Page 36 of The Stalker

“I just care about your safety, Hayden. If this woman can’t keep you safe, then you need someone who can,” he purred at Hayden.

Tatiana bristled at both the comment about her and the manipulative way he used Hayden’s safety against him.

“I’m not going to prove anything to you, Blake Stirling. Hayden has contracted my services, not you. If he wanted a demonstration before he did that, he would’ve asked for one.” She turned to look at Hayden, whose gaze penetrated hers. She forced herself to ignore the arousal she felt from looking into his beautiful eyes, particularly since she was in the middle of arguing with his boyfriend, and asked, “Would you like a demonstration, Hayden?”

“Um, I’m all good, thanks,” he stammered.

“Great. Well, if that changes, let me know.” She looked back at Blake. “I'm always happy to reassure my clients. However, I don’t have any time to pander to someone who isn’t my client, particularly when I’m in a public place.”

Tatiana turned her gaze back to the club in general, scanning the scene in front of her as Blake replied.

“I’m sorry for caring about my boyfriend’s wellbeing. Is that such a crime?”

She felt Hayden’s body stiffen next to her and assumed he was uncomfortable with the conversation. She wondered how often Blake had subjected him to uncomfortable conversations, given what Lita had said earlier.

“Not at all,” she told him in an even tone but kept her eyes away from him, still scanning the club. “But if you really care about his safety, you’ll let me focus on it.”

Sebastian laughed and said, “Well, this has been fun. There’s nothing more enjoyable than seeing Blake get put in his place.”

“She didn’t ‘put me in my place,’ asshole.”

“If that’s what you think,” Sebastian said, and Tatiana was pretty sure he was smirking.

“Can we talk about something else, please?” Hayden’s body was still tensed up, and Tatiana felt bad for him.

“Sure. How about we go dance?” Blake asked him.

Hayden turned his face to Tatiana and asked, “Can I do that?”

“Are you shitting me? You’re asking her for permission?” Blake sounded pissed off.

“Well, I was going to say, ‘of course,’ but now I’m tempted to say ‘no,’” Tatiana smirked at Blake before she looked at Hayden. “Of course, you can. I’ll stay nearby.”

She stood and led the way to the dance floor, her body on high alert as she watched the people dancing. Plenty of them looked at Hayden, but she didn’t see anything concerning. As the two men started dancing, Tatiana moved to the music near them, and it wasn’t long before a man joined her.

She smiled at him, and danced while keeping her eyes on Hayden and anyone who was near him. It was always stressful when her clients were in a situation like this. She looked for signs of anyone acting strangely. It wasn’t the people who were angry that she was worried about. It was the ones who acted twitchy and odd that worried her. Protecting a client was harder in a club like this, because people on drugs could behave in a similar manner.

Still, there was no one she was concerned about right now. They’d been dancing for about fifteen minutes when Sebastian appeared.

“Mind if I cut in?” he smiled at the man dancing with Tatiana.

“Um, shit. No, go ahead,” the guy stammered, looking star-struck.

Tatiana raised her eyebrows as the guy walked away, and Sebastian took his place dancing with her.

“I’m surprised he just left like that.”

Sebastian shrugged. “It’s been a while, but I guess nothing’s changed.”

“Shooed a few guys off the dance floor in your time, then?”

“You could say that.”

There was silence between them as Tatiana scanned the dance floor, looking for anything concerning. Hayden and Blake were dancing close together, and as she watched them, Blake caught her eye for a second. Then he kissed Hayden.

Sebastian chuckled. “He wouldn’t feel the need to stake a claim if he didn’t feel threatened.”

“By me? That’s ridiculous. I’m just doing my job,” Tatiana scoffed.

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