Sassy, Sexy, and Stalked

by Wall, Shelley

  She frowned.

  “You trust me?” His words buzzed against her lips.

  “I trust you.”

  “Good.” He rolled her onto the floor and lowered above, balancing his weight on his forearms. He shoved a leg between her thighs to help keep his weight away; leaned down to plant another succulent, wet kiss on her lips. His pants dislodged and they were skin on skin, torso to torso. When he pressed against her, suddenly Reva hit clarity. This was it. They either forged forward or not.

  Forward, definitely. The thud of her heartbeat pounded in her ears. Wait.

  “Do you have a condom?” she breathed. She felt his heart against her chest as it mimicked hers. He sucked in air and stilled.

  “Crap. Not with me. Hadn’t really intended to be here, doing—this. I was trying to chase away a peeping tom, remember? I never dreamed I’d. Shit. This wasn’t even a remote possibility at the time.” Todd rolled to his back and left a hand lazily tracing circles on her stomach. His chest heaved up and down.

  “You could go get one.”

  “I’m not leaving. He may still be out there.”

  “Then I could go get it if you tell me where to look.”

  “Yeah, there’s an option. No. Not happening.” He pulled his hand away. Reva wanted to cry. Or scream. No, don’t stop.

  “Then we don’t?” she asked.

  He leveled his eyes on her. “Guess not.”

  “Hmmm.” She sat up and put a hand on his stomach. What a fine looking man. And now, he was backing off, doing the good guy routine again. Which was good. He was right. It couldn’t go any farther. Not like this. “Okay. Get up and get your clothes on,” she mumbled. He obliged.

  Reva stood and pulled the tank over her head and shimmied it down to her waist. She tugged the pajama shorts up. Hands on her hips, she tapped her foot. She tapped. And tapped some more. “Nope,” she said. “This isn’t going to work. Come on.”

  Reva tugged his hand and pulled Todd out the back door, down the steps, and across the yard. “Boost me up.” She stepped onto his knee, and waited for him to raise her over the fence.

  “So, we’re going to my house? You sure you want me lifting you up? The last time we tried this, it didn’t end well.”

  “There’s no tree involved so we should be good.”

  Todd laughed. She wasn’t sure if his amusement was with the comment or her desperation to finish what they’d started. He bolstered her up and waited as Reva levered a leg over the fence and dropped to his lawn. “I’m good,” she whispered.

  He boosted himself over and dropped to Reva’s side. Okay, back on track now. Reva was certain if they didn’t get inside and finish this, she’d melt in a puddle of hormones right on the grass holding his hand. He tightened his grip on her fingers and practically ran with her into the house. Neither bothered to look back.

  “For someone that’s so concerned about my safety, you might take a few precautions yourself,” Reva noted the unlocked door as she pushed through with his fingers doing that sexy, swirly thing on her lower back.

  Todd flung the door closed and flipped the lock, then pressed Reva against it. “How’s that?” he asked with his lips hard against hers. Reva answered by curving her legs to pillow his thighs and lifting up as his hands slid to cup her butt against him.

  That’s when Todd’s foot hit the edge of the toy box that Eric left by the door and he grimaced as pain shot up his leg.

  “Holy Mother of...” He tried to hop but her weight caught him off balance. Another flick of pain must have shot through his shin, because he dropped a hand to rub it. He tried to keep a good grasp on Reva with the other hand but she slipped. Down his thighs. Right down onto the carpet. Thud.

  “Oh, man. I’m sorry. I—Eric’s toys—I didn’t mean that.”

  Todd reached down to gather Reva up. She glanced at his couch. Naw, too small. This’ll work. One hand was lodged under her behind but she freed the other to reach up. And twist into the shirt that stretched over his chest. She gave a soft tug and he fell on top of her on the carpet.

  “Oof. How bad did I squash you?” he huffed against her forehead.

  Reva couldn’t help but laugh. What a pair. Mister Klutz and Miss Clunker. Todd rose and bumped his head against the lamp by his chair. It crashed to the floor.

