Page 72 of Montana Heat

But the lack of dates would hopefully correct itself once the stalker situation was dealt with. So, I decided to focus on the other part of his question.

“Not even a little bit. My parents respect hard work, first and foremost. You’ve got that in spades. Plus, you’re intelligent and pretty easy on the eyes.”

“Hey, don’t forget my sparkling wit and superb social skills.”

We both laughed. I shook my head. “You’re not as bad as you think you are.”

“I’ll look forward to meeting them.” He smiled, a real one. It was slow and sexy. He walked over to me and dipped low to kiss me soundly. “I’m not glad about why you came into my life, City, but I love that you did.”

I sighed, kissing him in reply.

“You sit tight, finish your homework, and enjoy the fire. I’ll go start some dinner for us.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Afraid to let me cook?”

He chuckled. “Maybe. But maybe I just like taking care of you.”

This man. I didn’t know what I was going to do with these feelings. All I knew was that I couldn’t imagine my life without him. We would have to figure thingsout.

I prayed he’d want to as badly as I did.

I closed the computer and stared at the fire as Jensen got out the ingredients to cook. I didn’t want to think about the future—either the stalker or the challenges Jensen and I would face—not tonight. The sun had gone down, and I just wanted to be present in this moment.

I didn’t know how long I’d sat there when I heard some sort of crunching noise outside the window. I ignored it the first time, thinking it was the fire, but I froze when I heard it again a few seconds later.

That pop again. This time, it was longer, a prolonged push of something crunching, not a quick pop of the fire roaring in front of me.

I stood up, trying to keep calm. I couldn’t see anything out the window in the darkness. I was letting my imagination run away with me.

The sound I was hearing wasn’t someone walking in the snow outside. Nobody was around here.

But then I heard it again.

“Jensen.” My voice wobbled in a low whisper. I licked my suddenly dry lips, but I couldn’t seem to make my voice work any louder. I stumbled into the kitchen.

He immediately knew something was wrong. “What is it?”

“I think I heard someone outside.” I shook my head, trying to clear some of the fear. “But I don’t know. Maybe not. Maybe I’m just having a panic attack.”

He didn’t dismiss me out of hand, which made me feel better. “Go sit on the couch. I’ll check it out.”

“It may be nothing,” I whispered. “I just don’t trust myself anymore.”

He shrugged as he reached the door. “If it’s nothing, then no harm don?—”

He stopped as we both heard the noise this time. I watched,holding my breath, as he crouched near the door. He grabbed a crowbar he’d placed there.

More questions filled my mind, each one more frantic and worried than the last as he reached for the doorknob.

Who was out there?

It couldn’t be one of his friends, right? They’d tell him if they were coming, wouldn’t they?

Was it the stalker?

Was it someone who was just lost and needed help?—

I screamed as the door was kicked in. Jensen was in the perfect position to attack, but also to be attacked. The door knocked him back as a masked man burst in.

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