Page 57 of Elijah’s Whim

“Since then, all new hires are screened by my team. When you were filmed in the cooler, I had my team do the next-tier investigation to see if there were any obvious standouts that might be after you personally. Because I was thinking—at the time, of course—that that incident may have had nothing to do with Shark. This is all pretty standard information, right? I mean, it’s making sense?”

“Of course. But it still doesn’t explain why you have sealed court documents.”

The familiar sense of unease… No, who was I kidding? This wasn’t unease. The creepy-crawly feeling on my skin would manifest into full-blown tarantulas again in the next several minutes if I didn’t get a grip.

I shot up from where I was perched on the edge of the sofa cushion and started the first lap around the large open room. At that moment, I was grateful to Elijah and his castle-sized home. At least I didn’t feel like an animal in a display at the zoo.

But my foolish zookeeper didn’t get the memo about trying to wrestle the tiger when she was looking a bit feral. Elijah stepped in front of me on lap two and gripped my forearms.

Yanking from his grasp, I could tell I totally surprised him by the strength I truly possessed. “Not now, Banks,” I growled.

Hands went up like he’d just been caught trying to hot-wire one of the fancy cars in this neighborhood. “All right. All right. Tell me how to help you. It’s torture watching you like this.”

“Then answer my damn question! How. Do. You. Have. That. Information?”

“I want you to tell me what those people mean to you. The whole story. That way, I will know how to handle the small bit of information I have. Because, beautiful, I think your world is about to be turned upside down, and I want to be the one there to catch you when you fall.”

I sagged back down onto the sofa and cradled my face in my hands. He had no idea how wrong he was. If I told him what had happened when I was just a little girl, how it’d followed me around my whole life, rerouted every decision my entire family ever made, he wouldn’t want me around. I was the world’s biggest burden. He just didn’t know it yet.

I looked up to see him studying me closely, looking like he was cataloging every breath I took, every molecule of mine that shifted in space.

Tears ran hot and furious down my cheeks.

Hey, check it out! I was an animal on display after all.

And I was about to lose the best thing I ever had. And why did it hurt like he was mine to lose?

Elijah came to me and sank to his knees on the floor in front of me. Like the bossy ass he was, he growled—no shit, growled—and pushed at my knees until I spread my legs and made room for him to get closer. When he wrapped his capable and comforting arms low around my hips, I let him. I just let him. Because it would likely be the last time he showed me any sort of kindness or affection like this, and I just wanted to savor the gentle safety of this overbearing, sexy bastard for a little longer.

I ran my fingers through his tousled sandy-brown hair over and over, letting the motion calm me.

When my heart wasn’t beating in my throat and my breathing settled back to something resembling a normal rhythm, I put on the bravest voice I could. A whisper seemed all I was capable of at the moment, and I could acknowledge nothing really sounded brave while spoken at that volume. But it was all I had left.

These people stole my life. Even though they were never successful with their intention, they stole it all.

Intention.

I loathed that word in this scenario.

Deep breath in, and on the exhale, I trusted him with my biggest vulnerability. What he did with it after, well…time would tell.

“I was five years old, almost six.” I smiled, remembering how excited I had been.

Elijah studied me closely while I told my story, taking in every facial expression and cataloging every shift in weight.

“My mom always made such a big deal about our birthdays. It was the one day we had all to ourselves. With so many sisters, it was easy to get lost in the shuffle, especially since I was the oldest.”

When I didn’t say anything for a few moments, Elijah leaned back farther to directly meet my gaze.

“Do you want to get up off your knees?” I asked. “That can’t be comfortable.”

He leaned in, and his stubble scraped my ear when he spoke. In his seductive, painfully promising growl he said, “If we weren’t in the middle of a very serious conversation, I would show you how long I can spend in this position.” He leaned back again and gave me one of those naughty winks accompanied by the lazy, sultry grin.

That mischievous smile was my favorite of all the tricks he had in his lady-killer toolbox. Damn thing worked on me every time.

“I’m sorry I interrupted. But it’s a little distracting being so close to your pussy.”

“Sit up here, then.” I patted the sofa cushion beside me while grinning. “Or go back over there where you started.”