by Tory Baker
“No, whoever sent that letter left a print on it, but it’s not in any database, which means he or she has never had a record. Or it could have been from someone else handling it. We’ll figure it out and soon. We just need to stay vigilant right now.” I drop the tongs I was using to flip the bacon and walk toward her, needing her in my arms probably more than she needs me.
“Thank you, Slade.”
I pull her into me. “Nothing to thank me for.” When our hug is over, she does something I wasn’t expecting. She holds on to me as I walk back to the stove, snuggling in as I finish the bacon.
“I’ll get the eggs out of the fridge. Also, you said we were talking once we were downstairs, so it’s time to pony up.” Taylor has no idea how fucking adorable she can be when she’s throwing her sassiness around.
“I did. I guess now isn’t the time to make you wait some more?”
I cock an eyebrow when she says, “Not happening, Mister Bossy Pants.”
“The hell?” I shake my head with a smile. If she thinks I’m bossy now, I don’t know what she’ll think once I get her underneath me in bed.
“What? Tell me you aren’t bossy. You’re probably the bossiest person I’ve ever met.” She really does have her sass in full effect today.
“We’ll circle back to that. You know as well as I do how much Travis is against you having anything to do with me. I’m telling you now, I don’t give a Goddamn what he has to say about it, though. But, with that being said, I’m not telling him while he’s overseas. He needs to be watching out for himself and the men he’s overseeing.”
“I agree with your idea. It’s not that I want you to remain a secret to him, but he has enough to deal with. Now, what are our plans for the day? Am I allowed to go anywhere as long as you’re with me? Because if so, we need food, and not the healthy kind of food either. I need ice cream, brownies, chips… You know, carbs?”
“Is that so? Are you saying there’s nothing but healthy food in this house?” I fire back, loving the banter between the two of us.
“Slade Chavez, did you not just finish cooking turkey bacon? I rest my case.” She plops down on the seat at the counter after she plates out food while grumbling.
“You get what you get and don’t throw a fit, Trouble. Didn’t Travis ever tell you that?”
“Even Travis wouldn’t deduce me to this travesty,” she harrumphs.
“Fine, we’ll agree to disagree. But it’s you that will be keeping me in the gym longer at night, when I could be in bed with you.” Desire drips from my tone.
“It’s a good thing kissing and sex burn calories then,” Taylor says between bites of her eggs, barely touching the turkey bacon.
I’m caught off guard with her retort. I laugh, a real laugh that seems to only happen when I’m around Taylor. “Touché.” We finish our breakfast and then head out for the day.
Ten
Taylor
“Are you taking me to work or am I driving as you follow me?” I ask Slade as the both of us get ready side by side on this ridiculous Monday morning. The weather is as bad as I feel. I’m not sick, not like that at least. It’s so disgustingly dreary outside and a Monday to boot. Not to mention, the weekend passed by entirely too fast. We didn’t do much. In fact, after we went to the grocery store Saturday, which by the way, I got all of the carbohydrates to my heart’s content. Slade didn’t think I was really going to go hog wild. I even offered to pay for all of the groceries; he wasn’t having that, not even allowing me to pay for half.
What we did do, though was talk. My God, did we talk, staying up until almost two in the morning, but it was worth it. It solidified our goals in a relationship and in life. Heck, we even talked about how many children we’d potentially like to have. Slade floored me when he said five to my two. Given the right circumstances, I’d have as many children as he could give me. Especially if they looked just like their father.
“I’m taking you and picking you up today. Tomorrow is up in the air. You may have to deal with Bridger or Drake.” He winces, putting his toothbrush in the holder. We fell into this relationship pretty quickly, just not in the sexual sense, which has been frustrating at times but also shows me the type of man Slade really is.
“They aren’t bad, you know.” I close the tube on my mascara I finished applying.
“I’d still rather it be me with you.”
I slide my hand around his waist, snuggling into his side. It’s something that comes to me naturally when I’m around him. “You have me every other waking minute, and don’t forget, we have a gym session together tonight.” I wink at him. The thought of Slade shirtless, in only gym shorts, working out, hair wet from exerting energy, sweat slicking down his body. I’m going to need another session in the shower where I’ll be using my fingers on myself, again.
“Don’t think I didn’t hear you in the shower last night. It took everything I had not to barge in on you and watch your fingers do what my mouth wanted more than anything.” The two of us are looking at each other in the mirror, him with a smile, my face turning a shade of red.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I play off instead of admitting the truth.
“Babe, I heard you the first night. Didn’t you realize our beds were backed up to each other? I got to say, I look forward to the real-life performance.”
“Jesus, Slade, you should come with a warning. I had no idea you heard. I thought I was being quiet,” I admit, then blow out a breath of air, trying to combat the way my body heats up.
“Nope, best damn thing to hear, but tonight, I’ll be watching if not an active participant. Now, if you’re ready, let’s get this show on the road.”
“Yep, I’m ready when you are. My bag is by the garage door.” I dart off, find my heels, which are under the bed somehow—not exactly sure how that happened. I’m bent over, reaching for them when Slade smacks my ass. I barely hold myself from falling over.
