“Wouldn’t he have received the death penalty if he’d killed you?”
“Yep.”
The justice system made no sense. I’d read numerous reports about stalkers. After years of tormenting their victims, the sentencing was relatively minor. Most victims said they continued living in fear when the stalker got out of jail or prison within a year. I rolled a little and looked into Brack’s eyes. “After you healed, what did you want to do?”
His smile made me hot. “Fuck everything in sight.”
Was that really what was wrong with me? “I’ve never acted this way. It’s like I have no control.”
“Come here,” he said as he gathered me in his arms and rose to his feet. He walked to the bed and lay down with me cuddled against his chest. It felt good and his scent calmed me even further.
For some reason, my breakdown had my sexual urges receding and I could think without desire clouding my brain. “Why won’t you have sex with me? And before you say I’m a job, please be honest. I get it if you aren’t attracted to me. I’m old enough to understand that an erection does not mean you’re lusting after me. If I’m not your type or you have a girlfriend you’re staying faithful to just tell me.”
A deep grumble from his chest vibrated against my cheek. “Are you finished?”
“I guess,” I said in a small voice.
His arms squeezed just a little more firmly. “You turned me on from the moment I saw you. Even looking like death warmed over, you didn’t want that security jerk assisting you in any way. I immediately knew you were trouble. For the first time in a long time, I looked forward to a challenge. And to answer your questions, I don’t have a girlfriend and my erection is because you’re hotter than hell. God I love your ass. It does serious things to my resolve.” His hand went into the hair at my neck. He gently pulled my head back so he looked into my eyes. “I will not compromise your life by having sex with you. You might say its slam, bam, thank you ma’am, but I think it will be more. Much more.”
His words sent a thrill from my fingertips to my toes. Most women would probably continue with the sex line of this discussion. But when I thought about more than a one-night stand, the thrill turned to nervous jitters and I changed the subject. “Was that a tennis joke?” I referred to the “slam bam” comment.
He laid his head back against the pillow and brought me against his chest again. “Could be.”
“You know more about tennis than you let on.”
“After your father contacted me, I took an internet crash course in Olivia Stradmore Tennis 101. I needed to know about your life—who you were outside of being Senator Stradmore’s daughter. I also needed a game plan to keep you safe.”
I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with Brack. “Were you planning to bring me here all along?”
He sighed. “Yes. I was prepared to kidnap you if that’s what it took. I’m sorry about the flowers getting through, but it made my job easier.”
“Will you get him?” I heard the little girl quality in my voice. Brack made me feel safe yet vulnerable.
“Mack’s very good at what he does. Finding this monster is his job. Mine is keeping you alive.” He gave a little tug to a small section of my hair. “We’re both very good at our jobs.”
“You’ve seen me at my worst. I’m not proud of how I’ve acted. And though I love my father, being the senator’s daughter is not my favorite personality.”
A rumbling laugh escaped his chest. “I’m not sure we bring out the best in each other.” He tugged my hair again. “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t ask Mack to buy you a vibrator. I’m selfish and don’t want anyone knowing you’re sexually turned on all the time.”
I playfully slapped his chest. “That was so mean. I really needed that vibrator.”
His voice went serious. “How’s your head?”
Whoa, that was a quick change in subject. I decided not to rock the boat because we were speaking to each other like semi-reasonable adults. “My scalp is a little tender and I want the damn stitches out. I don’t think the concussion is a factor anymore.”
“I can remove the stitches in two days. I think what you need is exercise until you fall into bed each night. Since you like to bitch about my weak lungs and bulk, why don’t you train me? I’ll keep working with you on self-defense too.”
“Exercise in place of sex doesn’t seem like a fair trade.” I yelped when he pinched my thigh. Something else poked my hip, but I wasn’t ruining a good thing by acknowledging it. “Thank you,” I said instead.
“You won’t be thanking me after I kick your ass at racquetball.”
“In your dreams, big boy. I’ll be wiping the floor with you.”
He released me and rolled from the bed. I felt the immediate loss of his warmth. “I need to up my game then,” he said over his shoulder as he entered the bathroom.
“Remember what I said about boners. I have matches and I will light this damn place up.”
He stopped and gave me his familiar cocky smirk. “Don’t worry; it will only take a few seconds.”
I threw a pillow at the door after he shut it. Evil man!
Chapter Seventeen
With Brack’s new glasses, I was back to not seeing his eyes again. I’m not sure why he wanted them covered all the time. I wondered if children teased him when he was young. Kids could be awful. I’m sure they didn’t appreciate the beauty and only noticed his eyes were different.
I kicked his ass in racquetball and he kicked mine on the mat. This was not self-defense. Brack truly wanted me to kill this guy. I’m not sure why it was so important to him. I also understood on a deeper level that I was scared shitless. The thought of going toe to toe with a killer froze my insides.
Fight or flight, Brack called it. I didn’t tell him how terrified I was, but he knew. Brack was trying to train the flight instinct out of me.
“There’s a time to run and there’s a time to kill this motherfucker. That’s what you’re training for.”
