Leo
It’s getting to be evening and the dragonflies are out and the air is crisp, making my emotions all the more heightened. I’ve been here for a while inspecting Elena’s case, and I don’t want to make her uncomfortable so I think I’m going to offer to recuse myself from it. God knows I don’t want to give up this case. I want to be as close to Elena as possible. For some reason, I feel protective over her. This has never happened with any of my other cases. I’m always objective, but something about her just makes me want to solve this. An angel like her doesn’t deserve to be afraid, and I can feel her vulnerability and it turns me on. She’s different than the other girls I’ve had. I saw that immediately. It’s like I want to fuck her brains out and put my stamp on her, never allowing her to leave my side. I want to be the only one she ever has.
Wow. That’s fucking new for me.
“You know, Elena, if this brother-in-law thing makes you uncomfortable, I can definitely remove myself from the case,” I say, carefully checking her response. I want to know if she’s into me.
Even if she says yes, there’s no fucking way I’m leaving this alone. I’ll still investigate it, only without her knowing. There’s no way I’m going to leave this in the hands of some incapable rookie. I’m the best there is and that’s what she deserves, in more than one sense.
“No,” she says, staring up at me with those beautiful wide eyes. “No, please. You were here first, and now I’m trusting you with this. It’s okay. There’s no conflict of interest. Besides, Barry’s in my past.”
I’m glad to hear it. She seems to have made a point of letting me know that Barry means nothing to her. I hope that’s true. I want to move in on her so bad, but first I’ll have to let her get to know me. She’s not some woman you fuck and then leave. I will never forget her name. And at this point, I never want to leave her side either. No matter what, I will make this girl mine. I have to have her. And if that means protecting her until the day I die, then that’s what it’ll be. She’s going to be all mine, and this perp will never get away with what he’s done to her. This I also know for sure. I’m going to make the bastard pay double-time for what he did. He’ll be behind bars for an eternity with all my connections going against him. He messed with the wrong girl, because apparently the only stalker around here is me. I should cool down but instead I let my thoughts race with the instinctive urge to protect Elena.
“All right, Elena, can you answer a few more questions for me please?” I ask gently. I can tell she’s still shaken up.
“Sure. I mean, anything you need.”
“Do you have the ability to get more locks on your doors and windows?”
“Yes. I’ll hire someone.”
I pause and look into her eyes. “I have a guy. I’ll send him over.”
“Okay—” She looks up at me again, this time with gratitude, and I feel my passion rising.
I’m staring into her eyes, unflinchingly. “You have my number, right? I want you to call me with anything. Understand? Anything you want, you can call me no matter what time it is. And I want you to communicate with me directly about everything. No one else.”
With this, I take her phone and enter my private number into it. “And,” I say, “even if you just want to talk, I’ll be there, okay?”
This seems to brighten her mood.
“I mean it. I’m there for you. You’re not alone in this.”
“Thanks,” she says. “I might take you up on that.”
God, I hope she does. I have to see her more. I wish I could just take her in my arms right now, into the house, and fuck her. I want her to know me. I want her to know that I would never hurt her and that I’m the man who deserves to have her beautiful body. In fact, at this point, I’m feeling downright possessive. Fuck, I’m getting in deep.
Bobbi is staring at us, and I know she thinks this is funny. We were just talking about settling down, and here I am practically confessing my undying devotion to this girl. Bobbi knows I never talk to people on our cases like this. She’s going to give me a hard time about this, I know it.
I ignore Bobbi, but take my cue to leave. I don’t want to overstay my welcome. “Okay, Elena, we’re going to take off. I want you to stay in close contact with me. Don’t forget, anytime you need to talk I’m there.”
She looks into my eyes with sincerity, and waves of passion fill my entire body. “I can’t thank you enough for all that you did, Leo. You, just having been here, was so helpful.”
I hate to admit, but my heart skips a beat when she says that. I have to see this girl again . . . soon.
Back in the car, Bobbi starts ribbing me. “Wow, you’ve got it bad.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say gruffly.
“Come on, who could deny those sparks flying? I guess our conversation really sunk in.” She laughs like this is so funny.
“Shut up, Bobbi. I just want to... help her. I would do the same for anyone.”
She’s cracking up now. “Yeah right! That was so obvious. You love that girl.”
“Shut up!”
Bobbi’s just rolling in laughter. She thinks this is the funniest damn thing. She says, “I think Elena married the wrong brother!”
“God, Bobbi, give me a break,” I say flatly. “And you better not mention this to anyone.”
My admission makes her laugh louder. This is going to be a long ride back to the station.