by Alexa Riley
I snort and roll my eyes.
“Yeah right, Hulk-man.” I pat him on the chest before resting my hand there. I start to rub. I only meant to do a quick pat, but now I can’t seem to remove my hand. I like the feel of him. I don’t think I’ve ever liked the feel of a man before. I don’t think I’ve ever had the urge to touch one before.
Once I let some CEO of a company I was working with kiss me. It was slimy and awkward and I hadn’t had the desire to try it again. I only did it that one time before because I wanted to see what it would be like to kiss. Why so many people always felt the need to do it.
“You think I couldn’t hurt you?” He grabs my wrist, pulling it away from his chest. The action makes me frown. Oh, I know he could hurt me, but someone like him would never stalk me. That just didn’t add up to me. If anything, I’d end up stalking him.
“Oh, I’m sure you could Hulk smash me.” Now that I’m not touching him, I bring my other hand up to his chest and continue doing what I was doing before, but he just grabs that wrist, too.
“Then why aren’t you worried?” His words are hard and laced with anger. So unlike the soft hold he has on my wrist. I could easily pull away with one good tug. Maybe.
“Someone like you wouldn’t stalk me. Maybe my sister. In fact, I don’t see anyone stalking me. There has to be a mix up.”
He gives a little tug on my wrist, and I fall into him, gasping when I feel his erection press into me.
“You’re hard.” The words pop right out of my mouth like they always do. I push myself further into him, wanting to feel it more.
“Shit,” he grunts before stepping back and releasing me. He starts to pace back and forth, reminding me of a caged lion at the zoo wanting out. I’ve clearly made him uncomfortable, and for someone reason that makes me uncomfortable. Normally, I don’t care what people think about the things that come out of my mouth.
“Maybe you should just guard my sister. I’m sure...” My words trail off when he stops prowling back and forth and his eyes lock on me.
“Already put someone on her.”
“So you agree it’s she who needs protecting?” I hate that I was right. For one, I don’t like the idea of my sister being in danger and two, my mind keeps going back to him sticking to me like Frodo to the ring.
“No. I one hundred percent think someone wants you, and they’ll use anything to get to you.”
“I just don’t get it.” I shake my head.
“There isn’t anything to get. Just let us do our job and we’ll find the asshole. And we’ll keep both of you safe in the meantime.”
I drop my bag to the floor and take a deep breath. My mind seems to be going down an endless tunnel of whos and whys. I just can’t seem to grasp at anything.
I feel a finger lift my chin and find myself looking at him. My glasses slide back on my nose. I didn’t even hear him move towards me.
“I can protect both of you. Your sister, too. I know it will make you both feel better knowing you’re safe. What can it hurt? You won’t even notice I’m around.”
“That’s highly improbable. You’re ginormous and look like a male sex god.”
“You can’t say shit like that to me.” He runs a hand through his hair like I’ve made him uncomfortable. So much for cutting through the bullshit.
“Sorry. I—”
His mouth hits mine, cutting off my words. For a moment I’m still not sure what just happened. I thought I had pissed him off. I dig my fingers into his shirt as he continues to go at my mouth. When I feel his hands go to my ass, I gasp. He takes the opening and pushes his tongue into my mouth.
I let my eyes close as he devours my mouth. This is nothing like the kiss I had before. I push my tongue into his mouth, mimicking his movements, wondering if I’m making him feel what he’s making me feel.
My body feels like I’m buzzing. Something inside of me is coming to life. I push further into him, wanting to be closer. I deepen the kiss. He goes to pull back, but I wrap my hands around his neck, not even noticing that I’m eye level with him and that my feet are no longer on the floor as I pull him back to me.
I move against him, needing the friction. His cock is settled against my core, and I move my hips against him, taking what I want. What I need. Everything else is forgotten, my mind just shuts off.
He growls into my mouth, and I swear the sound vibrates through my whole body and goes straight to where I need it. My body explodes. A moan falls from my lips as I finally pull them from his. I let my head drop back and enjoy the sensations rocking through my whole body. I feel like I’m floating.
When I finally come back down, I realize I kind of am. My legs are wrapped around his waist and I’ve somehow ended up with my back to a wall. I feel his tongue come out and lick my neck, making my body jerk.
“I wanna do that again,” I say lazily. I think I could do that over and over again.
“Your place isn’t secure. Come to mine and I’ll do it over and over again.”
“Mmkay,” is all I say. I’d probably go anywhere he asked me at the moment.
“Holy shit.”
I roll my head to the side and see my sister standing in the doorway. A man stands beside her with a shocked looked on his face, mirroring Elle’s expression. I’m guessing that’s her guard.
“I’m keeping this one,” I say, locking my arms around him, not wanting to do a trade.
“Fuck,” Hart says, placing me on the floor. I regretfully let my arms fall from around his neck.
He steps in front of me, blocking my view of my sister and the other man.
“I don’t think you should be her guard, Hart,” I hear the other man say. His words make my heart drop.
“I’m moving in with him,” I retort, popping my head out from behind him. Elle giggles. Both men just ignore us.
