Page 40 of Stalker's Valentine

“Earlier. You walked in, and I tried to—“ I cleared my throat to get rid of the hoarseness in my voice, but it was impossible. “I tried to shake off this feeling like… I don’t know. I just couldn’t stop staring at you.”

“But you ran off,” she pointed out, and I blinked. “When we bumped into each other, I asked if you wanted to get a drink, but when I looked up, you were gone.”

“Baby, I had to.” I swallowed hard. “The men in my family, we’ve all grown up believing we’re cursed. I thought… by walking away, I was saving you from me.”

“So, you stalked me instead?”

“I couldn’t stop thinking about you.” The desperation dripped from my voice. The fear of losing her pulsed through my veins. “That first week of the year? All I could do was think about you. I couldn’t focus on one fucking thing. Not one, Scarlett.I didn’t even know how to find you, and I was ready to start crawling up the walls. But then I found out you were Onyx’ sister minutes before you walked into the brewery that day. I’d tried to tell myself that the memory of you had been through rose-colored glasses, but when I saw you again, I knew I was wrong.”

“Merri.”

“I messed up. I didn’t know how to…” I shook my head. “But bumping into you at the coffee shop? Talking to you? Watching you walk away from me? I knew I couldn’t keep my distance. Curse or not.”

She watched me for a long time.

Nothing but silence sat between us, heavy and thick, almost suffocating. I hated how I couldn’t read her.

“Were you at my place when I thought someone broke in?” she asked softly. Her eyes searched mine closely, ready to call me on my lies.

“Yes,” I confessed. “I snuck in.”

“Was it the first time?”

“I’d been there before, with you,” I reminded her, and she rolled her eyes. That little bit of attitude gave me a sliver of hope she wasn’t terrified of me.

“I mean when I wasn’t there?”

“No,” I admitted, and she licked her lips.

“Have you ever been in my house when I didn’t know?”

“Yes,” I confessed, knowing that with every answer, I was probably digging myself deeper into a hole I had a feeling I could never find my way out of. “I told you that if you kissed me, this thing between us was it. I tried to warn you?—“

“That you were stalking me?! How would I have guessed that from you calling me yours?” she exclaimed, pulling her body away from me.

“You really think you could tell me you’re not?” I held on to her. “That you didn’t think about me after we bumped into each other? That that wasn’t the longest week of your life, either?”

“Merri—“ she started to say, but I knew she couldn’t deny us. My hand tangled in her hair, cradling the back of her head.

“You really think you don’t belong to me?” I rasped, tipping her head back. It might have been just the two of us in the house, but the blood in my body was rushing through my veins, leaving a buzzing in my ears. Nerves and desperation and need heady.

“I know I do,” she whispered, her breathing as unsteady as my own. My eyes shut, and I rested my forehead against hers.

“Thank god,” I whispered.

“But, Merri, is that enough?” The relief I’d felt was short lived.

“What do you wanna know? I’d never lie to you.”

“How am I supposed to believe that? You’ve been dropping off gifts, things I’m not sure I want to know how you knew I needed.” My lips thinned. “Did you have someone following me around?”

“Yes. I’d do anything to make sure you’re safe.”

“We live in Moonlit Pines. Nothing bad happens here.”

“You never know. I wanted you safe and…” My voice cracked. “I can’t imagine anything happening to you. I couldn’t risk it.”

“Curses aren’t real,” she whispered, and that’s when I felt it. Her body relaxed over mine, and if I wasn’t wrong, she leaned in closer. The familiar warmth of her body touched mine. “We’re not cursed,” she said a little louder, and I nuzzled my nose against hers.

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