Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 123672 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 618(@200wpm)___ 495(@250wpm)___ 412(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 123672 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 618(@200wpm)___ 495(@250wpm)___ 412(@300wpm)
“What the fuck is this about?” he asks, his gaze lifting above my head and into my apartment with a deep curiosity. “Are you okay?”
“No, I . . . you weren’t just in my apartment?” I ask, realizing I was wrong. Alex isn’t my stalker. Besides, he just crawled out of bed. My stalker was fully dressed, and I highly doubt he would have had enough time to climb out of my window, get to the bottom, and race back up the fire escape on the other side of the building in time to answer his door.
“As much as I wish I were in your apartment, spending my night in your bed with my face between those creamy legs, I’ve been right here.”
“I’m sorry,” I tell him, my brows furrowed as I start to feel myself beginning to spiral. “It’s just this whole stalker thing. I could have sworn it was you. Something he said just reminded me of something you said at High Voltage Ink and I just . . . I guess I hoped it was you so I could quit freaking out about it.”
“Shit, Mace. He’s been there again?” he says, stepping into me and pulling me into the safety of his warm arms. “You did all of this for him?”
I nod against his chest before remembering his fresh ink and tilting my head again, not wanting to hurt him. “Yeah, I’m sorry,” I say. “I know considering everything that’s going on between us, that probably isn’t the easiest thing to hear, but he left this lingerie set out for me with a blindfold, and I didn’t want to risk him showing up in my apartment to find I hadn’t obeyed his instructions. I know that’s a bullshit, lame excuse, but until I know just how dangerous this guy is, I don’t want to do anything to set him off.”
“I get it, babe. I fucking hate it, but I understand why you did it,” he says, his hand rubbing soothing circles on my back. “But I’m not going to lie, I’m jealous as fuck.”
I laugh and can’t resist burying my face into his chest, his ink be damned. “I’m sorry,” I whisper into the darkened hallway. “You know I wish it were only you.”
“You know what?” he says, a teasing tone in his voice that has me pulling back and lifting my gaze to him. “If you want to make it up to me, you could always keep this little number for me.”
I can’t help but laugh. “This dude has got excellent taste.”
“That he does,” Alex agrees, his cock stiffening against my waist as his fingers brush over my skin. “Though, I can’t lie. I’m curious to know exactly what he did to you.”
My tongue rolls over my deep-red lips. “Instead of telling you,” I whisper, my fingers dragging down his body and clutching onto the waistband of his basketball shorts. “Why don’t I just show you?”
His gaze darkens, and not a second later, his lips are crushing down on mine as he drags me into his apartment, kicking the door closed behind us.
34
KYAH
My gaze lingers on the subtle bruises that are just starting to appear on my hips after my insane night with my stalker, and I really don’t know how to feel about it. Am I wrong for absolutely loving it? Yeah, he kinda terrifies me, but the sexual thrill I get with him is wildly addictive, and I hate how much I crave it. But what I hate more is how it gives me conflicting thoughts about being with Alex.
I want to keep him safe, but at the same time, I want to spend every last moment with him. There’s no denying it any longer; I’ve fallen madly in love with the cocky bastard next door, and I know we haven’t been seeing each other long enough to really know that, but I feel it. This one is different.
His smile, the way he smells, the way he can so effortlessly throw me up against a wall and tell me exactly what he wants to do with me, but also knowing exactly when I need him to shelve the dominant bullshit and be the man who holds me when my world is falling apart.
He’s slipped right into my life, and now, I can’t imagine having to go a single day without seeing him. He’s everything, and for the first time, I’m starting to plan for the future, want things I’ve never wanted before, but if this were to fail, if he doesn’t feel the same way . . . shit. I’ll be devastated. Though, I suppose that’s not exactly at the top of my list of priorities right now. You know, considering I’m dealing with a stalker who may or may not be a murderous psychopath.