“Wait a sec, does that mean you’ve been in my house? At night?” How many times had I woken up seriously thinking I’d felt that my dreams had been all too real?
“I’m not confirming or denying shit other than we both know we want this. We’re like moths to a flame, angel. And tonight… we’re going to burn.” I opened my mouth and quickly shut it ashe leaned closer. My eyes fluttered shut when I felt his lips press against my forehead, and I didn’t open them for a while after I heard my front door open and close behind him.
Shit, I guess I’m going on a date with my stalker.
7
austin
I lookedaround my place one last time and swallowed hard. Bringing her here was risky, but the idea of taking her to a restaurant in town or the one at the ski resort, sharing her with others, didn’t set well with me. Not when I was dying for her undivided attention. Not when I knew the truth was going to need to come out sooner or later. She had already called me her stalker, and I’d basically confessed to being in her home while she’d been asleep and following her around on her morning runs. But it was time.
I was well and truly fucked.
“I left the cooking instructions right on top of every dish. Oven is already warming up,” Brett said as he stepped out of my kitchen, snapping me out of my thoughts.
“Thanks, man.” I cleared my thorat.
He nodded and studied me for a moment. I could tell he wanted to say something but wasn’t sure if he should. We weren’t buddy-buddy, but after our little chat, I’d taken his words to heart, and when this date idea popped into my head, I’d asked for his help. Brett had been right—it was time for me to do something and stop wasting time. I’d known it was coming. I hadto make a move before she returned to work or worse, moved away without warning. But listening to Elizabeth’s little sister suggesting a hundred and one ways for her to meet someone in town for Valentine’s Day had definitely lit a fire under my ass.
All the events felt like my hometown was dead set on taking her away from me. Curse or not, Elizabeth was mine. I’d fight the devil himself if I had to.
“If you have any questions, just call me. I’ll be at the brewery,” he finally said, and I nodded.
“Thanks again. I know this isn’t in your wheelhouse of work requirements but?—“
“Honestly, man, I’m just glad you’re stepping up and making a move.” He chuckled low before walking out. The guy really liked having the last word. I glanced at my watch. I didn’t have time to fuck around. It was almost four thirty, and I would be damned if I was late to picking up my woman.
As I hurried out the door, I touched the material I carried on me since that first night I’d snuck into her place. The black lace rubbed against my fingers, and the animal inside of me that had been awakened by Elizabeth found satisfaction in the connection. It wasn’t warm from her body but from being washed with my things after I came all over it when I returned home from her place to get everything ready.
Bash and Onyx were shocked as fuck when I told them last minute I wasn’t coming in for the next couple of days and to find someone to take over for me. Bash had tried to argue that Valentine’s Day was right around the corner, but that wasn’t my problem. Not when I was looking to secure my very own valentine for myself.
I hopped into my truck and grinned at the red roses on my passenger seat. Not to mention the bouquet waiting for her back at my place. They were deep red. The color reminded me of that damn lipstick she seemed to gravitate towards when she wentout. A lipstick I hoped like hell she’d be wearing tonight. Not that I had any expectations when it came to tonight other than the pleasure of her company.
But I wouldn’t turn her down if she offered me more.
Getting to her place was a blur. I was so deep in my thoughts my mind raced with what tonight meant and what was on the line. I could be charming. I was good looking. But Elizabeth was all that and so much more. She wouldn’t be impressed by smooth lines and magnetic smiles. She’d want it all. And I was finally ready to give her that.
As I parked in her driveaway, I wondered if this was how Merritt had felt. My older brother had gone off into the crazy deep end of stalking when he’d met his wife. I almost wondered if this obsessive hunger that seemed to thrive and grow was genetic. Maybe it was part of the curse? I swallowed as I stared at her door. It was ten to five. I was early and was sitting in my truck thinking about a fucking curse?
I had to get off that cross.
I wasn’t about to die on it.
Not when the consequences of that would risk losing Elizabeth.
My thoughts drifted to Shep. My brother was hardly in town nowadays. Back in the day, he’d been in love but had run off far and fast when things got a little too serious for him. He’d lost the love of his life to his stupid belief in the curse. He’d been a teenager back then, but I was determined to do better.
I wasn’t going to lose the love of my life like the others had.
Life was too damn short and too damn precious to find yourself on your deathbed wondering about all the what-ifs and regretting all the things you didn’t do.
I got out of the car with her flowers in hand, adjusted the collar of my shirt, and walked right to her front door. It was weird to get to this part of her house when the sun was juststarting to set instead of the middle of the night like I was used to. Odd to ring the doorbell instead of sneaking in. When the door opened, every thought in my head vanished.
Poof. Everything disappeared.
All that existed was the gorgeous women standing in front of me. Elizabeth had left her hair down in loose curls, the strands brushing past her shoulders. The sight of her silky strands made my hands ache to touch her. Literally ache. They fisted and relaxed at my sides with so much yearning that it made my teeth ache. My eyes dropped to her face. The moment her eyes locked with mine, breathing became much harder. Her makeup was very similar to when I’d seen her at the brewery. My favorite shade of red stained her plush lips, and I was losing the fight with my dick to behave.
If that wasn’t enough, she was wearing the prettiest fucking dress I’d ever seen on a woman. It was a deep shade of black with a sweetheart neckline that plunged slightly, making her cleavage and the exposed golden-tanned kin contrast against the dark material. It fit and molded against her voluptuous breasts and tiny waist only to flair out just slightly, hitting just above her knees. Tiny little cap sleeves brushed against her delicately feminine shoulders. It fit her beautifully. Elizabeth was breathtaking