“I thought you said you were ready?”
“Did you hide my shoes?” I say as I grab my shoes, hop on one foot to put one on and then the other, all while Slade watches with a smirk on his face.
“Now, why would I do that?”
“Because you’re Slade, and you like to get your hands on my ass any chance you can get?” I roll my eyes.
“You know it,” he replies and walks out of the room. I follow him the entire way down, scoping out his body from the back and enjoying every moment of it. I have a feeling tonight will be the icing on my cake.
“Hold on, let me take something out for dinner. Anything particular you feel like having?” I ask.
There’s a gleam in his eye, and I know what he’s thinking, completely. It’s written all over his face.
“Nope.” The ‘p’ pops, then he’s licking his lips as he saunters over to me, grabbing me by the hips while lifting me and placing me on the counter. My skirt hikes up, all the way until he can see what I have underneath my skirt, as he steps between my now spread legs. “Goddamn, look at you. All professional suit wearing, but when I unwrap you, it’s a gift just for me.”
“You can’t say stuff like that to me, let alone do this to me right before work. I’ll be wet and aching for you all day,” I admit. Slade places my palm on the bulge in his slacks. I grab a hold of him, being bolder, while his fingers slowly trace the lace of my panties.
“I’ll be rock hard all day while I’m working too, especially knowing what you’re wearing underneath these clothes,” he groans, sweeping his finger underneath my panties, finding my clit. He barely grazes it, before pulling away then helping me down off the counter.
“I don’t care what we eat, as long as it’s not full of nothing but carbs.” His face has a smile.
“So that’s a no to chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, and corn?” I smart off.
“You cook it, I’ll eat it, but maybe add something in the green vegetable family?” I was kidding when I said I’d make nothing but food with carbs. Instead, I m
aneuver around him, open the freezer, and find the Mahi we picked up this weekend. It would be counterproductive to eat like crap after working out.
“I’ll see what I can do.” I place it in the fridge to thaw, then we head out the door.
Eleven
Slade
I walk into the office of Nighthawk with Bridger and Drake hot on my heels. “We stopped by Taylor’s house on our way in this morning, and you’re not going to like what we have to show you,” Drake says with a serious tone.
“Yeah, seems like the stalker is hitting harder than ever now,” Bridger pipes in.
“Any prints?” I look at Drake. I know he’s got his eye on someone in the lab.
“Nada, I will say this guy seems to be escalating. I’m not sure I’d say one word to Taylor about the content of this letter. It’s completely and entirely fucked up six ways to Sunday,” Drake says seriously.
“I guess it’s time for me to read it.” I fist my hair in my hand, knowing this is going to be a Monday I fucking loathe.
“Yep, you may want to pour yourself a shot of whiskey too,” Bridger says as we walk into my office.
“Fuck,” I groan. If things get worse, I’ll have to put a call into Travis. There are certain things I can keep from him, but something like this, there’s no way I’d do that to him.
Bridger makes me a cup of coffee, then puts a healthy splash of whiskey in it before handing it to me. There’s no fucking way I’d ever drink this at eight o’clock in the morning. I wave the drink away. Drake hands me the letter Taylor’s would-be-stalker left sometime during the night, leading me to realize I fucked up. “We need to put someone on her place around the clock now. This is too much. Last time, I’m pretty sure the dick put it in her bag when he knocked into her. The times before that, they were mailed. Where was this one?” I carefully handle the letter that’s in a plastic bag from the lab.
“Taped on her front door, so he or she is definitely escalating,” Bridger responds.
“What the fuck,” I breathe out as I read the letter
Dearest Taylor,
I know where you are. I know who you’re with. I’ve been watching you, and I’ll be seeing you, soon.
Always yours
The letter is in a messy handwriting, with hard slashes, but the whole thing is fucked up. I have no other words besides that. “If this continues to escalate, I’m sending him a message.”
“No shit, man.” Drake is shaking his head in disgust. The pit of my stomach has sunk down to my feet.
“No one will you blame you.” Bridger’s tone has been taken down a notch, not the jokester he normally is.
“Is there anything in the office that needs my attention?” I ask.
“Nothing we can’t handle. Go watch your girl.” I do a double take. I never mentioned Taylor was mine, but Drake being Drake, he sees everything beyond the surface.
“Thanks. I’ll be at the courthouse if you need me.” I never even powered my computer on, so I grab my keys and cell phone then dart down the hall, waving goodbye to our new secretary, Kellie. She’s quiet as a mouse, but she’s more than capable for the job and probably overqualified.
“Have a good day, Mr. Chavez.” She waves hesitantly with a smile. I see the look on Bridger’s face; he’s trying to decipher what her story is.
“Leave it alone, Bridger,” I say under my breath.
“I’m good.” His hands go up in a hands-off manner.
“Watch out for him, Drake. You know how he gets. Any mystery for him is something he wants to rip apart at the seams until he knows every single detail.” Drake nods in acknowledgment.
As soon as I’m on my way to the courthouse where Taylor works, I look at the time and decide to send her a text. Maybe I can persuade her to have lunch with me, and let her know about the latest development. Part of me wants to shield her from it, while the other part wants her to know more than ever what’s going on so she’ll be aware of her surroundings.
