Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Sunlight filtered in through the gaps in the blinds and hit Isaac square in the eyes.
He really should do something about that.
Like every morning, he went to rollover to face away from the windows so he could get a few more minutes of sleep, but today he couldn’t move, because Marie was sprawled over him, her leg over his and her arm across his chest.
Memories of the night before assailed him.
After the first time they’d made love, he’d taken her to the shower to clean up, which led to him going down on her again.
He loved her taste and couldn’t get enough of it.
After they’d dried off, he took her back to bed where they experimented with things.
He’d been shocked when Marie had responded so positively to him smacking her ass, and it clearly surprised her too, but they both found they got enjoyment when he was dominant over her. He couldn’t wait to try more.
Marie brushed against him, the movement bringing her leg close to his morning hard-on.
The temptation to shift so that he could kiss her awake was enticing, but they hadn’t got a lot of sleep, and as much as he wanted to stay in bed with her all day, he needed to head to the office to see if any information about him being the target and not Marie had been confirmed, or even denied.
He wanted to be the target. He didn’t want it to be Marie. She deserved to be able to live her life without any shadows hanging over her. Although, associating with him could negate that wish as he had plenty of shadows all around him.
“Is it morning?” she mumbled and snuggled a little closer, testing his resistance levels.
“It’s early, you can go back to sleep. You don’t have work today.
” Part of the process of keeping her protected was knowing her schedule.
She had the next two days off before she had to do three night shifts.
He would be taking those surveillance shifts, he wasn’t going to subject the others to staying up all night, not that they’d mind.
They’d be happy to. As Irish said, he would do the same if it was someone else’s partner who needed protecting.
“Hmm? Maybe. I don’t know.”
He bit back a laugh at her confusion. “Sleep, Doc, I’ve got you.”
The sensible thing to do would be to get up and get ready for work, but he could give himself a little more time holding Marie. He closed his eyes and let the pleasure of knowing he held a special woman in his arms wash over him.
He’d come so close to fucking everything up last night with his unwarranted jealousy.
He was just lucky that Marie had forgiven him.
He didn’t know what he’d do without her now and he wasn’t going to think that way.
Because of what he’d done during his life, he learned that life can change on a dime and to make the most of every day.
Now that he had Marie, he planned to live by that edict even more.
He tightened his arms around her, synchronizing his breathing with hers until he floated in that space between sleep and wakefulness.
Isaac startled awake, his heart pounding and his senses on high alert. Something had woken him, and it wasn’t a bad dream. Marie had shifted away from him during their sleep, but she was still there, so it can’t have been her leaving the bed that had disrupted his slumber.
He took a few seconds to get his bearings to slow his breathing, so he could focus on what was going on around him and not within him. His instincts were screaming that something was off.
There it was, the faint scrape of a shoe across the floor. A sound so miniscule but after years of living on the edge with someone always wanting to take you down, he’d honed his observation skills, ones that had saved his life on numerous occasions.
Someone was in his house. The fact they’d bypassed his security system indicated these weren’t amateurs, and confirmed that someone was after him, not Marie.
He hated to do it, but he needed to wake her without her making a noise. “Forgive me,” he whispered and placed his hand over her mouth while nudging her to break her slumber. Her eyes widened and fear flashed in them. She started to struggle, but he held her tight.
“Stop. I’m not going to hurt you, but there’s someone in the house. You need to get to the safe room.” He hadn’t shown her the room at the back of his closet. He hadn’t thought he needed to.
Fear still glazed her eyes, but she nodded, and he removed his hand. “You have a safe room?”
He was glad to hear that she’d kept her voice low, which wasn’t a surprise, this woman knew what to do in a crisis. “Yes, we need to move quickly.”
Fortunately the bed wasn’t far from the closet, he’d situated his furniture deliberately, so that he could get to safety as quickly as possible.
Isaac tossed the covers back and kept Marie close, all the while listening to what was going on around his house. Whoever was inside was in the front of his house and would be in the bedroom soon. He just hoped he had enough time to lock Marie away.
As he passed through the closet he picked up some sweatpants and a T-shirt, holding them out to her.
She took them without saying anything. He pushed aside his shirts and pressed the wall in the exact right place.
A place that only he knew and wasn’t visible to the naked eye.
Beneath the thin lining was a biometric reader, coded to his handprint only.
The wall moved, and he pushed Marie inside.
The space wasn’t huge but it wasn’t small either.
“You’ll be safe here. There’s a phone in the top drawer,” he pointed to the small dresser at the back.
“Dial 9-2-4 and tell whoever answers that someone is in my house. Help will come. But you’ll be safe here.
The walls are bulletproof, and no one can get in but me. ”
Marie’s eyes widened and her fingers gripped the clothes tighter. “And what happens if you die? How will anyone be able to get me out.”
There wasn’t a lot of time to have this conversation, but he needed to reassure her that should something bad happen to him, she would be safe. “If that happens, Cass can work her magic and override the system. She helped design this room for me.”
“Of course, she did.” Marie gave him a little shove, whatever fear she’d been feeling she’d swallowed it down. “Go, and you better be the one that opens this door. I’ve not gone and fallen in love with you only for you to leave me now.”
There was so much to unpack in those sentences, and Isaac wished he had time to do it all, but the one thing that stood out was her declaration of love.
One he was more than happy to reciprocate.
“Seeing as I’m in love with you too, I’m not going anywhere.
” He pulled her close for a quick bruising kiss before nudging her back into the room and closing the door.
That wasn’t how he wanted to tell Marie he loved her, but should anything happen to him, at least she’d know how important she was to him. That their time together meant something. Not that he had any plans of not getting out of this situation alive. He had too much to live for.
He’d moved quickly and efficiently, grabbing another pair of sweatpants, pulling them on just as the tell-tale click of a gun being cocked sounded behind him.
“We meet again.”
Isaac stilled; he didn’t recognize the raspy voice, but clearly this person knew him. He slowly turned, keeping his arms raised, wishing that he’d had an extra few seconds to grab a weapon. “You!”