by Eve Langlais
“Are you always this stalkerish? There is a word for a man who won’t listen to the word ‘no.’”
“Persistent?”
“More like psycho.”
“How else is a man to show his admiration?”
“Maybe by not crawling through windows in the middle of the night.”
“Dating is hard. No wonder I’ve avoided it.”
“This is not dating. This is freaking me out.”
“And that’s bad, right?” Did he somehow fake the authentic-sounding query?
“Very bad.”
“Do you really want me to let you loose?”
No. The word almost left her lips. Almost and he knew it. She could see it by the gleam of satisfaction in his eyes. Somehow, he knew of her attraction for him. Knew of the molten heat moistening the crotch of her panties.
But he didn’t take into account her fierce devotion to her sister—and her intense jealousy that he might have slept with Ruby first.
What do I mean “might have”? Don’t tell me I’m starting to believe his assertion that it wasn’t him?
“Let me go. I mean it.”
His arms loosened, and she rolled from the bed, standing alongside it in her nightgown, all too aware of him still. She crossed her arms over her chest, lest he notice the hard nubs of her nipples protruding.
He rolled to his stomach and stared at her. “You really should stop fighting it.”
“Fighting what? Your obvious insanity?”
“Can I help it if you drive me to crazy acts? Although, I should mention, that climbing through a window is considered rather tame by my family’s standards. I have an uncle who once jumped out of a plane, landed on a skyscraper, and rappelled down to my aunt’s balcony.”
“Does your family have a problem with knocking?”
“That would make for a rather dull story, don’t you think.”
“It’s called respect. Perhaps you should look it up.”
“But koukla, I do respect you. How could I not when we’re destined to end up together.”
As in a couple? “Did you forget to take some medication?” And did she need meds of her own because for some crazy, inexplicable reason his words had her heart racing in excitement.
Jade didn’t do excitement.
“What ails me is something only you can fix.”
“I think you’re delusional, and given your obvious mental imbalance I am really hoping my nephew was conceived by another guy—”
“So we can be together.”
“No, in case it’s hereditary. I don’t need craziness in my life.”
“I’m not crazy. Just Greek. And I will mention I am not as bad as some of my uncles. You’ll meet them soon. We’ve got the Pentecost coming up. It’s an Orthodox holiday. Which means lots of food. Wear stretchy pants.”
“There will be no weight gain because you are going to leave. Now. Go. Before I call the cops and report you for breaking and entering.”
“As if I would be so clumsy as to break anything. The lock on your window was easy to undo. You really should invest in a better mechanism.”
She would. But first to get rid of her intruder.
“Out.” She pointed to the door.
“Very well. I will go.” His head drooped low. He seemed so put out, but he moved in the direction of the door.
He stopped with his hand on the knob.
“Keep moving. I mean it—”
She never finished her sentence because he whirled and covered her mouth with his hand again.
“Gsfpldgadhfh,” she mumbled angrily.
“Shhh. Listen.” He whispered the words hotly against her ear.
She went still, aware of his body pressed against her back. Aware of the heat radiating from him to her. The stillness meant she noted the sound of a door opening with a tiny squeal.
The front door.
Her eyes widened.
“Shhh.” A soft susurration against her ear before he removed his hand from her mouth.
He crept to the bedroom door and opened it, peering through the slim crack.
“What’s wrong?” she whispered.
“You have a visitor.”
“What? Impossible. No one has a key.”
“Who said a key was being used?”
Mental note to self: Get a better lock. At the very least, she should have shoved a chair under the knob. But she’d not wanted to seem scared or paranoid in front of her sister.
“But I locked the door.”
“Your lock isn’t very good,” Ark advised. “Shh. They are coming inside.”
The claim clamped her lips tight. Who came inside?
Apparently, Ark intended to find out because he flung open her bedroom door and stalked out.
She padded on bare feet to the door and peeked out. Ark held a slim fellow by his shirt, dangling him at least a foot off the ground. Holy smokes, that took some strength.
Impressive but not the most important thing to focus on.
Since Ark had the situation in hand, she studied the guy who’d broken in. He sported scraggly blond hair and a scruffy beard, but seemed otherwise clean. He didn’t look like a burglar with his khaki pants and button-down shirt with a sports jacket; then again, she didn’t know many burglars so she didn’t have a basis for comparison.
How he looked didn’t matter though because this stranger broke into her apartment.
What does he want? Had he planned to attack Jade and Ruby while they slept?
It made her kind of glad Ark was here to deal with it. So glad that she didn’t stop him from shaking the intruder while haranguing him.
“What are you doing here? Did your mother drop you on the head? Do you not understand simple instructions? I told you to stop following me.”
Following? Ark knew the intruder?
“What are you doing here? You shouldn’t be here,” the burglar babbled.
“I’m here because my woman lives here.”
His woman. Ark, of course, meant her sister.
Don’t be a ninny. Your sister isn’t who he tried to cuddle. It meant nothing. Sure, this time he attempted to cuddle Jade, but that would change the moment he ran into another woman he found attractive. The man didn’t deny he slept around.
For some reason it made her want to throw something. At him.
