"Margot says that's not possible for someone to switch their affection so quickly. And you were ill a few days ago. Tonight is going to be crowded. The press hyped it up, which means all manner of people will be there." He turned away to grab his sports jacket.
He did not mention the fact that her mother had called demanding to see her and she had not bothered to answer the summons. There were too many things going on. A high risk pregnancy, a crazy stalker and her mother's drama. He was pissed he didn't have control over any of it.
"Do you want me to stay home?" Brushing her hands over the silk of her pantsuit, she turned to face him.
"I want you with me. Sticking like glue."
"You're going to be busy."
"I want you with me." He repeated tightly as he reached for her wrap. "I mean it Kiara. No wandering around by yourself."
"I can hardly be by myself. The place will be crowded."
"Precisely." He draped the wrap around her shoulders and used the fringes to haul her to him. "Nothing happens to you."
"You know, this macho caveman deal is pissing me off. I'm not some helpless damsel in distress. I might write about them, but there's no similarities."
He kissed her hard on the lips. "Call it what you like. But you're with me. Deal with it." Ignoring the fulminating glare, he glided his lips over one smooth cheek before releasing her. "Ready when you are."
Ed Graeme was an ordinary man. The type to just fade into the background without causing a ripple. That had always been the case where he was concerned. His sandy brown hair was thinning and had been that way since he was in high school.
He had been cursed with a very fair skin and prone to pimples. He had been bullied his entire life and suffered from severe low esteem that came with his appearance. He was also still living with a very controlling mother who thought that going to church and praying were the way to live a decent life.
Now that mother was ailing, dementia and MS. It should have been a relief to Ed that she was no longer able to dictate his life, but he was adrift. He had become so accustomed to her telling him what to do, that now he was lost without her strident tone dictating every area of his life.
His only solace was reading. Ed Graeme was well read, what some people would call a voracious reader. It was his escape hatch. His job as an accountant for a large company was boring.
He was thirty-five and never had a serious relationship. He had contemplated seriously of paying for sex, but his mother's voice inside his head had made it impossible. So, he was a virgin. And convinced himself that his body was the temple of God.
He had come upon a copy of "Dark Desires," the first published book by Kiara, last year by accident. It had been left in the breakroom at work, a well-thumbed copy. He had been eating his usual BLT sandwich for lunch, when the picture at the back of the book caught his eyes.
Something had shifted inside his lonely heart as he stared at the dusk cover. It had started then. He had stolen the book and dove into it in his lonely single bed after giving his mother her meds and tucking her in for the night.
He had never leaned to romance, thinking them frivolous and not worth his time. But that night, that fateful night, he had been so caught up in the drama, the accuracy of the Victorian period and most of all the steamy love scenes. To his shame and mortification, he had exploded all over the cotton sheets, his body jerking as if he was having a seizure.
The shame had left him dazed and angry at first. He had spent half an hour doing penance and asking for forgiveness. The very next night, he had gone to the bookstore and bought another copy of her book. This one was set in the Elizabethan era, about an English lord and a staid governess caught up in an illicit romance that ended badly.
The love scenes had driven him to ecstasy three times before he was lying limp and exhausted on the bed, his heart pounding inside his chest.
It was then he realized that it was not by chance the book had been left there in the breakroom. It was a sign from God that Kiara was his future. He had started replacing the various maidens with her image. He no longer sought penance for his pleasure.
God had approved of his match. He would hurriedly tend to his ailing mother so he could be alone in his room. His bed was no longer cold and empty. It was filled with the beautiful Kiara.
He watched the movies when they came out and was at every book signings.
He had two signed copies and a photo she had taken with him at his request. He had touched her skin, not surprised at how soft it was. Then she had hooked up with that rich bastard from those Irish pubs.
He had followed her there several times. It was ridiculously easy to track rich people on social media. They were always documented.
He had also risked exposure by leaving letters at her place, hoping to see her there.
When she had started living with the bastard, his rage had been consuming. He had gone home and slashed every photo and rip apart the pages of her books to shreds. But then a voice had come to him, saying it's not her fault. She was seduced by the bastard's looks and his money.
Women were weak by nature and needed to be controlled. It had calmed him down somewhat. Until he saw them through the powerful binocs he had invested in.
Out by the pool, in plain sight of anyone. It did not matter that the place was isolated. He had caught them at it, hadn't he? Rutting and behaving like animals.
He had been fascinated and angry at the same time. Had stayed there for the entire time, one hand holding the binocs glued to his eyes and the other frantically pleasuring himself. And had almost fallen to his death from the ancient oak tree.
