Page 6 of Rescued By the Marine

“Wow, that’s amazing.”

“I didn’t think so. I wanted to turn it down, but my mom convinced me to do it. She said that I’d regret it if I didn’t. I had to scramble for an agent, luckily my family knew several and a lawyer. The show took off and I realized that I loved acting.”

“Do you really love it?” he asks.

“Of course,” I answer with no hesitation, but is it the truth?

“What about you? Were you born to be a Marine?”

“No, I got into some trouble and had to join,” he answers without any shame. “I was so angry at the time, but it was the best thing that could’ve ever happened.”

“I think things work out the way they're supposed to, don’t you?” I ask.

He slowly nods as our eyes lock on each other. Could us being here together be something that was always supposed tohappen? I search his face for the answer, but I don’t see it before he looks away.

“I’ll clean this up. You go pick a movie or something for us to watch.” He starts collecting the dishes.

“I can do it since you cooked,” I offer taking my bowl and empty plate over to the sink. “It’s just rinsing things out and loading the dishwasher.”

“Why don’t we do it together, so we get it done faster.” He sets the rest of the dirty dishes to one side of the sink and opens the dishwasher, holding out his hand for the already rinsed off dish to put in.

I smile at him and get to work. We work together in silence, and it feels like the perfect end to our dinner. My stomach is full, and my heart feels happy in his presence, but there’s a part of me waiting for the shoe to drop. He hasn’t asked about the stalker yet, and I know it’s only a matter of time before he does. I hate to ruin what’s become a great night, but reality is what it is. Kane wouldn’t be here with me if it weren’t for the stalker and once they’ve caught him, Kane will leave, and I’ll go back to being alone with my scripts.

6

KANE

Tonight has beenone of the best nights I remember having in a long time. Getting to know Violet has left me wanting more and more of her. She’s gorgeous, smart, and funny.

Sitting on the sofa, we trade stories about Zoe and our families. She grew up surprisingly normal even though she was exposed to Hollywood at a young age.

Every minute we spend together, I become more attracted to this woman and it becomes harder to not touch her. We started the night on opposite ends of the sofa but somehow gravitated toward each other. Our thighs now press up against each other and every once in a while, she leans her head on my shoulder when she laughs or sighs.

If I could, I’d put off this hard conversation I know we have to have next and take her into the bedroom. I’d use my body to make her forget everything, but I can’t do that. I need to remember that I can’t do that.

“Violet?” I say her name softly.

“I know, we have to talk about the stalker, don’t we?”

“We do, gorgeous. I know you don’t want to, but I need to know exactly what’s happening so I can protect you.” I gentlyturn her face so she’s looking at me. “Nothing is going to happen to you. I promise.”

She swallows hard and nods her head. Her mouth is so close, I could close the gap between us and taste her. She licks her lips and a moan escapes from my throat. My dick is so hard in my pants and if Violet looked down, the outline against my gym pants would give me away.

I try to scoot away from her and put space between us, but Violet moves with me. “I know that it’s inappropriate, and you can say no, but can you stay close while I show you these?”

Fuck. Her voice, usually so strong and clear, is small and timid.

“Of course, gorgeous,” I say as I pull her against my body. I don’t care if she can tell I’m turned on. She needs comfort and I’m going to give it to her. “Whatever you need.”

“Thank you, Kane.”

She grabs her tablet from the sofa cushion next to her. “I have copies of all the letters here. I made notes that say when I received them, who I told, where they were, what I’d been doing that day, and if anything weird happened before the letter was delivered.”

I look through the folder she’s put together. It’s thorough and full of good information.

“Did you share this with Adam?” I ask.

“Yes, Zoe has a copy, too.”

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