Chapter 3

 

Elle

 

I was in trouble.

On the one hand, there was the frightening, scary trouble with some crazy psycho stalker, who may or may not want to kill me, with which I had to deal.

And then there was this issue with Levi. 

The stalker issue was trouble.  Big trouble, in fact.

The Levi issue, though?  That trouble was so big I wasn’t sure there was even a word for it.

I just woke up and was currently cuddled up under the blankets in the guest room just outside of Levi’s bedroom.

Yesterday afternoon I realized someone had broken into my apartment and was stalking me.  Somehow, that translated into me ending up in this very spot.  The sad thing is, I wasn’t sure which was worse.

It hadn’t even been a full twenty-four hours since I went to his offices and my attraction to him was already growing stronger.  Throughout the day yesterday his insistence that he would do whatever he had to do to protect me only served to deepen my attraction to him.

Then, last night happened. 

I unpacked most of my things while Levi went downstairs to get in a workout.  After unpacking my clothing, I grabbed my bag with my toiletries and went to the bathroom.  I also took a nightie with me.  Once I had set out all of my beauty products and toiletries, I turned on the shower and hopped in.

While in the shower, my thoughts drifted to my stalker situation.  I did a mental inventory of everyone I knew.  Images of people I had encountered over the years as a performer went through my mind, but nothing stood out to me.  I knew there was a very real possibility that I had an obsessed fan and it was likely that I hadn’t ever met the person.  The thought, despite the burning-hot water from the shower, sent shivers through my body.

I finished my business in the shower, got out, dried off, and pulled my nightie over my head.  After, I dried my hair, put on my body lotion, and finished off with my lip moisturizer.  I was hoping for a good night’s sleep free from worry over this horrific situation.

On that thought, I turned toward the door, opened it, and stepped out to walk to the guest bedroom.

That’s when I saw him.

And all of the gloriousness that was him.

Well, not exactly all of him, but certainly more than I had ever seen before.  And it was all that I had imagined it would be and then some.

Levi had apparently finished his workout.  It resulted in a lot of sweat.  So much so that he no longer had a shirt on.  I stood there watching as the beads of sweat glistened on his impeccable body.  I had just gotten out of the shower, but right then and there I was ready to press myself up against his sweaty body so I could lick every square inch of him.

After I spent an unreasonable amount of time checking him out, I let my eyes drift up to his face.  He was checking me out.  I was standing in the hallway in a nightie and nothing else.

No bra.

No panties.

Just a nightie.

All I wanted to do was rip it off, jump into his arms, and wrap my legs around him.  Unfortunately, while I knew that he found me attractive, he had already made it very clear that nothing would happen between us.

I decided to give props where they were due and complimented him on his body.  Actually, it was more like I made an observation to the fact that he had zero fat on him.  He chocked it up to his healthy lifestyle and moved to compliment me.  He made no apologies for the fact that he appreciated what he saw when he looked at me.

I felt heat spread through my body at his admission.

Then, he had to make it worse by standing inches in front of me and kissing the top of my head before he wished me a good night and went into his bedroom.

I was so turned on and restless.  How could he do that to me?  Walk up and show off all that was sexy and beautiful and then just kiss me on the head and walk away.  I felt a bit devious in doing so, but last night in Levi’s guest room bed I lifted my nightie up past my hips and slipped my hand between my legs.  Within minutes of touching myself, replaying the good parts of my day that were littered with Levi, I moaned and came apart.  It wasn’t much later when I fell fast asleep. 

It had now been hours since all that happened and I could still feel his hand in my hair and his lips on the top of my head.

Fuck.

This was not going to be a good long-term solution.  There was no way I was going to be able to continue staying with him for the foreseeable future and not be with him.  I was going to take the next few minutes to collect my thoughts on it and hopefully I’d be able to talk to him about it this morning.

I threw back the covers and got out of bed.

Bathroom, change, talk with Levi.

In that order.

I’m not sure what crazy universe I lived in that wanted to punish me, but when I stepped out of the bedroom, Levi’s door opened.

His eyes did a full body scan and when they came to mine he gave me a wicked smile and greeted, “Good morning, sunshine.”

“Morning, Levi.”

“We’ve got to stop meeting this way,” he shared.

The perfect opening.

“I was just thinking the same thing.  I need to talk to you.”

“Ok.  About what?”

“Well, I was planning to use the bathroom, put on real clothes, and then talk to you.”

“I’m fine with what you’ve got on now, Elle.”

I rolled my eyes at him.

“Please?” I asked.

