Protected by the Officer: A Safe Stalker Romance (Safe Stalkers)

by Phoebe Buck

  “It would be an honor to smell like you,” I say slapping my knees and rising from the futon, taking the long way round to minimize the amount of BO I’m giving off. I pause at the bathroom door. She already knows, I’m sure, but I can’t help but say it. “And if anything happens while I’m in here, come get me. I’m leaving the door unlocked just in case.”

  She waves her hand at me and nods, but I can tell she’s still not taking this seriously. “It’s the middle of the day! No one is breaking in, don’t worry. Just relax for a couple of minutes.”

  I quickly strip down, throwing the offending clothes in a pile in the corner and throwing the tap all the way to lava temperature. I’m not sure what I’m going to change into once I get out of here, but for now, all I can think about is the steaming water waiting for me. I sneak in the back of the tub, letting just a few drops hit to make sure the heat is just right before sinking in and letting the spray cover me.

  It burns, but it burns good and for a long minute I just stand there feeling the ringlets of water run down my chest and legs. I grab something labeled as “minty pear body wash” and squirt a bit into my fingers.

  I run it across my aching skin and instantly feel the refreshing effects. It surprisingly doesn’t smell bad.

  In fact, it’s that same smell that’s been dancing around Joanna that I couldn’t quite place.

  I feel my dick getting hard at the thought of her and curse my filthy fucking mind. I want so badly to wrap my fingers around my shaft and jerk off to her, but that would keep me from her side for longer. The fantasy of her, the one that I can make do whatever I want in my head is tempting, but it’s not more important than the flesh and blood version waiting on me.

  I grip my dick hard, telling myself that I’m just going to do it hard and fast. I can’t go back out there with a raging erection. I don’t have a choice. I have to get rid of this thing for her sake.

  Just as my hand reaches the base of my cock on the first stroke, the shower curtain flies open.

  My jaw goes slack as I see Joanna standing there, fully nude with a hand on her hip. I’m overwhelmed with the magnificence of every inch of her flesh. I want to drink in her curves with my fingers, but I’m too shocked to move.

  Her face is beet red and her eyes are glued to my throbbing cock nestled in my own hand.

  “I-Uh, I thought… oh shit.

  I’m sorry.” She turns to leave and that’s what snaps me out of my stupor. No way am I letting her leave.

  “Wait.”

  Chapter 4

  Joanna

  What the hell was I thinking? I’m supposed to be scared for my life right now, even if I don’t want to admit it, but all I can think about is banging this cop. This cop that, let’s remember, I didn’t want here in the first place.

  But now that he’s been in my space, I can’t shake the feeling that he’s meant to be here. Even when my stupid, stubborn self tried to push him away, he refused to leave me. He’s just as bullheaded as me and I had no idea that would be such a turn-on.

  So that’s how I ended up here; standing full-ass naked in front of this man I barely know, the man I only just started addressing by his first name yesterday.

  “Wait.” His hand reaches out, but he doesn’t grab me and pull me in as some men would. He simply lays his fingers across my skin and asks me to wait. His touch is firm, but not forceful.

  I turn back to face him and meet his eyes. They betray him, flashing with fire as he fails to keep them from roaming all over my exposed skin. But his demeanor remains calm, controlled as he waits for me to make my move. The only sound in the bathroom is the rush of the sizzling water and my breath that is growing more fevered by the moment.

  His body is tanned and hard, thick where the muscle hides just under the skin. The water swirls with the dark hair that covers him like a map. It’s not too much, but just enough to be masculine and powerful. I want to run my fingers through the thicker patch smattering his chest that looks like it’s about to burst.

  Then there’s his hand; wrapped firmly around his dick as if he was pleasuring himself right before I walked in. It’s a bold move when you’re a guest in someone’s house. He must have been really in need. Maybe he needed me?

  And then the switch flips.

  I stop caring that I might seem foolish and forward. I stop caring that he’s a professional and this is so, so wrong. I stop caring that he said we’d go back to our lives after this is over.

  I just want him, even if it’s just for now.

  I close my eyes and step into the shower, letting the scalding water rush over my head and down my face.

  “Joanna.” My name on his lips sends a shiver through my body that feels like ice water.

  “I know. I don’t care.” I whisper, putting a hand on his chest and tilting my head up, waiting for his kiss.

  His lips connect with mine and the feeling explodes over me like fireworks. I press into his chest as he wraps his arms around me, our slippery skin sliding against each other like silk. He feels good, like coming home after a long car ride.

  His fingers lace around the base of my spine and pull me tight against him, letting his cock rub against my stomach as he rocks us back and forth. I press my tongue against his lips that part to let me inside. He teases me, nibbling at my mouth as we make out like teenagers.

  When was the last time a guy actually wanted to just kiss me? Most of the time, it feels like they’re just doing it to get to the prize between my legs. They kiss me until they think they’ve done enough that I’ll let them fuck me.

  But not Michael. No, he’s taking his time, exploring my mouth and settling into the motion of our lips against one another. He’s actually enjoying this and moaning when I run my hands along his ribs.

