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“We can still sit down and talk,” she protested. “I’ll wait while you get a new key. We can work this out.”
Her father shook his head. “Go on up, Chrissie. This isn’t your problem to solve.”
“It was a pleasure meeting you, sir.” Dante nodded to her father before placing his hand on her elbow and guiding her away. When they reached the elevator bank, he turned to her. “Are you all right?”
She stared at the call buttons for a second and then glanced up at him. “They used to be so in love. My mom and dad. They struggled month after month to pay the bills, but they worked together. Always laughing. And now they fight all the time.”
“I’m sorry,” he said. The elevator arrived, the doors slid open in front of them, and he led her inside. He wished he could offer her more. But he couldn’t piece her parents’ marriage back together any more than she could.
They rode in silence. And when they arrived on their floor, he stepped out first and scanned the halls.
“I’ll need to check your room,” he said.
She nodded and withdrew a key card from a small zippered pocket in her pants. He waved the key in front of the sensor and opened the door.
“I think they’re staying together for me,” she said as the door closed behind them.
He stole a quick look at her. She’d wrapped her arms around her middle. She looked nothing like the woman who’d walked into his room and demanded that they skip the lesson.
Dante’s jaw tightened as he peered into the empty bathroom. He wanted to pull her into his arms. But first he needed to finish sweeping the room. After the bathroom, he opened her closet. Satisfied it was free from stalkers, he turned to her.
“At first I thought that losing Joe was driving them apart,” she continued. “But they clung to each after we lost him. Even when I first started singing, they worked together. That song has always been hard on my dad… But now, it’s like the success is driving a wedge between them. And I’m not sure I can fix that.”
He went to the edge of the bed and sat down. “Come here, Chrissie.”
She followed his request and claimed the space beside him on the bed. He wrapped one arm around her shoulders and drew her close to his side.
“Feeling helpless stinks. Trust me, I know,” he said.
“You’re a SEAL,” she protested. “You’re not—”
“A sidelined SEAL,” he corrected. “I’m not one hundred percent. If I was…”
“You wouldn’t be here,” she supplied. “You’d be out saving the world.”
He nodded and tightened his hold. “But I’m not out there. I’m here with you.” He ran his palm over her shoulder, up and down. “And I’m going to take care of you.”
For as long as he was here, he would be her bodyguard, her lover, and her friend.
She placed her hand on his thigh. “When you say here, does that mean you plan to stay until sound check?”
“Is that an invitation?” he asked.
“Only if you promise not to bore me with plain old missionary again.”
…
“You were bored?” Dante released her and rose from the bed.
Chrissie tracked his movements, desperate for his touch. She wanted him to fill her, to help her bury her concern for her parents and their family’s future by filling her with desire. If he made her come, maybe she could stop wondering if her parents’ love had always been a mirage or if it had simply broken.
“You need something more interesting?” he added.
No, I need you, and you know it.
But she nodded.
“Stand up and turn around,” he ordered.
