My Guardian Angel (12 page)

Both of us lay on the bed, breathless, lost in our passion for each other.
Here I was in Jason’s arms. This was my version of perfection. Jason had an unquenchable thirst for me. He and I had sex all night and I loved every minute of it. 

Back Home

I finally finished my edits
; here’s to hoping I didn’t need to do more. Why was it harder to edit than to write a story? I had spoken to Tiff and I realized I needed to head back home. She said there were no more suspicious packages left at my house. With the packages no longer coming around, I couldn’t use the excuse of a ‘stalker’ any longer. Plus, I had to admit, even though I was happy to be here with him every day, I missed my home and my space.

“Jason, I want to go home.”

“No! You’re not going anywhere!” Jason roared in response to my wanting to leave. “What? You don’t like being here with me?”
he asked.

“That’s not it! I love being here with you, but I can’t stay here forever.
Look, the stalker or whatever he was, is now gone and there’s no reason why I can’t get my life back.”

He brooded as he paced around his condo.

“You are safe here. The stalker doesn’t know where I live or knows that I'm your boyfriend. You going back will take away your security. I'm going to be there every day, Kassia, and he’ll know who I am and follow me. Then what? I can’t have something happen to you, not now.”

I smiled at him, making him angrier.

“What are you smiling about?” He stopped pacing and glared.

“Boyfriend
,” I giggled.

“Yes, your boyfriend, what the hell else am I?” His stance became hard.

“It’s nice to hear, that’s all,” I reassured him. “Jason, I’ll be fine. I promise.”

He growled
, “I'm not okay with this.” He began pacing again.

“You’ll be fine, once you see there’s nothing to worry about.
Even though I love being here, I miss my life and my friends.” I walked over to him and blocked his path. I wrapped my arms around him, but he didn’t hug me back. I looked up and gave him my best pouty face.

“So, you miss your friends
, huh?” he asked.

“I want to introduce you as my boyfriend.
I want to walk around New York on your arm and have fun. Come on baby, don’t be mad.” He still didn’t hug me.

“Baby?”
he murmured and I shrugged.

“That’s what you are to me.” I let go of him, but he grabbed my arm and pulled me in.

“Who told you to let go? Hug me, woman.” He wrapped his arms around me and held me tight. “Just give me two more days of this heaven and then you can go,” he resigned.

“Heaven?” I mocked.

“Trust me, Kassia. You are my heaven.”

As I promised
, I spent two more days with Jason. I won’t lie and say I was happy about leaving. There was a quiet synergy we had and I loved it. It was irrational to want to stay, especially this early in our relationship. I didn’t want to spoil it with too much, too soon.

Driving home with him was bittersweet.
I marched up my steps and felt my shoulders relax as I entered my home. Jason put my things down and closed the door behind him.

“You better put the alarm on the moment I leave. Understand me? And call me the instant something odd happens.
I don’t care how insignificant you think it is.”

I stood at alert and
, with great military precision, I put my hand to my head and saluted him. “Yes, Officer Jason,” I laughed, but he didn’t seem amused.

“I really wish I wasn’t going to work today
,” he grumbled.

“When you finish work, call me.” I put my hands around his neck and kissed him.

“Depending on my shift tomorrow, let’s go on a date.”

I almost squealed. “Really? Where?”

He kissed my forehead. “Anywhere my girl wants.”

I smiled wildly as different ideas crept into my mind.

“Dinner and some shopping?” I offered.

“Sure
, whatever. As long as I am with you, it’s fine.”

I walked Jason to the door and kissed him good
-bye. He grumbled something under his breath and left. I put the alarm on like he told me and went about feeling my way around my home again. 

My Man

After getting a text that Jason was almost done, I couldn’t wait to see him.
I jumped into the shower and ran through the house getting ready. I had a cab waiting for me outside and asked him to drive me to Jason’s work. Tiny little butterflies were flying in my belly, making me antsy. I was alone last night, missing his strength and protection around me. Jason had to work a double shift, which meant he’d have two days off. I wanted to take him out to dinner and just be with him.

“Drop me off here
,” I nearly shouted at the cabby.

“But lady, the place you wanted is two streets up.” The cabby looked at me confused.

“I need to get out now.” I threw money at him and jumped out of the car.

I began to almost sprint towards the precinct.
My legs felt like jelly as I hurried my way through the crowd. I finally stood in front of the steps and looked up to see the doors. I reached for my phone and fired a text.

Me
:  R u almost done?

I waited for him to respond, but when he didn’t I headed up. Before I grabbed onto the door to open it, my phone chimed.

Jason:  Almost finished, taking a shower then i'm off 2 c u

My belly flopped and the feelings of anticipating him overtook me.
I walked over to the secretary who had helped me the last time I was here and knocked on her window. She smiled brightly the moment she saw me.

