Come (9 page)

“So, his name is Jonathan, huh? What’s his last name?”

Katy stared at him for a second before she blew out a breath and answered. “Stewart. And just because I told you doesn’t mean I give you permission to confront him.” She narrowed her gaze at him.

Rafe hesitated, a new idea forming in his head. “I don’t think that’s who’s following you, Katy.”

“Why? Now I have two stalkers?” She wandered toward her kitchen area while Rafe closed the front door.

“The guy in that Kia out front was too young to be a law partner. He might have been twenty-five or thirty. And he had long greasy hair that almost covered his face.”

Katy scrunched up her face. “That’s not Jonathan then.” She stopped moving and stood still at the kitchen counter, dropping her shoes on the floor.

Good. He wanted her a bit more rattled than she let on. Someone was following her. It made him very nervous. “You aren’t safe.”

Katy’s shoulders slumped and she padded toward the couch where she collapsed onto the cushion. The dress he’d so admired earlier rode high on her thighs, but sex was the last thing on his mind now. “Don’t you think it could be a coincidence?”

Rafe shook his head and rounded her couch to stand in front of her. “Not anymore.” He crossed his arms. “I don’t think you should stay here.”

She jerked her gaze up. “Rafe, this is my home. I’m not leaving because you think some guy in a black car is following me.”

Rafe narrowed his gaze. If she were his, he would never give her this kind of choice. But she wasn’t his, and he had no right under the circumstances. The circumstances being that he hadn’t told her who he really was. A Dom.

No way in hell could he divulge that right now and then drag her out of her home. She’d freak out, and the freak out quota for the night had long since been reached.

Rafe took a deep breath. “Humor me again?”

Katy stood and stepped around him, nearly knocking into his arm. “No. Rafe, I’m a grown woman. I’m not leaving my house. Whoever it was is gone now. You saw him leave. If he believes you’re here with me, all the better. I’m sure it’s nothing. I’m not going to let some asshole run me from my home in fear.” She set her hands on her hips as she spoke.

Rafe paused for a moment, thinking. There was no way he was going to win this battle. And he hated it with a desperation. He couldn’t stand the idea of leaving Katy here alone. But he wasn’t her Dom. And she was no submissive.

In fact, she rolled her eyes while she watched him. Secretly he wanted to take her over his knee, lift that short dress of hers and make nice pink lines across her bare ass with his palm. What would she think of that?

That was the million dollar question.

He cleared his throat. Defeated, he crossed the room to the door. “Okay. But do me two favors. Lock this door. Check all the other entrances and lock them too. And sleep with your phone handy. At least if you hear a noise you can call 9-1-1.”

She nodded and followed him to the front. She set her hand on his arm. “I’ll be fine,” she whispered.

Rafe kissed her briefly, more of a brush of his lips across hers. “I’m counting on it. I know we’ve only known each other a week, but you’re growing on me,” he teased.

“And I feel the same about you. Now leave. I need sleep.” She shoved him toward the door.

Rafe left, but he hated it and prayed he wouldn’t later regret the decision.

At eight thirty the following morning, Katy pulled into the parking lot of the park where she met Jenna every Sunday.

Jenna was already leaning against her car, stretching her legs. “What? I don’t have to come drag your ass out of bed this week?” She laughed.

“Nope. I set the alarm this time.”

“And how is paradise? Is he still making your vibrator work overtime? Or has he taken matters into his own hands?”

Katy smiled. “He’s charming and sweet and kind and sexy. I think I’m in love.” She was kidding. Sort of. “But he hasn’t made his big move yet.”

“What?” Jenna stepped closer. “That’s unheard of. I mean I could understand if you were putting him off for a few weeks, but the other way around. Is he gay?” Jenna smirked.

“Hardly. But believe me, I asked him that point blank.”

“You didn’t.” Jenna’s mouth gaped open.

“I did.” Katy nodded. “And besides, he kisses like a professional. Leaves me weak in the knees every time.” Well, both times… But she didn’t need to share every gory detail with her friend.

They took off down the path on their regular loop around the park.

Katy looked over her shoulder as they began. She had watched her rearview mirror closely on the way to meet Jenna. She’d seen nothing out of the ordinary. Although she was loathe to admit it out loud, she was nervous. And she hadn’t slept well. She’d held her phone in her palm all night. In fact, she’d programmed 9-1-1 into the speed dial so one button would get her help in an emergency.

Every single noise in the night startled her awake. Not that she’d ever tell Rafe. She didn’t want him thinking she couldn’t take care of herself and she didn’t want anyone to scare her into leaving her home.

It was easy to distract herself with Jenna. All she had to do was ask a stream of questions about her friend’s floral shop and the miles slipped away. In the last half mile, they came to a spot where they jogged across the street. There was a pedestrian crosswalk and it was inside the park, so rarely did they encounter traffic.

But the coincidences in Katy’s world kept piling up. She entered the road two paces ahead of Jenna, barely glancing in either direction. The next thing she knew, Jenna had shoved her hard from behind, sending both of them into the grass on the far opposite side of the street.

The squeal of tires made Katy twist her head to see over her shoulder. All she saw was a car speeding away.

She gasped for air, straining to breathe from both the run and the unexpected tumble to the ground.

