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“Charlotte, go dumpster diving. Whatever you can find.”
She fist-pumped in happiness. “Yes!”
Levi came up behind Finley as she leaned on the door frame and watched Storm sleep. The bodyguard was also watching the toddler sleep, and Levi kissed Fin’s ear.
“Come out for a walk with me. You rarely go out and this is a great time to do it. Storm has plenty of eyes on him. I’d like to get my eye on you getting sun and fresh air. You look tired, and honestly, I’m worried about you.”
Finley turned sharply to blaze him for his remarks and came face to face with the first man who made her pussy weep with desire with just a look. To be fair, the expression on Levi’s face was demanding, cajoling, expecting, and challenging. Her libido made her core sizzle. She hesitated. Levi wouldn’t push her, but he looked like he wanted to. Cash wouldn’t have been as accommodating, so her men must have had a conversation and elected Levi as the messenger. Her stomach rumbled with the need to jump this man’s bones. Time to be honest.
“I know I haven’t been out much, but...” she shrugged.
“I know there must be some reticence in exposing yourself, but you would have gotten away quicker if you were not protecting Storm. You’ve got skills, woman, and because of that, I’m so glad you were there to take care of that little guy.” Levi nodded in Storm’s direction. “But now, let’s do a little of that protecting and comforting for you. Please?”
saidnoto him was hard. She wanted to do what he asked, and after one more glance into Levi’s intensely caring, almost loving eyes, and she caved. Did she love him? Maybe? Did he love her? Did they know what that was? Where did that thought come from? She did companionship with others, she did friends with benefits when it suited them, but love?
Cash was all in on the love angle and she was trying, but sometimes she didn’t think she could trust that freely. Love required a lot of trust. That was for normal people. It was for men like Cash who embraced it, and it might even be for Levi, but Finley had seen what was supposed to be love go terribly wrong with dramatic fallout and pain. Nope, not for her, but she couldn’t deny Levi.
“Okay but let me get my gun first.”
“Your gun. We’re not leaving the grounds.”
“Just in case.”
She was grateful that Levi said nothing more and simply followed her to the door of their shared room and watched her unlock her portable gun case, check the chamber, check the safety, then slide the little derringer into her leg holster that she strapped on over her jeans. Time to go. He followed her downstairs and when she hesitated at the front door, he steered her to the side exit. Had he always been so tuned in to her, or did the kidnapping make that happen?
Cash appeared seemingly out of thin air. He smiled. “I’m glad you’re going outside. I was beginning to worry.”
“About going outside? Pfft. There was no need to gang up on me.” She was quaking in her military style boots, so to speak.
“I apologize,” said an unabashed Cash.
He dropped a kiss on her unsuspecting lips, and she knew, when Cash looked over her head to Levi, that they were doing that silent communicating. She loved to hate that they did that so damn well. It was all the confirmation she needed that they had planned this.
“Have a nice walk. See you later.” Cash walked off without a backward glance.
As they slipped out the side door, Finley had to pretend to herself that it was an inner room door, not one that led outside, where she had not succeeded in meeting the challenge of keeping Storm safe. Where all her training failed her. Failed Storm. Where she and he had been abducted. Levi seemed to realize her declining thoughts, and he zeroed in on her waning resolve to take a walk. He slid his hand down her back and resettled his warm palm at the camber of her waist where her back met her ass. Finley could feel reassurance radiate from his hand. It said, “I’m right here and you are safe, secure, and all mine.” She allowed herself to fall into that encouraged state of being.
The door softly closed behind them and for a split second, Fin stiffened, but Levi slid his hand over to the far side of her waist and pulled her into his side. It was the perfect protective move without saying a word. How did he know to do those things? Levi had never shown much in that way, but today and actually, since the day of the kidnapping, he’d shown so much more connectedness with her than she’d ever expected from him. At first it was confusing and even now it confused her some but it was different today.
Different in that, he quietly observed her and responded without asking for any clarification or even seeming to need it.That wasn’t how their relationship went, nor was it how it was supposed to go now, and yet it felt right. And even that positive change created uncertainty in how she dealt with him or how she was about to respond. It seemed the rules were all new and uncommunicated. Unagreed upon. When had this happened and why hadn’t she noticed?
Finley was surprised at the warmth of the sun as they walked away from the edge of the roofing along the building’s outer wall. There was an intimate breeze, but it too was warm instead of chilly, as she would have expected. In fact, Finley realized she expected it to be cold outside, contrary to the timing of the year but the bright sun, the blue sky, the slight breeze was perfect weather and she needed to allow herself to feel the joy.
“It’s okay to be perplexed about the world that you are in right now, but I wished you would trust your people. Trust me to do what you need and to respond to you honestly. Trust Cash. I get that being abducted wasn’t on your list of things to do, but you’ve trained with us. You knew what to do to keep Storm and you safe until we could find you.”
Finley remained quiet for a few more moments as they walked. Finally, she responded. “I know, but I envisioned it working out more in my favor.”
“How do you mean? You have bruises, aching ribs, and a few other wounds of war, but Storm wasn’t harmed, just a little scared and bewildered. You even protected Darcy; a woman you didn’t know. Win-win in my book. Tell me how you see that differently.”
Finley stopped and tried to step back from Levi, but he prevented her from taking more than one step away and she loved how he subtly took control, but hated to admit her thoughts. “You don’t understand. I failed. I was supposed to stop the kidnappers from even getting to him, and I didn’t. Jac doesn’t even think I’m trustworthy anymore and who can blamehim? I wasn’t paying attention enough, wasn’t strong enough, or smart enough to figure something was wrong early on. I could have prevented it if I had immediately returned to the house.”
“You could have, but there wasn’t anything about the situation that was alarming until it was too late. If you had left, who was to say they wouldn’t have followed you? You still activated your Keep Safe program alert, protected Storm and Darcy, and helped everyone escape. The only person who was harmed was you. First you were drugged.” She’d forgotten that. “Then you were beaten and still you got the others to safety. It isn’t the method so much as the result. Although, the next time you even hesitate when I give you direction, I will light up that sexy ass. You got me?”
She knew he was trying to be serious, but the idea that Levi would exert his dominion over her was enough to bring a smile to her face. Levi had never pushed her, never demanded. He’d always been straight with her, honest, and stood his ground, so maybe he was trying to be the kind of man he saw his friends and Cash be. Finley couldn’t deny that his efforts to try out being that kind of man with her did bring a tingle to her lower regions and making her nipples draw into hard peaks, but that just wasn’t him.
“Finley, I’m not playing around here. I almost lost you and it fucking killed me. I don’t ever want that to happen to you again and I sure as hell don’t ever want to nearly go insane trying to find you.”
“But you got a concussion.”
