Page 25 of Cowboy Stalker
“Can you give me a ride to my rental?” I ask. “I have to get a couple of things.”
The drive over to my place is filled with more girl talk as Audrey enthusiastically tells me about the book club in Courage County. Apparently, there are several book clubs here filled with women who love reading romance books.
“You’ll get some of the best inspiration in them,” she tells me.
I frown. “What do you mean?”
She gives me a grin. “Don’t you worry. I’m going to pass you this week’s book, and you’ll see what I mean.”
As we’re arriving, she gets a call from Logan about Paisley who has started running a slight fever. “I have to go. Will you be OK here?”
“I’ll be fine.” I wave her away and wait until she disappears to go into my rental house. Everything is how we left it. Other than the cardboard taped to the broken pane, I could almost think I imagined everything that night.
As I move through the house, I’m certain that I feel Griff’s gaze on me. But that’s not possible. He’s still at work. He couldn’t possibly know I’m here. Still, the idea that he might be watching me causes my cheeks to heat.
Since I haven’t been here in three days and Griffin has made it perfectly clear that I won’t be returning to live here on my own, I set to work in the kitchen. It only takes me about twenty minutes to get the fridge emptied and cleaned. Next, I attack the few dishes in the sink and take out the trash.
One everything is clean, I go to the bathroom, grabbing my forgotten hair dryer and my loofah. I check the living room for my tablet. But I must have left it in my bedroom. I find it on the bottom of the tiny bookshelf I salvaged from a local dumpster. When I go to reach for it, I knock something over behind my plant.
Frowning, I reach for the small black plastic square. As soon as I spot the lens, I know exactly what it is.
My phone rings. I don’t have to look at the screen to know it’s Griffin. I accept the call but don’t say a word.
“We need to talk,” his voice is rough and deep, the way it was last night when he pinned my hands above my head and satisfied both of us.
I still don’t say anything. Fury has me holding my tongue. I’ve never been one of those people that explodes. My anger is the quiet, seething kind.
“Stay where you are. I’m five minutes away,” he instructs, and I hate that he’s telling me what to do.
I end the call without a word to him. I drop my phone and my tablet into my bag with the loofah and hair dryer. That’s when it clicks. If there’s one camera, there are more. I still have a few minutes before he gets here, so I sweep the apartment.
Two. I find two more cameras. One in my kitchen and one in the living room. All three of them are placed so he can see the entire room at a glance. It wasn’t in my imagination. He wasn’t just watching over the rental with the security cameras. He was also watching me inside my home.
The door flings open, and Griffin storms into the living room. His jaw is clenched, anger radiating from him. “What do you think you’re doing, running off without telling me where you are?”
I take a step back even though I’m not afraid of him. I bump into the wall. “You have the audacity to be mad? You were spying on me! Watching me in my private moments!”
“I’m obsessed with you, and I’m not apologizing for it.” He crowds my space, letting me feel his need against my belly. “I will never not be crazy about you. I’m going to spend the rest of my life watching over you. Sometimes you’re going to know I’m watching, sometimes you won’t. But my gaze will always be on you.”
“You’re unhinged,” I say, my tone harsh even as I roll my hips against him. I’ve never been so turned on as I am right now. All my life I’ve wanted to be seen, and now I have a man who likes to watch me constantly.
His expression is a hard mask, and I know there will be no compromising on this with him. “If that makes me unhinged, then so be it. But you’re mine to look after, and I plan to look my fill.”
I groan his name and rub against him, seeking the friction I so desperately crave. He’s trapped me between the wall and his body. He could so easily take care of both of us right here and now.
He cups my face and forces my gaze up to his. “Tell the truth. Are you angry that I was spying on you or are you angry that the idea turns you on?”
My face flushes hot under his knowing gaze. “You’re bossy and controlling.”
He drops his head, his lips inches from mine. When he speaks, his breath is warm against my skin. “We agree on that. It’s not up for debate. Now be a good girl and answer the question.”
I moan, “I need you.”
He doesn’t make me say anything more. He can read me so well that he already knows how aroused I am. Within seconds of my confession, he’s taking care of me with his lips, his tongue, his fingers. He’s pushing me higher and higher until I’m hurtling into space. I close my eyes as stars explode behind my lids.
My body is still quaking when he slips inside of me. He pins me against the wall, taking me hard and fast. The entire time, he’s growling in my ear, “You’re mine. You’ll always be mine. Mine to protect. Mine to love. Mine to watch.”
The last promise has my body spasming around him as he satisfies both of us again and again. In this moment, I know that whatever happens, Griffin is never planning to let me go. This cowboy stalker owns me, body and soul.