“Shit.” Jenna jumped to her feet and peered down the road at the disappearing car. “What the fuck? That asshole didn’t stop. He nearly ran us over.”

Katy scrambled to stand also. “What color was that car?”

“Brown.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“Just curious.” She bit her lip as she followed Jenna’s line of sight, deciding not to tell Jenna about her stalker. No sense turning her best friend into a worrywart on top of everything else.

Surely this incident was a coincidence. The car looked older, at least what little Katy managed to see of it. And it wasn’t black. She agreed with that assessment. Probably some asshole not paying attention.

If she kept the stalker insanity from Jenna and the pedestrian accident from Rafe, neither one of them would freak out on her.

She wiped her hands on her shorts and glanced down at her knees.
Oh, great
. Her knees were skinned. How was she going to keep that a secret?

She almost laughed out loud when she considered the likelihood of Mr. Prude trying to get her pants off her in the foreseeable future anyway. If she wore jeans on their next date, maybe the scrapes would disappear before he ever saw her knees again.

When had she gotten so devious? And why did she feel the need?

As they returned to their cars, Katy worried about her sanity. Was she taking a huge personal risk being so blasé about the various encounters she’d had in the last week? Or was the entire stack of odd occurrences just that—random acts that had nothing to do with each other?

Katy hugged her friend and got in her car. She gripped the steering wheel tighter than usual and scanned the area harder than ever.

She saw nothing out of the ordinary on the way home and sighed in relief when she was once again locked inside.

•●•

The week was busy. Katy’s case load at work had her running in ten directions, and she spent almost twelve hours a day at the office.

She hardly had time to ponder the possibility someone was following her. Nothing unusual happened the entire week, and she’d been diligent about her surroundings. In the evenings she found herself peering out the window several times to see if any strange vehicles were parked in front of her condo.

By Wednesday she’d convinced herself there was nothing to worry about. After all, none of the incidents were related. She was confident it had been Jonathan Stewart from her office who followed her to the gym that Saturday morning. Whoever was behind her after the date with Rafe hadn’t been in the same car. Right? And he sure hadn’t fit the description of the partner from work.

And the car that almost hit her in the park…well fuck. That had to have been a coincidence. Jenna said it was brown.

Katy shivered every time she pondered the possibilities, but she came up with nothing and tried desperately to put it out of her mind before she lost her sanity.

Rafe texted her consistently, the perfect amount. She’d worried he might be overbearing after what happened Saturday night. But he hadn’t gone all macho on her again. He’d politely questioned her safety, but nothing else. Of course she hadn’t told him about the incident in the park. Somehow that seemed prudent.

In the middle of the week, Rafe texted to see if she wanted to do a late dinner Friday night after he finished working out at the gym.

Katy offered to cook this time. Maybe if she could get him comfortable and alone in her condo, he might lighten up and remove some clothes. In spite of her workload and the fact some stalker might be following her, thoughts of Rafe were never far from her mind. She really liked him, like serious, big-time liked him. He could be the “one.”

And the man was ripped. He worked out nearly every night. And his body was visual evidence to that fact. Katy had never dated anyone that sexy. She was eager to see him without his shirt on.

Granted, he hadn’t been wearing a shirt the first time she saw him, that Saturday morning at the gym, but she’d only glanced his way in time to see him fall to the ground when his friend got a good punch in. If she’d known then what she knew now, she’d have wandered a bit closer for a better look…

With dinner in the oven, Katy was setting the table when the doorbell rang. She glanced at her clock. It was almost eight. Rafe had texted her he was on his way, but he’d arrived much faster than she’d expected.

She smiled as she set the silverware down and sped to the front door. Her heart rate increased at the thought of seeing Rafe. She was in a state of complete lust for the man. “That was fast,” she said as she whipped open the door.

Only it wasn’t Rafe. In less than a second she knew she’d made a mistake. The man standing on her doorstep fit the description Rafe had given her of the man who followed her home last Saturday night. He wore a ball cap this time, which kept her from seeing his eyes clearly, but he had stringy, dirty-blond hair that hung to his shoulders.

And the look on his face was feral. His mouth curved up at one corner menacingly. “Been waiting a long time to see you again, bitch,” he growled.

Again? She gripped the door so hard her fingers hurt. She dug into the recesses of her mind, but came up with nothing. If she’d ever met this man before she couldn’t recall it. “Do I know you?” She slowly inched the door forward, hoping to shut it quickly any second.

He laughed sardonically, his cackle making her wince.

Katy slammed the door forward, but she wasn’t fast enough.

The man stuck his foot out and wedged it in the frame so it wouldn’t shut all the way. With the flat of his hand, he shoved it open until it crashed into the wall, rebounding loudly. The entire frame shook.

Katy jumped back.
Fuck
.

The scraggly-looking man stepped forward and in one stride lifted his fist and slammed it into her face.

Katy fell back on her butt and slid several feet across the hardwood floor. Stars filled her vision and blood ran down her face. Her nose hurt so bad she couldn’t concentrate on anything but the instant pain.

She tried to shake the shock from her head and get her bearings, but her vision was clouded. She couldn’t see, and when she reached out with both hands to protect herself she met with air.