  Reva clamped a hand over her mouth to stifle any further outbursts. It wasn’t exactly the appropriate time for that. “So, where are they?” she whispered when she had gained control.

  “Huh?”

  “The condoms?”

  “Oh.” He bear-crawled away and disappeared for a few seconds then returned. “You sure about this?” He asked upon return.

  “Very.” Damn, he’s not changing his mind now?

  “Good. Then I just have one small request. Okay?” He hesitated. “I know it’s more exciting here on the floor and all, and God, you look sexy—I just think we’re likely to kill each other if we don’t start out a little slower.”

  He is changing his mind. “Sure, I’m sorry. I’ll just—um.” She stood and smoothed her top down. Awkward. Just reach for the door and go. Reva stared at the doorknob.

  “Oh, no you don’t.” Todd’s arms slipped firmly around her waist and pulled her backward. “This way, girl. Not that.”

  “You said slower,” Reva mumbled as she stepped back in a moonwalk, stumbling over his feet as he pulled her along the hallway.

  “I didn’t say stop. If we’d kept going at the rate we were, we’d probably need a trip to the hospital. Broken lamps, falling on the floor, busted kneecap. Here we are.” Todd turned her to face his room. The soft glow of a lamp left long shadows across the dark brown sheets. He grinned. “Call me old-fashioned but a bed sounds a lot better than carpet-burn or broken glass in the ass.”

  “Oh.”

  “You sound disappointed.”

  Disappointed? Todd lifted Reva’s tank and dispensed with it in seconds. He hooked his thumbs in the waist of the shorts and dropped them to the floor. An odd blanket of self-consciousness covered her as he stepped away and admired. “The only thing that disappoints me right now is how many times we’ve dropped our clothes and had interruptions.”

  Todd let Reva tug his shirt over his head again. When his arms caught, he grabbed a fistful of cloth and flung it. Likewise, he shucked his pants in record time. She would have liked to slow him down but the anticipation prevented it. They’d had all the disruptions needed for one night. This was almost like launching a space shuttle. Mission in sight, staff on board, time for launch.

  She ran a hand down his torso until her fingers came in contact with the hard, heated length of him that pressed into her hip. Todd groaned. He captured her wrists as she started to move, then tossed her to the mattress. One knee firmly planted between her thighs and pressed against the very heat of her own waiting body, he trailed kisses from her neck to navel. She reached for him again but he dodged her fingers. Raising his own index finger to her nose, he wagged it and said, “No, you first.”

  Gulp. Really?

  He lowered back to her belly and she felt hot air as he licked and blew over the skin. His veiled eyes glanced at her before he lowered that warmth further. All Reva could do was watch. Mesmerized. The tingle that trickled across her lower region and warmed from his touch made her want to smile back, but she didn’t dare for fear he’d stop. She didn’t move. Or at least she didn’t intend to, but wow. He brushed his thumb across there and then followed it with his tongue. When he stroked again, she clutched into his shoulder and bit out a soft squeal. She had to touch him. Surely he wanted her to? She pulled on his hair to bring him to her.

  “Did I do that?” she asked. Todd glanced at the red marks where her fingers had clung moments earlier. He shrugged. She watched the shoulder muscles in his back roll as he dragged his body up until he could take her lips. He licked and sucked as intensely as he’d worked the rest of her. She melted her hips against his, completely aware of the very tip of his hardness pressed
where his thumb and lips had been.

  “Your turn,” Reva whispered as she moved her legs to give room.

  “In a minute.” He settled in comfortably but didn’t force it. “I wasn’t finished. You weren’t.”

  No, she wanted him to like this. It wasn’t about her. She needed him to enjoy so she took control. She rolled over him and lowered her hips slowly.

  “Wait.” Todd sucked in a breath. “Not yet,” he protested, but she ignored it. Reva slipped down further, until she had him completely engulfed inside. When his eyes rolled closed and he palmed her hips, she stroked again.

