Hidden Love by MINK
5
Silas
Pressure points are interesting things. All of us have them throughout our bodies. If stimulated correctly, they can bring anyone to their knees. For example, constricting the pneumogastric nerve in the side of the neck can do one of two things--lose control of their bowels or pass out--possibly both.
The bouncer is in the ‘both’ category as I pinch his nerve, then pull him away from Jamie. I drag him deeper into the dark wall along the back of the crowded club. A few onlookers turn and glance at us, but they just shrug. I suppose plenty of people pass out at this place. The booze and drugs are thick.
I dump him in a booth that smells of stale vomit near the lines for the bathrooms. He stinks, but he’s lucky he’s going to live through the night. I’d happily knife him, but too many people saw me. I’m too careful to go down for killing this idiot.
Turning, I ease through the crowd and see a mass of curly hair bouncing out the front doors.
Following, I cut past the dancers and the professional ladies, then hurry onto the street. Jamie’s Lyft pulls away, and I take a breath. Safe. She’s safe.
I flex my fists. Maybe I should go back in and finish him. I’d heard him speak to her and could almost feel the filthy thoughts in his head. He should die for touching her without permission. But getting caught isn’t part of the plan. Not when Jamie needs me.
With a sigh, I return to my car and start it up. Following the Lyft is easy. I always know where Jamie is. She hasn’t noticed, but her location app is turned on at all times. For her safety, of course. And so that I keep my cool. If I thought for a second she was in danger, I have no doubt I’d snap. Better to keep tabs on her than run into any unforeseen situations.
The Lyft drops her off at home. I wait down the block for ten minutes or so, then pull into my driveway and enter my house. I strip off my shirt. That bouncer’s Axe is all over it. Gross. I might have to burn the thing.
Jamie’s lights are on. She sits in her living room bent over her laptop with something in her hands. I can’t quite see it, so I head to the dining room and plop down.
Toby’s tail flicks past the camera, then clears.
“What is that?” I peer closely at the screen.
“Ugh!” She wipes a few stray curls from her forehead. “This is impossible.”
“Nothing’s impossible for you, dream girl,” I whisper back. When I realize what she’s holding, a smile breaks across my face and I sit back. “Breaking and entering is a gateway crime, Jamie.”
She reaches for her laptop. I follow her screen on my software, watching as she clicks to YouTube and opens her favorite Nyan Cat video. I’ve never understood her fascination with a half cat/half PopTart, but then again, it makes a lot of sense. She’s quirky and wonderful.
“Do you have any idea how much I love you?” I pet the screen as she goes back to her bobby pin and tries to bend it into a lockpick.
“It’s never going to work that way. You need two if you want to trigger the locking mechanism.” I wish I could show her the right way to do it. One day, I will. But for now, all I can do is watch. Killing Trevor has delayed my plans, but not for too long. Once the police lose interest, I can finally get my dream girl and show her I’m the man for her.
Until then, I need to keep her safe.
A shadow on my backyard feed catches my eye. I turn and look at it, even though I hate taking my eyes off Jamie.
“What are you? Raccoon?” I zoom in as far as I can.
The shadow doesn’t move, just hugs the wide oak along the back property line. The old tree has probably been there for as long as Jamie’s little Victorian bungalow has stood. It’s thick and gnarled in places and casts interesting shadows in the moonlight. But there’s something different this time.
I focus on it. The hackles on the back of my neck rise. Someone’s there. I can feel it. Why is someone creeping around Jamie’s house this late at night? Whatever the reason, it can’t be good.
My hand strays to the knife I have strapped beneath my desk.
I go to release the velcro holding it in place, but my doorbell rings.
“Silas?” Jamie’s voice.
The shadow moves again, and then it’s gone.
“Shit.” I release the hilt of my blade.
“Bad time?” Her voice falls.
Oh, fuck the smart doorbell triggered and she can hear me.
“No!” I jump up and dash out of the dining room. “I’m coming,” I yell into my watch.
I slam the French doors on the dining room closed, then hurry to the foyer.
“Silas? Sorry to bother you, but do you happen to have like, I don’t know, some sort of pliers or something I can use to make a--”
I open the door.
“A um.” She blinks and stares at my chest. That’s when I realize I’m not wearing a shirt.
“Hi.” I don’t really know what else to say. She’s taken me off guard, just like she did when I first saw her. “What is it you needed?”
Her big blue eyes don’t reach my face. I can almost feel her gaze on my skin. My cock begins to harden, heat flowing through me.
“I came for a lickdick.”
I cough into my hand. “Excuse me?”
She blinks, as if snapping out of a haze, and fire lights in her cheeks almost instantly. “What did I just say?”
“Do you really want me to repeat it?” I raise a brow.
“I um, no. I--” She clears her throat. “Lockpick. That’s what I was trying to say. Not, you know, not whatever it was I actually said.”
I want to tell her she never has to be embarrassed around me, that I know every detail about her, even the things she keeps hidden away. None of it--not a single thing--has deterred me from her. From the only dream I’ve ever had.
“A lockpick? Did one of your front door locks get stuck? I can call a locksmith--”
“No.” She shakes her head and steps back.
“Wait.” I move out of the way. “Come in, please.”
“It’s not safe for you,” she whispers.
“I have you to protect me.” I reach out my hand, my heart right there even though she can’t see it. Will she take it? Will she make me the man that only she can? A good man, one who’ll never be worthy of her love but seeks it all the same?
I hold my breath and leave my hand out, lingering between her world and mine, waiting for the connection I’ve longed for my whole life.
