Chapter Five
Stellan
She sits off in the corner of the room, watching the sky outside darken, annoyed with me as if I’m the one who put her in this situation. I didn’t tell her to come all the way down here. She could have called.
“So why didn’t you call?” I questioned, crossing my arms and leaning on the wall.
“I did, you fucking jackass,” she hollers, jumping to her feet with a sexy fire that turns me on. “Seriously, you men. Is it a prerequisite that you’re stupid if you’re attractive? Do you cheat as well?”
I have so many damn questions, but the only thing that pops into my head is that bastard who was fucking her. “Are you telling me that prick cheated on you?”
“Yes, with the other girl that worked here, Carrie.”
“Ah, yes. I met her.”
“ Oh, did you now,” I know that sound. I got my stalker jealous. Why do I want her that way? I’m not supposed to be attracted to this woman in any way, shape, or form, and yet I’m as hard as steel.
“I’m not attracted to her if that’s what you’re thinking, but I got that ick vibe from her.” Did I just say ick? I’ve been hanging around the younger crowd too long.
She waves her delicate hand. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I just fired them.”
“Fired them? I thought he owned the resort.”
“No, I do.” My brows cinch together. That wouldn’t make any sense unless she took multiple vacations because those incidents when the stalker was in L.A. were days and weeks apart, meaning the person was a California resident. She had to be telling me the truth.
I’m on my feet, pacing fast, thoughts racing through my mind as I puzzle through everything I know. “Something’s not adding up.”
“What the heck are you talking about?” I look up at my confused woman.
The truth of it all dawns on me, and I drop to my chair, running my hands through my hair and feeling the brunt of my frustration hit me hard as hell. “You can’t be my stalker.”
“Duh. Lord,” she sighs, rolling her beautiful eyes.
“I apologize,” I say. Pain and relief are mixed, in my words. Have I ruined my chances with her?
I don’t know if it was the sound in my voice or what, but there is pity in hers as she asks, “What made you think I was?” Before I knew it, she was standing next to me with a bottle of water.
“I swore I saw you in town everywhere.” My words are barely above a whisper.
She smiles and shakes her head, letting a piece of her red curls fall in front of her face, only to swipe it away before I get the pleasure. “There are less than two thousand residents. You probably saw the entire town and didn’t realize it. I’m one of the few people with red hair.”
“No, it was you, at least most of the time.” I’d confess that I knew it was her the entire time, but then she’d think I was insane and truly obsessed.
“I live here, and I do believe at least on two occasions, I was somewhere first.”
“More than twice,” I admit. Hell, even I felt l was the stalker and loved it until I received those images. Damn, I was willing to let the stalking slide.
“Well then, I wasn’t stalking you. You would be stalking me.”
“You rode past my Nana’s house the first time I saw you,” I confessed, and then my obsession kicked off, but she didn’t need to know that bit of information. “Just checking to see if you were telling the world where Stellan Knox was,” I joke.
She rolls her eyes. “Whatever. I was coming from the library that day. Tell me you never played a detective in any of these movies because you jump the gun way too fast on this.”
I frowned. “There was something else that made me believe it was you.” I walked over to the table, picked up my phone, and opened the pictures that I had saved. I’m glad they’re saved since my internet and phone service no longer work. “These were sent to me by my assistant. The images were from the shops where my stalker bought the gifts. Georgia, don’t deny it. You were seen there multiple times.” I handed over the phone.
She laughs.
“Wow. First, I’m going to punt that bitch in her cooch. Second, do you see the necklace?” She points to the one on the image of the first time I received the nude painting of my face over the sculpture of David.
“Yes?”
“I got that gift from Chet that night before he picked me up for dinner. Whoever doctored those images had just taken that picture sometime in the two hours that I wore that necklace.”
“Two hours?”
“He kept playing with his phone, so after he dropped me off, I ended up going back to his apartment to end things, and I caught him fucking Carrie.” The pictures had to have been taken in the restaurant.
“After you left with the roses, I had the images.”
“Oh my goodness.”
“Yes, and I know who my stalker is. She can’t reach us from here.”
