Fight For Me (11 page)

She closed her eyes for a moment, focusing
on the muscled man before her when she opened them again. The sweat
glistening off his sculpted body made her tingle, and she wished
they were alone. Instead of voicing her thoughts, she said, “Don't
kill yourself out there, Dylan.”

“
I only torture him three
times a week,” the therapist said through a giggle. “I promise not
to kill him.”

“
I'm not so easy to kill,”
Dylan gritted through an exercise, and she sent a thank you
heavenward for that fact. If he had died protecting Mason, she
wouldn't be sitting here watching a pretty blonde put her hands all
over him, and she wouldn't be feeling slightly jealous. She bit her
lip. She couldn't really be jealous of the therapist, could she?
“I'm glad of that,” she replied. “I'd like to keep you around for a
long time,” she went on, her voice as husky as she could manage.
She hoped she sounded sexy and not like an old woman.

Dylan's chuckle made her believe she'd
missed the mark. “You want to keep me around for what, exactly?” he
asked, his labored tone laced with sex.

Unable to resist, she bantered back, “To
satisfy my every need.”

The therapist choked on laugh. “Well, then.”
She blushed from the top of her head down under her scrub top and
Cassidy held in her own laugh. The blonde, Haleigh was her name,
turned back to Dylan to tell him she'd see him later in the week
before sending him to towel off. Pitching her voice low, the
therapist warned, “Don't let him overestimate his recovery. I know
he thinks he's healed, and he's in much, much better shape than he
was a few weeks ago, he's not ready for prime time.”

“
He looks good to me,”
Cassidy replied before she thought it through.

Haleigh's hand flew up to cover her mouth as
she tried and failed to hold back her knowing chuckle. “Seems the
feeling is mutual. You two could burn down a building.”

She'd heard that about them before,
especially after Mason and Kat's reception. She felt her own blush
creep up and said the first thing that came to mind. “He's a pretty
amazing man.”

Haleigh smiled, the affect on her face
astonishing. She was a naturally beautiful woman, and Cassidy
wasn't sure she liked her hands on Dylan three times a week, no
matter what she'd just said. “I don't disagree. He has worked hard
to get this far in such a short time.”

“
Talkin' about me?” Dylan
asked from across the room, and Cassidy's heart sped up. She gave
herself a mental smack. She had to stop acting like she was sixteen
around this man.

“
Of course,” she answered
with a smile. She looked over Haleigh's shoulder to him and was
immediately snared in his golden gaze. She closed her eyes, forcing
herself to break free. She'd watched him work for two hours, and he
looked wrung out. “Why do you push yourself so hard?”

He lifted a brow. “Gotta keep you safe.”

“
That's all?” This was all
about her? She knew he had to be bored following her around all
day, and she wondered if his financial situation was stable since
he hadn't worked in more than a month, yet his only reason, his
only motivation was to keep her safe? He said he loved her. Was she
ready to be the center of his life, could she reciprocate and be
what he needed, what she knew he wanted? She watched as he studied
her, and felt like squirming.

He took a step toward her, loosely grasping
her upper arm and pulling her to him. “There's nothin' more
important,” he promised before he dropped a kiss on her lips.

She sank into the kiss, realizing two
things. He really felt there was nothing in his life more important
than protecting her, and he would die to save her if necessary. Her
breath caught in her throat and she pulled away from him. She
stared at him for long beats, but words just wouldn't come.
Swallowing, she turned to give a small wave to Haleigh. “See you
Friday,” she said quietly and made her way out the door.

~*~

“
I think I need to go
home. Without you,” she said when they had reached the Bronco. He
opened his mouth to argue and she kept talking. “I feel...” she
took a breath. “Things are so scary now, and I think the danger is
escalating my need for you.”

She was thinking too much again. “You are a
brilliant woman, but you're bein' stupid,” he stated plainly.
“You're scared and you're pushin' me away because of it.” He knew
he was right, but he also knew she wasn't backing down. Something
had changed in the few minutes before they left the hospital, and
he wasn't sure what it was.

