No.The answer flitted to her mind, even though she’d only just admonished herself for her careening lust.I’ve never seen anyone like him before.
Watching his lips stretch wider, she suddenly registered what the giant had just said to her.
‘You’re welcome, Kristina.’
‘Kristina.’
She pulled in a breath, trying to get her bearings.In the frenzy of the last few minutes, had she just imagined the way the well-built stranger had employed her name?
Her attention lingered on his face a moment longer before she was finally sure that yes, he had known who she was.
But how?
“How do you know my name?”She staggered backward, her body colliding with the same wall she’d been forced against.There was no one holding her in place that time.Nothing except her unfolding shock.
Her alluring protector didn’t move, but the intensity of his gaze speared her, holding her in place every inch as fiercely as the other brutes had.
“The same way I know your number and the name of the loser who spurned you, Kristina.”His lips twitched as though he was pleased with the answer.“I told you I’d be seeing you soon, and now, here I am.”
“Wh-what?”she stammered, focused only on the color of his eyes.
She could have sworn they were hazel a moment ago, yet staring at them again, she noticed specks of purple in the orbs, the spectrum of shades bleeding into a deep and enticing sapphire hue.
His arms fell to his side, somehow breaking the trance he appeared to have cast over her.“I tried to warn you, but you didn’t listen, did you?”
His tone hardened, and her spine straightened at the edgy sound, even though she wasn’t sure why.She was safe, wasn’t she?Still only a few meters from her front door, the colossus in front of her had been the one who’d rescued her from the escalating threat.He wasn’t one himself.
“I don’t understand.Have we met?”She blew out a breath, noticing the way it danced in the air between them.
His words inferred that he was the man who’d been messaging her throughout the day, but somehow, she couldn’t grasp the reality.It was as though her head had fogged, adrenaline morphing to melatonin in an instant.Suddenly, she was exhausted; relieved that he’d seen off her would-be attackers and dumbfounded at his presence.
“No.”He chuckled, the sound traveling along her spine and settling somewhere between her legs.“We’ve never met, but we’ve been messaging all day.”
“Messaging?”Her voice dried up as she followed his logic.
That confirmed it then.The only people she’d messaged that day had been Liz, Cindy, Shaun, and… the strange and enigmatic one responsible for the flier.
Her heart sped up as the realization finally landed over her.“Oh, shit.”
Energy furled in her solar plexus, the sort that should have been panic at the man who’d been messaging her suddenly appearing on the street to save her, but she experienced it as an eerie kind of calm spreading across her body.
“Now, now.”He took a step toward her with a shake of the head.“I don’t approve of that language, and you already apologized to me once today.”
She frowned, knowing that regret had been justified for the way she’d spoken to him, yet still failing to understand what was going on.If her unknown rescuer was really the same guy who’d been sending her messages all day, then how was that possible?
Pulse racing, she leaned against the wall and cast an anxious glance his way again.The brickwork had once been her enemy, an ally of the foes who sought to harm her, yet standing there, it seemed more like a friend.Pushing her weight against it, she was vaguely aware that the structure was the only thing keeping her upright.
Her head, that had been so clear and concerned with seeking extra cheese and pepperoni, had clouded with a rapid and unusual heaviness.It reminded her of the feeling she got just before she closed her eyes at night and fell asleep, that moment of vulnerability when her brain slipped into a different wave and allowed her to just let go.
Staring at him, it was difficult to remember why the food had been so important, or even why she’d been so afraid of the morons who’d circled her.
They’d tried to hurt her, hadn’t they?She vaguely recalled her panic, yet pinned by the stranger’s gaze, that fear seemed so irrelevant.
“That’s right.”His tone was softer that time, as though he sensed how close she was to slipping into unconsciousness.“It’s okay.You’re safe now.”
“How?”She pushed the word past her lips, unable to decipher her diverging feelings.She didn’t know the man who’d discarded her assailants like toys, yet apparently, they’d been communicating throughout the day.He not only knew her name and her most recent love interest but also what street she lived on, and when she would spontaneously leave the house for pizza.“How are you him?How are you here?”
“So many questions.”His smile was lazy and impossibly handsome.Scanning his features, she was struck by just how perfect he was.Strong, calm, and attractive.Too good to be true.“Humans are always so curious when they first meet me, but don’t worry, Kristina, I have all of the answers.You only have to trust me.”
