Page 11 of Layla

She frowns down at her drink and I know I’m freaking her out again. “Come on,” I say with a light hand at her back. “Let’s find a table so we can talk.” Away from the jackass who’s still looking at her like he wants to know what she looks like without that sparkly tank top on.

We find a table in a quiet corner and she immediately takes a long gulp of her drink. “I’m sorry about before,” I tell her.

She looks up at me and I’m relieved to see the spark of humor return to her eyes. “Sorry for scaring the shit out of me or sorry for being an aggressive asshole?”

I rub my hand across the back of my neck, giving her a sheepish smile. “Both.”

Her eyebrows go up. “Wow. I never thought you would admit it.”

“I’m sure you can also agree that you were being unnecessarily antagonistic and intentionally skirting the security protocol.”

She scowls again but the spark doesn’t disappear from her eye. “Fine,” she says, her jaw clenched. “I also apologize.”

I bark out a laugh. She couldn’t look less apologetic if she tried. “Look.” I lean across the table a little to catch her eye. “I don’t want you walking around scared. You should be enjoying your tour. Worrying about security is my job—I just need you to let me do that job, okay? You don’t need to be scared, but you do need to take this seriously.”

She nods, running a long, elegant finger across the rim of her glass. I tear my eyes away when she clears her throat. “It’s not easy for me. Ceding my independence to someone else.”

“I don’t want to keep you under lock and key. I just want to keep you safe.”

She looks up and the fear and vulnerability in her eyes has my chest tightening. “You really think I’m in danger?”

I watch her carefully, trying to figure out the best way to answer that question. “Honestly? Probably not. Usually cases like this, it’s just some loser with a temporary obsession.” I swallow. “But the content of the letters does concern me. And the fact that he managed to get onto your floor.” I don’t say anything about the pictures, about how close he had gotten to her in that bar. I don’t want to scare her any more than I have to.

Her eyes search my face. “Someone told you about what happened to Haylee?”

I nod. “I’m sure that history is making everyone particularly cautious, and that’s good for me.” I give her a tight smile. “I like cautious.”

She laughs. “I bet you do.”

I raise an eyebrow. “And what does that mean?”

“Oh, come on. You’re the most straight-edge guy I’ve ever met.”

“You don’t know me that well,” I mutter, wincing when I hear the heat in my voice. Why in the hell had I said that like it was an invitation?Get your shit together, I tell myself. Funny, I seem to be thinking that a lot since I met this woman. I clear my throat and glance at her empty tumbler. “You ready to head up now?”

If she heard anything inappropriate in my tone before, she doesn’t show it. She merely stands, smoothing her hands down over her thighs. I keep my eyes fixed firmly on the opposite wall, away from those skin-tight jeans.

“Lead the way,” she says, her voice soft. And even though it isn’t strictly necessary, I keep my hand protectively at the small of her back as we make our way to the elevator and up to our floor.

I pause at her door while she fumbles in her pockets for her room key. When she finally finds it, she turns back to me. She doesn’t look so anxious anymore, or angry. Instead, she seems exhausted. She gives me a weak smile. “Well…goodnight.”

I wince a little. She won’t like this. “I need to check your room.”

She gapes at me. “Why?”

I don’t bother answering, merely holding out my hand for the key. She stares at me for a long moment before her jaw clenches and she hands it over.

I’m quick but thorough as I check her room. I don’t actually think someone could have gotten in here in the half hour we were downstairs, but protocol is protocol. And it’s not something I ignore. Not ever.

Layla doesn’t meet my eyes when I return to the hall. “All set.” I nod over at my door. “I’m just next door if you need me.”

She nods once, still not meeting my eye, and then slips into her room, leaving me in the hallway, wondering how in the hell I’m going to sleep knowing she’s right on the other side of this wall.