Mister Distraction (Distraction #2) (15 page)

“I have an extra bed. My sister stayed with me for a while, so you can sleep in her room.” I wanted to disappear quickly. I was tired, and I already felt so much more relaxed knowing she was here and I could protect her. I observed as she took in the bare room that only contained a bed, and then she crossed her arms. It was her defensive stance.

“I am unsure why I am here.” I did my best at acting nonchalant as I walked to the door to leave. I thought I was crystal clear on why she was here. I repeated what I said in the text earlier.

“You are here so I can sleep.” I offered her Bo, who looked like he would rather stay with her than me, but she very nicely declined. I watched as her mood changed to that of annoyance. I liked the slight pout of her lip and her quick answers. I smiled, and just to add a little more fuel to her fire, I spoke.

“I would hate to scare you so much that you would have to use your gun.” My smile could hardly contain my humor. She shifted her feet, arms still crossed, and her beautiful blues narrowed on me.

“Funny, I would hate to use it too.” Then she stuck her tongue out. The sight of my princess with her tongue literally lashing out at me caused laughter I almost couldn’t control. I had to get away from whatever it was that made me feel like I could do this all night.

“I am going to take a shower, and I will be down the hall if you need anything. Feel free to make yourself at home if you get hungry or thirsty. I have the alarm set, so you are safe.” I said the last part to make me feel at ease, just knowing no one could harm her while I slept. “You also have a lock on the door. I know how they make you feel protected.” I looked up and watched those beautiful blue eyes fight the urge to roll back in her head. I knew there was a story there. It was the first time I had ever seen anything close to an eye roll from her.

She was very sarcastic after that, with her fake laugh. “I will lock it, thank you very much.” She lurched from her spot close to the door and
pushed me out. Bo was next. I heard the door lock click as we strolled away, and I laughed. How this girl survived without her bodyguards for this long was beyond me.

The cold water of the shower was welcomed as I scrubbed the dried blood off my hands and the sweat from my body. I laid my head against the shower nozzle, closing my eyes, whispering thanks once more for how the day had ended. I dried myself off, dug pajama pants from the bottom of my drawer, threw them on with a t-shirt, and crawled under my soft cotton sheets. I always felt too constrained when I slept with clothes on, but I wanted to be prepared to check on her if I woke in the early morning.

When my eyes finally opened, the house was quiet. Even the sounds of Bo snoring were absent. I got out of bed and went to the bathroom to splash some water on my face and brush my teeth. I padded past her bedroom, noticing her bed was made and she was not there. I ran downstairs in a panic, looking in each corner of the house. I felt my blood begin to boil just thinking that she left, or worse, someone took her. I opened the back door and immediately set off the house alarm. I moved quickly to turn it off. It was early in the morning, but I didn’t have any neighbors, so the only one the alarm would alert was me, or the police if I wasn’t here.

I walked back to the patio door and yelled twice for Bo, but nothing happened. That dog was in so much trouble. I circled the empty rooms, pacing and trying hard to control my anger.
How could I protect this girl if she was so careless? How could she be so careless in a place she didn’t know where the dangers were?
I wondered brieflly if it was a game to her. I walked over to the garage door and noticed a drawer that was a little open. I rested my hand on the rope that was in the drawer. My toes were digging into the hardwood floor as I ran the thin rope between my hands and through my fingers. The feel of it was rough. I tied a slipknot, and then a square. I pictured her tiny wrists against the rope. Then I began picturing other parts of her body with rope around it. I was losing my
grip on reality when I saw Bo come through the dog door. I put the rope back quickly, and turned to see a petite figure worm her way through the dog door. It was fascinating to watch how everything she did she did with elegance. She pushed through with both hands. One held her balance on the floor, the other held the flap of the door, and then she did a slight wiggle and stood up gracefully. It was very sexy.

“Good morning.” Her eyes widened in shock at my words. She was surprised that I noticed she was missing.
She didn’t think I would know
. I felt anger again. I hated it when people tried to get away with things.

Her little defensive voice came out, “I left a note.
” What the fuck? I had been worried about her safety for the last 20 minutes and she left a note
. I didn’t care about a note.

“Why didn’t you wake me?” I felt my anger sizzling. I had no control over this girl. I closed my eyes, needing to find peace before I tied her up, knowing I would regret it when she ran for good. She began trying to calm me with her words, but it wasn’t working. I looked at Bo, giving him the stink eye.

“It’s not his fault,” she said, irritation lacing her voice. I stepped toward her out of confusion. She was protecting Bo and was worried I would take my anger out on him. She stepped back, almost up against the garage door.

“I don’t want you to touch me when you’re angry. I am not her. My intent was not to make you angry.” I was stunned by her choice of words. I would never compare the two. It was like night and day, down to the color of their hair.

