Page 9 of The Burdens We Share (Satan’s Angels #3)

Ivory

I told Nate the news after our little meeting in my kitchen. He didn’t take very well to the idea of Dallas living with me temporarily, though I’m not sure if it’s because the thought of Dallas so close to me irks him or if it’s that mutual dislike they seem to have for each other.

Nate left for the studio about two hours ago and so did Selene. Dallas stayed back and the thought of being alone with him freaked me out so much that I hid in the movie theater and binge watched a few episodes of The Vampire Diaries, kiss my ass, Selene!

I’m fully intent on staying in my movie theater all day and avoiding Dallas until I hear a banging noise and what sounds like an electric screw gun.

I jolt upright and toss my blankets to the side, leaping up from the sofa to track down where the noise is coming from and what the fuck Dallas must be doing.

I follow the noise all the way to my entryway where the front door is.

The thudding in my chest is louder than the drill.

Lo and behold, Dallas is screwing something into the wall of my house.

“Hey! What are you doing?” I snap. I swear to God if he scratched the paint on my perfect white walls, I’d scratch his eyes out.

Dallas stops drilling for a moment and glances at me with an expression that seems to say, what does it look like I’m doing? He looks at the wall and then back at me as if the answer is obvious and he doesn’t have to say it.

I cross my arms over my chest and give him an angry glare, “You better not have scratched the paint on my walls.”

Dallas’ stone cold exterior shifts into an amused expression that looks entirely foreign on his face. “You have someone stalking you and you care more about the paint on your walls than me installing an upgraded security system?”

So that’s what he’s doing. Upgrading my security. “I care about both,” I defend, even though I know I look and sound pretty stupid.

His eyes linger on me for another moment before he continues his drilling.

I take the opportunity to fully assess his appearance.

His gray Armani suit jacket is tossed carelessly on the floor like yesterday’s laundry and he’s wearing a white button-down with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

Wow. So this is what Brody meant about Harvey in a suit.

I watch as the muscles in Dallas’ forearms move and I can practically feel drool dripping down my chin. Get it together, Ivory.

There is just something about this man that I find so unbelievably attractive.

I’m not sure if it’s the darkness surrounding him that adds to his allure or if it’s just his perfect features, but there’s something about him that just makes every other man look dull in comparison.

It’s unfair, really—how someone so closed-off could be so dangerously magnetic.

As if he can feel me ogling him he asks without turning his head to face me, “Are you just gonna stand there and stare at me?”

“I am not staring,” I defend a little too fast. Too guilty. I try to lace my tone with playfulness as if the thought of me staring at him is amusing, but it’s a futile effort because we both know I was staring.

He finally glances in my direction and smirks. I roll my eyes, “So what about this security system, anyway?” I ask, hoping to change the subject.

Dallas places the electric drill at his feet and stands up to his full height once more, tapping the screen of the white box he drilled into my wall.

I take a step closer to him to get a better look, but make sure there’s still about five feet of distance between us.

He responds as he taps, “This is an entirely new system. My company manufactures the system and the software, so I know it’s the best.”

I know nothing about security or software, but knowing that Dallas has full faith in the device is comforting in a strange way.

I don’t entirely trust him, but I do trust his company.

“Thank you,” my voice is low. I don’t particularly enjoy saying things like “thank you,” or “please,” or “I’m sorry,” especially that one, but Dallas doesn’t have to be dedicating his time to protecting me.

He also didn’t have to install all of this.

He gives me a strange look and his jaw looks a little tight before he dips his chin, “You’re welcome.” He takes a step back from the screen and gestures towards it with his head, “Do you want me to show you how it works?”

I nod and feel my breath catch as I take a step closer to him.

So much for keeping distance between us.

I keep my arms wrapped around myself as I walk and I stop about a foot away from him.

I don’t think I’ve ever been this close to him.

Now that I am, I can smell his expensive cologne and I take a long inhale.

He smells fucking amazing. Whatever he’s wearing, it has a bergamot and amberwood note to it. Maybe even a little pepper.

“Can you see the screen from there?” He asks, a raised brow.

I take another baby step towards him because I can’t really see the screen, but also because I want to breathe in more of that cologne.

I avoid his eyes and focus on the screen and he provides me with a quick tutorial on how the system works.

He shows me how to arm and disarm it and he also teaches me how to use the panic button.

“But what if I’m not in the system and I need to hit the panic button?

” I hoped that would never happen, but if it did, I wanted to be ready.

Dallas is standing so close to me that I can feel his breath on the top of my head.

I never realized how much shorter I am than him.

