Page 36 of Under Your Scars

Still inside me, he kisses up my spine until he reaches my cheek. My body begins to tremble with not only the brutal crash from an incredible high, but also fear.

Fear. Because what did I just let happen? This is wrong for so many reasons.

Panic overtakes me and I hiss when he pulls out of me. I scramble to try and find my clothes scattered across the room.

“Elena.”

I ignore him as I look for my bra.God,where the fuck did it go?

“Elena.”

I ignore him again, finally opting to just say fuck the bra and wear my hair down for the rest of my shift to cover my boobs. “I have to go,” I choke out.

“Elena,” he repeats, gently catching me by my face and stroking his thumbs across my cheeks. “Take a deep breath. Everything’s fine.”

“No, everything is not fine!” I exclaim, my voice a clear indication of my distress. “Holy shit, what have we done?” I grab my forehead like my brain has fallen out of my skull.

“Tell me I didn’t completely read the situation wrong.”

He stuffs his hands in his pockets, his belt still unbuckled around his waist. Guilt traces his features, and it hits me that he thinks he took advantage of me. Not in the sexy way, but in the ‘I’m going to the police’ kind of way.

“No. No…I promise it’s not that. Everything we just did was consensual but so, so stupid. You have no idea what kind of danger I just put you in.”

“Elena, breathe,” Christian coos, cupping my cheeks again. “Relax. Tell me what’s going on.”

“I have a stalker.” I take a deep breath. “It’s…it’s the Meridian City Silencer.” As hard as that was to admit, my chest immediately feels lighter. I’ve been keeping it to myself for weeks. Christian’s face softens. “He’s killed eight people for touching me. He killed three people for chasing me into an alley and then he killed all five of Frank Valenti’s friends for groping me during one of my shifts. He’s dangerous and I…I just don’t want him to find out about this and come after you, too. This can’t happen again.”

Christian wraps his arms around me in a comforting gesture, coaxing me to rest my head on his broad chest and listen to the thump of his heart. “I am not scared of the Silencer, Elena. Nothing is going to happen to me.”

Big tears find their way to my eyes and drip down my cheeks. “I made a deal with him to keep you safe,” I admit shamefully, like I’ve done something wrong. “He wants some information about Frank and this club. I told him I’d help if he promised not to hurt you.”

Christian looks down at me and tilts my chin up to look into my wet eyes. “You made a deal with a serial killer to protectme?”

I get it. He’s a rich man and he thinks he’s untouchable, but no amount of money will save him if the Silencer chooses him as his next victim.

Christian uses a hand on my lower back to lead me to the sofa, instructing me to sit and hands me the glass of champagne I’ve barely touched. He downs his own glass in one gulp, then pours himself another.

He hands me his cell phone and unlocks it for me. “Text yourself.” He walks over to the in-suite sink to clean himself up. He glances at me through the mirror and watches me bite my lip.

“You want my phone number? We must be getting serious, Mr. Reeves.”

“I’ve been serious about you from the moment we met.”

He takes a seat next to me, champagne in hand, and glances at his watch. “I’ll take you home after your shift. You get off at one, right?”

I raise an eyebrow. “How do you know that?”

Something unknown flashes across his gaze. “Kate told me.”

That doesn’t surprise me. I told Kate that I had a thing with a rich man from work, and I’m sure once Christian came here to bribe her to cover for me yesterday, she put the pieces together.

He smiles at me, warm and genuine, and I can’t deny it anymore. I have a big crush on the CEO of my company. It’s probably way too late for that realization considering we just fucked in a shady nightclub.

“What are you thinking about?” he asks. I take a sip of champagne to try and hide the shy smile creeping up my face.

“This. Us,” I admit. “What does this really mean to you? I won’t hold it against you if you feel differently, but I’m not really into the idea of being the CEO’s mistress. I know it’s such a turnoff to ask what we are after sex, but I just…I have to know. I don’t want either of us to get hurt.”

“I’d never hurt you.” He scoots closer to me and caresses my cheek with the back of his hand and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. “If you want to know what we are, I’ll answer your question with another question. Would you like to go steady with me?”