“Obviously, she can if she got this picture of me. Is she an ex-girlfriend?” The instant jealousy practically vibrates off her words, but she has nothing to worry about, even though she literally just had a boyfriend when we met.
“No, babe.” I freeze, catching myself, but the light blush on her face tells me that I didn’t screw up, so I continue, “She’s my assistant. I’m not sure why she thought it would be a good idea. A publicity stunt? She had a boyfriend, so I don’t think it’s motivated by romantic intent.” At least, I don’t believe so. She never gave me any hints of flirtation.
“Had a boyfriend?” she questioned.
“Yes, they just broke up.”
“Was it a brief thing?”
“No, they were together for years.”
“So…she’s trying to create press for what? Is your career on the waning end?” Wow, it’s amazing how she doesn’t know a thing about me. My own hometown doesn’t know a thing about me. My Nana really made sure to keep it hush and protect her privacy.
“No, I just finished shooting my latest film, and I’ll be doing reshoots and a brief press tour once the film comes out. Other than that, I’m not sure. There were rumors that I was dating some model. Maybe she created that nonsense, too.” Georgia stiffens at that one, too.
“Were you close to the model?”
“No, I think I saw her at a Hollywood event, and the press got a photo of us standing next to each other. She has a boyfriend. Still, I’m trying to figure out Felicity’s motives. I know she doesn’t want to lose her job.”
“Did she think you were slipping? Don’t they say all press is good press?”
“Well, creating a stalker is a fucking stupid way to do it. I was fucking paranoid about it. The first time someone sent me my favorite meal, I asked her if it was her. She could have said it was and that she was trying to play this game and building up a fan chase.”
“Would you have gone along with her plan?”
“No. Even if I needed to boost my career, my integrity wouldn’t have allowed it. My goal had never been to be famous. Hell, I hadn’t even gone to Los Angeles to be a movie star. I had gotten a scholarship for Engineering at Cal Tech when I was spotted by some Hollywood type who gave me a walk-on role for a movie.” Her brows lifted, surprised that I didn’t go chasing the Hollywood dream.
“Are you going to fire her?” she asks, standing up to peek out the window.
“I was already letting her go soon, anyway.” Suddenly, a shiver ran through my beautiful Georgia, and I stood up and pulled a blanket from the cupboard. “Here, cover up. It seems the temperature has dropped.”
“That’s not good.” The winds whip through the cabin’s wood frame, getting louder and louder.
“Uh, we need to be prepared.” She checks her phone, but the signal isn’t working much better than mine. “It’s about to hit in an hour, and from the looks of it, we’re going to get some fierce winds and water.”
“Great. Are you sure there’s no other way out of here?” I ask, wondering if we should take a chance.
“Not anymore, genius.”
“Don’t start with me. I didn’t get any call from you. My line hasn’t rung this entire time, and my cell phone hasn’t worked well out here all day.” She picks up the landline and quickly drops it. Did she forget about the rules she gave me, or is she immune? I want to bend her over and pop her on her ass for not taking caution too. She could have been electrocuted.
“Are you fucking nuts? Did you forget about the possible surge?”
“The line’s dead, but it could be because of the storm.”
“Are we safe to ride it out, or is there somewhere higher we can go?” It might sound like I’m afraid, but it’s not about me. I don’t like the fact that Georgia’s not safe, and it’s my fault. If I’d gone after her instead of believing she’d eventually come hunting me down, we both would have been safe.
“We should be safe here, but we’re going to be without anything until it passes, and we need to stay away from the windows.”
“Are you sure it’s not going to flood?”
“We’re up on a hilly slope, and if anything, we’re going to lose water on this cove, but the wind can be dangerous, as you saw.” She waved toward our now ruined vehicles. “Once the storm passes, the next issue will be the lack of supplies. Unfortunately, we don’t know how long it will take until we’re able to reach anyone.”
“I’m sorry about that, but it doesn’t make sense that I still didn’t get a call from you on the landline. I haven’t turned it off or anything.”
“It is strange.” A sinking feeling washes over me. Maybe it wasn’t the storm that knocked out the landline. How close was my assistant, and where was she now? I had to put my shoes and coat on and brave the elements just in case she was trapped outside. As pissed as I was, there was no way I’d let her be stranded outside. When I move toward the door, I hear the wood splinter, and then a tree violently slams against the front door.
