Alex slowly broke the kiss and pressed his forehead to hers. “I’ve wanted to do that for close to a year. I’ve dreamed of it.”
“Me, too,” she whispered.
He sighed heavily and stepped back so she could grab her phone. Who would be calling her this late? It was a text from Jonah. Hope U aren’t mad. Just wanted 2 keep you safe.
Olivia smiled. How could she possibly be mad? If not for Jonah, Alex wouldn’t be standing in her bedroom right now. Not mad. Thanks for caring. Jonah sent a thumbs-up icon.
She looked up to see Alex staring at her and she shivered. She held up the phone. “My boss apologizing. He didn’t tell me he called you.”
Alex chuckled. “Judging from the look of shock on your face when you saw me, I didn’t think so.”
Olivia smiled. She had been startled. And so damn happy she thought she might burst from it. “So, how long will you be in New York?”
“Until the killer is caught and you’re safe.”
Her phone rang again. She checked the display. “It’s Kendall.”
She hit the talk button. “Kendall, is everything okay?”
“Liv, I know it’s late there but I figured you’d still be up. We just found out that the Vigilante struck again.”
“Yeah, I just got home from the latest burial site.”
“This guy is a serial killer, Liv, and he’s using you to deliver his message. I don’t like it at all. Dorian and I can be on the next flight to New York.”
“That’s not necessary, Ken. The Vigilante isn’t after me, just those who got away with murder. Besides,” she glanced at Alex, “precautions have been taken.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that I think I have a, um, bodyguard.”
“What? You do? Who is it? Fire him so we can send someone from COBRA Securities.”
Alex held out his hand, having obviously been able to hear Kendall’s side of the conversation. Instead of handing him the phone, she put it on speaker. She couldn’t wait to hear Kendall’s reaction.
“Hey, Mrs. Demarchis.”
There was silence, then Kendall screeched, “Alex? Is that you? Dorian, get in here! Alex is in New York with Olivia.” There was some frantic whispering muted by Kendall’s hand over the phone. Then Dorian came on the line.
“Mylo? Are you really in New York.”
“I really am,” Alex confirmed.
“Halla-freakin-lula,” Dorian exclaimed. “Kendall’s been worried about Olivia but with you there, she can get back to attending to my every want and need.”
“Hey,” Kendall protested. “You’re supposed to attend to my every want and need.”
“I don’t have a problem with that—”
“Okay, that’s our cue to cut this conversation short,” Alex said. “We’ll keep you updated on events here but please don’t do the same. What happens in Hawaii stays in Hawaii.”
They all laughed and said their goodbyes. Olivia wasn’t sure how to broach the subject of accommodations, so she just went for it. “Are you planning on staying in a hotel?’
Alex glanced around her small bedroom dominated by a queen sized bed covered in a white down comforter and colorful throw pillows. “I don’t want to leave you alone. I was going to ask if I could crash on your couch.”
“I’d be afraid of what my nympho roommate would do to you if you fell asleep.”
They both smiled and their eyes met. The laughter stopped. She cleared her throat and glanced away. “There’s plenty of room in the bed.” She just realized how that sounded and her eyes rounded. “I didn’t mean…what I…that wasn’t…”
Alex walked over and grasped her face again, effectively stopping her babbling. “Olivia?”
“What?”
“I will take you up on the offer, but you have nothing to worry about. I just want to hold you.”
Olivia’s heart flipped again and if possible she fell even more in love with him. He brushed a kiss over her lips. “Why don’t you go ahead and get ready for bed. If you don’t mind, when you’re done, I’m going to jump in the shower and wash off some of the plane stench. I’ve spent the better part of an entire day inside a fuselage.”
Olivia nodded and walked to her dresser for a t-shirt and sleep pants. She smiled at Alex as she hurried into her tiny bathroom. She stood for a moment with her back against the door. A few days ago, she’d been lamenting her missed trip to Hawaii and now Alex Mylonas was here in her apartment and she was about to climb into bed with him. Life could be surreal sometimes.
