“I needed to make sure you were all right,” I say quickly.
“You needed to stalk me.” Ellie expresses her own interpretation.
“I prefer to call it twenty-four-hour surveillance.”
“So you’ve been watching everything I do?”
“Not everything. I respected your privacy,” I inform her. “I was just making sure there were no intrusions to your life.”
“Was there anything that threatened to intrude?”
“No. Nothing that I was aware of. And I intend to keep it that way.”
“So you really do know everything about me?” I nod. “Even about—”
“Your boy toy? Yes,” I interrupt her.
“He’s not a boy toy,” she responds affronted.
“He can’t be very important if you’re here naked with me.”
“He’s a friend,” she specifies. “And I can be naked with anyone I want. I’m unattached,” she reminds me harshly. I cringe inside.
“I’m hoping to change that.”
“I know you are,” she says sternly, but her expression is soft.
Good sign.
“Forgive me?”
“For stalking me?” she asks drily.
“For watching over you,” I correct her.
“No.”
“Come on. Wrong thing for the right reasons.” I try to argue my side.
“So, you admit it was wrong.”
“Nope,” I contradict myself. Us spies are good at that. “Protecting you will never be wrong, no matter how I do it.”
“You’re going to be a very busy man then, because I don’t like to sit still.”
“Don’t I know it.” I trap her head in my hand and graze my teeth along her neck. “You’re a very busy little bee.”
“There’s a lot to see in this world.”
“I’ll show you everything if you let me.”
“That could take a long time.” She closes her eyes and sighs as I skim the tip of my tongue under her jaw.
“Ellie, I’ve got nothing but time.”
“Why didn’t you let me know you were there?” she asks almost sadly.
“Truthfully?” I quit caressing her with my mouth. “To give you space. Plus, I saw what you did to those cupcakes.”
