“Please,” she pled.
He seemed to know just what she needed and moved off her, his own breath coming out in pants. They lay side by side as their breathing slowed and their bodies finally quit quivering. “I think I may have just lost a few years off my life,” Chad said with a chuckle. Bree smiled, she knew how he felt.
“I can’t open my eyes,” she murmured, feeling better than anyone should possibly be allowed to feel.
Chad pulled her close and she fell asleep within seconds.
When Bree woke again, Chad was next to the bed putting on pants. She sleepily got to her feet and put the discarded robe on. Her mind cleared quickly, and since her body was temporarily sated, her worries came back to the forefront.
She tilted her head and pointed toward the kitchen, then left the room. She’d get dressed later. She felt light headed and wanted nothing more than a hot cup of coffee. She’d even try eating a bagel or muffin. She knew her stomach needed something in it other than acid.
Bree walked to the coffee pot and started it brewing, then sat at the table. Chad entered the room behind her, grabbing a package from the cupboard and joining her at the table. He looked amazing in the morning with stubble dotting his chin, and low riding pajama bottoms. She didn’t know what was wrong with her, but she wanted to crawl into his lap for round two and forget everything but the pleasure he brought her.
“Here, eat this,” Chad told her as he placed a pastry in front of her. She pushed it back, the sugary donut turning her stomach. “You have to eat. You’ve already lost too much weight,” he insisted as he pushed it back to her. She glared at him for a moment, but he didn’t back down, so she finally took it.
Bree broke off a piece and placed it in her mouth, surprised by the burst of flavor on her tongue. Maybe she was hungry. After all, she’d had quite the intense workout a short time ago. She took another tentative bite, then polished off the donut in under a minute. Chad slid another one in front of her and she started picking at it, nibbling small bites. She missed the knowing grin on his face.
“Did you get any information last night? Who they were? What they wanted? Did the sheriff tell you anything?” Bree threw questions at Chad, no longer able to hold it in. She hoped he wouldn’t treat her like a child. She needed to know.
She watched as he took a deep breath, like he was fighting with himself, before he finally let it out and looked her deep in the eyes. She felt almost giddy as she realized he was going to tell her something real – not try to protect her fragile feelings like her brothers kept doing.
As Bree sat there, she had a small memory of racing down the road with her hand in the air. She’d been running away… She lost the thought and frowned in frustration.
“What is it?” Chad asked with concern.
“I remembered something, but…” she started to say, still concentrating.
“What did you remember?”
“Nothing huge, dang it. Just that my brothers are over-protective. I was trying to get away from them – trying to prove I could make it on my own. Is that how I ended up with you?”
“Kind of,” he answered vaguely, which made her want to throw the rest of her donut at him.
“It’s gone now, what were you going to say?”
“The sheriff came up empty last night. Whoever was out there was long gone by the time we got a proper search formed. They were smart. Are you sure you’re up for the whole story, Bree? I think it would be better for you not to know,” he hedged. She had to push down her temper. She didn’t want kid gloves – she wanted the truth.
“I can handle it,” she said through clenched teeth.
“Fine. You have a stalker. He’s been after you for months. He’s the reason you were in the hospital, and apparently he hasn’t given up, as last night proves. We have no leads on who it is, or how he’s getting his information. He shouldn’t have had any way of knowing you were here last night, but he did,” Chad said, short and to the point.
“M… maybe he followed us,” Bree stuttered. She was trying to act like his words weren’t affecting her, but it was a lot to take in. Someone wanted to kill her. Why?
“I guess it would help if I could remember my past,” she finally said.
“Not really. We didn’t know anything before you were shot. You racked your brain trying to figure out who it could be. We’ve done background checks on ex-boyfriends, old friends, people you’ve come in contact with. They’ve all had alibis for the times when events have taken place. We’ve come up with nothing but dead ends,” he trailed off in frustration.
“Maybe he followed us from the hospital,” she said, trying to keep the fear from her voice. She’d asked him to be honest with her; she didn’t want him to regret that decision.
“I was watching for that, it’s not possible.”
Bree sat back and thought about it. She wished she could just wake up and everything would be right with her world. Had she led some kind of double life her family knew nothing about? Was she really a double agent with top secret information? Really, she didn’t know who she was. For all she knew, she could be a horrible person who deserved to be hunted like an animal.
“It’s not your fault. I can see the wheels turning in your head. Whoever this creep is, it’s not about you, it’s about him. You’ve done nothing to deserve this,” Chad assured her. She didn’t know if she believed him.
