Her omelet arrived at her table and she dug in hungrily, not realizing she had worked up such an appetite. As she chewed thoughtfully, she knew that Tony would be confused by her note and would probably try to reach her. She clicked her phone on vibrate just in case. He was always suspicious when she received phone calls, even the ones from her mother or her boss or her best friend. She did not need him nosing around unnecessarily, at least not before she had made any sort of decision.
He was an unpredictable sort, Ken, and she did not want to set him off without being prepared to manage the results. He drank a lot and worked very little, and luckily their one bedroom apartment did not require much maintenance.
By the time she got home that evening, she was tired from her day at work and her session with Tony, and was full from her meal. Ken was watching television and finishing off his twelve-pack of the night. She breezed by him with some mumbled words about needing a shower, and did not look back since she was certain he did not look up.
The hot water felt good on her skin and she needed to rinse off the scent of Tony before Ken got too close to her. Once she had scrubbed herself down, she hopped out and rubbed cocoa butter into her skin to keep it soft, especially now that there was someone interested in touching it.
Stop that, she chastised herself, you can’t keep thinking about him that way. You need to decide for yourself and your own life without making him a factor in any of it. You can’t decide any of this based on him. He was just for fun… Right?
When she looked at her reflection in the mirror, she saw a woman somewhere in between what Ken perceived and what Tony apparently perceived. And she had no idea what she perceived any more. But the biggest difference was her eyes. They were still big and blue and the focal point of her face, but they actually seemed to have a little bit of light back in them.
As she tucked herself into the bed alone, she could almost feel Tony’s arms around her and his warm breath on her neck. It was ultimately better to be single than to be yearning for someone else in the bed she was supposed to share with her boyfriend.
It was nice to be wanted.
Chapter Two
When Tony arrived at work the following day, the sealed letter was in his locker. He fingered it suspiciously and curiously, but left it where it was since he had a class already waiting for him. He knew whatever it was would be waiting for him when he was finished.
After the last rousing private lesson with Annie the night before, he had still been raring to go for another round when she abruptly cut him off. He had even asked if he could see her outside of class, and she shut him down. Not only had he left the gym with his cock still hard, he had also been confused and angry that she rebuffed him so easily.
Had he overstepped his bounds? He had never had sex with a client before so perhaps this was normal under the circumstances. But he rarely misread people quite that badly, and he was certain that she was a firecracker waiting for the right match to her fuse.
He moved through the class on angry autopilot, but his patrons did not indicate that they noticed anything. He stormed out of the room at the conclusion, and slammed the locker room door behind him when he got there.
He had assumed that she was attached and just gotten caught up in the moments between them, but he read something in her face that said there was more going on than he was aware of. When he asked to see her outside of class, he simply meant to have a cup of coffee, not run off and get married. But perhaps things always got more complicated when you have hot sweaty sex with someone before going on a date with them. He did not have enough experience in the situation to know how to manage things.
He did have enough experience with women to know that it was unusual for him to want more than sex, and for the woman to want only sex. At least, that was the impression she had given him. Most men would jump at the chance to lay a beautiful woman like Annie, and yet here he was trying to take her out for coffee instead. But even as his cock twitched at the memories of her body, he grew angry at the dent to his ego.
After his second class session had come and gone, he stuffed his wallet and the envelope in his pocket and muttered something to the receptionist about going out for lunch. She raised one eyebrow at his seemingly flustered persona, and waved his off.
As he settled into the diner booth and ordered black coffee, he pulled the wrinkled letter out and laid it on the table, eyeing it warily as he perused the menu. He selected the spinach and mushroom omelet and shoved the menu into the waitress’s hand.
“Funny,” she remarked under her breath. “No one ever orders that, and now two in one week.”
He furrowed his brow at her but paid no attention to her muttering. He turned back towards the task in front of him and sipped at the hot coffee. The envelope ripped open easily under his rough fingers, and he yanked out the letter as though lightning speed would lessen whatever he was about read.
Tony, Thanks for the education. I’m afraid I’ll have to pass on taking any more classes.
Despite the lack of a signature, he knew instantly who had written it.
“Fuck,” he mumbled under his breath.
“I’m sorry?” the waitress looked startled as she tried to refill his mug.
“Sorry, not you. Just… this,” he waved the paper around in the air.
“Oh, ok.”
She skittered away like a frightened mouse as the tall well-muscled man continued to curse at the piece of paper. His dark brown eyes glittered brightly, and his smooth shaven scalp shone softly in the dim diner light.
