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19

LIA

I smoothed my hands down the side of the black leggings I wore, trying to muster up some excitement over my second date with Mael.

And I was excited, but overshadowing that excitement was the fact that my stalker had visited me every night since that second time he came back, always around midnight and leaving sometime after three.

All he ever did was hold me.

And I was now so fucking confused, I didn’t know how to react or think anymore.

If this was psychological warfare he was waging against me, trying to break me down… he was fucking winning.

I blinked.

The morning sun shone through the window. It was an unusually warm fall day. And though it had snowed a couple of weeks ago, most of the snow had melted from a random heatwave we’d gotten a few days before.

I should be happy.

I shook my head.

Mael was taking me hiking, so I had no makeup on. No makeup to hide the bags under my eyes, the paleness of my skin, or the chapping of my lips. I pinched my cheeks, trying to get some color into them, and put some lip balm on my lips.

I still looked tired, but better than I had.

A part of me had wanted to call and cancel.

The other part was angry that I was even letting this… this creep mess with my life in any way.

I didn’t call to cancel.

A knock came at the door.

It was too late to cancel now.

I walked over to the front door and opened it to see Mael standing there with a bouquet of white and red roses in his hand.

My smile was stuck frozen on my face as I took in the flowers. I hadn’t been lying when I told Mael that white roses were my favorite. They were still my favorite, but that was tainted by the fact that my stalker knew of this and had been giving me roses before he decided to make his presence known to me.

“Are you okay?” Mael asked.

I nodded and took the flowers from him. “Thank you. These are beautiful.”

“You’re welcome, kitten.”

I moved out of the way and motioned for him to come inside. I barely had the door closed behind me when Mael had me pressed up against it, the flowers hanging loosely in my hand.

I looked at him, smiling a little as he bent down and kissed me.

I closed my eyes and savored the taste of him. I loved the way he kissed me—with gentleness, with reverence, as if he was afraid to break me.

It was the kind of kiss I imagined little girls grew up hoping for. I knew I certainly did, and now it was my reality.

He circled his arms around my waist and pulled me until I was pressed up against him, until there wasn’t any space between us, and until all I could think about was him. I wished there was some way for me to crawl under his skin and never leave.

He would protect me from it all.

“Good morning, baby,” he mumbled against my lips before kissing me again.

I laughed. “Morning.”

“Fuck,” he said, his voice guttural as he kissed me again and again and again. “You make me want to lose all sense of control.”

That was the nicest thing anyone had ever said to me.

I loved the fact that I wasn’t the only one feeling like this.

He pulled back and buried his face in my neck. His lips latched onto the skin there, sucking it in and messing with my mind.

“Mael,” I moaned out.

His hands moved then, slowly, as if he didn’t want to scare me off. I knew what was coming. I still reacted when I felt his hands mold around my breasts. My head fell back against the door with a thud, and he looked at me as he played.

I was only wearing a sports bra, so I could feel everything.

I swallowed when I felt his fingers strumming at my nipples, twisting the nubs until they hardened, begging for more.

My breathing grew erratic, and my skin felt hot as he pulled my shirt up until it rested around my neck. He held it there with one hand and pulled the fabric of my bra down with the other, exposing me to him for the first time.

“Fuck me, but you are just perfect, aren’t you?” he groaned out, his fingers pinching my nipple and plucking them until a delicious sting started to spread.

I wasn’t perfect, but I was so, so glad he thought so, especially since he was the perfect one out of the two of us.

His blue eyes darkened as he watched me, and he licked his lips. The image caused a pulsating ache in my clit.

“God,” I groaned out, arching my back, trying to get close to him, trying to get more.

He leaned down and sucked one nipple into his mouth, twisting it with his teeth and driving me crazy. I ran my fingers through his blond hair, tugging on it roughly every time he nipped at me.

He moved on to the other one, giving it the same treatment.

“Fuck. Please, Mael.”

I didn’t know what I was begging for, only that I wanted more and more and more.

He pulled back, hunger deep in his eyes.

“We have to stop,” he said. I made a slight sound of protest, and he shook his head. “If we don’t stop, I might just throw you on the floor and fuck you.”

My thighs clenched at his words. And why wouldn’t he? That didn’t sound like such a bad idea to me.

He must have seen the thought on my face because he smiled, shook his head again, and pulled back, helping me straighten my clothes.

I pouted up at him.

He tapped my lip. “Put that away, little brat.”

I scrunched my face up even more, and he laughed, grabbing the flowers from my hand and placing them down on the kitchen island.