“Alright.  I’ll meet you downstairs for breakfast.  Eggs and bacon?”

My eyes rounded and I nodded.

“The bacon is what did you in, isn’t it?” he teased.

I bit my lip and looked away.

He groaned and ordered, “Do what you’ve got to do and come down.”

“Ok,” I murmured and shimmied past him into the bathroom.

I did what I had to do in the bathroom, went back to the bedroom to change into a pair of cut-off jean shorts and a V-neck tee, and made my way downstairs.  The scent of bacon was intoxicating.  It would be the perfect way to start my day preparing for a performance tonight.

I stepped out into the kitchen and Levi’s eyes did another body scan.  His grin was back and he mumbled, “Definitely fucking changing things today.”

“I’m sorry?”

“You first,” he insisted as he flipped the bacon in the frying pan.  “How do you like your eggs?”

“Over easy.”

He nodded and went about making the eggs.  He already had a heaping pile of scrambled eggs set on a plate.

“I can eat scrambled if you’ve already made them.”

“I’m willing to share with you if that’s what you really want, but I normally eat that many every morning.”

My eyes bulged out of my head.

“How many eggs are there?”

“Six.”

“You eat a half dozen eggs every morning?”

“Just about.”

“With bacon?”

“I don’t usually add the bacon.  Only on special occasions.”

I tried not to let what that could have meant even penetrate my skull.  I had enough problems to manage.

“Holy crap.  I’ll just have two over easy then.”

He grinned at me and gave me a wink.

Fuck.

He was so hot as it was. 

The wink and the grin didn’t help in my need to stay strong and focused on what I needed to discuss with him. 

Levi finished cooking the food and set it in front of me at the kitchen island.  He had water in a glass for himself. 

“Coffee?” he asked.

I shook my head.  “No, I don’t drink coffee.  Do you have hot tea?”

“Do I look like the kind of guy that sits around sipping hot tea?”

“Not exactly,” I remarked.

“We’ll stop and get some later today so you can have it here for tomorrow.”

I swallowed.  We wouldn’t need it for tomorrow because I wasn’t going to be staying here.

“Just water then.”

He nodded, filled up a glass, and set it in front of me.

“Ok, shoot,” he said as he sat down next to me on one of the barstools.

I was nervous and unsure of how to start the conversation, so I quickly picked up a piece of bacon and took a bite. I chewed, swallowed, and took another bite.  I did this several more times as Levi watched and laughed.

He might have thought I was being funny, but I was a bundle of anxiety and nerves.

We both ate in silence a while before I realized that I was beginning to feel sick.  I needed to stop eating and start talking.

“Ok,” I started, putting my fork down.  “We need to talk.”

“Yeah, I’ve been waiting for you to tell me whatever it is that you want to discuss.”

“Right.  Well, I wanted to let you know that I really appreciate what you’ve done for me for the last however many hours it’s been and I can’t thank you enough for being willing to look into this whole stalker situation for me.  That said, I can’t stay here another night.”

Levi pushed his empty plate back, took a huge gulp of water, and turned to face me.

“And the reason for that would be?”

I didn’t have a reason that I could tell him.

“Um, well, I just feel that it would be best if I stayed somewhere else.  I won’t go back to my apartment until we know more and you feel that it’s safe to do so, but I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to stay here anymore.”

“Where are you planning on staying?”

I shrugged my shoulders.  “I’ll figure it out.”

“Sorry, that’s not going to happen.”

“Levi,” I got out before he cut me off.

“The only place I’d be ok with you staying is Wes and Charley’s because my team put that security system in.  It’s top of the line and I know you’d be safe there.  Considering you don’t want to even tell him about what’s happening, I’m guessing you really don’t want to start living with the newlyweds.”

He had me there.

“I’m uncomfortable here,” I blurted out.

Damn.

The look on Levi’s face changed.  He was worried.

“Did I do something to make you uncomfortable, Elle?” he asked, his voice soft.

He was genuinely concerned.

I hated that I blurted it out like that.

I shook my head.

“Maybe I should share with you what I was referring to earlier when you walked down here.  Then, we’ll talk about where you are staying tonight.”

I was curious to hear what he had to say, so I sat back and listened.

“You have to perform at Lou’s tonight.  You already know who is going to be there.  So, today, here is what I plan to have happen.  I’m going to be with you while you break the news to your brother about what happened yesterday.  Then, I’m going to explain to him what the plan is moving forward regarding your safety.  He’s going to know that you stayed here last night and that I intend to have you here until we know there is no longer a threat.  Finally, I’m going to make sure he knows that I have no intentions of continuing to ignore what’s going on between the two of us.”