So that was it. She was going to quit the classes and just disappear on him. He knew for a fact that he was not that bad in the sack, and he considered himself to be reasonably good looking. So what the fuck. She was not married, he had checked her finger. A single man gets very good at that game pretty quickly -- to check for a ring or at least the dent or tan line of one.
The waitress practically threw the food at him, and he attacked it with the anger that bubbled inside. He stabbed it with his knife and fork, and gnashed at it as though it was whatever had offended him. As the waitress vanished around the corner, she had the passing thought that she had almost lost a finger at that table. And that no guy was good-looking enough to put up with that sort of behavior.
He crumpled up the letter and considered setting it on fire with the matches that sat near the register of the diner. He shook his head disdainfully as he finished his omelet and headed back to work at the gym. Maybe he had read everything all wrong but something in the pit of his stomach told him otherwise.
Chapter Three
Annie went to work as though nothing was different, but everything felt off. Ken had passed out on the couch, which was not unusual. She silently slipped out the door so as not to wake him. Again, nothing was unusual on the surface. Mentally she knew what she had to do, but that did not make the process any different. Her legal assistant could tell almost instantly that something had changed in the young lawyer, but was smart enough just to keep her head down and her ears open.
They had several open cases, so it was easier on both of them to focus on the work at hand. They both went through the motions, and accomplished some of the paperwork that seemed to be procreating behind their backs. By lunchtime, they were both worn out and ready for a break.
“I’m headed to lunch,” Annie announced.
“Ok, I’ll see you later,” the assistant acknowledged.
Annie slung her purse on her shoulder and set out to forage for food. She considered that diner again but thought better of it. It was way too close to the gym, and Tony might very well be grabbing lunch there.
She found a deli closer to the office, and selected a mouthwatering cobb salad. If she was going to be changing her life, she may as well make the change to be healthier at the same time. She was not sacrificing everything though. She drizzled the ranch dressing over the pile of lettuce, tomatoes, chicken, avocado, and bleu cheese and dug in hungrily.
As she e
njoyed her lunch, she considered the paths ahead of her. Ken was no longer one of the options, but breaking up with him almost looked more dangerous than staying with him. In her various positions practicing law, she had encountered the rough end of someone like him. The ones that thought, if you could not belong to them, then you could not belong to anyone. She strongly suspected he was one of those types, and while she knew all the tricks to toss him in jail for a few years, she was not certain that ability would protect her physically.
She paid her bill in cash and headed back to the office. Her assistant was waiting for her patiently, and they got back into the work at hand. There was a new resolve in Annie, but neither woman was certain what it was.
As a public defender several years ago, Annie had made friends with a few of the police officers. There were a handful that understood she was not the enemy, she was just providing a service to those who could not afford their own attorney. She hoped those officers would come in handy someday, and today was one of the days she was going to play that card.
She stopped at the station on her way home. Lieutenant Edge was more than happy to see her. Back in the day, Annie had suspected he had a thing for her and his eagerness only confirmed it. Perhaps he was not the best option because of the conflict of interest, but it also could work in her favor.
“Michael? I’m not sure if you remember me, but I’m Annie. I used to work in the public defenders’ office.”
“Hi Annie, of course I remember you. How can I help you? Don’t tell me you want to work on the other side of the law now?”
“Oh lord no. I’m good behind a desk with my legal briefs,” she laughed. “But thank you for the invitation.”
“Any time. How can I help you?”
“I have a, ahem, situation. Well, possibly a situation. I’m not sure yet.”
“You might have a situation that might involve a cop?”
“Something like that.”
He gestured to a chair at the side of his desk. “Why don’t you sit down and tell me a little bit more about this situation?”
“Sure thing.”
She dropped her purse to the floor next to her feet and twisted her hands in her lap.
“I’ve decided to break up with my boyfriend.” She paused to take a deep breath.
“And you need a date for some fancy function?” he grinned.
“No, it’s not that. I’m afraid… that he might do something stupid. When I tell him I mean.”
“Ah.” Michael took a long breath and held it for a moment before exhaling slowly.
“What can I do to help?” he offered.
“What are my options? For protection?”
“Well, we do live in a concealed carry state.”
“No, no, no. Nothing like that. I meant, more, can I have an officer escort me home tonight or something like that?”
“Well, we don’t usually send out one of our guys just on the in case that someone might do something sometime in the future.”
“Oh I know. But if you want to look it up, I’ve filed reports on him before. There are probably pictures in there, and hospital reports. So it’s not, um, unfounded.”
