Page 26 of Hayden's Stalker

She laughs and says, “We’re kind of at your whim, so you don’t have to say it like it’s a question.”

I realize that she’s right, and I grin at her. “Good point. You will take me to Sebastian’s now.”

“Yes, sir!” she says as she salutes me.

Even as I laugh at her joke, I fight against the arousal of hearing her call me ‘Sir.’ It’s been years since I’ve been in that kind of relationship, but it stirs something that I thought I’d put away for good.

She stands without warning and says, “Well, we should go, then.”

I blink at her this time, then nod and follow her downstairs. The elevator feels too small with the three of us in it. Or maybe it’s just because I can’t stop focusing on Tatiana.

Not a cheater.

I turn my eyes to the elevator doors and wait impatiently for them to open. When they do, Tatiana leaves the elevator quickly as if she wants to get out of the confined space as badly as I do.

When we reach the black SUV that Jesse drives me around in all the time, Tatiana opens the rear door to allow me to climb into the backseat.

“Thank you,” I say as I get into the car.

“You’re welcome,” she says in her coolly professional voice.

She gets behind the wheel, and as I slide across to the other side of the car, I watch her move the seat forward so that she can reach the pedals as she laughs to Jesse, “I’m such a shortass.”

“It doesn’t help that I’m six-four, and the seat was set up for me,” he says with a grin.

I feel left out of the conversation, so I add, “And I don’t get to drive anywhere, but if you drove my car, you’d have the same problem.”

Tatiana turns to look at me, and she gives me a wicked grin. “I’ve seen pictures of your car. I’ll definitely need to drive it sometime. Just for safety reasons, of course. Make sure that your stalker hasn’t, um, tampered with the fuel line or something.”

It’s a weak excuse, to say the least, and I don’t let many people drive my car, but I’d be more than happy to let her do it.

“If you want to drive my car, all you have to do is ask. You don’t have to come up with an excuse, which isveryclose to being a lie, by the way.” I raise an eyebrow but also smile at her as I point this out.

She smiles back at me, her face alight with excitement at my offer, and I’m glad I could make her happy.

“Noted. Idefinitelywant to drive your car, then.”

“Just say when.” I shrug casually as though this is something I would be happy to offer to anyone when it definitely isn’t.

I look down at my phone and open the Kindle app because I don’t want to dissect exactly why I’d be happy to offer Tatiana todrive my car. I’m reading The Hound of the Baskervilles in the app at the moment, and I’ve just had time to find my place and read a sentence when Tatiana speaks to me.

“Do you mind if I play music?”

“Fine by me.”

I look up from my phone, and our eyes catch in the rear-view mirror. I smile at her before I quickly look back down at my phone. My heart is racing, and it’s so fucking dumb. Tatiana is my bodyguard, and I have a boyfriend.

I can’t focus on Sherlock’s adventures, so I switch to my messages to send one to Sebastian.

We’re on our way.

He takes a minute to reply, but I smile when I see his response.

Cool. Just trying to get Mira to sleep.

Tonight will be his first night out since they had their baby girl, so it should be good. I flick back to my book, but I haven’t read much when Tatiana and Jesse’s voices catch my attention. They’re talking quietly, as though they don’t want me to hear.

“I mean that you keep looking at me in a strange way, and I want to know why,” Tatiana says.

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