Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 62811 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 314(@200wpm)___ 251(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62811 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 314(@200wpm)___ 251(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)
Xander sat, leaning against the headboard, and pulled Sasha tight against him. “We need to talk about this week.”
She shook her head and buried it against his chest.
He chuckled and silently agreed. He wished they could stay holed up in his house without anyone disturbing their … reunion? Was that what he should call it? Brief respite sounded, if not better, then at least smarter.
“I figured we’d go back to the city tonight,” he said.
“I thought so.” She sighed. “I’ll make sure there’s a room available for me at the hotel where Cassidy is staying.”
He shook his head. “Nothing’s changed since you moved out of the last hotel. You should stay at my apartment. With me. I’ve got a concierge downstairs, an alarm on the apartment, and your security can stay outside the door, watching the hallway. You can’t get safer than that.” Not to mention, he wasn’t ready for her to leave him yet.
She pushed them apart and climbed out of bed, reaching for one of his tee shirts she’d used to go to the kitchen for a snack last night. It hung to her mid-thighs, and he wanted to keep her wrapped up in him forever, but she was already creating distance.
“Xander, we’re playing with fire with this. Us.” She gestured back and forth between them. “The longer we stay together, the harder it’s going to be when it ends.”
“Because we’re not going to hurt now?” Because he fucking did.
She wrapped her arms around herself, looking as pained as he felt. “I think I should stay at a hotel and let my security stand in the hall there. I’ll never be unprotected.” Her eyes were wet with tears.
He’d finally made the decision to let his anger go and allow himself to fully be with her and enjoy her and she wanted to walk away this soon? Oh, hell no. It didn’t look like she wanted to go any more than he thought she should.
“Look–” His thought and sentence were cut off by the ring of his cell phone. He glanced over to see Alpha Security show up on the screen. “I need to take this. It’s your security team.”
She winced. “I left my phone in my room.”
He picked up the cell and took the call. “Hello?”
“Speaker,” she mouthed at him, and he put down the phone and hit the button so she could hear both sides of the call. “Sasha’s here with me. You can tell us both,” he said.
“Hi, Sasha. Dan here. I own Alpha Security.”
“Hi, Dan.”
“So as I just started to say, our tech guys have been going over the emails, snail mails, and gifts sent to you and stored by your PR people. We sorted through the crap and narrowed down ones similar to the one slipped beneath the hotel room door.”
She glanced at Xander and he patted the empty spot on the bed. With a nod, she sat down beside him.
“What did you find?” Xander asked.
“A definite pattern. The way the letters are cut out. The type of fonts used and how they’ve been pasted on the paper. Very crude in this day and age,” Dan, who had a scratchy, deep voice, said. “And he was escalating and angry he wasn’t getting a response. Not that the PR people caught on.”
Xander glanced at Sasha. The color had drained from her face, and he put a hand over hers. “What are you saying?” he asked Dan.
“That you did the right thing hiring us for twenty-four-seven security. Jared mentioned you’d both be at your Manhattan apartment starting tonight.”
Sasha’s gaze flew to Xander’s and her eyes narrowed. He shot her his most charming grin and shrugged. So what if he’d already planned for her to come with him? He hadn’t been about to lose their argument and jeopardize her safety.
“Smarter than staying at a crowded hotel,” Dan went on. “Makes it easier for the guys to keep an eye on you. We already moved your personal assistant again. To a smaller hotel with fewer rooms per floor. Just as a precaution.”
“Thank you,” Sasha said in a shaky voice.
“You’re welcome. Xander, someone will be by tomorrow to go over your security and I’ll get you an estimate. Can you arrange for someone to let him in?” Dan asked.
“Yes.” He and Dash had a service that checked on the house in their absence. He’d just shoot off a text to them tonight.
“Anything else?”
Xander looked at Sasha and she shook her head.
“Nothing here,” Xander said.
“Okay, I’ll be in touch.” Dan disconnected the call.
Bracing himself, Xander turned to face her. “Okay, let me have it.”
Her shoulders fell and she shook her head. “I can’t. You were right. But you still should have discussed it with me before now.”
He groaned. “Yeah, I probably should have, but what would you have said?”
“That the hotel was safe with my security, and we shouldn’t let ourselves get used to this,” she muttered.