  Michael runs a hand down my hip and draws circles on my ass with a finger, trailing lazy lines through the water cascading over us. Finally, he chances a handful and groans into my lips as he feels the weight of it.

  “Damn, these curves are even better out of your clothes.”

  His other hand walks its way up my back before coming over my shoulder to stroke the top of my breast.

  It’s a new sensation that I’ve never felt before. I’m so used to men going straight to the nipple and turning it like a key in the ignition. I thought I didn’t like my breasts being touched, but this is so different, sensual.

  He slowly draws a line around and up my breast, gently lifting it and running his hand around it, circling in towards the nipple, but never quite touching it. I want to grab his hand and force it, but the anticipation is so nice that I let him continue his slow and steady pace.

  When he does finally take my bud between his fingers, my body explodes with pent-up arousal. I almost collapse into him, but his other hand still on my butt holds me steady.

  “Can I take you to bed?” I giggle at his old-fashioned question.

  “You don’t want to just do it here?”

  He smiles slyly and shakes his head slowly. “Oh, honey, I would love to take you right now, but the water is going cold.”

  I was so focused on him that I didn’t even notice the water that was once boiling is now quickly turning icy. Damn this apartment and its shoddy water heaters.

  I jump out and grab a towel, wrapping it around me. Michael puts a hand to his chest like I’ve just struck him with a bullet.

  “How could you?” he teases.

  “I still have to sleep in that bed tonight and I’m not changing the sheets.”

  He reaches for the towel, but I swat his hand away and run into the main room, him on my heels with his own towel wrapped around his waist.

  Suddenly, the playful lust that was dancing across his face moments ago is gone as he stares at me reclining on the bed, propped up on one elbow.

  “This isn’t right.” He mutters and pulls the towel tight around his waist, “I’m supposed to be protecting you. But I’m losing my focus just thinking about you. If I actually make love to you
, I’m not sure I’ll be able to make the choices I have to when the time comes.”

  I blush hard. Who is this man with his beautiful words? Make love? No one says that, especially not to a woman they barely know. But somehow it fits, and I let myself sink into it.

  Yes, I want to make love to him, not just fuck him like some party boy I picked up at a bar.

  But my chance to do that is slipping away. I have to make him get in this bed, make him understand that the safest place for me is in his arms.

  “Won’t you fight harder for me after? I mean, a man defending his woman is the most dangerous thing there is, right?”

  The wrinkles in his forehead smooth out and his hands unclench. “I guess, if you were mine, I could keep you safe all the time.”

  I nod and hold a hand out to him, letting the towel fall away from my chest. He descends on me like a hungry lion, burying his face in my breasts and sighing. I can feel every knot in him unkink as he feasts on my chest, licking and sucking any bit of flesh he can get his mouth on.

  His fingers pull apart my folds and quickly find my clit. He dips his fingers into my juices and pulls them up to coat my sensitive bud, spinning circles like a machine. I press my lips into his dark hair and groan, my sounds only coaxing him to move faster.

  His strokes are masterful and within minutes I’m panting, my body completely out of my control. All I can feel is his fingers working me and the soft brush of his hair against my fingertips. I want to tell him how amazing it feels, but my lips don’t work.

  I buck sharply against his hand as the wave of pleasure rips through me, my orgasm making every muscle in my body spasm in delight at once. It’s almost too much and I’m worried I’ve hurt him when I look down and see the red impressions in his head where my nails have dug into his scalp.

  “I’m so sorry,” I pant, “Are you okay?” I rub the spot where I’ve marked him and he laughs.

  “You think you could hurt me, little dove?” He says, getting to his knees and puffing out his chest. “I’m invincible when it comes to you.”

  The towel slips from around his waist and his swollen and red member bursts free. He’s still raging hard, but without his hand in the way, I can appreciate the size and shape of him. He’s wide and covered in thick, pulsing veins that make my toes curl just thinking about them stroking my inner walls.

  “I’m more worried about what I’m going to do to you.” He growls and smirks, pressing me fully onto my back and spreading my legs wide. Michael looks down at my pussy that’s still soaking and quivering, spread out for him like a buffet. “You’ll tell me if it hurts?”

  Michael dips his fingers in between my lips and spreads my juices up and down his shaft where they mingle with his pre-cum, prepping himself to enter me.

  “What if I want it to hurt?” I say through clenched teeth.

  “I can be whoever you want me to be,” he grabs my thigh and presses his fingers hard into the delicate flesh, pulling a gasp from my throat, “Whatever you want, you can have it.”

  Without warning, he slams into me, knocking the breath out of me. I lift from the bed and cling to him as he stops to let me adjust to the girth that’s invaded my body. It hurt taking his full length at once, but it hurt good. I wanted all of him and he delivered.

  When I let go and sink back into the bed, he pulls my leg up high on his chest and starts riding me hard. In the frenzy, his mouth finds mine and grounds me, kissing me through the passion. The world is standing still between our faces even if the rest of our bodies are in a chaos of desperate need.

  “I love you, Joanna,” he mutters into my lips as his body contracts and shakes, his cock emptying inside me.

  It’s a big word, one no man has ever said to me before and I don’t know if I can say it back. I know I can’t, but what else is there to say?

