Page 96 of Hayden's Stalker

“Watch the movie with me, Tati. I think you’ll like it, and IknowI’ll like watching it with you.”

My heart pounds as I wait for her inevitable rejection. It’s always hard to tell which way she’s going to go, so I don’t want to get my hopes up at all.

I’m already preparing in my head to go to bed when she says, “Okay. But I’m going to make you a coffee, and you’re going to drink it. I’m also going to order you some room service to soak up the alcohol.”

Fuck, yes!

“Deal. I’ll drink all the drinks and eat all the foods, and you’ll be hot as shit and watching the movie with me,” I grin at her.

As she walks toward me, I notice that her nipples are stiff against the silk fabric of her nightgown now. It makes me wonder if she’s wet, too. I want to reach between her legs and find out.

She calls room service and orders a burger and fries for me before she makes me a coffee in the kitchen of the suite and brings it back to me. She sits next to me on the sofa, cradling a coffee of her own, and we each take a sip.

“Not as good as the coffee at home, is it?” I wrinkle my nose at her.

Tatiana shakes her head. “Definitely not. I’m going to miss having your coffee machine in my life when this contract ends.”

“Maybe they’ll never find my stalker, and you’ll spend the rest of your life making coffee in my machine. Wouldn’t that be nice?” I grin at her and can’t help but notice that one of the straps of her nightgown has fallen down.

“Except that means you’ll still have a stalker,” she laughs.

I reach across and slide the strap up on her shoulder, running my fingers along her soft skin as I do. I have to resist the urge to caress her face as well, but I have no excuse for that, so I remove my hand from her body.

“I’d take that trade-off,” I tell her in a voice that betrays the amount of lust I’m feeling right now.

Tati stares at me, the air around us thick with sexual tension before she once again uses her coolly professional tone to ask, “Are we watching this movie or not?”

“Sure. We can do that.”

I run my gaze over her body one more time, committing this moment to memory before I cast the movie to the screen in front of us. A short way into it, the room service arrives, and Tati makes us both a second cup of coffee.

When the film ends, I switch off the television and turn to the beautiful woman next to me to ask, “Better or worse thanCasino Royale?”

“Worse. I mean, it’s not bad, but some of the action scenes were a little over the top. I still maintain there should be a Vesper spy series.”

I’m struck by how much I want to know her opinion and enjoy spending time with this woman. I have done since the moment I met her. I think of the hours spent reading together in the library, a place that I thought I would never take anyone. I think about Blake’s message from earlier and realize he was probably right, which makes me feel bad.

“Anyway, it’s time for me to call Jesse and go to bed. You should go to bed, too.” She smiles at me and picks up her phone from nearby.

My thoughts are whirling as I stare at the blank TV in front of us, and before I can stop myself, I ask her, “Do you think I’m a bad boyfriend?”

“I’m sorry, what? I don’t understand the question.”

I realize she has no context, so I tell her the truth. “Blake says I’m a bad boyfriend because I was in love with my bodyguard when we were still together.”

I chew my bottom lip as I think about it. There I was, lusting after Tati. Masturbating over her. Bringing her into my library. All while I was still in a relationship with him. It seems pretty cut and dried to me.

She doesn’t say anything, so I turn to look at her, and she finally speaks as she raises an eyebrow at me. “When did Blake say this?”

“He’s left me a few voicemails and text messages,” I tell her but don’t admit I’ve texted back because I’m ashamed I have.

Tatiana sighs. “I did say you should block him for a reason, and this is why. He’s fucking with your head.”

She’s right, and I’ve spoken to Brendan about it several times. He said I should block Blake too. Well, as much as a therapist ever actually tells you to do something. It’s more like heheavilysuggested it.

“But do you think I’m a bad boyfriend?” I ask Tati, kind of wanting her to tell me I am.

“No, Hayden, but Blake was. Apparently, he’s an even worse ex-boyfriend. Don’t let him get to you. He’s just talking shit.”

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