Jealousy didn’t seem appropriate for the moment because, hello, who the hell was the guy breaking into her place?
“Who is this man?” she asked.
“He is an annoying cockblocker who apparently doesn’t understand simple commands,” Ark growled. Then to the intruder, “I thought you weren’t following me.”
“I’m not,” said the burglar.
“You say you are not following me and yet you’re here.” Ark glared.
“I swear I didn’t know you were seeing one of them,” the man blubbered.
Meanwhile, Jade was completely lost. “What’s going on, Ark? I want an answer. Right now.”
Ark stopped shaking and stared the fellow in the eye. “You heard my woman. Speak.”
The burglar babbled. “I already told you. My boss wanted me to find his girlfriend.”
“And his girlfriend is one of these women?” Ark queried.
The plot thickened, but before the fellow could answer more questions, Ruby took that moment to emerge from the second bedroom. “What’s going on?”
Distracted, Ark turned his head, as did Ruby. Neither noticed the knife the burglar pulled. Jade caught only a glimpse of silver flashing and turned in time to see the blade slash across Ark’s side.
Ruby squealed. Jade grabbed the nearest thing—a DVD case sitting on the television credenza—and threw it. Except the guys shifted position as the case was still midflight, and it bonked Ark in the face. That caused him to lose his grip and the guy with the knife hit the floor and bolted.
Being a stupid man, Ark made to follow. Jade grabbed his arm to hold him back. Yeah, that didn’t work so good. He ke
pt walking, although he did look down. “I’ve got this.”
“You can’t go after him.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re hurt.”
“It’s nothing. Just a tiny flesh wound.”
“That’s what the dark knight said and he ended up being just a head and a torso.”
“A girl who’s watched Monty Python.” He stopped. “That’s fucking cool.”
“I’m glad you think so. Now get back in the apartment so I can put some pressure on your wound.” Because the dampness of his shirt suggested a lot of bleeding.
He peered down the hall at the elevator, which was long gone. “Might as well. I’ll catch up to him later.” Said with an ominous undercurrent. It was also rather optimistic. As if he could track down a burglar in a city this size.
He followed her back into the apartment. Ruby still stood in the bedroom door, her face ashen.
“Is he all right?”
“A scratch,” Jade lied. “You should lie down until the cops get here. They’ll probably want a statement from you.”
“No police.” Ark shook his head. “There’s nothing they can do.”
“A guy just broke into my place and stabbed you. I am calling them. And if you keep pissing me off, I’ll tell them you broke in first and have you arrested too.”
“But jail food sucks.” His lower lip jutted out.
“Then shut up and behave. Ruby, grab my phone.”
“Ruby, don’t you dare touch it.”
“Don’t you order my sister around.” Jade glared at him.
“Fine, then I’ll order you around, koukla.”
“Resorting to name-calling along with bullying and stalking?”
“Um, you know what, I’m too tired for this. I’m going back to bed.” Her sister turned around and shut the bedroom door, leaving Jade nose to nose with Ark.
“You upset my sister,” Jade snapped.
“You are very attractive when you are angry.”
The man had no shame.
She whirled away from him and went to grab her phone, only to have him grab her and reel her back against his body. His lips hovered by her ear. “No police.”
The fabric of her nightgown got damp, moisture resulting from his blood. “You need medical attention.”
“It’s nothing.”
“I wouldn’t call a gash on your body nothing.”
He turned her in his grip, and the white of his teeth gleamed as he grinned down at her. “Are you worried about me, koukla?”
“Why do you keep calling me that?”
“It means ‘darling.’”
“But I’m not your darling.” She pushed at his chest, and he let her go, uttering a soft, “Yet.”
She made it to the bathroom and flipped on the light. A quick glimpse in the mirror showed her disheveled, her eyes bright, and her cheeks faintly flushed. She also noted the crimson staining her gown. It reminded her of why she’d come in here. She opened the cabinet and pulled out a first-aid kit. She returned to find him sitting on a chair in the kitchen.
Shirtless.
Oh my.
“That’s a lot of hair,” she remarked, managing to bite her tongue before she said, “And a lot of skin.”
The man was built like a mountain, slabs of muscle across the shoulders and chest and with arms as wide as her thigh. She should have been mature enough not to stare.
Should have been. She should have also not been turned on by the sight of him half dressed, especially since his flesh was stained with wet blood. She dropped the kit on the table and went for a wad of clean paper towels that she wetted under the tap. She turned around to find him swiping at his wounded side with his T-shirt.
“Get that away from there. It’s dirty,” she scolded. The mothering habit she’d grown up with came back naturally. How many scrapes and bruises had she tended with her siblings growing up?
“I’ve had worse.” Indeed he had, and some had left scars.
“Is that a bullet wound?” she asked as she pressed the damp towel to his side.
“The one above my left clavicle was a silver bullet. Damned things burn. The one down by my ribs was from a knife.”
As she swiped at the blood, she frowned. “You make it sound as if it’s nothing. As if those kinds of things happen all the time. I thought you said you worked in the honey business.”
“I do. And some people are buzzkills.” He grinned.
She pressed a little harder against the gash. He didn’t even wince.