“What? There’s nothing going on between the two of us.”

“Not yet.  I plan to change that, though, Elle.  In fact, I plan to change that tonight.”

“You’re joking.  Levi, this is crazy.”

“No, sunshine.  What’s crazy is me avoiding the electricity between us since the day I met you.  What’s even more crazy is the fact that I saw you last night in that nightie and didn’t act on it.  And finally, I think I’d need to have my head examined if I continued to ignore the fact that you want me just as bad as I want you.”

“I do not,” I scoffed, shifting restlessly on the stool.

Levi moved on his stool and brought his face close to mine when he shared, “You moaning in my guest bedroom last night minutes after you fucked me with your bedroom eyes in the hallway says otherwise.”

My lips parted in shock.

He heard me last night.

Oh my God.

“That’s right, sunshine.  I heard you.  Sexiest fucking thing I’ve heard in all my life.  The next time I hear that it’s going to be with you lying underneath me.”

Oh. My. God.

“Levi,” I squeaked out.

“So, do you still want to stay somewhere else tonight?”

I bit my lip and shook my head.

“Are you uncomfortable with anything I’ve just said?”

“No,” I murmured.

“Do you want to tell me why you said you were uncomfortable staying here?”

No, I did not.

“Not so much,” I croaked.

“Elle, if there is something that’s making you feel like being here is not a safe place for you to be, I need you to tell me that.”

“I feel safe here.  That’s not it.”

“I know you feel physically safe.  I’m talking about in your head.  If you feel uncomfortable about anything, you’ve got to tell me.  And you’ve got to know that you are safe to do that.  No matter what, you can say whatever you need to say without worry of judgement from me.”

“You’re so hot.”

I gasped. 

Levi gave me his wicked grin.

I looked away from him.

Levi’s hand came up to cup my jaw as he turned my face back toward his.  Then, he stroked his thumb across my bottom lip.

I felt the wetness immediately pool between my legs.  My heart was beating so hard, I thought it was going to beat right out of my chest.

“I think it’s adorable that you’re feeling embarrassed, sunshine, but the feeling is mutual.”

I shook my head.

“Why are you shaking your head?” he questioned.

“You’re you.  You’ve got to have the world’s best body.  Are you kidding me?  I can’t compete with that.”

“Lucky for you I’m not looking for someone who looks like me.  I’m looking for someone who looks just like you.  If what I saw last night is any indication of what’s about to come, I’m good with what you’ve got.”

“Alright, I’m just saying.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you when you learn that I don’t have a matching six pack.  Though, just to be clear, I think I actually counted eight last night.”

“Elle,” Levi started. “First, I hope you don’t think that you’re fat because that couldn’t be further from the truth.  Second, I won’t be looking for a six pack.  In fact, I’m kind of hoping you don’t have one.  The woman for me isn’t going to be someone who is rock-solid muscle.  Not taking anything away from women who are because that shit takes a lot of discipline, but it’s not what I prefer.  I want a woman that’s going to feel soft underneath me, a woman whose skin will feel silky and smooth under my fingers.”

“Oh.”

“So, will me being hot still make you uncomfortable?” he teased with a grin.

“If you tease me about it, you will.”

“Noted,” he responded as he dropped his hand from my jaw.  “You need to call your brother.  Tell him you need to talk to him and that you’d like to stop by to do it.”

“He’s going to lose his mind,” I warned.

“I know, which means we better hope Charley is there.”

I dropped my head to the side, confused at his statement.  “Why?”

“It doesn’t matter how angry or frustrated a man gets.  If he’s got a good woman there to talk him down and help him through it, that’s the only thing that’ll help in a situation like this.”

I thought on this a minute and suggested, “Maybe I’ll call Wes and set it up, but then I’ll send Charley a text to make sure she knows that Wes is going to need her to be there.”

“Sounds like a good idea.  Go do that now while I clean this up.  If he’s free now, we’ll go right away.”

I thanked Levi for breakfast, hopped down off the stool, and went upstairs in search of my phone.

I called Wes and he started panicking as soon as I told him I needed to talk with him.  I didn’t want to do it over the phone, so he insisted I come to his house right away.  When I hung up with him, I tapped out a quick text to Charley.

Hey, love.  I’m leaving soon to stop over there.  I need to tell you and Wes something.  He’s probably going to lose his mind.  Please tell me you’ll be there.

A few minutes later, Charley responded.

