Jake set her on her feet and unlocked his apartment door, shoving it open. “Everyone inside. We might as well get this over with.”
Sapphire went straight for Jake’s favorite chair, slipped off her low-heeled boots and curled up in it, sighing with relief as she rested her head on the cushioned back. Topaz settled herself on the sofa with John beside her. Jake started to pace.
“Okay, who was that guy?” Topaz demanded.
Sapphire took a deep, calming breath, knowing she owed her sister an explanation. “His name is Ivan Gregor and I went out on one date with him. It didn’t end well.”
Jake snorted and Topaz turned her attention to him. “What your sister means is the guy figured he was entitled to sex because he bought her dinner.”
“Is that true?” Topaz demanded.
Sapphire rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache coming on. “Yeah, it is. He was a friend of a friend, but it didn’t take me long to realize he was a narcissistic idiot. When he walked me back to my place, he got demanding, but Jake came along and Ivan left.”
“Jake just happened along.” It was obvious her sister wasn’t buying it.
“No, I was watching out for her.” Jake’s blunt confession settled over them and Sapphire watched her sister, wondering what she would say. Topaz seemed momentarily speechless, but quickly recovered.
“What do you mean you were watching out for her?”
Sapphire decided it was time for her to intervene. “That’s between me and Jake.” He gave her a grateful look and came over to stand beside her. After a moment’s hesitation, he lifted her out of the chair and then sat with her on his lap. Once she was settled, she continued. “I honestly thought that was the last I’d see of Ivan.”
“I didn’t.” Anger tinged Jake’s voice. “I saw the look on the bastard’s face. He felt she owed him and I knew he’d try to collect.”
“We need to call the cops and lodge a complaint.” Topaz reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone.
“No.” Jake shook his head adamantly. “I’ll handle Gregor.”
Topaz hesitated. “I think we need to contact the authorities.”
John placed his hand over his fiancée’s. “Let Jake handle it.” He turned to his brother. “You are handling it, I assume.”
“Oh yeah. I planned to live and let live if he left Sapphire alone, but I’ve got enough information to fry his ass, if not with the authorities, then in the media.”
John smiled. “The personal project you were working on last week?”
Jake gave a curt nod.
“What do you mean you’ve got enough information to fry his butt?” Sapphire was totally confused.
Jake ran his hand up and down her arm and she was glad for the heat. She was chilled right to the bone from her experience. “I told you that Ivan Gregor wasn’t a good man, babe. His business dealings are suspect.”
“How did you dig up information?” Topaz demanded.
“You don’t need to know.” Jake’s blunt reply fell like a ton of bricks, leaving no doubt that was all he’d say on the matter.
“You going to take care of it or do you want me to?” John asked his brother.
Jake shook his head. “I’ll handle it this evening. By day after tomorrow, Gregor will have enough trouble trying to keep his ass out of jail to even think about bothering Sapphire.”
“You guys are scary, you know that?” Topaz stood and walked toward Sapphire, bent down and kissed her forehead. “But I’m glad you’re on our side.” She glared at Jake. “You take care of my little sister.”
“I plan to.” Jake didn’t flinch when Topaz kissed his cheek, but Sapphire noticed the flush creeping up his neck.
“Come on, woman. We need to leave these folks alone.” John hooked an arm around Topaz and led her to the door.
“Call me tomorrow morning and we’ll go out for breakfast.” Topaz waited until she’d nodded her agreement. It was only then she let John lead her out the door, shutting it behind them.
Jake stared down at her. “Are you really okay?” His hands were gentle as he touched her cheek.
“I’m fine, thanks to the stranger, whoever he was.” She nibbled on her bottom lip and felt something hard press against her hip. Jake was aroused. As tempting as it was to try to seduce him, she needed answers first. “You know that guy, don’t you?”
“You’re not going to let this go, are you?”
She shook her head. This was too important to her and to them. If Jake couldn’t be honest with her then she didn’t know what that meant for their relationship. She needed him to be truthful to her.
“He’s a buddy of mine. I called him after the confrontation with Gregor. He’s been watching him ever since, which is why he was close by when Gregor tried to take you. He called me as soon as he saw you and, luckily, I was on my way home.”
“You had him following Ivan?” She couldn’t quite wrap her head around that one. “Why would you do such a thing?”
“Sapphire.” Jake threaded his fingers through her hair. “Don’t you know I’ll do anything to protect you? Nothing is more important to me than your safety.”
Her heart skipped a beat and her insides practically melted. For a man like Jake that was practically a declaration of love. “Promise me you’ll tell me from now on if you’re going to do something like that.”
Jake pressed his lips together in a firm line. Oh, he didn’t like that idea one bit. “You have to be honest with me about stuff like this, Jake.” They couldn’t have such big secrets between them or they would eventually drive them apart. As it was, she felt as though she hadn’t yet penetrated the wall he’d built around him. She knew he wasn’t consciously keeping her out. It was an ingrained habit to keep everyone at arm’s length, but she wasn’t just anyone. She was the woman who loved him.
Jake studied Sapphire and knew they were at yet another crossroads in their bumpy relationship. He was just glad she didn’t seem overly angry with him and seemed to understand his motives. He tried to make her see his point of view. “You’d have only worried if you’d known.” His first and only priority was protecting Sapphire.
“Yes, I would have worried, but I wouldn’t have been so scared to death when Ivan confronted me either. Not if I’d known there was someone watching.”
He conceded her point. “I’ll deal with Gregor and hopefully we’ll never have to handle a situation like this again.”
Sapphire sighed. “That’s not a promise.”
“It’s the best I can do, babe.” He tilted her chin up and brushed a kiss over her lips. “Your safety always comes first.”
She lowered her head and panic gripped him. He’d tried to show her this past week that he could be gentle, that he could court her the way she deserved. Now he was wondering if he’d gone about things all wrong. Maybe he should have spent that time solidifying their physical relationship.
No, he had a plan and he had to stick to it. This was too important to fuck up. He wanted to kill Gregor for frightening and threatening Sapphire. But since he couldn’t actually kill the bastard—Gregor’s sudden disappearance would raise too many questions and Sapphire would always wonder what he’d done—he’d make sure Gregor was no longer a problem. He was good at dealing with problems.
Although there was one problem that was persistent and nothing he did changed that fact. His cock had been rock-hard this past week, no matter how many times he’d jacked off. Not having sex with Sapphire was keeping the appendage primed and ready.
He tried to think of something else, anything else. His gaze fell on the grocery bags dumped just inside the front door. “You were going to make dinner for me?” He loved the idea that she’d wanted to surprise him. What was even more shocking was that he didn’t mind that she’d planned to invade his space without asking. With any other woman he’d have been pissed off. Of course, none of the other women he’d dated ever even knew where he lived. Sapphire was different. He liked having her here. Her presence made his apartment feel more like a real home.