Again, she apologized for her behavior and then asked for my forgiveness, promising me that she would indeed wake me next time. She said it all while holding her chin upright, not cowering, but informing me, letting me know without a doubt I did not intimidate her. She never ran, never flinched, and never raised her voice. She walked around me like she confronted me every day, and she was simply moving on to the next task. I followed her.

“I know you aren’t her; you are nothing like her. I can’t hide my reaction. I was upset. I thought you left without a word.” She turned to face me, so I stopped mid stride and finished, “I have always been
one way. I can’t help thinking you’re doing things to get me to react. I know your thoughts are innocent, and I am trying to control my urges to discipline you.” Her eyes grew wide at the word discipline. “I don’t want to be that person anymore.” I heard the pleading in my own voice. I needed her to understand. “She purposely did things to show the control she had over me.”

Katarina took a step back down the stairs she had started to climb as she started talking. “I am not running; well, technically I was running, but not away. I don’t know you, Jason, at all, but you don’t scare me. I think maybe you worry me when you say words like discipline.” It made me smile the way she said ‘discipline’ like it was a curse word. Her nose scrunched up on her face like it was beneath her.
What a princess
. She kept talking, her hands moving with her lips.

“I don’t want to upset you. You seem so uptight sometimes; maybe you need a fix?” Her face hit the color red again, eyes bright and open. Just when I thought she was about to retract what she was saying, she spat more funny words out. “You know, scratch an itch…I mean, maybe you need to find someone and... I don’t know, make friends.” She did a suggestive wink at the last part that put me over the edge. I was close to rolling on the ground I was laughing so hard. My muscles were all sore from last night’s ass whipping, but it felt great. I stared at her when I finished my laughing fit, for as long as she would let me. Then she turned and took the stairs two at a time, like she had done it a hundred times.

I grabbed some towels for Katarina, and padded down the hall to the bathroom inside her bedroom to lay them out for her. I saw her silhouette behind the glass door, and slid the towels on the floor close to the door. I would love to be in there with her, but I left the bathroom before I let that seed of a thought sprout in my head.

I treaded down the hall to my bathroom. I slipped in and out of the shower, taking care of business. Today was day 99 without sex, and surprisingly, I was very happy. I am not sure if it was just her presence around me, or the way I released all my aggression on a man who called my last girlfriend trash, and raped my princess. It was going to be a great day. I got dressed while talking to Bo, reminding him he was my
dog, and not to fall for a pretty lady because she had nice running legs. He seemed to be listening, his black puppy-dog eyes firmly attached to mine. We went downstairs and I fed Bo first, then made a healthy breakfast for Katarina and me. She came downstairs staring at me, and I loved it. I honestly couldn’t remember ever liking anything this much. My smile was so big I thought my face might crack in two.

“Are you going to stare in the doorway, or do you want to sit and stare?” I watched as she tiptoed slowly to the stool at the counter. I placed her fruit and yogurt in front of her, and her eyes lit up. I heard her start humming as I placed scrambled eggs next to her yogurt bowl. I moved quickly around the counter, anxious to sit next to her. I enjoyed watching her eat, and now listening, it was very seductive. She was very appreciative, and all but licked her plate before getting up and taking both plates to the sink. She was quite happy doing the dishes, and again, it looked to me like this was exactly where she belonged. I took a mental picture, and briefly thanked God for sharing this angel with me. She caught me, and I was proud to tell her about my bright side after sharing so much of the darkness with her.

She was very playful with me. I could tell she was relaxed, and I loved this close-up, personal side of my dancing princess. It was very unexpected. I studied her closely, every breath, every laugh, every flirt. With her eyes beaming, her full lips spread into a wide grin; this was how I wanted her to be all the time. She was so curious about why I didn’t talk to her all those months in the coffee shop. It was my opportunity to tell her the truth, that I knew everything about her, that I watched her dance for years, that she was and is my obsession, but I didn’t. I told her that I didn’t want to scare the beautiful, black-haired rabbit. I thought she would like that story better. She wrinkled her nose just like a rabbit would do—the irony escaping her I am sure, but still incredibly adorable.

I drove her to work, unhappy that she had her bags with her. She was already leaving me. I needed more time. Before, I couldn’t get a girl away fast enough, and now I drove slowly, knowing my time was ticking and I was going to have to say goodbye. We talked all the way, and I did my best to keep it light, letting her do most of the talking. I loved to hear
her voice. It was refreshing to see things through her eyes. I dropped her off and had to beg her to leave her bags with me. I needed more time, so keeping her things would give me another chance, another date. Desperate I know, but hell, she was…Katarina…and she was so close and I just needed more time. She was reluctant, but did it anyway.

I drove to work examining my intent with Katarina. I didn’t just want to protect her, I wanted to be with her. It wasn’t about her falling in love with me. I felt alive around her. The more I got to know her, the more I didn’t want it to end. Whatever we were, I wanted more. She was my path, the path I knew I should take. She was my home. I just needed
her
to feel that.

Chapter Ten