“So what should I do?” My voice is smaller than intended.
He tucks my hair out of my face. “Make a report. Change your locks. Block him from your phone, get a weapon. Maybe it’s best if you don’t go home for a few days.”
Not go home? What? “What do I do? Hole up in a hotel for a couple of weeks? I don’t want to-”
He cuts me off with a soft kiss. “Baby, you can stay here.”
“I can’t just move in here for days. What if he follows me here?”
“Then I’ll kick his ass. There’s room for you. The bed’s big enough.” He smiles at me.
I can’t help but smile back. Might not be the worst thing in the world, curling up next to this sexy blonde for the next few days. Playing house with him.
“But we just started dating. We don’t even know each other very well yet.”
He tilts his head. I can see the stubborn streak in him is just as wide as it is in me. It’s glowing in his eyes as he grins wider at me, watching my face as me plants kisses on my shoulders.
“I know enough. It’s not forever. You need to be in a safe place, until we know what’s happening. When it blows over, you go home. I’m not willing to risk your safety now that I finally found you again.”
He says the last bit quietly.
A sigh comes out of me, deep and from the part of my gut that knows I can’t say no to this face. Before I open my mouth, I feel the heat of his full lips on mine. An intimate invasion that makes whatever protest I was forming flutter away.
“Shut up,” he mutters, taking my lips again as he opens his eyes just long enough to catch me in his hypnotic gaze. “Don’t overthink it. Let me do this.”
His hands on my face, nibbling kisses and gentle nuzzles cause peace to settle deep in my soul. Isaiah is my safe place. I’ve got no doubts about it. I’ve never trusted anyone so easily before.
“Okay. I’ll stay for a little bit,” I whisper.
A smile against my kiss, a gentle growl of pleasure when my arms go around his neck.
“Good. Let’s get some breakfast in us and we can head over to get some things. We’ll have a locksmith come over.”
With a nod, I stand. He swats me on my bare behind as he passes me on his way to the kitchen.
In his shower, the hot water rains down on my body, washing away all the confusion even if it’s only for a moment. Isaiah seems to have brought me back to myself when I thought that I might be losing it. I squirt some of his body wash into my hands, it smells clean and like him and makes me smile as I lather it onto my skin. Now I’ll get to smell like him all day long.
Hopefully all this will get sorted out soon.
Chapter Eight
Noah
I should have followed her. I always regret it when I don’t. Now I’ve got this cop to worry about and I’ve got no idea where she’s been all night long.
After the phone call, I make my way back into the house. I spent the night in the attic again, watching for her, missing her. I had my videos to keep me company, but it’s not the same. I fed her dog, we played fetch with the little yellow ball she loves so much.
I’m not really into animals, but Emily will be thrilled to know I took the time to bond with her little Maxie.
When I hear the door, thankfully I’m in the attic. Body flush to the floor, I peer through the small hole with a heavy heartbeat. I’ve missed her. I knew she’d come home.
Looking stunning in a pencil skirt and lace top, she floats into the room. I’ve bought her so many clothes, I can’t wait to show them to her. She deserves only the best.
I see the same blonde guy from the night of the party follow her into the house and I suck in a breath. His muffled voice floats up to my ears.
“I’m going to check the house while you pack.”
Shit. I get up off the floor, careful to tread lightly. No place to hide up here. Nothing to hide in or behind. Fuck. If he comes up here I’m screwed. Not even a window to get out.
Wait, he said pack. Why is she packing? Where is she going? Damn it, who is this guy? I’ve been watching her for months. Nothing new. No one that I don’t know in her life. I’ve checked out everyone.
This blondie comes along, and screws up everything. Who the hell is he? Maybe he’s a relative. She’d never cheat on me. I know she loves me, she’s just waiting for me.
My thoughts start to come in a jumbled mess as I cross to one of my cameras. I hide it, with the other one under some insulation in a dark corner.
She’s packing, why is she packing?
Who is this guy?
She called the cops.
She doesn’t love you, you’re a mess.
No, she loves me. I know she does. It’s in her eyes.
She’s confused, or maybe he’s forced her.
Where is she going? Is she going with him?
My head starts to hurt as the thoughts twist in my brain, playing over and over again. I’ve got to stop and think.
Emily won’t let me get caught. She’s going to help me.
I move from hole to hole, finding him looking in each room, closet, every hiding place.
I find Emily in her bedroom, packing a suitcase. She’s in her underwear, the lovely outfit she had on tossed over the foot of the bed.
“Isaiah.” Her sweet voice calls, turning towards the door.
So that’s his name.
“Yeah?” He calls back. His voice floats up the attic stairs. Sweat rolls down my back. He must be at the door.
“Come here.”
His footstep falls farther away. He comes into view in her bedroom.
Why is he in your bedroom?
Of course, she’s trying to help me. She knows I’m trapped. Using the only distraction she can think of.
Even though I know what she’s doing as I watch her reach out and pull him close by his belt, it angers me. It’s my fault that she’s reduced to this. I wasn’t careful enough, now she’s forced into this so I can get away.
“What are you doing, I was almost done.” His voice floats through the ceiling.
