Chapter 3
Chapter three
Gatling
I remained wide awake all night long.
My relationship with sleep was a sketchy one at best already. When my PTSD flared up, insomnia usually wasn’t too far behind. Once my nervous system kicks into fight mode, it’s damn near impossible to get a decent amount of rest.
But a flashback wasn’t the culprit for my lack of sleep this time.
Knowing Kelsie was nestled in a cloud of sheets, just on the other side of her bedroom door, filled my head with a slew of unholy thoughts.
I pictured her soft curves in a tiny pair of panties and an oversized shirt.
No bra to restrain her plump tits, pebbled nipples practically begging to be sucked until she woke up with a gasp.
My cock twitched. I stifled a groan, slouching deeper into the couch. If I continued to torture myself like this, I would be rock hard with no ability to do anything about it. I couldn’t exactly rub one out in the apartment of my best friend’s little sister.
Fuck, I needed to focus. Stay alert. Stay sharp.
This bastard stalking Kelsie might be harmless. Some nerdy little pervert with a crush who didn’t have the guts to speak to her properly.
Or he might be a psycho who was just beginning to ramp up.
Either way, it made me sick to my stomach that she had a target on her back.
In the dim glow of the street lamp spilling through the window, I surveyed Kelsie’s apartment. The geraniums on the kitchen counter, with a blushing pop of color. The strawberry-shaped throw pillows on the couch. The lemon-yellow rug spread across the floor.
Everything about Kelsie was bursting with joy and light. I hated to think this stalker had poisoned her with fear.
By the time Kelsie’s alarm went off, the kitchen was flooded with golden morning sunlight.
She shuffled out of the bedroom with a yawn, tying a silky turquoise bathrobe around her waist. Her honey brown hair was tied up in a messy bun, and there were sleep lines from the sheets marking the left side of her face.
All I wanted to do was stare, soaking up every inch of her. Unguarded, rumpled, and perfect.
Then I wrenched my gaze away, fighting the lump in my throat and the fucking relentless ache in my cock. It didn’t help that her robe only came to mid-thigh, exposing her bare legs.
I would gladly sell my rotten soul for one chance to have those thick thighs wrapped around my head…
“Good morning,” Kelsie chirped on her way into the kitchen. She noticed the stack of bedding on the couch next to me, untouched. “Let me take a wild guess. You didn’t get a wink of sleep.”
“I wasn’t tired,” I replied.
She aimed a look in my direction that clearly conveyed she didn’t believe me.
“Noah doesn’t sleep much either. Nightmares keep him awake sometimes.”
Nope. We were not having this conversation.
As well-meaning as her concern was, I couldn’t let her into that part of my life. The memories, the flashbacks…that was my burden to bear and I would never stain her with it. Hell, I didn’t even talk to Noah about it, and he’d been there with me amid the bombs and bullets.
“I’m fine, Kelsie,” I said, rising to my feet.
She paused in her fiddling with the coffee maker. A little wrinkle formed between her eyebrows as she studied me for a moment.
Please don’t push it, I thought. Just let it go.
At last, Kelsie grabbed a loaf of bread off the counter and handed it to me.
“Then get to work, soldier. Make some toast.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Are you sure that’s a risk you’re willing to take? Giving me access to your kitchen?”
Over the years, I had cultivated many skills. Cooking was not one of them.
I could shoot an egg clean through, without breaking the shell, from over two hundred yards away.
I could survive in the woods for months at a time, with nothing more than a hunting knife and the clothes on my back.
I could make mouth-watering beef jerky, and I could roast deer meat over a campfire to juicy perfection.
But I was utterly useless in the kitchen. Even a simple task like making toast—which required no cooking skills whatsoever—still resulted in blackened bread capable of breaking a few teeth.
Kelsie shrugged with a small smile that made my heart squeeze. No one had a right to look that cute first thing in the morning.
“I think you can handle toast, Ryker,” she said, amused. “I have faith in you.”
Her words hit me square in the chest. I watched her turn away, busying herself with making eggs and hash browns.
Don’t do that, I wanted to say. Don’t put your faith in me.
I’m just a man—a weak man, fucked in the head. If she knew the thoughts I had about her while she slept, if she knew I had stolen a pair of her panties and slept with them under my pillow…she wouldn’t have faith in me anymore.
As Kelsie and I moved around the kitchen together, it felt domestic in a way that I wasn’t used to. In my cabin, I didn’t share my living space with anyone else. On rare occasions, Noah paid a visit for the weekend and we went hunting together, or shared a few beers.
