Under His Protection
Chapter 16

“Why are you stopping here?” she asked when he pulled into the parking lot of a fancy restaurant.

“I’m hungry,” he answered.

“I’m not so can we please go home?”

“You have to eat Jade. Besides, I look hot in this suit and you wouldn’t want to deprive all the women of ogling me would you?”

She rolled her eyes but couldn’t stop the smile that slowly crept up on her face. “You really are full of yourself.” Getting out of the car she accepted his hand when he held it out to her. And yes, he did turn heads when they walked in.

Seated they ordered drinks and checked the menu.

“What would you like?” he asked her.

“Just a salad for me,” she replied.

When the waitress came over he ordered the steak special for himself and a salad for her. The young brunette who took their order didn’t even try to hide the fact that she was flirting with Zane who politely smiled back at her.

“I’m surprised she didn’t slip you her phone number,” Jade said with sarcasm in her voice.

“Are you jealous?” he asked with a smirk on his face.

“As if,” she scoffed.

Their meal came and she picked at her salad, glancing over now and then at his steak and watched as he cut into it. Her mouth began to water, it was so tender and he had no trouble cutting into it.

Taking a bite he smiled at the way she was watching as he put it in his mouth. “Would you like to try it?”

“What? No thanks,” she answered, blushing.

He cut off a small piece and brought it to her mouth. “Go on, one bite.”

Accepting it the flavour hit her taste buds instantly. It melted in her mouth and she closed her eyes and made a soft moaning sound. “Oh, that is so good.”

Cutting the steak in half he placed it on one of the extra plates, along with some potatoes and veg and pushed it towards her. “I won’t be able to eat all this myself so you would be doing me a favour if you ate some.” When she took a bite of the steak she closed her eyes and made a soft humming sound, which for some reason aroused him.

When the meal was over and the waitress brought them the bill she lightly brushed against him as she was leaving. He looked down and saw she had written her phone number on it. Opening his wallet he took out some cash and laid it on top of the receipt.

“Don’t you want to keep her number?” Jade asked him.

“No,” he said and stood up. “I just need to use the men’s room first before we leave.”

When he was gone the waitress came back over to collect the money.

“You’re not his type sweetheart, he’s gay,” Jade said, smiling she watched as the girl’s face dropped, disappointment was written all over her face.

Zane came back and as they were leaving he gave the brunette a wave goodbye but she turned her back to him. He looked suspiciously at Jade. “Did you say something to her while I was gone?”

She giggled. “I told her you were gay.”

“You didn’t, did you?”

The smile she gave him reached her eyes. “Maybe,” she said as she got into the passenger side of his car when he held the door open for her.

He wasn’t mad at her. In fact, he was pleased, it showed him that she was jealous and cared more for him than she was letting on.

Jade changed into sweats when they got back to her place. “Maybe Trevor’s family was right that it’s my fault he’s dead.”

“It’s not your fault,” he said, sitting and taking her hand.

“You heard what they said, he was following me. In his own way, he was trying to keep me safe and maybe he was getting close to whoever was trying to kill me so they killed him. That means you are in danger too.”

“I can handle myself and once we catch Kenny you’ll be safe.”

“If it is Kenny,” she answered. “Someone could have used a knife that had his print on it to frame him.”

“That is possible, but it’s still early in the investigation. Kenny can’t hide forever and when he’s caught we’ll get some answers. Whatever happens, I don’t want you to blame yourself, you are the victim here.” Leaning over he kissed her lips softly, moving her hair from her face. He wanted to make it more passionate, to make her forget about the funeral but he stopped himself. He didn’t want to take advantage of her vulnerable state.

His kiss was warm and tender and she sensed he wanted more but was being considerate of her feelings. But what she really needed was to forget about everyone and everything. Zane had the power to make her forget, to make her feel good so she put her hands behind his head and drew him in close. She kissed him so hard, her mouth commending his to do the same, which he did when he pulled her close, crushing her against him as he laid her down. The warmth of his hand felt amazing as he slid up her top to cup her bare breast. “Make love to me,” she said when he moved from her mouth.

Getting off her he removed his jacket, shirt, and tie. Bending over he picked her up in his arms and carried her to the bedroom, kicking the door closed with his foot.

Later as they lay in each other’s arms he trailed his fingers along her arm. “You must know by now that you have me wrapped around your finger.”

“I bet you say that to all the women you sleep with.”

Zane abruptly sat up, swinging his legs over the bed reached for his pants. “Why the hell do you always have to do that?” he barked, his back to her.

“Do what?” she asked.