  That was the moment he gave in. She felt it in the way he tugged her tighter and thrust to put their movements in synch. Yes, he liked it. Her. When he buried his face in her shoulder and blurted out a soft curse as he thrust again and again, his shoulders bunched along with the string of muscles down his back. Todd’s body racked and quivered inside her as he came. Reva didn’t stop moving until he let out an exhausted laugh and gripped her tightly. “I’m spent, honey. I’m spent.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Damned nosy neighbor. It’s a fricking Peyton Place around her house with everyone always staring at the cars and people as they pass. Why had she wanted to live in a place like that? There’s absolutely no privacy. Adam hadn’t anticipated one of the neighbors would peer through the fence at her. The cell phone warned him of the person’s presence. Had it happened a few seconds later, he would have been fully bathed in the light of her back window and therefore easily identified. Not that it mattered. He had no criminal background so seeing him wouldn’t necessarily mean much.

  Still, it angered him that so many people in her neighborhood had an inordinate amount of interest in each other. It had become impossible to meander past her house in the daylight. He shrugged as he waited at the drive-thru for his food to be delivered. He glanced at his watch. Nine p.m. She had worked late tonight. Obviously, she had no life. He grinned at the person in the window that passed his food out. Or maybe it hadn’t been work. Adam remembered the body lock he’d seen her in with the dark-haired guy the other night.

  It didn’t make sense that someone who got that much action would be so difficult to get along with. So demanding. Normally, that made them more relaxed, not less. He grabbed some fries out of the bag and headed to his place. He mused that his habit of going by her house might be misconstrued by some. In truth, he’d never intended to keep going by, but he found it interesting. The first time it was just curiosity—a need to see what her life was like and perhaps better understand the way she treated him. Unfortunately, he saw nothing—not even her. So, he’d continued to drive by until he got a glimpse of her pulling mail from her mailbox. She hadn’t even noticed him pass by within forty feet. So, he kept going. He kept watching. It was a bit like watching a car accident. You knew it was a bad thing and perhaps dangerous, yet you couldn’t avert your eyes.

  It was too pretty of a night to go home and a drive by Reva’s was out of the question. Not with all her nosy neighbors. Adam coasted into Beason Park, near his home, around 9:40 and doused the headlights when he’d come to a full stop at the far edge. He left the stereo blaring with his favorite tune from Kenny Chesney. He leaned the seat back. The weather was a bit muggy and he rolled down the windows to defog the glass.

  A tap on the back fender startled him and he swiveled around to view the intruder.

  “You mind turning that down? It’s too peaceful out here to listen to that crap.”

  “You don’t like good music? Or just anti-American?” Adam had lost all patience and certainly hadn’t the mood to deal with a complaining vagrant. “Go find a bench or something to lay on.” He flittered his hand in a get lost gesture and slid the windows of the truck back up. The door jerked open and a small, fragile hand with inch-long red fingernails lunged in front. It turned the key in the ignition, pulled them out, then tossed them to the floor.

  “Honey, I’m as American as it gets, but on a night like this I want to listen to the crickets or the locusts, not some asshole’s radio. And I never hang out on the benches in this park, not even in the daylight.”

  He noted that the woman smelled like trees, and flowers. It seemed an odd combination.

  He had ignored the voice, the hands, everything to that point. He’d written the girl off as a vagrant. When she pulled the door open, he was immobilized briefly by the shock of the action. When Adam regained his control, he bailed out of the car and attempted to tower his six foot height over the woman.

  “You don’t scare me,” she said.

  He noticed her hair was brown like Reva’s, yet she had more of a mouth. She put one hand on her hip and rested the other one behind her in the waistband of her jeans. “Whatever you’re doing here, you’re up to no good. This is a nice park and we don’t need any perverts hanging around. Now go on and get out of here.”

  “I’m no pervert.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  The glittering spark of car lights caught Reva’s attention as they shone through the side window of Todd’s room. She was disoriented for a second then came to terms with the situation. An arm sprawled over her waist and the warmth of Todd’s body snuggled against her back. The soft huff of his breathing tickled her neck.

  She rolled to her back and he stirred. The bright light of the numbers on his clock told her that if she didn’t get up and shower, she’d be late for work. Yet, the warmth of him against her invited laziness. “I need to go to work,” she whispered.