“No one is here but us. Maxie would be barking.” She watches his face, he follows her to the bed kissing her.
I can’t condone her methods, but if he’d found me I don’t know what might have happened. I can’t have things between me and Emily disrupted. I watch them fall into the bed, him pulling off his shirt, pushing her legs wide, bending to kiss the inside of her thigh, his hands moving up to her panties.
No one should be touching her, no one but me. He’s going to pay for this, but I’ll have to deal with that later. I have to get out of here, the sooner I’m gone the sooner she can stop this charade.
I hear her moan as I get up off the floor, tiptoeing my way to the stairs.
Once out of the attic, I close the door silently. Unable to resist, I move down the hall and stand just outside her bedroom door. My ears full of moans and heavy breathing.
I clench my fists at my sides, peeking around the corner of the door, careful to stay hidden.
She’s naked from the waist down, he’s between her legs with her hands tangled in his hair. Her groans tighten the front of my pants, my angry blood rushing to engorge me.
He’s going to pay for this, but I know she’s thinking of me. We are in sync, Emily and me. She knew I needed help.
Before things go too far, I slip out the back door, careful to replace the key in the potted plant, jogging across the backyard to where I parked my car one street over.
Now I’ll have to figure out who Isaiah is.
***
Isaiah
I hold the key to my apartment in my palm, outstretched. Emily stares at it as if it’s going to bite her, and I laugh. “Take it. If you’re staying here for a few days you need to be able to come and go.”
She picks it up, grabbing her keys off the table by her front door. The locksmith just left, after changing out all her locks.
“Now, here are your new keys. Don’t hide one li
ke you did the last one, give your spare to someone to hold for you in case you ever need it. Don’t hide keys outside, crooks know where to look.”
She takes all three keys, smirking at me. “You sound like a cop.”
I grin. “I am a cop, sweetie.”
She laces my key and hers onto her key ring, then hands me one.
“Here, you can have the spare.”
I take the key, trying not to make a production of the fact that we just exchanged keys even though I’m jumping up and down inside like a stupid teenager. There’s something about her that just pulls me in, and I’m not about to try and fight it. I’ve never moved so fast with a woman before.
I look down into her brown eyes and she smiles at me, there’s a flutter in my chest. I’ve never imagined myself as the kind of guy that’s scared of commitment, or the sort that runs from a good thing just because it feels to good. Hell, I’ve jumped into this with both feet and just want more. I can’t get enough of her, but I don’t want to scare her away so I do my best to play things casual. I also want her to know that I’m here for her, that I’m hers now. I dubbed myself boyfriend this morning and she didn’t fight it, so I took that as a good sign.
“So, I’ve been thinking about what you told me. I think, for now, I’ll just make a record of the phone call that I had with him and do a harassment report. It will be a simple record that you told me that he was bothering you, and that I advised him to stop. The other stuff, we don’t know for sure that’s him, so let’s just leave that out for right now. If he bothers you again, you call the police, or call me. Got it?”
She glances down, nodding. “Yeah. I feel like I’m being a pain in the butt. I don’t want to put you to work every time you’re with me.”
I crouch down so that I can meet her eyes, and she smiles at me. “You’re not a pain in the butt. You are having a hard time, and I’m able to help you through it. One day you might need to be there for me through a hard time. That’s what we do for each other. Don’t feel that way, please.”
“Ok. I’ll try. This is all crazy, isn’t it?” She looks up at me, uncertainty in her gaze.
“What is? All this weirdness?”
“Well that, and me and you. We just kind of fit together.”
Our eyes meet, I feel that flutter in my chest again. “We do fit together. It’s easy when it feels right.”
She bites her lip, the uncertainty in her eyes drifts away. “Yeah, I guess so.” Her voice is soft.
“You ready to head out?”
“I think so. Did you already put everything in the car?” She bends and clips a leash on her dog.
“Yep. Come on, let’s drop her off and I’ll take you out for dinner.”
A few hours later, her dog has made herself at home on a blanket that Emily laid out in the corner of the living room. She’s sitting in my recliner, stretched out in pajama shorts and a matching, yellow, spaghetti strap tank top watching TV. For a moment, I stand in the hallway toweling off my hair just watching her.
She’s going to want to go home in a few days, which is understandable. I can’t deny, however, that seeing her here in my house like this makes me feel like this is where she belongs, with me.
I’m going to fall in love with her.
It’s as clear as day. The moment I opened the door for her last night and saw her bright and smiling face, I knew it. When she made love to me on the couch, it was sealed, I’m hers and I’m not going to fight it.
Tossing the towel into the hamper, I step out of the bathroom in my pajama pants and stand behind the recliner, bending over her. She grins up at me.
“Mmm, you smell yummy.”
I give her an upside down kiss, soft lips tempting mine, stealing my breath. “Thank you. You look yummy.”
She giggles.
“You need anything, sweetheart?” I give her another soft kiss.
“No, I’m very content.”
Looking down into her eyes, pouring myself into her, I sigh. “Can I keep you company then?”
“Yes, please.”
I was going to sit on the couch, but the nearness of her is making me want to touch her, so I crawl into the chair, straddling her hips and lean over her. She smiles.
