Page 9 of Marked By my Stalker
“Right,” I reply flatly.
“Anyway,” Linda sighs, “sorry to talk your ear off. I’m gonna hit the hay. Thanks for keepin’ an eye on our girl. Mike would be so thankful for you. He was always so thankful for you. Talked about your time out in the sand all the time.”
My stomach tightens and knots. “Yeah. No problem.”
She says something else, but I don’t hear it. I’m too busy wrestling with the ghost of a man who died a year ago. The man I swore to protect. A man who protected me. A man who was more than a fellow soldier. He was my friend. A close friend. A friend that helped me through some of the darkest stretches in my life.
The line disconnects and I scrub a hand over my jaw, trying to shake off the weight of the day, trying to shake the images of Kera in that tight little sweater dress out of my mind. Her round tits, her thick curves, her perfect fucking ass.
She’s off limits. That photo of her and her dad was the reminder I needed.
Still, though, my cock presses at my zipper with an urgency and yearning I’m not sure I’ve ever felt before.
I was hired to protect her. But as I flip back to images of her in that tight dress and reach in to tug my cock, I know I’m the biggest threat she’s got.
Chapter Five
Kera
“Okay, I’m thinking you need at least three days of full rest. I’m talking about nothing but cartons of ice cream, reruns of theGolden Girls,and warm blankets. Doctor’s orders.” I hand Penny a cup of tea from the microwave and lean back onto her bed with her, staring up at the stains on the ceiling. I have no idea what they’re from, but it’s turned all brown, and the plaster is starting to peel.
College dorm rooms should really be nicer. We’re paying decent money to stay here.
“I’ll be fine,” Penny sighs, rolling toward me with closed eyes. She’s the kind of pretty that sneaks up on you. The kind that you can’t explain. The kind that looks good after a twelve-hour shift and two days with no sleep. “I’ve got two more shifts and then I’m done for ten whole hours.”
“Don’t you have a test halfway through that?”
“Two tests and three classes, but it’s not work. So…” She sighs as she talks, and I swear no one would believe she’s only twenty years old. The girl is carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. “We always talk about me being tired, though. You were going to give me details about last night, remember?”
“Oh.” I blow out a breath and consider where to start. “Yeah, last night was weird. Brick got talking to this other girl, and I don’t know, I ended up leaving and Jack walked me home.”
Her brows narrow. “Okay, fuck Brick. Also, who’s Jack?”
I consider telling her that Jack is some sophomore she doesn’t know to avoid further harassment, but I figure she needs a little entertainment in her life. “Jack is the C-lot stalker.”
Her eyes widen and her mouth drops open. “Wait, you… he walked you home? Like you guys talked, or he walked you home from a distance like always?”
“We talked.” I bite back a grin, thinking about last night and the plans we have for this afternoon. “He’s not that bad.”
Her eyebrows shoot up like rockets. “Oh, my Lord. You like him!”
“No, I’m with Brick. The walk with Jack was… just a walk. A nice walk.”
She narrows her eyes and twists her spoon around in the tea. “Wait… but Brick was flirting with some other girl, wasn’t he? Girl, come on. Dump the drama and take the hot, older guy out for a few rides. Have fun while you still can.”
“Yeah, not happening. He was friends with my dad. They did some military stuff back in the day.”
She blinks, quiet for half a beat, then leans forward with a grin that means trouble. “So, what I’m hearing is, Brick’s a walking red flag, Jack’s emotionally repressed with a hero complex, and you,” she nods toward me, “are definitely catching feelings for someone you shouldn’t.”
“Whatever.” I roll up from the mattress and redirect my attention to my closet. There’s about a zillion things stuffed into this little square of storage, but I have absolutely nothing to wear.
I opt for a pair of black leggings and a long sweater with a pumpkin sewn into the front. “Does this make me look like a child?”
“Depends, you wearing pig tails too? Where are you going?”
My cheeks blaze with heat. “Oh, I’m going to the mountains today.”
Penny stares at me with a long pause, her hand threading through her hair as a grin creeps up onto her face. “You’re going with Jack, aren’t you?”