  Todd opened his eyes and leaned in to kiss her. “No problem.”

  She liked the way his hair arched up from his pillow and how the dark shadow of whiskers lined his face and chin. When his mouth touched hers, she felt the same excitement she’d felt when he massaged her skin the night before. Without thinking, she dropped a hand down his back and pulled his hips in against her. He groaned. “I’m getting mixed signals here. What you’re doing and what you’re saying don’t exactly match up.”

  She smiled and shrugged. “Sorry.”

  Reva slipped out of Todd’s bed. She pulled her pajamas back on, thankful that it was dark out and the neighbors wouldn’t see her return.

  “I’ll drive you Reva.” It was awkward. She sensed hesitance. He tugged his jeans over his hips and fastened them.

  “No, I can just hop back over the fence.”

  He pulled her to him and put a hand under her chin to lift her eyes to his. “Surely we don’t need to sneak around like we’re still in high school, do we?”

  “Of course not, but I’m in my night clothes. I don’t want people to see me like this and think—” She strung her fingers through the tangles in her hair.

  “That we just slept together? Do you really think they care? Besides I don’t think it’ll shock anyone.”

  “I just want to go home without being seen.”

  “Without being seen or without being seen with me?”

  “The first one. Look at me. I’m a mess.”

  “You’re gorgeous. Drop dead gorgeous. If you want to go over the fence, fine, but I’m going with you.”

  “Why?”

  “I want to walk through your place real quick just to be safe. Okay?”

  She pulled her robe tight and waited while he slipped his t-shirt over the abs that had earlier warmed her back. A brief smile escaped her lips.

  Later, in the office, Reva’s thoughts continued to stray back to the night before and the change that occurred. She found herself forced to block it out and consciously focused on the projects meeting she had arranged on Adam’s implementation. He had continuously refused to take advantage of the help of his team members so she’d taken the initiative and assigned two staff to him. The meeting would be their first. She wanted to jot down a few notes before they arrived.

  With her head down and focused, the tap on the door startled her. She jerked up, realizing she had daydreamed again. Her eyes had glazed over as she pretended to focus on writing notes, but her thoughts
had gone elsewhere. She had remembered her fingers sliding over the tiny scar on Todd’s hip, a small white discoloration. She’d have to ask about that. She didn’t know why but she had a newfound preoccupation with scars and their sources.

  “Hey, are you okay this morning?”

  Adam looked jumpy. He hung his head in the door but seemed ready to run at the slightest need. “Yeah, sure. Why?”

  “What’s the meeting for? Is there a problem?” He looked over his shoulder at approaching voices.

  “Not really. I just assigned some people to your team and wanted to meet to discuss the remainder of the project.”

  She registered the annoyance in his expression but there was something else too. It almost resembled—relief? That was strange. Reva shook her head.

  “Okay, Good. See you in a bit.” The sound of his footsteps on the carpet receded down the hall.

  The meeting started late and went downhill from there. Adam had arrived twenty minutes after the arranged time. He apologized and stated that he had been in one of the executive’s offices and it delayed him. A smug grin accompanied his announcement before he launched into a monologue as if the room had waited for his grand entrance. To Reva’s annoyance, they had. She noted it as one more reason his project had gone nowhere while others progressed smoothly. Adam was easily sidetracked, wanted complete control of every detail, and didn’t have the needed experience to delegate properly and control interruptions.

  Adam announced to the new group members what he expected of them and why “he’d suggested” they be part of the group. Really? Reva frowned. When he stopped and took a drink from the Diet Coke he’d brought with him, Reva cleared her throat.

  “So, let’s get a few things clear before we move forward.” She handed a stack of papers to each person. “These are copies of the project plan that we updated to include the division of responsibilities. I want everyone to understand that their part of this project is important to its success and staying within the timeline specified on the plan is necessary. You were invited to participate due to the large scope of the project and the need to delegate some of the responsibilities.” She paused to look at each person. Perhaps she should clarify that it was not at Adam’s request to include them, or that he had actually been rather defiant. Doing so would have been more accurate. And belittle Adam. As much as he deserved it, she suppressed the desire.