Chapter Eleven
Alex exhaled and dropped to the edge of the bed as soon as Olivia disappeared into the bathroom. He still couldn’t believe he was in her apartment…her bedroom. Why didn’t he pick up the phone at any point during the last few months and call her?
Actually, he knew the answer to that one. There was no way a relationship would work. Their lives were too far apart. Plus, she was too good for him. She was intelligent and successful and generous and so damn gorgeous. He thought he was doing them both a favor by not calling but now he could see he’d been so wrong.
He’d informed her earlier that Jake Kincaid wanted to take the assignment. What he didn’t tell her was that if the other man…if any of the other agents…tried to take this job, he’d have fought them tooth and nail. She was his to protect. His to watch over. His to defend.
He dug inside his bag and sorted through his limited clothing options for a t-shirt and running shorts. He definitely needed to hit a store tomorrow and pick up some necessities. He found his toothbrush, deodorant and a razor. When the door opened and Olivia stepped out, he concentrated on breathing. She was scrubbed fresh of make-up, her hair pulled into a ponytail. Her cheeks were pink, making her blue eyes practically glow.
What kind of dumbass told the most beautiful woman in the world he just wanted to hold her? He wanted to do so much more than that. He wanted to taste her lips again. The earlier kiss, albeit intense, only whetted his appetite. He could spend hours feasting on her, licking a path down her throat to her perfect breasts. He wanted to slowly peel her clothes off and worship her body. He didn’t get to do that the last time they were together and he’d dreamed of it almost every night since.
The problem with that scenario was that he wanted her so badly—had since the last encounter—he wouldn’t be able to go slow and he wouldn’t last very long. He’d probably embarrass himself, but it would be worth the humiliation to have her in his arms again.
After a quick shower, he shaved and brushed his teeth. Olivia’s bathroom was small and he couldn’t turn around without bumping into the sink or the toilet or the tub. He dropped his toothbrush into the holder next to hers and turned off the light. He had to wiggle between the vanity and the door to get out. Yellow light glowed softly from a table beside the bed. Olivia was curled up on her side, sound asleep. He tiptoed over and clicked off the light before sliding in the bed behind her. She made a small sound in her sleep and rolled into him. He gathered her close, inhaling the flowery scent of her hair. He wouldn’t be getting much sleep tonight.
He woke with a start and checked the clock, surprised to discover he’d slept for seven hours straight. Olivia was spooned against him, her back pressed to his front. He eased the lower half of his body away, lest she realize how her nearness affected him.
A knock sounded on the door and he realized that was what woke him. Olivia stirred and rolled to her back. Her eyes blinked open. Their gazes locked and she smiled. “I thought it was a dream,” she murmured.
“Good morning,” he rumbled, leaning down to brush a kiss across her lips.
Knock, knock. “Olivia? Are you in there?”
Olivia swiveled her head to the sound. “I guess I’d better see what my roommate wants.” She tossed back the cover, slipped on a pair of flip-flops and padded to the door.
“I didn’t think you were home,” Darla said when Olivia opened the door. She peeked around Olivia and wiggled her fing
ers. “Hi, handsome.”
Alex halfheartedly lifted his hand and waved back, praying Olivia would throw an illegal chop block if the woman tried to come any closer.
“Darla?”
“Hum?”
“What do you want?”
“Him.” She waved again.
Alex didn’t have to worry about the tent in his shorts anymore. Darla’s predatory gaze worked better than a cold shower.
“Darla.” Olivia’s voice was firm. “Why are you here?”
Darla snapped her attention to Olivia. “Oh, this is for you.” She handed her a small padded envelope.
Olivia’s shoulders stiffened. “Where did you get this? When did it arrive?”
Darla scrunched her eyes as if in thought. “I have no idea.”
“Today? Yesterday? A few minutes ago. Can you narrow the timeline down?”
