EXCERPT Rex sat down on the coffee table, directly in front of me. He leaned forward
resting his elbows on his knees. "We're locked up good and tight, you're safe
now, but stay away from the windows and doors, and don't open them for any
reason. Do I make myself clear?"
His jaw was clenched and his brow was scrunched into a hard scowl. I
fidgeted beneath his demanding tone, feeling like a scolded school girl, and
managed a weak "yes."
‘Sheesh.’ I didn’t like the idea of what might be outside for me either;
he didn’t have to tell me twice.
"Now then, off to bed, come on, you look exhausted." He said in a gentler
tone, almost light-hearted, but not quite.
He pointed down the hall. "Yours' is the first on the left, we’re on down
but one of us will always be up on watch if you need anything."
I got to the doorway and didn't look any farther than the bed. I crawled
under the covers fully dressed and feel asleep as soon as my head hit the
pillow.
I slept like rock for awhile but woke up when it was still dark outside
to find the knot in my stomach had returned with a vengeance. I rolled over to
find a bedside clock staring at me in bright green numbers. It was three in the
morning. I groaned as I sat up. There was no use trying to force myself back to
sleep, it wasn’t happening.
The room was small and nearly empty. A dresser and mirror on one side of
the bed, bedside table on the other, one closet door and nothing else. No
pictures, no vase with flowers, no color whatsoever except for the solid blue
bedspread and matching dark-blue curtain over the window. I groaned again as
forced myself to get up and walk to the dresser where my bags had been left. I
changed into a fresh pair of jeans and a comfy long-sleeved t-shirt.
Out in the kitchen I was pleasantly surprised to find Derek sitting at
the table sipping a cup coffee and reading a newspaper. He had also changed and
looked more comfortable now. He, too, wore jeans with a simple grey t-shirt that
stretched across his broad shoulders and showed each line of his muscular upper
body. I felt a shiver run along my spine. I had to shake myself out of it; this
was no time to be thinking of sex or my new roommate slash bodyguard naked.
"Couldn't sleep?" He asked in his easy-going, not-a-care-in-the-world
tone, "Coffee's fresh, if you're up."
Instantly, I felt the knot in my stomach melt a little bit. He was easy
to be around, to talk to, he put me at ease in a way that no other person had
ever done, especially not one so attractive.
"Yeah, I'm up, but what are my chances of finding some hot chocolate?"
"Cupboard above the sink." He said as he took another sip of his
coffee.
"So you do this a lot, then?"
"Which part?"
"Being locked away in a random house, protecting a complete stranger from
a complete lunatic."
"Safe-houses and stake-outs are a necessary part of the job, but no, this
is my first time on witness detail."
"So, am I a promotion or demotion?"
He laughed a deep, strong belly laugh. The sounded was so endearing and
so warming that it melted away all the remaining bits of fear and anxiety in my
stomach.
"They choose Rex because of his Special Forces background and decided we
would be your round-the-clock protection. I just got lucky."
"Lucky, huh?" I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face, but
couldn’t quite tell if he was flirting or just being perfectly honest.
"You know the best part so far," he leaned back, abandoning his paper,
and clasping his hands behind his head sending another shiver through me as I
enjoyed the view, "I love being awake when the rest of the world is sleeping.
It’s quieter and more peaceful somehow. Plus, it’s a great excuse to drink beer
and watch the raunchier shows that they play in the middle of the night."
“That does sound like fun,” I said, trying not to take offense and just
remain casual, “and a beer sounds a lot better right now than hot chocolate
does.”
He chuckled at that, then stood up and headed to the refrigerator, “Let’s
see if we can find something scandalous and fun to watch.”
I heard the clink of bottles as he grabbed two beers out of the fridge
and we headed to the couch. I curled up against an armrest on one end and pulled
my feet up, feeling almost at home. He took the middle, leaning back, and
stretching his long legs out in front of him. He handed me a beer, took a long
pull from his own, and stretched his arm out along the back of the couch. It
felt easy and natural like everything he did, but the proximity made me tingle,
and in place of the knot in my stomach came a fluttering of butterflies. I felt
like a teenager again from the excitement of the mutual attraction that makes
you stare into each others eyes for just a beat too long and then grin from ear
to ear.
We sat there drinking and laughing all night, I couldn’t even tell you
what we watched, we just flipped through channels laughing at people, at
commercials, and at ridiculous reality shows. He had a razor-sharp wit that made
me laugh more than anyone else ever had.
We happened upon a music video that made me cry out “Oh, wait, this is my
all time favorite song,” a little too exuberantly and I flung my arm out in a
stop gesture, knocking into the hand that held his beer. It was one of the more
clumsy moments of my life.
“Oh, god, I’m so sorry.” I quickly apologized, but not much had spilled
out onto his jeans.
He reached over and squeezed the top of my leg, just above my knee, not
too high up but it was still more than friendly.
“It’s okay,” His touch was so warm against my leg that I could even feel
it through my jeans. “No harm done.” His voice was sincere and relaxed as always
and his grasp was much stronger than I had anticipated, but made sense
considering his well muscled arms. The simple gesture sent a warming rush of
pleasure through me. A smile quickly spread across my face and I had to look
away from his intense gaze. I didn’t want him to stop but he moved his hand. I
wished we could somehow get the moment back, but it had faded away. We both
turned back to our beers and it looked as though he, too, was beating himself up
for letting the moment slip away. The silence was soon broken by more laughter
and we slipped easily back into conversation which eventually turned deep and
philosophical. Aided by the alcohol, we talked for hours about life and love,
and our hopes, our dreams, and our fears.
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Children`s Fiction
Erotica Fiction