“Is the fact you didn’t want me to call the cops because you knew the guy who broke in?” she asked as she exchanged the bloodied paper for a fresh batch.
“I don’t know his name, only that I’ve been seeing him around quite a bit. I thought, initially, he was following me.”
“Why would anyone follow you?” she asked.
“Who wouldn’t follow me?” He seemed surprised by her question.
“You’re right. I’ll bet the men in the white coats are always chasing after you.”
“Actually, I have to be more careful around hunters. Thankfully most have shitty aim.”
Jade shook her head. “Why can’t I ever get a straight answer out of you? Is it that hard to tell me why that guy was looking for you?”
A noise at the kitchen door showed Ruby standing there with her hands on her belly. “That guy wasn’t here for Ark. He was looking for me.”
CHAPTER 7
In a surprising twist, it turned out the scrawny intruder wasn’t after Ark after all.
It took a moment to bring Ark up to speed as to why Ruby declared the intruder had come for her. Apparently, Ruby thought it might be an ex-boyfriend who was having a hard time letting go.
It only took a little prodding for Jade to reveal the whole story, which started out romantic enough with Ruby and some dude named Xavier meeting and taking an immediate shine to each other in December. Things were going great until Xavier’s fiancée showed up to surprise him at his condo. Once Ruby discovered he was already hooked up with someone else, she put an end to things. But her boyfriend didn’t want to let her go.
He sent her flowers.
Called constantly.
Showed up at her door.
So Ruby moved out of her place, subletting it to a friend. She moved cities and got a new job, not hard given she worked mostly from home as a website designer and easily found work under a male pseudonym.
“She moved and changed her name because of a man?” Ark sounded a little incredulous.
“I agree it was a touch drastic,” Jade remarked. “I told her she should have gone to the cops instead.”
“And said what?” Ruby exclaimed, spreading her hands wide. “That he won’t stop professing I’m the woman he wants to spend his life with. That his fiancée means nothing. To give him a chance to fix things. Which maybe I could have handled, but how was I supposed to explain to him I was pregnant with another guy’s baby? It was best to break things off.”
“But now your ex-boyfriend is after something,” Ark noted. “The man who broke into your apartment claimed he was here to find a woman.”
“Gee, I wonder who hired him? Not.” Jade glared at Ruby.
“I thought things were over. I mean, I haven’t heard from him in months,” Ruby stated. Her lips turned down. “I figured he’d moved on.”
“Yeah, moved on to breaking and entering. And then what? Kidnapping? Murder? Why else send a guy with a knife? I told you to press charges against him or at least get a restraining order.”
“Restraining orders don’t stop a determined male.”
“Neither do locks,” Jade remarked with a pointed look at him.
He could sense she admired his tenacious pursuit. She had seen nothing yet. “Have you thought of arranging a more permanent demise for this ex-suitor? It wouldn’t be hard to arrange.” Ark would even take on the task himself.
“No!” The vehement rejection came from Ruby. “I don’t want t
o see Xavier hurt. I hurt him enough when I left.”
“Perhaps I am misunderstanding, but you sound as if you still care for him?” Ark’s brow creased.
“I do. I love, I mean loved Xavier. Being with him was the most exhilarating thing I’ve ever experienced. When he talked about our future together, I could picture it. I wanted it.” Ruby’s lips turned down. “But, I guess it was a lie. I mean, what guy professes forever when he’s got a fiancée?”
“And you’ve not heard from him since you disappeared?”
Ruby shook her head. “I thought he gave up on me.” She sounded so sad, which in turn caused Jade to frown.
“It’s been months, though. Surely he’s given up. And even if he hadn’t, why would he be sending someone to break into my place?” Jade asked.
“Maybe I’m wrong.” Ruby patted her sister’s hand. “We don’t really know for sure if it was Xavier who sent that guy to break in.”
“Who else would be crazy enough to go looking for his ex-girlfriend?” Jade sat up straighter. “Oh my God, the guy who broke in had a knife. What if your ex knows you’re pregnant and has gone into a jealous rage and is trying to kill you?”
“He wouldn’t kill me. I think.” Ruby gnawed at her lower lip and Ark knew it was time to put a stop to this kind of talk.
“No one is killing anyone while I am around.”
“And how will you make sure of that? Once you’re gone no one will be here to protect Ruby.”
Ark admired how his mate put her sister’s well-being above her own. She’d make a fine mother to their cubs. But first, he needed to prove to her what a worthy mate he’d make. “Don’t worry about your sister’s safety. I just need to make a few phone calls.” And set some things in motion.
The news the investigator was after Ruby, not Ark, changed things. Before the petty thug had proved a pest. Now, he posed a threat to Ark’s mate—who still seemed determined to hate him—and the sister his mate loved, which made her family.
And no one fucked with his family.
So, he said all the right placating things. He behaved while Jade slapped on a bandage and told him to get to a hospital, but he refused to leave until Jade allowed him to put them both in a cab and have them sent to a hotel. His hotel, as a matter of fact, in rooms across the hall from his own. A call to Stavros meant he would be waiting for them in the lobby and shadowing them to their floor. Then keeping guard out of sight in case that puny investigator thought to come back.