Topping the fuzzy navel with a garnish, Natalie lifted a brow Gina's way. "Are you trying to horn in on my tables to make some extra tips tonight?"
Startled by Natalie's comeback, Gina's eyes widened. "Oh, no, of course not. I didn't meant it that way."
Natalie couldn't ever remember seeing the fun and frivolous Gina so flustered before. And if everyone didn't stop being so cautious around her, she was going to scream. "I'm teasing, Gina," she said with a smile, putting the other woman at ease. "I saw Noah talking to both you and Murphy as I was coming out of the back storage room before starting my shift, and I'm assuming that he was enlisting your help to make sure that I didn't overdo on my first night back."
"Among other things," Gina muttered, then winced. She instantly looked away and busied herself adding an olive to the martini Murphy had put on the pour pad. But not before Natalie had witnessed a glimmer of guilt in the depth of Gina's expressive eyes, which gave Natalie the distinct impression that her friend was hiding something from her. "What do you mean by that?"
Gina quickly composed herself and shrugged. "It's hard to blame Noah for being concerned about you. You are his fiancee, after all. It's sweet and you're a very lucky girl to have him."
Natalie heard the wistful quality to Gina's voice and smiled, though again she got the distinct impression there was more to her friend's comment than she was catching on to.
"Yeah, I am lucky," Natalie agreed, unable to deny her feelings for Noah, or how fortunate she was to have him in her life. "And believe it or not, I'm getting used to him being so protective."
Like tonight, he'd insisted on staying the three hours of her shift, just to be close by, he'd said, though she suspected his motivations ran deeper than the need to be near her. He was still worried about her state of mind, and that she might overexert herself and end up physically and mentally exhausted. Rather than argue, she'd let him win this minor battle, and now he was in the back of the place playing a game of pool with Bobby. The scene felt familiar, comforting even, as if he'd done it many times before.
"I'm fine, really," she assured Gina one last time, then picked up her tray of drinks. "I promise I can handle my share of the lounge or I wouldn't be here. And if it makes you feel any better, if I need help or feel swamped or overwhelmed, I'll let you know."
Gina nodded, and softened. "Fair enough."
"Thank you, though, for being concerned." Natalie felt equally lucky to have friends who cared about her. "It means a lot to me."
Before Gina could reply or the discussion turned too maudlin, Natalie left the end of the bar to deliver her drinks. After dropping those off, she headed to table fourteen to greet the three new occupants of the booth and take their order. The trio welcomed her back to Murphy's, and commented that they were glad to see that she was doing so well after the accident. While their faces seemed vaguely familiar, she couldn't place their names, but assumed they were regulars if they knew so much about her. She smiled and pretended they were old friends, conversing with them openly and easily about mundane things.
And so the evening went, with her working from table to table and keeping busy with the Thursday-evening crowd that frequented Murphy's. She felt energized and invigorated, and enjoyed the steady stream of orders that kept her moving and enabled her to shake off the restlessness of the past few days.
She delivered trays of drinks and appetizers, and was amazed and touched at just how many people were concerned about her. Some of the customers she recognized, others she had a hard time placing, but she managed to fumble her way through conversations without anyone being the wiser.
During a lull in business near quitting time for her, she made her way back to the gaming area to see if Noah and Bobby needed a refill on anything. Just as she arrived, Noah bent low over the pool table to make a difficult shot, and a keen sense of deja vu washed over her. Or maybe a real, tangible memory, she realized giddily. Instinctively, she knew she'd seen him in this stance before, could recall admiring him and his firm, muscular backside in soft worn denim.
And it seemed very likely that she might have admired him in such an audacious way. Noah was a sexy, gorgeous man with enough masculine sex appeal to make any woman breathless with wanting him. Except he was all hers, and that knowledge made her tingle with warmth and anticipation of what would happen once he took her home tonight and they were all alone.
But first, she'd up the stakes of his game.
She leaned in next to his side, so close his arousing male scent surrounded her. "Make that shot, and I'll be your love slave tonight," she whispered seductively in his ear, just to rattle his composure and test his restraint.