“Ms. Preston
,” she squealed.

“Hi!” I waved.

“I hear your next book is coming out soon.”

I nodded. “By Christmas.”

She smiled. “I guess I know what I’ll be asking Santa for this year.”

I laughed at her little joke.

“So, what brings you here?” she asked.

“Well…” I was interrupted by a low manly voice.

“Kassia!” Gab bellowed as he waved.

“Hi
, Gab.” I waved back.

“Are you here for another tour?”
he asked as he walked over to me.

“Not necessarily. Is Jason still here?” I asked, knowing he was, but didn’t know how to approach it.

“Yeah, I think he’s out back. Come, I’ll take you.”

I said a quick goodbye to the secretary and headed off behind Gab.

Once he entered the training room, I almost
regretted coming, almost. The men were all training; some with weights, others were boxing.

“Hey
, Jason!” Gab cried out over the entire training room.

Everyone stopped and stared at me.
The almost regret I spoke of before, well, it was gone now. I should have waited for him outside. Damn me and my need to see him. Jason came out ready in his street clothes, duffle bag in hand as he walked towards Gab, until he saw me. His eyes, which were now wide, shifted to where I stood. He marched over and grabbed both of my arms.

“What are you doing here? I told you I’d come and see you
,” he said under his breath. “Did something happen?” He looked anxious. I shook my head.

“Just wanted to see you
,” I murmured. The thin lines, which were his lips, now curled up with a faint smile.

“So
, you missed me?” His hand moved up my arm to my face. I leaned into his touch, relishing its protective heat.

“Ohh!” Everyone in the room behind him said in unison.

“Looks like Jason’s got himself a woman,” one guy shouted out.

Gab laughed. “Looks like he did. Too bad
, Kassia. You should have gone out with someone who’s more of a man, not a boy like our little Jason.”

I felt the shift in Jason’s body as the guys began to remark on our age gap.
I was an idiot for not thinking my being here would have repercussions.

“I never knew our lady writer was such a cougar
,” one of them said over in the far back.

I lowered my gaze not realizing that I would have ever been called that.
Thirty-three wasn’t old. What was so wrong about being with someone that felt so right? Jason stiffened and a low growl began to rumble in his chest.

“I'm sorry
,” I said meekly.

I really was.
Jason turned and dropped his duffle bag to pick a fight with the one who said I was a cougar. I pulled on his arm, not letting him leave my side.

“Don’t bother. It’s not worth it
,” I whispered.

Jason narrowed his eyes at me
. He reached down, picked up his bag and grabbed my hand, leading me outside.

“Why did you come here?”
he asked, as we stood at a park a few blocks away from his work.

“To see you.
I figured I’d see you sooner if I came to get you,” I said softly, ashamed at how childish I was by acting on my impulses.

“Great
, so now what? You’re going to leave me?” he asked, his voiced filled with accusation.

I watched as his face contorted in pain over what happened.

“I knew the time would come that you’d realize I wasn’t for you. I just didn’t want it to happen too soon,” he bit out. I inched closer to him and reached for his face.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, wanting him to explain his emotions to me.

“Kassia, do you see me as a man or a boy?” he gritted out.

Here he stood, in front of me, a tall
, built, protective man, who was seconds away from crumbling at my feet.

“I see you as a man, Jason.
My man. I know there are hundreds if not thousands of reasons why we shouldn’t work. That maybe in the long run we might not, but I don’t want us to think about it. Let’s not waste our time thinking about our end, but rather let’s think about us, here and now. I like you, Jason, a lot. So much so that I spend the whole of my days thinking about only you. Sometimes, I don’t even write a freakin’ word, hoping that I fill your days up as much as you do mine. Sometimes, I even get pissed at myself for being so stupid. There you have it, Jason. You pretty much burrowed your way deep inside,” I admitted to him.

I was confessing how I felt, without telling him exactly how much I had fallen for him.
That piece of information was mine for now. I was in love with him, no doubt about it.

Jason’s shoulders relaxed and he eased himself into my embrace. I held him close, seeking his heat.
He kissed me on my forehead. He pulled away and smiled. He then picked me up. He lowered me enough to face him, but not enough that I could touch the ground. His beautiful grey eyes smiled at me, as he gazed into my face.

“You have no clue how deep you go
,” he laughed and kissed me.

His kiss
started slow, enticing me in. The moment I crossed into the world of Jason his kiss intensified, melting the world around me away. Only Jason and I existed now.

He pulled his lips away from mine breaking the spell that he cast
, only to smile at me making me swoon.

“Let’s go eat
,” he offered, making my belly drop.

I wanted him to eat
all right, but not food. He must have seen that my brow furrowed, because he laughed a little harder.

