Chapter Twenty-Three
Dwayne
I woke up to the scent of sweet lilacs and sex with Gillian resting on my shoulder. I lay there quietly, careful not to wake her up, watching her sleep, her chest rising and falling slowly. My stomach jumped when her eyes began fluttering open and she smiled.
“Mmm,” she sat up. “That was amazing.” Her voice was low, profound even. She propped herself up with her head resting in her hand. “Breakfast?”
“I don’t want to leave this room.”
“Don’t. Stay right here. I don’t have to go to work for a few hours, anyway.”
I glanced at the clock on her nightstand. “I have to be at work soon.”
“Aw, come on.” She kissed me. “One more go,” she urged and reached out to grab my bulging cock.
“God,” I groaned. “I want to so bad, but I have to go.”
She kissed me. “Call me the second you get off. I don’t want to go the rest of the day without hearing your voice.”
“You couldn’t keep me away.” I stood up and started getting dressed.
The drive to work was slow. Traffic was heavy and my mind was still back in that room, staring down at her while I slammed into her. She was so pliable, so responsive. I needed to be gentle and handle her with the care and devotion she deserved, but nothing I did would ever be enough. She deserved a king, not a security guard.
Fred was at the front desk on the ground floor talking to a woman wearing a pale blue skirt suit with blonde hair. She turned to me when I walked in, her cold glare a clear sign of trouble. Fred excused himself and pulled me aside.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“The cameras still don’t work, and they’re starting to notice. That’s the office manager, Julie. The woman is a snake. She said that we need to get things working as soon as possible and find out what is going on or she’s going to go with another company.”
“Seriously? She must know that it isn’t our fault.”
“It’s about results,” she interrupted as she walked up behind me. “I have to find men that can take care of the job. If you can’t do that, then maybe somebody else will.”
“This is the guy I told you about,” Fred told her. “He’s fresh out of the navy after a decades-long stint in the SEALS. You can’t ask for a better guard.”
She looked me up and down like a piece of meat at the supermarket. “I don’t care who he is. Find the people sabotaging the security system and get those cameras working. Am I understood?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I said.
“Good. You’re working nights.” She walked away.
“What does she mean?” I asked Fred.
“They came by last night to take out the cameras again. We need somebody here at all hours.”
“Are you sure that’s going to be enough? Shouldn’t we notify the police department?”
“They’ve already been notified, but there’s nothing they can do without some sort of identifying information that we can use to hunt these men down.”
“What about prints?”
“They used gloves.”
“These guys are professionals.”
“I know. That’s why you’re here. Find whoever is doing this.”
“Yes, sir.”
My hunting instincts had been dulled by the thought of Gillian. When I sat down in the office, I saw her face when she was sleeping. Instead of the cameras, I saw her body below me. She’d become my obsession.
I was falling for her. In the back of my head, I knew that it would happen. She’d always been there, that little girl staring at me with wide eyes or sitting on the bleachers watching me run. My feelings ran deeper than I thought. They had always been there, I realized, buried under the Afghani sands, hiding in the night during basic training. They were dormant, and now that I’d left the navy, they were coming back to life.
I shook my head and went back to the cameras, watching as the contractors walked into the building to fix the cameras that’d been taken out the night before. When the feed came back up, I watched closely, zooming in and out, hoping to find something that would lead me to the men trying to sabotage the building.
I spent all day going over the feed form the night before. I watched as a man, wearing the same hoodie he wore last time, got out of the same Toyota and walked to the back of the building. He sliced the wires with his knife and got back into his car to drive away.
His face was covered, so I couldn’t see him. I tried looking over the car for identifying marks like faded paint or dents, but the image was too grainy. All I could get were the last two numbers in the license plate: 65.
At the end of the day, I locked up and drove to the store to buy a bouquet of flowers. I wanted to do something for Gillian to let her know that I appreciated her. When I pulled in, she was leaning against the building, talking to Lexie. She hopped up to run over to the car, clearly excited to see me.
When I got out, she threw herself into my arms, showering me with kisses. “These are for you.” I reached back to hand her the bouquet.
“They’re wonderful. Thank you, Dwayne.”
“I had to get you something.”
“I’m just glad you’re here.”
“I want to talk to you about something.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Remember I told you about the guy that was trying to sabotage the security system?”
“Did something happen? Are you OKokay
“I can handle myself, but he came by last night and disconnected the cameras again, and the office manager is freaking out. She’s going to drop our contract if we don’t stop the people that are doing this.”
“What are you going to do?”
I sighed. “They want me to work nights.”
“No, really?”
“Yes, and I’m sorry. It’s a huge hassle, I know, but it’s just until we catch the guy.”
“Promise me you’ll be careful.”
“I promise.”
“Do we still get to go see Jesse tomorrow?”
“Of course.” I wrapped my arms around her. “I want a chance on the dance floor with you.”
“Anytime,” she leaned in to kiss me.
Lexie walked up and cleared her throat.
“What?” Gillian turned back.
“I’m starving. Let’s go.”
“Alright. Alright.” Gillian got one last kiss in before she left. A part of me left with her.