Page 66 of The Stalker

“Can I say something?” Jesse said quietly to her.

Tatiana turned to look at him. “Sure.”

“I’m concerned that skipping something like this might make the stalker feel they have some kind of power over Hayden.”

“Or, it’ll give the stalker an opportunity to get close to him,” Tatiana countered immediately.

“Okay, but surely if we’re both there, we can get involved if there are any issues.”

Fucking stalkers.

Jesse wasn’t entirely wrong about the psychological aspect of it. Tatiana knew that there were so many ways in which they could trigger a reaction from the stalker. It was incredibly difficult to balance a client living their life but also not setting something in motion that you couldn’t take back.

Sebastian had already started walking over to the fans, accompanied by Benjamin Thomas, Lita’s bodyguard.

She turned to look at Hayden and asked, “You always do this?”

“Every concert since Cards Have Been Dealt,” he told her.

“Okay.” She heaved a deep sigh. “If I have even an inkling that something is amiss, I will pull you out so fast your head will spin. Don’t get distracted. Listen for my voice. If I tell you to do something, you do it.”

Hayden’s face brightened, and he grinned at her. “Deal.”

They made their way over to the group of about forty fans who were standing near Sebastian, taking selfies and getting his autograph as he talked to them. Tatiana walked in front, casting her eyes over everyone nearby. Nobody was twitchy, but it didn’t stop adrenaline pouring through her body. She disliked this immensely.

When they reached the group, Hayden said cheerfully, “Hey, guys, thanks for coming.”

It set off another round of selfie requests from people who wanted a picture with both men. They were very obliging and smiled for the photos, signed autographs, talked, and gave hugs to fans.

Tatiana’s heart leaped to her throat every time Hayden hugged someone. She assessed every person who approached him, terrified that she would miss something and he would be hurt. She couldn’t breathe properly until he thanked the fans again for coming to the concert and turned to head back to the venue.

He put his arm around her shoulders as they walked and said, “Thank you, Tati. That made my day.”

Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she could only focus on his arm on her shoulders and the warmth of his body next to her as they walked.

“We can be friends who pretend they don’t want to fuck each other.”

His words from earlier came crashing back to her mind. Was he doing this on purpose to make it harder for her to pretend? She didn’t think so. He just seemed happy and excited. That didn’t change the effect it was having on her.

“You’re welcome,” she breathed.

He looked down at her, and she saw the moment he realized what he was doing to her. He looked surprised for an instant before his eyes darkened and he smiled at her.

“It’s what a good friend would do. Of all my friends, the one who lets me go see my fans is my favorite,” he told her.

She couldn’t respond. He was teasing her, saying things he knew he shouldn’t just because he could. Reminding her of his words from in the music room. Making it very clear that he was only pretending he didn’t want to fuck her.

You sound pretty judgmental for someone who has orgasmed while thinking about him on multiple occasions. I’m just saying.

Even now, she wanted to drag him to his dressing room and fuck him senseless. But she couldn’t, because he had a soundcheck to go to.

It was like a bucket of water being poured on her head. She needed to focus. She couldn’t be fantasizing about Hayden. She looked around and caught Jesse’s eye. His gaze moved meaningfully to the place where Hayden’s hand rested on her shoulder, then back to meet her eyes.

She ducked out from under Hayden’s arm and said, “I should probably look around the venue. Jesse, can you stay with Hayden?”

“Sure,” he said.

Tatiana strode away to the sound of Hayden chuckling behind her.

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