Chapter 11
Ace
I have to stop this little game I’m playing in my head, pretending I might be able to spend more time with her. I want to, but I have to go as soon as I handle this stalker situation and letting her think otherwise isn’t fair to either of us.
“I’d love if you stayed for a while.” She pauses. “But something tells me you’re not going to.”
“What makes you say that?” She’s fairly astute for someone as na?ve as she claims to be.
“The way a muscle in your cheek twitches just a little the minute we discuss something like how long you’re staying or having two-point-five kids.”
Damn. How does she know me so well already?
“It’s not something I’m used to talking about. I’ve steered clear of the heavy stuff over the years because I had to.”
“And now?”
“Darlin’, the first time I danced with you, you made me want to break every rule in the book. And it doesn’t seem to be any different this time.”
“Why do you think that is?” Her eyes are guileless, but I have a feeling there’s a lot more emotion behind her question than she’s letting on.
“I wish I knew. There’s something about you.” I reach out and impulsively cup her chin with my hand, letting my thumb gently rub away a touch of applesauce on her lower lip.
“There’s something about you too,” she whispers, her eyes never leaving mine.
“If I kiss you, Shannon, I’m never going to stop,” I say gruffly, letting my hand rest on her chin, waiting to see if she will move away. Instead, she leans into it.
“I’ve been imagining the different ways you might say that to me for so long, and this was way sexier than anything in my head.”
“You’re trying to kill me, aren’t you?” I swallow, unable to break the gaze. This is ridiculous. Twenty-four hours ago, she was ready to kill me. Now she’s inviting me to kiss her.
And I really fucking want to.
Instead, I place a chaste kiss on her cheek and get up to grab some napkins.
“What was that?” she demands when I return.
“I thought I’d give you a chance to change your mind.” I wipe my mouth with a napkin even though I’m fairly certain there isn’t anything there.
“I’ve had ten years to change my mind,” she says with laughter.
She leans forward and, before I realize what she’s doing, presses her lips to mine.
Her mouth is closed and her eyes are open, cautiously watching my reaction, but there’s no way in hell I’m pulling away.
Instead, I slide one arm around her shoulders and let the tip of my tongue tease the seam of her lips.
Those gorgeous blue eyes of hers flutter closed, and her mouth opens just enough for her tongue to toy with mine.
For at least a minute, maybe two, we sit there with our lips pressed together, our tongues doing a gentle, playful dance.
I didn’t plan to, but my mouth seems to have a mind of its own and deepens the kiss, demanding a little more… and she lets me.
When I press my tongue fully into her mouth, she makes a sound that’s the purest, sweetest, most enticing thing I’ve ever heard.
It isn’t a moan or a sigh or a groan, but more of a whisper, as if her soul is talking to mine.
I don’t know what that means, but I’m not going to think about it too hard because right now the most beguiling woman I’ve ever met is kissing me back.
Kissing me like we kissed ten years ago.
Except this is better; we aren’t hiding from anyone, and I fucking never want it to end.
“Wow.” When we finally pull apart, her eyes are glassy and her lips a little swollen. She looks thoroughly well-kissed, and knowing that I’m the man who’d put that look on her face gets me hard as a rock.
“Now look what you’ve done,” I murmur, nuzzling her neck. “You’ll have to walk in front of me for at least an hour.”
She smiles. “Or we could just sit here and make out. We have ten years to make up for.”
I draw her head back to mine, taking her mouth with a little more finesse this time, stroking her tongue more urgently, hoping to get her as worked up as I am.
I don’t know what my end game is, because I want her so much more than I thought I would, but it feels like I’ve been waiting my whole life for this moment.
“Should we be doing this here?” she whispers against my mouth.
“Probably not, but if I get you alone, things are going to go a lot further than kissing.”
“That’s kind of what I was hoping.”
“Shannon, I don’t—”
“Shut up,” she says with a soft smile, pressing her forefinger against my mouth. “I’m a grown woman, and I’ll kiss you if I want to. Right here in the middle of the Christmas market too.”
“I like the sound of that.”
So that’s what we do.
Though we keep our hands and body language relatively chaste, we kiss like horny teenagers who are away from their parents’ prying eyes for the first time.
At some point, when it seems like there’s nowhere to go unless we want to strip down right here in the square, we exchange a meaningful look.
