Page 139 of Hayden's Stalker

I chuckle and tell her, “The first time we saw the bus, I tried to imagine what it would be like to have you in this bath with me.”

Tati smiles with her eyes closed, looking sweet in her contentment. “I thought you were going to get naked, and I told myself that you’d never get naked for me.”

“I guess we were both wrong, since I wasn’t able to successfully imagine how good this feels.” I kiss her neck softly, and we fall silent.

I allow myself to just be here in the moment with her, and I focus on the feeling of her soft skin in my arms, closing my own eyes and taking deep breaths because I want to be fully present here.

The sound of the bus traveling on the road to our next city. Tati’s soft breathing. The way her chest rises and falls with each breath she takes. The feeling of the hard bath against my back. The rose scent in the air. I feel so completely at peace, and I love her so much.

I think about what the future holds for us, and one thing becomes clear to me. I want to marry this woman. There’s no doubt in my mind. Unlike with past relationships where I wasn’t sure or didn’t want to, I know that time won’t change this feeling for me. I’ve never met a woman who I felt so deeply sure about that I would never want to be without her. Time has only made me feel more strongly for her.

I kiss her neck, and a part of me wants to ask her now, but I know that now is not the time because she’s just had her first BDSM scene. Her emotions will be in a weird place, and I don’twant her to commit to anything. Even though it was my first scene in a long time, I know to my core that the way I feel about wanting to marry her has nothing to do with Domdrop and that I would’ve come to this conclusion without today’s scene.

We’ve been lying there for a while when Tati’s entire body tenses up against me. It’s jarring because she’s been so relaxed, and it worries me because she should be completely chilled out.

“What’s wrong?” I frown at the back of her head.

Tati sighs and turns her head and torso to look up into my eyes. “Just thinking about your stalker.”

My stomach churns, and I hate that my stalker is intruding on this beautiful moment of just us together.

“Don’t think about them. Not here and not now. Try to just relax.”

She relaxes a little, but she doesn’t melt against me fully the way she was before. There’s a slight stiffness in her body that tells me she hasn’t stopped thinking about my stalker, which makes me think about it, too. I can’t get back to my previous chilled-out state, and I hate that my stalker is intruding on our happiness in any way.

It isn’t long before Tati sighs and says, “I’m ready to get out now.”

“Okay,” I tell her with a smile, determined to keep the stalker out of my mind as much as I can.

We use the shower to rinse off the bubbles as the water drains around our feet, then get into sleepwear before getting back into bed and turning the lights off.

“Night, Tati. Love you,” I say with a yawn.

Tati laughs. “Night. I love you, too.”

I squeeze my arms tightly around her, and the blissful feeling from the bath returns. I’m going to marry Tatiana Swanson if she’ll say yes, and I think she will.

When we reachthe next city, Tati stands backstage talking to Daniel as she watches the soundcheck. He’s brought her a sandwich and bottle of water as usual, and I’m actually grateful to him these days because she has a tendency not to take care of herself when she’s on duty. She’d never leave to get herself something to eat. He flirts with her, but I don’t mind because I know she’s mine and only considers him a friend.

I focus on the soundcheck, and my attention is only drawn to her again when I notice her taking a phone call, and she disappears out of my view. It’s strange, but I focus back on the music and figure whatever she’s got going on is her deal.

I feel good when the soundcheck ends, and I lead the way offstage with the guys behind me, eager to get to Tati and take her back to my dressing room.

I smile brightly at her as I approach her, but she has a strange look on her face and says in a weird voice, “We need to talk.”

My body stiffens, and I look at my friends, who have frowns on their faces before I look back at Tati. “Um. Okay.”

Butterflies take up residence in my stomach as I follow her to my dressing room. The phrase ‘we need to talk’ never bodes well for anyone. I thought Tati and I were in a good place, but her strange demeanor makes me wonder. I’m terrified that she’s going to end our relationship. Not to be with anyone else, but it feels like she’s going to return to the whole ‘we need to be professional’ stance she had before.

We reach my dressing room, and Tati holds the door open for me to walk through, and as soon as she closes it behind her, she turns to face me with that same strange look on her face.She stares at me for a second before she turns and starts looking around the room without another word.

“Are you breaking up with me?”

My heart aches at even asking the question. I don’t know how I’ll respond if she says yes, but I do know that I’m not going to let her go without a fight if she does. If she’s returning to the whole ‘we have to be professional’ thing, I’ll do everything I can to convince her that we’ve got this sorted.

She turns from her search of the room and blinks at me for a few seconds. “What? No. Oh my god, no, Hayden. I love you. No.”

My whole body relaxes from a tension I wasn’t even aware I was suffering from as she says this. As much as I was ready to fight for her, I definitely didn’t want to have to.

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