AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Thank you, Jake. There’s not really any danger, nothing immediate, but it made me feel better to hear your voice if that makes sense. I needed you to know what was going on.”
“It makes sense,” I said, my gut twisting at the mix of tenderness and fear in her voice. “We’ve got your back. Do you want to stay on the line and talk to you until somebody gets there?”
“No, it’s all right. I’m going to go lock up and pace back and forth like a crazy person now and be paranoid, okay?”
“The perimeter’s clear on the cameras, I checked. Nobody’s going to get anywhere near you on my watch,” I said.
“Thanks for listening,” she said.
Any time Jas.” I hit the end button and dropped the call. No way on my watch, that asshole ex of hers was getting anywhere near her.
4
ELI
When I got the message about Jasmine I was on my feet and excusing myself from the table before I’d even hit reply on my screen. Hell no. That piece of trash couldn’t get near her or harass her. She was under Burns protection and should never have to worry for one minute.
I was disgusted by the ex-boyfriend’s reappearance. I was happier believing he was probably dead, having pissed off the wrong person for the last time. But there he was, right in Alexandria. I was not a man of primitive urges or violence. I strove to be a reasonable man, rational and measured in my responses to events. This particular situation, Jasmine’s ex-boyfriend resurfacing in her life, far from Alabama and cropping up in the online applications—it made me forget I was rational.
If I gave it ten seconds of thought, I’d conclude that he was a garden variety bully, bound to fail miserably. The jerk was trying to creep up on her and scare her, thinking her friendless and hundreds of miles from home. He was incorrect and would learn swiftly that he could not gain access to her in any way. He was no match for even one Burns boy, much less all four of us. And he had no idea what he was up against.
However, I didn’t stop for even two seconds much less ten. I told my date, Allie or Addi or something like that, I had to go. Then I just left. I paused at the hostess station long enough to point back at the table and put down a hundred-dollar bill. Then I was gone, breaking traffic laws and running lights, making it to the office in six minutes instead of ten.
Jasmine was afraid. She was there alone. Every nerve in my body fired at once and a shot of adrenaline ripped through my bloodstream. I would yank the door off the hinges to get to her.
I used my security fob to open the door after I messaged Jasmine to let her know I’d arrived and was about to enter the building. When I opened the door, she gave a small cry and I took a step toward her. She sat at her desk, clicked the mouse on her computer a couple of times. She was trying to act normally, but I saw the shine of tears in her eyes before she looked away.
I wanted to go to her, fold her into my arms and promise her that I wouldn’t let anything happen to her. But nothing about her body language showed me that she was ready to accept comfort like that. She had a desk between us, and it would stay that way until she decided to come out from behind it.
If she wanted to act casual and minimize the situation, I’d let her do what she needed to do. Even as I kept a tight leash on myself, a chokehold on the protective rage that roared inside me, the surge of alpha male possessiveness I felt toward her was unlike me.
“I’ve got some time if you want me to look through applications,” I said, taking a seat in one of her guest chairs. I leaned back and propped my ankle on my opposite knee, the picture of ease. “I know that Jake told you to come, but you can leave. I’m okay now. It just rattled me at first.”
“I’m Elijah Garrett Burns. I was a pilot in the Navy. I’m thirty-two and I have a twin brother. I graduated two years ahead of him because I skipped a couple of grades. Now I work security and fly select clients on their private jets. I like butter pecan ice cream and I’ve been thinking about getting a dog. Clearly, we haven’t met so I thought I’d introduce myself. Because you don’t seem to realize I would not leave you alone at a time like this. Not because I think you’re weak and not because you’re a woman. Because I’m in the business of keeping people safe, and you are not safe here on your own now. If I were being stalked or harassed by a former lover whose mental stability was in question I wouldn’t insist on manning the office by myself. Because there’s strength in numbers.”
“That’s kind of you to say, but we both know you wouldn’t need someone to protect you from an ex.”
“Not necessarily accurate. It depends on the situation. I may be ex-military and I may work security, but I’m just as vulnerable to a threat as the next person if it’s the right sort of threat. For example, I was thinking on the way over here, I’m a pretty smart guy. Drew calls me the brainiac, but I always took it as a compliment. I consider things rationally. I’m a problem solver. I have no problem making rapid fire, level-headed decisions when I’m flying or guarding someone. But when it was you, I wanted to rip down the fucking door. I’m serious, don’t laugh. I’ve been out of my head about this. Because you’re family. The people closest to me, I guess if they’re in danger, I get crazy. I won’t apologize for it, even though it’s uncomfortable for me in a way, sort of giving in to baser instincts…” I trailed off, saw the way she was looking at me.
Her lips were parted, her eyes bright and hot on mine. I felt it, practically smelled it in the air. Something had shifted between us. The soft flush on her cheeks, the way she was breathing hard, the rise and fall of her chest rapid and her breasts straining at the buttons of her blouse.
My eyes flicked to those buttons and the sweet little gap where the fabric pulled tight over her full breasts. I couldn’t do this. I had to get myself under control and that meant keeping my hands and even my impure thoughts to myself.
Jasmine got to her feet and came around the desk.
“I’m glad you came to check on me. You may not think I know you well if I think you’d buy my tough act, but I know you, Eli. I’ve seen you pretend to like lamb chops at that place we went to for Ty’s birthday when he insisted everyone try them. I’ve seen you outdrink every man in the place on New Year’s and then come to work sober and cheerful five hours later. You’re loyal and adventurous and so incredibly smart. And I trust you with my life. I always have.”
Jasmine gave me a small smile like she was keeping secrets but she’d given it all away with one look.
“If you know me, then you can tell I’m just about dying to hug you and tell you it’s going to be okay. Because something in me detonated when I found out your ex hunted you down, and the only thing that’s going to soothe that is knowing deep down in my bones that you’re safe and I’ve got you.” It felt too much like a confession when I said it aloud, but there was nothing for it.
She had to know how I felt about her already, and if not, there it was. I’d told her I was going crazy if I couldn’t hold her and feel every contour of her body, feel the rise and fall of every breath to let it sink in that she was unharmed, that she was still here.
“Don’t tell me it spooked you that my loser ex tracked me down. A big tough man like you?” she teased, but I knew what she was saying. She was asking me to tell her it wasn’t that big of a deal, that it would blow over. That there was no reason to freak out. Even though it had made me frantic. I couldn’t give her false reassurance like that. Even if part of me wanted to tell her anything that might make her feel better.
“You know I’m going to be straight with you.” I said gently. “It seems off that he’d slip in the back door like that, turn up in Alexandria and apply for a job at this firm. He wants you know that he knows where you are and what you do and where you spend your time. He showed his cards all at once, and that was his second mistake.”
“What was the first mistake?”