I grumbled as Brack continued to pummel me with his tough-love techniques. I swam, ran, played racquetball, and picked myself up off the mat more times than I could count. Brack was right—when I fell into bed that night, I was too tired to think about what he did in the shower. I have no memory of him climbing in beside me.
I, however, woke up first and hid his glasses with a satisfying smirk of my own. Then I prepared breakfast. I picked up several vegetables from the floor and examined them. A little bruised, but they would work. I held a yellow squash in my hand and the damn thing reminded me of a butt plug. Not that I’d ever owned one, I thought as a thrill went directly to my pussy. What the hell was Brack thinking?
I cooked the squash with spinach and onions for an omelet filling. Brack pulled a pillow over his head with a groan when the smells filled the hut. I let him sleep. I wasn’t the only one who got their ass kicked the day before. I insisted on jogging to the hangar and back. While he was able to speak, he whined. Heavy breathing kept him quiet when even whining was too much.
I nudged the bed with a knee. “Sit up, big boy, I brought you breakfast in bed.”
He pushed the pillow off his face. “You sure are chirpy this morning,” he grumbled.
“Don’t tempt me or I’ll start singing. Then you’d see seagulls falling dead from the sky.”
His sleepy grin had my heart picking up in tempo. “That bad?” he asked.
“A fitting punishment for you if you don’t take this plate. My omelet’s cooking, so hurry.” I shoved the plate and a fork at him. He arranged his pillows behind his back and took his breakfast from me. I ran over to check my omelet hoping it hadn’t burned.
“Ah, there’s green stuff in this.” I glanced up and saw the most priceless look on his face. He’d peeled back the top of the omelet and stared at the insides in horror.
Truthfully, I’d never cooked for a man before and I was nervous. There was no way he would get away with not eating this meal. “It’s good for you. H
ow the hell do you keep your body in such great shape if you don’t eat vegetables?”
“This shit does not a body make.” He gave me puppy dog eyes. “I supplement my diet with protein powder when needed. I’m allergic to green,” he continued with his pouty face.
I fought a smile. “Too bad, I made it and you’re eating it. It’s a good start for a day of training.” I put both hands on my hips for emphasis. “Don’t make me come over there and force feed you.”
He looked back down at his plate, lifted his fork, and took a tentative bite. I watched him chew. Finally he met my eyes again. “Needs cheese, but it’s edible. Don’t think you’ve turned me into a vegetarian, though.”
That got a laugh from me. “I’m a meat eater, too. You need good carbs for a healthy body. Lots and lots of green. Be sure to eat every last bite… or… you’re not getting your aviators back.”
His eyes went to the table by the bed and he shook his head in defeat. “Yes, mother.”
I laughed and went back to preparing my omelet. After he ate his last bite, I returned his glasses without a word. We took a quiet walk along the shore after eating. It gave me a chance to ask a question or two.
I bent over and picked up a shell. “So you left the police force and did what?”
Brack put his hand out and I handed him the shell. He skipped it across the water. “I was out of shape after my injury, so I started a hard workout routine to fix the problem. When I was ready, I called Mack, who I grew up with, and talked him into working with me.”
“So you specialize in saving women from stalkers.”
That gained me a brief flash of teeth. “Not quite. We do handle our fair share of celebrities who tend to have stalker problems, but we also handle family security problems.”
“Families?”
“Yes, and I don’t share their information. We work with elected government officials and keep their families safe if there’s a threat.”
Interesting. I never considered the political stalker theory. “Do you think there’s a chance this guy is after me because of my father?”
“These characters have a million reasons. Could be your father, your tennis celebrity status, or he just saw you in public or on TV one day. Then he fell in sick love. He’s a whack-job. Mack’s working several different angles.”
“My father thinks it’s tennis. Everything was great when I was a kid and tennis was my life. Now, him and his old-fashioned roots want me looking to the future and doing something worthwhile.” I stopped and squished my toes into the cool sand.
Brack stopped, too. “Sounds like most fathers. Have you thought about what you’ll do after hanging up your racquet?”
The sand felt wonderful. “Not really. My bachelor’s degree is in economics because it made my father happy. I didn’t care at the time and just wanted to play tennis. I only have a few more good years in me.” The thought made me sad so I tossed out another question. “So what about you? Do you plan on risking your life for years to come?”
Pink flushed his cheeks. “My job is not nearly as dangerous as you think it is. Most of it’s boring.”
I handed him another heavier shell. “So I’m boring, huh?”
He laughed again. “Anything but. You, at least, have half a chance of keeping yourself safe once I’m no longer on the job.”
“I take it most of your clients don’t.”
His expression grew serious. “Once my job is complete, most hire other protection and live like the entire world is out to get them. I watched too many good men die to live like that. Life on the street as a cop taught me that, too. If you’re scared, they win. You can do everything right and end up hit by a bus. Vivere sua ultima quasi quotidiana.”
I knew Latin but it surprised me that he did. Brack’s unkempt appearance hid a sharp mind. Live every day like it’s your last. “Do you do that?”
