Watcher: A raven paranormal romance (Crookshollow ravens Book 1) by Steffanie Holmes
Authors: Steffanie Holmes
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room. It wasn’t much, but it would have to do. I grabbed it, lifted it above my head, and gripped the door handle with a trembling hand.
It was now or never. I took a deep breath, and raised the umbrella behind my head, ready to strike. I pushed open the door.
The man was hunched over the couch, standing on one of the cushions and crouched down as if he were playing leap frog. He stared down at the box I’d been using to hold the raven, the cardboard now crushed and torn into large pieces that were strewn across the floor. My standing lamp had been overturned, and I could see long, jagged tears along the upholstery of the couch. The place looked as if a wild animal had been loose inside it.
Which I guess was exactly what had happened. This man didn’t seem to be a typical intruder, the kind you saw on crime shows with shifty eyes and a black hoodie. For starters, he appeared to be naked, his dark skin criss-crossed with intricate tattoos. His shoulders bulged with muscles, and his chest was sculpted like a male model. His face was obscured by a mane of long black hair, curling into ringlets at the ends. As he turned toward me, his piercing eyes met mine.
“You?” I cried in disbelief as I recognised him. It was the man from the bakery, the hot biker bad boy who’d flirted with me and had bought the Heaven and Hell cake. The man who didn’t ask me out, but who had been playing on my mind ever since I’d lain eyes on him. Of all the people I expected to find in my flat, he was not one of them.
He opened his mouth to speak, but all that came out was a strange croak. He looked lost, confused, as if he desperately wanted to explain something but didn’t know where to begin.
“Is this what all the flirting was about?” I snapped, inching my way into the room and along the wall, trying to close the distance between myself and the door. “You were distracting me while you cased the joint? Looking for where I hid my safe? My big flour sacks with dollar signs painted on them?”
“While I was … casing the joint?” The naked biker finally found his voice, and it was still that deep, gravelly, incredibly sexy voice, although now it was dripping with confusion. He held up his hands, showing that he wasn’t carrying a weapon. And I couldn’t see a knife or gun strapped to his, ah, naked body. “Um … I know this looks bad, but I can explain—”
Chairman Meow chose that exact moment to shoot out between my two legs, leap up on to the arm of the couch, pull back his ears and hiss at the stranger. The cat’s back arched and his fur fluffed up as if he’d stuck his tail into a power outlet. I’d never seen him look like that before.
“Woah!” The man held up his hands as the Chairman swiped at his wrist with his claws. “Easy there, boy!”
“Don’t touch him!” I cried out, terrified this guy might be some kind of deranged cat killer.
“I won’t, I won’t, I’m sorry.” The guy slid back along the couch. As he did this, his legs moved and I got quite an eyeful of … everything. And there was quite a lot of it to eye. He was the most well-endowed criminal I’d ever encountered, and I’d had more than the usual exposure to criminal types.
“Just ... stay there and don’t move.” I jerked the end of my umbrella in his direction, as I moved closer to the stairs. “I won’t call the police or anything, I’d just appreciate it if you left.”
“You know, you make one hell of a cake. I haven’t been able to get you … I mean, it … off my mind all day.” He flashed me that heart-melting, devil-may-care smile. But this time, I didn’t find it sexy, I found it terrifying. Had he been following me, waiting under the window until he saw the lights go out? “Look, I’m not here to hurt you. You weren’t even supposed to see me like this. It’s all a bit of a mistake—”
“Are you here to rape me?” I asked, startled by the crassness of my question. “Because just so you know, I
It was now or never. I took a deep breath, and raised the umbrella behind my head, ready to strike. I pushed open the door.
The man was hunched over the couch, standing on one of the cushions and crouched down as if he were playing leap frog. He stared down at the box I’d been using to hold the raven, the cardboard now crushed and torn into large pieces that were strewn across the floor. My standing lamp had been overturned, and I could see long, jagged tears along the upholstery of the couch. The place looked as if a wild animal had been loose inside it.
Which I guess was exactly what had happened. This man didn’t seem to be a typical intruder, the kind you saw on crime shows with shifty eyes and a black hoodie. For starters, he appeared to be naked, his dark skin criss-crossed with intricate tattoos. His shoulders bulged with muscles, and his chest was sculpted like a male model. His face was obscured by a mane of long black hair, curling into ringlets at the ends. As he turned toward me, his piercing eyes met mine.
“You?” I cried in disbelief as I recognised him. It was the man from the bakery, the hot biker bad boy who’d flirted with me and had bought the Heaven and Hell cake. The man who didn’t ask me out, but who had been playing on my mind ever since I’d lain eyes on him. Of all the people I expected to find in my flat, he was not one of them.
He opened his mouth to speak, but all that came out was a strange croak. He looked lost, confused, as if he desperately wanted to explain something but didn’t know where to begin.
“Is this what all the flirting was about?” I snapped, inching my way into the room and along the wall, trying to close the distance between myself and the door. “You were distracting me while you cased the joint? Looking for where I hid my safe? My big flour sacks with dollar signs painted on them?”
“While I was … casing the joint?” The naked biker finally found his voice, and it was still that deep, gravelly, incredibly sexy voice, although now it was dripping with confusion. He held up his hands, showing that he wasn’t carrying a weapon. And I couldn’t see a knife or gun strapped to his, ah, naked body. “Um … I know this looks bad, but I can explain—”
Chairman Meow chose that exact moment to shoot out between my two legs, leap up on to the arm of the couch, pull back his ears and hiss at the stranger. The cat’s back arched and his fur fluffed up as if he’d stuck his tail into a power outlet. I’d never seen him look like that before.
“Woah!” The man held up his hands as the Chairman swiped at his wrist with his claws. “Easy there, boy!”
“Don’t touch him!” I cried out, terrified this guy might be some kind of deranged cat killer.
“I won’t, I won’t, I’m sorry.” The guy slid back along the couch. As he did this, his legs moved and I got quite an eyeful of … everything. And there was quite a lot of it to eye. He was the most well-endowed criminal I’d ever encountered, and I’d had more than the usual exposure to criminal types.
“Just ... stay there and don’t move.” I jerked the end of my umbrella in his direction, as I moved closer to the stairs. “I won’t call the police or anything, I’d just appreciate it if you left.”
“You know, you make one hell of a cake. I haven’t been able to get you … I mean, it … off my mind all day.” He flashed me that heart-melting, devil-may-care smile. But this time, I didn’t find it sexy, I found it terrifying. Had he been following me, waiting under the window until he saw the lights go out? “Look, I’m not here to hurt you. You weren’t even supposed to see me like this. It’s all a bit of a mistake—”
“Are you here to rape me?” I asked, startled by the crassness of my question. “Because just so you know, I
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