Chapter 28 #2
Looking at the printouts my assistant sent over, I set them on the counter as a black fur ball jumps onto the island and looks at me warily. I’ve been giving Freya her space to get used to me, and so far, she hasn’t wanted a single thing to do with me.
“Hey girl,” I say softly. “Does this mean you are starting to trust me?”
Her blue eyes assess me with caution as she walks around my papers with her tail moving gracefully before she sits down in front of me.
“It’s not easy to trust people when you’ve been hurt before, is it?
” Putting my arms on the counter, I lean down and get eye level with her, not quite believing I’m talking to a cat.
For some reason, though, I understand her.
I’m not too fond of most people either, and can definitely relate to the not-trusting part.
“I’m going to try something here, and I would really appreciate it if you didn’t scratch or bite me,” I chuckle softly. “Savi seems to love both of us, and since you two are a packaged deal, I really need us to get along because I have no plans of ever leaving her.”
I slowly hold out my hand to her face, letting her smell me first. Her tail swishes by her body, but she doesn’t hiss or scratch the hell out of me, so I take it as a good sign.
“I’m going to pet you now,” I tell her as if she can understand what I’m saying. Savi is clearly rubbing off on me, as I find myself enjoying this conversation.
My hand moves slowly to her head, and when she leans into my palm, I take it as permission to rub behind her ears. A low purring sound fills the room, causing me to smile.
“See, that’s not so bad, is it?” I stroke her fur and smile. “You really are a beautiful girl,” I murmur. Her blue eyes look soulful, as if they hold the secrets of the universe in their depths.
I hear the front door open and look up as Savi walks in. She catches the two of us together, and a bright smile lights up her face.
“Somebody has become friends,” she grins, setting her bag on the small table by the door before walking over to me. Freya hops off the counter and saunters away, deciding our moment is over.
“We are getting there,” I smile as my eyes roam over her. Her hair is in a loose bun today at the nape of her neck, and the pink scrubs that have easily become my favorite drape over that sexy body of hers.
I can’t help the way my heart speeds up whenever she’s near me, as I’m flooded with warmth when I watch the light catch her eyes when they land on me.
“You’re home early,” she smiles.
“We had a light practice today because of the game tomorrow, and I skipped the gym. I thought I would do cardio here. I know you love to run, so I thought I would join you tonight.”
“I would love that,” she says before furrowing her brows. “How did you know I love to run?”
“I know everything about you,” I smile, grabbing the string of her scrubs and pulling her to me. “I have a confession to make, and I don’t know if you are going to like it or not. It’s been bothering me these last few days, and I don’t want any secrets anymore between us.”
“Okay,” she says slowly. I can see the flash of uncertainty in her eyes, and I’m praying she understands why I did it.
“After graduation, when I left, I needed to know you were safe. I know you had your brothers, but for my own peace of mind, I had a few extra people watch you.” I hold my breath as my words sink in.
“What do you mean, you had a few people watching me?” Her brows furrow as she peers up at me.
“Just a few guys I knew. I paid them to call me if they ever spotted you at a party and to check in on you from time to time.”
“You paid them?”
“People do better if they get something in return,” I shrug. “Didn’t you ever wonder why I was at that party that night and how I knew you might be in trouble?”
“I just always assumed it was the right place, right time kind of thing.”
“You know parties aren’t my thing. I wasn’t there by accident,” I say, shaking my head.
“My friend Ben called me to tell me you were there. I just happened to be home that week, so I was able to show up. I would have called Miles if I were still up in New York. God only knows what would have happened if all four of your brothers had shown up. I still to this day don’t know how you got me to stop from killing that motherfucker,” I mutter under my breath, refusing to let him enter our space again as I reel in my anger.
“I mean…” She chews on her bottom lip as she processes what I just told her. “I guess I can’t be mad at something you did that brought you to me that night. It’s not like you kept it up.”
My body tenses at her words, and she narrows her eyes at me. “How long did you keep paying people?”
“What day did I move back home?” I ask cautiously. I might as well lay it all on the line now.
Her eyes widen in shock before she steps out of my embrace and starts pacing.
Well, this can’t be good.
I watch her eyes flicker with fire, and I feel the flames nip at my flesh.
“Are you telling me you’ve had people spying on me for most of my life?” Her head whips toward mine in disbelief. “College? I was up in Georgia. How?”
“That was a little trickier. Turns out you can’t hire professionals unless it’s for legal reasons. I guess they classify it as stalking, which is ridiculous,” I say, rolling my eyes, “because I was just trying to keep you safe.”
“It is stalking, you ass,” she says, looking at me like I’ve gone mad. I probably have when it comes to her, but I make no apologies when it comes to protecting her.
“If wanting to keep you safe makes me a stalker, then I guess I’m your stalker, sunshine. At least it’s me, and not some psycho who wants to keep you in his basement.”
I take a step toward her and give her a tentative smile to try to get one back.
She crosses her arms, and I can tell she’s fighting to be mad at me, which means she’s going to forgive me…eventually.
“It’s not as bad as it seems. I promise. I ended up asking around the league and got lucky. A few of the players had younger brothers who were going to the same college as you. Their girlfriends were in your dorm, so it was easy money for them.”
When she doesn’t answer, I take that as my cue that she needs more assurance.
“There was no invasion of privacy, I swear. Just the occasional check-in, and if they happened to be at the same party as you, then I paid them to keep an eye on you from a distance and make sure you got back to your dorm safely. I just needed to know that you were happy. That you were smiling and…living. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for you,” I say softly.
“I’m still angry at you,” she mutters, and I struggle to hold back my grin. She looks so damn sexy when her fire is lit.
“I’m fully willing to do whatever it takes to put that anger to good use.” My body can’t help but get turned on as I feed off of her hostile energy.
She glances down, and there’s no denying I’m like steel now against my gym shorts as I take the last step toward her, eager to fuck this anger out of her.
“Hmmm,” she says, reaching down and slowly tracing the length of me with her finger.
Her eyes burn into me, and every part of me wants to feel the flames.
“Running with blue balls might take some of this anger away. I’m going to change into my workout gear,” she says, walking away before she stops and looks over her shoulder.
“A truly good stalker should have no problem catching its target.”
I watch her disappear into her bedroom, stunned by what just happened. It’s not every day someone can pull the upper hand on me and take me by surprise. She’s turned her anger into a game for me, which was a big mistake on her part because I always play to win.
A slow grin spreads across my face as my body gets amped up from the challenge. I know she’s a fast runner, but I’m faster. I’ll let her think she’s getting away, but in the end, I always get what I want.
And right now, as I feel my cock pulse in anticipation, what I want is to catch my prize.