Lexi~
The anxiety that had consumed Lexi the past few days was now an afterthought as she sat laughing with Nate and his friends. Now she understood why he talked about them so often. They were hilarious and accepted her as one of their own almost immediately.
From what Lexi could tell they were all former military, but from all different branches. She assumed Caleb had to have some kind of medical training because he was referred to as doc a few times. He had a baby face and didn't look a day over twenty one, but his body was lean and muscular like he hadn't had a carb in his life.
Marcus was the largest of the four and had the deepest voice Lexi had ever heard. He seemed like the strong silent type and definitely looked the meanest, but there was so much kindness in his eyes.
Pierce was definitely the class clown and from everyone's comments was quite the ladies man as well. Lexi could see why. Pierce looked more like a model than a former marine, hell all of them were muscle on muscle, but it was Declan who had her full attention. He was one of the tallest of the group second only to Marcus and his broad shoulders and thick chest made her want to climb him like a tree. Blush spread across her cheeks when she thought about what a fool she had made of herself at the airport.
I'm a hugger?
She couldn't believe she actually said that, but it was the only excuse she could think of to wrap her arms around him. From the moment she saw Declan standing in the airport her hands itched with need to reach out and touch him.
Listening to the team's stories was so entertaining that her cheeks and abdomen were starting to get sore from laughing.
While Caleb was telling a story and Declan's attention was focused elsewhere, Lexi took the opportunity to admire all of Declan's features. His light brown hair was a little too long to be a military cut and he would occasionally run his hand backwards through it. A short beard covered his perfectly square jawline and she wondered what that scruff would feel like against the inside of her thighs. The blush on her cheeks quickly spread across her chest at the thought and as if he could sense her arousal, Declan's blue-gray eyes met hers. Busted.
One side of Declan's mouth lifted into a knowing smile, but he couldn't possibly have known she was fantasizing about him, could he?
At first she thought it was her imagination, but as the night went on she and Declan kept stealing glances like a couple of horny teenagers. Maybe the feeling was mutual? But how on earth could a man that looked like that be interested in her? He was near perfect and she was far from it, but that didn't seem to stop his eyes from roaming all over her. Each time she caught him staring her breath would catch in her throat and she couldn't help but smile. It was hard to concentrate on the rest of the group with Declan's wandering eyes stealing her focus, but she had to admit she was enjoying being admired.
Nate was mid-story when a loud rhythmic thumping sound against the wall caught everyone's attention. The noise in the room instantly stalled as the group eavesdropped and a loud over exaggerated moan seeped through the thin sheet rock.
"I think the neighbors are bumpin' uglies," Marcus chuckled, stating the obvious.
"Well at least somebody is getting some tonight," Pierce grumbled. He lifted his beer and tilted it towards the wall. "Cheers, man."
The conversation in the room resumed only to be interrupted again by the rhythmic thumping of headboard on wall. "Do you think that's morse code for fuck me harder?" Nate joked as the thumping noise continued.
"Nah, not enough vowels" Declan replied.
"Wait do you guys actually know morse code?" Lexi asked.
"Yes ma'am" Marcus confirmed.
Excitement flashed in Lexi's eyes and she sat up onto her knees in the chair eagerly.
"Oh you have to teach me," she squealed.
"Why on earth would you need to know morse code?" Nate asked dryly.
"I was watching a documentary the other day about that guy that was just found after being lost at sea for like two months." She closed her eyes, scrunched up her face and snapped in the air while she tried to recall his name. "William - something. Anyway his name's not important. My point is he was saved because he signaled a cruise ship SOS in morse code using his flashlight."
"You planning on being lost at sea, Lex?" Declan asked with a laugh.
The sound of her nickname rolling off of Declan's lips made Lexi's ears perk and her insides melt.
"Lexi you hate boats. Never could get you to step foot on one," Nate chimed in.
"You're right but that's mostly because I am so scared of drowning or being stranded out there. Maybe being able to signal for help with morse code would fix that."
