Chapter 12
Midas knew he was being a bit overbearing and heavy-handed, but he couldn’t help it.
Lexie had scared the hell out of him. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been that fucking terrified.
He’d heard people screaming and yelling through the phone line and had no idea what was happening.
Then Lexie had dropped that bomb about there being weapons on the premises before hanging up on him.
The half hour it took for him to get to her were the longest minutes of his life. He couldn’t bear to take his hands off her or let her out of his sight.
He did his best to get his emotions under control as he escorted Lexie to her building. He stood right by her side in the elevator and the second she’d unlocked her door and they were inside her apartment, he took her in his arms once more.
“I’m okay,” she reassured him for what seemed like the hundredth time. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I’m so used to fending for myself, it didn’t even dawn on me that you’d be worried.”
“Worried?” Midas asked. “Shit, Lex. I was way past worried.” Her lip wobbled, and he pressed her face against his shoulder. “Shhhh, I’m sorry. Don’t cry.”
“I just feel horrible about it all.”
“I know.”
“I promise, I’ll never do anything like that again.”
“I know you won’t.”
“Does this…” Her voice trailed off.
“Does this what?” Midas asked, putting his finger under her chin and tilting it up so she had no choice but to look at him. “Talk to me, Lex.”
“Does this make you feel differently about me?”
Midas blinked in confusion. “Feel differently how?” he asked.
“I don’t know. Are you upset enough to want to take a break? We don’t have to spend the weekend together.”
Midas’s stomach clenched. “No!” he exclaimed. “Why would you even ask that?”
“I just… I know I disappointed you, and because I’ve been on my own for so long and haven’t had anyone who’s given a damn about me, I tend to not think about others as much as I should. That might not be something you want to deal with.”
“Do you want to be with me?” Midas asked.
She frowned. “Yes. Of course I do, but—”
“Pack a bag,” Midas said, interrupting her.
“What?”
“Pack a bag. With enough to last you for two nights. We’re going to my house and spending the weekend together. All weekend. Days and nights. I’ll bring you back here Sunday night, so you can get to work bright and early Monday morning.”
Her eyes widened. “Really?”
“Yes. I don’t think I can let you out of my sight for at least forty-eight hours.
That should be enough to get my adrenaline to subside.
Maybe. Lexie, in case it’s missed your notice, I give a damn about you.
I have since the moment we snuck out of that hospital room together.
Probably even before then. And I’ll teach you that you don’t have to make every decision on your own anymore.
I want to be your partner. Your sounding board.
The person you turn to when you’re happy, or scared, or sad.
I’ll celebrate with you, hold you tight when you cry, and comfort you when you need it.
I want to be everything to you, just as you’re quickly becoming everything to me. ”
“Midas,” she whispered.
“And even though a lot has happened in the last couple of hours, I haven’t forgotten what you said before the shit hit the fan. You want me to take you to bed? Done. Now, go pack. I’ll just be standing here guarding the door so no one bursts in and interrupts us before we can get to my place.”
She smiled and it lit up her face. “I have a bed,” she said, looking back at the double mattress in the middle of her studio apartment.
“I see that. And believe me, I’ll be making love to you in it sooner rather than later. But not now. And not this weekend. This weekend, you’re all mine. And I want you in my space. It’s a little caveman-ish of me, I admit. But I want to take you for the first time in my bed.”
“Okay,” she said.
“Okay,” he echoed. “You gonna pack or what?”
“You gonna let go of me or what?” she countered.
“Not sure I can,” Midas admitted.
Lexie wrapped her arms around his neck and went up on her tiptoes, getting even more in his space than she already was. “You know what I can’t wait for?” she asked in a sultry, sexy tone.
“What?” he asked, thinking she’d say “seeing you naked” or something equally hot.
“A frozen Dole whip bar,” she whispered into his ear.
Her response was so unexpected, Midas burst out laughing. “Brat,” he accused.
She was grinning from ear to ear, obviously pleased with herself.
But her teasing did the trick, made him relax enough to be able to drop his hands from her waist. She backed away from him, still smiling. And when she got to the door to her bathroom, she said, “Oh…and feeling you so deep inside me, I don’t know where I stop and you start.”
Then she spun and disappeared into the bathroom. Her giggle echoing in the space around him.
