Obsessed (Cunningham Security Series Book 1) Page 2

  I met him a couple months ago when he was providing security detail for Charley’s best friend, Emme. Back then, Emme’s ex-boyfriend was stalking her and Zane, her fiancée and Levi’s younger brother, insisted on her having round-the-clock, one-on-one coverage whenever he was unable to be with her. The day I met Levi was the day he was providing coverage to Emme when we were at Wes and Charley’s house. The minute I saw him, I felt my knees get weak.

  He was beautiful. Dark hair, dark blue eyes, a strong jaw, full lips and, from what I could see, an impeccable body.

  Everyone around us felt the sparks between us, too. I denied it at the time, but they could all see right through me.

  I talked with Levi later in the day, but before there was even an opportunity for something to develop between us, my brother put a stop to it. I had just met Levi that day and Wes was already taking his role as big brother way too seriously. His protectiveness was appreciated to a certain degree, but thinking he could tell me who to date was something I wasn’t prepared to tolerate. Unfortunately, even though I refused to allow Wes to stand between us, Levi wouldn’t budge.

  I saw him again not long after that one night at Lou’s and, while he was friendly enough, he wasn’t acting very interested. I knew he felt attracted to me, but he sighted his respect for my brother as the reason to not pursue anything. What frustrated me was that I couldn’t possibly come up with any good explanation as to why Wes was so against it.

  As I let this disappointment filter through me I heard the door open. I turned back around to find Levi carrying not only the photo, but also my purse and the bag from the drug store with my lip balm haul.

  He walked over to stand about two feet in front of me and handed me my purse and the lip balm. As I took them from him his eyes dropped to my lips. He assessed them a minute before he brought his eyes back to mine and I noticed the heat swirling in them. He held the picture up so the back of it was facing me and informed me, “Need your address so I can get that to Trent and this photo to Pierce. Then we’ll leave.”

  Given the intense scrutiny my mouth had just been under I couldn’t manage to speak, so I simply nodded, pulled my license out of my purse, and handed it to him.

  Levi walked off.

  I decided I needed lip moisturizer.

  I walked over to sit on the couch, dug through my purse, and pulled out the strawberry tube. After applying it, I tossed it back in my purse, and tried to come up with a way to tell Levi what I thought of his plan.

  A few minutes later, he reappeared.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  I stood and said, “Um, Levi?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I appreciate what you are willing to do here, but I can drive myself home and pack a bag. I can just check into a hotel for a few days until you have time to figure out what’s going on.”

  “Elle?” he responded.

  “Yeah?”

  “That’s not happening.”

  “Levi —” I got out before he cut me off by positioning himself within inches of me.

  “It’s. Not. Happening. You can fight me, but you aren’t going to win. You came here because you feared for your safety. I talked to Pierce. He just showed me the footage from outside the building when you got here. You were terrified, Elle. I’m not allowing you to go back to your place alone where someone managed to break in not more than a few hours ago and could then possibly follow you to a hotel where you’d also be alone. I’m taking you to your place so you can pack up some of your things and then you’re staying at my place until I figure out what’s happening.”

  “It’s a Friday night. You had already left for the day when I got here. I don’t want to put you out or inconvenience you.”

  “Sunshine, I’d hardly consider you staying at my place an inconvenience. You aren’t putting me out and if you want to fight me on this, then I’m going to be forced to call Wes to let him know what’s going on. If you’re with me right now, I can keep you safe. If you aren’t and I don’t know yet what I’m dealing with, I can’t keep you safe.”

  I took in a deep breath and let it out.

  “Ok,” I agreed. “But just to say, if you think Wes wasn’t happy before when nothing was going on between us, I can assure you he’s not going to be happy to find out I’ve been staying at your place.”

  “Don’t really give a shit.”

  I jerked my head back.

