Page 111 of Under His Protection
It feels amazing as he sinks deep inside me, pulls out almost all the way, and slides back inside in one fluid move. Over and over he thrusts, his jaw tight, his neck and arm muscles straining.
He comes hard and fast, throwing his head back with a hoarse cry. I can feel his erection bucking inside me, once, twice,and again. He leans down to kiss me before he rolls us onto our sides. “Feel free to try anything you want on me at any time. I’m at your disposal.”
I chuckle as he kisses me once. We lie here together for a few moments, catching our breath.
Eventually, he sits up to remove the condom. “I’ll be right back.”
I hear him in the bathroom. A few moments later he returns and slides back into bed with me, pulling me close and wrapping me in his arms. “I love you, Haley Donovan. I love you, and I need you in my life. Always.”
His words bring a smile to my face. “Same.”
Laughing, he tickles me. “Is that all I get?Same?”
I squeal in his arms. “No fair! No tickling.” I turn in his arms to face him, gazing into his eyes as I brush his hair back. “I love you, too, Philip Underwood, love of my life. You’re my person, my hero, and my protector. You’re my true love and best friend. Always. I still don’t know how I got so lucky.”
He drops a kiss on the tip of my nose. “That’s much better. But for the record, I’m the lucky one.” And then he wraps his arm around my waist and tucks me in close to his body.
I don’t have a crystal ball, so I can’t know what the future will bring, but the one thing I can be sure of is that he’ll always be my protector.
Chapter 34 – Haley
Thursday is moving day, and it’s bittersweet. On the one hand, I’m happy to be returning to the dorm. But on the other hand, I hate leaving Philip. I hate leaving the safehouse, too. I wasn’t here for very long, but it quickly became my newhome.
And then there’s Charlie and Mateo. Charlie has been like a big sister to me, and I feel really close to her now. I’m going to miss her. Mateo has been like a big brother. The two of them always had my back and made me feel not just safe, but welcome.
After my classes are finished for the day, Philip helps me carry my boxes up to my dorm room and put my stuff away. Melissa’s there, so we have a small reunion of sorts.
Philip hangs around for the afternoon, and we go out with Melissa for an early dinner. Tacos on Lafayette Street! As we pass Mama Bella’s, a chill runs down my spine. I keep picturing the gun Christian had hidden beneath his jacket. Just thinking about what could have gone wrong that night makes me shudder.
After dinner, Philip heads back to his apartment. He needs to catch up on laundry because he was away for so long. I want to walk him to his truck, but he insists on coming in and seeing me to my dorm room.
Melissa is kind enough to make herself scarce while we say goodbye, giving us some excuse that she needs to go to the library.
I can’t help tearing up as I say goodnight to Philip.
He wraps me in his arms, and I melt against him. “Do you want to spend the weekend at my apartment?” he asks. “I can pick you up tomorrow after I get off work.”
I nod against his shirt. “I would love that.”
* * *
Friday is the first day I’m back on campus without Philip. It feels weird not having him with me. I got spoiled.
As I’m having lunch with Layla and Jasmine after our history class, I receive a phone call from Detective Bauer. It catches me off guard. I thought everything was done in relation to Christian.
“Hello, Detective,” I say as I answer the call.
“Haley, hi. I’m sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if you could come to my office this afternoon when you’re done with classes. Is Philip with you?”
“No, he’s gone back to work now that Christian has been apprehended and I’m living on campus again.”
“Do you mind if I give him a call and ask him to join us? I’d like for him to be here for the meeting.”
“I don’t mind. My last class gets out at two.”
“Great. How about two-thirty?”
“That’s fine. Can I ask what this is about?”
