by Susan Stoker
“I won’t,” Lexie said immediately. And she meant it too. She’d never had someone as worried about her as Midas apparently was. She truly hadn’t thought much about hanging up. But if the roles were reversed? If she’d been talking to him and realized something bad was happening around him and he’d hung up on her? She wouldn’t be happy. He was letting her off way easier than he should’ve. She knew it, and vowed to be a better girlfriend in the future.
“Careful,” Pid said from nearby.
Midas looked at his teammate, then wrapped an arm around Lexie’s waist and pulled her out of the way of the two policemen leading Theo toward the doors.
“Oh, you aren’t arresting him, are you?” Lexie asked, frowning.
“No. We’re just taking him to the hospital to be looked over. He doesn’t seem to be in his right mind,” one of the officers said.
Theo looked at her, then locked eyes with Midas. “You should take better care of her,” he said in a low grumble.
“Excuse me?” Midas said.
Lexie could feel the angry vibes coming off him.
“It’s her fault,” Theo said. “You should watch her carefully.”
Midas growled. Honest-to-God growled, deep in his throat, and Lexie was alarmed enough to move so she was between him and Theo.
“Easy, man,” Mustang said, putting a hand on Midas’s biceps.
The cops quickly led Theo away, and Midas said, “What the fuck was that?”
“He’s not in his right mind,” Mustang said. “You can’t take anything he says to heart.”
“That sounded like a threat to me,” Midas told his friend. “And he blamed her for whatever happened here. You said you weren’t anywhere near them when the fight started, right?” Midas said.
Lexie ignored the slight tone of accusation in his tone. He was stressed, and she couldn’t really blame him. She wasn’t too happy with what Theo had said herself. She’d gone out of her way to be nice to the man, and she had to admit that he made her nervous.
“Right,” she told Midas and the rest of the team, who were now gathered around them. “I talked a bit to Theo, small talk, then came over here when you called.”
“The cops mentioned one of the four men who were here said something about you,” Slate added, speaking up for the first time. “Then claimed Theo jumped him for no reason. They hadn’t even said two words to him when he attacked.”
“Will he get in trouble?” Lexie asked, concerned about the mentally handicapped man now.
Midas sighed and shook his head.
“What?” Lexie asked.
“You. The man all but threatened you, and you’re worried about him.”
“Jail’s not going to help him,” Lexie insisted.
“And being allowed to roam free starting fights is?” Jag asked.
Lexie pressed her lips together in frustration. “No, but he needs medical help. And maybe a friend more than he needs to be locked up and the key thrown away.”
“Lexie! Are you sure you’re all right?” Ashlyn exclaimed, trying to push her way through Slate and Pid to get closer. But Slate didn’t budge. “Hey, can you move it?” Ash complained, pushing harder.
Slate looked more amused than anything as he finally stepped to the side. Making it obvious that the only reason she was getting through was because he was letting her.
“I’m fine. I wasn’t ever in any danger,” Lexie said. “How’s Natalie? I can’t believe she stepped in with her shotgun like that.”
“She doesn’t take shit from anyone. It’s why she’s such a good manager. I’m assuming this is Midas?” Ash asked, nodding at the man holding her.
“Oh, sorry! Yeah, guys, this is Ashlyn, one of the other full-time employees at Food For All, and, Ash, this is Midas, and these are his friends. Aleck, Pid, Jag, Slate, and Mustang.”
“Dang, girl. You didn’t tell me you’d hooked up with a Hotty McHotterson…or that his friends were so easy on the eyes.”
Pid stood a little straighter and puffed out his chest a bit. Everyone laughed. Except Slate.
“Cut it out, asshole,” he muttered, lightly punching Pid in the arm.
Ashlyn frowned. “Look who’s calling who an asshole,” she muttered back, taking a step away from Slate so she wasn’t within arm’s reach.
Which bothered Lexie. Even if she and Slate were getting off on the wrong foot, he wouldn’t hurt her. But apparently Ashlyn wasn’t convinced. Lexie quickly tried to deflect the tension. “Natalie was amazing. She won’t get in trouble, will she?”
“Naw, she’s good,” Ashlyn said. “I think things here are about as settled down as they can be. Why don’t you go ahead and head out.”
“Oh, but don’t you guys need help cleaning up and reassuring everyone when they come back that things are okay?”
“We’ll be fine. Have a great weekend. By the time you come in Monday morning, things will be back to the same old boring routine.”
“If you’re sure…”
“I am. I already got the go-ahead from Natalie. And she told me she’s gonna look into hiring some extra security maybe. You know, some big hulks to hang around in our busy times, like Friday afternoons, just in case.”
“Oh, that’s good. I’m sure that will help make people feel better too.”
Ash turned to Slate. “You need some extra cash? You’re mean-looking enough…you’ll scare any bad guys away.”
Slate narrowed his eyes and glared at her.
She laughed, but it wasn’t a relaxed and carefree sound. “Chill. I was just kidding. If you keep frowning, your face will freeze like that.” Then she smiled at Lexie before heading into the back room.
“I like her,” Jag declared.
Slate turned his glare onto his friend.
Jag held up his hands in surrender. “If looks could kill,” he muttered.
