by Haley Travis
After a few sips of my daiquiri, I grinned over at him. Leif had managed to pull our chairs closer together, so that he was right beside me.
“I honestly feel like I’m on vacation,” I said. “No creepy dark cloud. Sunshine and beach waves.”
“Vitamin D from the sun,” Leif added. “And...whatever vitamins are in peaches.”
He looked a bit hilarious with his huge hand wrapped around such a girly drink. Yet he was clearly enjoying it without shame. I liked that he didn’t give a damn what other people thought. It was refreshing.
He was so open, and ready to find the fun in anything. I could probably learn a lot from him.
As I licked the peachiness from my lips, I started to wonder. If I really was condensing summer into one month, would it be so terrible for me to have a summer fling? A boyfriend who might or might not last? Even if he wasn’t really my type?
I spent so much time thinking, wrapped up in my head. That’s what Janice always said. Maybe just this once I should go with my feelings.
Like the way I felt every time Leif touched me, or looked into my eyes. My thumb darted out to wipe off a few sugar granules that were on the edge of his lip, and he gently caught my thumb between his teeth.
For such a big, rough-looking guy to be so playful was wildly sexy. I couldn’t put a finger on why. All I knew was that I had to find a way to tell him I was actually interested.
And quickly, before he relegated me to the friend zone or something.
Chapter 4
_____
Leif
The more time I spent with Hayden, the more I was absolutely positive that she was the girl for me.
When I had seen her in the diner, she was beautiful, and seemed sweet, but thoughtful. Now that she didn’t feel that she was being watched, there was a lightness around her that completely captivated me.
It was as if I needed her to balance out my somewhat broody loner ways.
I deeply hated that Craig asshole for sucking the energy out of this lovely young woman. Crushing her spirit. Someday, I was going to make him pay.
But right now I had to focus all my attention on figuring Hayden out, and making her fall in love with me, fast.
I made sure that we only had one drink at dinner. I wanted her to relax a bit, but remember every detail of our evening together.
After finishing our meal, we walked arm in arm along the beach. Finally she was looking genuinely relaxed. “I always love how the air is different out here,” she said, smiling up at me.
The pink light of sunset was igniting her hair, and making her cheeks glow. “Look at you,” I said, tussling her hair slightly with my fingertips. “Once you get a bit more sun, you’ll be a little beach babe.”
Her laugh was positively adorable. So was her squeal, as one wave, stronger than the rest, came heading straight for her sandals. I scooped her into my arms, caveman style, not caring if my boots got a bit damp.
Hayden’s giggles were infectious as she pretended to smack my shoulder. Something shifted in her eyes as her palm made contact with my deltoids. She ran her hand down to my biceps, as if examining me.
“What is it?” I asked, setting her back on her feet on a dry patch of sand.
“Nothing.”
I cupped her face with my hands, leaning close. “Hayden, tell me, please. What are you thinking right now?”
There was a long pause. “I’ve always been nervous around really big men,” she said slowly. “But you’re so different.”
Finally, I knew what her resistance was. Fear of my size. That I could work with. I just had to show her how gentle I was.
Tucking back a piece of hair that was tickling her mouth, I said, “I have two brothers. They’re both huge too. So is my father. But none of us are rough, violent types.”
“You said you worked security,” she said softly. “I guess I just assumed, you know…guns. Throwing people around. That kind of thing.”
I chuckled, taking her hand. “Full disclosure, when I was a bouncer back in college, I did have to throw some people out a few times. But since then I’ve studied martial arts, and my technique has become much more refined. I can pin a guy and escort him out without any chaos or injury to anything but his drunken pride.”
She nodded, biting her lip slightly.
“The security work I do now is more information-based than brawn-reliant,” I said, hoping that was the lesser of two evils in her eyes. “Making sure people’s homes are secure, and their businesses. A lot of technical stuff.”
“Ooh, do you have any of those spy gadgets?” she asked brightly.
I chuckled again. “I shouldn’t tell you this, but yes, I’ve had to use them from time to time.”
Hayden smiled, her nose crinkling up cutely. “I always love those tech gadgets in the movies. Trackers and scanners and bugs and stuff.”
It was hard to keep my expression calm. She was a genius. All I had to do was put a tracker on Craig’s car, and I would know where he was at all times. I had no idea what Hayden would think about that, though.
A breeze picked up, and I saw her shiver slightly.
I quickly unfastened my button down shirt, then wrapped it around her shoulders. It was extremely difficult not to laugh at the way her eyes nearly bugged out of her head as she stared at me in a thin black t-shirt that was practically painted on my chest.
