by Kat Mizera
He stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked away, staring at the bright lights ahead of us at the entrance to the Christmas market. “I thought I was fighting for the good guys, and mostly I have been. But no matter how noble the intentions, there’s always politics involved. People vying for someone else’s job and using what we do to gain power. It’s hard to know who to trust, including your bosses. And sometimes the red tape makes it almost impossible for me to do what I have to do. I’ve given my country nineteen years. Maybe it’s time for me to do something else.”
“You’d retire? Really? Won’t you be bored?”
“Chains, my buddy that’s been helping me with your situation, owns a security and bodyguard company, so I can always get a job with him, but I’m not worried about being bored. I’d like to take some time off, travel, do some things I’ve always wanted to do.”
“Like what?” I felt like a giddy schoolgirl on a date with the high school football team quarterback. I wanted to know everything about him, immediately, as if we might not have a lot of time and he would disappear from my life once again.
“Like tour the inside of cathedrals all over Europe,” he said with a faint smile. “Swimming with sharks in the South Pacific. Snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. The list is pretty long.”
“Have you ever wanted to settle down?” I asked quietly, my heart beating a little harder as I waited for his answer.
“You mean, with a woman, or in one place?”
I frowned. “Both, I suppose.”
“To be honest, I’ve never wanted a house in the suburbs, a dog and two-point-five kids. I’d be open to having a special woman in my life, maybe even a kid, but settling in one place, working some nine-to-five job and doing the same thing every day sounds like hell on earth to me.”
I dipped my head, slightly embarrassed because that was exactly the kind of life I had. Minus having someone special in my life.
“I love my job,” I said after a moment. “So it doesn’t feel like drudgery. I love being able to dig into the minds of kids, whether they’re five or fifteen, and help them discover the world around them. There’s always a bad day now and then, that’s part of life, but in general, I love what I do.”
“That’s how I used to feel about what I do,” he said. “The last few years have changed me. A lot has happened, things that have changed my view of the world more than me as a person. But I suppose those go hand in hand.”
“I suppose they do.” We entered the Christmas market and despite the dark turn our conversation had taken, it was hard to be down amid the bright lights, decorations and the wonderful scents we were immediately assaulted with. My stomach growled, reminding me it had been hours since I’d eaten.
“Potato pancakes,” Ace said suddenly. “Do you like them?”
“I love them,” I responded with a grin. “Though I try not to indulge too often.”
“It’s almost Christmas. Come on!” He tugged me toward a booth and got in line.
“You’re going to get me fat,” I protested mildly, though I was mostly kidding. I hadn’t been running the last week, but I did it often and it kept me in shape. “I’m going to have to run a hundred miles this weekend.”
“Do you run?” he asked me.
“When I can.” I nodded. “This time of year is hard because of finals coming up. Lots of paperwork, papers to grade, grades to turn in…”
“When does school let out?”
“Next Wednesday.”
“So just one more day this week and three days next week? And you’re off until when?”
“Second week of January.”
“There are perks to teaching,” he said as we got up to the counter. He got two orders of potato pancakes, one with applesauce and one with a horseradish-type sauce, and I was impressed with his command of the German language.
“You speak German well,” I said as we stood at a bar-height table to eat.
“Like I told you, I have a thing for languages. I speak a lot of them.”
“How many?”
He paused. “Eight fluently, four or five more that I can muddle through.”
“Thirteen languages?” I gaped at him. “I thought I was cool because I speak three and a half.”
“Is German the half?” he asked.
“Yes, but I’m learning.”
“We can practice if you want.”
“Are you going to be around long enough for us to practice?” I met his gaze intently, as if that was a very important question.
“Would you like me to be?”
Chapter Eleven
Ace
I had to stop this little game I was playing with myself, pretending I might be able to spend more time with her. I wanted to, but I had to go as soon as I handled this stalker situation, and letting her think otherwise wasn’t fair to either of us.
“I’d love if you stayed for a while.” She paused. “But something tells me you’re not going to.”
“What makes you say that?” She was fairly astute for someone as naïve as she claimed to be.
“The way a muscle in your cheek twitches just a little the minute we discuss something like how long you’re staying, or having two-point-five kids.”
Damn. How did she know me so well already? “It’s not something I’m used to talking about. I’ve steered clear of the heavy stuff over the years because I had to.”
“And now?”
“Darlin’, the first time I danced with you, you made me want to break every rule in the book. And it doesn’t seem to be any different this time.”
“Why do you think that is?” Her eyes were guileless but I had a feeling there was a lot more emotion behind her question than she was letting on.
“I wish I knew. There’s something about you.” I reached out and impulsively cupped her chin with my hand, letting my thumb gently rub away a touch of applesauce on her lower lip.
“There’s something about you too,” she whispered, her eyes never leaving mine.
“If I kiss you, Shannon, I’m never going to stop,” I said gruffly, letting my hand rest on her chin, waiting to see if she would move away. Instead, she leaned into it a little.
