Chapter 13 Colten
THIRTEEN
COLTEN
As a rule, I don’t have anyone at my place.
There are a number of reasons, but the fact I’ve been actively stalking my best friend’s sister for close to a decade is at the top of the list, along with the way my obsession has…spread.
It started small, things that could be hidden away in a shoebox or the chest at the end of my bed, but now the pieces of her are throughout my entire apartment.
I’m not certain how I’m going to explain it when she asks, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.
Right now, keeping Lexi safe is all that matters.
My own adrenaline is beginning to drain, exhaustion threatening at the edges of my consciousness, but it’ll be hours before I can sleep.
I’ll be lucky if I get to shut my eyes much before the sun goes down tonight.
I pull into the underground parking lot for my building and guide the car into my usual parking spot, but when the car comes to a stop, neither of us moves.
“You doing okay, Wildcat?” I ask softly.
She shrugs. “I guess. I just feel…out of control, I guess. Tired but wired at the same time. Like my body isn’t a part of me right now. It’s confusing.”
I nod. “Let’s see what we can do to get you settled. We’ll head upstairs, you can take a shower, and I’ll make us something to eat. Blueberry pancakes sound okay?” I already know her answer, seeing as they’re her favorite, but I don’t point that out.
She’s going to get enough confirmations of my obsession once she gets upstairs without adding anything else to the list.
Her lips tip up into a small smile, and my chest tightens at the sight. I did that. I made her smile even at one of her darkest moments.
The coming days are going to be a lot for her, but once we’re out the other side, she’ll be safe, and she’ll finally be mine.
Lexi meets me at the back of the car, her arms wrapped around herself as her eyes move over the empty parking lot. It’s only four thirty in the morning, so most people are still in bed, but it’s going to be a while before my girl feels safe out in the world.
Soon she’ll realize that I’ll make sure nothing, and no one, ever has the chance to hurt her again.
Without missing a beat, I wrap my arm around her shoulders and guide her toward the private elevator that opens into my apartment.
It took me years to get over my aversion to having money, things.
The way I grew up was…lonely.
Being the bastard child my father never wanted meant hand-me-downs from Cruz, sparse meals, and a bedroom that was far more akin to a closet than somewhere a child should be sleeping.
Moving into this place was an adjustment, and it’s probably the most modest penthouse a city like Seattle has to offer.
If it weren’t for my need for such a high level of security, I would have chosen a small studio, regardless of how much money sits in my bank account.
Maybe with Lexi living with me it will feel more like a home, a concept that has often felt foreign to me.
The elevator doors close behind us, locking us in the enclosed space and closing out the rest of the world.
I should move away, give her some space, but I don’t.
I can’t.
It’s always like this after I allow myself to touch her. The strength it takes to hold myself back from my obsession takes a while to rebuild.
But that won’t be a problem this time around.
Lexi lets out a soft sigh, her hands wrapped tightly around each other. “I’m sorry for being an imposition.”
Placing her suitcase down, I turn to her and crowd her against the mirrored wall.
A soft gasp slips from her pouty lips, but she doesn’t flinch as I raise my hand to cup her cheek. She’s so soft, so perfect, and it feels wrong to put my hands on her like this, but I can’t help myself.
It was only a matter of time before my restraint with my wildcat snapped.
She blinks up at me through thick lashes, her lips parted slightly as she waits for whatever I’m going to do next.
“You are never an imposition to me, Lexi.” The words are full of the emotions I’ve always buried, the ones I was punished for having as a child, but I need her to hear them.
I need her to understand that she’s wanted.
She’s needed. She’s the beginning and the end.
The sun and the moon. My very reason for existing.
I can’t voice those thoughts, because she’d probably run away screaming, but one day she’ll realize just how much she means to me.
I flick my eyes down to her lips, the temptation to taste her is almost more than I can resist. I’ve imagined kissing her more times than I can ever admit to, but I have a feeling the act itself will be far superior to anything my own mind can conjure.
The elevator dings, breaking the moment we were sharing, and I force myself to take a step back from her. I may have been all in on the idea of us for years, but I need to allow Lexi to warm up to it.
I retrieve the suitcase and take a step forward into my apartment.
The first thing I see as I place the bag by the bedroom door is the array of cushions on the couch, identical to the ones in her bedroom at the estate, and the piece of art I had commissioned from her favorite artist hanging across from the huge windows looking out at the ocean.
She steps toward the window, her eyes wide as she takes in the gloomy sky just beginning to show the signs of a new day.
“This is incredible,” she says softly.
“It is.” But I’m not talking about the view. No, it’s the fact that after all these years, Lexi is finally in my space, where she belongs.
Thankfully I never got to the point of obsession where I started stealing her underwear, so at the very least there’s nothing like that lying around for her to find, but the rest of the apartment may as well be a shrine to her.
Lexi keeps her gaze on the horizon for another few seconds before turning, her eyes scanning the place.
Her attention snags on the cushions, but aside from her brow dipping, she doesn’t say anything as she focuses on the two doors at the far end of the living area. “Are they the bedrooms?”
This is the part of her staying here I’ve neglected to tell her until she was already inside the apartment without the ability to refuse.
I mean, she still might, but that doesn’t mean she’s leaving.
If it weren’t a matter of her safety, perhaps I could be a little more lenient, but considering she was attacked, she’ll be staying where I can see her until further notice, no matter how hard she fights me on it, and I know for a fact that Cruz will agree.
He’s been encouraging me to make a move on Lexi for years, so the smug son of a bitch is probably going to give me shit for waiting as long as I have.
There are still pieces I need to move into place, but soon Lexi will be mine.