She turned off the tap and almost slipped on the bathroom floor as she hurried to get dressed.
The steak and mashed potatoes with pickled cucumbers she ordered were almost done. She finished off the last pieces as she waved the waiter to clear the table. Her head was better now and her hangover just a memory.
The waiter asked what she wanted to drink. Trying to decide between a cappuccino and a long espresso while fiddling with her phone, something caught her eye. Well, someone actually. She rotated her head in the direction of the guy her brain suddenly had decided to watch. To mentally drool about. Even if she only had looked at him only for a few minutes this morning, she could already recognize him. The tanned wide shoulders and the bulging biceps.The wavy medium-length rich dark-chocolate hair. He wore a plain white tee-shirt and jeans as blue as a mountain lake in the afternoon light. As he moved, she watched his back muscles contract, seeming to have a mind of their own to lure her in. She couldn’t do anything but stare for what seemed like eternity.
The waiter hadn’t left yet and she turned to ask him who that man was. As she looked in the direction she was pointing, she could see why the waiter was so confused. There wasn’t anybody there.
She ordered a cappuccino, hoping to see him again. Then she remembered she was angry with him. It didn’t matter what he did or didn’t do. She was pissed. Period.
The woman she met had been talking for at least half an hour when Anna looked at the notes she had gathered from their conversation. They weren't very detailed, but they would suffice. Thank Heaven she could multitask, otherwise she would have been dead by now. Her client's company was in big trouble and her help was needed. She had to find a way out of this mess. The recent changes in the law forced her client to compromise in ways she wasn’t comfortable with. It wasn't the first time her mind was elsewhere, so she'd trained her hand to scribble things she could use later.
She had those notes but couldn't remember anything else. From the moment she had seen him there at the restaurant she couldn't take her mind off of him. Had he followed her? Why and how had he disappeared so fast? He had said they had to talk in the first place.
How was she supposed to work now when she could only think about him? She was going to take some time off to surprise Andrea, her super best friend, for her birthday. She’d decided that a few weeks before but last night’s events only reinforced it. She was going to drive to her house just one hour and a half outside of town so the silence and concentration driving required was more than inviting. She needed to get away from all of this mess, she had to somehow stop staring at all the men that looked like him some way or another. Even if that had been him at the restaurant, which probably wasn't even the case, it messed with her head big time. She tried to convince herself she had been wrong, it had been someone else, someone who just looked like him.
CHAPTER FOUR
“Mommy, why is there a man watching our house?” Andrea’s five-year-old boy asked, still holding onto one of the living room curtains.
Anna and Andrea were sitting comfortably on the sofa nearby, deep in conversation about their lives. They hadn’t seen each other in five months as Andrea had been too busy to do anything but work, so they were catching up. She hadn’t gotten to the part about the club and she was embarrassed and afraid to tell her best friend. She thought it was better to keep it to herself for now, until she figured it out anyway. They were having black tea with milk and chocolate chip cookies in honor of the tradition they had started at university.
“There is no man. I’ve told you about the boy who cried “wolf” so many times dear.” Andrea said without turning. “Don’t worry, this is something normal. Ever since he found out about Sherlock Holmes, he keeps imagining he is a detective trying to solve a case so it’s either this or he has found something buried in the back garden” the woman continued, visibly amused.
“Kids do have a rich imagination,” Anna concluded. She didn’t know much about kids and wanted to keep it that way, but this was a fact she was sure of.
“No, mum, really. There is a man in a car I don’t know looking straight at me,” the boy said with even more conviction than before. It was clear he believed it and wasn’t going to drop it soon. He almost ran to get to the couch faster and get his mother’s attention. She didn’t look convinced so he tugged at her t-shirt, leading her to the window. She got up patiently, as if she had done this a thousand times, and looked out the window only to gasp when she got there.
“He is right. There is a man there,” she admitted, gesturing for Anna to come and look.
Anna didn’t waste much time and was at the window as fast as she could. Horror and panic washed through her.
Oh. My. God.
It was him. Why was he here? She was sure now that he’d followed her, but how? The road on her way here had been clear and there hadn’t been any cars behind her. She was so stunned she didn’t even blink.
“Anna? Are you alright? You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Do you know that man?” her friend demanded, but Anna couldn’t do anything other than stare. Again. She decided she had to do something about the stalker. A good-looking one, but still a stalker.
Do something. Say something. She asked you a question. Go talk to him. Do something, Anna! Her brain screamed desperately at her. Yes, she was going to do something. She was so angry she could tear him apart. Her legs got the subtle hint and she stormed out of the room followed by the little detective. He wanted to interrogate his suspect. His mother was too shocked to stop him anyway.
Reaching the front gate, she pushed it so hard it rattled in its hinges. When she was out in the street he finally decided to get out of the car. She couldn’t read another expression on his face other than amusement. Again. What was so funny he had to keep that smirk on his face? He wasn’t wearing the same clothes as yesterday at the restaurant, but she was now sure he had followed her there too.
