Page 31 of After 5

“Not even a thank you for the treats, you flea bag.”

An angry hiss startled me. I glanced at him. His ears were back, and his tail bottle brushed as he bared his teeth at the ceiling.

The creak of footsteps echoed against the hardwood floors above me. Someone was upstairs. My nine-millimeter handgun was hidden in a Nine West shoe box in my shoe closet adjacent to my bed. If the intruder was in my bedroom, I’d have to find another means of protection.

I inched my way up the stairs, avoiding the third and eighth steps I knew from my childhood days of sneaking out of the house were the creaky ones. Another noise came from the direction of my bedroom.

My bedroom door hung ajar. If I leaned in and turned on the lights, I could surprise the unwanted guest, but first, I needed to arm myself.

I ducked into the nearest room and searched for a weapon. When I was younger, this room belonged to my sister. After she left for college, I converted it into my closet. Clothes hung from rollaway racks around the perimeter of the room.

I picked up a belt. What was I going to do, whip the intruder? A box of Manolo Blahniks four-inch stilettos sat in their box on the makeshift center island I had purchased from IKEA.

My shoes were housed in floor to ceiling shoe racks in my bedroom. My dad built them for me when, in fourth grade, I discovered shoes were my passion. And still are.

These new additions hadn’t made it to their place with the rest of my precious footwear collection. I found the fun, gold pumps on clearance at Nordstrom’s Anniversary Sale and needed to try them on with a dress I planned to wear to the next wedding I attended.

Many of my high school friends were either getting engaged or married. It was an age thing. The dreaded “if you don’t get married by age thirty, your life as an old maid begins” syndrome.

I opened the box and pulled out the right shoe. The thin heel gleamed like a dagger in the moonlight streaming in through the window. I could gouge an eye out with it. I jabbed it in the air, practicing my gouge.

The sound of the slider on my closet door forced me to raise my weapon. Not only did someone break into my room, the thief was stealing my shoes!

I held the shoe at the level of my eye and slowly eased my way toward my room. Peeking inside, the familiar scent of cinnamon and pine crossed my bedroom along with the silhouette of a figure heading toward my balcony. I flipped on the light switch.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

He stopped short and turned toward me. His eyes ran the length of my body and leveled at the shoe held in my hand.

“Death by shoe, I dinnae think ye’d do much damage, Sunshine.”

His black t-shirt stretched across a well-toned chest.

I fought the urge to move toward him and lowered my shoe. “Why haven’t you contacted me?”

“I couldnae. The Mafusos have a babysitter that follows me wherever I go. I finally ditched him, and here I am.” He opened his arms, presenting himself.

He was being held prisoner. Well, almost. I cocked an eyebrow at him.

“I’m sorry, but I did warn ye, I’d be deep undercover.”

“With the Mafusos.” My words came out in an accusatory ire.

“Aye.”

I huffed. “Why are you leaving?’

“I’m naugh leaving.” He bit his bottom lip, then released it and moved toward me slowly. “Look, I need to speak to ye.”

His dark, mussed hair and the way his emerald eyes held mine sent tingles to my nether regions. I couldn’t control my desire to kiss the pouty lip he had released.

The shoe clattered to the floor as I jumped into his arms and wrapped my legs around his middle. My mouth pressed to his, and he enveloped me in the kiss that I’d been dreaming of for months. My lady parts wanted him naked. His tongue trailed over mine as his passion ignited a fire inside me. Zap, tingle. We hadn’t missed a beat. The sensation went all the way to my toes.

“Ye missed me, yeah?”

“Yeah,” I said. “Where have you traveled? And why haven’t you sent any word?”

My inner voice screamed at me to stop being an inquisitive bitch. She wanted some action, and I had to admit I did, too. He avoided my question with a long, deep kiss.

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