Automatically looking up to scan the line of vehicles parked near the beach, I couldn’t see the old black car.
“Is he there?” she asked nervously.
“I don’t think so. But there are a few spots I can’t see from here.”
Taking her hand, I led her a bit farther down the beach where there were fewer people. “Hayden,” I said softly, as I held her in my arms. “I could snuggle in and give you some phoney kisses in case he’s watching.”
She was already smiling and blushing slightly. Yet I had to be truthful.
“But I honestly don’t think he’s there. What I really want is for you to kiss me. Just because you want to. Just because you like me, and feel this same incredible connection between us that I do.”
My hand pressed against her lower back, drawing her close, as I paused with our lips two inches apart. I had to let it be completely her decision. If she hesitated for more than a few seconds, I would back off.
Her eyes nearly glowed as she looked up at me, the tip of her tongue dashing across her bottom lip. Then something changed in her eyes, as if she made the decision to be bold.
Stretching up, she gave me the lightest, most tentative kiss I’d ever felt. It was so gentle. So sweet. So full of promise.
But it wasn’t nearly enough for me.
Hayden pulled back an inch, looking extremely pleased with herself.
“Again.”
She blinked at my command, then giggled. Leaning in again, she kissed me for more than a few seconds, holding her mouth to mine as our pulses sped up. When she pulled away this time, I could tell by her dilated pupils, her halting breath, that she’d never kissed a man before.
“Again.”
This time Hayden’s hands wrapped around my neck as my palms pulled her closer. The second her lips touched mine, I took over, deepening the kiss as I held our bodies together.
At first she stiffened, and I backed off as her hands clenched. Then, as my fingertips gently wandered up her spine, she softened.
Rewarded with a soft moan, I could feel her shifting against me. Her body definitely wanted mine, even if her mind was still unsure. I knew she would come around. The passion behind her kisses was real.
As her lips parted, allowing me to delve deeper, I knew I had to leave her wanting more. Even though it almost killed me, I pulled away, finishing with a swift kiss on the forehead.
“I’ve been dreaming of that since the first time you smiled at me,” I said.
The breeze was picking up, and I didn’t want her to get cold, especially since her little sandals were on the damp sand.
&n
bsp; “Let’s get you home before you get chilly, gorgeous.”
“Okay.”
Hayden held my hand as we slowly walked back along the beach. I reached down to pick up three pretty pink stones with flecks of quartz in them, dropping them into her hand.
She grinned, then slipped them into a side pocket on her purse.
As we drove back to her apartment, chatting about work, and a movie from last winter that we both thought was overrated, she seemed to relax. I just hoped that Craig’s stupid car wasn’t in front of her building when we got there.
At least I had finally gotten a good look at the guy back at her office building. He didn’t seem genuinely threatening in the slightest. He honestly didn’t look smart enough for that.
Unfortunately, I knew the type. The psychological profile was pathetic. He had absolutely no power in his own life, and no ambition. So the easiest way for him to create an adrenaline rush and a hit of dopamine was to stalk a girl.
He probably didn’t want to hurt her, but every time he found her, he felt like a triumphant hunter. Every time he saw her, he felt powerful. In his twisted mind, every sighting made him a winner.
The problem was, there was no way to tell what would make some men give up and find a new target, and what would make others snap and become aggressive.
From the profile I was compiling, Craig didn’t seem aggressive. No history of anything athletic or competitive. But Hayden definitely wasn’t the first girl he had made feel unsafe.
As we pulled up in front of her apartment building, I saw that Hayden breathed a sigh of relief. Craig’s car was nowhere to be seen. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t nearby. Seeing me could have pushed him over the edge, and into hiding.
I ran around to open her door, and we walked toward the building.
Then I stopped. The door that should have been locked was wedged open with a piece of wood. There were boxes and chairs cluttering up the lobby.
Dammit. August first. Moving day.
Which meant that door could have been open for hours.
Hayden saw where I was looking, and her face fell. “Will you please come check my apartment again?”
Should I go into details of how he could be hiding in any stairwell? Tell her that he’d now had plenty of time to study her door lock?
At what point would I cross the line and make her paranoid? The more she was afraid of Craig, the more she might be afraid of all men. Which would do nothing but make it more difficult to encourage her to fall in love with me.
And I only had fourteen days.
Chapter 5
_____
Hayden
I could see that Leif was upset, but wasn’t sure why. After all the trouble he’d gone to give me a perfect summer evening, I wouldn’t have thought that checking my apartment with me was that big a deal.