“Fuck,” Hart says again, like it’s the only word he knows at the moment. He runs his hands through his hair again. It must be something he does when he’s frustrated.
“We can get Kent to guard her,” the other man says, making me scowl at him.
“No,” Hart bites back, finally giving us another word besides fuck. “I’ll get it under control,” he says before looking down at me. “Go pack your stuff.”
4
Drake
How did I not hear anyone sneak up on us? I’m kicking myself for being so lost in our kiss that I didn’t have any idea about what was happening around us.
Kiss. It sounds like such a small word for what just happened. Sweet Zoey rubbed her body against mine and got off on it. She used me for her pleasure, and fuck if it wasn’t the hottest thing I’ve ever done in my life. Dry humping her against a wall is better than anything I’ve ever felt, and all I can think about is how fucking good it’s going to be when I get inside her.
No.
I’ve got to distance myself. I can’t get clouded again. Her protection needs to be my number one priority. When her lips hit mine, I was lost to everything around me. So far gone that I didn’t notice my partner or Elle standing in the doorway.
What is happening to me? I’ve never been this gone over someone. The second I saw her picture I was a goner, and now, having tasted her sweet lips, I don’t know that I can keep away from her. Which is probably why I should. She needs to be protected, and I obviously can’t do that while I’m with her.
“Maybe you’re right,” I mumble as I watch Zoey walk out of the room.
“From what I saw, I think you’ve got it covered,” Elle says. I look over and watch as she folds her arms across her chest and gives me a smirk. “I think most people would be offended to walk in and find this situation, but I’ve never seen her have this reaction to someone.” She cocks her head to the side and smiles at me. “You must be quite the catch.”
Pink lets out a low growl in his throat, and I look over to see an irritated look on his face. Elle seems to sense it, too. She looks over at him and a blush creeps across her cheeks.
“I t
hink I’ll go help my sister pack,” she says, walking out of the room. I see Pink try to take a step towards her, but he holds himself back, staying in the front of the condo with me.
“What the hell happened?”
I turn to look at Pink, not knowing how to answer. Rubbing the back of my neck, I try to ease some of the tension there. How do I even begin to explain what is going on?
“I just... “I try to think of the right word, but nothing is coming.
“Reacted,” he finishes for me, and it’s the truth.
I never stopped to think about what I was doing or what the consequences would be. It was pure need and lust that drove me to her, against her. Inner raging desire beyond anything I’ve ever felt pushed me past the point of reason and sanity.
“Yes.” The word leaves my lips like a curse.
“Do you need me to step in? Call someone else? I’ll be honest, Hart. Looking at you now, I don’t know anyone who would willingly cross you. You look like you’re about to rip apart a truck.”
Pink walks over and leans against the bar in the kitchen area. He tries to be smooth about it, but I can see he’s moving his line of sight to the bedroom to watch the women back there. I know because I’ve been doing the same thing.
“I’ll get it together. I don’t want anyone else on this.” I feel my fists clench. I know I can’t handle the other option of having someone else this close to her.
“If it makes you feel any better, we kind of snuck in.”
Pink smiles at me and gives me a wink. Bastard is almost as quiet as I am. He’s probably the only person on the planet who could sneak up on me, so I don’t feel as bad as I did before.
“You okay with staying with Elle? I’d like for both of us to remain on the premises or for them to stay with us until this is taken care of.”
He gives me a quick hard look and nods. “I’ve got her taken care of.”
“I set up video surveillance outside this building and inside the apartment. If the stalker tries to come back in, I’ll know it.”
“Good. I’ve got everything set up at Elle’s place. I’m willing to give it a night or two there before I offer to move her. Since the threat wasn’t directed at her, my being there might just be precautionary,” Pink says, trying to look farther down the hall.
We wait quietly for a few more moments before Elle makes her way up the hall to us. “I think you might need to talk to Zoey about what the word ‘essentials’ really means.” She gives me a wink and walks by us, heading for the front door. “You coming?” She turns to look at Pink, eyeing him up and down.
“God, I hope so,” he whispers, loud enough for only me to hear, as he pushes away from the bar and makes his way to the front door with Elle.
I nod to the two of them before going to find Zoey. “I’ll be checking in regularly with you both. No radio silence. No matter what. Clear?”
“Yes, sir,” Pink answers as Elle gives a salute. They walk out of the door, her laughing and him rolling his eyes. I hate to say it, but he may have his hands full with that one.
Speaking of handfuls.
I have to stop that train of thought before I get to Zoey. I’m here to protect her, and I can’t do that if I’m distracted. Maybe when we get to my place, I can jerk off in the bathroom real quick and take care of this ache. I’ll just think about having her rub up against me and I’ll be cumming in seconds.
I adjust my cock as I walk down the hall and into her bedroom.
I’ve already been in it before. I did a sweep when I first got into the apartment. It’s much like the rest of her place. Bare walls, plain bedding, and nothing personal anywhere except for the picture of her and her sister beside the bed. Every room is extremely tidy, except for her office. Zoey is a minimalist with no knickknacks or clutter. But I had to laugh on entering her office. I’m sure she considers it organized chaos, but for someone who works online for ninety percent of her time, her office is really where she lives. Maybe if she ventured outside of it more, her house would reflect it the same chaos of her office, but as it is, her bed hardly looks slept in.
