“Forget I said anything.”
We laid there in silence for a minute before I thought of the fact that Craig and Alec had been in the same vehicle.
“Where’s Craig?”
“Taking first watch.”
I rolled my eyes. “You can’t be serious.” He just gave me a funny look, like it wasn’t just the most ridiculous thing he’d ever said. “Who exactly is coming to get me?”
“It could be anyone. Let’s face it, you’re not exactly in the best apartment building. It’s not the first time I’ve told you that. You could be living in my house, but you insist on living in this shit hole.”
“And…I don’t get it. I’ve always lived here. So, why are you worried now?”
“Because you’re not yourself. Someone could break in here and snap your neck and all you would do is bleed all over them.”
“Am I going to hear about this for the rest of my life? Because no girl wants to be reminded how she bled all over some hot guy.”
“You think I’m hot?”
I rolled my eyes at him. The tension was gone and now it was just Alec being his playful self. “Of course you’re hot. You know that. Don’t pretend that I had some sudden epiphany. We’ve been fucking for over a year. Do you really think I would have stuck around if you were hideous?”
“Would it kill you to tell a guy? Seriously, I’m lucky if I get a pat on the head after sex.”
“You know I think you’re the sexiest man I work with. Well, maybe.”
He raised an eyebrow in challenge. “Fine, who’s the best looking guy at Reed Security?”
“You’re testing me?”
“It’s not a test. I just want to know. From a woman’s perspective.”
“What? You’ve gone around asking guys?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“I’m surprised you even know I’m a woman. Almost everyone looks at Lola and I like we’re men with ponytails and boobs.”
He laughed a deep, sexy laugh that I could feel rumbling across the bed and shivering up through my body. “Trust me, none of the guys we work with would get a boner from a man with boobs. Well, except maybe Burg.”
“You guys need to stop picking on him,” I laughed. “I think the poor guy dealt with enough when he realized he was making out with a woman that had a dick.”
He bounced his head from side to side with a sly grin. “Nah, that shit will never get old. So, come on, no dodging. Tell me who’s the best looking guy.”
I pursed my lips in thought and ran through all the guys I worked with. All of them were sexy in their own right. Trying to classify who was the best looking was practically impossible.
“Really?” he said in shock. “The answer isn’t immediately me?”
“I work with a lot of hot men. Did you really think you would be at the top of my list? What if it was Craig? Would you be jealous?”
“Let’s see, I’m fucking you and you prefer our teammate. What do you think?”
“Cap,” I finally said.
“Our boss? He’s an old man.”
“He is not. He’s like five years older than me. Besides, he’s got the perfect body and that smoldering, sexy look to him.”
“I could be smoldering,” Alec said.
“I know, sweetie. And then there’s Cazzo.”
“That baboon?”
“He has a nipple ring. I’m not gonna lie. It’s fucking hot.”
“Sorry, I’m not getting a nipple ring.”
“And then there’s Knight-”
“Of course,” he muttered.
“He’s dangerous, dark, sexy-”
“Taken,” Alec interrupted. He almost looked like he was pouting and I found it almost charming that he was getting so upset over my assessment.
“And there’s something about Hunter’s bald head that really gets me going. He looks like The Rock, don’t you think?”
“Sure,” he grumbled. “He’s a fucking beast of a man. The sexiest I’ve ever seen.”
“I’ll be sure to tell him you said so.”
“I’m surprised you haven’t said Sinner. All the ladies seem to flock to him.”
“That’s true. He is ultimately the classic male embodiment of good looks.”
He growled at me and I laughed, a yawn escaping. I couldn’t remember ever just sitting around talking with Alec like this. It was nice, and I wasn’t ready to go to sleep and go back to normal tomorrow, when I would have to think about what the doctor told me.
“You need to sleep.” He ran his hand through my hair, pushing back the strands that had slipped over my shoulder and were laying on my face. “And then tomorrow, when you’re better rested and thinking clearly, we can reassess your choices for best male specimen.”