Then I noticed his expression was tense. As if he were processing something.
Was I in more danger than I knew?
My blood ran cold as I realized something important. Leif was in security. He seemed very dedicated to his new project of protecting me.
What if he had run Craig’s plates or something like that, and found out that he was a real criminal? Maybe he had a record, and he’d hurt girls before. Maybe Leif’s concern was based on more than he was telling me.
Although I didn’t like it, I could understand the train of thought behind not wanting to upset me by telling me the details.
Looking up at his rugged jawline as he clenched his teeth and thought, it struck me at how absolutely gorgeous he was. Even though he was disarmingly big, there was nothing but sweetness around him.
Maybe he was the kind of man that I could actually let into my life.
“Hey,” I said gently, placing my hand on his bicep and trying not to caress his sculpted arm. “What’s wrong?”
He shook his head, his dark hair falling into his eyes for a second before he pushed it back.
“Sorry. I’m running through a dozen different scenarios in my mind, and I don’t know the building schematics.” He flashed me a strange grin. “So it’s kind of annoying not knowing all of the possibilities.”
“You mean like if he could be hiding in the laundry room or something?”
“Exactly. Or the stairwell.”
Stepping closer, I was enveloped in that rich warm scent of his that did odd things to me. I liked it. It was perhaps a little manipulative of me, but I knew that if I acted afraid, he would invite me to his place. Strangely, that was exactly what I wanted.
He’d done nothing so far to make me think he was anything less than completely trustworthy. If I were able to see his home, and watch him being completely relaxed in his own environment, maybe I could figure him out. Decide whether or not he would actually be a good boyfriend for me.
That is, if this wasn’t all a knight in shining armor sort of game for him.
“If you don’t think it’s safe for me to go home tonight, I could call my friend Kim,” I said. “I’ve stayed on her couch a few times. It’s pretty comfortable.”
“Or you could come to my—” I followed his gaze as Leif’s head swiveled to track the old black car as it drove by us.
His entire body stiffened, and something shifted in his eyes. “I’m not going into details of what he may have done to your apartment, or your door locks,” he said, taking me by the elbow and propelling me inside.
He rushed me up the stairs. “Just grab whatever you need for work tomorrow. And comfortable clothes to sleep in, and lounge in on Saturday. Toothbrush and essentials only.”
“All right.” He checked my door before he allowed me to unlock it, then stood guard as I threw things into a duffel bag. It was as if he had turned into a soldier, on a mission.
I had no idea why I found it strangely hot that he was using his training, his security knowledge, to keep me safe. But I did.
How strange. Having a big man order me around last week would have been a nightmare for me, but now it made me feel closer to him. Funny how a little context can change everything.
In minutes I was back at the door, pleased and surprised when Leif smiled. “Everyone says that women take forever to pack. I love that you’re actually efficient.”
I slipped into more practical shoes, then we hurried out to his car. Craig’s car was parked a half block in front of Leif’s, lurking as always.
It was just past sunset and there were plenty of people on the street, having a stroll or walking their dogs after dinner. Leif seemed interested in the teenage skateboarders around the corner.
“Stay put,” he said. “I’ll be right back.”
He popped the trunk, rummaging around the back for a minute. Then he returned to give me the key fob. “Hit the alarm if he gets out of his car.”
Leif jogged away in the opposite direction of Craig, down the street and around the corner. Looking in the rear view mirror, it looked like the skateboarders followed him.
For a moment I was confused, then the familiar anxiety kicked in. I couldn’t even have one nice summer night out without Craig lurking and ruining everything.
A shadow beside my door made me squeal and jump.
“Hayden,” Leif said, “Unlock the car, baby, it’s me.”
I hit the button, as he ran around to the driver side.
Then I realized what he had just said. He called me baby. Nobody had ever done that before. Was it purely for Craig’s benefit if he was in earshot, or did he really feel that way about me?
“I’m so sorry I scared you,” he said. “I should have come around from the other side.”
He reached out to squeeze my hand. “I’ll try to be more careful. I know you must be jumpy. Don’t worry, it’s going to get better. I promise.”
Leif slipped on his seatbelt, then fussed with a few controls in the car. It almost seemed like he was taking his time for some reason.
Finally he started the engine, but instead of driving forward to pass Craig’s car, he drove in r
everse.
Just as Craig’s running lights turned on, three skateboarders came out of nowhere, swarming the black car as one of them stumbled into the back bumper on the passenger side.
Before I could see anything more, we had backed around a corner onto another street. Leif reversed into someone’s driveway so that he could turn the car around, taking off away from my building.
