UP IN FLAMES

A wry grin appeared, barely reaching her eyes. “That’s what they say.”

He slid closer, using his knee to slide between hers. The position was intimate, noted by her when her eyes flew back to his. She pulled her hands again and this time he let her go, but he didn’t move away. He knew he was crowding her.

“I’m sorry.” She started to rise. “I shouldn’t be bothering you with this-any of this. You only agreed to look into the names I’d given you. You’re just doing your job. I can go to a hotel until, well, this blows over. I should-”

“No,” he said, his muscles tensing, prepared to tackle her if necessary.

She froze and her eyes widened behind her glasses. The haunted look was still there. “No?”

“Right now, it’s not safe for you to go back to that hotel.” He almost smiled when her eyes widened. “And this stalker also knows where you’re staying and took it out on your apartment.”

Folding her arms over her chest, she lifted her chin a fraction of an inch. “Then what am I supposed to do if I don’t go to a hotel? I don’t have anyone to go to. Okay? I don’t feel comfortable unloading this crap on my friend. So what the hell exactly should I do? Sleep in my office or my rental car?”

“You won’t do that,” he said.

“What?”

“I know you understood what I said. You’re not staying in a hotel any longer.” As soon as the idea popped in his head, it felt right. It was what he wanted for various reasons. Some of them having nothing to do with the psycho out there, making her life a living hell, and while it may make him a grade-A bastard, he simply wanted her here.

Vanessa stared at him, her lips slightly parted.

“As entertaining as arguing with you is, this I’m not going to argue with you over. No to the hotel,” he said again, tone firm. “You’ll stay here…. With me

————

What am I doing here?

Vanessa hadn’t really remembered the drive to Alaric’s house and she honestly didn’t know why she’d searched him out. Well, that was a lie. For obvious reasons, she felt safe with him, and right now she needed to feel that.

Seeing her apartment and her belongings destroyed like that did more than rattle her. Fear, confusion, and anger over the lack of control swirled inside her, making her feel out of it, as if all of this was a horrible dream. But she shouldn’t have come here, forcing her issues upon Alaric. He’d assumed the role of her bodyguard, but that wasn’t really his job, was it? This just seemed so inappropriate. In the recesses of her mind, she had to have known that when she got in the car and drove to his house.

What am I doing here?

That question kept playing over and over in her head, but it didn’t change the fact that she was here, in a room that was as big as her master’s at home. Walls were painted in a deep olive, and the wood floors and dark headboard gave the room an earthy feel that was relaxing.

But she couldn’t relax. God knew she was high-strung on any given day, but this was like a million times worse.

She’d been hiding upstairs for damn near close to an hour while Alaric was downstairs, most likely waiting for her, and she knew she needed to get her ass down there.

But she needed a few more minutes.

Sitting on the edge of the queen-size bed, she smoothed her fingers down her cheeks. Her hair slid forward, slipping over her shoulders and shielding her face. Her glasses sat forgotten on the nightstand.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Alaric had loaned her a pair of his old flannel pajama bottoms and a shirt that couldn’t have fit his broad build since high school. It nearly swallowed her whole and it smelled of him-a mix of clean laundry and the faint trace of cologne she couldn’t place. With trembling hands, she lifted the hem of the borrowed shirt and inhaled the scent.

She was sniffing his shirt.

Good God, what was wrong with her? That was just so…so creepy and totally inexcusable. Dropping the shirt, she wrapped her arms around her waist. Her skin was chilled to the bone and her insides felt ripped open, like what had been done to all her personal items. To do something so violent and pointless was beyond her. Who could seriously hate her this much? Tears welled up in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. Even though she was alone, she didn’t want to break like this. It was weak, a sign of no control.

Oh, but it stung like an angry wasp, to know someone hated her so. That someone would attempt to terrorize her, vandalize her car, stalk her, and then break into her apartment. A single tear snuck out, coursing down her cheek, reaching her fingertips.

What would’ve happened if she had been home? A shudder rocked her. She had no idea at what time the crime had been committed, the police didn’t either, and she was late getting home from work tonight. There was a very real possibility that someone could’ve been waiting for her and when she hadn’t shown, he’d taken his aggression out on her apartment. Another quake worked its way through her. Where were her brass balls? She surely could use them now.

A throat clearing intruded on her thoughts, startling her. She jumped from the bed and spun around. Hastily, she wiped at any trace of tears.

Alaric stood in the doorway, his mouth open as if he were about to say something, but then either forgot or decided against it. His gaze, a startling, intense azure, traveled across her face as if it was the first time he’d laid eyes on her. His stare dropped to her lips, and she felt a flush crawl down her throat, following his gaze all the way to the tips of her toes. When his eyes made it back to hers, she sucked in a sharp breath.

She felt branded by his stare. The tips of her breasts tingled and then hardened, pebbling against the satin and his borrowed shirt.