“Why do you think I want us to go eat now?”
he asked as I pouted. “We’ll need our stamina for later,” he offered as he wiggled his eyebrows. I laughed at him as he lowered me.

“Then let’s go.” I took his hand and rushed him to the Shake Shack in Madison Square Park on 23
rd
St.

“Why here?”
he asked as we waited in line.

There was always a lineup, but thank
God, this time the line wasn’t wrapping itself around the park.

“I thought you’d like a burger and to be honest, Darios has me on this diet and I’ve been craving everything that’s greasy.” I smiled “It’s the honorary
‘we started dating, let me add ten pounds to my body
’ stage.” I laughed.

“What are you talking about?”
he looked at me like I was his crazy girlfriend.

“Everyone knows that once you start dating, you automatically gain ten pounds. It’s only natural
,” I explained.

“Why is it natural?”
he challenged.

“Cause we’ll be eating out all the time and having crazy wild sex.
Okay, I threw the sex part in for good measure, but the eating out is only normal. You’re going to want to wine and dine me, to get into these panties.” I winked.

“But
, I already got into your panties.”

I rolled my eyes and slapped his chest. “Shut up!”

He pulled me into his arms and walked behind me.

“So
, I have to wine and dine you?” he repeated what I said.

“No, I was just kidding around.” I looked at the menu briefly. I already knew what I wanted.

“Yeah, I’ll have a single with lemonade,” I told the girl in the booth. “You?” I crooked my neck to look at Jason.

“Hmm… Shack Burger and a Fair Shake.” Damn the man ordered the shake I wanted, but it had too many calories.

“You realize I'm going to have a sip; it’s the rules of dating.” I blinked my eyes a few times to look cute.

“It might be the rules for others, but I don’t share my food
,” he stated.

“You suck.” I stuck out my tongue. He eased his nose slowly near my ear, making the juices inside me overflow.

“You suck better,” he whispered in my ear.

“That will be $16.20.” The girl interrupted Jason’s little tease moment right on time. I swear if he wasn’t careful I was going to jump him right here.
I reached for my purse, but Jason pulled out a twenty.

“You better get use
d to me taking care of you,” he said as he handed the girl the money.

“We’ll see. Those might be the rules of others, but not mine.” I fired back, smiling.

We sat at a table
, which was free, and began to eat. God, it tasted so good. Darios would have my ass if he knew I was off the diet he had created for me, but it was only for one day and it’s not like they offered salads here. I watched as Jason enjoyed his shake, not even offering me a taste. I shook my head and he relented and was about to give me the rest of it when a fan came up to me.

“
Oh, my God!” she yelled out.

“You’re Kassia Preston.” She pointed at me.

Jason put his shake down and readied himself to pull me away.
I put my hand on his arm, easing him off his combat ready stance and turned to the girl.

“Yes, I am.”

She danced around. “My friends over there,” she pointed to a group of young high school girls who were sitting on a bench looking at us, “Didn’t believe me, but I knew it was you. I love Drake. I mean, I'm in love with him. He’s so beautiful and broken and I just wish I could take him in, but I hate Lila and the way she keeps pushing him away.” She began fishing through her bag and Jason got up.

T
he young girl didn’t notice. Before she could pull out what she was looking for, Jason stepped in front of me. She held out my book, but took a step back intimidated by Jason’s stance.

“Easy
, Jason,” I said quietly. I reached for her book, inviting her behind Jason.

“Your name?” I asked with a smile.

“Veronica,” she stammered. I signed her book and handed it back.

“Are you going to write more about him?”
she asked with enthusiasm.

“Of course, Drake and Lila are my soul
,” I stated.

“Really? When?” She waited.

“Soon, maybe by the end of the year or the beginning of the next.” The girl thanked me and ran over to her friends.

Jason sat back down, his eyes still darting back and forth.

“It’s normal for them to come up to me. I'm sorry. If you want, next time we’ll just order in or stay home,” I said earnestly. I didn’t think it might make him uncomfortable being bothered or gawked at.

“Why are you apologizing?
I already know this stuff happens to you. I was just worried it was…” he stopped.

“Was who? The stalker?” I air quoted the word. “Jason
, he or she is long gone. So, don’t worry.”

I didn’t become famous overnight, but once my books got a certain amount of attention everyone and their agents came running.
Thank God for Tiff and her ability to help me find the best deals for my books. I wanted the stories to stay as true as they could. I knew that translating a book to a movie or TV show was somewhat impossible, but I still wanted my characters to belong to my faithful fans and me. No bastardizing of my characters was allowed. With the love of my characters came the fame and some really strange individuals who thought they knew me. Granted this one was stranger than all the others, but I figured he was gone and it was over.

“Let me worry if I want.” Jason took back his shake and finished it all.
He even made those slurping sounds to make sure I knew he was done.