“She’s got a point,” Aleck added. “You’re extra surly today.”
“Whatever,” Slate said. “We gonna get out of here or what?”
“Right. Now that the excitement is over, Slate’s impatient to get going. No surprise there,” Pid said with a chuckle.
Lexie couldn’t help but grin. She was already getting used to these guys. The way they kidded around and were almost brutal about it. “Thank you all for rushing to my rescue,” she told them.
“We’re a little jumpy,” Mustang said. “After Elodie’s incident, we’re a bit faster to react…or overreact, as the case may be.”
“Well, I appreciate it. I’ve never had anyone really care much about me before.”
“We care,” Aleck said seriously.
Lexie smiled at him.
“I’ll walk you to your apartment,” Midas said.
Lexie frowned as his teammates headed for the door. “Oh, but you came with them.”
“I’m not leaving you,” he told her.
Right. It seemed he was still a bit on edge. Lexie couldn’t blame him. “Okay.”
“We can take a taxi to my place.”
“The bus goes out that way,” Lexie said.
“No. That’ll take too long. Taxi or Uber,” Midas said.
Lexie shrugged. “All right. That works.”
“Come on, we’re leaving.”
Lexie let Midas grab her hand, and she waved to her coworkers as he shuttled her out the door and toward her apartment.
Chapter Twelve
Midas knew he was being a bit overbearing and heavy-handed, but he couldn’t help it. Lexie had scared the hell out of him. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been that fucking terrified. He’d heard people screaming and yelling through the phone line and had no idea what was happening. Then Lexie had dropped that bomb about there being weapons on the premises before hanging up on him.
The half hour it took for him to get to her were the longest minutes of his life. He couldn’t bear to take his hands off her or let her out of his sight.
He did his best to get his emotions under control as he escorted Lexi
e to her building. He stood right by her side in the elevator and the second she’d unlocked her door and they were inside her apartment, he took her in his arms once more.
“I’m okay,” she reassured him for what seemed like the hundredth time. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I’m so used to fending for myself, it didn’t even dawn on me that you’d be worried.”
“Worried?” Midas asked. “Shit, Lex. I was way past worried.” Her lip wobbled, and he pressed her face against his shoulder. “Shhhh, I’m sorry. Don’t cry.”
“I just feel horrible about it all.”
“I know.”
“I promise, I’ll never do anything like that again.”
“I know you won’t.”
“Does this…” Her voice trailed off.
“Does this what?” Midas asked, putting his finger under her chin and tilting it up so she had no choice but to look at him. “Talk to me, Lex.”
“Does this make you feel differently about me?”
Midas blinked in confusion. “Feel differently how?” he asked.
“I don’t know. Are you upset enough to want to take a break? We don’t have to spend the weekend together.”
Midas’s stomach clenched. “No!” he exclaimed. “Why would you even ask that?”
“I just… I know I disappointed you, and because I’ve been on my own for so long and haven’t had anyone who’s given a damn about me, I tend to not think about others as much as I should. That might not be something you want to deal with.”
“Do you want to be with me?” Midas asked.
She frowned. “Yes. Of course I do, but—”
“Pack a bag,” Midas said, interrupting her.
“What?”
“Pack a bag. With enough to last you for two nights. We’re going to my house and spending the weekend together. All weekend. Days and nights. I’ll bring you back here Sunday night, so you can get to work bright and early Monday morning.”
Her eyes widened. “Really?”
“Yes. I don’t think I can let you out of my sight for at least forty-eight hours. That should be enough to get my adrenaline to subside. Maybe. Lexie, in case it’s missed your notice, I give a damn about you. I have since the moment we snuck out of that hospital room together. Probably even before then. And I’ll teach you that you don’t have to make every decision on your own anymore. I want to be your partner. Your sounding board. The person you turn to when you’re happy, or scared, or sad. I’ll celebrate with you, hold you tight when you cry, and comfort you when you need it. I want to be everything to you, just as you’re quickly becoming everything to me.”
“Midas,” she whispered.
“And even though a lot has happened in the last couple of hours, I haven’t forgotten what you said before the shit hit the fan. You want me to take you to bed? Done. Now, go pack. I’ll just be standing here guarding the door so no one bursts in and interrupts us before we can get to my place.”
She smiled and it lit up her face. “I have a bed,” she said, looking back at the double mattress in the middle of her studio apartment.
“I see that. And believe me, I’ll be making love to you in it sooner rather than later. But not now. And not this weekend. This weekend, you’re all mine. And I want you in my space. It’s a little caveman-ish of me, I admit. But I want to take you for the first time in my bed.”
“Okay,” she said.
“Okay,” he echoed. “You gonna pack or what?”
“You gonna let go of me or what?” she countered.
“Not sure I can,” Midas admitted.
Lexie wrapped her arms around his neck and went up on her tiptoes, getting even more in his space than she already was. “You know what I can’t wait for?” she asked in a sultry, sexy tone.
“What?” he asked, thinking she’d say “seeing you naked” or something equally hot.
“A frozen Dole whip bar,” she whispered into his ear.
Her response was so unexpected, Midas burst out laughing. “Brat,” he accused.
