“Would you like water?” she asked, opening her fridge and pulling out a water bottle for herself. She looked back at Dylan. Eye contact seemed important to her, seeing as every time she talked to him, she made sure to meet his gaze.
“No, thank you,” he responded, pulling out the alarm system and the booklet that went with it.
“I should’ve done this before you walked inside, but I’m going to search the apartment, so while I do, you can look through this information on the alarm system I brought for you,” Dylan explained. Before she could even respond, he walked off. He looked at the windows, doors, and under all the furniture. Since she lived in a one-bedroom apartment, it didn’t take him long to search the place. Finishing up, he came back to the kitchen island where Flora sat, legs crossed, booklet in hand. She looked up at him.
“What do you think? Do you like it?” he asked, taking a seat next to her.
“What do I think about the alarm system?’ she questioned him.
“Yeah, I mean, if you don’t like it, I can get a different one,” Dylan shrugged.
“I would’ve thought you would just do whatever you thought was right, no matter what I think,” she explained, tapping her nails on the counter.
“That would be more of Jackson’s style…being an Alpha and all. If you like the system, I’ll install it tonight. It won’t prevent someone from getting inside; if they want to come in that bad, they’ll come in. An alarm will only make you aware that someone broke in.”
Talking to her seemed normal, easy even. He tried to keep conversations short and sweet, but lengthy explanations just fell out of his mouth. Like she really needed him to explain how alarm systems work? He felt pressured to explain more thoroughly with Flora than he did with other people in general. She seemed to care about what and when he was doing things.
“Well, I like this system. Not that I know much about other systems anyway. If you trust it, so do I,” she smiled, handing him the booklet.
“I’ll get started then,” Dylan responded.
* * *
Settingup the last of her many windows, Dylan took a step back. As he was admiring his handiwork, Flora stepped into the room.
“All done?” she asked. By that point, she had taken a shower and was dressed in pajama shorts and a t-shirt. She dragged her feet across the room and landed face down on her black comforter. Dylan stared at her for just a moment, taking in her long, bare legs. He couldn’t deny he found her incredibly attractive with her big brown eyes and light freckles that dotted her nose and cheeks. His attraction went beyond her looks; he began to realize he enjoyed being in her presence — a little too much for his liking.
He threw the window open, purposefully letting the alarm go off to dislodge whatever feelings were in his head. Scrunching his face, he refocused on Flora, who had jumped sky-high at the sound of the alarm. Letting out a short laugh, Dylan pulled out his phone to type in the code to disarm it.
“What the hell!” Flora howled, her hands fisting up at her sides as she stomped towards Dylan.
“We know it works,” Dylan shrugged. Flora's eyes searched the half-grin on his face as if she was deciding whether to beat him up or not. Dylan took that as a sign to take a step back and make his exit. “Every time the alarm goes off, I get a notification on my phone, so if it goes off, I will come rushing over.”
“Promise?” Flora asked, her body softening, arms uncrossing and her shoulders relaxing.
“I promise.”
They stood at the end of the bed, staring into each other's eyes. Dylan took his promises seriously as hell, and this particular one would prove to Flora that he really had her back. He hoped she would begin to trust him enough to truly let him help her.
“Okay, time for bed. You look tired as hell,” Dylan said, grabbing her hand.
Why he would even think to make physical contact with her, he didn’t know. Taking her hand, he led her to what he assumed was her side of the bed, the right side closest to the window, with chargers spilling out of the extension cord on the nightstand. Once she laid down, he pulled the blanket up towards her. Knowing he needed to get out of there to save himself from the embarrassment, he rushed to the door. Before he left, he looked back to see her staring at him.
“I’ll check the house without tripping the alarm, one more time before I leave.”
Flora nodded before whispering, “Thank you, goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Flora,” Dylan whispered back.
* * *
Slamming his car door shut,he made his way to Flora’s apartment. The last couple of nights proved to Dylan his car was damn sure uncomfortable, but he’d stick to staying in his car until she got used to him being around. It was a huge adjustment for him, so he assumed it would be for her too. He’d slept a total of five hours a night. The other four hours of the night that he was in his car were spent surveying the area. Between him and his wolf, they’d pick up if someone new was coming around at this point. Three days into this new job and he still felt as if he was going about it all wrong. Flora spent the last few days working from home, and today was the first day they’d go into the office together.
Being outside was great for his wolf, getting used to the regular scents of the people who
lived there. He’d know when someone new came around based on scent. Her apartment building was
toward the back of the complex, the back of it being surrounded by woods. He was sure it made a great
