Chapter Seven
Keeland glanced out the window over the sink. His skin was prickly and the hairs on the nape of his neck were standing on end. Someone was watching him. He could feel it. He just had no idea how he could feel it. This wasn’t asomeone walked over my gravetype of feeling. He could actually tell that someone was watching him.
It was weird, and a bit disconcerting.
He peered into the night, trying to spot who was watching him, but he saw nothing except darkness and shadows. It was times like this that he really hated living alone. The baseball bat he kept beside his bed wasn’t much of a deterrent if someone chose to break in.
Keeland sighed as he turned away from the window. It had been two days since he walked away from Dom, and he hadn’t been able to think of much else. It was making him as crazy as he'd labeled Dom. He was seeing things that weren’t there.
He wasn’t, however, stupid just because he was confused. He went through the house, making sure all the doors and windows were locked before going to his room. It might not keep anyone out, but it made him feel better.
Maybe he needed a bigger bat.
Keeland made a quick trip to the bathroom, changed into his sleeping bottoms, and then headed back into the bedroom. The moment he flipped off the bathroom light, he saw a set of vivid blue eyes staring through the window.
He forgot to breathe.
Fear flashed through him. His gaze went to the corner where he kept his baseball bat. Could he reach it in time? Would it do him any good?
Keeland glanced back toward the window. When he started to edge closer to the door, he heard a low, threatening growl. Keeland froze as it dawned on him that he wasn’t staring into the eyes of a human. This was a predator.
Keeland swallowed tightly. “Dom?”
He let out a small gasp when whatever was watching him darted away as if it hadn’t even been there. Okay, maybe it hadn’t been Dom. It probably wasn’t. Keeland’s imagination was running away with itself.
Humans did not shape-shift into panthers. It just wasn’t possible. He was freaked out and Dom’s crazy story had been spinning around in his head so much, he was starting to buy into the man’s insanity.
Keeland cautiously walked to the window where he’d seen the eyes and made sure it was locked. Before turning away, he peeked out. Whatever had been there was long gone. He wasn’t sure what it had been, but he doubted it was a shifter. They didn’t exist.
Really.
Keeland was a veterinarian. He was positive if such a creature existed, he would have heard about it. Maybe just in rumor and not actual classroom education, but stuff like that couldn’t stay hidden.
Keeland moved the bat closer to the bed and then climbed in. As he settled in, he couldn’t keep his gaze from going back to the window.
He hadn’t imagined the eyes watching him, or how vividly blue they had been. He was pretty sure he'd only seen eyes that blue twice before, and that mere thought made his chest tighten. Dom and his brother had that particular shade of blue eyes. He was afraid to even contemplate where his mind was going.
Shifters did not exist. They couldn’t, because if they did, everything he'd always thought to be true wouldn’t be, and Keeland wasn’t sure how he would deal with that. He wasn’t sure he wanted to be dragged into that crazy world if it was real.
Then again, he wasn’t sure he didn’t. The mere thought of never seeing Dom again made the knot in his stomach even tighter. The man was astonishingly gorgeous to look at. So what if he was batshit crazy? Everyone had their quirks. Keeland just needed to decide if gorgeous good looks were worth that kind of crazy.
He was honest enough with himself to acknowledge the fact that he missed Dom. Something about the man intrigued him right down to the tips of his toes, and that didn’t even begin to get into how ruggedly handsome he was. Dom made Keeland’s cock ache.
Keeland thought about jerking off to another fantasy about Dom, but he was too filled with confusion about the man. He really, really wanted Dom. He wanted to climb under Dom's skin and stay there in his warmth forever.
He just didn’t think he had it in him to be with someone he’d probably have to have locked up for his own good. It was really sad that a man that beautiful could be that crazy.
Keeland closed his eyes to keep the tears gathering there from slipping down his cheeks. If he didn’t decide what he was going to do about this situation, he would drive himself insane. He wondered if Dom would agree to go to some sort of counseling.
