Chapter 11
Toby
I continued forwarding the emails to Dex, more than a little giddy that he seemed to be taking control of the situation. Was it a little bit romance novel damsel in distress? Yes, it totally was, and I didn’t give a damn. If Sexy Neighbor was going to take charge, I would happily be a damsel in distress. Except for the damsel part, obviously. Dude in distress? Gentleman in jeopardy? Mister in misery?
Whatever. The point was I felt about a thousand times better with Dex here. I’d been in a spiral of panic, feeling totally hopeless. I knew the police couldn’t do much, and I knew everything was probably fine, but my anxiety had gotten the best of me, and I’d felt isolated and alone and scared.
Then Dex showed up, all knight in shining armor. Or serial killer in black clothes. The point was that he made me feel safe. I knew I was overtired and stressed and probably imagining him being all growly and eye-glowy too, but he totally reminded me of a bad-ass MC who would save the day.
Yes, I knew life wasn’t a romance novel. I mean, mostly it wasn’t. Romance stories really did happen in real life. Art imitated life and all that.
I finished sending the last email, determinedly not rereading them as I forwarded them. I looked up, and Dex seemed deep in thought. Should I offer him something? Thank him for his help? Beg him to ravage me over the kitchen island? Where did we go from here?
I had no fucking clue. Despite being a writer, I was really pretty bad at peopling. I gave a sigh, and that seemed to shake Dex out of his thoughts.
“I’ll do my best to take care of this for you, Toby. Try not to worry,” he said, stalking over towards me.
I was sitting on the kitchen island stool, and he looked down at me and was so damn close. And hot. Fuck.
It was like he sensed my thoughts, because he gave a little smirk, and then he was leaning down, and I was closing my eyes and leaning up, and thank fuck his lips pressed against mine.
My hands found their way to his chest, and he was fucking hot . Like, actually hot. The man was a furnace, but I barely had time to think about that before his arms wrapped around me and his tongue lightly traced my lips. I opened up, and his tongue gently pressed against mine.
I hated when guys just shoved it in there. Like full tongue sliding down your throat and just hanging out there, and what the hell were you supposed to do with that? Suck on it? Like was kissing only a prelude to a blow job for guys like that? Who needed a dead fish of a tongue flopping around in their mouth? It was awkward as fuck.
Dex did not kiss like that. His tongue gently teased at mine until I was pressing closer and grabbing onto his shirt. Our tongues were flirting, his lips were soft, and it was just fucking fun kissing him. He pressed forward into the kiss then eased back at intervals. Half the time I felt like chasing him, and half the time I felt like he was about to devour me.
It was hot as hell. In every sense of the word. My dick perked up, ready to get involved in the action, and when he pressed closer to me, I spread my legs without thought. The stool put his sexy as fuck abs level with my dick, and I couldn’t help the groan that escaped me as he pressed against me.
I felt his mouth smile against mine, and he kissed my neck, gently nibbling at it, and I could only groan and press into him. Fuck, this man fried every fucking sense I had. I shamelessly rubbed against his abs, and his hard dick pressed against my hip, so I moved my leg up and down to rub his dick. He groaned into my neck, giving a sharp little bite that made me gasp.
I thought I might come in my pants, which was embarrassing but also so fucking hot.
I wanted this man naked and in my bed. Holy fuck, did I.
“Dex,” I moaned out, and he gentled his nipping, easing back slightly.
I mewled in disappointment. I couldn’t help it. I wanted him pressed up against me again, his heat searing me.
He leaned his forehead against mine, his eyes closed, and we both took a minute to catch our breaths.
He finally opened his eyes and pulled back. “I won’t take advantage of you when you’re scared and upset, but we aren’t done, ok?” he asked.
I nodded. I really wanted him to take advantage of me—like please, please take all the advantage that he wanted. But fuck if it wasn’t cute that he also wanted me to be sure and not all emotional and shit.
“Ok. If you promise,” I mumbled, and I knew I sounded petulant, but I didn’t care.
He chuckled, pecking me on the lips. “Oh, I promise. I want to get things started in taking care of this issue, though. I don’t want you in danger, Toby.”
“Me either,” I mumbled as he backed away. I slid off the stool, knowing he was about to make his exit.
“I want you to call for me if you need anything , ok, Toby? Even if you’re just scared and want company. Understand?” he asked.
“I don’t have your number,” I muttered.
He smiled, taking my phone off the counter where I’d left it and typing into it. “There. Now you do. But if you’re in a bind and can’t get to your phone, yell for me. Our houses aren’t that far apart, and I’ll hear you.”
I kind of doubted it, but I nodded anyway. I followed him out to the front porch. It was warm, but I still put my arms around myself when we got outside. I just felt… unsafe.
He seemed to know it, because he looked around, seemed to sniff the air, which I knew was weird, but I swear it looked like that.
“You’re safe here. No one is around our houses or has been here. Town is safe, too, at least today, but I don’t want you leaving town unless you talk to me,” he demanded.
“Ok,” I said, not even questioning how he knew that. Did he have surveillance or something? Probably, since he was a badass military dude. Or serial killer. Or whatever.
And yeah, I was giving off total damsel in distress vibes, and I should probably put my foot down about autonomy and all that shit, but I didn’t care. It felt good to have someone care.
“Maybe I’ll run into town to get some groceries. Do you think that would be ok?” I asked. And to check my PO box again, because I wouldn’t be able to help it. Maybe to make an appearance in the police station too, because it never hurt to let them know I was an actual person and not just a name on a case.
“Yes, that’s good. Do you want me to come with you?” Dex asked.