  So, I just press my lips into his before pulling his chest to mine as he collapses to the side of me.

  After a few moments, he moves like he’s about to get up, but I hold him fast. I’m not ready for this to be over, not yet.

  “Stay with me. Please.”

  Silently, he slides back in beside me and cradles my head across his stomach, stroking my hair and the tears start to roll down my face.

  “What’s going on in that beautiful head of yours?” He says, leaning down to meet my eye.

  “I’m scared.” The words just barely make it out of me. It’s the creeping thing I’ve been trying to hide, the emotion I’ve stuffed down deep in my gut until my stomach ached. I’m scared of my stalker.

  And now that I have Michael, I’m terrified. There’s so much more to lose now.

  “I know.” He kisses my head and slips down, bringing me into the curve of his strong arm. “But I’m not going to let him hurt you. I swear on my life, Joanna. I will always protect you.”

  Chapter 5

  Michael

  I want to lay like this forever and keep her pressed against me, but it’s early afternoon and that breakfast she made me has already made its way through my stomach.

  “How about you let me take you out to lunch?” I kiss the soft hair at the apex of her forehead and nuzzle her deeper into my arms.

  “You already bought me dinner yesterday. Why not let me take you to lunch?” She flips onto her stomach and props her chin up with one hand. Her hair is a wet mess falling around her face and her pink lips are turned up into the sweetest, playful smile. God, she is beautiful.

  “Because I’m a gentleman.” I wink at her and she rolls her eyes.

  “I mean, I’m not going to turn down free food, but the offer is still on the table if you want. So, do you know anymore hidden gems in this neighborhood that, apparently, I don’t know that well?”

  “Of course, but it depends on what you’re in the mood for. You thinking pizza or kebabs?”

  She bites her lower lip and looks to the ceiling, dropping her free hand to her stomach as if she’s divining a crystal ball.

  “I’m thinking kebab. But if they don’t make a mean cheesy chips then I’m not interested.” Joanna rolls away from me and springs out of bed, her body jiggling deliciously as she makes her way to her closet and pulls out a short sundress that is almost more appealing than her stark nakedness.

  She skips over to the door and slips on some thongs before doing a little twirl.

  “I’m ready. Get your lazy arse out of bed.”

  I cock an eyebrow and smirk, “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

  She narrows her eyes, returning my cheeky smile. “No.”

  “Hmm,” I grunt as I pull the only change of clothes I have out of my bag and start to pull them on. “I didn’t think you were a no panties kind of girl.

  Joanna giggles, coming up behind me and wrapping her hands around my waist while I zip my jeans.

  “I can put some on if you want me to.”

  I spin around and plant a thick kiss on her mouth, pulling up the edge of her dress and flicking my fingers across her exposed slit.

  “No, I like you just as you are.”

  The walk to the kebab shop is a little longer than the walk last night, but it’s better than trying to drive through mid-day London traffic. Besides, it gives me a chance to actually get to know the woman I professed my love for.

  Damn my stupid mouth.

  I’ve always held that word in such high esteem, saving it until the last moment. Not that I’ve said it to many women, but I’ve never been the first to say it.

  And I never thought I’d say it to someone I’ve only known a few weeks.

  But as we walk through the hurried streets and the whole world falls away except for her, I know I meant it. When I told her I loved her, I meant it more than I ever have before. I thought I’d been in love, but those other women were nothing like her. No, she’s the one I’ve been trudging through the darkness of life for. She’s my light at the end of the tunnel.

  We split an order of cheesy chips and devour our kebabs. I don’t want to presume a
nything, but in my mind, the faster we eat, the faster we get to go home and do it again. Judging from the look in her eye as we race out the door, I think we’re on the same page.

  Back at her apartment, I start to lift her skirt as she fumbles with the key to her door. My cock is already rock-solid again and all I want is to flip her over the back of the futon and fuck her hard.

  But something stops her when she finally gets the key in the lock. She freezes just for a moment and all the hair on her arms goes up.

  “What’s wrong.” I drop her skirt and place my hands on her shoulders, letting her know I’m right here with her.

  “Nothing. I guess-no, it’s really nothing. Just got a weird feeling.”

  “It’s never nothing. Always trust your gut.” I slide in front of her and reach around to hold her arm, “Stay close and keep your eyes open.” I slip the switchblade out of my pocket and ready it to do battle.

  I slowly push the door open, scanning the room for any signs of movement. Everything looks just as we left it down to the wet towels left thrown across the room. But I trust Joanna and I know that if she’s feeling uneasy then something is up.

  Then I see it, the window to the basement. It’s not open. No, not open exactly, but it is cracked. It’s so slight you wouldn’t even know it if you weren’t looking for it. Someone has opened it and I bet I know who.

  I creep along the wall pressing her body between me and the wallpaper. Until I find this asshole, I’m not letting her further away from me than I can touch.

  We first clear the kitchen, where there’s nowhere to hide, and then fly through the bathroom. The only place he could hide in there is the shower and the curtain is still pushed to the side. That only leaves two places he could be hiding: the bed or the closet.

  “I need you to sit on the bed,” I whisper.