Page 31 of Watching Ames

Before long, his voice wasn’t on the phone but on the other side of my door, calling out my name as he knocked gently. I opened the door in a rush, allowing myself to be wrapped up in arms that kept me from collapsing. Alex led me out of the guest bedroom, both of us glancing at the offending items in my kitchen as we passed by. I watched his jaw tense when he noticed the flowers, the muscles in his arms tightening as he pulled me toward the front door, supporting me as I balanced on each foot to put on my boots, not wanting to walk barefoot to his car.

The drive started in silence, Alex’s eyes on the road while I stared out the side window, barely able to muster the right amount of indignation at the irony of driving right back toward where I’d promised myself this morning I would never return.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Alex’s voice was calm but there was still something bothering him. I knew by the pulsing muscle in his jaw and slight furrow to his brow, which was usually smooth when we were together.

I ignored his question, instead asking, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” He shook his head in denial, but the vein in his temple was starting to bulge, making me even more determined to figure out what had him so bothered.

“If I talk about it, will you tell me?”

The compromise must have surprised him, because he shot me a quick look, answering with an amused, “Sure.”

I looked down at my lap, fingers twining in nervous energy. I had rarely assessed my own emotions, much less spoken about them, in the past five years, and the sheer number of conflicting emotions I’d felt in the past few weeks likely surpassed the rest of the years combined.

“You know about Peter’s assistants, I assume?” At his nod, I continued, “When Peter and I first started dating, his assistant would come around quite a bit, dropping off papers for Peter if he planned on spending the night or leaving small gifts from Peter. She didn’t have a key, so I’d come home from work to find papers scattered down the hallway or melted chocolates on Valentine’s Day. So I gave a key to that assistant. And when she suddenly resigned mid-internship, the key was passed to the next assistant. And so it’s gone for the past two years.

“I was okay when I got home. I packed a little bit, and then I took a nap, but when I woke up, I found the flowers and the sticky notes, and I felt so…violated. I didn’t feel safe anymore, realizing that his assistant could get into my apartment without me even noticing. Knowing that Peter could get the key just as easily and surprise me at home. I know it’s silly but I kept feeling like if I left the guest bedroom he’d be standing outside waiting for me.” My voice shook a little at the admission, and Alex took his hand off the wheel to squeeze mine, reassuring me with the small touch alone.

“He bought you flowers.” The statement took me by surprise, and it took another moment before I realized what he was trying to say.

“That’s why you’re upset?”

He gave a jerky nod, mouth still tight in what I realized was possessiveness. I just squeezed his hand in response, providing some reassurance of my own.

“I like your flowers better,” I told him in a mock-whisper as I kept my eyes on our entwined hands in the hope he wouldn’t see the embarrassment that flooded my cheeks. He didn’t respond, but when I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, his face had relaxed, a slight curve of his lips hinting at a smile.

We finally reached the house, Alex parking the car in the garage next to the one I’d seen during my first tour of the house. I stifled a laugh at the difference in my responses. The first time I saw this house, I was in awe of it, until I realized exactly whose it was. I had been surprised and in shock, running away as quickly as I could. Now, I breathed a sigh of relief as Alex led me into the house, feeling as the coil of tension that had been building in my stomach since I left this morning finally unfurled.

* * *

“Ugh!”My frustration boiled over, and I screamed into a pillow, pressing it against my face as I raged. A short knock interrupted my yell, and I pulled the pillow off my face to find Alex leaning against the door jamb, an amused look crossing his face as he watched me.

“Not exactly how I imagined you screaming in my bed, but I’ll take it.” The dry humor caught me off guard, and I laughed out loud at the joke, almost falling backward in the bed in surprise. I wasn’t sure when exactly I started taking his overt flirtation and admissions of stalking in such stride, but it was likely sometime between waking up in the middle of the night wrapped in his embrace, leg curled over his hip while his arms encircled my waist, and calling him in terror after Penny showed up at the apartment.

His eyes took on that dangerous spark I only occasionally saw, a peek of hunger that caused my laughter to die off and my breath to hitch with no small amount of lust. I licked my lips, blood warming even more when I saw how his eyes flicked down before darkening. Not quite ready for where this path would lead, I broke the tense silence that had settled between us.

“I called a few locksmiths, who basically all said they can’t do anything since I live in an apartment building. Then I called my landlord, who is apparently the only one who can do lock changes, but he’s on vacation for the next week. Though to be honest, it might be because he’s mad about the loopholes Penny used to break my lease and is trying to punish me. Either way, now I either have to bother June on her vacation to figure out where she hides her spare key and explain the whole Peter situation or I have to spend hundreds of dollars to stay at a hotel for the next week.” I motioned down to the pillow laying in front of me. “Hence the screaming.”

“Hm.” Alex’s face worked itself into a pondering one, and he tapped his chin twice before holding up a finger and saying bluntly, “No.”

“No?”

“You’re not staying in a hotel, and like you said, you don’t want to bother June. You can stay here.”

“Alex, I -”

“Look at me.” His voice took on that dominating tone, eyes hard when I finally looked at him. “You trust me. I’m not asking a question, I’m making a statement. The fact that you came here last night and then called me this afternoon proves that. Now, I’ve been very gentle with you, being your friend first and trying to ease you into what exactly I do, what I’ve done to get close to you. And I want to keep doing that. But you will see just how far I will go to keep you safe if you keep testing me.”

The threatening words didn’t even faze me, just sent a bolt of pleasure down my spine that I tried to ignore. I opened my mouth in an attempt to protest, but words failed me as the truth of his words set in. I did trust him, despite everything. And I wanted to stay here, where I felt safest, rather than traipsing into June’s home and explaining why I was there, knowing she’d cut her vacation short. I especially didn’t want to stay in some hotel by myself, where I would have to be alone with my thoughts.

Taking my silence as the agreement it was, Alex stepped closer to the bed, tucking my hair behind my ear and tugging on my earlobe to wrestle a smile out of me. He held a hand out, helping me up from the bed as he led me out of the bedroom. “Good. Now come on, I’m about to make dinner.”

Alex’s phone rang as we got halfway down the stairs, and he glanced at the screen with a roll of his eyes, answering with a casual, “What’s up?” followed immediately by a sharp, “No.”

I paused at the bottom of the stairs, worried by his harsh rejection until I saw the amused twitch of his lips followed by an annoyed agreement mumbled under his breath as he hung up the phone. We rounded the corner, and I settled onto the same island stool as this morning as Alex started pulling things out of the fridge.

“You up for some visitors?” At my surprised look, he explained, “That was Dev and Wren. They’re stopping by to drop some things off but I can send them packing if you want.”

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