He tipped his head sideways, meeting her gaze. "I'm going to hold you to that promise, sweetheart," he drawled.
"Oh, I do hope so." She winked at him. "But first, you have to make the shot." Challenge issued, she stepped back next to Bobby to give Noah the room to line up his cue.
Most men would have lost their concentration at such a provocative proposition, but Noah didn't so much as falter as he hit the cue ball, which connected with a red solid, pocketing the billiard ball with precision.
Slowly, he straightened, a lazy, disarming smile curving the corners of his mouth and devilry dancing in his hot blue gaze. "Looks like you're mine tonight, honey. Are you off the clock yet?"
She laughed as she picked up the empty glasses on a nearby table and wiped down the surface with a damp rag, noticing that Bobby was observing their flirtatious interaction with amusement.
"Feeling a bit impatient to be out of here all of a sudden?" she quipped, a naughty inflection to her voice.
"Damn right," Noah growled, low and sexy, his hungry eyes watching her as she worked.
She deliberately put an extra sway in her hips just for him. "Well, you're going to have to hold your horses just a bit longer, lover boy. I've got a few more minutes before my shift is over."
Noah groaned. "You're lucky I don't just haul you over my shoulder and carry you out of here, caveman-style."
"Now, that sounds tempting," she teased, wondering if he'd truly dare to be so bold, and found herself very excited by the notion of Noah being so sexually aggressive with her.
Putting aside those lustful thoughts, she returned to business, knowing she had a few more customers to attend to before she called it a night. "Any last orders for either of you boys?"
Noah shook his head. "Nothing for me. I had my limit of sodas for the night," he replied wryly.
"I'm good," Bobby said, eyeing the balls on the pool table for his shot. "After this game I'm outta here, too."
"Great." She turned back to Noah. Her stomach fluttered at the seductive game she'd instigated between them, and at how he might take advantage of his prize. "Give me ten more minutes to finish up with my tables, and I'll be ready to go."
With a spring in her step, and a few erotic scenarios of her own tumbling through her mind, she returned to the lounge. The steady stream of people had slowed considerably, and she filled a few last drink orders and cleared off the tables her customers had vacated. She tossed the empty beer bottles in the trash and set the dirty glasses at the end of the bar where Murphy washed them. Finished with her cleanup duties, she glanced around for Gina to let her know that she was on her own for the next hour or so.
The other woman was heading toward her, her own tray filled with empty drink glasses. "I'm getting ready to clock out for the night," Natalie said. "Can you handle things from here?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine." Gina withdrew a folded cocktail napkin from her apron pocket and handed it toward Natalie. "I have a note for you."
"A note?" Natalie repeated, suddenly feeling wary, though she couldn't explain why. She hesitated an extra heartbeat, then reached out and took the napkin, though she didn't immediately open it. "Who is it from?"
"A guy sitting in my section," Gina replied as she emptied her tray, then glanced back toward the corner of the bar. "He's right over there at that far booth
facing the window-" Her voice trailed off, and she shook her head. "Well, he was sitting at that table. Maybe he went to use the rest room."
Unease prickled along the back of Natalie's neck, and though every instinct in her rallied against reading the note, morbid curiosity won over common sense. She opened the napkin, and her gaze scanned the words written in a bold, masculine scrawl: Be more careful of your surroundings. I'm watching you and waiting to make you mine again.
"Oh, God," she croaked, and immediately dropped the ominous note as if it were toxic. Her entire body shook uncontrollably, the tremors starting deep and working their way up to the surface.
The words be more careful of your surroundings echoed in her mind, and an image of the man at the restaurant saying them formed in her head. Had he followed her here to where she worked? And if so, why?
The questions came fast and furiously, but unfortunately there were no answers. Her head spun, an awful pressure grew in her chest, and an unexplainable fear clawed inside her, as if attempting to break loose. She swayed on her feet, desperately trying to tamp down those alarming emotions, afraid if she dared to set them free they'd strangle her.