It doesn’t take me long to get to where she works. It works well for our office to be centrally located in Lodgeview, Virginia. The downside is my place is a good twenty minutes away, sometimes longer if traffic is a nightmare. I pull into a parking spot, park my vehicle, and slide out of the truck. I’m hoping she’s not in court today but rather in the office her company keeps on site.
I walk in through the security checkpoint, having left my gun in the car because I knew I’d have to go through the metal detectors. Once I’ve gone through, I see that Eric is here, another guy I’d love to have come to work with me, but he’s reluctant for some reason.
“Hey, Slade.” Eric holds his hand out for me to shake.
“What’s up, Eric?” I shake his hand, then we take a step back.
“Not much, getting older every day. What about you?”
“I’m here to see if Taylor is in her office or court today. Do you know where she’d be?” I ask him.
“I don’t, but I can lead you in the right direction.” He turns, starts to walk, and I fall in step beside him as we make our way to the reception desk, something I could have done without him.
“Magdalene, do you know where Miss Daniels happens to be?” Eric asks. I guess he figures I don’t need to talk for myself. I watch him evaluating everything around him. He’d be a major asset to my team. I’ll have to see in the coming weeks if he’d be interested in transitioning over, but in the meantime, I could see if he wouldn’t mind keeping an eye on Taylor when she’s here and I’m not in the area.
“She’s in her office. Want me to call her and let her know someone is here for her?” she responds to Eric.
“That’s okay, I’ll walk him on up.”
“Thank you, Magdalene,” I tell her, seeing how Eric didn’t bother.
The two of us walk up the flight of stairs, shooting the shit, me asking if he’d keep an eye out for anything more suspicious that could possibly happen in a courthouse. He doesn’t bat an eye when I ask; in fact, his eyes light up, like he knows exactly why I want him to. Little does he know that she has a stalker getting progressively worse.
“I’ll see you around,” I tell Eric when we get to her door.
“Later, I’ll let you know if I see anything.”
“I appreciate that.” I shake his hand one last time before stepping into her office. She doesn’t notice me with her head bent down staring at the notes she has on her desk.
I clear my throat, then Taylor looks up and realizes I’m standing in her office. Her smile brightens. “Hey, what are you doing here so early?”
“I was in the area.”
She rolls her eyes at that, Taylor knows better. The ticking in my jaw probably set her on high alert. “What happened now?”
I rub my hand down my face before walking toward her. She sits back in her chair, and I sit on the edge of her desk. My hand finds hers and I entwine our fingers together. “You got another letter. This time, it was taped on your front door. This stalker’s actions seem to be escalating. My first thought was coming to you, whisking you away until we can find this person, but I knew you wouldn’t like that. Anyways, I needed to come myself to make sure you were safe.”
Taylor shocks the shit out of me. She stands and her free hand cups the side of my cheek. Her heels put the two of us almost at eye level. Her lips meet mine, giving me a soft kiss. I don’t deepen the kiss, even though I want to.
“Are you okay?” she asks me.
“Baby, I’m more than okay. Are you?” Taylor, she’s so fucking selfless.
“I’m fine. I know you’re in my corner.” She pulls back, our hands still entwined.
“You got that right. Are you free to take a coffee break or an early lunch?” I ask her.
“I wish I could, but I need to get these documents taken care of, but if you’re offering to bring me back coffee, I wouldn’t object.”
“You got it.” I give her one more quick kiss, a squeeze to her hip.
“I’ll text you what I’d like?”
she questions.
“I already know what you like, unless you want something else?”
“Nope, that’s it. Slade, if I haven’t said it yet, I’m saying it again. Thank you.” She sits back at her desk.
“Anything for you, Trouble.” I leave her with that, it’s time to get my girl her coffee, then I’m going to run a few errands before she gets off work.
Twelve
Taylor
“You ready to work out?” Slade asks as we both walk into his home gym. He’s in a pair of gym shorts and sneakers, while I’m in a pair of tight spandex shorts and a sports bra with sneakers.
“Yep.” I’m throwing my hair up in a ponytail while walking toward the treadmill. I’ve been dying all day to get on and go for a run, especially after the news that Slade delivered. I stayed calm and collective as he told me what happened at my condo; it sent chills down my spine and left me feeling thankful Slade stepped in when he did. Now, I’m hoping like hell it’ll get me out of my own head.
“Good, I’ll get on the treadmill beside you to warm up, but then I’m moving on to weights. Cardio is not something I love to do.”
All I can think of is how he’ll be shirtless the entire time, sweat slicking down his muscular body. The way working out makes your endorphins come into play. There have been so many times I’ve left the gym high from working out, needing a release. I could barely make it home and into the shower before I was getting myself off.
“I’ll be right here.” We start warming up. Slade must have had this gym outfitted for himself. I can’t imagine anyone else putting in a whole home gym with mirrors on every single wall. My eyes never leave his as he begins a slow jog, every muscle in his toned body flexing and pulling. I slowly speed up my treadmill, praying I don’t trip and fall from salivating over Slade on display.