But I never brought a girl home. And I didn’t make breakfast with anyone like this.
Tugging the refrigerator door open, I reached in to grab the butter and grunted in dismay at the sight I found instead.
“Why the fuck do you have three boxes of blue raspberry Jell-O in here?”
Kelsie didn’t even bat an eye, dividing the eggs onto two plates.
“It’s the only flavor Noah doesn’t like,” she replied. “Otherwise, he would eat me out of house and home. And don’t get me started on Girl Scout cookies. I have those things under lock and key when Noah is around.”
I held up a Jell-O cup, examining the contents with a grimace.
“I’ve never seen anything that shade of blue before. It’s practically radioactive.”
Kelsie waved her spatula at me with a playfully stern look.
“Don’t poke fun at my food choices, mister. You live on beef jerky and black coffee.”
“And burnt toast,” I added, tossing the Jell-O back into the refrigerator. “Maybe we could both benefit from adding a few vegetables into our diet.”
Kelsie took a breath to speak when a knock at the door cut her off.
“Rise and shine, Kels,” Noah called. “Open up. I brought lattes and donuts.”
“Shit.” She glanced at me, wide-eyed.
I wasn’t supposed to be here, not this early in the morning. Noah would ask a thousand questions if he found out that I spent the night at his little sister’s place. It didn’t look good, with Kelsie only half-dressed in her robe while we ate breakfast together in her kitchen.
Fuck, Noah could not see us like this. He would immediately assume Kelsie and I slept together.
“Go. Go!”
She made frantic shooing motions in my direction. I frowned and refused to budge.
“What do you expect me to do? I’m too old to be sneaking out the window like a guilty teenager.”
“Ryker, please—” she hissed.
Noah knocked again.
“Come on, sleepyhead. If you keep dawdling, you won’t get any donuts. I’ll eat them all.”
Grumbling under my breath, I moved to the window. The two-story drop didn’t concern me—I’d jumped from greater heights before. But I did feel like my pride was taking a hit, climbing out the window of a girl’s apartment, in my fucking forties.
With a sigh, I shoved the window open, removed the screen, and looked one last time at Kelsie. She clasped her hands together, chewing her lower lip, bouncing on her toes with impatience.
I wouldn’t be doing this for anyone else. Just her. I should have been concerned that she had me wrapped around her goddamn little finger like this…
Slipping out the window, I gripped the sill with my fingertips and lowered my body over the edge.
Kelsie finally answered the door, letting Noah in.
“There you are, Sleeping Beauty,” he declared. “Latte, as promised. Your favorite—caramel swirl, with two pumps of vanilla and chocolate drizzled over the top. Extra whipped cream. Nice bedhead, by the way.”
“Hey, you’re the one who showed up at my door without texting me first,” Kelsie retorted. “If you gave me advance notice, I could have brushed my hair and put on pants before you arrived.”
“I used to change your diapers, butterbean. Seeing you in your pajamas is an improvement, believe me.”
Kelsie groaned.
“Noah. That was years ago. I’m not a baby anymore—”
“Wait,” he cut in. All humor had vanished from his voice.
A pause hung in the air, thick with dread. I should have released the ledge and made a run for it. Instead, something kept me dangling there, eavesdropping.
“Are you expecting company?” Noah asked.
“No,” Kelsie replied. Too quickly. Too high pitched.
Damn it. That girl needed to learn how to be a better liar.
“Two plates of food at the kitchen table,” Noah said. “Two cups of coffee on the counter. You didn’t know I was coming, so you weren’t making breakfast for me. And you never burn the toast this badly, unless you’re distracted. Is someone else here?”
Fuck.
Kelsie hedged, but I didn’t stick around to hear her answer. There wasn’t anything I could do to help her anyway. She was on her own now.
Releasing my grip on the window sill, I dropped to the ground, landing lightly. Breaking into a slow jog, I rounded the corner and headed for my bike. Thank God I hadn’t parked at the front of the building last night. Otherwise Noah would have recognized my bike on sight.
I felt like shit for sneaking around behind my best friend’s back. Especially when it concerned his sister. At the same time, I knew why Kelsie didn’t want to tell him. Noah was a worry wart and he fucking hovered in the most infuriating way sometimes.
If Kelsie stayed with a friend for a few days, and this stalker got bored enough to move on, maybe we could avert the crisis altogether.
That would be too easy though. And in my experience, nothing was ever easy.