Page 8 of Guarded By the Hellhound
I’m up and in her space, before she can even put the phone away. A tear streams down her face, and I pull her against me while lifting her chin.
“I will protect you,” I growl. “They might have gotten me with the element of surprise yesterday, but I will not rest until you are safe, Katherine.”
“Promise?” she asks in a small voice.
The difference between the woman who fell apart in my arms last night and the scared little mouse I see before me is making me angry. I can’t believe the humans didn’t do a better job of protecting her. I don’t know for sure, but every bone in my body tells me my kind would never allow harmto come to anyone under their protection. Aren’t police officers supposed to protect them?
“I promise,” I say gravely. She nods before resting her head against my chest. Her head barely reaches my chin, making me feel even more protective of her. I hug her tightly, and for a minute, we just stand there.
“Let’s get you some breakfast,” I murmur into her hair. She begins to protest, but I give her a stern look. “You have not been taking care of yourself. That ends now.”
She swallows but lets me lead her to the chair and her cup of coffee before I rummage through the cabinets to make breakfast. I settle on cereal, and we eat in silence.
“We need a plan,” she says at the same time I say, “You need groceries.”
She smiles. “Groceries first. That’s step one of our plan.”
“Maybe step two,” I say. She cocks her head, giving me a questioning look.
“First, you tell me about everything you know about the person who was at the door last night.”
She swallows and begins to fidget with the sleeves of her sweater.
“I assume it’s the same person who left the note with the stabbed stuffy?” I press.
She nods but doesn’t seem to know where to start. So, I make my way over to her, pick her up, and plop down in the chair, settling her on my lap. She starts protesting, but I give her a stern look, and she surrenders with a sigh.
“You are so beautifully submissive,” I whisper in her ear, and I feel a shiver run down her spine.
“Now spill,” I command her.
She takes a deep breath and then starts to talk. “It was about a year ago, right after Halloween, I started to get this uncomfortable feeling every now and again.” Her fingersfidget with the sleeves of her sweater as she pauses to think about what she’s going to say.
“You know, just a feeling that you are being watched. Like you can feel eyes burning in the back of your neck, and when you turn around, there is nothing to be seen.”
I nod, silently encouraging her to continue.
“When Christmas came, there was a card. It had no recipient and was put in my mailbox. I didn’t see that at the time, so I just opened it together with my other mail.” She shivers before she continues. “After Christmas came New Year’s, and before it was Valentine’s Day, things had completely escalated.”
She looks up at me with tears in her eyes. “I have no idea who this person is that’s doing this to me. They are obsessed with me, and I don’t know why. I went on a date with a guy on Valentine’s Day. The next day, I found an envelope in the mailbox with pictures from my date. Then came photos of me when I was home alone. When I was doing my grocery shopping, I was out. The photos turned into gifts, which eventually turned into threats. I called the police a thousand times already, but they won’t do anything because nobody has harmed me.”
“I lost my job at the library because I got too scared to leave the house, leaving me with a telemarketing job from home that I hate.” She sniffs and wipes her eyes furiously with her sleeve.
“I have nothing left—my friends stopped calling when I didn’t want to meet with them anymore, my job sucks, and sometimes I’m too scared to even go to sleep. Afraid that he’ll find me and kill me.”
She pauses before she looks at me. “Because I’m pretty sure that’s what he intends to do when he finds me.”
Tears stream down her face as she snivels. “I’m just so scared all the time,” she whispers, then looks up at me. Herbig blue eyes look at me. It feels like they’re piercing a hole in my soul.
“I will not let him get to you,” I growl. “I promise you, Katherine.”
I gently cup both her cheeks, wiping away her tears with my thumbs. Our mouths are inches apart, and I can feel her warm breath across my face. My right hand slowly slides lower until I pluck at her bottom lip with my thumb. Instinctively she pulls it into her mouth and sucks on it. All the while, those big blue eyes are looking up at me.
With a pop, she releases my thumb, leaving my cock thrumming in my pants.
“You are playing with fire, Katherine,” I warn her.
She breathes heavily and looks at me with hooded eyes, licking her lips.