“
I'm scared of leading you
on,” she answered, her chin thrust up. “I need to go home.” At his
glare she went on, “I'll hire someone, take on police protection,
but I need to be away from you.”

Ouch. He loved her, she knew it, yet she'd
just said that. “For how long?”

She focused on the sky, not speaking to him
directly. “I don't know. Until I figure out what I'm doing, what I
feel, what I need. You are...”

He waited as she thought for a word, his
mind racing. She was off-balance, thrown by her feelings for him,
scared of him, of herself. In a perfect world, he could let her run
from him for a little while, but not with her life in the balance.
“I am what?”

“
Overwhelming, sexy as
hell, distracting, putting yourself in danger because of me.” Her
words came out in a jumble, her hands flying as she
spoke.

He held back a smile at her description of
him, but he couldn't let her go home, no matter what she wanted. “I
will try to be less distractin' or overwhelmin' or whatnot, but I
will not let you risk your life because you're afraid to face your
emotions, Cassie.”

She stomped her foot, her beautiful mouth
compressed into a hard line, her brows drawn together. “Dammit,
Dylan, I can't do this.”

Can't do what? He needed a scorecard to keep
up with this woman. “What?”

“
I can't leave you.” She
leaned against the door of the Bronco, refusing to look at him. “I
should—I know I should—but I can't.” She took a breath, but he
didn't have time to repeat himself before she barreled on. “What if
he kills you to get to me? What if you're shot again, but this time
you're not so lucky? What if—”

He cut her off with his mouth. He didn't
want to play “What if,” he wanted to show her how he felt. He
poured every bit of emotion into the kiss, backing her against the
truck door, reveling in the feel of her beneath both hands. She had
been trying to protect him by pushing him away, and while it wasn't
smart in the slightest, it was endearing. She might be unsure, she
might not have any idea how much she cared, but he did. He tore his
mouth from hers to leave a trail of kisses down her neck. “Stop
thinkin' so much and just feel, Cassie. What do you feel?”

Her hand reached out to rest on his erection
through his shorts, caressing him and making his knees shake. “I
feel something I want,” she panted. “Something I need.”

He pulled her closer to him, lifting her
away from the door he desperately needed open. “Can you do it
here?” he asked, his whisper coming out like a growl. She couldn't
acknowledge her feelings when she was thinking, but she had no
trouble when he was deep inside her. Right now he needed to feel
her shatter around him, hear her chant his name, tell him to never
stop, public parking lots be damned.

“
Anywhere,” she answered,
her voice cracking in desperation.

That was the only invitation he needed. He
threw the door open to pull her into the truck with him, quickly
settling into the passenger seat and setting her astride him. She
rocked against him frantically and he was grateful for the shade of
the maple tree she'd parked under and the dress she'd worn to take
him to PT. With no preamble, he shoved his shorts and boxers down,
slid her panties aside, and drove home.

He held her hips as he slammed into her over
and over again, his right hand burning from overuse, her whimpers
making him crazy. “What do you feel?” he repeated when her body
shook with her climax, her breath coming out in pants.

“Love,” she answered.

He crushed his mouth to hers, absorbing the
love radiating from her along with her moans and pleas. He drove
into her more fiercely, forcing another climax from her before he
found his own release, his “I love you,” whispered into her
hair.

Chapter Eight

Chris went back through the files, sure he'd
missed something, but not at all sure what it was. “Jase, we've got
to be overlooking something here,” he said in exasperation as he
shoved the folder at his partner.

Jason shook his head, his light blue eyes
dull with lack of sleep. “Shit, Chris, if I knew what it was, we'd
be investigating it, not sitting here in the middle of the night
tossing paper around.”

As much as it pained him, he forced himself
to say, “Maybe we should call Davis,” causing Jason to bark a
clipped, “No,” before he even finished the sentence. He held up a
hand. “Hear me out. I'm just as pissed about the McClaren shit too,
but fresh eyes are fresh eyes.”

“His jaundiced eyes will not fucking help,”
Jason growled and Chris slid his chair a few inches away. Jason
Monroe was a champion grudge-holder, and while he understood his
feelings and hated Davis almost as much as his friend, business,
justice, and truth had to take precedence.

