Chapter 10 #4
Midas told her more about Baker Rawlins, the reclusive former SEAL who lived up at the North Shore, and who’d helped reassure Mustang and Elodie that she truly was safe from the New York mobster who’d forced her to go on the run in the first place.
Of course, that comment had led to many questions about Baker, and just when Midas was about to get a complex that she seemed more intrigued about the other man than she was with him, she stood up and stepped over to his chair.
“May I?” she asked, gesturing to his lap with her head.
Midas held out his arms. “I thought you’d never ask.”
Lexie settled into his arms without fanfare, squirming and burrowing until she was comfortable. Midas had never been so thankful to have chairs that reclined than he was right that moment.
“I have to say, you’re much more comfortable to lie against without all the stuff on your vest.”
He chuckled. “You say that now, but you didn’t seem to have any trouble falling asleep on me in that hole.”
“True,” she said with a small sigh. “It’s so hard to believe that it wasn’t that long ago,” she said softly.
Midas reached up and pulled the tie out of her hair, something he’d been aching to do all afternoon. He smoothed the locks away from her face, then ran his hand over them again and again. He petted her hair absently and felt her sigh of contentment against his neck.
“I wonder how Astur is doing.”
“At risk of making you fall for Baker and not me, I talked to him about Astur and her family,” Midas said.
Lexie lifted her head and stared at him. “You did?”
“Yeah. I promised Shermake I’d do what I could for them, so Baker is working on something for me.”
“What?”
“I want to sponsor Shermake, Cumar, and Hodan if they want to go to a university. East Africa University has a campus there in Galkayo. They specialize in computer science and engineering. There are also a few health science programs too. But if they aren’t interested in those, they can go to Puntland State University, also in Galkayo, or they can choose to go to a residential program at Mogadishu University. ”
Lexie’s eyes were huge in her face at that point.
“Breathe, Lex, before you pass out,” Midas said, mildly concerned.
“You…why…oh my gosh, Midas!”
“I owe Shermake and his mother everything. They gave you a place to hide until I could get you out of there.”
“They gave you a place to hide too,” she told him, collapsing back onto him.
“No. Astur didn’t give a shit about me,” he said. “If she’d run into just me in that alley, she would’ve gone back inside her shop without a second thought.”
Lexie didn’t comment, which made Midas sigh. She knew he was right.
“I got to thinking about what Shermake said. About wanting to learn to do things for himself, to provide for his family and his countrymen without having to rely on charity. And while I can’t save the world, I thought maybe I could help Shermake become the best man he could be, so he could in turn do some good for the world. ”
“Shit, now I’m crying,” Lexie said with a huge sniff.
“Don’t cry,” Midas soothed as he cupped the back of her head and held her against him.
He loved how her hair latched onto his fingers as if it had a mind of its own.
“I don’t know what Baker’s been able to find out for me yet.
First, he has to find Shermake and his family.
I don’t even know their last name. Then he has to talk to the universities and find out what the process is for providing a scholarship.
Then set up a trust for the kids so the money will continue to grow and be enough when the younger ones are ready to go to college.
And if they decide they don’t want to attend, the money is still theirs to do what they want with. ”
Midas felt Lexie wipe her face on his shirt, and he chuckled. “Did you just rub snot on me?” he teased.
“No,” she mumbled. Then, “Maybe.”
Fuck, he loved this woman.
Whoa. Love… Was that even possible after such a short period of time?
Yeah, it totally was.
“Knock yourself out. My shirt’ll wash,” he told her.
She sniffed for a few minutes, but eventually Lexie lifted her head once more. Her face was blotchy and her eyes were red, but Midas had still never seen anything as precious in his life.
“No one’s ever done something like that for me before,” she said softly.
“You’re worth it,” he said simply.
“Now I’m gonna have to find a way to pay you and this Baker character back,” she said.
All sorts of dirty things sprang to Midas’s mind, but he kept them to himself.
As if she could see into his head, Lexie rolled her eyes. “Why are guys always so perverted?” she asked somewhat rhetorically.
“Hey, I’m holding a beautiful woman, one I admire greatly, and one who I just spent a wonderful day with. You can’t blame me,” Midas told her.