Getting up he put on his pants, picked up the discarded condoms and threw them into the wastebasket. “Throw the other women I’ve been with, in my face.

“It’s just that you’ve been with so many women,” she said, sitting up and covering herself up with the sheet.

“That’s true, but none of them meant anything to me, hell, I can’t even remember their names because they weren’t important.” He went and sat on the bed, taking her face in his hands. “But it’s different with you, you are special to me. You are unlike any other woman I’ve been with. You must know how I feel about you. You don’t hear me throwing in your face about the men you’ve been with.”

“Besides Trevor, there’s only been you.”

He dropped his hands from her face. “You’ve only been with two men?”

“Yes. Look, I like you, I like you a lot. But we’re just having fun, right? You know I plan on moving to Kansas eventually and you will soon be made detective. So don’t fall in love with me, it will only complicate things.”

Getting up he went into the kitchen, turned on the cold water tap-poured himself some water. Well wasn’t this a kicker? It was usually the man who told the woman not to fall for him, oh how the tables have turned. He didn’t know whether to be relieved or sad. Yes, she meant more to him than all the others, but was it, love? He turned his head to the sound of her voice and saw her standing there with the sheet wrapped around her body.

“I’m sorry if I hurt you.”

His ego was bruised but he wasn’t going to let her know that. “You didn’t. We’re just having fun during this situation we’re in. But I still want you to know you’re not another notch on my bedpost, that you do mean a lot to me.”

She let the sheet fall and stood before him naked. “Wanna do it again?”

“His eyes traveled down her naked flesh and he forgot all about being upset as his cock grew hard. “Hell yeah I do,” he said and going over lifted her up onto the counter.

“God you are one sexy woman,” he moaned into her mouth as she pulled his pants down after he took a condom out of his back pocket.

She moaned loudly when he entered her quickly and with one hard thrust before he started pounding his cock into her. Her muscles clamped around him, her nails scratching his back as she ran them down his back. “Lay down,” he ordered her in a harsh tone. When she did as she was told he leaned over, kissing her breasts before grabbing a hold of her legs and pulling her close to the edge of the counter. He then started pounding his throbbing erection harder and deeper into her as she gripped the other edge of the counter and screamed his name, her cum spilling over his shaft. He watched her, loved the way her lips formed that perfect, o. How her breasts bounced and how his name sounded coming from her mouth.

He was relentless as he kept banging her till she came a second time and then a third time whereas he too got the release he so desperately needed. Pulling out he pulled her up, his arms going around her as he attacked her mouth with such force, like a man fighting for his life.

Moving from her lips he buried his face in the crook of her neck, taking in her scent. Her arms went around him and their damp, sweaty bodies blended together.

She felt his heart beating rapidly against her chest, his breathing finally slowing down. He took her with such intensity it shook her to the very core of her. “Zane,” she whispered in his ear, her body trembling.

Lifting his head he stroked her cheek. “Did I hurt you? I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t hurt me but my lips feel bruised,” she said, running her finger over them.

He picked up the sheet and handed it to her. “Go to bed.”

“Aren’t you coming?”

“I’ll be right there, I’m just going to clean up this mess we made,” he said, helping her down from the counter.

Walking away she turned to look at him and smiled. “That was amazing.”

“It sure was,” he answered and picked up some paper towels, giving her a huge smile that lit up his face. “It was so hot.”

After cleaning up he poured another glass of water, thinking of what had taken place. It was much more than amazing, it was special. She was his and he never wanted it to end. He shook his head, was he in love with her? And if so how was he ever going to let her go when the time came for her to leave for Kanas? But what choice would he have if she didn’t love him back?

Returning to the bedroom he got into bed, she was asleep on her stomach. The sheet covered her ass but her back was bare. He pulled the cover over her and lay watching her. It was easy to understand how a man could so easily become obsessed with her, but enough to kill her, well now that didn’t make any sense. His mind kept thinking about all the suspects, preventing him from sleeping.

Trevor was no longer a suspect since he was dead, Kenny was the likely suspect. But what about Reggie? Why would he want her dead? She was too valuable to him, he would have too much to lose if something were to happen to her. Trevor’s family, really appeared to hate her, but that too didn’t make any sense. What was happening to Jade started before his death. The cameraman, well he was never anywhere near her and didn’t know Kenny and besides the fact that he asked her out once and was turned down wasn’t motive for murder. Lilly, well she wasn’t smart enough to arrange all that went down. He rubbed his temple, they had to replace Kenny before the party. He had a bad feeling and didn’t want her to go.