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I mmy turned on the light in the kitchen.

She couldn’t sleep. And when she couldn’t sleep, she baked. Or she cleaned. But she’d already cleaned her room and bathroom, and she didn’t want to wake anyone up.

So she’d come downstairs. Thankfully, Jenner had sensor lights set up everywhere in the house and the drapes were all drawn.

Except for over the kitchen sink.

Cupcakes.

She stared out into the darkness. There was no reason to be scared.

Then she saw something outside. A flash of light.

Someone was there.

Oh God!

What was she going to do? What if it was Maeve’s stalker out there? He could be looking for her even though she’d headed back to Montana with Gray several days ago.

For some reason, Alejandro had left a couple of his men here.

Wait . . . could it be one of them?

Maybe she should just go and get Sampson . . . but if it was one of Alejandro’s guys then she’d wake him for no reason.

That flash of light grew brighter and then disappeared.

And someone knocked on the door.

She let out a squeal, then placed her hand over her mouth.

She stood there, frozen, as the door handle turned and then a man walked in. Immy worked up a scream, but it couldn’t escape her mouth. There was nothing she could do . . . he was going to get her . . . hurt her . . .

Her breath came in sharp pants. She was going to be sick or pass out.

“Immy?”

How did he know her name?

“Immy? You remember me? Tobias.”

Now he was giving her his name? That must mean that . . . wait, Tobias?

One of Alejandro’s men was called Tobias.

Immy blinked and stared up into the big man’s worried face. He was a good-looking guy with dark hair that was cut short at the sides and longer on top. He was wearing a black jacket and jeans and she could see hints of a tattoo at the bottom of his neck.

“Tobias?” she whispered.

“That’s right.” He crouched down and pointed at his chest. “Tobias.”

Wait. How did she get onto the floor? And pressed into a corner of the kitchen?

Oh heck.

He was going to think she was a complete basket case.

“What happened?” he asked.

“Sooo,” she said. “It’s a funny story, really.”

He raised a thick eyebrow. Wow. How was he so calm and collected? He was the epitome of cool. She wished she could be like that.

She was the epitome of . . . a walking disaster.

Certainly not calm and collected. Or sexy and cool.

Okay. Did you really just think about this guy as sexy? You don’t even know him. Get your head together, Immy.

Also, you’re still sitting on the floor. You might want to get up .

“Somehow, I don’t think it will be.”

She managed to scramble up onto her feet, nearly tumbling over again in her haste. While he stood out of his crouch like it was the easiest thing in the world to do.

Wow. “How are you so graceful for a big guy? Shouldn’t you kind of bumble about? Or make noise as you move?”

“Not fucking King Kong, Cherry.”

“Close to it. And you owe a dollar to the swear jar.”

His lips twitched. “You’re sassy, huh?”

Sassy? Her? Never. Well, maybe sometimes.

“Swear jar?” he asked.

“It’s on the bench. A dollar each time you swear.”

“Guess I’m gonna be broke. You gonna tell me?”

“Tell you what?” she whispered.

“The story.”

“Ahh. Well, it’s probably too late for story time.”

He simply stared down at her.

Right.

“You’re not gonna just let this go, are you?”

Another eyebrow raise. Gosh, he could say a lot with those things. It was like they were actually having a proper conversation.

So, she needed to tell him something, but it wouldn’t be everything. Because the truth was that she didn’t really know what exactly happened.

“I saw something out in the dark. A light. And I thought . . .”

Understanding filled Tobias’s face. “You thought it was the stalker.”

“Yes.”

“Sorry,” he said with a grimace.

“It’s not . . . it’s not your fault. You’re just out there doing your job. I assume. Is that why you were out there?”

“Yep,” he replied. “Light was a flashlight. Left it outside.”

“Do you really think her stalker will return? I mean, Maeve isn’t here and security has been tightened. He’d have to be crazy to come back, right?”

“Have to be.”

“Only, he could very well be crazy. You have to be to chase a woman halfway across the country, right? And then to try and drown her . . . yeah, he’s got to have a few screws loose.”

Tobias simply nodded in agreement.

“You don’t say much, do you?” Immy asked Tobias.

He just grunted. But she saw him smirk. She knocked her shoulder against his bicep. And immediately felt terrible. She didn’t even know this man.

“I’m sorry!” she cried, taking a couple of steps back. “I didn’t mean to do that. I just . . . I, um . . .”

“Immy.” Her name was said firmly, without any inflection. And it wasn’t a question, more of a way to bring her back down from wherever she’d been spiralling to.

Instantly, she felt the worry and panic leave her. That never happened except with her friends. They were the only ones who had ever been able to settle her.

Immy gaped at him. “How did you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Bring me back down. How did you know I was starting to spiral?”