“I shouldn’t stay here. It seems he’s determined to get to me, and anyone who’s in his way could get hurt,” she said, trying to sound reasonable.
“Do you honestly believe I’d let you deal with this on your own. Even if you weren’t carrying my child, I wouldn’t let you leave my side. I will keep you safe.”
“I don’t know why, but it feels like we’ve had a discussion like this before,” she said with a smile in her voice.
“My motto is to serve and protect.”
“So, do we just hide out like victims, or can we have some kind of a life while we wait for the other shoe to drop?”
“I’ve never been one to hide. We’ll up security, make sure guards are on duty twenty-four-seven, and we’ll live somewhat normally. I don’t want you going anywhere alone, though – not even to the backyard.”
“I won’t be treated like a child. I can agree to security, but you’re being absurd,” she retorted.
“I love when you get all riled up,” he said as he slowly stood up.
Bree wasn’t in the mood for games, but she could see he was.
“I’m still mad at you, Chad,” she said, but she slowly rose from the table and took a step back.
“Doesn’t bother me. You’re mad at me a lot.”
“Then maybe you should change the way you act,” she said as she skirted the table. He slowly followed her, making her heart speed up.
“I haven’t had too many complaints about the way I act, certainly not earlier this morning,” he answered as he made a quick veer to the right. She dodged him and kept him at a safe distance – or so she thought.
“Maybe I just didn’t want to hurt your feelings,” she said, but couldn’t keep the laughter from spilling out as he almost slipped on the smooth tile.
“You also moan a lot when you’re underneath me,” he said. She noticed his pants expanding. Their bantering was turning him on. It sent an arrow of desire straight through her. She didn’t know how she could possibly want him again after being so fully satisfied.
“That’s not very gentlemanly like to say.”
“I’ve never claimed to be a gentleman.”
“Finally you say something that makes sense,” she laughed. He lunged again, but she managed to avoid him. She knew he was toying with her. If he really wanted to catch her, she’d be on the ground in moments. Him allowing her to think she held some kind of power was exhilarating, though. She knew how she wanted their game to end.
Chad looked her in the eye and lifted his hand to the waistband of his flannel pants. Her breathing thickened as she waited. His body was sinful in its perfection. Her eyes stayed glued to his large fingers as they slipped under the elastic.
She practically drooled when they dropped to the floor and he stood before her with nothing on. She could feel the saliva building in her mouth. She wanted to taste him, run her tongue along his washboard abs, straight down to his manhood, and slip his head deep into her mouth.
She gave up on the game of chase and took a step toward him, her eyes finally lifting to his eyes, which were narrowed in desire. The depths of his blue eyes were darkened to the color of a stormy ocean.
At that moment she held all the power – and yet none at all. He could bring her to her knees, but knowing she could do the same to him, made her able to stand.
Bree’s trouble with stalkers, memory loss, and bullets flying all faded. She forgot about everything but the deep need inside her stomach – the burning sensation invading her body.
The phone rang.
“Ignore it,” he commanded as he stepped toward her.
It rang over and over.
“Don’t you have an answering machine?” she asked with frustration.
“Didn’t think I needed one. I’m regretting that now,” he said as it continued to ring. Their caller was persistent.
Chad finally stomped over to the phone and practically ripped it from the wall.
“This better be damn important,” he yelled into the phone.
He paused as he listened, and Bree watched in frustration as he answered in one syllable clips. Within a minute, he was grabbing his pants and sliding them back on. She nearly screamed in sexual frustration.
Obviously the call was important. He’d quickly forgotten about their game.
“We’ll be there,” he finally said, then hung up the phone.
He turned to her and she knew she wasn’t going to get her needs met. It was obvious from the anger on his face.
“That was your brother. There was a break in at your place last night. We’re assuming it was after the bastard left here. This is the second time, now. We should’ve kept the place under surveillance, but we didn’t think he’d go back,” he said in frustration as he ran his fingers down his face. “I’m in your presence for thirty seconds and I seem to forget how to do my job,” he sighed, almost as an afterthought.
“What do you mean your job?”
Chad looked at her like a dog that had just wet on the carpet.
“I repeat, what job are you referring to?”
“Don’t get all bent out of shape. I just meant… I need to be watching out for you,” he tried to cover.
“That’s crap and you know it. Tell me the truth, now,” she demanded.
“Okay, well, your brothers were worried about you, and rightfully so, because this creep was sending all kinds of letters about how you should be with him, so they figured you needed protection,” he said.
“Are you my freaking bodyguard?” she demanded to know.
“It’s not like that, Bree.” He tried to pacify her.