He just told me you were coming by and he’s already freaking out.  I’m here, honey.  See you soon!

Just wonderful.

At that, I got my things together and went back in search of Levi.  As much as I wanted to think about and try to process everything he said to me at breakfast, I needed to focus on figuring out how I was going to break the news to my brother and sister-in-law.  Charley would take it in stride.  All of it.  She’d worry for me over the stalker situation, but I had a feeling she’d be happy about the Levi situation.  Wes wouldn’t like either.

Twenty minutes later, Levi and I were in his truck on the way to deliver the news.  My stomach was a bunch of nerves.

As we pulled into the driveway, Levi tried to calm me.

“Relax, sunshine.  It’s going to be fine.  I’ve seen you around Wes before.  You know how to handle yourself.”

“Of course, I do.  That doesn’t mean that I don’t respect his opinion.  I want him to be on my side and I’m pretty convinced that he’s not going to be thrilled to hear that you have plans for the two of us that don’t involve you strictly being there to protect me.”

Wes had the garage door open, so after we parked Levi and I walked through the garage to go into the house.  I tapped lightly on the door before I opened it.  When I walked in, I saw Charley and Wes immediately.  Their faces were both warm. 

That is to say, they were warm until Levi stepped in behind me.  Wes’ gaze turned murderous.  Charley’s face broke out into a huge smile.

Wes didn’t hold back.

“This early on a Saturday morning, Levi is walking into my house behind my sister after she called me to say she needs to talk.  I’m already not liking this conversation because everything I see is telling me that either she spent the night at his place or he spent the night at hers.”

He was definitely going to lose his marbles.  I hadn’t even said anything and he was already at level ten.  I didn’t get a chance to respond because Levi did.

“She was at mine,” he started.  “And I mean no disrespect to you, but I’m going to ask that you calm down and let her explain why that is.  Then, I have some things to say.”

Wes’ mouth tightened.  He was not happy.

“Wes,” I called attempting to direct his attention from Levi to me.

His eyes came to mine.

“I’m in trouble.”

Instantly, the look on his face changed.  I didn’t take my eyes from him, but I noticed Charley shifted her body closer to his and wrapped an arm around his waist.

“I assume you know I met with Charley yesterday afternoon for lunch.  After lunch, I ran an errand.  Between the time I left my apartment and the time I got back there, several hours had passed.  When I walked in, I went to my bedroom and saw something sitting on my bed.  One of my signed photos from the meet and greet I did a while back was sitting on my bed propped up against my pillows.”

Wes said nothing and his face remained impassive.

“Someone got into my apartment while I was out yesterday, Wes.  They left me that picture, which they decided to write their own creepy message on.”

Wes’ face was no longer impassive.

“I was scared.  I didn’t know if anyone was still in the apartment. I ran out, got in my car, and drove right to Levi’s security firm.”

“Why am I just now finding out about this?”

“If I had my way, you wouldn’t know at all.”

“Excuse me?” he jerked his head back, genuinely concerned why that would be the case.

“You just got married and you just returned from your honeymoon.  I didn’t call you because I don’t want to ruin the high of all that.”

“Elle…” he trailed off.

I didn’t know what to say.

Thankfully, Levi spoke up.

“Elle stayed at my place last night because I refused to allow her to be alone.  The note on the picture was creepy enough that I have no intentions of allowing her to be alone until I know what we’re dealing with.”

“What did it say?” Charley asked.

“I will always be watching,” Levi shared.

My eyes immediately welled with tears and I felt the quivering inside my body.  Not even two seconds later, Wes had his arms around me.

That’s when I lost it.

I sobbed in his chest and cried, “Someone was in my apartment yesterday.  I have a stalker.”

My brother’s arms tightened around me and I felt his chin settle on the top of my head.

“What happens now?” Charley chimed in.

She must have realized that Wes needed a minute to get his head together.

Levi answered, “I already had my guys check the security footage from her apartment.  When she called Wes this morning I took the opportunity to check in with them.  Trent said there was nothing on the footage to note.  Nothing points directly to her door.  To top it off, there were two cameras that weren’t even functioning, so that’s all a dead end at this point.  Now, we have to hope we can get something from that photo.  I’m guessing it’s been handled a lot, so it might not give us anything we can use.  If the person has a record and was smart, they would have made sure their prints didn’t end up on that photo.  Unfortunately, this might mean we have to wait until he makes his next move.”

Wes had pulled back slightly from me, put his hands to my shoulders, and insisted, “You’re staying with us until this gets sorted.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“You’re newlyweds.  I feel awful enough knowing that you’ll be distracted mentally by this.  I don’t need to be getting in the way here.”

