not. Let’s go get you something to sleep in.”
Chapter 6
Elijah
Lying on top of the blankets, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers, I realized that sleep was not going to be an easy thing for me to get tonight, not with Sidney down the hall and the taste of her still on my lips. Just thinking about her down the hallway was keeping my cock at half-mast. Not to mention what was I going to do about the guys I left in the alleyway? As long as the incident was in the news I’d have their names and I could figure out where to find them. I’d have to excuse myself from bodyguard duty sometime in the coming months long enough to fly back and take care of them. Unless she changed her mind overnight and decided I was too fucking creepy to have around. I wouldn’t blame her.
After God knows how long of just lying there staring at the ceiling I was starting to feel the effects of my exhaustion. The world was beginning to darken and I welcomed the sleep and prayed it would be a night without the nightmares. It didn’t happen very often, sleep tended to taunt me with the past, but sometimes I got lucky. Just as I was about to drift off a soft knock sounded at the door. I froze on the bed, all of my senses on the alert grabbing for my pistol secured under the night side table; for a brief moment in my hazy state, I’d forgotten that Sidney was down the hall.
“Elijah?” She knocked again.
I let out a loud sigh and flicked on the lamp sitting on the night side table, securing the pistol back under the table. “Yes?”
“Can I come in?”
“Do you think I’d actually say no?”
The door opened and she stepped in; her eyes scanned the room and then finally landed on me. “Thought you might be sleeping.”
“I wasn’t.”
“Me either.” She stood just inside the door, framed by the light from the hallway. She looked so fucking adorable in my t-shirt and boxers, my cock jerked back alive just looking at her. She had to knot the boxers in the front to keep them from falling down and the navy t-shirt, which had FBI written on the front in big white letters, floated on her. “Thought maybe we could talk?” Her hopeful blue eyes lifted to meet mine.
As much as I was in love with her and cherished every second I got to spend in her presence, I would have preferred sleep. I needed a clear head for the morning. There was a lot to figure out.
I sat up and began to slide from the bed, but she raised her hand to stop me. “It’s okay. I mean, if you don’t mind we can hang in here.” She walked over to the bed and stretched out alongside me, hugging a pillow to her and leaving about a foot between our bodies. “I fell to sleep for a minute and…”
“Nightmares?”
She nodded. “I just keep thinking that –”
“This house has the best security system you can get. No one could even get past the gates without me knowing about it, let alone inside the house.” I turned to my side and faced her, mimicking her position. “You’re safe here, Sidney. I promise.”
“Thank you.”
“No thanks required.” I brushed a strand of hair from her face, not because it was necessary, but because I loved the feel of her satiny strands. She closed her eyes and leaned into my hand.
“This has been a really shitty day.”
I couldn’t help it, I laughed. Shitty was such an understatement. “Could have been worse.” If I hadn’t been there it would have been a hundred times worse, but I kept that to myself and was thankful for my obs
essiveness.
She opened her eyes and looked up at me. “Are you really going to work for me?”
“If that’s what you want.” I grinned. “It’ll be nice to get free admission to the conventions for a change.”
“Ha!” She suddenly sat up and gave me a shove, sending me onto my back. “You never showed me the picture of us. Let me see!”
“Now?” It was in the binder. The big fucking huge binder with dozens of pictures of her and us. Proof positive that I was true stalker status.
Her face fell and her lips formed a pout. “I suppose I could wait.”
Like I could say no to her. Here was a top-paid hit man, but for her I was the mark, but I was okay with that. “Stay here.” I got up and walked over to my walk-in closet. Pulling open the door I grabbed the binder from the top shelf, flipped to the last page and began to pull the photo from the binder. I hadn’t heard her come up behind me and I was startled when she pulled the binder from my hands and walked over to the bed with it. Sitting on the bed cross-legged, she plunked the binder, which weighed at least five pounds, onto her lap and turned to the first page.
She slowly began to flip through the pages, her expression unreadable. “Are these all of you and me?”
Ahhh, fuckity-fuck-fuck. Yup, all me and you, fanboy stalker Elijah.
When I didn’t answer she paused her browsing and looked up at me. “Is it?”
Spreading my hands out to the sides I shrugged, walking over to the bed and sitting down next to her. “Yeah, they’re all of me and you.”
“And they’re all conventions. All different ones I mean. Different cities.”
I wasn’t sure if she was making a statement or asking a question, but I chose to answer her. “Yup, all different ones.” I could feel the heat colouring my face, from my neck up. This had to be one of the most embarrassing moments in my life. I think I would have preferred her opening a drawer and finding hundreds of kink porn videos. Not that I had a drawer of porn, I didn’t. Although, if she checked my laptop then that’s another story. But all men had porn, it’s expected – isn’t it?