The heavy shell skipped six times when he tossed it. “I try.”
“Ty terrifies me.”
Brack turned and removed his glasses. I wanted him to kiss me so badly it was a physical pain in my belly. I needed to stop questioning the attraction I had for him. Stop dwelling on the why and work on a different tactic that would put his cock where I ached the most.
“He should. You just can’t let it rule you. Seize the day.”
I almost groaned aloud with need. I had to somehow snap out of Brack induced orgasm cravings. I gave him a nervous smile. “And kill the motherfucker.”
“Exactly.”
“If Mack finds this guy, what makes you think I’ll need to know the things you’re teaching me?”
His serious expression remained. “There’s always another crazy motherfucker out there. Now come on. Our food’s settled and we can swim.”
Chapter Eighteen
There’s always another crazy motherfucker out there. That thought ran repeatedly through my mind. Brack said not to allow fear to rule me, but it was hard. My stalker made me afraid of everything. I was not the same person I was a year ago. Back then, my middle name was, “Take on the world.” Today it was, “Just survive until tomorrow.”
Later that morning, Brack played two racquetball games against me and I felt a great deal of satisfaction when his frustration finally showed. “Do you ever lose?” he asked while fighting for breath.
I used Brack’s favorite comeback—keep it frustratingly simple. “No.”
“You know I didn’t think you had a chance of beating me that first day.”
I could only shake my head. “Even knowing what I could do on a tennis court?”
Brack, who had bent double because he still wouldn’t listen to me about opening his lungs, stood up. “The YouTube videos didn’t do you justice.”
I laughed. “So which match did you watch?”
“Several, but my favorite was you and that Crosby woman. I think it was your match in the finals last year.”
I couldn’t help the less-than-humble grin spreading across my face. “I handed her a whole can of whoop ass that match.”
For a brief moment, Brack’s grin mirrored mine. “That you did. Now bring that to the mat and we might get somewhere today.”
My stomach twisted. “Why is it so important that I take this guy? Once he’s found, I’ll probably do like everyone else and hire someone to watch my back for a while.”
His grin completely disappeared. “Do you know Stacy Conway’s story?”
Now my stomach did back flips. “Yeah, I do.” Stacy was a model. Her stalker served two years in prison. A week after his release, he killed her. No… that wasn’t exactly correct. He slaughtered her.
“She was mine.”
That brought me out of my horrible thoughts. “Yours?”
“Yeah, Mack found the guy and he was arrested. The job went like clockwork. It didn’t end her nightmares, though. Even while he was in prison, she lived in fear. I was around for a while until she finally pushed me away. I wasn’t there when her career completely crashed and burned. Because of money, she didn’t contact me when they released him from prison. She thought barricading herself in her home would keep her safe. The detectives working her murder case told me she’d become a recluse.” Brack took a deep breath. “Up until the second she died, she lived in fear. I don’t want that for you.”
That explained so much. That poor woman died horribly. I understood every thought that must have gone through her head each day. There is no such thing as safe. I gave Brack complete honesty. “I’m sorry. Even with everything you’re teaching me, I might be another Stacey.”
He stepped in close to me. The fingers of his right hand came up and trailed along my cheek. “That won’t happen. You’ll hand him a whole can of kick ass. You won’t hesitate to call me if he ever gets out. And you’ll be prepared for all the other crazies in this world.”
A thought flittered through my head. “Did you love her?”
Now his palm cupped the side of my face. “I thought I did. We hadn’t seen each other for a
year when she died. It hurt. I realized the pain was more about how she lived and not about losing her. I’d lost her a long time before her death.”
I moved a tiny bit closer to his large sweat-soaked body. “Is that why you won’t have sex with me?” I was so thankful he wasn’t wearing his glasses and I could see his eyes. They sizzled with feeling causing flip flops in my chest.
“I didn’t have sex with her until after the assignment was complete. You’re not her, though. When push came to shove, she didn’t have what it took to win.” Now his lips almost touched mine and I inhaled his warm breath—absorbing his taste into my senses.
“I’ll fight. It doesn’t change the fact that I’m so damn scared,” I whispered.
He kissed me. It wasn’t gentle in the least. He branded my mouth with his lips, tongue, and teeth. Our tongues battled and he bit my bottom lip pulling on it before sealing his mouth to mine again. He fucked my mouth with his. It was brutal and showed me what Brack would be like in bed. Hell, out of bed, against the wall, in the ocean. I imagined every second of wild passion with his cock driving into my pussy. His lips licking where I wanted his cock. My lips around him taking him so deep I couldn’t breathe.
Unfortunately, it was over far too quickly for me to come to orgasm with my dirty thoughts and his mouth on mine.
“I shouldn’t have done that,” he rasped against my cheek.
My heart sank a notch and his words pissed me off. I was so fucking frustrated I contemplated screaming again. “It’s not the end of the world and you haven’t compromised the job.” I bit out. I pushed back slightly on his chest, but he didn’t release me.
“You are more than a job.”
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