“Pretty obvious. And you don’t need to do that around me.”

“Do what around you?” she asked.

“Worry.”

Immy let out a huff of air. “But I always worry.” That was the part of the reason everyone tried to shelter her so much.

Yeah, she could be na?ve. And she liked to see the best in people. But she wasn’t a complete pushover.

However, she did worry about her friends.

Hence why she was awake at two in the morning about to do some baking. Immy couldn’t really afford to miss the sleep and she’d pay for it tomorrow. But there had been no getting to sleep once she’d woken up after a nightmare about Maeve.

“Don’t do it around me.”

For some reason she now thought that she wouldn’t worry so much around him. Which was ridiculous.

“I don’t even know you.”

Tobias shrugged those huge shoulders. “You can trust I’ve got this. I’ve got you.”

“You’ve got me? What does that mean?” And why did she sound so breathless?

You do not know this man, Immy .

No, but she felt strangely comfortable around him.

“I’ll keep you safe.”

“Oh. I guess that’s your job. To keep all of us safe.”

He leaned in, his gaze hitting hers and making her feel all breathless again.

“I’ll keep you safe, Immy.”

She nodded. “Uh-huh, uh-huh.”

It was wrong for that to be . . . hot, right?

Was it really possible to be attracted to two men at once? Like in the books she read? And maybe her attraction to Tobias wasn’t a bad thing. It could mean she was moving on . . . which was something she had to do.

Even as she felt her heart break a little.

“Immy?” Tobias said gently. “You okay?”

Immy let out a broken-sounding laugh. “Um, well. That’s kind of debatable. One of my best friends has a stalker who tried to drown her. And now she’s left with a man we don’t really know, even though he does seem quite capable of taking care of her. In all ways.”

“All ways?”

Oh. She probably shouldn’t have said that. But Gray didn’t just seem capable of protecting her body, but of taking care of her in all ways. Her heart, her needs, her safety, and her Little.

That man was all Daddy.

Immy sometimes wondered what it would feel like to have someone take care of her like that.

But she wasn’t a Little.

Or you’ve just convinced yourself that you shouldn’t be when you really are .

“Come back to me.”

Immy blinked at Tobias then smiled at him widely. “I’m here.”

He crossed his arms over his chest, narrowing his gaze at her. “Are you?”

“Yep and it’s very kind of you to protect me. But I don’t think that there is any real threat to me. To any of us. The stalker is after Maeve. I think you should have gone with her.”

“She’ll be safe.”

Immy hoped so but she had this bad feeling in her stomach.

“What are you doing up?” he asked.

“I couldn’t sleep so I decided to do some baking. What’s your favorite type of cookie?”

“Don’t eat cookies.”

She placed her hands on her chest with a gasp. Was he trying to hurt her ears? “You . . . you don’t eat cookies? You have to eat cookies! Oh, are you gluten free? I can make gluten free ones. Abe won’t admit it, but he feels better if he doesn’t eat too much gluten.”

She planned to make Abe his favorite cookies. Double chocolate. Maybe it would help him. He just wasn’t himself at the moment. He was quiet and subdued. And she was concerned about him.

That was another reason she was finding it hard to sleep.

“Can eat gluten. Just don’t eat cookies.”

“Because you don’t like them?” she asked, shocked.

He grunted. “A lot of sugar.”

“Oh. Yes, you’re right. My hips probably don’t need the extra sugar.” She turned away, staring at the oven.

What should she do now?

It was impossible to bake without sampling at least one cookie.

Two hands grasped hold of her shoulders, turning her. She let out a gasp, barely biting back her scream. Then Tobias grabbed her around the waist, lifting her onto the counter.

Immy wasn’t going to lie . . . that was H.O.T.

Yep, it even deserved capitals due to how hot it was.

“What are you doing?” she asked as he put his hands on the counter on either side of her and leaned in.

Wow. Wow. Wow.

“Don’t do that,” he growled.

“Do what?” she asked. “Ask questions?”

“Speak badly about yourself. Hear me?”

“Uh-huh. Uh-huh.” She nodded. Her brain was kind of offline right now and she didn’t know what else to do but nod.

“Good. You’re perfect. Hear me?”

She was far from that, but the stern look on his face told her that she needed to agree with him.

“Yep. Yep. Perfect.”

He eyed her for a long moment. “You can eat all the cookies.”

“I can?”

“Who’s gonna tell you no?”

“My doctor. And my dentist. And likely, the guys.”

“Hmm. Health and teeth are important.”

Immy sighed. “Yeah.” She took good care of her teeth, but her health was a tougher topic.

“But not at midnight,” he added.

“I can’t sleep, though.”

He nodded. “Got some pills you can take?”