Chapter Seventeen
Cooper
As the sun began to rise, the rays landed on Allegra’s head, picking up all of the beautiful colors in her hair. I’d never had a preference for hair color, but watching the light as it brought forth browns of every shade to life against her scalp, I decided right then and there that brown was absolutely the best.
Allegra shifted slightly next to me, but I just pulled her tighter against my chest. It broke my heart to see her embarrassment over her confession last night, and I hated the fact that she felt like it was something she couldn’t share with me. Now that I thought about it, the revelation made sense. I had just thought that she was small or inexperienced, but then I recalled how tense she had been, almost as if she stopped breathing. When she had told me that Tomas had made it worse, I found myself wanting to abandon her in my bed just so I could go murder him. I’d make it painful, something slow and agonizing…
But then she had murmured in her sleep, and I knew I didn’t want to leave her side. Especially after she’d been so vulnerable last night. It was a side of her I’d never seen before. During my physical therapy appointments, she was confident and in charge, strong and determined. But last night—she looked like a broken doll.
I hated that look on her beautiful face. I never wanted to see it again.
Turning towards her, I stared as much as I wanted since she was asleep. She looked so peaceful, her jaw relaxed and her lips slightly parted. Her eyes moved behind her closed eyelids, and I knew she was dreaming. A part of me hoped that she was dreaming about me, but then I wanted to slap myself silly. What the hell was happening to me?
Shaking my head, I untangled myself from her and placed a kiss on her bare shoulder. My tee-shirt was far too big for her, and the neckline hung off one shoulder. She sighed in her sleep, eyelashes fluttering, but didn’t wake.
I left the bedroom, heading towards the elevator. My leg still ached from where Allegra had kicked it, but I didn’t blame her. I had acted like a crazy idiot, scaring her with my overwhelming need to protect.
As soon as the elevator door opened, I headed down to the kitchen. I got to work scrambling some eggs and making pancakes. I wasn’t the world’s best cook, but I was decent. Definitely better than Steele. If Glinda ever left him, he’d starve to death. Ashlynn wasn’t much better. She occasionally would get a wild hair and want to cook or bake, and the results were…varied.
While I waited for the pan to heat, I scrolled through my phone. Shit. I had a bunch of missed calls from Colton. Before I could call him back, my phone rang.
“Colton? ”
“Cooper, what the hell? You never ignore your phone like this. What has been going on with you? I got a message from Mario, and he mentioned you had an overnight guest? Is Allegra with you?”
I rubbed my jaw, watching the batter sizzle in the pan. “If you’re asking, then you know the answer.”
“Cooper.”
“She’s here. Someone has been stalking her—either Rousseau or Viktor. If I had to put money on it, I’d say Rousseau.”
“Who do you have on it?”
“Murphy. He’s the best, he’ll find out what’s going on.”
“Cooper, I’m concerned. Allegra is a sweet girl, and while she’s a very capable woman, she shouldn’t be in this situation—”
“Watch yourself, Colton.”
“I just mean, is it wise for you to continue to see her?”
I sensed Allegra was behind me before I even turned around. “Colton, I’ll talk to you later about this.”
“But—”
I’d already ended the call. Turning on the spot, I glanced at her. She was still in my shirt, the hem reaching halfway down her toned thighs. Her feet were bare, and her hair was messy. Seeing her in that state made me think of other things besides breakfast.
Allegra shifted uncomfortably, no doubt due to my intense stare.
“Hungry?” I asked, flipping the pancakes.
Her face lit up, and a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “I won’t say no to breakfast.”
“You better not. I want to fatten you up—you’ve lost weight recently and I worry about you.” The words tumbled out of my mouth, and I wanted to kick myself. I didn’t need her knowing just how much I studied her, noticed her. Just how much I cared.
She seemed to ignore the implications of my statement and tried to smooth her hair. “I’ve been upset about Tomas’s trial, and I’ve had a hard time sleeping lately—”
“You seemed to sleep well last night.”
