Delicious by Jami Alden Page A

surrealism that had overtaken her when she’d first heard the call. “What was I supposed to do? Gasp and faint and let him know he bothered me?”
    “How about tell him not to call you anymore? Or tell him you’ve filed a police report and they’re on his tail? When you respond with a smart remark like you did, when you engage with him, in any way, he may take that as encouragement.” His fists clenched and unclenched several times as though he were contemplating wrapping them around her throat. Finally, he took a deep, cleansing breath. “You have to protect yourself, Reggie.”
    “Isn’t that what I hired you for?”
    The corners of his lips pulled tight and he frowned down at her. He raised a finger and pressed it into her chest with just enough pressure to push her flat against the wall. As he pulled his hand away, his knuckles barely brushed the inside curve of her breast. She grimaced, trying to convince herself that her suddenly tight nipples were due to the air-conditioning.
    “Yeah, that is what you hired me for.” His Southern accent emerged from hiding with each syllable. “Your safety is my job, and I take my job very seriously. When you pull shit like this, you make my work a whole lot harder.”
    God, if she hadn’t been paying an arm and a leg for his services, this fierce protector thing would have been a total turn-on. She nodded, though she wasn’t sure what her response was supposed to be.
    She got a little queasy as the reality of what had happened hit her. She’d been so shocked at first, then irritated at Gabe, that it was just now hitting her that someone, someone close to her, was making these phone calls, sending her these notes.
    Mentally, she shook herself. It was ridiculous to panic at this point. After all, the sum total of her stalker’s activities was a close-up shot of his balls, an e-mail describing what she wore, and a phone call. Sure, they were creepy. But he hadn’t threatened violence of any kind, and he didn’t seem inclined to introduce himself in person. Overreacting at this point would gain her nothing. “It was a harmless phone call, and no one was hurt. I really don’t see what the big deal is.” Just saying the words calmed her.
    He shook his head, scowling. She made one last attempt to diffuse his visibly building temper. “Okay, okay.” She held up both palms. “I promise, next time a pervert calls, I will not engage in conversation about his genitalia, all right?” She glanced at the clock over his shoulder. “Now, if you don’t mind, Max is probably frothing at the mouth to finish that last shot.”
    Gabe opened his mouth as though to say something, but was interrupted as Natalie and Tyler came trotting down the hall, both talking a mile a minute.
    Gabe let out a frustrated sigh and started back toward the studio. “I’m going back in to talk to everyone, see if they saw anything. Then we’ll go file a police report.”
    Reggie groaned as she remembered what a great success that had been last time. Tyler put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “He seems to know what he’s doing,” he murmured.
    Natalie nodded in agreement.
    Reggie shook her head. “I don’t know. I think he’s making me paranoid. Maybe we’re making a bigger deal out of this than it really is.” And on top of that, she’d barely slept the past two nights, unable to escape sexy, sweaty, lust-filled dreams starring Gabe in all his naked splendor. It had been a miracle that she’d been able to get through today’s shooting without any major tape-stopping errors. “Thank God he’s leaving in a couple of days.”
    Natalie and Tyler exchanged concerned looks. “Reggie, you really need to be careful,” Natalie started.
    But Reggie had made up her mind. “This is all just a joke, some guy’s idea of a juvenile prank. Today’s call is probably going to end up on Howard Stern or Crank Yankers sometime soon.”
    Natalie didn’t look convinced. “As a single woman you still