“Seriously, Midas. Thank you. You have no idea how much that will change those kids’ lives. And probably their parents’ too.”
“I never would’ve thought about it if it wasn’t for you,” he said honestly. “You make me want to be a better person.”
She smiled at him. Then said, “I have to get up. Blow my nose. And you probably have things you need to do.”
He did, but Midas shook his head anyway.
“I had an amazing day,” Lexie said. “Thank you for taking me around.”
“Of course. And someday we’ll stop at all those places we saw on our way to Waikiki.”
Her eyes lit up. “I’d like that.”
“Good.” As much as Midas wanted to keep Lexie right where she was, he knew she had stuff to do too. He sat up, taking her with him, and helped her stand. Then he grabbed her empty cup and they headed inside. He pointed out the bathroom and put her cup in the sink.
Midas had a busy week ahead of him. A new threat was immerging in Papua New Guinea that they were keeping their eyes on, and they had several intense training sessions planned for the week. As much as he wanted to spend every waking minute with Lexie, he had responsibilities, as did she.
He knew she’d be working long hours at Food For All to continue to learn how everything operated.
She wanted to get to know her fellow coworkers better and make sure they knew she was willing to do her part.
Not to mention, the two mobile events that Food For All had planned for the week.
They’d be setting up in Ala Moana Regional Park, which was notorious for its homeless population, as well as heading over to Kapi’olani Regional Park near Diamond Head to pass out free food.
Lexie had organized both, determined to work hard not only for the organization, but for the people she served as well.
When Lexie exited the bathroom, Midas simply stared at her for a moment.
“What?” she asked, self-consciously running a hand over her hair.
“Nothing,” he said with a shake of his head, moving toward her. “I’m just so glad we got to spend the day together.”
“Me too,” she agreed. “I really do love your house.”
“Good. Because I hope you’ll be wanting to spend more time here with me.”
“If that was an invitation, I accept,” she said a little shyly.
“It was. And good. Come on. We can stop and grab some dinner before I get you back to your place.”
“Sounds awesome,” she said.
“There’s a place called Thelma’s not too far from here. We can get something to go and it should still be warm by the time I get you home.”
“Thanks,” she said.
“Anything for you,” Midas said, meaning it. He placed his palm on her cheek and rubbed his thumb back and forth over her smooth skin. “You good now?”
She nodded.
“May I kiss you again?”
“I’d be upset if you didn’t,” she said honestly.
Midas grinned, and was still smiling as his lips met hers.
It was more than a couple minutes later when he finally took a deep breath and stepped back from her.
One hand had slipped under her shirt, and she had one of her own down the back of his pants.
He still didn’t want to rush her, but Midas had a feeling it would be sooner rather than later before they ended up in bed.
He couldn’t wait. He had no doubt making love with Lexie would completely blow his mind. He felt anything but casual about their relationship, and once he was inside her, that would be it for him. He knew it.
He couldn’t read the emotion swirling in her eyes, but was comforted by the fact that she was as reluctant to leave as he was for her to go.
“Come on, Cinderella. Let’s get you home.”
She scrunched her nose in that way he loved so damn much. “I’m not sure that fairy tale fits me,” she complained.
“If the shoe fits,” Midas quipped.
She groaned as she grabbed her purse and bag, and they headed for the garage.
This time, Midas let her put her own hair up; if he touched her once more, he really would drag her into his bedroom.
The stop at Thelma’s didn’t take long and way before he was ready, he was pulling up in front of her building once more. He jogged around the car to open her door and kissed her on the forehead. “Have a good night,” he told her.
“You too.”
“Call me later?” he asked, not able to resist.
Lexie nodded.
“See you soon,” he said, refusing to say goodbye.
“Later,” she responded.
Midas watched until she was safely inside the doors to her building before heading back to his car. As he drove to his house, he remembered the smile of contentment on Lexie’s face as they drove, and as her hair did its best to escape its confines.
He was head over heels for her. With not one ounce of regret. Lexie was the best thing to happen to him. Midas now knew exactly how Mustang felt when he was with Elodie.
Somehow, the world just seemed like a better place when he was with her. He didn’t deserve her, but he was going to do whatever it took to make sure she never realized that.