Page 20 of No Mercy In Red

“Maybe I am.”

“Maybe you are what?”

“Stalking you.”

My pulse exploded, my mouth parting, moving like a fucking fish because the words stuck in my throat. He wasn’t joking, he wasn’t smiling.

He was serious.

I should’ve been terrified, should’ve screamed, should’ve thrown my coffee at him and ran, but there wasn’t an ounce of fear in my body. Just… heat and dark, burning excitement.

“I have to go.” I whispered

“Max—”

I shot out of my seat, my heart racing as my legs stumbled as I moved quickly to get out of the Café, the bell above the door chimed as I pulled it open, setting my senses into overdrive. I walked fast, then jogged, then I fucking ran. I reached my apartment building, heart slamming against my ribs as I glanced around ensuring he wasn’t following before entering inside. I repeatedly tapped the button for the elevator, panting hard waiting for the door to open. As I reached my floor, I threw myself out of metal door, heading straight for my apartment as I fumbled around my bag looking for my keys, my hands shaking so hard I almost droppedthem. I couldn’t focus, I couldn’t calm myself. The only thing I could hear was the pounding in my ears of my blood pulsing through my veins.

A hand pressed against the door, right next to my head. I gasped, turning to find him.

Connor.

He loomed over me, his dark brown eyes so intense they looked almost black, his broad chest heaving. He had me caged like a lion with a mouse, watching me with a predatory stare as he lowered his head, his face inches from mine.

“Maxine,” he murmured, his voice low and rough. “I’ve been watching you for quite some time.”

My breathing stalled, the blood roaring in my ears almost drowning out what he was saying. He was confessing everything to me, whilst having me trapped and completely at his mercy. He knew where I lived, he followed me home.

“The way you walk like you own the world,” he said, eyes trailing down, then back up my body. “The way you smile at the lady at the café, the way you play with your keys when you enter your apartment building. The way you push your hair behind your ear, just on one side, usually the right, when you’re lost in your head.”

My chest was rising and falling too fast. I should scream, I should run. But I didn’t, I couldn’t.

“You’re a dangerous little thing, Maxine.” His hand slid along my jaw, tilting my chin up, sending a shiver down my spine, “The way you have consumed my every thought – my every fucking breath. I was handling it you know, I was just fine seeing you at Melinda’s. But you just had to miss our dates. Friday was bad enough, but missing them twice?” He tutted, gently swiping his thumb across my lower lip. “That’s just not acceptable.”

My heart was in my throat, my body on fire. My lower lip tingled in response to where he had trailed his thumb.

“You’ve pushed me to the brink of madness, Max.” His hand slipped from my jaw, down to my throat, not squeezing – just holding. “Tell me, have I consumed your thoughts the same way you’ve consumed mine?”

I stared up at him, wide-eyed, my body trembling.

“Do I have the same effect on you that you have on me?” He whispered, his mouth brushing my ear as he moved his body closer, just close enough so that I can feel him against me.

I gasped, looking down to confirm what I’m feeling. He’s hard.

“Or should I just fucking walk away?” He breathed against the shell of my ear.

My knees were buckling. I pushed back my head to look back at him, the way his lips parted, releasing shallow breaths like he was struggling to hold himself together. I swallowed, inhaling his scent. Coffee, vanilla, and a slight scent of aftershave. He smells fucking delicious.

“Tell me to leave,” he said, his thumb brushing over the pulse at my throat. “Tell me you don’t want me here. Tell me to leave, Max and I swear you’ll never see me again. But say nothing, and I’ll spend every moment making you mine.”

I should tell him to leave, I should tell him to get the fuck away from me. I should run, but the way he purred the words ‘making you mine’, set my nerves alight with excitement.

“Tell me to leave, Maxine.” He panted, his voice now husky and dangerously low like he was on the verge of absolute destruction.

I swallowed hard, staring into his intense gaze, “I… I can’t.”

He went deathly still.

And then his mouth crashed against mine.

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