7. Nix

seven

nix

I tried.

I really did.

Watching her from afar, knowing she was so fucking close, had me all but coming out of my skin. I felt like a feral animal caged up and ready to be freed. And I knew I wasn't being subtle about it. Jase looked at me funny before he left, and I had a weird feeling I'd have a shit load of questions to answer next time I saw him.

But I didn't care. The questions in his eyes had been piling up. My life had become wrapped up in my sweet kitten and nothing else. I didn't give a shit about grabbing a beer after work anymore. Or hanging out on our off time. Not when it meant I could talk to Vivi instead and sit outside her apartment building.

I was obsessed with everything Vivi. I needed to see her close. Touch her. Breathe the same air.

But I had to be smart about it.

My guard dropped the moment Jase went home and I knew there were only a total of four people on the floor—the front desk receptionist, a security guard, Vivi, and me. There were cops and detectives on the clock, but they were all out and about.

Watching her clean the floors, pushing a mop that felt like it was twice her size, made me die to approach her and do it for her. When I saw her head toward the back break room, the space where this whole thing started, it felt like kismet. But when I came up to her, her eyes shut as she leaned on that gigantic mop, I wanted nothing more than to wrap her up in my arms and never let her go. I wanted to spoil and comfort her. Massage her shoulders and back. Take that look of exhaustion on her face and replace it with sheer ecstasy.

She was exhausted, and I hated it.

When she turned and noticed me so fucking close to her, I'd reacted. Come up with some spur-of-the-moment bullshit excuse. And fuck me, with my back turned to her, I could feel the way she stared at me. I could feel those pretty eyes like a goddamn caress. And if I had some shred of decency, I would have walked away.

Vivi deserved someone to match her bright sunshine-like demeanor, not some old grump who only saw the bad side of shit. She deserved a better man, but that was not what she was going to get. Just the thought of another man getting close, daring to take what was mine, had me close to seeing red.

I wasn't a good man, but I was hers.

And I would do anything and everything to make her happy. I looked at my phone and should have felt guilty at the text.

Grasshopper: Cameras off. Hope you and your girl have a good weekend away.

I'd talked to my IT buddy earlier and told him I was seeing someone and wanted to surprise her with a little getaway. By the time I was done semi-truthfully explaining things to him, I wasn't sure if he was more surprised by the fact I was dating someone or that I was planning something so… adventurous.

Either way, he'd helped me out. Agreeing to turn the cameras off that faced the back of the precinct where the cleaning crew entered and exited from.

Me: Thanks, man. I owe you.

Grasshopper: And trust me, I will make you pay up. LOL. Have a good time.

I slipped my phone into my pocket and slowly started to pack my things up. All the while keeping an eye on her. I walked out waving goodbye to the receptionist and security guard. Forced myself to get into my vehicle. I drove around to the back of the building and parked my SUV in the shadows.

When I saw the time, I stepped out of it and moved closer, making sure I was cloaked under the darkness and waited with a smile on my face. The anticipation felt like it mounted by the fucking second. A pulse radiated through my body. I was going to take her. I wasn't going to ask because I wasn't going to risk her telling me no or one day discovering who I really was.

As crazy as I was, I still knew honesty was the best policy.

She was mine, and that meant I was hers. Every insane obsessed inch of me. It was wrong. But I would make sure to make things good for her. I'd love her so hard she wouldn't be able not to love me back.

Perspiration started to form at the back of my neck, but I didn't wipe it away. I didn't dare move from my spot in the shadows. I waited with a patience of a man who deserved a goddamn trophy. Patience I was shocked I was still capable of. For her, that deep unhinged side of me whispered in the recesses of my mind. For her, you can do anything. For her, you'll be what she needs.

And with that thought, I was able to take a deep cleansing breath. But before I was done exhaling, there she was.

At the back exit, under the small almost burnt-out lightbulb that cast her in an almost golden hue. Vivi wiped her hands against her uniform, and I knew what she wanted. Hand lotion. She complained all the time about how dry her hands were after a cleaning shift.

This would be her last shift if I had anything to say about it.

Her purse was tossed over her shoulder, and the white satin bow in her hair swayed back and forth like it was taunting me, silently begging me to move closer .

But I didn't.

I watched her.

Ever so slowly, not to draw attention to myself, I stood taller. She texted her cousin, and when my kitten smiled and sent off another message, I knew she'd been Zelle'd her payment. Sure enough, she slipped her phone back into her purse, and a little white tube of lotion peeked out. She squeezed out a pea-sized amount of the hand cream before she started to rub it into her skin.

I loved that I knew her that well.

It only made me reason that what I was about to do was the right thing. When she closed her bag, I knew that was my chance. Vivi started her way through the dark alley behind the precinct, and when she passed me, I swore I could smell that damn lotion of hers.

It made me want to pounce, but I didn't.

I was only a couple of steps behind her when her footsteps faltered. She noticed my car parked in an alley she had no business walking through. She had no idea how unsafe it was, and I knew she was going to start walking faster. It was time.

I hurried, and when I caught her, wrapping my arms around her waist, she yelped. The sound went straight to my dick. My hand covered her mouth as my face moved to the side of hers.

"Don't scream," I ordered and felt her tremble. "You don't have to be scared of me, Vivi." Her locked body almost relaxed. Does she recognize my voice?

"Shh," I soothed, and before she could turn to look at me, I had her eyes covered with a blindfold I had ready in my hands. In a blur of movements, I tied her hands behind her back because I wasn't going to take any chances.

"What are you doing?" I winced at the palpable fear in her voice.

"It's just for a little while, baby. Just to make sure you don't try to run." I kissed her forehead when I felt it. I groaned as her teeth sunk into my hand, but I didn't drop it,

"Bad kitten," I grunted and shook my head. My little tiger bit me! I fucking loved it but didn't let it distract me. Before I knew it, I had her up in my arms, but my girl wasn't giving in without a fight. She squirmed and writhed, but I had experience on my side. How many fuckers had I had to wrestle into the back of a police vehicle? With as much finesse and tender touch as possible, careful not to hurt her, I got Viv into the front seat and silently worked on securing her seatbelt.

"Please, let me go. I don't have money but?—"

"Kitten, I don't want money. Now be a good girl for me and be still for me, yeah?" She did as I asked, and when I glanced at her, she looked fucking gorgeous tied up and at my mercy.

"Look, I just…" She kept talking, but I glanced at my hand and chuckled like a fucking psycho. I was in the middle of a goddamn kidnapping, and she made me laugh. When I looked at her, she'd gone quiet, and I started to explain.

"You broke skin, kitten."

"Kitten," she repeated softly, and I watched her swallow. Her pretty lips that were the prettiest shade of peach naturally parted into the prefect little O. "Nix?" she whispered.

"Love when you say my name, Vivi."

"Why… What are you doing?"

"If you have to ask, I'm obviously doing it wrong." She blushed at that.

"Why can't I see you? Why did you just?—"

"Shh," I pressed my fingers to her lips. "I'll explain later, I promise." I adjusted my dick.

Vivi was in my car, and I was going to take her home.

And keep her there forever.