“What are you doing?” I hissed.
“I’m looking for an intruder,” he said over his shoulder.
“That’s not how you look for an intruder,” I whispered, rushing up behind him and grabbing the back of his coat.
“And how does one look for an intruder?”
“One looks for an intruder by being stealthy and having a weapon. By sneaking around and making sure that he’s not heard.”
“Then I would suggest you stop talking, because I can guarantee he knows exactly where we are.”
We finished walking through the apartment. The very empty apartment. Will turned to me with a satisfied look on his face and held his arms wide. “Well, I don’t see anyone. I think your murderer got his days confused.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him. “I’m glad you think this is funny, but someone really has been following me. I didn’t imagine that.”
Will sighed, glancing down at the floor as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Would it make you feel better if I stayed?”
“You would do that?” I asked, touched by his willingness to help me out when I knew I was a pain in the ass.
“Well, if I leave and you get murdered, then I’ll feel a little responsible, and I can’t have that on my conscience.”
I wanted to throw something at him. Not because I was upset, but because he had the ability to make me laugh so easily. This wasn’t supposed to be this easy. I was supposed to hate him or only tolerate him. That was the only way to keep my head in the game.
“Then I guess I’ll take a shower and then we can order some food.”
“Sure. I’ll just…hang out here and watch for perps, and try not to imagine you wet in the shower.”
“You could always join me,” I suggested.
He chuckled and shook his head. “I’m pretty sure that’s not a good idea.”
“Well, it was worth a try.”
Will
I heard the water running in the bathroom and groaned, imagining the water running down that beautiful body. God, I was such an idiot. Why the hell had I come over here? Because I was an idiot, that’s why.
My phone rang and I picked it up without looking at the caller ID. “Yeah?”
“So, Ma tells me that you’re getting married,” Derek laughed.
“Very funny, asshole.”
“She said that she thinks Charlie is perfect for you, which means she’ll get off my back.”
“You already have Claire. What would she be getting on you about?”
“Kids, what else?”
I glanced at the bathroom and then moved into the kitchen. “Yeah, well, I’m fucked.”
“How so?”
“I was working with her friend, Nathan, to find ways to run into her, and now she thinks she’s about to be murdered,” I whispered.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean…I was following her, and she knows.”
“She knows you were following her? Dude, stalking one-o-one, don’t be seen.”
“She didn’t see me, but she knows someone is following her, and now she’s all freaked out.”
“Wait, why were you following her? I thought this chick wasn’t interested in a relationship.”
“She’s not. I was hoping to run into her in random places and be totally cool, you know, act like I’m not really interested.”
“So, you’re trying to get her by not being interested.”
“Yeah, and it seems to sort of be working. Except that since I’m not a stalker, now she thinks someone is trying to kill her. So, I had to come over to her place to check it out.”
“To check it out for what?” he asked in confusion.
“To see if her stalker or murderer was here.”
“So, you’re basically looking for yourself,” he said.
I glanced back at the bathroom door and sighed. “That’s the gist of it.”
He barked out a laugh and I cringed. I knew it sounded bad, but it had already happened. There was nothing I could do about it now.
“Look, you’re already in.”
“No, I’m not. She called me so she didn’t get murdered. Not because she wants me.”
He sighed heavily into the phone. “How sure are you about this chick? Is this lust because she’s hot or is this something you really want to work?”
“This is me falling in love with a woman that doesn’t want me or anything else long-term. I’m at least seventy-five percent sure that she’s the woman for me, and if she actually gave me a chance, I could bump that up to ninety percent. Maybe more. But now she knows I’m stalking her and everything’s going to shit.”
“First, that’s way too much fucking pussy shit for my ears. They’re burning up right now. You need to man up and do what needs to be done to keep this woman. Second, seventy-five percent sure? How the hell do you not know? Either she’s the woman you want or she’s not, but I can guarantee that you don’t fucking stalk a woman if you’re not sure.” I rolled my eyes and listened to his rant. “Third, she doesn’t know that you’re stalking her. In fact, she only suspects that she’s being stalked. This is your chance. Get in there and protect her. Make her feel safe. Offer to stay the night with her to ease her fears. She needs a man that’s going to stand beside her through everything. You need to make her see that she’s better off with you than without you.”
“Yeah, but she doesn’t like sleepovers. This will be a one-time thing for her.”
“Only if you let it be.”
“You want me to keep stalking her? Which I wasn’t actually doing. I was trying to run into her.”
“Yeah, that’s still considered stalking,” he said drolly. “And no, don’t keep stalking her. Take advantage of your night with her. Make a big show of checking the windows and the locks. Make sure she sees that you’re taking her fears seriously. And if you want, you could throw in a little of the fear factor.”
“How the hell do I do that?”
“Well, you could slip out of bed in the middle of the night and make some loud noises. When she gets out of bed, you could say there was an intruder and you chased him off.”
“Are you kidding me?” I scoffed. “Then the police get involved and-“
“Yeah, I know, it’s messy. Then that leaves the more boring route.”
