Page 5 of Falling for the Quarterback
I can’t stop my mind from racing at the feeling of his embrace. God, he’s so big in all the right places. Buff arms. Thick thighs. Wide shoulders. Sharp jaw. He must have a tiny dick to be blessed everywhere else.
And, he’s touching me? What have I done lately to be God’s favorite? I thought for sure I was the bratty stepchild with the last loser I wasnot blessedwith.
His deep, rumbling voice washes over me as he continues, comforting me with his words and overwhelming presence, “I promise I’m only helping. I would do the same for any woman I found in this situation. Did you notice the zip tie on your door handle? How there is a cart positioned at the front of your car as well, so the front section where you could run through is blocked off with your car and the one next to it?”
“What?” My brows skyrocket at his observation, fear trickling over my being and making me internally panic a bit. I’m also stillpissed, so the irrational side of me wants to confront the guilty party and give them my true opinion on the matter. Maybe throat punch them so they don’t try this shit again. “No, I didn’t-” I start to look over at my car, but he cuts me off, curling me in closer to his body. It’s so smooth it feels like the most natural thing in the world, and it has my mind scrambling to keep up.
Jesus, he smells divine. Like soap, clean laundry, and man hunk straight out of the hardware store. Is that cologne he’s wearing? The stuff’s toxic, but lordy, it smells good enough I want to lick him. Not that I didn’t already want to lick him before, but the lingering scent is addictive in its own manner. It’s that good T-shirt-stealing-shit. Where you’d swipe their shirt in a heartbeat so you could sleep in it each night. Sniff it repeatedly. In private, of course, so you don’t seem like a creeper.
He quietly ushers, stealing me from the rabbit hole I was suddenly deep diving in, “Don’t look yet. I’ll tell you when.” He stops us beside his truck, opening his driver’s side door and shielding my body, putting me between him and his huge truck. “I’m going to shift to the side so you can see.”
My gaze flies back to my little black sedan, and I confirm he’s telling the truth in his observations. There are multiple zip ties! There’s also a car parked beside mine, and at the front of the two, a shopping cart is positioned so it blocks the walkway at the front of my vehicle.
“What the hell is going on?” I whisper to myself, but it’s loud enough he still catches it. The seriousness is hitting me to the point it’s overshadowing man-hunk’s presence beside me.
“Look two spots over to the right, in front of your vehicle. There’s a small truck facing us and two people sitting in it, right?”
I follow along his instructions, finding the truck he’s talking about and confirming, “Yes. Who are they?”
“I don’t know, but they were sitting there when I pulled up. It was weird because they weren’t looking for anything or talking, just staring into the parking lot. I was quick with my shopping, but they’ve had plenty of time to leave. And, as soon as I saw those zip ties on your car, I knew I had to say something. I read about how traffickers will do this sort of thing to throw women off to ambush them. Especially a single woman with a child.”
“Holy fuck.” Fear licks up my spine as my fists curl in, clenching to help me stifle my nerves.
He nods, his expression solemn. “I know. I also read where they’ll follow the person home, and either take them from home or do God knows what. I couldn’t allow that to happen; I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
My eyes climb to his for a beat, “Thank you. I’ve read something similar; it’s scary.”
His irises are hazel, a beautiful addition to his already gorgeously chiseled face, and he’s so earnest, his voice and expression making me feel safe in his presence. It’s rare I meet someone and am this comfortable with them so quickly. I actually believe him when he says he won’t allow anything bad to happen to me, and I can’t help but wonder where this man came from. He’s completely out of left field for me, and it’s thrown me off kilter in what to think.
“How about you get in my truck so we can call the cops and file a report? We’ll lock the doors so you’re safe,” he offers.
I swear my heart beats double time at his sweetness and the way he’s so serious in protecting me without being smothering about it.
“You don’t mind?”
“Not at all. Get in on this side and climb across, though, so no one watching us has any ideas about snatching you.”
“Better safe than sorry,” I respond, and he nods.
He holds his hand out to me, palm up, to help me climb inside, and I take his silent offer. His hand is big, warm, and steady. When was the last time I held a man’s hand? It’s been too long to the point I can’t recall. The truck is oversized, like my swooping hero himself, and I’m short, so his assistance is definitely appreciated. Lord knows how ridiculous I’d look trying to maneuver it on my own. I’d probably miss something and end up face-planting into the floorboards or something else just as embarrassing. I’m not typically a clumsy person, but I have a feeling being around him is distracting enough to the point I won’t be paying attention to anything else.
I get in the cab and attempt to carefully crawl over the center console, not wanting to break anything in the process. I’m not the slimmest woman out there, kind of the opposite, as I have a butt some would call a doublewide back in the day. I make it to plop down on the passenger side without breaking anything, thankfully. As soon as I’m over in the other seat, Mr. Mountain-Man-Hero hits the door lock and climbs into the driver’s side. He starts the truck and leans over, pressing buttons on the fancy center screen to crank the air conditioner to full blast. It’s powerful enough that it has my hair flying all over the place and me scrambling to push it back so I don’t look like a complete train wreck. Bad enough I’m sweating over here, I hope to God I don’t stink because of it.
His truck is nice, with leather everywhere it seems. It smells new.
I twist in my seat, staring out the back window at my vehicle. My eyes ping back and forth between my car, to the cart, to the truck a few spots down with the two people in it. “You seriously think they were planning on taking me?” I can’t help but ask as I regain my focus on the issueat hand.
“Absolutely. There’s another vehicle here helping them we’re missing, I’m sure of it.” He puts the truck in reverse and begins to back out.
“Bunch of flaming dicks,” I comment lowly, furrowing my brow in anger. “Wait, what are you doing?”
“I’m going to act like we’re leaving and then loop back around to park in the next store’s lot. That way, if they’re watching us, they’ll think we took off and we can watch them instead.”
“You’ve got an entire stakeout planned, hm?” I won’t lie, it’s pretty sexy having a man with a plan for once. Not that it’s dinner and a movie or anything, but beggars can’t be choosers. He has this situation all figured out, and as long as he doesn’t allow any crazy person to kidnap me, I’m here for the adventure.
He shrugs, offering me a small grin. It makes him appear much less intimidating; his dimples help, too, making me go all gooey over him. He’s got the type of face that when he smiles, it sucks you right in. I bet if he laughed, I’d laugh too, just for the hell of it. Men shouldn’t have that sort of power with their looks; it’s dangerous. “I want to see these jerks get taken down when the cops show up. I hate the idea anyone would target a woman, alone or with a small child. People are sick.”
I can’t stop wondering where this guy came from. I’ve never seen him before, and boom, twice in a row. I want to stare at him and even gawk a little with all the green flag energy he’s putting off, but I manage to stop myself. I don’t want to be labeled as a creeper, and staring at him with my mouth open is surely creeper behavior.
