This one had a way of turning me into a blubbering Neanderthal.
“Oh.” She seemed to snap out of her daze. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t even offer you—would you like some wine?”
Yeah, the entire bottle. But a buzz was the last thing I needed around this woman.
“No, thanks, I’m good.”
She nodded, then shifted her focus again to the rain outside. Her hands trembled as she took another sip, her expression glazed over. Rose was a mess and I was standing there like a idiot. I’d never felt like less of a man as I did in that moment.
The anger—the disappointment in myself—began to simmer, the frustration of my failure as a man. The beginning of a tornado I knew I couldn’t control.
Dr. Rose Floris was too good for a guy like me. That much was obvious. It was also obvious I needed to get out before I made even more of a fool of myself.
As if on cue, she looked at me and said?—
“You can check the house. I’m fine. Do your perimeter check, or whatever you call it.”
ThankGod.“Okay. First, where’s your internet modem?”
“Laundry room.”
I shifted my focus away from the disappointment in myself to something I could do, I could control, and began a security scan of her house.
I disconnected the internet, ensuring that any more hidden cameras were now useless to her sick stalker.
“Don’t turn the internet on again until I’ve confirmed there are no more cameras in the house. In fact, leave it off for a while.”
I expected an argument, but didn’t get one. I felt her eyes burning into me as I checked each window.
“Where are you staying tonight?” I asked.
“Here.”
I stopped cold, looked over my shoulder. “No, you’re not.”
“Yes, I am.” Her voice was firm, defiance flickering across her face.
Shock snapped through me, followed by something deeper. Hotter. “No. You’renotstaying here until I secure your house.”
“Fine. After I take you home, I’ll swing by the store and get some more locks.”
“You’re not taking me home. My brother’s already on his way.” He wasn’t. Yet. But the second I grabbed my phone, he would be. I didn’t like her chauffeuring me around. I didn’t like her unprotected. I didn’t like any of this.
“Well, you’re not staying here,” I repeated, firmer now. “Period.”
“Oh, okay,King Steele.”
My brow rose. “Had that one bottled up for a while, didn’t you?”
“I don’t like being ordered around.”
I turned back to the windows, trying to rein in whatever the hell I was feeling. It wasn’t just shock. It wasn’t disbelief. It was desperation.
“What about the girl you work with? Red hair, nose ring. Can you stay with her?”
“I can’t get ahold of her.”
My eyes narrowed. “Did you really try?”