I laughed and let my eyes slip closed. I felt him sink further down into my bed and let myself drift off to sleep, thinking about what Alec had said earlier to me about me trusting him. I really needed to get over that, but I also needed to figure out exactly what I felt for Alec. He was being nice to me because I was in the hospital all day, but he wouldn’t let it go forever.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Alec
I couldn’t stop watching her. When I saw her curled up on the floor, I almost said fuck it and let it slip that she was mine. But then I would have had to deal with the fact that Florrie didn’t actually want anyone to know about us. It wasn’t that I needed everyone to know that she was mine, but I didn’t like the secrecy. It felt like we were a dirty secret. But what we were becoming was anything but a dirty secret.
But for some reason, she just couldn’t deal with the fact that I was in love with her. I wasn’t sure if she even knew how she felt about me. It was like she wouldn’t allow herself to think that far ahead. But today was a reminder that I needed her to start thinking ahead. I wanted more than just the time she was giving me now. I wanted the rest of my life with her.
When I sat in that waiting room all fucking day, not being able to be there with her, to hold her hand and know what the fuck was going on, I thought I was going to lose my mind. I sat there with Craig and tried not to show him how fucking scared I was. That much blood was not normal, but if it was life-threatening, they wouldn’t have sent her home from the hospital. So, I let it go, thinking she might tell me with time.
I ran my fingers across her cheek, just wanting to touch her. Maybe to tell myself that she really was okay. When she curled up in my arms when I took her from her apartment earlier, something inside my chest tightened painfully. I just wanted to protect her and take care of her. I had never felt that way about a woman before. Then again, I had never loved a woman before. She was the woman that changed my life and made me want things I had never even considered before.
She stirred next to me and rolled to her side, draping her arm over my chest. I held my breath, afraid to move. I didn’t want her to wake up. I wanted her to just sleep in my arms for the rest of the night. I needed this with her right now.
“Oh shit.”
I didn’t open my eyes at her voice. I must have drifted off sometime during the night. She moved out of my arms and I had to struggle not to pull her back. But I knew that with Craig in the apartment, she wouldn’t want him to see us like this. I felt her slip out of bed and I finally opened my eyes. The bed was cold without her. Craig walked into the room with a grin on his face.
“You two looked pretty cozy.”
“Shut the fuck up. She wasn’t feeling well.”
His face sobered and I knew I had successfully dodged that conversation. “Is she doing okay this morning?”
“I don’t know. She was up before me. She’s in the bathroom.”
He nodded, glancing at his watch. “I’ve gotta get home and get a shower before work. I’ll make some coffee. Find out if she’s coming in today.”
“Fuck, no, she’s not. She was just in the fucking hospital.”
He shrugged. “It was her period.”
“She was fucking b
leeding all over me. You don’t find that odd?”
“Well, yeah, but she said she was fine. What the fuck do you want me to do?”
“You’re such a tool.”
Florrie shuffled out of the bathroom and got back in bed, completely ignoring us.
“How are you feeling today?”
She grumbled something incoherent and snuggled in deeper.
“Should we stay?”
“No.”
I looked at Craig and he jerked his chin for us to head out, but I was still fucking worried.
“Are you sure?”
“Dude, she just fucking said that we could go,” Craig said irritatedly.
“Florrie,” I said, placing my hand on her shoulder. “Look at me.”
She rolled over and looked at me groggily. “What?”
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine. Just tell Cap I’m taking a few days off.”
“You’re sure?”
She nodded and rolled back over. “Sorry about drooling on you last night,” she said flippantly. It was so dismissive that it actually kind of hurt. I rubbed at my chest, feeling more than a little unsure of what the hell was going on.
“Alright, call me if you need me.”
She grunted in response and I followed Craig out the door. What the hell happened? Was her dismissive attitude because she wasn’t feeling well, or because Craig was there? Why couldn’t she just admit that she loved me? Was I not good enough for her? And now I was whining like a girl. Fuck, this shit was really messing with my head. I was going to have to get to work and beat the shit out of someone so I could get rid of these girly feelings running through me.
Alec Page 8