“I don’t have a vase to put them in,” I said regretfully.

He shrugged. “It’s okay. We can buy one on our way back.”

“They’ll probably wilt by then,” I said.

He stepped closer to me, pressing a kiss on the corner of my lips. “I’ll buy you more flowers.”

“Yeah?” I asked teasingly. Flowers weren’t cheap, but I was sure he could afford them.

“Yeah,” he answered seriously. “I’ll buy you flowers every day for the rest of my life.”

“The rest of your life, huh?” I asked, wrapping my arms around his waist and pulling him toward me. I tilted my head back to look up at him, loving the height difference between us. I was on the average side of tall at five-four, but he was tall enough that the top of my head didn’t reach his shoulder.

“Yes,” he answered gruffly.

I looked at him strangely. The rest of his life—that was a commitment.

“You shouldn’t say things you don’t mean,” I said.

He frowned. “I did mean it.”

I opened my mouth, my eyes taking in his face, before I shut it, shaking my head. That was just crazy talk. We were barely going on our second date. My feelings for him might be intense and different from any other man I had ever been with, but to say something like that? I had no words.

I pulled away from him. “We should go.”

He looked like he wanted to say something more but didn’t, letting me pull him out of the apartment.

* * *

The drive to our hiking trail was long, but the time passed by quickly. It was still early enough in the morning that I knew we wouldn’t overheat, and since we were going in the middle of the week, there was hardly anyone around.

I watched Mael’s side profile as he put his car into park, admiring just how perfect he was at every angle. No one should look this beautiful, but Mael did, and I found myself completely and wholly obsessed with him.

He smiled and, without looking away from the road, said, “You’re staring.”

“I was thinking just how unfair it is that you have no bad sides.”

He laughed, shooting me a bemused look.

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, come on. Don’t tell me no one has ever told you that you’re good-looking.”

He shrugged, not denying it. “No one who mattered, anyway. Until you.”

“I matter?” I asked.

“More than anyone and anything in this world.”

There he went again, saying things he shouldn’t say to me on our second date. I didn’t want it—not because I didn’t like it, but because I didn’t want to get my hopes up high only to have the rug pulled out from underneath me later on.

I didn’t say anything to that. I opened the door and got out, taking in my view.

While it had been sunny back at my apartment, it wasn’t now. But it was warm enough to hike. It was an unseasonably warm day, and perhaps that was why Mael decided this would be what we’d do for our second date. I frowned at all the clouds in the sky, wondering if it might rain.

Mael came up to me, a backpack slung over both shoulders. He held out his hand for me.

“Ready?”

I grabbed it and smiled. “Ready.”

Mael set an easy pace.

I knew he could have gone a little faster or taken us on a more difficult path, but he was considerate of me, and I found I had no problem keeping up with him.

We walked in comfortable silence for a while, with Mael taking the lead. The only sounds were the crunch of gravel beneath our feet and sometimes the scattering sounds from little creatures running about that I couldn’t see. I could smell the scent of pine and damp earth, and I took in a deep breath, letting it ease away my worries for a bit.

We hiked for about an hour before Mael suggested we take a break. He led me off to the side of the trail, over to a fallen log that provided the perfect makeshift bench. I sat down close next to Mael, taking in the earthy scent of his body, letting it comfort me. I looked up at the sky, taking note that the clouds had grown darker. I didn’t say anything about it. I didn’t want to ruin this moment by pointing it out. It was silly, really, that I thought the problem would go away simply because I didn’t acknowledge it.

He pulled out two sandwiches from his backpack and two water bottles. He handed the sandwiches to me and opened one water bottle, holding it up to my lips. I shyly took a sip, so aware of the fact that he was watching me intently.

He took a sip of water as well, capped it, and took one of the sandwiches from me. I watched as he unwrapped it and took a huge bite, my eyes focused on his lips. He smiled when he noticed me staring at him and nudged me with his shoulder. “Eat.”

I looked away from him and took a bite of my turkey sandwich. It was obvious he had made this himself. I felt warm from the effort he had put into this.

“Tell me something that I don’t know about you,” he said when he finished his sandwich. I was still only halfway done with mine.

I looked down at it on my lap, thinking.

I have a stalker.

I grimaced. How would he react if I told him that? Would he run away? Wasn’t it selfish of me not to say anything to him? I didn’t want to think about that.

“I hate butterflies,” I finally said, feeling a little foolish for even saying it. My mind moved to the monarch butterfly on his abs. That didn’t help me much.

Mael’s eyebrows shot up, and he let out a surprised laugh. “Butterflies?”

