it, she was back there in the studio, all Jared’s sleek, heavy muscles surrounding her with that scent.
Keep your eyes on the tether ball, chickie , she scolded herself, or it is going to smack you right in the face . She had one burning goal, and it wasn’t to ogle the way his jeans molded over that fine ass. It was to make Jared into a dancer, not her lover.
Oops. How did that sneaky, tantalizing little thought get into her head?
Damn her overactive imagination.
Her cell chimed and she dashed back into the living room to scrabble for it in her zombie purse. When she answered her blood froze.
“I’m going to get you and your little dogs, too!” The caller’s voice seethed with anger.
She pressed the button to end the call. Her stomach did stalls and loops before dropping to her feet. She cupped the side of her face, where the bruise started to throb again. Closing her eyes, she fought with her fear. “You’re not going to win,” she said in a whisper, then repeated it in a stronger voice.
In her rummaging attempt to get to her phone she’d dislodged Jared’s card. Her fingers trembled as she bent down to pick it up, and for one panicked moment, she thought about calling him.
She shook her head and tucked the card into her wallet so she wouldn’t lose it.
She went back to her room and changed out of her clothes into a pair of grey shorts and the t-shirt that had “badass” spelled across it in red letters. She went to the fridge and grabbed a yogurt. While spooning up the thick, cold, pudding-like stuff into her mouth, her thoughts strayed back to Jared Taylor. “Mmmm,” she said softly, as she licked the spoon clean and it had nothing to do with how good the yogurt tasted.
She called her boys and they scurried up onto the bed. With their warm bodies bracketing her, she lay down and closed her eyes.
After a moment, she got up and snapped on the bathroom light and cracked the door. Back in bed, she closed her eyes again, thinking about the protective expression in Jared’s moss-green eyes.
Chapter Four
Jared tied Daisy to one of the chairs. He jumped off the curb and raced across the street to the alley, where the guy saw him coming and turned and sprinted away.
Jared amped up his speed and caught up to the guy. Grabbing a fistful of the stalker’s shirt, he swung him around hard and seized the arm with the flying fist aimed at his jaw. He pivoted neatly and slammed the lowlife face-first into the wall just a bit harder than necessary.
“Let go of me!”
Jared responded by pushing him harder against the wall. “Listen you little creep, why are you following Poe?”
“I wasn’t.”
“I saw you following her, and then staring at her. This is your notice that if I see you around her again, I’m going to break you in half.”
“I wasn’t following her! I work at the coffee shop, but my shift doesn’t start for another fifteen minutes!”
“Then why the staring?”
“I think she’s gorgeous.”
Jared stepped back and spun him around. He couldn’t argue with that. The guy’s hair was dark, his eyes a light blue. He had a ring in his nose and his ears were pierced with big black stretchers. He was probably more enamored of Poe’s Goth look than he was of her. He could see he was nothing but a kid. “That doesn’t give you the right to stare at her from the shadows like that. It’s downright creepy. What’s your name?”
“Colin.”
“She’s much too old for you, Colin.”
He hung his head. “I know.” His chin thrust out. “Are you her boyfriend or something?”
“Or something,” Jared said. “Let’s just say I’m the guy who’s going to kick your ass if I see you creeping on her again.”
“Fair enough.”
“Now get going before you’re late for work.”
“Yes sir.”
The kid shambled off and Jared did feel sympathy for him. Poe was out of his reach. But the kid was a dead end. Definitely not the mugger or the letter-writer.
Jared went back and
Keep your eyes on the tether ball, chickie , she scolded herself, or it is going to smack you right in the face . She had one burning goal, and it wasn’t to ogle the way his jeans molded over that fine ass. It was to make Jared into a dancer, not her lover.
Oops. How did that sneaky, tantalizing little thought get into her head?
Damn her overactive imagination.
Her cell chimed and she dashed back into the living room to scrabble for it in her zombie purse. When she answered her blood froze.
“I’m going to get you and your little dogs, too!” The caller’s voice seethed with anger.
She pressed the button to end the call. Her stomach did stalls and loops before dropping to her feet. She cupped the side of her face, where the bruise started to throb again. Closing her eyes, she fought with her fear. “You’re not going to win,” she said in a whisper, then repeated it in a stronger voice.
In her rummaging attempt to get to her phone she’d dislodged Jared’s card. Her fingers trembled as she bent down to pick it up, and for one panicked moment, she thought about calling him.
She shook her head and tucked the card into her wallet so she wouldn’t lose it.
She went back to her room and changed out of her clothes into a pair of grey shorts and the t-shirt that had “badass” spelled across it in red letters. She went to the fridge and grabbed a yogurt. While spooning up the thick, cold, pudding-like stuff into her mouth, her thoughts strayed back to Jared Taylor. “Mmmm,” she said softly, as she licked the spoon clean and it had nothing to do with how good the yogurt tasted.
She called her boys and they scurried up onto the bed. With their warm bodies bracketing her, she lay down and closed her eyes.
After a moment, she got up and snapped on the bathroom light and cracked the door. Back in bed, she closed her eyes again, thinking about the protective expression in Jared’s moss-green eyes.
Chapter Four
Jared tied Daisy to one of the chairs. He jumped off the curb and raced across the street to the alley, where the guy saw him coming and turned and sprinted away.
Jared amped up his speed and caught up to the guy. Grabbing a fistful of the stalker’s shirt, he swung him around hard and seized the arm with the flying fist aimed at his jaw. He pivoted neatly and slammed the lowlife face-first into the wall just a bit harder than necessary.
“Let go of me!”
Jared responded by pushing him harder against the wall. “Listen you little creep, why are you following Poe?”
“I wasn’t.”
“I saw you following her, and then staring at her. This is your notice that if I see you around her again, I’m going to break you in half.”
“I wasn’t following her! I work at the coffee shop, but my shift doesn’t start for another fifteen minutes!”
“Then why the staring?”
“I think she’s gorgeous.”
Jared stepped back and spun him around. He couldn’t argue with that. The guy’s hair was dark, his eyes a light blue. He had a ring in his nose and his ears were pierced with big black stretchers. He was probably more enamored of Poe’s Goth look than he was of her. He could see he was nothing but a kid. “That doesn’t give you the right to stare at her from the shadows like that. It’s downright creepy. What’s your name?”
“Colin.”
“She’s much too old for you, Colin.”
He hung his head. “I know.” His chin thrust out. “Are you her boyfriend or something?”
“Or something,” Jared said. “Let’s just say I’m the guy who’s going to kick your ass if I see you creeping on her again.”
“Fair enough.”
“Now get going before you’re late for work.”
“Yes sir.”
The kid shambled off and Jared did feel sympathy for him. Poe was out of his reach. But the kid was a dead end. Definitely not the mugger or the letter-writer.
Jared went back and
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