“I can’t see the TV.”
“I don’t see the problem.”
Her arms go around my neck, pulling me down into her kiss. I love her reactions to my touch, my kiss, her soft signs and the way she tugs at my clothes when they seem to be in her way. As our kiss deepens, becomes more urgent, her hands slip into my pants and onto my ass making me grin.
“Want to go to bed?” I rub my nose to hers, searching her eyes.
Her answer is almost a whisper, catching my heart as if she reached in and grabbed it with her fist.
“Okay.”
So I get up, and pull her with me. The TV goes off, the door gets locked and the lights turned out.
She squeaks with delight when I pick her up, cupping her perfect ass in my two big hands. Her legs go around my waist and her hands into my hair and she looks at me like I’m the only man in the world.
“I’m so damn glad you’re here.” I whisper.
She leans and kisses me. The taste of her mouth stirring up blood and enticing a groan from my chest.
Before long she’s tangled with me in a sensual knot, our clothes having found their way to the floor. I can’t keep my lips off her body, my hands off her as she slides her hands up my back, welcoming me into her hips with tender eyes dark with sexual need.
Later, I watch her sleeping for a little bit. This guy worries me. My gut tells me that there is more to this than just a crush. If he hurts her, I swear on everything I hold dear I will make him pay.
Chapter Nine
Noah
I stand in my oversized shower as the showerheads spray overly hot water on me from every direction. All I can think about is who that man was with Emily yesterday. I tried to get into his car, but the door was locked and I was afraid that breaking the window would draw too much attention.
I’ve got to get a grip. I’m getting to reckless. I was almost caught yesterday, thinking about breaking windows. I’m not usually this way. I lather up for the fifth time, as is my ritual every morning and evening. I’d rather skip work and go see Emily today. She must be missing me. I can’t do that, however. It’s not how I became the success I am, and Emily would never approve. She would want to be proud of me. I have to be able to give her everything, and I can’t do that if I just stop working.
She’d never respect a lazy man.
Perhaps, after our wedding, I can take her to Spain and retire with her in a villa. We can make love on the beach all day.
Sun kissed skin, her red hair wet from the ocean. Her giggle plays in my mind as water pours over me. I ache in my belly for her as I imagine her biting that lip as I oil up bare breasts in the afternoon sun on our private beach, later holding her down and moving inside her. The love in her eyes… I can’t wait to tell her everything I’ve planned.
As I dress in a charcoal suit, smoothing my jacket over a yellow shirt and tie I think about the talk with the police officer when I called her. It’s bothering me. How did it happen to be that I called her just when she was with a cop? And why would she tell a police officer that I was bothering her when she loves me? My attention isn’t a bother, she welcomes it with the smiles she gives me and the sparkle in her lovely eyes. It confuses me. There must be some other reason.
Of course, the answer comes into my head and I laugh at myself, going over my suit with a lint roller. She’s testing me.
Of course she is. She can’t tell me she loves me until I show her that I’m here no matter what. And why wouldn’t she want me to prove myself? She’s a gorgeous, young, smart woman. She’s chosen me, and she knows what I want.
Peace settles over me. I can pass this test. I’d never give up on her.
At lunch time I’m ushered into the Katy Police Department after a text to my friend, Detectiv
e Sergeant Julie Barton. After a call, I’m welcomed into the secure door and down the hall to her office, where I find her sitting behind her desk. She’s talking to a tall, blonde man.
My heart thumps once against my ribs. I know the back of that head. He was with my Emily yesterday. The one she called Isaiah.
He has a gun on his hip, a police badge etched on the pocket of his polo shirt.
“Noah,” Julie smiles warmly at me, standing up. “You made it. This is Detective Penrose, Penrose this is my friend Noah Burrell.”
He turns his body, and I recognize the flash of recognition light in his eyes for a brief moment. His eyes travel over me as he sticks out his hand, offering it to me as if he has no idea who I am.
So this is Isaiah. Isaiah Penrose.
I grasp his hand with a smile, a firm handshake with eye contact I can almost feel daring me to say something.
Of course, I just smile. This is just part of Emily’s test.
So this is why he told me to stay away.
“Penrose, he owns Blue Liners, you know the place,” Julie offers, smiling as she shuffles papers around on her outrageously cluttered desk.
Isaiah nods, shifting his weight. “For sure, I’ve been in there several times. You provide the police with a lot of support and do a lot for the community.”
He gives me a sideways look without a smile.
“Thank you. I try.”
Julie opens and closes a drawer, drawing my attention back to her. She’s pretty, middle-aged with chestnut hair pulled into a tight bun. Officers aren’t allowed to wear their hair down while on duty. I try to overlook the clutter and mess in here. The piles of paper and the fact that there isn’t an inch of her desk that isn’t covered by something, it makes me want to toss a lit match in here.
“Noah and I are headed out for lunch, do you want to join us?” she chirps, pocketing keys.
“No, thanks. I’m meeting my girlfriend for lunch today.” He moves for the door, looking me dead in the eyes for a brief moment as she passes me.
Crazy Love Page 6