“I must have forgotten to take my Echinacea because I just can’t remember.”
Olivia sighed and Alex could tell she was reining in her frustration. “Where did you find it?”
Darla’s eyes lit up. “That I can answer. It was on the floor by the door.”
Olivia accepted the package, thanked Darla and closed the door, locking it for good measure.
Alex scooted off the bed. “Is that what I think it is?”
“Yes.” She grabbed a disposable latex glove and held it up. “I picked these up at the drug store for this reason, not that he or she has been careless to leave prints before.”
“You never know.”
“My thinking exactly.” She slid it on before yanking the zip tab to open the package. A small black object dropped into her open palm and she looked up at him. “Definitely from the Vigilante.” She powered on her computer and waited for it to boot before she inserted it into the USB port. She maneuvered the mouse to open the folder marked, “Tanner, Oscar.”
“I remember that name,” Alex said. “The guy was some kind of real estate mogul and he supposedly killed his business partner, Whit-something.”
“I remember now,” Olivia agreed. “He got off on some technicality.”
“They never did recover the body.”
“They will now.”
Alex leaned forward to watch and the scent of her hair drew him in. He breathed deeply, his eyes closing in ecstasy. His entire body reacted. He remembered her scent, would recognize it in a room full of women. It was floral and soft and all woman. He wanted to bury his face in the soft locks and run the strands through his fingers. Her hair was like spun silk.
“Alex?”
He snapped out of his Olivia-induced trance. She’d obviously asked him something but he was too busy inhaling her hair like a pervert. “I’m sorry? What was that?”
“I asked if you were ready for me to start the video.”
“Oh, right. Yeah. I’m ready.”
Olivia opened the clip and hit play. A man’s belligerent face appeared on the screen. He looked enraged. “My name is Oscar Tanner and that’s all I have to say…” When he paused something happened to make his entire body snap tight and his eyes roll back in his head.
“My God, he’s shocking them.”
Olivia nodded. “He did that to the other two but we edited it out.”
Tanner’s eyes fluttered open again, sweat coating his forehead. “My name is Oscar Tanner and I killed my business partner, Langston Whitmore. He was stealing from me and refused to admit it. I had proof but he came after me and I reacted. It was strictly self-defense.”
The video went blank and then snapped back on with a message on the screen. Same demands. Olivia Larrson plays the video Thursday evening. If anyone but Olivia shows the video, Oscar Tanner and the location of Langston Whitmore will not be released and their families will never have closure.
“So this is how he does it? He sends a package to you with a flash drive?”
Olivia nodded. “The first was in my mailbox. The second was dropped off at my gym.”
“And this one was left at your door.” Alex rubbed a hand down his face. “He obviously has access to you, Olivia. This is someone you know.”
She shook her head in a quick denial. “I don’t know anyone that would commit cold-blooded murder.”
“Even if they thought it was justified?”
There was a thoughtful pause. “I’d like to say no.”
“What do you do now?”
“I need to call my producer. He’ll notify the detectives on the case and they’ll want to review the footage.”
“Do you care if I shoot a copy of the video to our technical expert? He might be able to pick up on some nuance that the police haven’t. I’ll make sure he’s discreet.” At Olivia’s okay, he called Peter Dennis, the COBRA Securities computer genius while he powered on his computer. He told Pete to expect the file in a few minutes and hung up.
“You can send it from my computer,” Olivia offered.
“Mine’s equipped with a secure encryption program so it won’t fall into the wrong hands.” He picked up the latex glove Olivia had discarded and used it to insert the drive into his computer. After he sent the file to Pete, he carefully pulled it out and dropped it back in the envelope. While Olivia called her producer to let him know about the latest video, he jumped in the shower again. He was down to his last clean outfit: a black COBRA Securities polo and a pair of cargo pants. After brushing his teeth and another quick shave, he headed back to the bedroom. Olivia turned from her computer and smiled at him and zing went his heart.
