Page 55 of Mile High Baby

I turned to see Alex in the doorway with several bags. Next to him stood Ian. “We’re here to report on the change of protection for Victoria.”

My father nodded. “Yes, fine. Come in.”

Fifteen minutes later, with all the reporting and planning done, I kissed my father goodbye and headed down to the garage where Alex had arranged a car. As I slipped inside it, I had an unsettling feeling in my gut.

“Are you alright?” Alex asked as the car pulled out of the garage.

“I’m worried I won’t see my father again.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I’m feeling guilty. Like I’m abandoning him.”

Alex took my hand, surprising me with the gesture since we weren’t in private. What if the driver saw? “You’re not abandoning him. He’s put you in this situation, and I imagine he’s relieved that you’re doing your thing. He might be selfish with this mission of his, but he doesn’t want it to impact you.”

“I guess you’re right.”

“Do you want me to tell you about the time your dad got caught with his pants down?”

I looked at him, wondering what the heck he was talking about.

Alex had a grin on his face. “It involved honey and a girl.”

I laughed. “You’re joking.”

He held his right hand up. “I swear it’s the truth.”

As Alex regaled me with stories of my father in his younger years, we wove through the city to my apartment. The last time I’d been there with Alex, I’d been annoyed at him. This time, I was half in love with him. It was dangerous to my heart, but what could I do? My only choice was to enjoy the time we had together until it ended.

Jonesy wasn’t on duty when we arrived. I waved to the doorperson there as I led Alex to the elevator. Once I stepped into my apartment, I stood for a moment, taking it all in.

“I’m home.” A feeling of freedom and peace washed over me.

“This place suits you,” Alex said, coming to stand next to me.

“You think so?”

He nodded.

“How so?”

His eyes turned wicked. “It’s clearly a place a sexy-ass woman lives.”

I smirked. “You see that without even seeing my bedroom?”

He dropped our bags he’d been carrying. “I see your sexy ass. That’s all I need.” In an instant, he scooped me up. “Where is the bedroom? Or we can do this here.”

I pointed toward the door of my room. “It’s there, or we can do this here.”

“By the time we’re done, we’ll have done it everywhere.”

My heart did that flutter thing even as my brain told me not to read anything into it. This was just sex. Hadn’t he said he wanted to burn off this thing between us?

But for me it was more. In only a short time, my annoyance had turned to affection. Not because of all the sex, of which there was a lot. In the moments after sex, or simply alone in our own bubble, we talked. Today was the first time he’d told me stories about my dad. Normally, he shared his adventures like his treks through the Amazon or scuba diving in the Mediterranean. Except for the woman who’d taken his money, he’d done most of his traveling alone. He didn’t say so, but I knew it was by choice. Back on the plane when we first met, it was clear that he didn’t want emotional entanglements. When he needed sex, he’d find a willing woman who, like him, only needed the physical release without the emotional connection. But now there was both the physical and emotional, at least for me. It would hurt when he left.

I pushed that away as he tossed me on my bed.

“I’m going to make you scream my name,” he said as he undressed. “Now that there’s no one to hear.”