Page 11 of Protector Next Door
7
Sammy
“I only haveone question for you. Is it adate?”
I pull my little black dress from my overnight bag and hold it up in the mirror, letting the fabric pull and contour to mybody.
“Of course it isn’t a date.” I wedge my phone between my ear and shoulder. “He has some stuff he wants to go over with me. He probably wants to do it in public so I don’t freak out. You know, having people around reminds you that we exist in a society and have to act somewhat reasonably. If I have to hear that it was Bryce I might just grab the nearest heavy object and throw it. Being in a restaurant ensures that I won’t cause any damage to Xander’s property or personalbelongings.”
“I don’t know,” Ramona chuckles. “It sounds like a date to me. Wearing something nice but causal for an early lunch? Date. Plus, you know you would’t resort to violence, even if it’s only on a piece of cookware or alaptop.”
I’m about to remind her that in forth grade I threw a pen on the floor because I misspelled the word “business” in our spelling bee, but I hear barking from outside myroom.
“It sounds like someone’s home,” Ramona says. “Goon.”
“Thanks,” I say. “Byebye.”
I pull on the black dress and zip it up in the back, smoothing the fabric down over my thighs. It’s short and cuts straight across my legs, with a high neck that has subtle lace detailing. It’s definitely more New York than California, but things like this are my uniform when I’m forced to to wear something other than jeans and a tee. I throw on my black chunky-heeled sandals. I can reasonably say I tried, on two fronts: I tried to look nice for Xander, but Ialsotried to keep himaway.
When I leave my room I’m assaulted by licks and a wiggling butt from Fritz, making me smile at my new friend. I bend to scratch him behind his ears and tell him to sit. This is the first time I’m meeting him, and I can already tell he is a very goodboy.
“Hello there,” I say as he nuzzles into my neck. His butt is still wiggling wildly with the wagging of his tail. I stand and grab his leash to bring him out to the livingroom.
I’d seen Xander briefly this morning, but I think bringing Fritz home was a tactical move on his part to break me past the ice wall I’d constructed between us. Good fences make good neighbors, but when there’s a dog trying to dig under the fence to get to the other side, all bets areoff.
“You have a beautiful dog.” I put the leash down and Fritz gallops on his long legs to Xander. He scrubs under Fritz’s chin, not taking his eyes offme.
“Thanks.” He smiles before looking away, bending to take Fritz’s collar off. While he isn’t watching me, I take a closer look. God, he is so hot that it’s nearly impossible to look him right in the eye without thinking you’ll melt. He’s like the sun. He makes you feel warm and good but you can’t look right at it without hurting your eyes, and if you do look too long, you could seriously hurt yourself. That’s what he’s like, in his black henley shirt, his shoulder muscles tugging at the thin fabric and making it stretch. They don’t make clothes in his size: sexy hunk with a big brain and abigger…
“You ready to go?” he says. He gives me a little smile, pulling back the reins he has on me. I nod and follow him out to his garage, where he has a cute little VW parked next to a big, silver muscle car. I throw it a look over the frame of my glasses as he ushers me to the VW, opening the door for me and letting mein.
I sink into my seat a little and take a deep breath. This man could patent his scent, license it to an air-freshener company, and make billions of dollars. Forget tech. Forget security or intel or government contracts. I should hitch myself onto his wagon and ride him all the way into this heady, heavenly scent and live there forever. He’s like Christmas and spring rolled into one fabulous, perfect, blue-skyday.
“The fingerprints came back as a match for your ex,” he says as he checks his rearview mirror to pull out of hisgarage.
“At least we know who we’re dealing with.” I lift my eyes from my lap to meet Xander’s. I catch the corner of his gaze from where he was looking at my legs. I pull my dress down my thighs. I shouldn’t have worn a dress this short. Not because I don’t want Xander to look - because Idowant Xander to look, and it’s becoming aproblem.
“I put in a call to an officer who’s an old friend of mine. He’s actually a friend of your dad’s too.” I wish he’d stop thinking of me as my dad’s daughter. Shit. No I don’t. That buffer is the barrier I’m gripping to prevent me from throwing myself at him. We’ve already done…something. Who knows what might happen the next time we get our hands on each other? “We’ll have a restraining order signed by end of business and intend to press charges forharassment.”
“What if he gets pissedoff?”
“As I see it, he’s already pissed off. You said yourself that those photos were only the tip of the iceberg. I say let’s cut him off at the knees. If he wants something from you, he’ll know not to pursue this bullshit any farther when he sees how serious you are about exerting your rights. Violation of a restraining order is serious, and if he’s smart he’ll just back the fuck off. Back the hell off.Sorry.”
He makes me smile and huff out a littlelaugh.
“You don’t have to watch your language aroundme.”
I toss a glance his way and watch as his jaw ticks. He shifts in his seat and I put my hands on my lap, wishing I hadn’t pulled the hem of my dress down. I can’t very well pull it back up, but I want his eyes on me. I’m beginning to crave it. Shit. I think I might be full-on obsessing over this man by the time the bread basket comes. He punches a button on the center console to turn on the radio and rolls the windows down. I put my elbow over the edge of the window and let the warm breeze flow through myfingers.