I slapped his bicep playfully. “They’re creepy, okay?”

He laughed harder. “Are they?”

I nodded, feeling my cheeks tighten. Perhaps this wasn’t something I should tell other people. “Yes.”

He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me in close to him. “Butterflies are creepy,” he said, agreeing with me.

I shot him a small smile. “Your turn.”

“Take another bite first,” he said.

I looked down at my sandwich, taking one big bite. Too big. I chewed, trying to swallow it down. How embarrassing. Not that Mael seemed to mind. He was looking at me like he thought I was cute.

I balanced the sandwich on my lap and grabbed the water bottle, washing down the food before turning to Mael expectantly.

“I don’t like heights.”

I blinked in surprise. “You’re scared of heights?”

“I didn’t say I was scared of them,” he corrected. “I don’t like them.”

That was… same difference.

I bit my lip to keep from smiling, and he narrowed his eyes on me.

I shook my head. “I’m sorry. It’s just… not something I thought you would say.”

It was just so human, and I might not know him well, but Mael just looked so confident, so formidable, that I didn’t think there would be anything he was scared of.

“We’re hiking up in the mountains,” I said, looking around. We were pretty high up.

He shrugged. “I can handle it.”

I laughed. “You are something, you know that, Mael…? I don’t even know your last name.”

His eyes twinkled as he looked at me. “Beckett.”

“Mael Beckett.”

What a masculine name. And it matched him so well.

“My last name is Whitlock,” I said. “Not that you asked, but…”

I trailed off, not knowing what to say and wondering why I was feeling so awkward right now.

“Finish your lunch, baby Whitlock ,” he said, washing away the awkwardness for me.

I laughed and finished my lunch. We stayed there and talked a little more before the clouds got darker, and they were harder to ignore.

“Come on. Let's go back to the car before the rain catches up with us.”

I nodded in agreement and helped Mael clean up a bit before we made our way back. We were about a third of the way down when the rain caught up to us.

I shrieked when I felt not a soft drizzle coming down but heavy rainfall that drenched our clothes and hair in five seconds flat.

I heard Mael laughing at me through the pounding of the rain before he grabbed my hand and rushed us out of there. When we reached his car, he opened the door to the back seat and ushered me inside before moving to the front to start the car and put the heat on full blast. Still, I shivered from the cold as my wet clothes clung to me. Mael looked back at me from the rearview mirror, our eyes meeting for one brief second that felt like a lifetime, and made my heart stall. I watched as he got out of the car and joined me in the back seat.

“Take off your clothes, baby,” he said, twisting around and reaching for something in the cargo area.

“W-What?” I asked, laughing, when he pulled out some blankets and a couple of bags with clothes— dry clothes! —inside.

He shot me a smile that had my stalled heart racing into overdrive. “I came prepared.”

“You thought we m-might be drenched from th-the r-rain?” I asked, the tremors in my voice getting worse.

He shrugged. “Not really, but why chance it, right?”

I smiled. “God, I really like you,” I said, my numbed fingers moving over to remove my clothes.

“I’m easy to like,” he replied with a grin, eliciting a giggle from me, as he took the dry clothes out from the bags and placed them in the passenger seat so they wouldn’t get wet.

It wasn’t easy getting my clothes off. I let out a frustrated groan, and Mael gently pushed my hands away before he took over.

I let him pull my wet shirt over my head and put it in the bag he had the dry clothes in before he handed me a small towel.

“You must have been in the Boy Scouts,” I said, using it to wipe away some excess water from my hair.

He shook his head. “Lift your hips for me, baby.”

I was too cold to be self-conscious. I did as he asked, and he pulled my leggings down, leaving me in nothing but my underwear and sports bra. He wrapped the blanket around me, and I let out a groan in relief. I was still so cold, but it was getting better.

Then he was taking off his clothes, and I could feel excitement over seeing him like this once more. Mael’s body was like a work of art.

Once he had his wet clothes pulled off and put away in the bags as well, I opened the blanket up for him. He came in close to me, his body heat emanating over me and warming me faster than the blanket ever could.

I wrapped my arms around his waist and let out a small sigh when his arms went around me, warming me up further. It didn’t take long for the shivers to stop, and I was just feeling warm and content.

I slowly tilted my head back and looked up at him. His eyes were already on me. The blues glowed with some unnamed emotions that did nothing to help calm my heart.

We didn’t say anything for three long moments, just stared at each other, sharing the same air, the same breath in the enclosed space of his car.

I really wanted him to kiss me.

