He leaned over and kissed her softly before speaking again. “We can work anything out. You’re here with me now. To stay.” He kissed her again. “I don’t know about you, but I have no plans on spending another night of life away from you. Not if it can be helped.”

Valerie smiled. From the moment she first met Alex, he’d always had a way of making her melt. She understood now more than ever she never got over him. Nothing felt as perfect as being right there in his arms. “Alright. Never again. I’m sorry.”

Alex scooted her off his lap and onto the sofa laying over her gently. “I don’t want you to be sorry. I want you to be happy…” He ran his hand up the side of her leg making her tremble as only he could. “…and safe…” His hand made its way up the inside of her skirt. Valerie felt how hard he was already as he pressed against her thigh. “…and mine. Always mine, Val.”

His hand continued up the inside of her legs and she spread for him. “Always,” she whispered.

“I love you, baby.”

His finger suddenly inside her, Valerie barely managed a breathless, “I love you too, Alex.”

***

Things didn’t go exactly as planned the next day. Alex was under the assumption that they could just walk in and ask for the restraining order, but there was a lot more to it. They’d be filing paperwork, lots of it. After that, there would be a hearing the next available day. That wasn’t until the following Wednesday.

With Alex’s patience as short as his fuse, he was not too happy about it. Valerie wanted to just take the paperwork home and bring it back next week, but Alex wasn’t having it. It was bad enough they already had to wait. The sooner they filed the paperwork, the sooner they’d get the hearing. Even then, it wasn’t a sure thing. The judge could rule that it wasn’t necessary. Although Alex couldn’t see that happening, not given the man’s history.

They were out by noon, and Valerie insisted he go back to the restaurant while she prepared herself for the properties she would show later. Alex just didn’t feel comfortable about leaving her side knowing the maniac was out there somewhere watching her. But Valerie was so damn stubborn. She forced him to give in.

“I’ll drop you off at the office, Val. Then pick you up in a few hours.” Alex gripped the steering wheel, still not believing how mulish Valerie was about this. She knew it was dangerous. “But I’m going with you to show the property. I’ll stay out of your way, just keep an eye out.”

Valerie stared out the passenger window, frowning. “Only because I don’t want you wasting any more time driving all the way back to your place to pick up my car. But you’re not going to do this every day. It’s ridiculous. You have a restaurant to run.” She reached over and put her hand in his hand. “Can you please give me a little credit? I am capable of looking out for myself, you know.”

Why the hell were women always like this? There was no reasoning with them. “Our place,” he said through his teeth.

“What?”

“You said your place. It’s ours now, remember?”

He glanced at her and saw her smirk. “We’re taking things slow, don’t you remember?”

“You have your reservations. Not me. I don’t do slow.” He squeezed her hand, and she squeezed back.

They reached her office and Alex watched her until she was safely inside. He glanced around the parking lot. There was no way he’d be comfortable having her drive around alone. The psycho was following her. He’d told her that, damn it.

For a moment, he considered staying put. Being a lookout until she was ready to go. Then he had a thought. He picked up his phone and dialed.

“Hey, Romero, you busy?”

“No, what’s up?”

“I need a favor.”

***

Showing properties that afternoon had gone smoothly. As usual, Alex was thoroughly impressed with Valerie’s wit and elegance when interacting with her clients. He kept his distance as promised, but even from afar, she was amazing. There was no way Luke wasn’t still feeling for her. He saw it in his eyes the night before. The reason why he planned to talk to her a bit more about him, then the whole tire thing happened.

Tonight was different. There were new things he needed to get straight with Valerie. Alex wasn’t wasting any time either. He’d get right to the point. But there was one thing he needed to do first. He was waiting on a phone call and he didn’t want to be in the middle of the conversation with Valerie and get interrupted.

She was busy finishing some work on her laptop in the kitchen. Alex stepped outside with the excuse of checking some things on the truck. He really had planned to get new tires for his truck. He was having it lifted as well, so, he was outside rounding the truck pretending to examine his tires when his phone rang.

It was the call he was waiting on.

“What happened?”

“Well, it’s gonna take a few days to run a background check on this guy. As extensive as you want it anyway.” Romero said. “But I did get someone that can keep an eye on Valerie. It’s not gonna be cheap, I mean, I’ll cut my share out, but I’m paying this guy by the hour, so, if you want him on her at all times it’s gonna get pricey.”

“I don’t care. I just need your word he’s good. The guy following Valerie has a history of violence. I can’t take any chances.” He glanced back to make sure Valerie was still inside. “Whatever you do, do NOT mention a word about this to Isabel. Valerie will flip.”