“Jonah’s going to meet us at the television station in two hours. Do you care if we head to my gym for a workout? I’ve missed the last two days and I’m feeling it.”
“That’d be great. Also, after we meet with your producer and the detectives, I need to hit a department store. When I hopped on the plane to come here, my luggage was already headed home.”
Olivia clapped her hands. “Oh, I love to shop and I know just the place.”
He narrowed his eyes. “I don’t want any Yves St. Gucci Mane whatever. I’m perfectly fine with non-designer duds.” Olivia nodded easily…a little too easily?
“Alex?”
He raised his brows in question.
“I was thinking while you were in the shower.” Those words shouldn’t have made his body react, but they did because now he was thinking of being in the shower with her. With a Herculean effort, he focused on her words. “I don’t want people to know I have a bodyguard. Would you be upset if I introduced you as an old friend in town for a few days?”
Chapter Twelve
“This is a gym?” Alex’s voice was incredulous. “As in a place to lift weights and get sweaty and build muscle?” He eyed the building with distaste.
“Of course it is.” Olivia walked through the door he held open for her.
“You’re telling me men work out here?”
“I wouldn’t have brought you here if they didn’t,” she assured him. “Why do you ask?”
“Because no guy I know with any self-respect works out in a place with curtains.” He fingered a panel of white lace in horror. “Curtains…with sequins.”
Olivia stifled a giggle. Men did belong to the gym, but they tended toward the toned, tanned metrosexuals who spent more on grooming products than she did, not tall, dark, ruggedly handsome Alpha males like Alex.
He stopped, his eyes sweeping the room. “There is not one other man in here,” he whispered out of the side of his mouth.
“Sure there is. Right over there.”
“Tights. Olivia, he’s wearing tights. With leg warmers. And they’re purple.” She couldn’t contain the burst of laughter at his outrage. “I don’t suppose there’s another gym around, maybe one with an obstacle course? And men?” He sounded hopeful.
She patted his arm and had to jerk her hand away at the sparks. Would it be like this every single time? “There might be, but I belong to this one and we’re already here.”
He grumbled all the way to the locker room. When h
e came out in a sleeveless t-shirt and shorts, Olivia sighed. He did look out of place in the boutique gym. Not in the sense that he didn’t belong, but because he was by far the fittest man there. All of the women stopped what they were doing to watch him.
Mine. She wanted to drag him to a tattoo artist and have that inked in big block letters on his forehead for the world to see. Maybe he didn’t know it yet, but he was hers. She started a treadmill and walked to warm up. She had a perfect view of him as he lifted free weights, his biceps bulging with the movement. He’d been muscular and fit when she was with him in Chicago, but after training for the ninja warrior competition, his body was now completely ripped. She wanted to run her hands over every bump and ridge.
“Who is that?”
Faye’s question jerked her from her daydreams. “He’s an old friend.”
“Only a friend?” Faye’s question was suggestive as she openly ogled him as he lifted the dumbbells into curls.
“Yes.”
“Pity,” Faye murmured. “That is one fine specimen of man.”
As they watched, a buxom brunette in tight spandex approached him. She said something that caused him to smile and laugh. Olivia fought the red haze of jealously that crawled up her spine. It was quickly washed away by a wave of melancholy. As much as she wanted him to be, Alex wasn’t hers. She had no claim on him. No doubt this happened to him all the time…beautiful women hitting on him. Thanks to Kendall and his sister Allie, she knew he didn’t currently have a girlfriend, but that didn’t mean he was a monk. Just because she hadn’t been with anyone else since they met didn’t mean he could say the same.
“Just a friend. Right.” Faye was studying her knowingly.
“He is,” she insisted, not making eye contact so Faye couldn’t catch her in the lie. “He lives hundreds of miles away.” She fiddled with the settings on the treadmill. She kicked it up to a light jog. Her hope that Faye would leave her alone to exercise in peace was dashed when Faye fired up the machine next to her.
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