“I’ve been imagining the different ways you might say that to me for so long, and this was way sexier than anything in my head.”
“You’re trying to kill me, aren’t you?” I swallowed, unable to break the gaze we held. This was ridiculous. Twenty-four hours ago she’d been ready to kill me. Now she was inviting me to kiss her. And I really fucking wanted to.
Instead, I placed a chaste kiss on her cheek and got up to grab some napkins.
“What was that?” she demanded when I returned.
“I thought I’d give you a chance to change your mind.” I wiped my mouth with a napkin even though I was fairly certain I didn’t have anything there.
“I’ve had ten years to change my mind,” she laughed. She leaned forward and, before I realized what she was doing, pressed her lips to mine. Her mouth was closed and her eyes were open, cautiously watching my reaction, but there was no way in hell I was pulling away. Instead, I slid one arm around her shoulders and let the tip of my tongue tease the seam of her lips.
Those gorgeous blue eyes of hers fluttered closed and her mouth opened just enough for her tongue to toy with mine. For at least a minute, maybe two, we sat there with our lips pressed together, our tongues doing a gentle, playful dance. I didn’t plan to, but my mouth seemed to have a mind of its own and deepened the kiss, demanding a little more, and she let me.
When I pressed my tongue into her mouth, she made a sound that was the purest, sweetest, most enticing thing I’d ever heard. It wasn’t a moan or a sigh or a groan, but more of a whisper, as if her soul was talking to mine. I didn’t know what that meant, but I wasn’t going to think about it too hard because right now the most beguiling woman I’d ever known was kissing me back. Kissing me like we’d kissed ten years ago. Except this was better, and we weren’t hiding from anyone
, and I fucking never wanted it to end.
“Wow.” When we finally pulled apart, her eyes were glassy and her lips a little swollen. She looked thoroughly well-kissed and knowing that I was the man who’d put that look on her face got me hard as a rock.
“Now look what you’ve done,” I said, nuzzling her neck. “You’ll have to walk in front of me for at least an hour.”
She smiled. “Or we could just sit here and make out. We have ten years to make up for.”
I drew her head back to mine, taking her mouth with a little more finesse this time, stroking her tongue more urgently, hoping to get her as worked up as I was. I didn’t know what my end game would be, because I wanted her so much more than I’d thought I would, but it felt like I’d been waiting my whole life for this moment.
“Should we be doing this here?” she whispered against my mouth.
“Probably not, but if I get you alone, things are going to go a lot further than kissing.”
“That’s kind of what I was hoping.”
“Shannon, I don’t—”
“Shut up,” she said with a soft smile, pressing her forefinger against my mouth. “I’m a grown woman and I’ll kiss you if I want to. Right here in the middle of the Christmas market too.”
“I like the sound of that.”
And that’s what we did. Though we kept our hands and body language relatively chaste, we kissed like horny teenagers who were away from their parents’ prying eyes for the first time. At some point, when it seemed like there was nowhere to go unless we wanted to strip down right here in the square, we exchanged a meaningful look as we finally pulled apart. It didn’t seem like there was anything to say, so we finished eating our potato pancakes and then she slid her hand into mine and we started to walk. I was sporting a fairly uncomfortable boner, but that was okay because she was worth every second of discomfort.
I untucked my T-shirt and let it cover my crotch area as we walked. We joined the busy market, stopping at different booths as she finished some Christmas shopping and I even did some. Though Erik and his family certainly didn’t need any material items, I picked up a few things for the kids.
“Where will you be at Christmas?” she asked after I’d bought a handful of gifts.
“Probably with the royal family in Limaj,” I said. “Unless…”
“Unless what?”
“Unless I get a better offer.” I hadn’t planned to say that, and it would be extraordinarily inconvenient, but the words popped out before I could stop them.
“I don’t know what I could offer you better than Christmas with royalty,” she said quietly.
I stopped walking and pulled her against me. “Seriously? You think the fact that they’re royalty is better than being with the beautiful, sexy woman I’ve been fantasizing about for a decade?”
“Haven’t there been…women?” she asked, confusion on her pretty face.
“Women? Yes. But special women? Not even one. Not in a very long time.”
“But why? We only met for a few hours…”
“It was enough for you to write about me in your diary. To be angry when I missed your father’s funeral. It was no different for me.”
Our eyes locked and neither of us spoke, which spoke volumes in and of itself.
“It seems like we should feel silly,” she said after a moment. “We’re acting like hormonal teenagers.” She paused. “But I don’t feel silly.”
“I don’t either,” I admitted. “So how about we just keep walking and talking and getting to know each other. Maybe it’ll start to make sense, maybe it won’t, but either way, you have to admit it’s fun, despite the circumstances.”
“Definitely.” She slipped her hand into mine again and we moved down the aisle.
We got back to my hotel late, close to midnight, and we’d just kicked off our shoes when my phone rang.
Chains. Who knew how late it was. This couldn’t be good. I hit the button to accept the call, meeting Shannon’s gaze worriedly. “Hey, what’s up?”
