Page 24 of Recklessly Yours

I adjusted my holster on my hip, the movement catching her attention. She homed in on my hand, her eyes widening as if she’d only now realized I was wearing it under my T-shirt.

With a wave of my hand, I looked her up and down. “You might need actual clothes for that.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I didn’t plan on going out in my pajamas.”

Pajamas? Those shorts were more like underwear than pajamas.

“Go get dressed.” I nodded toward her room. “We can grab breakfast before we get your car.”

With her hands on her hips again, she huffed. “Anyone ever tell you you’re bossy?”

“Yep, all the time.” I shrugged. I wouldn’t apologize for it either. Any decent cop was. It was imperative that we know how to manage and control a situation.

“You’re ridiculous.” With the most adorable growl, she spun on her heel and stomped down the hall. “I’ll just be a few minutes.”

I tore my gaze away from her long, lean legs, thankful as fuck it was too cold for her to leave the apartment in a pair of shorts.

Chapter Eleven

HATTIE

I couldn’t stop thinkingabout Dylan handcuffing me to my bed. Jesus. What was wrong with me? I had a stalker, and instead of being worried about being attacked—or worse—by the unknown person, I was getting all hot and bothered by the dirty thoughts about the cop trying to protect me that kept creeping into my head.

It was like the plot of a bad lifetime movie. Spoiler alert: The stalker will end up being from one of the dating apps.

Poor Hattie Williams will be a lesson to all the single women in Half Moon Lake. And I’d never hear the end of it from my siblings.

Dressed and ready for the day, I stepped back into the living room. Dylan looked ready in a pair of jeans that hugged his thick thighs and tight ass. His T-shirt stretched taut across his shoulders as he slipped his laptop back into his bag. The outline of his gun under his shirt caught my eye as he shifted. Had he been wearing it last night? If so, how hadn’t I noticed when I clung to him in his yard? Regardless, his presence here made me feel safe.

“You ready?” He looked up at me.

With a nod, I tucked my phone into the back pocket of my jeans. “Yeah.” I snagged my keys and the small wallet attached from the counter, then followed Dylan toward the door.

“Fuck.” He pulled up sharply, grasping the doorknob, his focus trained on the floor in the hall.

I peered around him, and my heart dropped. “What…”

Outside my door was a bouquet of wilted blue orchids.

No. No, no, no. This wasn’t happening.

He slammed the door, turned the dead bolt, and spun, his jaw rigid and his eyes hard. “Go pack a bag.”

“What?” I gaped at him, struggling to form coherent thoughts. God, I wished what I’d seen was a hallucination. Instead, it was evidence that the stalker knew where I lived.

Dylan stepped up close, the movement pulling me from my stupor. “I need to call this in, but we’re not staying here.” He gripped my shoulder. “He’s escalating, and my place has cameras.”

I opened my mouth, but closed it without saying a word. No way was I going to argue with him. Glancing up and meeting Dylan’s intense stare, I nodded.

“Hattie,” he said softly. “It’s gonna be fine.”

I wasn’t sure about that. None of this felt fine.

Without thinking, I stepped forward and burrowed into him. When he wrapped his arm around me and held me tight, I melted against his body. There, for a moment, I could believe his words. That everything would be fine.

He loosened his hold, and I stepped back, peering up at him. Why was this happening? Why me? It had always been easy for me to hide in a crowd. I could quietly leave a room, and no one would bat an eye. I’d never been like my sisters, who drew attention with their loud, outgoing personalities.

Now, though, someone was hyper focused on my every move.

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