"I doubt it," Nate countered.
"Quit giving Lexi shit" Pierce scolded. "She can learn morse code if she wants to, but it's already almost 1:00 am so you better get started, Darlin."
"What if you just taught me SOS?"
Nate rolled his eyes in response.
"Oh come on pleeease."
"Jeez Nate, you gonna make her beg like that? Don't worry I'll teach you." Declan smiled as he grabbed a notepad and pen off the desk and sauntered toward her.
Lexi really did want to know morse code, but it was a double win that Declan would be the one to teach her.
He crouched down in front of the chair Lexi was sitting in and she quickly repositioned herself with her legs criss-crossed. She was excited to learn, but was equally glad to have Declan so close to her, practically touching her as he steadied his gigantic frame on the balls of his feet. She leaned forward intently and discreetly inhaled his clean masculine scent.
"Morse code is basically dots and dashes that represent letters of the alphabet. The dots are short and the dashes are longer. An S is three dots and an O is three dashes. So all you want to do is spell it out."
Declan jotted down the SOS code on the pad and tapped the pen along with it. Nodding as he spoke, Lexi raised her hand to the pad and attempted to imitate the code that Declan had tapped out.
"Almost, you have to do the O at a slower pace," he corrected.
Suddenly Lexi felt the weight of Declan's massive hand on her leg. The contact sent shivers through her body and she took in a quick breath at the sensation. His eyes met hers and he kept them there, holding her gaze as he slid his hand from her knee to her thigh and tapped the code.
Feeling the blush burning her cheeks, Lexi licked her lips and pressed them together to try to conceal her reaction from Declan, but failed miserably. She heard a low, almost inaudible, growl escape the back of his throat and watched his adams apple bob up and down as he swallowed hard.
Quickly becoming aware that they were still in a room full of people, Lexi snapped herself out of her trance and swept her eyes around to room to check for onlookers. Luckily the rest of the group seemed to be lost in conversation and hopefully hadn't noticed Lexi and Declan were ready to rip each others clothes off.
"I think I got it!" She said, hoping to take the attention away from her sudden desperation fir Declan. She reached behind her and tapped onto the wall of the hotel with her knuckle.
"There you go, that was perfect." Declan praised her.
Proud of her success, she tapped it on the wall again. A thick sultry female voice echoed through the wall in response "Hello? Who is it?"
With eyes wide, Lexi immediately covered her mouth with both hands trying to stifle a laugh.
The rest of the group roared with laughter. "Maybe they were signaling through the wall after all," Caleb laughed. "Go join em' Lex, maybe they need a third," Nate howled as he threw his head back.
"Oh hell no!" Lexi squealed through her own fits of laughter.
"And on that note, I'm out of here." Lexi breathed as she recovered from laughing and grabbed her shoes.
Once she slipped her sandals back on she saw Declan already standing with her bag over his shoulder. What is this guy trying to do to me? As if it weren't bad enough that Declan was absolutely devastating to look at, the way he cared for her after only knowing her for a few hours melted Lexi into a puddle at his feet.
She said her good nights to the group and went over the convention schedule with Nate before heading down the hall toward her room.
Declan held the door for her and they headed down the hallway side by side.
"I haven't laughed that hard in a long time," Lexi said as she clutched her abdomen.
"Yeah the guys are pretty funny. Stupid. But funny," Declan chuckled.
Lexi tilted her head up to look at Declan as they walked. His perfect smile was mesmerizing, but his features suddenly hardened as he pulled his focus away from her and down the hallway.
Three drunk men had just spilled out of the elevator and were heading toward them. Normally Lexi wouldn't have given them a second thought, they were in Las Vegas after all, but Declan had lost all of his light and focused his complete attention on the men in front of them.
Declan's rough hand gripped her arm softly, signaling her to slow her pace. Immediately understanding his intentions, she complied with is non-verbal request by decreasing the length of her stride and allowing him to guide her where he wanted. His grasp on her arm was firm yet gentle as he pulled her until he had positioned himself slightly in front of her.