He didn’t disappoint.

He bent down and kissed me slowly.

He kissed me sweetly. One hand came up and cupped my cheek, and I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him in closer to me, clinging to him as if I were afraid something might happen, and I would realize this was nothing more than a fantasy.

I gasped when I opened my mouth, and his tongue moved inside me. He deepened the kiss as our tongues danced with each other. I pressed myself closer to him, wanting more and more and more, as the hand cupping my cheek moved to the nape of my neck, holding me there as if he was afraid I might pull back.

That was the last thing I was thinking of doing.

The blanket fell down slightly from our shoulders, but I was no longer cold.

The rain continued to pound on the roof of the car, making me feel, once more, like I was in a snow globe, but I wasn’t alone this time.

I was inside it with Mael, and how badly I didn’t want us to leave.

He broke away from the kiss first to give us time to catch our breath. He rested his forehead against mine, his eyes taking me in. This close, I could make out the silver flecks in his eyes and see a small scattering of freckles on the bridge of his nose that was only noticeable up close.

We didn’t say anything—just stayed silent as we took each other in.

His eyes held a question in them that I knew only I could answer. I pulled back slightly and nodded.

There was nothing more that needed to be said.

He pulled off my sports bra and let it fall to the floor of the car before he took off his boxer briefs.

I hooked my thumbs under my panties and pushed them down my legs.

He pulled me back into his arms and kissed me. This kiss was different from the first one. It was still sweet and gentle, but there was an underlying tension that hadn’t been there, tinged with a desperation that I was sure we both felt.

He pushed me down until I was lying on the back seat, and he followed me. I spread my legs to make room for him, feeling goose bumps break out across my skin when I felt his hard cock brush up against my legs. I wrapped my arms around his broad shoulders, feeling the hard muscles bunch beneath my palms every time he moved. I was wholly addicted to his body.

“Do you have any condoms?” I asked.

He closed his eyes and shook his head. “Fuck. No, kitten, I don’t.”

“I’m on birth control,” I said, licking my lips. “And I’m clean.”

“I’m clean too,” he said. I nodded. “You trust me, yeah?”

Again, I nodded. I did. It might be stupid of me to believe him, but I did.

He kissed me again, this one just a little harder than the other ones, just as his hand moved down between our bodies. I felt him grab his dick, stroking up and down the long length before he directed the tip to my entrance.

We both looked at each other as he pushed inside—the only sound was the rhythmic beat of the rain on the car and our harsh breathing.

And the small groan we both let out when he was in all the way.

Fuck.

I arched my back and squeezed down on him.

He gritted his teeth. “Baby, you are playing with my control.”

I grinned at him. I liked it when he said things like that, like I had the ability to make him lose all sense of control. How… powerful.

He cupped my breast and played with it, squeezing roughly before his fingers pinched my nipple and twisted. I hissed out a breath of pain.

“Feel good?” he asked gruffly.

I could only nod, wrapping one leg around his hip. “Move, Mael. Fuck me, please .”

He offered me a playful smile before pulling his hips back and slamming back inside me.

My head moved up as stars danced around my vision.

Fuck. Fuck.

It felt so good. So good.

“More, Mael,” I pleaded desperately.

He did as I asked, moving harder, faster against me until all that I could focus on was him… until all that was left was him.

Mael, Mael, Mael.

His name came out on repeat like a prayer in my head.

“Mael,” I said, holding him tighter in my arms, my nails digging into the skin on his back and leaving my marks. I wanted to mark him. I wanted him to bear them for days and be reminded of me.

The car moved along with every hard thrust he pushed against me, our heavy breathing fogging up the car windows.

He leaned down and kissed my neck before suckling the skin there with his lips, leaving a mark of his own. I moaned out when he bit me.

“God, but I love the way your tight pussy grips me,” he groaned out, his voice rough as he increased his pace, and pleasure mingled with the pain. “You feel so fucking good.”

I could only nod, letting out a small cry every time his skin slapped against mine.

“Come for me, kitten.”

I reached up and bit onto his shoulder as I started to convulse beneath him. His hand came down and found my clit. He rubbed over the bundle of nerves roughly. I shot off, my orgasm ripping through me and tearing me up from the inside out.

I bit harder on his skin when I felt him shaking. Then, with a shout, he was coming, shooting his cum inside me. Spurts of warmth filled me, and I closed my eyes, holding onto the moment.

We stayed like that for a long time, even when he had gotten softer, even after the rain had stopped and the world seemed to hold its breath, giving us this time, and that was all.