Page 36 of Jealous Stalker

You think that kiss was me afraid of you disappearing?

No, baby. That was me drowning. That was me not knowing how to hold back anymore. That was me falling into the sun and praying I’d burn so you’d feel it.

I want to give you more. God help me. I do. But there are things about me…

Things I’ve never told anyone.

Things that don’t just break the rules. They burn the whole damn book.

Still—

Here’s one thing no one knows:

I lost a part of myself in Iraq. One bad second. One explosion.

Now I hear the world differently.

I hearyoudifferently. Your breath. Your heart.

I swear, I know your dreams by the way you shift beneath the sheets.

You make me want to believe in second chances.

And maybe someday, I’ll earn mine.

Until then, here’s one more secret:

I like my coffee black.

But only if your fingers touched the cup first.

Yours—

Even if I shouldn’t be worthy.

Ella

I readhis note three times.

Each time, I pressed my fingers to the words.

As if I could touch him through the page.

Through the hurt he confessed. Whatever he lost. The dreams he listens for. The way he said he drowns in me.

God.

I’ve never felt more wanted in my life.

Now I know what the women between the pages of my dubcon fantasy books feel like. And if that’s wrong, then I don’t ever want to be right.

Every soapbox and helpline out there will tell me I’m crazy. That I need help. That I should be terrified.

And instead of scaring me? It makes me feel weightless. Wicked.

His.

I don’t write him back this time.