"Natalie?" Apprehension laced Gina's voice, and she grabbed her arm to steady her. "You look like you're going to pass out!"
Natalie leaned against a bar stool before her legs collapsed and reached for the only lifeline she knew she could count on. The only person who might make sense of what she was experiencing.
"Get me Noah," she whispered.
"Noah, Natalie needs you."
The panic in Gina's voice snagged Noah's attention, putting every one of his personal and professional instincts on full alert. Abandoning his casual conversation with Bobby, Noah searched the room for Natalie, until he finally found her sitting at the far end of the bar, her face buried in her hands.
Without hesitation he started after her, with Bobby and Gina following. "What the hell happened?" he demanded, feeling as though a mile separated him from Natalie. He couldn't seem to get to her fast enough.
"I was waiting on a guy in my section," Gina said, taking two steps to his every one to keep up with his quick stride. "He seemed nice enough, and he gave me a note to give to Natalie. Whatever it said set her off."
Shit. "What did he look like?" Without asking, Noah knew who'd sent Natalie the note. But he had to ask Gina, just so both he and Bobby could document the information on an official report.
The quick description she gave him matched Chad Freeman exactly and made Noah's blood run cold at the thought of how close the other man had been to Natalie-and Noah hadn't even known.
"He was sitting at that far booth facing the window, and after I gave Natalie the note I looked back and he was gone," Gina explained, the contrition in her voice clear. "I didn't think anything of it, really. I mean, he knew Natalie's name, so I automatically thought she knew him."
As much as the situation made Noah's gut twist, he couldn't blame Gina for her actions. If anyone was at fault, it was himself. He was responsible for Natalie, he knew what kind of danger she was in, and it was his job to protect her.
While he'd informed Murphy and Gina of Natalie's amnesia and the engagement ruse, he hadn't seen the need to tell them she was being stalked. Not when Noah had been right there in the establishment to make sure she remained safe. Yet the creep had found a way to get to her, anyway. Dammit, he should have stayed up front to be closer to her.
"Maybe he went to the men's rest room," Gina suggested in an attempt to smooth things over.
Noah highly doubted that. Most likely, Freeman had hightailed it out of there after asking Gina to deliver the note. As Noah rounded the end of the bar, he exchanged a knowing look with Bobby.
His friend nodded in silent understanding, and said, "Go to Natalie. I'll check out front and the rest room."
Noah was grateful for his friend's assistance, but knew Freeman wasn't stupid. He wasn't going to stick around to get caught. He wanted Natalie, and he was teasing her, playing cat and mouse with her memory and her past.
The bastard.
Reaching Natalie's side, he gently grabbed her arms to pull her hands away from her face so he could comfort her, and she flinched at his touch. Then, seeing that it was him, she visibly relaxed, though the terrorized look that remained in her eyes nearly sent him over the edge with fury at what Freeman was doing to her.
Noah wanted to erase her distress, ached to make her forget the fear written plainly on her expression.
But first, he needed to collect the piece of evidence Freeman had sent to her so he knew what they were dealing with.
"Where's the note, Natalie?" he asked, his voice steadier than he felt.
"I-I dropped it," she said hoarsely.
The only thing littering the floor was a napkin, and he picked it up. He read the threatening words the other man had written for Natalie, which left no doubt in Noah's mind that it was just a matter of time before merely stalking Natalie wouldn't be enough for her ex-boyfriend. Noah jammed a hand through his hair, hating that Chad was so close to Natalie, knew where she worked and, quite possibly, knew where she was living. The man was so brazen in his pursuit, so depraved, Noah suspected he'd dare just about anything at all.
A shiver of foreboding slithered through him. He wrapped his fingers around Natalie's arm and guided her toward the back storeroom so they could talk in private, without worrying about prying eyes and listening ears. As soon as he shut the door behind them, Natalie turned around, looking too damned vulnerable for his peace of mind.