  “Elle, your brother has an issue with us having a romantic relationship. I don’t believe he has a reason to be against it, but I respect his position. Wes is not going to have a problem with me doing what I’ve got to do to keep you safe. And if he does, like I said, I don’t give a shit. I’m making it my job to see to it that you remain unharmed. Got it?”

  I nodded.

  With that, Levi and I walked out of the Cunningham Security offices and over to his truck. He stayed close to my side the entire walk there and made sure I was safe inside before he rounded the front and got in on the other side. Then, he took me to my place so I could pack up some of my things.

  Someone had it out for me. I didn’t know who and I was certainly worried, but I decided to look on the bright side. I was sitting in Levi’s truck after he had called me sunshine twice, breathing in the manly scent of him, while he did what he promised by taking me to his place.

  Chapter 2

  Levi

  “Elle Blackman is here. Asking for you. Terrified out of her mind,” Pierce announced into my ear.

  I had just left the office and was not even five minutes away when I got the call.

  “Talk to me,” I demanded as I maneuvered my truck and started making my way back to the office to get to her.

  “Not sure what’s up. She buzzed at the door incessantly. I opened, let her in, and all she managed to get out was asking if you were around. Her whole body was trembling, but I confirmed she wasn’t hurt. I saw her checking her back before I opened the door, so I asked if someone was following her. She nearly broke down into tears and said she was unsure.”

  “Stay with her until I get there. Three minutes out.”

  “You’ve got it, boss.”

  I disconnected with Pierce and hauled my ass back to work.

  Elle Blackman.

  In trouble.

  Scared.

  And she came to me for help.

  Fuck.

  The girl had been on my mind since I met her a couple months ago. I hadn’t seen her much since then, only once, but damn was she beautiful. Her older brother, Wes, and my younger brother, Zane, were the best of friends who started snowboarding together back when they were kids. Since then, Zane has become a professional rider and is now sponsored by Wes’ snowboard company, Blackman Boards. Wes made it very clear to me that he respected me, but was not even remotely interested in entertaining the idea of Elle and me together. He did this the day that I met her. She was not happy about it; I can’t say I was either. Even still, I didn’t want to create tension between the two of them and I respected Wes enough to not cross that line. It hasn’t been easy.

  She’s so fucking beautiful.

  And her voice is something else entirely. I heard her sing for the first time not long after I met her and, swear to God, it was the most angelic thing I’d ever heard.

  We had an instant connection. It wasn’t something I could explain, but I knew she felt it, too. This was mostly because I was unwilling to cross any lines with her, and Elle voiced her displeasure on more than one occasion about it. There’d be no reason for her to get so riled up if she hadn’t felt that connection.

  I got back to the office in record time and hustled to get inside. When I walked in and saw her face as she sat scared on the couch, I wanted to walk over and wrap her up in my arms. I wanted to take her back to my place where I’d keep her until I knew she was no longer in any danger.

  I gave Pierce a nod and he took off down the hall to leave me with Elle.

  I sat next to her on the couch, keeping my body close
to hers. I didn’t know if it offered her any comfort, but I figured it wouldn’t do the opposite. I tried to coax the information I needed out of her so I could come up with a plan to best help her. As soon as I learned that someone had been in her apartment and left one of her signed photos there, I knew there was no way I was letting her go back alone. According to Elle, nothing indicated forced entry and her place hadn’t been trashed from what little she took in while she was there. Not a chance in hell that I was going to let her go home alone or spend the night at a hotel by herself.

  I managed to convince her that staying anywhere but with me wasn’t an option. After she put up a small fight, she eventually conceded and I took her back to her place so she could grab a few things to hold her over for the next couple of days. I expected she’d pack some clothes and all that other shit women used to make themselves look and smell good.

  She did.

  No surprise there.

  What I hadn’t expected was what I was now witnessing.

  “What?” she asked, dumbfounded.

  We were standing in her kitchen and I was watching her load her arms up with three bags of potato chips.