“Which is?”
“Well, you could come clean to her that you were following her, hoping to bump into her because you wanted to see her again. But that’s pussy shit.”
“If I admit to her that I was following her, she’s gonna think I’m a stalker-“
“Which you are.”
“And she’s never gonna speak to me again.”
“Then I guess you just have to see how tonight plays out. Pray to God that you can convince her tonight that you have something between the two of you, because you can’t keep following her around. You obviously suck at it.”
“Sorry, I never took stealthy stalking classes in college.”
“Well, if you had, you wouldn’t be in this position, asshole.”
I heard the shower shut off. “Shit, she’s getting out of the shower.”
“You know what to do. Go get that pussy.”
I hung up just as she stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. “Is everything okay?” she asked, nodding to my phone.
“What? Oh, that was Derek. I guess Ma called and told him all about her visit with you.”
“So, I’m making the rounds already,” she grinned.
“Yeah, well…” I chuckled nervously as I watched the water drip down her hair onto her skin and slip beneath the towel. I cleared my throat and turned away from her. I couldn’t stand to see her so naked and not touch her.
“I should get dressed,” she said. And then I heard the towel drop to the ground. I blew out a harsh breath and flung my head up, staring at the ceiling. She did not just do that. She was tempting me. She wanted sex, and so did I, but not like this.
I heard the hardwo
od creak as she stepped up to me, then her arms were slipping around my waist and her breasts were pressing up against my back. I lost it. Hell, I didn’t care in this moment if she wanted more or not. All I could think about was the fact that she was naked, and she wanted me. I spun around and my lips crashed into hers. My hands slid down her slippery skin to her ass and I pulled her against me. She gasped, lifting her hands up around my neck.
“What the hell are you doing?” I grumbled against her lips.
“I thought that was obvious.”
I growled and hoisted her up in my arms, taking her into the bedroom. I collapsed onto the bed with her, my knee right between her legs. She laid spread out for me, her perfect breasts pointing up for me to devour. I hated her and myself in that very moment. The one woman I wanted was handing herself over to me temporarily and I was too much of an idiot to walk away. I had to have her. Even if it was only for this night, I was going to enjoy her, and show her what she was going to miss out on when I was gone.
I kissed her hard, her hands trailing up my arms to rest on my shoulders. I ground my cock against her, letting the hard material of my jeans really work her clit. Her moans drove me insane. Her cries for more had me tearing off my clothes. It was all I could do to keep from tripping over my own damn feet as I pulled off my clothes.
I sighed in relief when I was finally inside her. Warmth wrapped around me, her hands slid up and down my back, caressing me and making me need her even more than I already did. I was lost for this woman. I slowly rocked in and out of her, pushing my cock as far in as I could, pushing her to her limits. My lips burned across her skin and my touch sent goosebumps across her skin. It was bliss, but it was over way too soon.
As we laid there, panting in each other’s arms, all I could think about was the moment she would kick me out and it would all be over. But I wouldn’t let that happen. Not tonight. I kissed a soft kiss to her lips and walked around her room, checking the windows to make sure the locks were secure. She sat up in bed, pulling the sheet up over her chest and gave me a sly smile.
“What are you doing?”
“Making sure no murderers get in,” I grinned. Following Derek’s advice, I made a big show of checking every damn window in the apartment and then moved on to her front door, checking the locks and sliding the chain across the door. When I turned around, she was wrapped in her sheet, leaning against the doorframe, staring at me with a light in her eyes that I had only hoped to see.
Charlie
I was exhausted. My body was sore and my eyes were gritty from lack of sleep. After watching Will walk around my apartment, checking all the locks and making sure I was safe, I just couldn’t stop myself from going after him. He had even suggested that since I was safe, he should head out so I could get sleep. He didn’t want me to be late for work, and that just made me drop my sheet and go after his dick again.
I couldn’t keep my hands off him. I wanted him so badly last night, and the way he worshipped my body made me feel like a queen. Sex had never been so good. And now, with his warm body pressed against mine, I considered doing something I had never done before. I wanted to call off work and stay in bed with him.
I ran my hand over his muscled abs and slid it down under the sheet. I felt the slim trail of hair leading down to his cock and followed it happily. I heard his sharp intake of breath and felt his hand tighten on my shoulder.
“I should go,” he said huskily.
“Why?” I asked, curling my hand around his thick cock.
“You know why,” he croaked out. “You have work. I have…” His breathing picked up as I started jacking him off. “School…teaching and…the thing with the bat,” he mumbled, squeezing his eyes shut.
“I think we should call in sick, just stay in bed all day.”
His eyes flew open and he stared at me in disbelief. “Is this a trick?”
“Why would this be a trick?”
