I’m about two seconds from climbing the walls of my office. I have been here for almost two hours and haven’t heard a word from Greg or Dee. Axel and Coop have been giving me my space and I’m thankful for it. Axel came in when I first got here, and I almost took his head off with one of the books I threw at him.
Coop doesn’t even bother. He takes one look at me and keeps walking past my office until I hear the door close to his own. Emmy is the only one I’ve been able to talk to and even that’s been with a bark to my tone.
Maddox takes one for the team and spends the next two hours next door with Chelcie. Sway doesn’t pick on Maddox as much as he does the rest of us, and even when he does, Maddox doesn’t seem too bothered by it.
The knock on my door pulls me from my own head, and I look up to meet Coop’s hesitant eyes.
“I’ve got to run out for about an hour. We’ve got another stalk and snap case. Another rich homemaker who is convinced her husband is sleeping with the secretary.” He laughs and shakes his head. “This is exactly why my ass won’t ever let a chick get her hooks in me. I would end up being a case on your desk to come stalk and snap.”
“You know, the best thing that’s ever happened to me is having Dee return my love, so I won’t ever see where you’re coming from there.” Leave it to Coop to lighten the lead ball in my gut. Where the hell are Dee and Greg?
“I’ll take your word for that one, Brother. You know I respect you assholes and your relationships, but that shit just isn’t for me. I’m not the kind of guy worth some chick’s trouble. Too many mommy issues.”
“We all have our own issues to bear, Coop. You’ll get your happiness one day.” I frown when I see the serious look he’s putting out.
“Don’t hold your breath there. Anyway, you need anything while I’m out?”
I shake my head, but before I can answer, my phone rings. I wave him off and swipe the phone to answer, letting the tension fall from my shoulders when I hear Dee’s voice come over the line.
“Hey! Guess what?”
She sounds happy, so at least I can stop picturing her hiding in the closet in a ball.
“What’s that?”
“I’m finally leaving the house! And before you start telling me a million reasons why I shouldn’t leave, you don’t have to worry. Greg’s with me. We’re going to swing by and grab some take out before we come to you. Will you ask everyone if they want anything?”
I can’t help but smile when her tone hits my ears. There isn’t even a sliver of the sadness that I have been expecting. I know that the talk they had wasn’t easy, but I also know that Dee isn’t the same person she was a few months ago. She’s proven today just how far she’s come. My girl is strong and she did it all on her own.
“Yeah, Baby, give me a second.”
She hums her agreement and I place her on hold long enough to go ask Axel and Emmy what they want.
“You there?”
“Yup!”
My heart expands a little more with every word she speaks. Yeah, she’s got this.
“You’re going to have to call either Maddox or Chelcie. She’s been next door for about a couple of hours now with Maddox standing guard. Coop ran out to meet with a new client, but whatever you get him will be fine.” I finish up telling her what Axel and Emmy want before reminding her to grab her handgun and to keep it in her purse with her at all times. With her assurance and the knowledge that I know Greg will protect her, we hang up and I start my new stream of worries.
I wouldn’t be as calm as I am knowing that she’s left the safety of my house if I didn’t know she has protection. I might not be there, but Greg can handle anything that pops up, and the fact that she’s got her concealed doesn’t hurt.
That was one of the first things we did when we returned home from North Carolina. After she was well enough, I went out and bought her a Glock of her own, and then we went to get her permit to carry concealed. She hasn’t had the chance to fire it yet, but she knows how to use it, and just knowing that she’s got some way of protecting herself makes me breathe a little easier.
The thirty minutes it takes for her to walk into my office seems like forever. I have been close to pacing the room when she comes breezing in. I stand here next to my office window and take a moment to drink her in before I am able to move. She’s wearing a black tank top and a pair of white shorts that cover just enough to make her decent. Her long, bronzed legs seem to go on forever, and of course, she’s got on a pair of white and black, polka dot heels. The things those shoes of hers do to my body should be illegal.
“Snap out of it there, handsome. You’ll have to wait to act out all those dirty thoughts flying around in your head until we get home. Lunch is served.” She walks her sexy ass over to my desk and starts emptying the contents of her bag. I let out a painful groan when she bends over to pick up a pack of soy sauce that fell from the bag. Goddamn, that ass! She laughs and tosses my fork at me before sitting down and starting to eat without me.