“Are you nuts?”
“I’m starting to think so.”
“Playing an action hero is not the same in real life, you know,” she hisses.
“I’m fine.”
The wind begins to howl through the rafters. The sound gets louder, the rain picks up, and I can see that she’s growing more concerned, so I try to break the tension. “It’s been a long time since I’ve lived here, but I don’t recall there being a storm this bad.”
“There hasn’t been,” she answered. “This is the first time in a very, very long time. We’ve been fortunate. So, you used to live over here with your grandmother?”
“Yes, when I was a kid up until I was a teenager and then I went to college in California. What about you?” My Nana gave me the details, but I want it all from her pretty lips. I don’t recall meeting her all these years when I came to visit, which was a fucking shame. Perhaps I should have come out more with my Nana.
“I moved here when I was about thirteen with my grandparents, who took me in when my parents became too irresponsible to raise me.”
“I guess this is a place for grandparents. I know I’m not the only one in town with a similar story, but I would go back with my parents on occasion. Thankfully, most people don’t remember me.”
“Although you should hear the way your grandmother talks about you,” she says, letting the truth slip from her plump lips.
My eyes narrowed into slits. “Thought you didn’t know who I was.”
“I don’t. Your grandmother doesn’t mention who you are, only that you’re famous. Never once has she mentioned that you are some famous action hero, only that…only that you’re famous. Everyone just brushes her off as a crazy old woman except for the mayor.”
“Oh yes, Brooks is the mayor now. He wouldn’t doubt her. Not unless he wanted a foot up his ass.” She laughed, and I froze because it was the most beautiful thing I ever heard.She stops, looking self-conscious.
“You need to do that more.”
“What?”
“Laugh. Or better yet, don’t because it’s sexy as fuck.” She blushes, and I want to kiss her lips and lift her onto my face and straddle me as I eat her pussy until she screams my name. I’m not sure where that came from, but suddenly, I’m famished.
The rain grows heavy, beating down violently on the roof to switch from side to side. “Let’s move this upstairs just in case it floods.” I grab a stack of blankets while she snags a bag full of drinks and snacks. We moved our impromptu party to the second floor. “I’m glad I grabbed a larger cabin even though I didn’t need it.”
“I’m glad you did, too,” she said. A shiver runs through her body, and I know it’s because we’re too close to the coast, and there’s no warmth here.
I pull the comforter off the bed and tell her, “Kick off your shoes and get inside. It’s time for you to get warm.”
“I can’t take up all your space; this is your cabin.” Her protests are cute, but I won’t play with her health and safety.
I drop the comforter and step to her, staring down at the sexy little beauty that only reaches my shoulders. “Don’t start with me, woman, or I’ll spank your little bottom.”
“My bottom isn’t little.”She turns her head to check out her ass, and so do I. She’s not wrong. I’d love to grip that round, juicy bottom with both my hands, squeeze those cheeks, and bite down. Fuck, I’m so hard I can’t think straight. She’s trying to kill me. My dick is harder than the tree that is now pinned to the front door.
I grip her biceps and say, “Get under the covers right now; you’re freezing.”
When she nods in agreement, I release her, and she gets inside, but I look away because the temptation is too damn much. “What about you?”
I pace to the window, looking out toward the bay, but it’s pitch black out. Coming back, I finally addressed her question. “I’ll sleep on the floor or on the chair.”
“Are you still worried that I’m your stalker and I’m going to like…violate you?”
“Sexy red, I am not worried about you violating me. I’m afraid of what I’ll do lying beside your gorgeous body. You’re vulnerable, tempting, and have been on my mind since you rode past on that blue bike.”
“Whoa,” she says, blowing out a puff of air. Her feet slide on the mattress as her thighs glide against each other, fighting off that need I can see in her heated face.
“Too much?” I asked, wondering if I had pushed my luck with her.
“No, it’s just…”
“It is too much. I’ll just hang out on this side of the room.”
“No, Stellan. Please come over here.” She pats the bed. The look in her eyes matches mine. Need.