“You have a problem.”
“What?”
“Your stalker just broke into Shannon’s apartment, and this time ransacked it. I don’t know how you want to handle it since obviously it’s meant for Shannon to find whenever she gets home tonight but…”
“Shit. Are they gone?”
“Yeah. I had one of my men watching the feed and she showed up about twenty minutes ago. He called me and we were watching but—”
“Wait, it’s a she?”
“Absolutely a woman. Still can’t see her face, but the body had breasts.”
“Damn. Well, there’s nothing we can do about it now, but I’m guessing tomorrow is going to be a busy day.”
Shannon was watching me with concern, but I held up a finger, indicating she should wait until I hung up.
“It’s not the worst thing in the world for this woman to realize Shannon is no longer an easy target.”
“No, but once she sees my face, she’ll probably disappear whenever I’m around.”
“Maybe you should go home with Shannon tonight, find the mess, and call the police. Then it’ll be handled by morning.”
“Let me talk to her. Thanks.” I hung up and told Shannon what had happened.
“Sonofabitch!” She was understandably upset. “Why is this escalating? And how the fuck is my stalker a woman?”
“Have you inadvertently dated a married man?” I asked. “I hate to ask, but that would be the number one reason for a woman to come after you.”
She shook her head. “I only dated that one guy since I’ve been here, and I never dated anyone but my husband back home.”
“So there’s some other reason she’s upset with you,” I reasoned. “Or she’s just a hired gun, and the person actually after you isn’t the one doing it.”
“Coward.” She was scowling now, arms folded across her chest. “What do we do?”
“Probably best if we go back to your apartment, like you’re getting home after a date, and we find the mess.”
“That means we have to call the police and this is no longer a private matter.”
“I know, but if we don’t report it, she’ll know she’s the reason I’m here and we don’t want that. My cover should be that I’m a guy you dated briefly in college, we reconnected online, and I’ve come to visit.”
She sighed and rested her head against my chest. “We had such a good time tonight, I forgot all about this stalker situation. Now our whole evening is ruined.”
“Nothing is ruined,” I whispered, stroking her hair. “I’m going to catch this bitch and then we’re going to pick up right where we left off.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.” I kissed the top of her head. I didn’t know if I could keep a promise like that, but I was sure as shit going to try.
Chapter Twelve
Shannon
My apartment was a disaster. Whoever this was had made a huge mess, overturning furniture, pulling down my curtains, dropping picture frames and even smashing a bottle of wine. We’d called the police and it had taken hours for them to assess the situation, take statements, and write reports. By the time they were gone and Ace and I had cleaned up the worst of the mess, it was nearly six in the morning. I was exhausted but determined to go in to work.
“Are you sure?” Ace asked me at least a dozen times.
“I’m sure. I’m going to go in for at least a few hours, type out notes for my afternoon classes and see if we can either get a substitute or the other teachers can help out. Once they find out my apartment was broken into, I’m sure they’ll jump in. Then I can come home and take a nap.”
“I’m going to clean up while you’re gone,” Ace said softly, kissing my lips.
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I know, but I want to. You get through the morning and by the time you get home, I’ll have a new plan.”
“You sure?”
“Come on. I’m walking you
to work.”
I had to admit, having him hold my hand as we walked the six blocks to the school was kind of sweet and romantic, despite the circumstances. When we passed Mr. Koelzig’s bakery, he stopped us and gave us hot chocolate and some pastries, on the house, his smile indicating his pleasure that there was someone special in my life. I told him about the break-in and he immediately offered to let us stay in his guest room, and though we politely declined, I realized just how much I’d settled in to my life here in Cologne. The idea that someone was trying to ruin it infuriated me.
“I can’t believe someone broke into your apartment,” Sandra said, coming in to take over my next class as I got ready to leave. “But I also can’t believe there’s a man in your life and you didn’t tell me.”
“We knew each other years ago, when I was in college. Nothing ever happened between us, but we reconnected through social media and he called me when he got to town. He’s here on business.” I was a better liar than I thought because Sandra looked intrigued.
“Wow. What’s his name?”
“A-Andrew,” I said. I didn’t want to lie, but Ace’s warnings about keeping his identity as much of a secret as possible rang in my head.
“Andrew what?” she pressed. “Geez, girlfriend. Since when are you so cagey?”
I laughed. “I’m a little shaken up about the break-in. I’m so glad he walked me home last night.”
“You two were going to get naked, weren’t you?” she teased, lowering her voice.
I probably blushed, but shook my head. “He’s a gentleman. I don’t think so. But maybe.”
We giggled a little, which was a welcome relief since I was so tired, and she didn’t ask about his last name again, for which I was grateful.
“Well, you go home and get some rest,” she said. “I’ll handle your next two classes and Mariana will take your last period.”
“Thank you.” I squeezed her arm. “See you Monday.”
“Call if you need me!” she called after me.
Ace was waiting when I got outside, and he slid an arm around my shoulders as we headed back to my apartment.