  I narrowed my eyes and stated, “We’re here so you can get the things you need to live for the next couple of days, Elle. I’m not sure potato chips are part of that equation.”

  “Maybe not for someone like you, but they are a necessity for me.”

  “Potato chips? A necessity?”

  She let out a frustrated sigh.

  “Not just any potato chips. These ones specifically. And yes, they are a necessity. I may have an unhealthy obsession with them and I realize they aren’t good for me, but they do wonders for my voice. I’m performing at Lou’s tomorrow so I need the chips.”

  “You eat three bags of chips before you sing?”

  “No, but I’m not really keen on coming back here by myself any time soon and I don’t want to inconvenience you further by making you do it, so I figure I should bring a couple bags.”

  I grinned at her. She didn’t want to come back here any time soon. I didn’t like that she was essentially being forced out of her home, but I didn’t mind that because of it she was going to be taking up residence at my place.

  “Is that ok?” she pressed.

  My voice was soft when I answered, “Yeah, sunshine. Bring whatever you need. Just sayin’, though, you aren’t an inconvenience. I’m going to need you to stop referring to yourself as one.”

  She looked away.

  I took a few steps closer to her and brought my hand up to cup her cheek. When she was looking at me again, I continued, “Elle, you’re in trouble right now. I intend to help you and keep you safe. I don’t want you thinking that you are bothering me. You came to me for a reason. I’m good at what I do. Let me do my job while you worry about eating potato chips for your job. Deal?”

  She nodded and gave me a small smile before she requested, “Speaking of jobs, we need to discuss payment.”

  “Payment,” I repeated because it was absurd that she thought she was going to pay me.

  “Yeah,” she started. “You just said this was your job. We have to discuss your fees and how you expect to be paid.”

  “Let’s get you packed up and out of here right now. We’ll talk about payment later.”

  “Ok.”

  At that, Elle finished packing up her things and we got in my truck to head to my place.

  The drive to my house was quiet. It wasn’t awkward or tense, just quiet. Every time I’d been around Elle prior to now she had always been forthcoming with conversation. I think the reality of her current situation was weighing on her mind and, while I didn’t want her worried, I figured I’d give her the ride to the house to live inside her head.

  By the time we got to the house and I unloaded her bags from the truck, it was approaching dinner time.

  “Are you ok with homemade pizza for dinner?” I asked as we walked into the house from the garage.

  “What?”

  “Dinner. Will you eat homemade pizza?”

  “Oh, Levi. You don’t have to feed me, too. This is too much already.”

  I was beginning to get pissed. If she insinuated one more time that she was putting me out I was going to lose my shit.

  “Elle?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Do…you…eat…pizza?”

  She stared at me in silence a moment before she whispered, “Yes.”

  I shook my head and turned toward the kitchen.

  “I’ll get it made and in the oven. While it cooks, I’ll show you where you’ll be staying.”

  “Can I help?” she asked softly.

  Fuck.

  That angelic voice.

  I turned around, took in her beauty, and responded, “Sure.”

  Elle and I spent the next fifteen minutes assembling pizzas on flatbreads. Generally, I was strict about my diet. Given my line of work, I felt it was important that I not only made sure my mind was sharp, but that I took care of my body. Situations arose on occasion that required a degree of physical fitness that wouldn’t be achieved by me eating shit food. I allowed myself indulgences on occasion, but mostly never had the desire for the sweet stuff. Pizza is one of the things I wasn’t prepared to give up, so I figured out how to make it work for me so that I could still have it and not see my physical performance suffer.

  During our pizza-making extravaganza I learned that Elle was the complete opposite of me when it came to food. Of course, I already knew about her obsession with potato chips. I was willing to accept the whole ‘chips are good for my voice’ excuse, but then she made a pizza and loaded it with cheese. It wasn’t just extra cheese, either. It was insanity.

  I didn’t understand where she put it.

