by Marla Monroe
The locksmith returned and knocked on her door. He presented her with the bill and told her to mail in a check if that was okay with her.
“I have two more stops, so I don’t plan on going in to the office today. Don’t like carrying money, even checks, around on me for a day or two. Just send it to the address on the bill.” He smiled and left.
Tina watched him drive away, then locked her door. She checked every other door and window in the house and set the alarm system. She was paranoid now she realized. It didn’t matter if it kept her safe, she decided.
Instead of returning to the office to finish up what she was working on, Tina decided to read for awhile. It was still sunny outside, so she chose a book and settled outside on her deck to read. The air was hot and humid, but she needed to get out of the house with the lingering odor of Old Spice.
She couldn’t help glancing over at her neighbor’s house several times. There was no sign of him. She had heard Riley’s bike earlier that day, so he might have gone somewhere with his friend. It didn’t matter, she told herself. He meant nothing to her, nothing other than a neighbor who helped her when she needed it. And fucked you when you didn’t.
She couldn’t regret it though. She admitted she enjoyed it, but it didn’t make it right. He was more than she could handle, and she knew it. Right now, she had more than she could handle in her life anyway. Still, she couldn’t help thinking about it. The knowledge she had driven him to lose control enough to take her up against the wall thrilled her. She closed her eyes and drew in a breath through her nose. She could almost feel him there inside her again. Her breath caught, and she felt the heat of arousal burn her face and neck.
“You’re getting too hot out here.”
Tina jumped and dropped her book.
“You scared the crap out of me!”
“Sorry, I thought you heard me over here trimming the shrubs.” Logan held up the pruning shears.
“No, I didn’t, and I’m not that hot,” she said.
“Your face is red. Maybe you need to put on some sunscreen.”
Tina inwardly cringed. She knew why her face was red. She sure didn’t want Logan to know.
“Maybe I will.” She stood up to go back inside.
“Wait. Did you get your locks all changed?” Logan asked. He rested the shears on top of the fence.
“Yes, he re-keyed them all and checked the locks on the windows for me as well.”
“Was he the same one who came last year?”
“No. He works for the man who came last year though. Why?” she asked.
“No reason. Just wondering.”
But Tina knew better. He wouldn’t have asked without a reason, and since she had thought about it herself, she figured he was wondering if the locksmith could be the stalker.
“I was going to come by later to tell you to call me when you come and go until they catch this guy, so I can watch out for you.”
“That’s really nice of you, but I don’t need you to do that. I’ll be careful, and I’m not planning on going anywhere after dark regardless.” She turned and walked across the deck to her back door.
She reached to open the door, but a hand over hers stopped her. She turned and stared up into Logan’s dark brooding eyes. He didn’t say anything at first. He just watched her until she pulled away from his stare to look pointedly at her hand.
“Tina, call me when you come and go. I won’t bother you. I’ll just watch and be sure you get inside all right. That’s all.” He let go of her hand.
She didn’t turn back around, but nodded her head and opened the door. Once inside she locked the door behind her and leaned back against it. She was shaking. Just his touch had her all confused. Why did he affect her this way? It had to be about the sex. He was good. Damn, he was better than good, and all she had experience wise was that one time. One time, and her body craved his. She had to regain control again. There was too much going on in her life right now to have the hots for her next door neighbor.
She rubbed her hand where his had touched hers. Even as hot as it was outside, she could still feel his burning touch against her skin. Yeah, she would call and let him know when she went anywhere. It was the safe thing to do, and she wasn’t stupid. She was lucky he was next door to watch for her. The police couldn’t babysit her twenty-four hours a day. The most they could do would be to make extra passes by her house at night.
Tina, you’ve got to get yourself under control. He lives next door to you. You’re going to see him all the time. Stop with the hormone thing already.
That was easier said than done after months of watching him at night from her balcony. She had come to enjoy and look forward to watching him sit outside in his boxers at night. Now she knew he had watched her as well. How much he had watched her, she wasn’t sure, but she had a good idea. Even though her nightly voyeur game had ended, she hadn’t stopped dreaming about him between the nightmares. Of one thing Tina was certain, her body would always want Logan.
* * * *
Tina expected Jenna to come by the house since she hadn’t gone to work. Sure enough, at five-thirty, someone knocked on her door. She checked to see who it was and smiled to herself. She opened the door and Jenna stalked inside. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing, why?”
“Why? You didn’t come to work today. You always come to work.” Jenna set her purse on the kitchen counter.
“I needed some rest. I haven’t been sleeping well lately,” Tina said.
“Don’t bullshit me. I know something is wrong. You might as well spill it. I’ll get it out of you eventually.”
“Someone was in my house last night. They left a present on my counter.” Tina swallowed and winced when Jenna’s mouth flew open.
“While you were here? Oh my God! Why didn’t you call me? I would have come over. You must have been scared to death. What did you do?” Jenna asked.
“I ran next door and acted like a fool to Logan. I was so scared I didn’t even think. I just ran.”
