06

« 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