He raised an eyebrow at the pretty blonde woman. He had worked with her in the past, but had had no idea that she was in the system as a domestic violence case.
“Yeah, I know. I hide it well I guess. But the proof is there. Will that help?”
Michael started clicking on the keyboard in front of him and pulled up her records.
“It looks like we’ve been out to your apartment a couple of times. I had no idea.”
“Very few people do, especially people that know me professionally.”
“I can understand, but also, I can’t. Why did you never seek help?”
She rolled her eyes. “The only answers I have to give are the same ones you hear from all the women in my situation.”
His hazel eyes turned soft and then angry. “I don’t get men like that. I really don’t. If it was up to me, he would disappear and you’d never have to worry again.”
“I know,” she said kindly, “and I appreciate that.” She patted his hand.
He agreed to send an officer with her, and laughed when she said the guy would have to stop for dinner with her because she was starving.
Chapter Four
Annie and Officer Blackstone stopped at one of her favorite Italian restaurants for dinner on their way back to her apartment. The atmosphere was a little more romantic in nature than they both were comfortable with, but it was sufficient and the food was excellent. The chicken parmesan, green salad, and garlic bread hit the spot, and both of them perused the wine list without ordering any.
The officer was polite but distant towards Annie, and she understood. If this situation went sideways, he needs to remain impartial and reserved should his services be needed. As a relatively new officer on the force who had been on very few domestic disturbance calls, he was filled with questions for the petite blonde but knew he could not ask any of them.
When they arrived at the apartment, Annie indicated to him that he should remain outside unless or until he was needed. She took a deep breath, unlocked the door with trembling fingers, and strode inside displaying more confidence than she felt.
“Ken,” she turned to address him as he lay sprawled out on the couch with a beer bottle in his hand.
“Yeah?” he barely looked up from some sports event on the television.
“I need you to look at me,” she said, hoping her voice was not as shaky as her body felt.
“What?” he blurted angrily, tearing his eyes away from the set.
“We’re through, get out,” she said emphatically.
He snorted in derision, “Whatever, you little bitch. You’re never getting rid of me. I won’t let it happen.”
“My name is on this apartment lease, not yours. Get out.” Her heart thudded dully against her ribcage, but his condescending tone and dismissive attitude were quickly channeling her fear into anger and determination.
He waved the bottle in her direction. “Shut up and let me watch my game.”
“I said get out.”
“Don’t make me get up off this couch.”
“That’s exactly what I want you to do. Get up off that couch and get out of my house.”
Annie had left the front door open on purpose, and Officer Blackstone listened intently to the exchange. He noted that she spoke clearly and distinctly and loudly, to make sure he could hear her. He had to make sure he was an impartial witness to the entire exchange, for both Ken’s and Annie’s protection.
Ken hoisted his flabby frame off the couch and lurched towards her.
“What did you say?”
“I said get out. And I know you heard me.” Her hands were planted on her hips defiantly, and her feet were set into the carpet positioned so that she could defend herself or get to the front door easily.
He clutched the beer bottle in one meaty fist and staggered closer. She could smell the beer soaking his breath and emanating from his skin. In a surprising display of coordination, he swung the half-full bottle towards her head and she ducked to one side. The bottle flew out of his hand and shattered against the wall with the explosion of a gunshot.
Instantaneously, Officer Blackstone was at the door with his nightstick brandished and a glint in his eye.
“You brought the fucking cops?” Ken bellowed. “You bitch! You’ll pay for this!”
Annie had stepped back out of his arm’s reach but that did not stop him from swinging again, this time with his balled fist. The edge of his knuckles caught her on the ear and she gasped, more from surprise than any outright pain.
Ken never saw the nightstick coming, but it struck him soundly on the side of the knee and he went down onto his knees and stomach with a thud and a loud grunt. The officer had him in cuffs before Ken could catch his breath.
“He’s all mine now,” Blackstone reassured Annie. “I’ve got it now.”
Annie nodded, not trusting her voice to betray the fear that roared in her ears like a freight train.
Blackstone hauled Ken to his feet, and they stumbled together out the front door towards the marked squad car in the parking lot. After the car pulled away, Annie’s legs finally gave way and she buckled to the floor gasping for air.
She had no one to call. Tony’s face flashed through her head but she quickly dismissed the idea. It would be ridiculous to contact Tony, even if she knew how. Ken would be locked up for the night under various minor charges and she was at least safe for about twelve hours.
ROMANCE: Stolen by the Alien Lord (BBW Alpha Male Pregnancy Romance) (Contemporary Science Fiction Paranormal Short Stories) Page 154