“I might have done the same thing. Only I probably would have just stood in my kitchen and screamed first,” Jenna said. “What did he do?”
“He called the police for me and stayed with me until they left. I called a lock smith and had them come and change my locks.”
“Your alarm didn’t go off?”
“No. He bypassed it somehow. I don’t know. I just know someone came inside while I was asleep.” Tina rubbed her face.
“Oh, honey. I’m so sorry that happened.” Jenna hugged her.
“So what happened at work today? Being Friday, someone was bound to be acting like a fool.” Tina tried changing the subject.
“Something else is bothering you. You have creases between your eyebrows. That only happens when you’ve been thinking about something really hard.”
“Nothing, really. I’m just under a lot of stress is all.” Tina prayed her friend didn’t guess about her and Logan having been intimate. Surly it didn’t show on her face.
“It’s your hunky next door neighbor, isn’t it?” Jenna said with a sly smile on her face.
“Why would you think that?” Tina asked.
“Because you got all red when you were talking about him earlier. And just now, you got red again as soon as I mentioned him. What gives?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re messing around with him, aren’t you?” Jenna laughed and clapped her hands.
“I’m not messing around with him as you put it. It was just a kiss,” she said.
“Ah hah!”
“That got out of hand,” Tina added
“How out of hand?” Jenna demanded.
“Real out of hand,” Tina said.
“Like full blown sex?”
Tina didn’t say anything. She could feel her face grow hot. Jenna slapped her hand over her mouth.
“Oh my God! It did. You had sex with your neighbor,” she nearly screamed. “You have to tell me all about it.”
Jenna grabbed Tina by the hand and pulled her into the living room. She shoved her down on the couch then dropped down next to her.
“There isn’t anything to tell. We argued, and then he kissed me, and I kissed him back. Then, well it happened.”
“Where did it happen?” Jenna asked.
“Where?
Tina so did not want to go into the whole against the wall scene.
“Yes, where? I mean, I can’t imagine as virile as he is that he took the time to drag you into the bedroom. Come on, give.” Jenna bounced on the couch. She made a come on gesture with her hands.
“He got carried away, and we did it against the wall in the entrance hall.” There, Tina thought. She got it all out.
“He fucked you in the hall up against the wall. That is so hot!” She exclaimed. “Did you even get your clothes off?”
Tina’s face burned even hotter. She would never live it down now. Jenna would tease her constantly.
“You didn’t. I told you he was a hot one. So did you go home with him?” Jenna asked.
“No. I was so embarrassed. He left, and I sort of lost it. I mean I was so upset.”
“Why in the world were you upset?” Jenna demanded.
“I’m not the kind of woman who does that sort of thing,” Tina said.
“There is nothing wrong with having sex anywhere you want to have it. Well, as long as it’s safe. Besides, what kind of woman do you have to be to have adventurous sex? I would give anything to have some good old fashioned down and dirty sex.”
“See, that’s just it. I’m not adventurous.” Tina sighed.
“You used to be before the attack last year. It is still there, but you have it all buried inside you. If some of it came out again, I think that’s great. You need to live a little bit,” Jenna said.
“I do plenty of living, thank you very much.”
Jenna pursed her lips together. “When? You haven’t been out in nearly a year. I don’t think you’ve even dated in that long, have you?”
Tina winced and shook her head no. Her last date had been the weekend before it had happened.
“You go to eat lunch and the occasional dinner with me, but that’s it. You don’t even go eat with any of your other friends. I bet you don’t even speak to anyone but me anymore.”
“That’s not fair. I…I just can’t go out at night anymore. I’m afraid someone will follow me home again.”
“Tina, honey, this guy who is stalking you didn’t follow you home. The one last year had been watching you for awhile before he attacked you. The police even said that. He didn’t follow you home.”
“It doesn’t matter. I haven’t felt like going out. Why go if you don’t feel like it?” Tina asked.
“Because you need to get out some. I guarantee you will have a good time once you are there.” Jenna patted Tina’s hand. “Think about it okay? We could go out next weekend.”
“I don’t think it would be a good idea,” Tina argued. “I mean, I would get home late and all.”
Jenna laughed. “If I have my way you will get home very early.” She winked at Tina.
“See, I don’t need to go out if we are going to be that late. I won’t know if someone is in my house waiting for me or not.”
“So, get your hunky neighbor to come with us. Then he can check the house for you,” Jenna said with a sigh.
“That’s really not a good idea. I mean, we didn’t exactly part on good terms. I doubt he will want to be around me. Besides, I don’t want to be around him either.” Tina averted her eyes.
“Why ever not? You use to drool over him all the time. You even watch him for goodness sake.” Jenna shook her head.
“That was before.”
“Before what? You had sex? So,” Jenna said.
Tina sighed. “I’ll think about it, okay?” Anything to change the subject, she thought.
“I’m not going to let you say no, so you might as well save yourself the trouble of trying to think of a way out of it. You are going with me next Saturday night. We’ll eat, then go out dancing. I promise you will have a great time. It will be just like old times.”
