This girl doesn’t realize the hold she has on me. I’m completely enamored with her and there’s no way in hell I’m letting her go. We may have hit a roadblock for the time being, but that doesn’t mean shit.
Her whole demeanor is tense and withdrawn. The complete opposite of what she was in the middle of the night last night when we made love. She’s pushing me away. Just like she did when she left my house. It’s like one step forward and two steps back. But I’m willing to play this game of hers as long as it takes.
I’m not letting go of her that easily.
I need her safe though and I do what feels so fucking wrong, and I shake her hand. I linger longer than what’s considered normal, so I can remember her touch while we’re apart.
When she finally pulls away, she plants the fakest smile I’ve ever seen on her face and walks me to the door.
“I guess I’ll see you around. Oh… wait.” She runs to the bed and gathers the photos and puts them in the envelope, handing it to me at the door. “Don’t forget these.”
“Right.” I slap the envelope against my opposite hand and then go to turn the knob. I stop short because I remember something else. “You don’t have any more copies of these do you?”
She blinks and then slowly nods. “I have an SD card hidden somewhere no one will find…it also has more pictures than what you have in your hand on it.”
My eyes widen at her confession. “I’m going to need that then,” I tell her. It’s not safe for her to have copies of these because if they get into the wrong hands, then game over. And who knows what else is on that SD card. She could be sitting on a goldmine for the police department.
“No, absolutely not.” She shakes her head. “It’s my insurance policy.” She points to the envelope in my hand. “Those copies are for the police.”
“Just having these copies puts you at risk. What if Emmett decided to pay you another visit and found these? What then?” She needs to know how serious this situation is.
“I get what you’re saying but I’ve been careful. I didn’t mean to keep these in my possession for as long as I did, but I wasn’t sure exactlywhatI had in my possession, or if it was worth it to hand it over to the police.”
I sigh and rub the bridge of my nose. “Please, just get me that SD card. I don’t want to argue about this.”
“You’re lucky I’m even trusting you with these at this point. Maybe since you’ve lied to me from the beginning, you’re lying now. How do I know you won’t take these straight to Emmett and make me and my dad disappear?” she shoots back, anger lacing her tone.
I take a step into her space and grip her jaw with my free hand, so we’re nose to nose. “If you really believed that, we wouldn’t be standing here right now.” I capture her lips with mine and soften my grip on her jaw.
I know I shouldn’t kiss her like this when we’re both on edge, but I have no control over my actions. I suck her bottom lip into my mouth, and she lets out a small whimper. I don’t want the kiss to end but I need to get out of here so I can start making plans. I have a lot to go over and I can’t mess this up. A hard dick is going to get me nowhere real fast, and I have to stay focused.
I slowly pull away and then plant one more chaste kiss on her lips, tasting her one last time before I have to leave her alone indefinitely.
She blinks her eyes open and licks her lips.
“You can keep the SD card. But as soon as everything is figured out, I’m going to need it.”
She hesitates but then says, “Fine.”
Every man’s favorite word a woman says.
I reach for the doorknob and tell her one last time, “Just stick to your normal schedule. If I have anything or need anything from you, I’ll let you know. Otherwise, keep your camera to your paying clients and your head down. I have no idea how deep or how far this whole thing goes, and I need you safe for my mental well-being.”
She chews on the corner of her bottom lip. “Okay,” she says seriously, and I give her a nod and head out the door.
I hate that it has to be this way, but I don’t need to be an extra reason Jordan is in danger.
As I make my way out of the parking lot to walk back to my place, I see the one person who can help me out a little bit.
“Kyle, hey man.” I throw a two finger salute his way as he walks towards me. He has a tray of drinks in his hands from Beach Brew.
“Hey. What’s up?” He nods back at me.
“I have a favor to ask of you.”
He hesitates. Not that I’m surprised. Just because we’re friendly now doesn’t exactly mean we are friends.
“I just need you to look out for Jordan for a while. Or more like keep your eyes and ears open when you’re around her.”