I see her over by the bed filling three huge suitcases to the brim.
“Cupcake, I don’t mind you bringing a lot of stuff, but I think the Christmas tree can stay.”
She pauses and looks up at me, a Christmas wreath in her hands. “Oh.”
The sad look crosses her face, and I feel an ache in my chest. I’m by her side in seconds, holding her face in my hands as she drops the wreath to the floor.
“Don’t make that face. I’m sorry. I just meant this was a quick trip to my house. You can bring anything you want. I can come back for all your stuff tomorrow or the next day. I just needed you to pack an overnight bag now.”
She smiles really big, immediately over the sadness, understanding what I mean. I have to remind myself that she takes everything in the most literal sense.
“Okay. So just a couple of things. I can do that.”
“Perfect.”
I help her pack a couple of changes of clothes, and I grab her bathroom stuff before we go into her office to see what she needs from there. She packs up her laptop and one more bag filled with files. I have no idea what these are, but they seem important enough for her to bring. I’ll ask her about them later. Right now I’m focusing on keeping her safe, and that means getting her out of here and to my place. There’s no place safer than where I live.
“Okay, big guy. I think I’m ready.”
I look down and try not to laugh. She’s still holding the Christmas wreath under her arm, but I don’t dare say a word. If she wants to bring her whole goddamn house, she can. It seems odd and out of the ordinary, but I find her quirkiness adorable, and her honest approach to this is refreshing. I think most people would be terrified of a stalker, but Zoey seems to take it in her stride.
“After you, cupcake.”
To my surprise, she reaches out and squeezes my ass as she walks by.
“Just wondering what it felt like. Okay, let’s go.”
Smiling and shaking my head, I grab her bags. This is going to be interesting, to say the least.
5
Zoey
“Wow, I love this place.” I look around Drake’s home in awe. Everything is awash in deep, rich colors, making it feel warm and homey, nothing like my apartment.
“Thanks.” I look up at him and see a little pink hit his cheeks. God, he’s so handsome. My eyes go back to the scar on his cheek. I can’t seem to keep my eyes off it. I couldn’t stop staring at him the whole drive over here. I have no idea what it is about him, but for the first time in my life, I’m utterly fascinated by a man. He makes me feel things I’ve never felt before, and I like those feelings. Want to keep them. They make me feel more like everyone else. Maybe it was the mind-blowing orgasm he gave me. They’re something I’m going to be getting more of.
“It feels like a home. Mine is kind of…” I scrunch my nose as I try to think of a word. “Cold.”
“I wanted it to be homey,” he says, using my own word. I can tell there’s more there. That he has put a lot of effort into making his place feel warm and welcoming. It seems important to him.
“Are you sure you want me to live here with you? I’ll destroy this place.” I drop the bag from my shoulder, and when it hits the floor, I hear a few things spill out, making my words ring true. “I’m kind of a mess. That’s why I try not to have a lot of things. Simple seems to work best for me.”
The corner of his mouth quirks at my words. “I don’t think anything about you is simple. And I think I can handle you.” He looks down at me, his eyes roaming over me. I don’t think we’re talking about handling the same things.
I try to clarify. “I’m serious! My sister is a neat freak. She won’t even live with me and she loves me. When I moved out on my own, I made sure I didn’t have too much stuff and tried to just contain things to my office and bedroom—places I could close the door to if people came over.”
; I look around his place and see not only does everything look all warm and cozy, it looks neat. I’ve been here two seconds and I’ve already made a mess.
“I kind of like the idea of seeing your stuff all over my place.” He bends down and picks up the bag I dropped, repacking the items that spilled out.
“That doesn’t even make sense.” He likes the idea of me going all Tasmanian devil in his place?
“Come on, I’ll show you to your room.”
He starts to head down a hallway, and I follow him, trying to take everything in. “I’m staying in your room, right?”
I stop moving when I collide into his back. I was too busy looking around at his home to pay attention to where I was walking.
“I have to protect you, cupcake. I’m not sure how well I can do that with you in my bed.”
“But I’m moving in, and you said you would give me more orgasms,” I protest, not understanding. It makes sense if we sleep together. I may be new at this sex stuff, but I’m pretty sure most of it goes down at night. In bed. I hope we don't have to wait for the sun to go down because I kind want to do it now if it’s anything like what he did to me against the wall.
“Moving in.” He says the words like he doesn’t understand them.
“I thought you said I was staying with you. That you’d send someone to get the rest of my things. I’ll have to see about breaking my lease, but I’m sure it can be done for the right amount of money. And Elle says I have money coming out my ass so no worries there.” Elle handles my accounts. I don’t pay attention to money. I know how to invest well but I don’t really watch the bottom dollar. I guess because I haven’t really had to. When people reach out for my services, she always handles costs and payments. I just slide my Amex when I need something and the thing always works. Elle says I spend hardly anything, and I’ll never burn through the money at this rate.
He just continues to stare down at me, his face completely unreadable, not that I’m good at reading people. Computer code, yes. People, I’m a total bust at.