Midas groaned at the image her words evoked and collapsed against the bar separating her kitchen from the rest of the room. He eyed her bed, then closed his eyes.
No. He wanted to pamper her. Wanted to show her how good it could be between them. And not only in bed. He had no doubt living with her twenty-four-seven would be amazing. How could it not?
As eager as he was to take her to bed, he wanted to make sure she was comfortable with the change in their relationship even more.
He’d go as slow as needed to make certain she was one hundred percent sure of him.
He couldn’t imagine a life without her in it, and wanted her to get to the same place before they took their relationship further.
Midas readjusted his hard cock and took a deep breath. Life with Lexie wouldn’t be boring, that was one thing he was absolutely sure of.
Within twenty minutes, Midas and Lexie were in an Uber on the way to his house.
They held hands in the back seat and Midas did his best to control his libido.
Many people thought that after a hard mission, military guys only wanted to fuck or fight.
And they weren’t exactly wrong. Midas and the rest of his team had learned to control their adrenaline spikes while deployed, but at the moment, he felt as if he was a green SEAL who had just finished his first successful mission.
He couldn’t even look at Lexie, because he felt as if he were a hairsbreadth away from jumping her.
She’d changed from the jeans and blouse she’d worn at work, to a pair of short shorts that showed off her tan and toned legs, and a tank top.
He could see her bra strap peeking out on her shoulder when she moved and it made him hungry to see her bare tits.
They’d made out on more than one occasion, and he’d felt her up, but they’d never actually gotten naked together.
Shit, he had to stop thinking about Lexie naked.
He was too on edge. He needed to get her home, make her comfortable.
Maybe he’d order something in for dinner so he wouldn’t have to cook; being around a hot stove wasn’t exactly the best idea right now.
He’d pour her a glass of wine or make her a mixed drink and they could sit out on his deck and enjoy the Hawaiian evening.
If she was too tired—because she’d had a hell of a day, just as he did—he’d take her in his arms and hold her all night, like he’d done when they’d had to hide out in that hole.
He could do that.
Maybe.
Then Lexie took his hand and placed it on her thigh. Her bare thigh.
Fuck. All thoughts of relaxing and making small talk on his deck evaporated in a puff of smoke.
She grinned mischievously at him and slowly moved his hand upward, until his fingers were under the hem of her shorts. Midas swore he could feel the heat of her pussy. All he’d have to do is move his hand a few inches higher, and he’d be touching her.
Lexie spread her legs a fraction, as if she could read his mind.
Midas felt his heart beating out of control in his chest. He wanted to shove her backward and take her right then and there.
“It’s supposed to be a nice day tomorrow,” their driver said, jerking Midas back to where he was. And more importantly, to the fact that he wasn’t alone with Lexie.
He heard her chuckle under her breath.
Midas wanted to respond, but his teeth were clenched together too hard.
“I think we’re gonna go to the Dole Plantation tomorrow. You ever been?” Lexie asked.
Midas tuned the man out, his gaze riveted on his large fingers resting on Lexie’s inner thigh. He brushed his thumb back and forth over the sensitive skin, and smiled when he heard her inhale sharply. She might have started out teasing him, but two could play that game.
He moved his gaze from her thigh to her chest, and was pleased to see her nipples poking through her tank top. She was obviously enjoying this as much as he was.
A car nearby honked its horn, making Midas look up—and he caught their driver checking Lexie out in the rearview mirror. He glared at the man and growled, “Watch it.”
“Oh, they weren’t honking at us,” Lexie said, patting his arm.
Midas hadn’t been talking about the other vehicles, and both he and the driver knew it.
The ride was fairly quiet after that, and Midas made it a point to keep his hand in safe territory on Lexie’s leg. As much as he enjoyed turning her on, he wasn’t about to put on a show for the asshole driving.
They arrived at his house without further incident, and Midas was feeling pretty proud of himself for not devouring Lexie in the back seat. He led her into his house with a hand on the small of her back. He unlocked the door and sighed in relief when it clicked closed behind them.
They were finally alone. But then he reminded himself that he was trying to go slow. He absolutely didn’t want to rush Lexie.
He started to hand her the bag she’d packed and tell her to make herself at home, but when he turned away from the door, he grunted abruptly as Lexie threw herself into his arms.