Sure, I knew he was huge. There’s no denying that.

He has to be around six-foot-four and easily over two-hundred pounds of solid muscle.

I didn’t even doubt the possibility that he was working with a lot of muscle under that dress shirt.

Maybe even hiding a six-pack under there.

“Ivory,” his voice seemed amused and I jolted upright, my eyes widening.

Fuck! I was caught ogling him again. “Yes?”

He tilts his head at me again, “Are you paying attention?”

I nod, “Yes, of course I am.”

“Then what did I say?” Bastard. He knows he’s caught me.

My cheeks turn pink and I frown. He smirks at me and extends his hand, “Can I have your phone?”

I reach into my pocket and withdraw the pink cherry phone case, “For what?”

He gives my phone a questioning look and brings his eyes back up to mine, “Really? Even a pink case?”

I hand it to him and try to avoid grazing his fingers before I let my hands fall to my sides. “It’s my favorite color,” I defend.

He starts typing away at my phone and asks, “Even a blind person could see that.” I almost laugh, but I stifle it with a cough.

From the twitch of his lips, I can tell he knows I almost laughed.

“I need to download the app on your phone and set it up so that you can access the entire system from anywhere in the house or outside of the house.”

“Does it work off Wi-Fi?” What if I lost service and needed to press the panic button? Aria once made me watch this horror movie where the killer cut the phone line and all the service. What if that happened to me and I was attacked or killed?

“Ivory? Breathe,” Dallas commands in his dark voice, his eyes fully focused on my face. I suck in a small breath and realize my panic caused me to stop breathing. “Where did you just go?” He asks.

I feel cold all of a sudden and I clutch my arms around myself.

“I just…” How can I explain this without sounding paranoid?

“I just know sometimes things can happen and service can be messed with. I’m just a little worried that maybe something will happen and I won’t be able to use the panic button if I need to. ”

His jaw clenches and he looks suddenly impossibly angry, but not at me. “You will never have to use the panic button. But even if you did, it will work with or without service.”

I let out a relieved breath, “Never say never,” I mutter under my breath.

Dallas’ gaze is suddenly more intense than ever, “I will not let anyone close enough to you that you need to use that button.”

He seems so convinced of his own words. He actually believes what he’s saying and that makes me relax a bit. Dallas doesn’t strike me as the kind of man who breaks promises. Especially not when his hazel eyes are as intense as they are right now. I nod, “Okay.”

He continues his tutorial and shows me how to use the app.

I pay very close attention the entire time, and when he’s finished, he hands me back my phone.

“I also installed a panel in your bedroom.” He was in my room?

I blush at the thought of him in my bedroom.

Why am I acting like a little schoolgirl who just discovered boys for the first time?

“Thanks,” I take a step back and catch sight of a large object in my peripheral vision.

I turn to get a better look and find three large suitcases lined up in my hallway.

I point to them, “Is that all yours? When did you bring all that here?” Dallas never left my house.

That would have required him to leave me alone and he wouldn’t be doing that any time soon considering his new role.

Did he have someone pack and bring his things here in such a short amount of time?

How could someone have gathered every single item that he needed like that unless they knew him well?

He answers, his eyes on me rather than his luggage, “Someone on my staff delivered all of it an hour ago.”

But who packed it? Who could’ve known what he’d need for an extended period of time?

“Your staff must know you well if they packed everything you’d need.

” Maybe he had a girlfriend or a wife who packed it for him?

I glanced down at his hands but didn’t catch sight of any ring.

Not married then. Maybe a girlfriend? I don’t know why, but the thought of Dallas having a girlfriend brought a bitter taste to my tongue.

He smirks knowingly and explains, “I packed it myself.”

“How? You never left here.”

He gives me a devilish look, “I packed it before I came here with Selene.”

If that were true, that would mean that he packed it before I agreed to him staying here.

The cocky bastard knew I would cave. I practically fell into his mouse trap.

I frown at him and turn on my heel, no longer wanting to be in his presence.

If I gave it another few minutes, I’d forget about his arrogance and probably start ogling him. Distance was good. Distance was safe.

Dallas calls to my back, “Tomorrow morning you have to be on set for your movie. I’ll drive you and I’ll be on set with you.”

I groan, “Great.”

I can hear a very faint, very low laugh, but a laugh nonetheless.

It immediately causes a smile to form on my lips at the sound of it and I almost, almost forget that I should be angry at him.

God, if I almost caved on day one I don’t even want to know what I’m going to do in a week or two weeks from now.

Just how long would he be my shadow? I hope he finds my stalker soon because the sooner he catches him, the sooner he can get lost.