When we finally pull apart, it doesn’t seem like there’s anything to say, so we finish eating our potato pancakes and then she slides her hand into mine as we start to wander.
I’m sporting a fairly uncomfortable boner, but that’s okay because she’s worth every second of discomfort.
I untuck my T-shirt and let it cover my crotch area as we walk.
We join the throngs of people exploring the busy market, stopping at different booths as she finishes some Christmas shopping and I even do some.
Though Erik and his family certainly didn’t need any material items, I pick up a few things for the kids.
“Where will you be at Christmas?” she asks after we each bought a handful of gifts.
“Probably with the royal family in Limaj,” I say. “Unless…”
“Unless what?”
“Unless I get a better offer.” I didn’t plan to say that, and it would be extraordinarily inconvenient, but the words pop out before I can stop them.
“I don’t know what I could offer you better than Christmas with royalty,” she says quietly.
I stop walking and pull her against me. “Seriously? You think the fact that they’re royalty is better than being with the beautiful, sexy woman I’ve been fantasizing about for a decade?”
“Haven’t there been…women?” she asks, confusion on her pretty face.
“Women? Yes. But special women? Not even one. Not in a very long time.”
“But why? We only met for a few hours…”
“It was enough for you to write about me in your diary. To be angry when I missed your father’s funeral. It was no different for me.”
Our eyes lock and neither of us seem to have anything to say, which speaks volumes in and of itself.
“It seems like we should feel silly,” she says after a moment. “We’re acting like hormonal teenagers.” She pauses. “But I don’t feel silly.”
“I don’t either,” I admit. “So how about we just keep walking and talking and getting to know each other. Maybe it’ll start to make sense, maybe it won’t, but either way, you have to admit it’s fun, despite the circumstances.”
“Definitely.” She slips her hand into mine again, and we move down the aisle.
* * *
We arrive back at my hotel late, close to midnight, and we’ve just kicked off our shoes when my phone rings.
Chains.
Who knows how late it is.
This can’t be good.
I hit the button to accept the call, meeting Shannon’s gaze worriedly. “Hey, what’s up?”
“You have a problem.”
“What?”
“Your stalker just broke into Shannon’s apartment, and this time ransacked it. I don’t know how you want to handle it since obviously it’s meant for Shannon to find whenever she gets home tonight but…”
“Shit. Are they gone?”
“Yeah. I had one of my men watching the feed, and she showed up about twenty minutes ago. He called me, and we were watching but—”
“Wait, it’s a she?”
“Absolutely a woman. Still can’t see her face, but the body had breasts.”
“Damn. Well, there’s nothing we can do about it now, but I’m guessing tomorrow is going to be a busy day.”
Shannon is watching me with concern, but I hold up a finger, indicating she should wait until I hang up.
“It’s not the worst thing in the world for this woman to realize Shannon is no longer an easy target.”
“No, but once she sees my face, she’ll probably disappear whenever I’m around.”
“Maybe you should go home with Shannon tonight, find the mess, and call the police. Then it’ll be handled by morning.”
“Let me talk to her. Thanks.” I hang up and tell Shannon what happened.
“Sonofabitch!” She’s understandably upset. “Why is this escalating? And how the fuck is my stalker a woman?”
“Have you inadvertently dated a married man?” I ask. “I hate to ask, but that would be the number one reason for a woman to come after you.”
She shakes her head. “I only dated that one guy since I’ve been here, and I never dated anyone but my husband back home.”
“So, there’s some other reason she’s upset with you,” I reason. “Or she’s just a hired gun, and the person actually after you isn’t the one doing it.”
“Coward.” She’s scowling now, arms folded across her chest. “What do we do?”
“Probably best if we go back to your apartment, like you’re getting home after a date, and we find the mess.”
“That means we have to call the police and this is no longer a private matter.”
“I know, but if we don’t report it, she’ll know she’s the reason I’m here and we don’t want that. My cover should be that I’m a guy you dated briefly in college, we reconnected online, and I’ve come to visit.”
She sighs and rests her head against my chest. “We had such a good time tonight, I forgot all about this stalker situation. Now our whole evening is ruined.”
“Nothing is ruined,” I whisper, stroking her hair. “I’m going to catch this bitch and then we’re going to pick up right where we left off.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.” I kiss the top of her head.
I don’t know if I can keep a promise like that, but I’m sure as shit going to try.