It takes me a few seconds before I can will my dick to calm down, and then I walk over towards her. I bend down and kiss her deeply before pulling my chair closer to her. We eat in a comfortable silence, both of us just happy enough to be together right now. I know why I have been so anxious; I needed to see for myself that she was really okay. Even if she doesn’t speak the words, I know that she’s here because after that talk with Greg she needed me, and damn if that doesn’t feel fucking great.
It really brings it all home, just how far we’ve come. Before she would keep shutting me out and would never allow me to think that she needed me. Now… now she doesn’t even have to think about it. She needed me, so she came and got me.
“Where’s Greg?” It’s driving me nuts not knowing how things went, but I don’t want to push her to talk about it unless she wants to. Mainly, I just want to make sure that she really is okay.
“He’s eating in the conference room with Axel. I brought Maddox, Chelcie, and Sway their food before I took the little happy trail of joy to get in here. I swear, I don’t know why you guys let Sway leave that on the sidewalks.”
She laughs and I shake my head, remembering when Sway spent two whole days painting the sidewalk in front of the business strip gold… with glitter speckled all over the place. We all gave him a hard time about it, but he’s got a point. There isn’t anyone around that can walk on that ridiculous paint without a smile.
“Anyway, dropped Emmy’s off with her, but she was on the phone when I came in, so I’ll go catch up when we finish our little lunch date.” She turns back to her food, takes a few bites before closing up what’s left, and walking over to the fridge in my office to save the rest.
I toss the empty containers from my meal in the trashcan and pull her into my lap when she walks back over to take her chair. She giggles and wraps her arms around my neck.
“Hey,” she whispers against my lips.
“Hey.” I almost don’t get the word out before her lips crush against mine. She takes my mouth in a rough kiss that shows me just how desperate she had been to get here. I answer every move she makes. Our tongues dance together, and it doesn’t take long before her kiss starts to turn more heated.
I pull back and give her a minute. Her eyes are still closed and her breath comes in quick bursts against my face. She takes a few beats before her lips curl into a beautiful smile. It feels like I’ve been handed the whole world in my hands when she gives me that smile. It’s the one I’ve been craving for so long. There’s nothing fake or forced about it. When she opens her eyes, the blinding joy that is like a blazing fire inside her, spills out. I give her a smile in return, and let the rest of the stress and worry from the day just pour off of me.
She lays her head against my shoulder and shifts so she’s more comfortable in my lap. I keep one arm around her back to support her body but take her small hands and wrap mine around them, rubbing her silky skin with my fingers.
“Things went well today.”
I nod my head and give her the space she needs to keep talking.
“He took it about as hard as I thought he would but in the end you’re right. He needed to know, and I feel so much… more free.” She laughs and the sound wraps around me. I close my eyes and savor this moment between us.
“He’s going to be okay. I know this isn’t something that he’ll just snap and be over, but he has Melissa and Cohen to help him get through it.” She leans up, pulls her hands free, and frames my face. Her thumbs rub the stubble of my day’s worth of beard a few times before she brings her mouth to mine, giving me a small kiss before pulling away. “And I have you.”
She smiles, and right there I can see it. She’s moved on and is finally letting every, single, last one of those things that has been hurting her go. Like a sea of balloons being released into the sky, you can almost physically see her letting it all go.
“Always.”
If possible, her smile gets even bigger before she lays her head back down and pushes her arms around my chest. With our hearts beating together, and a peace like I haven’t known in a long time settling around us, I just enjoy this moment.
Greg walks by my office door, and I turn my head to see what he needs. He nods his head and gives me a look that confirms what Dee just said. He’s okay, but he’s going to need a little while before he can move on from what he now knows isn’t what he thought. He stands there for a few minutes and keeps his eyes on Dee’s back. I can’t tell what’s running through his mind, but then he silently looks back up and offers me one hell of a look. He’s got his approval, acceptance, and happiness that Dee is in good hands. That right there is the look of the man who has accepted responsibility for Dee as if she were his own blood relation, letting go and allowing me to take over that honor.