She was grinning from ear to ear, obviously pleased with herself.
But her teasing did the trick, made him relax enough to be able to drop his hands from her waist. She backed away from him, still smiling. And when she got to the door to her bathroom, she said, “Oh…and feeling you so deep inside me, I don’t know where I stop and you start.”
Then she spun and disappeared into the bathroom. Her giggle echoing in the space around him.
Midas groaned at the image her words evoked and collapsed against the bar separating her kitchen from the rest of the room. He eyed her bed, then closed his eyes.
No. He wanted to pamper her. Wanted to show her how good it could be between them. And not only in bed. He had no doubt living with her twenty-four-seven would be amazing. How could it not?
As eager as he was to take her to bed, he wanted to make sure she was comfortable with the change in their relationship even more. He’d go as slow as needed to make certain she was one hundred percent sure of him. He couldn’t imagine a life without her in it, and wanted her to get to the same place before they took their relationship further.
Midas readjusted his hard cock and took a deep breath. Life with Lexie wouldn’t be boring, that was one thing he was absolutely sure of.
Within twenty minutes, Midas and Lexie were in an Uber on the way to his house. They held hands in the back seat and Midas did his best to control his libido. Many people thought that after a hard mission, military guys only wanted to fuck or fight. And they weren’t exactly wrong. Midas and the rest of his team had learned to control their adrenaline spikes while deployed, but at the moment, he felt as if he was a green SEAL who had just finished his first successful mission.
He couldn’t even look at Lexie, because he felt as if he were a hairsbreadth away from jumping her. She’d changed from the jeans and blouse she’d worn at work, to a pair of short shorts that showed off her tan and toned legs, and a tank top. He could see her bra strap peeking out on her shoulder when she moved and it made him hungry to see her bare tits.
They’d made out on more than one occasion, and he’d felt her up, but they’d never actually gotten naked together.
Shit, he had to stop thinking about Lexie naked. He was too on edge. He needed to get her home, make her comfortable. Maybe he’d order something in for dinner so he wouldn’t have to cook; being around a hot stove wasn’t exactly the best idea right now. He’d pour her a glass of wine or make her a mixed drink and they could sit out on his deck and enjoy the Hawaiian evening. If she was too tired—because she’d had a hell of a day, just as he did—he’d take her in his arms and hold her all night, like he’d done when they’d had to hide out in that hole.
He could do that.
Maybe.
Then Lexie took his hand and placed it on her thigh. Her bare thigh.
Fuck. All thoughts of relaxing and making small talk on his deck evaporated in a puff of smoke.
She grinned mischievously at him and slowly moved his hand upward, until his fingers were under the hem of her shorts. Midas swore he could feel the heat of her pussy. All he’d have to do is move his hand a few inches higher, and he’d be touching her.
Lexie spread her legs a fraction, as if she could read his mind.
Midas felt his heart beating out of control in his chest. He wanted to shove her backward and take her right then and there.
“It’s supposed to be a nice day tomorrow,” their driver said, jerking Midas back to where he was. And more importantly, to the fact that he wasn’t alone with Lexie.
He heard her chuckle under her breath.
Midas wanted to respond, but his teeth were clenched together too hard.
“I think we’re gonna go to the Dole Plantation tomorrow. You ever been?” Lexie asked.
Midas tuned the man out, his gaze riveted on his large fingers resting on Lexie’s inner thigh. He brushed his thumb back and forth over the sensitive skin, and smiled when he heard her inhale sh
arply. She might have started out teasing him, but two could play that game.
He moved his gaze from her thigh to her chest, and was pleased to see her nipples poking through her tank top. She was obviously enjoying this as much as he was.
A car nearby honked its horn, making Midas look up—and he caught their driver checking Lexie out in the rearview mirror. He glared at the man and growled, “Watch it.”
“Oh, they weren’t honking at us,” Lexie said, patting his arm.
Midas hadn’t been talking about the other vehicles, and both he and the driver knew it.
The ride was fairly quiet after that, and Midas made it a point to keep his hand in safe territory on Lexie’s leg. As much as he enjoyed turning her on, he wasn’t about to put on a show for the asshole driving.
They arrived at his house without further incident, and Midas was feeling pretty proud of himself for not devouring Lexie in the back seat. He led her into his house with a hand on the small of her back. He unlocked the door and sighed in relief when it clicked closed behind them.
They were finally alone. But then he reminded himself that he was trying to go slow. He absolutely didn’t want to rush Lexie.
He started to hand her the bag she’d packed and tell her to make herself at home, but when he turned away from the door, he grunted abruptly as Lexie threw herself into his arms.
Dropping the bag so he could catch her, Midas groaned as she twined her fingers in his hair and brought his head down to hers.
She kissed him as if she wanted to devour him. Hard, fast, and so fucking deep. Midas’s cock hardened again. He wrapped an arm around her waist and yanked her against him. Lexie immediately began to undulate her hips, raising one leg as if trying to get as close as possible.
When her hands slipped under his shirt and roughly pushed it up his chest, Midas took a deep breath. He needed to find his legendary control, because he was about to fuck her right here in the entryway of his house.