As the belligerent men came closer, one of them took notice of Lexi and whistled through his teeth. Declan rolled his shoulders back in a quick circular motion at the sound and Lexi could see the muscles in his jaw were tense.
"You lookin' for a good time?" one of the men slurred as they passed.
Pinching her brows together Lexi gave them a disgusted look. You wish.
"Nah I'm good. Thanks for the offer man," Declan said with forced humor in his voice.
The drunk man glared at Declan and scoffed. As soon as they had passed and were behind them. Lexi felt Declan's hand on the small of her back as he steered her in front of him until he was yet again in between Lexi and the drunk men. He countered their every move and acted as a barrier around Lexi, shielding her from any perceived threat.
"Assholes" Declan muttered. "Didn't even offer to buy me a drink before inviting me into their room," He said as he flashed another delicious smile.
Lexi couldn't help but swoon over Declan's absolute control and dominance. He was the perfect mix of firm and gentle and she was surprised at her body's response to that kind of power. It was intoxicating.
"This is us" he said as he came to a stop in front of the door and waited for Lexi to pull out the key.
"Us?" Was he inviting himself to stay in my room?
As if he read her mind Declan quickly corrected himself.
"Not like that, I meant these are our rooms. They are adjoining rooms." He said as he motioned to both doors.
"Oh, right," Lexi said with an awkward laugh. Once they entered the room Declan put Lexi's bag on the table and headed straight back toward the door. It was obvious that he didn't want her to get the wrong impression of his intentions.
"Caleb and I will be right next door if you need us for anything."
"Thanks Declan, I appreciate it."
"Oh here, before I forget," she said as she disappeared back into the darkness of her room. She returned with her extra room key in hand.
"Will you keep this in your room in case I misplace mine? I am always losing these damn things. I would give it to Claire, but she's just as likely to lose it," she laughed.
"Sure thing." Declan stuck the key in his back pocket.
"Thanks again. See you in the morning."
"Bright and early," he said with a smile.
*****
Going through her bedtime routine as quickly as possible, Lexi washed her face, but couldn't get rid of the smile that had rooted itself deep in her soul. The butterflies in her stomach still hadn't subsided as she set her phone alarm to make sure she didn't over sleep the next day. Feeling like a teenager again, she did the math in her head and counted the hours until breakfast - until she'd get to see Declan again.
A text from a blocked number rolled in as she was setting her alarm which quickly exterminated the butterflies and turned her warm fuzzies into a cold chill. "Sweet dreams Lexi Lou."
The sudden change in emotion was so jarring that Lexi dropped the phone and she felt the hairs on her neck begin to raise in response.
Now feeling exposed and vulnerable, she backed herself up against the nearest wall and squeezed her eyes closed trying to become completely invisible. Only one person called her Lexi Lou. The person she was most terrified of.
Asher is not here. He can't see you. He's messing with your head. Lexi repeated to herself as she tried to calm her racing thoughts.
One of Asher's new favorite games was to text Lexi from blocked numbers at night before bed. Lexi had experienced her first real panic attack a little over a week ago when Asher complimented the new glasses she was wearing as she laid in bed reading a book. "Good night my Lexi Lou - P.S. I preferred your old glasses."
At the time she had convinced herself that he was watching her from somewhere inside her apartment and barricaded herself in the bathroom for the entire night. Her rattled nerves were too high on adrenaline to think clearly and realize she had posted a picture of herself in the glasses on her facebook page a few hours prior.
Asher was highly skilled at using details from social media or Lexis daily routine to try and make her believe he was near and could see her. He wanted her to think he was in her space. He wanted her to be scared. It was his form of punishment. His form of torture for leaving him and the sickest thing about it was that he truly enjoyed it.
What kind of a monster enjoys watching someone they supposedly love suffer?
Unfortunately for Lexi, tonight was no different. Using every ounce of courage she had inside her, Lexi forced her eyes open and darted into bed with her adrenaline still surging. Another night with no sleep. Great
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