“Maybe not, but Tiffany—Officer Morgan, I
mean—will have a good perspective. We're running into walls here,
and I for one don't want to deal with another unsolved murder.”

“You don't want Dylan to beat the shit out
of you,” Jason countered.

No one would want to deal with Dylan if
something happened to Cassidy. “What if Adrienne was being stalked?
Would you accept help then?” Jason's face blanched, and Chris knew
he had hit the right nerve. “Imagine your friend was the one
investigating the stalker, a stalker you were sure had committed at
least one murder. Now pretend that friend turned down help because
of a personal problem—”

“Enough!” Jason cut him off. “Fine. Call
Davis, but don't turn your back on him. Get Officer Morgan to help
you with the research.” He gave Chris a cold stare. “And keep your
dick in your pants.”

She was hot, but he'd only talked to her for
five minutes. “Not a problem, Jase.”

“Right. I'm sure Tiffany will understand,”
Jason scoffed. “I know you better than that.”

Whoa. He was never hurting for a date, but
he wasn't indiscriminate. “I only just met her, man. I'm not seeing
her.”

“You seem a little overeager to have her
help.”

“I just want someone who can help.” He gave
Jason a stern look. “Quit worrying about me and my dick, Jase.”

Jason blinked, shook his head. “We have
other things to do.”

“Too much.”

~*~

“Cassie, wake up, your phone is buzzin',”
Dylan whispered, the offending piece of technology dwarfed by his
large hand.

Her chocolate eyes fluttered open. “What
time?” she started, stopping mid-sentence to snatch the phone from
his fingers, stab at the screen, and pin it to her ear. “Mom?
What's wrong?”

He listened to her side of the conversation,
his mind running scenarios. Good things were never reported with
three am phone calls. Cassidy was agitated, asking about her
parents, Caleb, and even Camryn. When she finally dropped the phone
on the bed, he asked, “What happened?”

“My parent's house is on fire,” she
answered. “They're okay, but...” She collapsed against her pillow.
“My parents, Dylan. He's targeted my parents now, and I can't help
but think Caleb could be next.” She threw her head back, thumping
against the headboard. “He won't leave, his patients always come
first.”

“We'll just have to get him protected,
then.”

“How?” She sprung from the bed, her nudity
either forgotten or unimportant, and he had to force himself to
focus on the conversation instead of her beauty. “Why is everyone I
love in danger? What did I do to bring it to their doorstep?”

“Your job, darlin', just your job.” He slid
from the bed himself then to wrap his arms around her. “He's tryin'
to mess with your head, make you crazy.”

She dropped her head against his chest.
“He's succeeding.”

“You're not crazy, you're strong. Stronger
than you know.” He kissed the top of her head. We need to get
dressed and find our way over there.”

“We need to protect them,” she said against
his chest, her voice muffled, and he kissed her hair again. He
wanted to tuck her away forever, bundle her up, keep her safe, but
knew she'd never let him. Instead, he had to protect her family,
keep them out of harm's way. “We'll put them in a safe house, send
them on a cruise, shuttle them to Paris. I promise I won't let
anythin' happen to them.” He didn't usually promise things he
wasn't sure he could deliver, but Cassie was faltering. He kicked
himself for not thinking about her family—he should have known they
would be targeted, he should've secured their homes, brought in
protection, hired extra help. He'd been so preoccupied with her he
had failed her. “We'll take care of them.”

“Thank you,” she said as she pulled from his
arms to rummage through drawers, clothes flying as she dug.

The sight of her bent over a drawer in his
bedroom, searching through his clothes to find her own stopped his
thoughts for a moment. This was where she belonged, he just had to
convince her of that. “Why don't we go away too? Get away from
here, from him, before he kills you?”

“He won't kill me,” she stated as she
strapped herself into a bra.

“No?”

“No. He'll try to kill me, but you won't let
him.” She collapsed against the bed. “He'll kill you. He wants me
to suffer.”