  Elle was petite. She had to be around five feet five inches tall with long white-blonde hair that I had always seen her wear in loose waves and a set of sparkling-rich, honey-colored eyes. She always wore loose-fitting clothing. At least, she had every time I was around her, but I could tell she was tiny under all of it. As I allowed my eyes to scan her from top to toe, I realized how much I wanted to see what was underneath all of the oversized sweaters I had always seen her in. We lived in Northeast Wyoming and it was usually pretty chilly, but now that it was July I was thinking I might get lucky enough to see a hint of her skin.

  I popped the pizzas in the oven and moved to get Elle’s bags. She followed behind me as I walked her through the house and up the stairs. When we got to the second floor, I took her bags and put them in the guest bedroom next to mine.

  “Will this work for you?” I asked her as I set the bags down.

  “Levi, your home is beautiful.”

  “Thanks. There’s a bathroom just across the hall,” I told her as I pointed in the direction of the bathroom.

  “Thank you for doing this for me.”

  “No problem, sunshine. Make yourself at home. If you forgot anything at your apartment and need something, just ask.”

  She nodded.

  “Come on. I’ll show you the rest of the house.”

  I took Elle on a tour of the house. I wanted her to know where everything was and that she was free to use it as if it were her own. It wasn’t her fault she had to uproot herself out of her apartment so I figured I’d do what I needed to do to make sure that change wasn’t any more difficult than it already was on her.

  We finished the tour just in time because the scent of pizza had filled the kitchen. After pulling it out of the oven, I grabbed a couple of plates, a large cutting board, and transferred the flatbreads over to the board. I cut them and took them into the family room. Elle followed behind me with the plates and napkins.

  “What do you like to drink?” I asked as I set the cutting board down on the coffee table.

  She shrugged her shoulders and said, “Whatever you’ve got.”

  “I’m gonna be honest here. I’m a bit health conscious and I get the feeling based on your chip and cheese consumption th
at you don’t down the water the way I do. That said, my mom drilled into my head that I should always be prepared for company. So, I’ve got beer, wine, and sweetened raspberry tea if water’s not your thing.”

  “I’ll have the tea,” she answered.

  I grinned.

  I knew that’s what she was going to choose.

  “Have a seat. Start eating. I’ll be right back.”

  I went back to the kitchen and grabbed drinks. When I returned to the family room, Elle was sitting, but hadn’t started. I gave her a look. She must have noticed my concern because she spoke.

  “I’m not going to be rude, Levi. I can wait until you get back to start eating so we can eat together.”

  I smiled at her and handed her the tea. She thanked me as she took it out of my hand.

  After putting pizza on each of our plates, I handed hers to her and we both started eating.

  Once we had both taken a few bites, I asked, “So what do I need to know about tomorrow?”

  “I’m sorry?”

  I took another bite of my food, chewed, swallowed, and explained, “You said that you were performing at Lou’s tomorrow night. What time do you need to be there? When does the performance itself start?”

  “Oh. I start at nine, but usually get there an hour ahead of time. Why?”

  I continued to eat as I raised my eyebrows at her.

  She stared back at me as she slowly chewed her food.

  “Seriously, El?”

  She nodded.

  “I’m going to be there with you to make sure nothing happens to you. Depending on what my boys find between now and then, I may have an extra guy or two on hand tomorrow night as well. Lou’s is usually packed just because of what it is. I’ve seen what it’s like when you perform. There’s hardly standing room.”

  She swallowed hard and fretted, “Levi, it’s not snowboarding season.”

  My brows pulled together, confused at her statement.

  “Unless there’s a snowboarding contest, Wes, Charley, Zane, Emme, and the rest of their friends all come to watch me. He’s going to see you there and know something is up.”

  “You aren’t going there alone, sunshine. I think you’re going to need to figure out quickly how you are going to break this news to him. I know you are worried that he just came back from his honeymoon, but I’ve got to be honest, I think he’s going to be pissed you didn’t tell him what was happening the minute you knew something was wrong.”