Jake had known the chances were slim, but when it came to Liv’s safety, he wasn’t assuming anything.
He’d just gotten off the phone with Ryker when Trevor called to inform him that Carlos Hernandez was definitely Liv’s stalker. According to Trevor, the evidence recovered from the guy’s apartment left no doubt.
The sheriff and his deputies found several pictures of Olivia from the past two months spread around the sick fuck’s apartment. His computer’s search engine was filled with inquiries on snakes indigenous to Madagascar, and there was a link to an underground site of sorts where one could illegally order rare animals—including the ghost snake—saved on the idiot’s desktop.
As if that wasn’t enough, they found a receipt for a large bouquet of daisies the same day Olivia reported her break-in. So, that was it. Case closed.
Why he chose to focus on Liv, they’d never know. Jake didn’t care about the why’s, though. Only that Olivia was here, with him. And she was safe.
He glanced at his watch. Nearly an hour had passed since Olivia had disappeared to shower and rest. Jake rubbed some tension out of his neck as he walked back to her bedroom to get some rest himself. The door was open just a crack, and there was a soft light spilling through it.
Slowly, Jake opened it and stepped inside the room. Instead of lying in bed, as he’d expected, he found her sitting in her oversized chair.
She was asleep, the light from a floor lamp positioned next to the chair. Trying not to disturb her, Jake reached over and turned the lamp off.
Jake started to close the curtains, but when he glanced back down at her, his hand froze, and he lost the ability to breathe.
The moonlight coming through the uncovered window illuminated her face. She looked like a vision. With her head tilted to the side, Olivia was resting against the chair’s tall, cushioned back.
The dark waves of her hair cascaded down over her shoulders, and—Fuck me—she was wearing the nightgown from their night at the motel in Venezuela.
Jake’s gaze dropped to her legs, and he swallowed hard, trying not to focus on the way one leg was bent and how the position had pushed the gown to well above her knee. He forced himself to ignore the ache he felt between his legs and how badly he wanted to touch her.
She’d been attacked. As much as he wanted her again, she needed her rest.
For the first time since entering the room, Jake noticed the small photo album lying in Olivia’s lap. It was open to a page that held pictures of her, Mike, and Jake, and Pops.
They were from a camping trip Pops had taken them all on when Jake and Mike were in high school. Jake smiled at the memory. Man, he missed that guy.
He ignored the guilt he felt for not coming clean to Olivia about what really happened to Mike. He also paid no attention to the little voice in the back of his head, telling him he needed to make that particular confession soon.
Jake already knew this. He just prayed he could find a way to make her understand.
Olivia looked so peaceful, he couldn’t bring himself to wake her. Instead, he decided to put the book away, cover her with a blanket, and lie down on the bed alone.
Before leaving the hospital, the doctor had told him that they no longer woke concussion patients up every hour the way they used to, so he’d let her be. She needed to relax and get a good night’s sleep.
Carefully, Jake reached for the book, but as he lifted it from her lap, Olivia came to. He sat the album onto the floor next to the chair and crouched down in front of her. She looked at him with sleepy, confused eyes.
“Jake? What is it? What’s wrong?”
His brow creased. He hated that her first thought upon waking was that something bad had happened.
“Nothing’s wrong, sweetheart. I didn’t mean to wake you. I was just about to get you a blanket. But since you’re up, you should know the sheriff’s department confirmed Hernandez was the man who’d been stalking you.”
She yawned, looking so damn cute, his cock twitched. Christ, it was like everything she did turned him on.
He was determined not to make a move on her tonight, but it was taking every ounce of strength he had not to push that nightgown up higher, put his head between her legs, and take her in his mouth.
“Okay,” Olivia’s sleepy voice interrupted his thoughts. “So, that’s it, then. It’s over?”
She shifted to sit up straighter. Jake nearly choked when the movement inadvertently pushed her nightgown even further up on her thighs, as he’d imagined doing himself just seconds before.
He knew she was completely unaware that, given his current position, he was now able to see the black lace panties, barely covering her, beneath it.
Clearing his throat, Jake forced himself to look back up into her eyes. The moonlight wasn’t overly bright, but it was enough he could see the pain and fear that was still there.
“Yeah, baby. It’s over.”
He rested both hands on her knees, immediately wishing he hadn’t. Not because he didn’t want to touch her. Touching Olivia was his new favorite pastime, but he came in here to make sure she was okay, not seduce her.
Mustering up more self-control than he thought he had, Jake ignored the heat beneath his fingertips and focused on the task at hand.
“How are you feeling?”
“Better. A little sore, but I’m okay.” She must have sensed the inner turmoil churning inside him, because she added, “Stop blaming yourself, Jake. This wasn’t your fault.”
He reached up and took her cheek in his hand. “Can’t help it. I told you before, sweetheart. It’s my job to keep you safe. It always has been, but lately I feel like I’m constantly failing you.”
****
Olivia could barely swallow for the tightening of her throat. She moved forward in