I slid out of his grasp and moved to straddle his thighs, then pulled my hair over one shoulder and bent over, keeping my eyes locked on his as I swallowed his cock in my mouth. With one loud smacking sound, I sucked his cock from root to tip, watching as his eyes held mine with an intensity that made me squirm. His hips bucked against my face and then he slid his hand behind my ear and through my hair, grasping the strands as he squeezed his eyes closed and started fucking my mouth. I took him all in, choking on his length and swallowing him as best I could. I loved the moans that came from his mouth, but when he shot off and came inside my mouth, I couldn’t stop the grin that split my lips. His chest was heaving and his face had finally relaxed like he was going to fall asleep.
His cock slipped from my mouth and then he opened his eyes and sat up, leaning on one elbow. “I should go,” he murmured.
“Why?” I asked, confused why he would want to leave after what I just did. His face seemed almost sad for a moment.
“I don’t want you to resent me. I know this isn’t what you want. And as much as I tell myself that I can live by your rules and do things your way, I know I can’t. I want all of you, not just a quick fuck when you’re in the mood.”
I sighed and plopped down on the bed beside him. I didn’t want him to leave. I couldn’t deny that we had something special going on. I just worried it was going to turn out the way every relationship did.
“What if I said I could give you more?”
His eyebrows shot up and he slowly slid his thumb across my mouth, staring at my lips. “How much more?”
I shrugged slightly. “I’m not sure. I know I like you. I know that you make me feel things my husband never made me feel.”
“Then why not give it a try?”
I sighed and flopped back down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. “Because the relationship you want is not something I want to do again. It’s different when you live with someone. All those little things that are so cute when you’re dating are just irritating when you live together. And that’s your end goal, right?”
I looked over at him and he couldn’t hide the truth on his face. “Not right now, but eventually, if things worked out with us.”
“I can’t do that again. I like living on my own…but what if I could give you a little more? Like, we could spend a few nights a week together.”
He huffed out a laugh and shook his head, flopping back on the bed. “Don’t do me any favors or anything.”
“It’s all I can offer,” I responded, not feeling guilty at all. I knew where my head and my heart stood on this issue, and that wouldn’t change. “I have a life that I love. I have a child to think of. And I know myself. I was so unhappy living with a man. It’s not something I ever want to do again.”
“What if this turned out to be something great?” he asked, not looking at me. “What if what we have is what you were supposed to have the first time around, but it was with the wrong guy?”
“I still won’t change my mind,” I said firmly. “I know that doesn’t exactly make me the most desirable person, but it’s all I can give. I just don’t think I’m cut out to do the whole relationship thing the way other people are.”
“How can you know that from just one bad experience?”
I thought about it a moment and then turned to give him all my attention. “When I was little, I didn’t dream of finding the perfect man and having a family. I dreamed of being a doctor. When the high school prom came along and a boy asked me to the dance, I asked him if we could skip the dance and have sex in the back of his car. When I met Kyle in college, he knew all along that I wasn’t interested in much more than studying, and he stayed with me anyway. He said he loved my ambition, and I really believe he did, but I never really felt the same for him. I just don’t think I’m cut out to be with a person in that way. I would rather have my space and time than have to make room in my life for a man. And I know that makes me sound like a terrible person, but that’s just the way I’m cut out.”
He nodded and then leaned forward, pressing a kiss to my li
ps. “I think you’re perfect the way you are. And that’s not because you give amazing head,” he said with a wink. “I like you the way you are. I just wished I had met you before your husband. I wish that I had gotten the chance he had, because then I might have actually had a shot at changing your mind.”
I didn’t know what to say. The guy was perfect. I knew he wasn’t just saying these things. He meant them. But if I went along with him and pretended that we could have more, I would only end up hurting him, and he was someone I never wanted to hurt.
“I’m sorry I can’t give you more than that,” I whispered.
He nodded and smiled at me. “Me too. But…if the offer is still on the table for today, I’ll call in sick and spend the whole day fucking you out of my mind…for at least another twelve hours,” he grinned playfully.
“Deal.”
* * *
“Oh fuck!” he shouted as I rode his cock. We were in the living room after I tackled him from behind and forced him onto his back. I couldn’t get enough of him today, and seeing that tight ass walk toward the kitchen just did something to me. So, here we were, him on his back, and me riding him so hard that my pussy actually hurt. But it hurt so good.
I groaned and pushed my breasts out just to tease him. He cupped them, twisting my nipples so hard that I let out a shriek…or a moan…or a cry of ecstasy. I wasn’t sure at this point. I just knew that whatever the hell he was doing to me, I never wanted it to end.
Then I felt my orgasm coming on and his thrusts up into me started becoming erratic. He was going to come already, but I wasn’t ready for that.
“No, don’t do it,” I begged him. “Not yet.”
“I can’t stop myself,” he groaned.
“No!” I shouted as he stilled inside me, thrusting into me so hard that my legs ached from the split at my thighs. I cried out, mourning the loss of what was possibly the best sex we’d had yet.
But it was short lived when the door busted in. The chain broke from the door and Nathan stood there, heaving and staring at me wide-eyed. Will did his best to cover himself in some way, but Nathan had already seen me. This was nothing different. Will snatched a blanket off the floor beside us and tossed it over his legs.
Textbook Approach: A Small Town Romance Page 19