It was true, she had hardly stirred. I’d been uncomfortable most of the night, trying to convince my cock that it wasn’t getting any action and to simmer the hell down. But she had seemed peaceful.
“I felt…” She drifted off, but I knew what she was going to say. I should have let it slide, but there was no way I was going to. I wanted her to admit it.
“Felt what?”
“Safe.” Her voice was small, and she looked back down at her feet.
I ignored breakfast for a second and stalked over to her, lifting her chin gently. “You should feel safe with me, Allegra. I know I’ve put you in a bad position, but there’s no one in this world that would protect you better than I would. I’ll kill for you if I have to. Gladly. Just say the word, and Tomas is gone.”
She gulped, eyeing me nervously and I realized I’d taken things a bit too far. I turned back to the stove, placing the pancakes on a couple of plates. I brought them to the large table, big enough to seat a dozen, and Allegra followed me.
“Sit.” I grumbled.
“Is that an order?” she scoffed, fixing me with a skeptical glare .
“Please, would you sit?”
“That’s better.”
I rolled my eyes and headed back to the kitchen, grabbing some cutlery and a bottle of orange juice.
When I returned to the dining room, I noticed that there was a new visitor at the table, sitting in my chair.
“Bianca, down!” Allegra scolded, but this time, I just laughed.
“It’s fine, angel. I’ll move. That way I can sit even closer to you.” I grabbed my plate, then sat down right beside Allegra. Before I started eating, I picked up her hand and placed a kiss against her knuckles. She looked at me, her expression once again hard to read. But instead of commenting, she put her hand on my knee, and kept it there.
I hid my grin as I devoured my food. Breakfast was quiet, but I didn’t mind. I’d never shared a space with a woman before. My mom had died when we were six, so Colton and I grew up with just our dad. I thought having a female companion in my space would be fucking annoying, but I was disappointed when my phone buzzed, the screen lighting up with a text from Mario to let me know Allegra’s security was in place. I casually flipped my phone on its backside, hiding the screen.
Allegra had sharp eyes. “What’s going on? Do you know who’s been following me?”
“No, baby. Just a message that your security has been arranged.”
“Oh.” She stabbed her pancakes a little too aggressively, and I instantly knew she was uncomfortable with the idea of a security team surrounding her. But I didn’t care. I couldn’t watch her every single hour of the day, no matter how tempting the thought was, and I needed to know she was safe.
“It won’t be forever, baby. Just until I find these guys.”
“I hate the nickname ‘baby.’”
“I don’t care—”
“But I like it when you call me it.”
I closed my mouth, pleased at her addition. She was my baby, after all. However, as the thought went through my mind, I tried to shut it down.
But it was too late. I knew. I knew this was bad.
I knew I was in trouble.
I knew I was falling hard for Allegra Prescott.
I killed the engine, then turned my head to look at Allegra. She was scrutinizing the entire block, looking for signs of my men.
I chuckled. “They’re good at what they do, baby. You won’t be able to spot them on the street.”
She sighed deeply. “Well, that’s a relief, at least. They won’t be in the building, then?”
“I’m not stupid, angel. Of course there’s security in the building.”
“But how did you—”
“Your neighbors will just think that your landlord invested in a doorman. That’s all. But he’s there on my orders—if you need anything, absolutely anything, he’s been instructed to take care of it.”
We sat in my car for a few more seconds. She looked out the window, and then smoothed her black lace skirt. I’d had Mario bring her a new set of clothes from Chanel, and they fit her like a glove. She looked good even in the athletic clothing she wore at work, but I longed to see her dress like the queen she was. She should be a goddamn model for these designers.
I was pretty sure I was biased.
“Let’s go. I’m going to walk you up to your door.”
Instead of fighting me, she grabbed her purse and the Chanel shopping bag that now held her clothes from the previous evening. I grabbed the cat carrier from the backseat, then reached for her hand. Her fingers closed around mine, and I couldn’t believe how right it felt.