Page 32 of Falling Fast

He walked into the elevator with her, stuffed his hands into his pockets where he could curl them into fists without giving himself away. In the silence, Charlie glanced over at him with a questioning look but didn’t say anything, then went back to staring at the closed doors in front of them.

That dress was killing him. Not being able to stop this was killing him. Not being able totouchher was killing him.

Cables groaned and shuddered as the elevator reached their floor. Jamie clenched his jaw, unable to stop his mind from spinning. He’d never struggled like this on a job before.

But none of the jobs had ever involved a woman he’d fallen in love with.

Thinking of what could happen tomorrow night at the party was slowly ripping him apart inside. How the hell was he going to protect her if he couldn’t be in the office with her?

He had to find a way. He’d promised her and Easton. Could never live with himself if Baker assaulted her.

He studied Charlie’s profile, aching inside. She was so strong and loyal and proud. Imagining Baker wounding or breaking her spirit tomorrow night made him want to smash his fist into the elevator wall.

The elevator doors opened. It smelled like someone on their floor was cooking something Italian. Their footsteps were silent on the hallway carpet as Charlie walked ahead of him. Her door loomed up ahead in the middle of the hallway. In just another few seconds she’d unlock it and disappear inside her apartment.

His pulse thudded hard in his ears, seeming to grow louder with every step. He didn’t want to let her go. Needed to touch her, kiss her, stake some kind of claim on her once and for all so that even if Baker did put his filthy hands on her tomorrow, maybe the memory of Jamie’s touch would erase it. Or at least make it easier for her to bear somehow.

She put her key into her lock, paused to glance at him. “Have I done something wrong?”

“No,” he bit out. She’d been perfect so far.

Her expression hardened at his tone and she turned away. “Okay. Goodnight.”

When she stepped inside and started to shut the door, something inside him snapped.

He slapped a palm against the door to stop it from closing in his face. Her eyes jerked up to his, widened as she stared at him through the gap.

Before the logical part of his brain could take over he barged in and locked the door behind him. Charlie backed away a few feet and stopped, facing him warily, her posture and expression tense. “What?” she demanded.

Jamie clenched his jaw. “I didn’t like the way he looked at you.”

She stared at him with those big brown eyes and he felt himself falling, being sucked into them. Into her.

“I didn’t like the way he talked to you.” He took a step toward her, aware he was on the verge of doing something stupid and not giving a damn. Shit, his breathing was erratic, his heart clattering against his ribs. “I didn’t like the way hetouchedyou.”

Charlie held her ground, unmoving, her eyes searching his, full of stunned disbelief. “Jamie, what…?”

Did she really not understand what she meant to him? His heart hammered against his ribs. “And I don’t want you to be alone with him for even one second tomorrow night.”

She looked so calm, so composed, and he was about to lose his shit. “I have to be. It’s the only way to get to the laptop.”

“Fuck the laptop.” Even as he snarled it he knew how insane he sounded, how insane he was acting. “Fuck Baker, fuck this entire operation.”

“Jamie…”

No.

He stopped directly in front of her, so close she had to tip her head back to look him in the eye, her seductive scent swirling around him. Making him drunk. Or crazy. He had to be crazy to be saying all this. “You asked me why you.”

Her eyes searched his, and she nodded.

“You’re family oriented. I like that. A lot. I like the loyalty you’ve shown to your family, and how you helped out Wyatt and your dad when they were recovering. I love that you grabbed a rifle that night in September and ran outside to protect your family and home without flinching—even though it drove me fucking crazy at the same time. I love how brave you were after you shot a man and tried not to show how rattled you were. I admire you for stepping up and taking on this op, even though you’re scared, and you should be.”

Charlie merely stared back at him, as if at a loss for words.

So he just kept going, the words pouring out of him now. “You know what a job like mine entails, you understand the risks involved and you can handle it. Most women can’t. You’re independent, which is good, because it would never work between us otherwise, since I’m gone a lot.”

Her eyebrows pulled together. “But I’m not—”

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