Page 4 of My Stalker, My Protector
“Yeah,” he rasps. Oh, my goodness, Cash is so worried about me, I can feel his heart slamming against my cheek. For some reason, though, his worry doesn’t exacerbate my own, it calms me. Because he’s taking this seriously. He’s going to keep me safe. I’m so glad my brother brought me here. Cash equals safety. “I, uh…maybe Scout should go home to your parents while you’re gone.” His lips brush against the peak of my forehead and I feel a funny little tingle between my legs that is probably turning my face the color of a flamingo. It’s so weird that Cash is the only one who makes my face get hot…but the tingle? That is new. Is it because he’s been holding me in his arms so long? Longer than ever? “I don’t know if I’m the right man for the job, Russ.”
“You’re the only one I trust with her,” Russ says. Then reluctantly, “But if you don’t think you’ll be able to guard her properly—”
“I didn’t say that,” Cash cuts in, his darkening eyes tracking up to my brother, a muscle snapping in his jaw. “I can guard her better than anyone.”
No one says anything for several seconds. The atmosphere in the room has grown charged, but I don’t totally know why. I only know that ticklish feeling within the depths of my sex is growing more exaggerated the longer I spend in Cash’s embrace. Especially when he says things likeI can guard her better than anyone.
And he’s right.
I can’t even fathom the thought of going anywhere else.
“I don’t want to leave campus,” I say. “I…don’t want to run away scared.”
Cash scrutinizes me, strokes my hair. “Doeshe scare you, angel?”
“Yes,” I whisper, honestly.
He swallows audibly, then leans down to speak quietly in my ear. “You should run home to your parents, little girl.”
The funny sensation spreads. So intensely and so fast that I’m now embarrassed to be feeling it in front of my brother.Little girl? “No,” I say back, lifting my arms to wind them around his neck, sighing when he corrals me closer. “I want to stay with you. You said it yourself that you can guard me better than anymore.”
“Scout…” he says, sounding winded. Pained.
I look up at him and employ the Scout Method, putting out my lower lip and blinking back the moisture in my eyes. “Please?”
His eyes close. “God help me.” When he opens them again, they are trained on my face and full of fire. Like he’s vowing to protect me with his life. “I’ve got her, Russ.”
I pull my lower lip back in and beam at him, blinking away my tears.
Which only seems to make that fire burn hotter.
Behind me, Russ breathes a sigh of relief. “Thanks, man. I’ll try and come back early.”
“You do that.”
My brother approaches to my left, laying a hand on my head and ruffling my hair. Curiously, Cash’s gaze narrows at the action, his pupils seeming to expand and encompass the entirety of his eye. “Doeverythinghe says, Scout. All right? When I get back, we’re going to handle this with the police.”
“Okay, Russ. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.” I rub my cheek against the center of Cash’s chest, enjoying the rapid pound of his heart. “I’m in good hands.”
Without another word, Russ leaves the apartment, the door clicking shut as he exits.
3
Cash
This is a very dangerous turn of events.
I’m all alone with my prey and she is smiling up at me like I’m her savior.
She has no idea how badly I want to occupy every aspect of her life, take up all her fucking oxygen so she can only gasp, preferably while I’m slam fucking her. She has no idea that I keep a Ziploc bag of her hair that I’ve collected from her pillow, a little cloud of blonde that I rub against my cheek like a ritual before bed every night. She’s been handed over to me like a giftwrapped present with the expectation that I’ll keep her safe.
But I’m the one from whom she needs to seek shelter.
“Thank you for doing this,” Scout says, letting go of me and stepping back, that maddening flush turning her face pink, her demeanor suddenly shy. “I know you probably don’t want your friend’s pesky little sister hanging around. I’m not…” Some of the sparkle dims in her eyes. “I’m not going to interrupt any dates this weekend, am I?”
Me giving the time of day to another woman? Laughable. “Nope.”
“Oh.” She starts a slow walk around my round, dining table and I suppress the urge to break it in half, so there won’t be a barrier between us. “It’s so funny, I don’t see you with girls very often, but Russ said you used to date all the time.”