"I don't understand what's going on," she said, her gaze searching his for answers, her posture rigid. "Why is he doing this to me?"
He? Startled by her choice of word, he frowned. "You know who sent this note?" he asked cautiously.
She nodded jerkily and wrapped her arms around her middle, as if trying to hold herself together. "It was the same guy that I ran into at the restaurant."
He narrowed his gaze, wondering how she'd made the connection. Had part of her memory returned? "How do you know it's the same guy?"
"That-that note," she spat, waving a hand at the offending napkin Noah still held. "The words that he wrote were some of the same ones he said to me at the restaurant. When I bumped into him, he said for me to be more careful of my surroundings." Her voice rose a frantic notch, her eyes wild with frustration and fear as she paced back and forth in the small, confined space. "And what does he mean that he's watching me and waiting to make me his again? Dammit, who is he?"
She still didn't realize that the man following her was Chad Freeman. Her ex-boyfriend. A man intent on terrorizing her and doing a damn good job of it. Her mind and memory still suppressed that traumatic time in her life. Noah clenched the note in his hand. And that left her too damn defenseless and susceptible to Chad's mental and emotional game.
Noah stuffed the note into the front pocket of his jeans, knowing that he needed to tell her what was going on with Chad, just enough so she could be more aware of her surroundings and protect herself. Her doctor had suggested that Natalie remember things on her own, but considering how easily Chad had reached her tonight, Noah would be a fool to believe that he could keep her safe at all times. If he armed her with the knowledge of what she was up against, she'd at least stand a better chance of defending herself if the need arose. But he'd rather have that intense conversation at home, rather than here at her work.
He reached out to her, gently wrapping his fingers around her upper arms to stop her agitated pacing. "Natalie, I need you to calm down."
"How can I calm down when nothing makes sense in my life but you?" She shuddered and slipped her arms around his waist, clinging tightly to him with her face buried against his neck. "Everything else feels like a disjointed dream where I'm lost and I can't find my way back, and I hate feeling so helpless and weak!"
Tonight, when he revealed her past, he hoped all that would change, that she'd feel stronger and better equipped to handle the threat agains
t her. But one concern weighed heavily on his mind. As she learned about her past, would she come to realize that he'd lied about their relationship? And would she hate him for the deception?
For Natalie's sake, it was a chance he had to take.
By the time Noah escorted her into his house, shut and locked the door behind them, then set the alarm, Natalie was wound up tight. The awful tension from the night's events spiraled within her, demanding some kind of release. Knowing the one way she could escape all the conflicting feelings wreaking havoc with her psyche, she poured all her anxiety into sexual aggression and focused it on the one man who could make her forget, at least for a little while.
Not giving Noah a chance to refuse her or what she wanted, she threaded her fingers through his thick hair and pulled his mouth down to hers before he could anticipate what she intended. Their lips met, and she instigated a deep mating of tongues that was as demanding as her hunger for him. From there, it took only seconds for her fears and uncertainties to manifest themselves into a searing need that couldn't be denied. Aching to feel his heated flesh against her, she grabbed at his shirt and pulled it from the waistband of his jeans, nearly ripping the cotton material in her haste. But before she could shove it up and over his head, Noah grabbed her wrists, stopping her.
He groaned deep in his throat and pulled back just enough to break their kiss and so that she could see his eyes, dark and hot with suppressed lust. "Natalie- we need to talk."
Conversation was the last thing she wanted. Despite his authoritative tone, she could sense his control wavering. Could feel him hanging on to reason by a tenuous thread, and she took advantage of his weakness.
"I don't want to talk or think right now, Noah. What I need is you." She touched her fingers to his lips, so soft, warm and wet from their kiss. "I want to feel your hands touching me, your mouth on my breasts, my belly, my thighs. I need you, deep inside of me." Her request was explicit and shameless, but she didn't care. Being brutally honest with Noah was the only way she could make him understand the fierce need to be possessed by him. Not gently, but physically branded, so she knew she belonged to him and no one else.
The Ultimate Seduction Page 13