Less than fifteen minutes later, we’re in a corner suite on the top floor of the hotel. “Wow. This is…wow. Noah and I went to San Francisco a few months ago to meet with West Coast Allied Insurance, and he booked us a five star hotel. And it wasn’t anywhere near as nice as this.”
“Oliver has a long and completely fabricated history with the Fairmont. Wren had to help me a little with that.” Unfolding my cane, I start to map the room. Desk, dresser, master suite bathroom, window—where I pull the drapes closed—bed, and then, Evianna’s next to me, and I could care less about where the nightstand and television are, because she’s all that matters.
“You got two bedrooms,” she says, and the hesitation in her voice cuts right through me.
“Darlin’, I asked for a quiet room on a high floor. I didn’t say anything about two bedrooms. This was probably all they had for a walk-in VIP.” Wrapping my arm around her shoulders, I pull her against me. “There’s no way in hell I’m leaving your side tonight.”
As if our sleeping arrangements were the only care she had in the world, she melts into my embrace, but a breath later, she’s shaking in my arms. And then her tears soak into my shirt. “My entire life is falling apart, Dax. Everything I’ve worked for…I thought…I had a plan. Release Alfie. Start working on more adaptive tech to go with her. Wait for Noah to retire and then take over the company.”
I reach out my free hand, find the edge of the mattress, and ease her down next to me. “You’ll still do all of those things, Evianna.” Every instinct I have warns me not to say the next two words, but I have to. “I promise.”
“Don’t say that. You can’t say that. Not after tonight. How did they even find you?”
She’s too distraught for me to go into the various theories that have been bouncing around in my head for the past couple of hours. But I have my suspicions. Mostly involving someone hacking into the police department’s computer system.
“Wren will figure that out tomorrow. For tonight, we’re safe. Ronan’s still a junior PI, but he’s the best we have when it comes to spotting a tail. And he’s right across the street. By now, Wren’s hacked into the security cameras all around this building, and if there’s even a hint of anyone suspicious around, she’ll let us know. We’re safe here, darlin’. And…I want to hold you. All night.”
I want a lot more than that—and as I shift closer, my cock presses against her, and Evianna draws in a sharp breath. “I…uh…need to brush my teeth. And take off my makeup. I’ll be right back.”
Fuck. She’s not ready for this. Hell, she probably doesn’t even want me. A few kisses are one thing. Seeing me naked, covered in scars…no one would want that. While she’s in the bathroom, I find the duffel bag on the desk and rush to change into a t-shirt and pajama pants. She won’t have to see any more of me than she already has, and I’ll tuck her in and let her fall asleep before I climb into bed next to her.
It’s better this way.
Yeah, right. I should tell that to my cock. Or more importantly, my heart.
“Dax?” Evianna calls from the bathroom. “Come in here?”
Feeling along the wall carefully, I make my way to the now-open bathroom door. “What is it?”
“Give me your left hand.”
The hell? But I do as she asks. I think I’d do just about anything for her.
She tugs me forward gently, and once I can feel the sink pressed against my stomach, Evianna guides my hand to a shelf in front of me, and my fingers brush against a tube. “In order: toothpaste, shaving cream, razor, Imitrex, and Tylenol. All the way on the right, there’s a toothbrush holder. Yours is in front, mine’s in back.” She keeps her hand over mine, tracing the wall until I feel the cool marble counter under my palm. “Soap dish is right next to the sink, and there’s a bar unwrapped. Behind the sink, two tiny bottles of mouthwash. I moved the hand cream bottles into the drawer since they’re the same damn shape.”
It’s not better this way.
I don’t know what to say to her. In less than ten minutes, she’s gone from a woman I care for to…a woman I could easily fall in love with. Or…maybe more. Maybe I’ve already started to fall.
22
Dax
“You remembered. All of it.” Everything’s in the same order I kept it at home.
Her self-conscious laugh does things to me I don’t understand, and she pulls her fingers from mine. “I tried. I wasn’t sure about the medicine bottles. Do you…need anything else? Towels are on the rack behind you—”
“No, darlin’. Wrapping my arms around her, I hold on until I’m no longer worried she’s going to see me break down in a very unmanly way. But…though my employees and the few people I count as friends are always helpful, solicitous, and nonchalant about assisting me, they’ve known me for years. Evianna? Days.
“I’ll just be a couple of minutes. Make sure your briefcase is under the bed. When I’m done, I’ll secure the suite’s door and the door to the bedroom. I want everything critical in the room with us.”
“Okay.” She pulls away slowly, her fingers sliding over my obliques, and fuck. My cock feels like it’s about to explode, and I’m suddenly worried about coming in my briefs like a goddamned teenager.
Brushing my teeth helps calm me down, as does reciting all the information I memorized on Oliver Russell. Date of birth, address, phone number, credit card pin…over and over again. By the time I’ve locked the door to the suite and wedged a chair underneath the handle, I’m almost calm. Well, my dick is almost calm. My heart is hammering against my chest so hard I’m worried I’m going to crack a rib.
Snagging my own briefcase from the desk in the main room, I dig into one of the pockets. There. If I’m wrong about this…about how she feels…I might never risk myself like this again, but saying a silent prayer, I tuck three of the condoms into the pocket of my pants.
The bedroom smells like her already. Freesia and fresh rain. The door locks with a thunk.
