“Do you think they'll come back?” she whispers, her voice trembling.
I reach over and take her hand in mine. It's so tiny, but an electric current runs through me where my palm meets hers.
I squeeze her hand gently as I reassure her, “I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
There. At least that isn't a lie. I can't tell her they won't be back because I am “they” and Iwillbe back. There's no way I can stay away from her.
But it is true that I'll never let anyone hurt her.
She gives me a smile, and then we ride the rest of the way in silence.
There are so many things I want to say to her. So many things I want to ask her. But now isn’t the time to make small talk when she's just had a scare, so instead, I let the silence drip between us. If she wants to speak to me, she will. I have to give her time.
When we get to her apartment, I can sense her hesitance, and she hangs back as we approach the door.
I place a hand on her arm and look down into her eyes before I tell her reassuringly, “I'll go in ahead of you and do a sweep if you want.”
She bites her lip and nods, and I make a show of going in front of her. I really do sweep her apartment to make sure no one other than me has been there. When I find no signs of anyone else there, I go back out and tell her the coast is clear.
She visibly relaxes and nods, trusting my judgment. I move out of her doorway to let her pass, but she stops when she's standing in the door and fidgets, wringing her hands together as she peeks up at me shyly. “Do you want to come in and stay for a while?”
My heart begins hammering against my ribcage. She wants me to stay with her?
My amazement has me tongue-tied, and when I don't speak, her cheeks color. “I would just feel safer if I wasn't alone right now, you know?” she adds.
I nod and clear my throat before I say gruffly, “Of course I'll stay with you, princess.”
The endearment just rolled out, but it suits her. She is a princess.Myprincess.
Her blush deepens, and my lips twitch. I love seeing her blushing sweetly like this. I imagine other ways I can make her blush but push those thoughts firmly out of my mind when I feel my cock coming to life again.
I follow her inside, and she offers me a cup of coffee. I'm not a huge coffee drinker, but there's no way in hell I'll turn down anything she offers me. She could have offered me a mud pie and I'd have gladly eaten the entire thing.
I can’t stop staring at her perfect form as she moves gracefully around her kitchen, making the coffee. She places sugar and cream on the table, but I take my cup black. I make note of how many lumps of sugar and how many spoonfuls of cream she adds to her coffee, though. I watch every tiny movement she makes, studying everything about her. It was thrilling to watch her over the camera feed, but it's even more captivating to see her up close in real life like this.
“So how long have you worked at the yoga studio?” I ask her.
She takes a sip of her mug and then circles her fingers around the rim as she answers me, “Ever since I graduated high school.”
“Was it something you always wanted to do?”
She shrugs. “I was always into fitness, but I wouldn't exactly call myself athletic. I suck at team sports. Not that I'm not a team player or anything. I was just always kind of bendy and flexible, so when I got into yoga, I just loved it. I was so good at it that they offered me a job, and here we are.”
I smile as I take a sip of my own coffee. “Here we are,” I repeat softly.
She blushes again before she asks me, “What about you? How long have you been in security?”
“Like you, ever since I got out of high school. I got a job as a bouncer and worked my way to the top. Now I own the company.”
Her eyes widen. “Wow.”
We make more small talk, and whereas I'm usually not a small talker, I enjoy every minute of it. I like listening to the way her pretty voice sounds pronouncing every syllable. I like watching the way she gestures with her hands when she gets excited about something. Despite my insane attraction to her, she's easy to talk to and I could listen to her all day.
Time gets away from us, and we've gone through a whole pot of coffee before she glances at the clock and lets out a startled gasp. “I can't believe it's almost midnight and here I’ve been chatting your head away. You're probably ready to get off the clock.”
I shake my head. “I'm never off the clock when it comes to you, Cynthia.”
Her breath catches as she stares at me.