“It’s inadequate. I got in easily, which anyone with a little skill can do. I didn’t notice any cameras outside or in the hallway. I doubt you have an alarm system, and I can see this door doesn’t have even the basics of a peephole or chain. Admittedly, a chain won’t stop any determined person from coming inside, but it might slow them down. In plain terms, Ms. Sinclair, you’re a sitting duck.”
Torn between the shock of how many words Mr. Still-and-Silent just strung together and his harsh assessment, I grab onto the latter. “And you, Jasper, are an overbearing a-hole who’s trespassing. Which brings me back to my original question, what are you doing here?”
“Ms. Peters informed me about the trouble you’ve been having.”
I’m going to kill her. I specifically told Dee not to involve him with a vehemence that surprised her, given that I’d spent months trying to get into his pants. “It’s just some vandals.”
“How do you know?”
“Because it’s the obvious conclusion.”
“Did you report the incidents to the police?”
“Of course. They believe it’s vandals, too, getting their kicks. There’s been a string of them.”
“I like to form my own opinion.”
“Thanks. But I’m not interested in your opinion.” Pleased that I’d gotten in the last word, I go to close the door, but his big hand slaps against the wood, reducing the full impact of my snub.
“I’m not finished.”
“What do you care, Jasper?”
“I don’t. But Ms. Peters does. So the sooner you let me in to do my job, the sooner I’ll be gone.”
He takes a step forward, and the move hits like a tornado. I don’t want to be affected, but I’m immediately swept up in the shower-fresh scent of him and the wide chest right in my face. Remembering how all that hard muscle felt makes my v-jay flutter and my nips tighten…until he opens his mouth again.
“I’ll wait while you put on something decent.”
Of all the nerve—that yanks me out of the lust storm and brings me back to everything I detest about him.
“You’re here uninvited. If you don’t like my attire, that’s your problem.”
He merely gazes down at me with his usual lack of expression. “Suit yourself.”
“I always do.” I turn, giving him my back and the under curves of my butt cheeks sticking out below my shorts. What Mother Nature denied me in boobs, she made up for in ass.
Now where the hell is my phone to call Dee? I search for it among the pillows and seams of the couch while Stiles goes around testing the latches on the kitchen and living room windows—Like, WTF?
“Mind if I look in your bedroom?” he asks.
“Yes, I freaking mind.” It’s not that I care about the mess. Putting my clothes away isn’t a priority, nor is making the bed in the morning, which seems like a waste when it’s just going to get mussed up again at night. But leaving his imprint in the place where he already stars in my wet dreams isn’t going to help me sleep any better. “What are you even doing, Jasper? You’re not going to find bars on the windows. I have a baseball bat, though. I keep it under the bed.”
“Unless your intruder is interested in tossing a ball, that bat is useless. The best security is prevention.”
I’d like to club him with that bat and show him useless.
“I have several recommendations,” he says, picking up the remote off the coffee table and turning off the television right in the middle of Nunez kicking the ball from outside the box.
“Hey!” I bluster, peeved by his audacity.
“This is important and requires your full attention.” He looms over me, taking up more than his fair share of space and air. “Must-do’s for the house are installing cameras with surveillance and adding a sturdier lock with key fob access controls to the main entrance. As for your apartment, you need a peephole, an alarm system, and a deadbolt on your door. And because you’re on the ground floor, a security bar for your patio doors and reinforced sash locks for your windows.”
“Look, Robocop, I get that you’re nutso about security, but I don’t need any of that. I’ve lived here for nearly three years without incident.”
“Who’s Robocop?”
“That’d be you, Jasper. You never smile, and you have all the emotion of a cyborg. I’d wonder if you were even human, except I guess you proved that the other day in the elevator.”
