Page 45 of Callum
When he heard none of it, he closed and locked the front door. “I can’t hear anyone, but I’m still going to check the place. Don’t move.”
Before he could step away, she grabbed his arm. “Callum…be careful.”
He forced some of the anger down. “Always, honey.”
He moved into the living room, again listening for any sound that didn’t belong. There was nothing. Good. But that didn’t mean no onehad beenthere. He moved around the house, checking every entry and exit point. Everything was locked. Every window, the front and back doors…he even checked the small bathroom windows, which were closed and locked.
When he returned to her, she still looked nervous, but a bit more color had entered her cheeks. “Were there any doors or windows that you closed or locked between waking and letting me in?”
She shook her head. “No, I went straight from the bed to the bathroom to the door.”
He let that sit for a moment as he holstered his weapon. “Everything’s locked up. What did you see?”
“Just shadows of movement. It shifted down the hall from the living room.” She sighed and scrubbed her face. “I’m sorry. Maybe I didn’t seeanything. I was half-asleep and my bed was cold and I was missing you—” She stopped, eyes widening like she hadn’t meant to say that.
One side of his mouth lifted. “You already know I was missing you too, honey.”
Her hands dropped from her face, but she didn’t meet his eyes. “I’m so sorry. I was on the phone talking to Stacey about those texts, then I actually got another text, and it just freaked me out. I shouldn’t have called.”
She got another text? Fuck, he hated that.
He stepped closer, touching his thumb to her chin and tilting her head until she met his gaze. “I’mgladyou called me. I want to be the first person you think of when you need help.”
“You do?”
“Yes.” Absolutely yes. It meant she trusted him to keep her safe.
“Well…thank you.” Then she wet her lips, and it took a damn storm of restraint not to look down at those lips. “Now that you’re here, you could always stay the night…if you want, that is.”
His gut tightened at the thought of another night in bed with her. Holding her. For the first time since arriving, he let himself focus on the fact that she wore his T-shirt. She could have worn anything, but she’d chosen that.
It made every protective and territorial instinct shoot to life. “I’d like that.”
“Okay. Good.” Then with a nod, she moved around the house, turning off all the lights before surprising him by taking his hand and leading him to her bedroom. He stripped down to his briefs, not missing how she carefully avoided looking at his body, before he slipped into her bed. It smelled of her—fresh and citrusy. Her entire house screamed “Fiona.” Her books scattered across the coffee and bedside tables. Little trinkets and photos, and the splashes of blue and purple around the place. It was all her, and he loved it.
She shuffled over so her head rested on his chest. She did it so easily, like this was their place together. He slipped an arm around her waist, loving how she melted against him. He’d been in bed when she’d called, not sleeping, because he’d been missing exactly this.
“Warm?” he asked.
“Toasty. Thank you again for coming. I really am sorry I called you for nothing.”
He kissed her head. “It wasn’t for nothing. Something scared you. You call and I’ll come. Every time.”
Her fingers dug into his chest. He held her as her breaths evened out and she fell into a deep sleep. He didn’t drift off right away, though. Instead, he listened to the sounds both inside and outside of the house. The whistle of the trees, the odd engine on the road. Because even though it didn’t seem possible that anyone could have been in her house tonight, with everything locked up tight, the fact she’d been scared enough to call made every part of him stand at alert.
* * *
Fiona rolled onto her back,scrunching her eyes as rays of sunlight hit her eyelids. Man, oh man, she felt well rested. Like a deep, slept-ten-hours-straight well rested. And she knew exactly why…Callum. His body heat. His heartbeat in her ear. Maybe her tired mind had conjured up the shadowy movement in her head as a means to get Callum here because she’d known he’d come. That had to be it, because every damn window and door had been closed and locked. Thank God Callum hadn’t been pissed.
Her eyes opened to find the other side of the bed empty.
Slowly, she pushed into a sitting position, scanning the room as she did. It wasn’t just the other side of the bed that was empty, the room was, too. And if the silent house was anything to go by, he wasn’t here. She was alone.
Her heart dropped, because the only thing that could match sleeping with the man was waking up to see his beautiful form beside her…something she was not going to get today. Sigh.
Okay, time to get up, get dressed, and go to work like a normal adult who wasn’t dependent on a man.
She was just pushing out of bed when she saw the piece of paper on the bedside table. A smile bloomed as she reached for it.