“Elle.  If something happens to you, it won’t matter that I’m a newlywed.  That’ll destroy me and, considering you’ve become like a sister to her, Charley too.”

“He’s right, El.  We’d rather know you’re safe.”

“Guys?” Levi called.

Wes let go of my shoulders and we turned our attention to Levi.

“Elle said her bit.  Now I need to say mine.”

He took in a deep breath before he continued, “When she came to me yesterday, Elle was terrified.  I asked why she was there and she told me she believed it was part of what I did for a living to keep people safe.  She wasn’t wrong.  I’m going to do whatever it takes to make sure nothing harms her.  That includes giving her a safe and secure place to stay.  Up to this point, Wes, I’ve not done anything behind your back to make you not trust me.  Now, I’m going to tell you something and I’m guessing you aren’t going to like it.  Elle stayed in my guest bedroom last night.  She’s welcome to stay there at least as long as it takes to make sure she’s not in danger.  That said, I think you, Charley, and several of your friends, my brother and his woman included, know that Elle and I are attracted to each other.  Nothing has happened between us to this point, but it’s something we both are looking to explore.”

Wes’ eyes came to mine and he ordered, “You’re staying with us.”

“Wes…” I trailed off.

“Elle, I’m not going to even think about trying to find someone else to investigate this stalker situation.  I respect the work Levi does and I know he’s the best in this area, hell, probably the best in the state.  I’m not going to sacrifice your safety, but he shouldn’t either.  His focus should be on keeping you safe and figuring out who is stalking you, not on trying to get in your pants.”

“Wes,” Levi warned.  “I’m going to let that slide because I understand where you’re coming from, but I’m not going to tolerate you being insulting.  I will always have my head in the game when it comes to protecting her.  Elle’s a grown woman and can make her own decisions.  You’ve known my family nearly your entire life; my brother is your best friend.  I think you need to give me a little credit here.  If I was just looking for a piece of ass, I can easily find that anywhere. Bottom line, I wasn’t telling you any of this to get your permission.  I was doing it out of respect for you and her.  If the two of us decide together that this is what we want, it’ll be our decision.  I don’t want her to need to worry about hiding it from her family.”

Wow.  That was nice to hear.

“Can you be sure that your work isn’t ever going to put her in danger?” Wes retorted.  “Can you guarantee that she won’t ever have to fear for her safety because of the work that you do?”

Is that what this was about?  He was worried that something would happen to me.  I didn’t know all the ins and outs of Levi’s work, but I imagined it could get dangerous from time-to-time.          

“Wes, honey?” Charley piped up.

He turned to her.

“Levi’s responsible for saving my best friend.  His team worked hard after she was kidnapped and it’s because of him that Emme wasn’t raped.  I don’t think he’d ever let harm come Elle’s way.  I know how much she means to you, but try to keep in mind that she’s in trouble right now and Levi didn’t bring that on her.”

I seriously loved Charley.  Wes was my only sibling, but if I had been given the opportunity to pick a sister, I wouldn’t have been able to find anyone better than Charley.

“Wes, please,” I begged.  “You know how much you mean to me.  I don’t want animosity between us because of this.  If Levi was a jerk and hurt me, I could understand it.  He’s not and I think it’s only fair you give him a chance, for me.  As Levi said, we don’t need your permission, but I’m asking you for your support.  It would mean everything to me.”

Wes took in my words.  I think those coupled with Charley’s words made him reconsider.  His eyes went back to Levi’s.

“If you hurt her…” Wes trailed off as his jaw clenched.

“I plan to see to it that that never happens.  Even though this should go without saying, I’ll say it anyway.  If anything at all ever came her way, whether as a result of my line of work or something else, I’d do whatever I had to just to be sure she was unharmed and, if necessary, I’d lay down my life to do it.”

My lips parted in shock at his declaration.

I stared at Levi a moment, in the silence permeating the room.  Finally, I turned my attention back to Wes.  He brought his eyes to mine and his face went soft.

“Love you, Elle.  I just want to see you safe and happy.”

“Love you, big bro.  Thank you,” I echoed my sentiments as I wrapped my arms around him and gave him a hug.

Wes hugged me back and kissed the top of my head.

We spent the next little while with Levi giving everyone a rundown on what to expect for that evening at Lou’s.  After going over his game plan in detail with Wes, Levi and I left.  Before he took us back to his place, he made a quick stop and made good on his promise from earlier that day.  Levi bought me some hot tea.