Chapter Eleven
Katey
“I ’m here now bitch and you’re mine!” Ethan stared at me, his eyes black with anger, his mouth practically snarling in my direction.
I took a step back and gasped. My heart pounded with fear. “How did you find me?”
The gleam in his eyes was predatory. “I told you Katey, you’re mine and I will always find you.” He lunged forward and wrapped his hands around my throat, squeezing until not even one breath could get through.
I scratched at his hands and arms, and poked my hands into his eyes, but nothing stopped him. This was it, the moment I knew I was going to die. “No! Stop!”
An arm wrapped around me, hard and warm and strong. It was oddly comforting, and I found myself burrowing into that hard warmth, seeking the comfort that it unconsciously offered. I whimpered, my body still shaking from that nightmare encounter with Ethan. My eyes opened and there was… nothing. It was still hard and still warm, but dark.
And fleshy.
Fleshy? My hands wandered up and down the warmth until the familiar touch of a man’s chest and torso became apparent. There were lots of muscles, hard and rippling. It was a damn fine chest.
Until it spoke.
“You done feelin’ me up?” Amusement rang in Sniper’s voice and humiliation burned beneath the layers of my skin.
I pushed away from his chest and scoffed. “You wish.”
His grin widened.
“If anyone was feeling anyone up, it was you with your hand on my breast!”
Sniper shrugged so casually it was almost funny. “You’re a pain in the ass but you’ve got nice tits, and my hands have a mind of their own.” He laughed at my wide-eyed expression. “To be fair, it started as a soothing hug but you’re not exactly a calm sleeper.”
I wasn’t sure how I felt about that compliment, but my nipples liked it well enough, so I ignored it. “Soothing hug?”
His smile dimmed and he sat up in bed, letting the sheet fall to his waist. I willed my eyes to stay on his face and not that divine chest. “You’re still having nightmares.” It wasn’t a question, it was a statement.
“I wouldn’t know. Haven’t shared a bed with anyone in a long time.” I looked away because I didn’t want to see pity in his eyes, and because my eyes twitched with the effort to avoid looking at his chest. And abs. And his arms.
“You had one just now. Didn’t you?”
My shoulders fell. “Sort of?”
He laughed. “How do you have a sort of dream?”
I shrugged. “I woke up before it became a nightmare.” I stared at Sniper once again, raising my chin defiantly.
“You want to talk about it?”
I shook my head. “What’s the point of talking about it when nothing can be done? He’s my very own boogeyman, except he’s real and he’s chasing me down.”
“This time you have me though, and I want him to find you so I can see how he fights against someone his own size.”
I should not be turned on by that talk. That talk was how I got into this mess in the first place. “He’s not nearly as big as you.”
Sniper grinned. “Good to know.”
I rolled my eyes and swallowed down a laugh. “You’re ridiculous.”
He tore the blankets off his lap and swung his legs over the side of the bed. “I’m growing on you.”
I snorted without answering.
“And not just my sexy body.”
At that, I laughed. “It’s a good thing you’re not modest.”
“Modesty is overrated,” he assured me as he stood, giving me a long look at his glorious ass. It was sculpted to perfection, round and hard.
I was never an ass woman, but good lord Sniper’s ass had me rethinking my stance.
“My eyes are up here, Doc.”
“I know,” I grumbled and crossed my arms to cover my hard nipples, which would be clearly visible in the thin t-shirt I was wearing. “Too bad the rest of you is far more appealing than your mouth.” I turned away and headed towards the bathroom.
“That’s because you haven’t experienced my mouth,” he called after me.
“I’m going to take a shower,” I replied.
“Cold water is to the left, just in case you need to cool down.”
I rolled my eyes and closed the bathroom door behind me, cranking the water as hot as it would go out of spite. I wasn’t thinking about those rock-hard abs, or those sculpted triceps and I definitely was not thinking about that beautiful ink.
“Shit.” I was so busy running from Sniper that I left the few clothes I managed to buy when I landed at Cal’s in the bedroom. I opened the door and scanned the room, sighing gratefully when I didn’t see Sniper.
I pulled out a pair of jeans and a tank top, tossing them on the bed before I dropped the towel and stepped inside the cotton panties I bought in a twelve pack.
“Thanks for the show.”
“Aah!” I spun with my one foot in the underwear and the other hovering in the air, which sent me tumbling back onto my ass. “What the hell Sniper?”
“Calisthenics.”
Calisthenics? “I thought you were gone.”
“I haven’t even taken a shower yet.” He folded his arms, body covered in a light sheen of sweat, as if his shower status was important.
“Obviously.”
His gaze was full of heat as he took in my naked body. My nipples beaded under his gaze and moisture flooded my thighs. Sniper licked his lips, and I jumped to my feet, scrambling to snatch the towel off the floor.
“See something you like?”
“Yes, unfortunately.” He grumbled the words and stalked to the bathroom, slamming the door behind me.
I stared at the bathroom door for a full minute in shock before I snapped out of it and quickly got dressed.
In layers.