Page 13 of Hayden's Stalker

I try to focus on cooking and make small talk about the recipe my Abuela taught me to make when I was six as I do, but I’m distracted by her. She looks around the apartment, constantly on alert, which makes me more aware of my surroundings as well.

It’s almost a relief when a locksmith shows up to replace the lock on my bedroom door. I get a break in the meal preparation and pull out my phone to see a text from Sebastian.

Lita said she’s happy to cook tomorrow. You can have dinner with us, and then we’ll meet the guys at Club Delirium.

I smile, excited to get a night out because it’s been a while since Sebastian has been spending all of his time out at Galena with Lita since their baby girl was born.

Sounds good. I’d never turn down Lita’s cooking. Can Tatiana have dinner with us?

It’s only a second before he responds.

Errrrrrm. Your BODYGUARD is going to have dinner with us?

I roll my eyes as I reply.

Yeah. I’m not going to be one of the asshole bosses she’s had who make her eat separately when she has to be with me 24/7.

I add the parsley to the sauce and turn the stovetop down as I stir the rice before I go back to my phone.

24/7, huh?

She’s hot.

Does that mean she’ll be in your bed at night?

Will she be in the shower with you?

What about when you need to take a shit?

Enquiring minds need to know.

I burst into laughter and roll my eyes as I type a reply.

I hate you. I’m cooking so I have to go. Ask Lita about dinner.

Tatiana walks into the kitchen and peers over at the stovetop on the way back to the stool she was on before as she laughs, “Okay, I know I said I wouldn’t die of starvation, but that smells so good that my hunger is definitely raging now.”

“Thanks. It’ll only be a couple more minutes,” I promise.

I serve up our plates, then put the leftover rice and fish into containers that I put in the fridge. We take our food to the dining table, and I sit next to Tatiana as we eat. I’m getting used to her presence, and I notice that she has a faint flowery, spicy scent as she lifts her glass of water to her lips.

I’m entranced by watching her for a moment before I remember that I have a fucking boyfriend, so I look down at my food and take a bite.

“So, have you lived in Chicago all your life?” she asks as I take a sip of the white wine I poured myself.

“I have. What about you? I imagine that your work takes you quite a few places, but where did you grow up?”

“Los Angeles,” Tatiana says with a smile on her face. “I definitely miss the beaches when I’m traveling around the world.”

“Did you go to the beach when you were in Australia?”

She laughs and nods. I envisage her wearing a bikini, with her long blonde hair floating around her as she sits on an Australian beach, and my cock jerks at the image in my head.

“Yeah, every day I was there. Some of the best beaches in the world are in Australia.” She smiles and sips her water.

“Do you surf?”

She speaks with authority, and I know Australia’s known for surfing. I add in an image of her carrying a surfboard down to the water, sand from the beach clinging to her ass cheeks and the backs of her legs.

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