Page 32 of Done Waiting

My face is fire engine red as I swallow hard.Make something up, my brain screams.Don’t tell him.

“Umm…” As I look into his eyes, I can’t lie to him. “It’s a dark romance about a girl falling for her stalker.”Fuck. Me.Slamming my eyelids closed, I wish the damn floor could swallow me right now.

“That sounds interesting.” His smooth voice causes me to slowly open my eyes, the heat of my blush making my bodywarm. He’s trying not to smile as he says, “What’s the problem? Are you lacking inspiration?”

Son of a bitch.

I bristle, folding my arms over my chest. “No, the content is good. It’s just the wording needs to be changed.” I hope the timbre of my voice hovers in the neutral zone because I feel like we are teetering on the edge of sliding into the danger zone.

Picking up his cup to hide his amused smile, he downs the rest of his coffee. “Well then, I guess I should let you get back to wordsmithing.” He shoves his chair back, a wave of disappointment flowing through me that he’s leaving already. He moves beside me, tossing his cup into the trash can. Leaning down beside me, he whispers, “If you need any inspiration, I’m happy to help. Especially any sex scenes.” Then he stands, giving me a wink.

Swallowing hard, I watch him as he moves away from me, my heart hammering inside my chest. I think I’ve just melted into the floor.It’s made worse as I watch his muscular ass flex inside his jeans.

Stopping beside the guy wearing the hat, he leans over him, his muscles taut and straining against his clothing. “If you don’t fucking stop staring at her, I’ll rip your goddamn eyeballs out and shove them up your ass.”

Oh my God.I’m partially mortified, yet mostly turned on.

Ball cap guy trembles in his seat, stammering, “S-S-Sorry m-man. I-It w-won’t h-h-happen again.”

My stalker grabs the guy’s coffee cup, crumbling it into a ball, coffee sloshing on his hand and all over the table. “See that it doesn’t.” Then he straightens, heading toward the door. Tossing the crumpled cup in the trash, he turns, his ebony eyes locking on mine. He winks, a smile spreading over his face before he exits.

Well… That was titillating.

14

THE STALKER

Iwhistle as I walk down the sidewalk of the coffee shop, intent to watch Maddie as she works, as well as keep an eye on that asshole. My truck is across the street, parked so I have the perfect view of her and the baseball cap wearing asshole.

As much as I hated to leave the coffee shop, I couldn’t sit at another table and watch her. The need to be near her is entirely too powerful to resist. As is the urge to pick her up, throw her over my shoulder, and take her away from all the bullshit in her life.

Once I get her where I want her, she’ll never see these assholes again. Well, except for her mother. The final time she sees her will be the last time either of them sees anyone ever again.

I made a mistake asking what her book was about. I was unprepared for her honesty. The second she murmured, “It’s a dark romance about a girl falling for her stalker,”her cheeks pink,my resistance nearly crumbled. I wanted so badly to take her into the bathroom, strip her clothing off, and give her all the inspiration she’d ever need to write it.

My heart still bangs inside my chest, my temperature running about five degrees warmer than usual. Her words changed me from a twenty-four-year-old man to a horny, adolescent teen in a matter of seconds. Maddie made it worse, flushing like a schoolgirl around a guy she was crushing on. It’s endearing as hell, yet at the same time, pushed all my buttons.

New kink: Maddie in a schoolgirl uniform. God, she’d be fucking delectable.

Although she’s always decadent in my book, like that triple-layer chocolate cake my mom baked me for my seventh birthday. She’s the type of woman you savor every touch, every inch, and every taste.

Leaning back in my seat, I watch her face scrunch up as she concentrates, her fingers moving over the keyboard. She’s absorbed in her work, typing frantically for the past forty-five minutes.

Maddie absently picks up her coffee, taking a drink, a smile pulling up her lips as she reads over what she wrote.

Is it a sex scene?I’d love to get my hands on it and read it. I wonder if I’ve been the inspiration for this book.I should have asked her.

My gaze lazily trails to the baseball cap-wearing asshole. He hasn’t looked at Maddie once since I approached him.

Good. She’s mine.

Her phone must be going off, because I see her looking at it, her brows drawing in. Her face grows red from her anger as she clenches it in her hand.

Slamming her laptop closed, she stands, shoving it into her backpack. She turns, her tight jeans hugging her ass as she throws her trash away. The mustard yellow cardigan and white t-shirt she’s wearing look amazing with her golden hair and porcelain skin.

Slinging her backpack over her shoulder, she snatches her cell phone from the table, stomping toward the door. I lean forward, rolling my window down as she steps outside. She stabs the buttons on her phone before lifting it to her ear. Pacing back and forth in front of the coffee entrance, I hear her yelling as soon as the phone is answered.

“What the fuck, Ben? Are you that pissed that you’re not coming home tonight?” She crosses her arm over her chest, shivering from the cold, her other hand still holding her phone to her ear.

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