Before any of them got a chance to say a word, the little brave detective behind Anna stomped in front of her, separating them in the process, and broke the silence.
“I’m Chris. Who are you? What car is that? Why are you here? Who do you work for? Are you here to hurt us?”he let out all of those questions as if he was scared that taking a break would give his suspect time to flee. Now he was staring up at the mountain of a man in front of him, waiting for answers. His tiny arms were crossed and he had a defensive position. Who did he think he was protecting? It looked like a pretty comical situation to Adam.
“Wohooo, little man. Take it easy. I’m Adam and I’m not here to hurt you or your family. I’m just here to talk to your mom,” he said, pointing to Anna but confused now that another woman had come out of the house and was headed their way. He crouched, kneeling on his right leg in front of the boy and held his hands up in a surrendering gesture.
“Come here, Chris” the woman said as she approached them.
“Wait mum, he has to tell me about his car,” the boy said excitedly.
Adam laughed and stood. “So that’s what you really wanted. It’s a Nissan Pathfinder. Do you want to see the inside?” he asked pleased someone was giving him some attention finally.
“I don’t think that would be necessary,” Andrea said as she grabbed and lifted the naughty boy in her arms.
“I agree with that,” Anna was finally able to say.
“Oh, mum! Why not? I like it a lot! I want to see it,” he protested.
“Are you alright, Anna? Do you want me to call the police?” Andrea asked her with a worried voice.
“No, it’s fine. I can handle him. Just go inside. I’ll be right there.”
“Sorry, little man. Mum’s orders,” he said apologetically as he watched both of them head back inside.
“Why are you here, Adam?” she asked with a composed voice, reminding him of the calm before the storm.
He was impressed. She’d heard his name once but had already regis
tered it. It meant he had a chance. The way it sounded coming from her lips was exquisite and he wanted to hear it again and again. A vision of her wrapped around him while coming and screaming his name assaulted his mind. Fuck. She was so hot when she was angry.
“I was about to ask you the same thing. Why did you leave town? Are you afraid of me?”
“I had my reasons for leaving. It’s none of your business what I do. Why are you following me?”
“I had to make sure you were okay after the stunt you pulled on me that night,” he admitted confidently, and it was this attitude of his that made her angry.
“You had to. Seriously? You’re nuts. I should have called the police yesterday morning. I really should have.”
“And what would you have told them?”
“What happened, that’s what. And you’d be in jail right now for rape and kidnapping.”
“Stop for a second and listen to yourself. I’m not here to fight. I just wanted to make sure everything was fine.” And you weren’t running from me, his mind voiced the feelings of his bear, but he refused to say that.
“And now that you’ve done your duty and checked on me… leave. I don’t want to see you ever again!” she shouted at him.
“You don’t really mean that. I know you don’t.” No sooner had he finished saying the words than she came closer to him, lifted her right hand and reached out to slap him for the nonsense he’d just said. He was faster than her though, and with one hand he blocked her attack while with the other he pulled her against his chest. He leaned down and kissed her before she could even comprehend what was happening. All of it happened in a blink of an eye and their lips clashed desperately in an attempt to find common ground some way.
She was too shocked by what he had done to be able to move. She wouldn’t have moved even if she could. He was determined to get his way with her and his sheer strength was something she couldn’t compete with. She wanted to kick him in the balls, claw his eyes out, bite his lips, something to show him she was not to be messed with either, but something inside her refused to obey her mental command. Her body stiffened as his warm, soft lips touched hers. She wasn’t expecting such a violent, yet tender union. Her lips were convinced to give in and grant him access to possess her mouth and soul at the same time by an unknown force. The same force asked her to trust him. He was indeed melting away her defense systems.
His bear wanted to taste her, all of her. From head to toes. Adam didn’t know how much longer he could keep it under control.
She didn’t resist it anymore. She allowed him to do whatever he pleased. She parted her lips and tasted his tongue. It had a slight tinge of salt and a maddening aroma of addiction.
“Be mine,” he whispered. “I can help you deal with all that anger, baby. You can take it out on me while I fuck you thoroughly and then you can really tell me to leave if you want to.” This was indeed his bear talking, but his gut was telling him it might be a way to get closer to her.
She couldn’t believe her ears. Such a mountain of a man telling her, a woman with more curves than she would like to admit, something like that. She didn’t know how serious he was. She played it cool though. “So that’s what you want,” she laughed. She couldn’t admit how hot his offer was.
That wasn’t exactly it, it was only the first step and if she accepted this one, then he would think about the rest later.
“I am serious. I think you can feel it too.” He pulled her even closer and moved his pelvis for her to feel what she did to him.
He let go of her arm. She rested her head on his chest.
After a few silent moments he said “Baby, we need to talk.”
