“Keep your eyes off her.”
“Kinda my job,” he says in that southern drawl that I’m sure works to keep his bed full every night.
“You know what I fucking mean,” I snarl, taking a step into his personal space. I know he must be on the up and up if he works for Sam, but I’m on edge about her. Jealousy and possessiveness are riding me hard and make me want to mark my territory. I need to let him and everyone else know she’s mine now. Maybe not in every way, but right now she’s under my protection and that makes her mine.
“Not even my type.” He once again puts his hands up. I know she’s not his type, but still a girl like that is everyone’s type, I don’t care what team you play for. Or maybe once again it’s that possessiveness I’m feeling and I’m unable to see how anyone could not find her irresistible.
“Watch it and we’ll be all good,” I tell him before I flash my key card and enter the suite to check on her.
“Be careful, man,” I hear him say as the door closes. I run my hand over my face, wondering if maybe I should call in another man for this job. Sam called me in was because he was worried and couldn’t oversee the case himself, and he wanted the best on the job. He was also a little worried his men wouldn’t be able to concentrate on the job at hand when faced with her beauty. He thought Rye and I were the best bet. Fuck if that was wrong.
I go into the bedroom to check on her again. Light from the bathroom creeps into the room. I stand over the bed and look down at her. In her sleep she looks even younger than her twenty years. I should be ashamed. I’m almost twelve years older than her. I reason with myself that she needs someone like me in her life to watch over her and to keep her safe and make sure she is taken care of, because I don’t think she has that right now.
I shake my head. I need to stop these thoughts. Why would the most beautiful girl in the world choose to be with me? I’ve seen the men she’s gone on dates with. Hollywood heartthrobs, I think they called them. All I saw were boys who didn’t know how to take care of someone like Mila. She needs a man. A protector.
Taking one last look at her, I stride back to the sitting area and pull out my phone to call Sam. It only rings once before he’s picking up the phone.
“Knox.”
“Anything new?” I ask, noting that if there was he would have sent it over already.
“No, but we are still processing the scene,” he tells me. My gut clenches. I saw the pictures of what the perp did to her place. She doesn’t even know about it. That’s yet another thing that isn’t settling well with me. I don’t understand why her agent hasn’t told her what happened yet. They said they didn’t want to upset her, but I think it has more to do with them not wanting her to cancel her shoot today. They still don’t want me to tell her.
“I won’t lie to her,” I throw out.
“You do what you think needs to be done. I trust your judgment.” I’m not so sure if I agree. With anyone else I wouldn’t care if I was asked to lie to them. I do what needs to be done, but with her I don’t want to give her a reason to hate me, something to use against me. It’s a reason why I can’t have her.
“I want her,” I admit. I feel a little better getting that off my chest. I hear Sam suck in a deep breath. He asked me to take this job because he thought I wouldn’t chase her around like a puppy. He was wrong on some level. I sure as fuck am no puppy. Especially when it comes to her. I’m in full beast mode when it comes to the idea of someone else trying to get close to her.
“Maybe I should send someone else out,” he finally says after a moment.
“I’m not leaving her,” I warn.
“Fucking hell. I didn’t say that.” I can almost hear a laugh in his voice, and I’m not sure what the fuck is so goddamn funny. “Just an extra set of eyes.”
I don’t like the sound of that either until he tells me who he’s sending. “I’ll send Cara out. She’ll be there in the morning.”
A small amount of tension leaves my body. Cara is good and I won’t have to worry about her wanting my girl. My girl. Jesus, I’m in deep.