So fucking sweet. I contemplated it for a minute, but I would rather him do whatever mojo he was gonna do with the emails and stuff. “I’ll be ok, and I know most people in town. I’ll be careful,” I promised.
He walked over, gently held my face in his hands, and kissed me. It was soft and romantic and so fucking sweet I almost cried.
He pulled away, smiled, and vaulted off the porch, looking totally hot and badass while he did it.
“Let me know when you’re back,” he insisted again.
I nodded and gave a stupid little wave before turning to go back into my house. Ok, so I had a stalker. That sucked. But I also had Sexy Neighbor looking out for me and kissing me. So that was a plus.
I grabbed my wallet and keys off the side table by my front door. If I didn’t go out now, I’d just get lost in either panic or in writing a great sex scene based on my kiss with Dex. Toss up as to which one would win (my brain was a weird place). But I really did need to pick up some groceries, and it would be nice to get out for a bit.
As I left, I noticed my door jam was cracked a bit, and I thought maybe that was due to Dex charging in to check on me (which I wasn’t complaining about—I found it sweet that he was worried). I guess my lock wasn’t very sturdy, but luckily my deadbolt still worked and it seemed mostly secure. Still, I made a mental note to fix the door (or maybe hire someone to fix it) and get better security as I got into my car.
Paradise Falls had a cute little downtown, and I generally loved living there. I wasn’t gonna let some asshole stalker ruin my vibe, either. I decided to stop in the coffee shop first before hitting the little market. There was a bigger superstore market in the next town over, but I didn’t need much, and I wasn’t leaving town. I’d promised Dex. My neighbor who’d kissed me. Twice.
At what point did we go from flirting and kissing to more? Should I invite him over for dinner or something? That was probably the next step. Like, a date or whatever.
My thoughts were interrupted by the cute guy behind the counter. He was totally unfamiliar to me, and he also looked like he was going to glare any customers into submission. Despite his frown, he was still cute. Not nearly as hot as Dex, of course, but still cute. Cassius came bustling out of the kitchen at that moment, and he smiled and waved when he saw me.
“Toby! Haven’t seen you in ages! Lost in your books?” he asked, already starting to get my favorite coffee.
The surly guy stepped back, but he kept glaring. I gave an awkward little wave. Did he know me or something? Was he not a fan?
“Don’t mind Q,” Cassius said, giving the man a light shove on the arm. “He’s still acclimating to… everything.”
The guy—Q? I swore that’s what Cassius said—stopped glaring quite so much. He looked almost like he tried to smile, but I wasn’t sure it was gonna work. He looked pissed off at the world. He probably had some tragic backstory. Maybe he had escaped from a religious cult that kicked out men once they reached maturity. Or maybe he was secretly on the run from evil vampires who were obsessed with the taste of his blood.
Ohhh, or maybe he was The Chosen One, and he was pissed off that he got stuck with the job, and his harem of sexy men hadn’t shown up yet to help him overcome the tragic history he surely had. (Bullying, abuse, or maybe everyone he ever loved died? Something like that, I was sure.)
“He’s new in town and doesn’t know anyone yet,” Cassius went on. He turned to the guy then. “Toby here is our resident gay author. He’s good people.”
The guy seemed to loosen up slightly when Cassius mentioned I was gay. Huh. Maybe he’d been raised in an overly religious household that had sent him to some horrible conversion camp and he was afraid of homophobic people.
Cassius cleared his throat. “Toby, he is not one of your characters.”
I blushed, and the guy looked over at Cassius, eyebrow raising. “What does he write?” Q asked.
“Dark fantasy and paranormal romance,” Cassius stated, putting my cup on the counter.
“I could totally be one of his characters,” the guy mumbled, starting to ring up the coffee.
Cassius handed me a cookie, because I always got one, and our hands brushed. He grabbed onto mine, his eyes staring off into the distance for a moment. He looked at me sharply then and sniffed the air.
Q looked just as confused as I was.
“Uh,” I mumbled, because this was weird. Not even like in my head making up stories weird. Just plain old weird.
Cassius let go of my hand and leaned back. “You and Dex, huh,” he said, not even making it a question.
Well, wasn’t that cryptic as hell. Had I told him about my neighbor? Had Josh or Sebbie? He wasn’t a close friend, but we were all friendly with him. Or did I smell like Dex or something? What the hell?
“Uh, yeah?” I said, although I didn’t sound too sure.
“Well, stick with him and you’ll be fine,” Cassius said. Q and I both stared at him. He looked at Q and said, “You know Dex.”
“I do?” the man asked.
“Yes. He came in the other night.”
Q looked confused, and Cassius added, “You know, the same night you came in?” The words seemed to have some kind of weight to them, because the guy flinched.
Then he looked at me, sort of squinted, and he said, “You must be the guy he likes.”
“Wait, he said he likes me?” I asked, suddenly feeling giddy.
Q really did smirk then. “He is one creepy fucking dude,” he said, but it was more respectful than mean.
I smiled at him. “Yeah. It’s so hot, isn’t it?” I asked.
Q chuckled then, and Cassius looked at both of us and just sighed. “Off with you, Toby. Coffee and cookie are on the house. Just stick with Dex, and life will be just fine,” he said, then he started whistling and headed over to wipe down the counter.
Q and I gave each other a look—Cassius was weird, but I was kind of used to it. Apparently Q was too. With that, I took my cookie and headed off to the supermarket.
Hopefully that trip would be less eventful than getting coffee was. I needed chips, and probably some real food too, but I was ready to head back home. Maybe I’d ask Dex to come over for dinner once I actually had groceries in the house. Surely I could manage to cook something without burning it.