She lifted her head. “Don’t call me that. I’m still thinking of hitting you and calling the police,” she said, calm still in her voice. “How did you find me anyway? Do I have a tracking device on my car?” she took two steps behind to put some distance between them.
“Well, kind of, but it’s not what you think.”
“Then please enlighten me.”
“I followed you.”
“How did you do it? I haven’t seen this car before, and there weren’t even that many cars on the way here.”
“I can’t tell you. It’s something personal and you won’t believe me anyway.” He couldn’t just share his secret and hope she would understand.
“Try me.”
“Look, Anna. If you give me a chance to explain myself, we can sit down and have a decent conversation. What do you think about that?”
“I don’t know what to say about that.”
“Say you will give me a chance.”
Anna was in Andrea’s kitchen doing the dishes.
She heard footsteps and felt a tingling warm sensation at the back of her head. It was probably Andrea or Chris. Or not. Her intuition told her she was prey and the predator was just inches behind her. She didn’t even have time to turn around and see who it was. The same arms from the club hugged her, but this time he angled his head to the right side of her body and kissed her neck, after he got her hair out of the way.
She couldn’t believe he was there. It was all too overwhelming that it didn’t even cross her mind how he had gotten inside.
He inhaled her scent and licked her neck “You are so beautiful, Anna. What am I going to do with you?” he whispered. “I feel like a horny teenager around you.”
He could say that again. It was the same for her.
The sensations his touch stirred in her body were pure torture, his fingertips moving on her arms leaving trails of fire behind. The only thing she wanted to do was undress him and give in to him. The thought of such a strong big man touching and being interested in her was the reason she felt chills on her back.
He flexed his hips, thrusting his length against her soft behind and she let out a suppressed moan. It wasn’t what he had expected so he did it again, with more force this time. That didn’t do the trick either. She bit her tongue to keep herself from moaning louder and letting others know what they were doing.
“We’re not alone,” she whispered. “It would just be embarrassing.”
“Showing me how much you want me inside of you is never embarrassing.”
With those words he resumed his touching, and their bubble was a comfortable moment suspended in time.
The stern silence was briefly interrupted by the sound of a mug shattering on the floor, which was followed by hysterical laughter. Anna’s wet dream was gone, leaving behind feelings she didn’t know were possible to have. That was the reason she was now laughing like a mad person. It was clearly the effect of too much wine, the white semi-dry one she and Andrea drank after Adam left. The wine and how tired she was.
There you have it. That’s what happens when your thoughts are everywhere but where they’re supposed to be!
All her face was flushed now and she was shaking. It was just a mug. It can be replaced.
“Munchkin! Are you okay? What happened?” Andrea shouted as she came into the spacious kitchen.
Instead of answering, Anna just decided to sit down on the floor, her back against a cupboard door, ignoring the pieces everywhere around her.
“Did you cut yourself, dear?”
“No,” she sobbed. “I hate this,” she said clutching the towel she was holding.
“My kitchen, or what do you hate exactly?”
“This… him… I don’t know. The whole situation. I’m a mess and he has to come along as well. I was handling stuff on my own terms. I had it covered and now I can’t do two coherent things one after the other. What’s wrong with me?”
“Wait. What are you talking about?” Andrea was even more confused now than when she entered the room.“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Yes. No. I don’t know. Does talking help?”
“Sometimes it does. I know you’re not the talking type when it comes to your personal life. I respect that, even though I didn’t understand it in the beginning.�
��
“He drives me crazy. I’ve never felt like this before. I’m starting to lose my head and I can’t do it again. When he leaves, I’ll be a mess for long months, years maybe, again. I just can’t afford that. I hate him for doing this to me. All I can think about is him touching me, kissing me, fucking me.”
“That hot guy. I understand now. Who is he?”
“The hottest, calmest, craziest and most stupid stalker in the world. The way he looks at me, Andrea, it’s just mind-blowing. All the connections in my brain go haywire and all I can do is give him control over my body.”
“When was the last time you got laid, Anna?”
“One year ago? Two years? I don’t really remember. I don’t like to think about Tony. He left me for that flimsy assistant of his, remember?”
“But you still haven’t told me who this guy is. How did you meet him?”
She was sure Andrea would think calling the police was the best idea in this case. After telling her what she remembered from that night in the club, her friend surprised her by telling her to hear him out. Good sex was known for putting things in perspective.
“He’s expecting me tonight, I’m afraid.”
“Why does that sound like it’s a bad thing?”
“I don’t even know him and I accepted. I have no idea why I did it. I’m so stupid!”
“You’re not stupid. Stop saying that. Haven’t you noticed how he looks at you?”
“No. How?”
“Like you’re his to protect with his life. It’s cute, even. And like you’re the most delicious lunch he is about to have.”
“I think you’re making this up. You are supposed to be on my side! Damn it. First my own body didn’t even listen to me and now you. Is there nobody on my side?”
Shifting Impulse: A BBW Bear-Shifter Romance (Complete Edition - Books 1-3) Page 3