Tina threw up her hands in surrender. “Okay, already.”
Chapter Eight
“I vote for a bike ride while she’s at work. You can check her house out before she goes inside.” Riley tilted the bottle of water up and drained it.
“Sounds good to me. I need to cool off anyway. It’s hot as hell out here.” Logan finished rinsing off the shovel and left it propped against the house to dry in the sun.
They had just finished planting the last of the shrubs Logan had bought for the front yard. He stood back for a few minutes and admired their handiwork. The flowering Azaleas would fill out in a couple of years and accent the corners of the house. Their evergreen leaves would soften the corners of the house. He only had the flowerbed around the lamppost to plant now. He still hadn’t settled on what to put there.
“I can’t believe you’ve gone all domestic and stuff,” Riley said. “It suits you somehow. All you need now is a wife and a couple of rugrats.”
“Yeah, well. I doubt that will happen. I’m not much on the whole domestic bliss angle.”
“Me either. I like the solo way. Well, except for the occasional woman to satisfy my needs.” Riley grinned when Logan snorted.
“You like women all the time. You just don’t stick with one long enough to let them start thinking rings.” Logan opened the kitchen door and walked inside.
He washed his hands then opened the fridge and got out a couple of bottled waters. He figured they both needed another as much as they sweated while working in the yard. He threw one towards Riley who caught it in midair.
“Drink up. I worked you damn hard out there.”
“Yeah, right. That was a walk in the park compared to the Army,” he countered.
“You aren’t joking.” Logan toed off his shoes by the back door and went in search of his boots.
“How long you planning on watching your next door neighbor?” Riley yelled.
“Long as it takes the police to catch the bastard.” Logan returned with his boots and sat down on the kitchen chair to put them on.
“Could take awhile.”
“Yep. Or, I could catch him in the act of breaking in.” Logan stood up.
“That could happen.” Riley followed Logan outside.
After Logan locked up, they climbed on Riley’s bike and rode off. Riley took them west, towards the edge of town where he opened it up. They rode for a little over an hour. Then he found a turn off that led along a stream. He pulled over and they got off the bike and stretched. Logan pulled off his helmet and left it on the back of the bike.
“So, have you fucked her yet?” Riley asked out of the blue.
Logan winced. “Who?”
“Don’t give me that. You know who I’m talking about.” He left his helmet hanging on the handlebars of the bike. “’Cause the way I see it, you’ve had sex, and now you’re stuck on taking care of her.”
“You’re really an asshole. You know that, don’t you?” Logan said.
“Yeah, I’ve been told often enough.”
“I can’t sit next door doing nothing when she might be raped while I watch TV.” Logan picked up a rock and threw it sideways making it skip twice before it sank.
Riley picked up a rock and managed to make it skip three times. They threw rocks without saying anything for a while. Logan managed to match Riley throw for throw after the first few tries.
“All I’m saying is that you can’t get wrapped up in her. She’s not our kind of woman,” Riley finally said.
“I know that, man. I’m not going to do anything again. I screwed up and let my temper get the best of me.”
“So, let’s go find us a woman to share for the night. Haven’t done that in a hell of a long time.”
Logan shoved his hands in his pockets and let out a long breath. “Maybe some other time. Just not in the mood f
or it. Besides, I need to be watching the house.”
Riley laughed and shook his head. “You’re so full of shit. You’re already tied up with her. What the hell are you going to do when she accuses you of being too rough? You might think you can tone it down for her, but it’s not you. You’re going to screw up one day, and then where will you be?”
Logan didn’t say anything for a while. He was trying to figure all of it out himself. He swore he wasn’t going to touch her again, but he knew he was kidding himself. He stayed half hard for her all the damn time. It wouldn’t be long before he took her again. She challenged him. That always got him going.
“You might be right, Riley, but I’m not sure what in the hell I can do about it now.”
“Are you in love with her, man?” Riley asked.
“Naw, just in lust. That and neither one of us can stand for someone to beat up on a woman.” Logan looked over at Riley.
“Nope. Won’t happen if I’m around.” Riley looked off in the distance for a few seconds as if he were thinking about something.
Logan wondered what his friend was thinking about. He had been through hell when he was in the system as a child. He had no doubt he’d witnessed some harsh things, as well as being the recipient of some of them. His friend rarely talked about that time in his life. Choosing instead to pick up when he was in juvie.
“Ready to head back?” Riley asked.
“Yep.”
They mounted up after securing their helmets. Riley took his time getting them back to Logan’s house. When they pulled up, Logan invited Riley for dinner, but the big man declined. Said he was going to shower and relax some before going over to the bar down the road from his hotel.
“Come on by anytime you want a beer or just want to relax outside in my custom decorated back yard.” Logan laughed at the expression on Riley’s face.
“Custom decorated? You’ve been watching too much do-it-yourself TV, man. Get out and live a little.”
Riley shook his head then bumped knuckles with Logan before turning the big bike around and roaring off down the drive. Logan heard the bike for about thirty seconds before it faded into the background noise.