Page 10 of Stalked By the Linebacker

“No take-backs?” I repeated. “I didn’t say anything,” I half-heartedly argued, but what I didn’t do was step back. If anything, it felt like I swayed closer. My eyes dropped between us, and I noticed my free hand was on his chest.When did I start touching him?

“You didn’t have to.” There was a scratchy thickness to his tone.

“Crank,” I started to say, but he shook his head and dipped down lower. Suddenly, I didn’t need to crane my neck to see him.

It felt like we were at eye level.

His chest brushed against mine as I took deep breaths. His scent filled my lungs with every inhale.

“Hector,” he corrected, and I blinked. My eyes dropped to his lips. Hector had a great mouth. Not only that, but his jaw was scruffy. Like he hadn’t shaved in a day, maybe two.What would it feel like to kiss him?I wondered, and my face heated up. I could only imagine how I blushed.

I opened my mouth to say something, what I wasn’t sure, when the bell over the door sounded, and I jumped back from his touch. His hand let go of mine.

“Hi,” I squeaked.What just happened?Had I really been about to kiss him?

I shook the thought away and glanced at the familiar man who walked in. Rodger was one of our regulars. A long-haul truck driver I had befriended a couple of months ago.

“Hey, hun! Long time no see.” He smiled and waved.

“Hey! Grab whatever seat you would like, and I’ll be right with you.” He nodded, and I glanced over my shoulder.

Hector’s attention was laser-focused on me, like I was the only person in the diner. An energy I couldn’t exactly name bounced between us. Warmth pooled between my legs. I had a feeling he knew the effect he had on my body. I wasn’t sure what had just happened or how the hell I was going to get out of going out with him, or which way was up for that matter.

He was off limits.

I couldn’t date him or see him or hook up with him no matter how much I wanted to. He was my best friend’s older brother. The prodigal son of the family who had taken me in. The only family I had.

Yet every step I took away from Hector felt wrong. I had a feeling I wasn’t going to cancel anything. I was going to live a little. I just had to make sure not to mess up.

I could do that.Right?

CHAPTER 2

CRANK

I was so fuckinghard I could probably pound nails with my dick. My hands were fucking sweating while my entire body throbbed.

I’d almost kissed her.

Right there in the middle of the fucking diner.

I didn’t know if I wanted to gauge the old guy’s eyes for interrupting or thank him for stopping me from making a colossal mistake. If I’d kissed her right then and there, there would have been no way one kiss would have been enough. Not with how amped up I felt. Not with so many flat surfaces surrounding us I could have hitched her up onto and had my merry way with her.

Libby had wanted me to kiss her.

I’d seen it in her eyes.

The curious needy look in her gaze had been there long after she helped out the truck driver and when a couple of early riser regulars had popped by. It made me think my girl was a lot more innocent than I had first assumed. And fuck me, now I was waiting on pins and needles for her to come out of the backroom.

“Night, kid!” The cook waved, and I nodded. Not a minute later, she slipped out, and I felt like I could breathe. Our eyes connected, and I didn’t like the way hers immediately dropped to the ground.

Damn it! The skittish girl I’d thought had become more comfortable around me seemed to be back. I opened the door, and she brushed against me. Her soft fruity scent enveloped me despite the fresh air of the cool morning, and all I wanted to do was dip my face into the crook of her neck and not stop until I found the exact spot she’d spritzed. I had no idea how the fuck she always smelled so damn good! Like berries mixed with sugar and cream.

We walked side by side without a word straight to the back lot where my truck was parked. I usually didn’t drive it, but it had been getting a couple of miles on it this summer when I discovered she usually walked home or took the bus back to campus after her night shifts. There was no way I was going to let her walk after a long shift, especially not alone. There was hardly anything she did on her own now, not that she actually knew that.

Nope. There were moments I hid in the shadows, watching from afar, because I wasn’t going to miss a thing when it came to Libby.

I opened the passenger side door like usual. And like usual, those wide hazel eyes looked up at me behind those bulky glasses. There was an innocence in her gaze, one that made me feel guilty for all the shit I’d done the last few weeks. Shit she was clueless about but I knew deep down I wouldn’t stop doing.

---