Page 40 of Death Wish

He stood, tugging Simone to her feet, and wrapped his arms around her.

She snuggled in and sighed as his warmth seeped into her bones. Comfort and safety. That’s what his arms meant to her. That, and the sweet, honorable man holding her was in a class of his own. Trevor was nothing like Jesse. How she had been stupid enough to settle for Trevor was beyond her.

“He won’t touch you again,” Jesse murmured. “He’ll have to go through me first, then the Artemis team. Trust me, Simone. He doesn’t stand a chance of getting through all of us. You’re safe.”

“For the first time in my life, I believe that.” She tightened her hold around his waist. “Thank you for giving me security.”

He tilted her head up toward his and captured her mouth in a sizzling passionate kiss that burned Simone to the bone. On and on the kiss went, sending her into the stratosphere.

When he finally lifted his head minutes or hours later, Simone stared at him. “What was that?”

“A sample of what we’re capable of together.”

“We don’t have an audience.”

“I don’t want one. This is about you and me, not an audience. So, what do you say? Are you willing to take a chance on me?”

“What about Trevor?”

“What about him?”

“He’s not going away. If he thinks I betrayed him with another man, he’ll go ballistic. I don’t want you hurt because of me.”

“I’m exactly where I want to be, by your side. We’ll handle Trevor together. Regardless of whether we’re dating for real, I will keep you safe from him.”

Did she dare take a chance? She knew what Trevor was like. His obsessive personality was the reason she’d fled from San Francisco. If she agreed to date Jesse, she would be dragging him into the line of fire. As things stood, Trevor didn’t know for sure if she was involved with the medic.

Stupid. Of course he would suspect she and Jesse were involved. They were living in the same house. Trevor would jump to the obvious conclusion that she and Jesse were more than roommates.

“What’s your answer, Simone?”

She grabbed onto her courage with both hands and leaped into the unknown, praying she’d have a soft landing. “Yes.”

A slow, heated smile curved his mouth. “You won’t regret it. I swear I’ll treat you like a princess.”

She snorted. “I’m no princess but I appreciate the sentiment. I’m just a cranky, obsessed computer hacker who spends most of her time behind a computer screen.”

“We’ll have to change some of your ways. A date now and then to break up the monotony.”

“I hope I don’t disappoint you.”

“Be yourself, and I’ll be the happiest man on the planet.” After another slow kiss, Jesse said, “Think you can focus enough to search for the cameras around Trevor’s house now?”

She nodded. “If you change your mind about dating me, just say so, okay? I don’t want to find out from someone else that you’re unhappy.”

“I don’t play games in relationships, babe. If I have a problem, you’ll know about it. I expect the same from you. We’re exclusive unless we decide we aren’t. Deal?”

“Deal.” It wasn’t like she had a line of men begging for dates. The last time she’d been on a date was with Trevor. Definitely not anything good to remember on that one. That was the last time Trevor had laid a hand on her, and she’d filed charges against him because of her injuries.

“Need a snack before we go back to work?”

She shook her head. The thought of eating anything made her stomach lurch.

“If you change your mind, let me know.”

Simone returned to her seat and searched for security and traffic cameras near Trevor’s rented house. Three hours later, she pushed back from the table and stretched. Time to call it quits for the night. Her head hurt and her vision was blurry. “I just sent you the camera footage I found around Trevor’s house.”

“Perfect timing. I just sent you information I gathered from DA’s database on the special projects members. Planning to stay up and review the information tonight?”

---