Page 1 of Marked by my Stalker (Inked and Possessive. Rugged Mountain Ink #1)

Kera

The campus at CSU is small in comparison to Harvard or the University of Colorado, but it’s still bigger than I expected, though that might be the small-town girl in me talking. The longer I’m here, the more I know that as truth.

I’m meant for a little town in the middle of the country, where everyone knows your name and the flowers are as wild as the people. Not whatever this is.

Here, there are more cars than flowers, and people love hollering and cussing at each other.

Last week I saw a woman scream at an old lady for cutting her off in traffic.

That should be against the law. The only reprieve I’ve gotten is the little town of Rugged Mountain, about an hour and a half away from here.

I happened upon it after a car accident last semester, which was no big deal, just a little fender bender, but it has prompted my mother to go into a complete frenzy.

“Mom, call your henchman off. I don’t need a babysitter. I’m almost twenty years old. I can handle this.”

“Not what your car said last semester when you ended up in a ditch for two hours waiting for help.”

“I did get help though, and I’m fine. I’m proving I can handle myself.”

“You’re proving you need someone to look out for you. Do you know what kind of weirdos there are out there? I heard on the news last night that a man took a girl straight from her dorm room, never to be seen again.”

I roll my eyes as I hold my cell phone away from my ear. “Mom, I saw the same news story. They found her. She was at a party. The guy who ‘took’ her was her boyfriend. It was clickbait.”

She huffs under her breath. “The point is… a young girl your age isn’t safe out there all alone. If I could drive out there and watch you twenty-four hours a day, I would. Would you rather that?”

I’m not sure what kind of manipulation this is to offer an even worse scenario instead of the already terrible one as a way to make peace, but my mother nails it.

“Mom, come on. This is embarrassing as hell. The dude is the least conspicuous man ever. He’s like seven feet tall, and he looks like an actual monster. People notice him.”

“Good,” she perks, “then people will stay away from you.”

“I don’t want people to stay away from me. I want to have fun. I want to make friends. I want to get to know—”

“You have Brick. Brick is a good boy. Reminds me of your dad, that one.” I don’t know what world my mother is living in, but Brick is nothing like my father.

“Mom, Brick is—”

“Handsome, funny, strong, helpful…” She talks about him like he walks on water, but I’d have broken things off with him months ago if my mom weren’t so adamant I didn’t.

I can’t put my finger on what sets me off about him, but it’s something.

“Plus,” she continues, “random men these days are weird. You could get mixed up with the wrong one and end up murdered. Or worse, they put all your personal information online.”

I squint my eyes and shake my head. “How is that worse?”

“Anyway, the bodyguard is staying.”

“Mom, no. Ya know what… I bet campus security will shut this down when I tell them some old man is hanging around the girls’ dorms.”

“I had him call ahead and make arrangements with security.”

“Arrangements with security? What?”

“He’s ex-military. He has loads of connections with folks, which is pretty convenient, all things considered. Honey,” she sighs as though the conversation is over, “let’s see how this semester goes, okay? If you do well and there are no incidents, I’ll consider pulling back on the bodyguard thing.”

“Where are you even getting the money for this? You’ve been pinching pennies since Dad died. We ate ramen so we could afford the tuition to this place.”

“I picked up extra shifts at the bank. A few extra Saturdays are worth the price of your safety. I love you, Kera. That’s all this is. Love .”

I know deep down my mother’s terrible anxiety is probably some sort of undiagnosed mental health thing that surfaced after Dad died, but I don’t know how I’m supposed to go on this semester knowing every single day I’ve got this seven-foot giant following me everywhere.

People are already talking.

My roommate Penny bursts into the room, slings her backpack onto her bed, and tosses herself onto the mattress face first with a groan.

I press the phone tighter to my ear. “Mom, I gotta go.”

“Okay, honey. Check in with me when you get back from that party tonight.”

“Isn’t that why you hired the big, giant, monster man?”

“Honey, do you want your mother up all night long sick with worry?”

I huff out a sigh. “Okay, Mom. Love you.”

I disconnect the line before she tells me to FaceTime her with today’s newspaper in hand. It’s happened before.

Penny rolls toward me and lifts one eyelid, just slightly. “Monster man?”

“Don’t,” I whisper, not even bothering to cover the phone.

“I mean, he’s got the jawline of a Marvel villain,” she says, still muffled by fabric. “Kind of hot, but terrifying.”

I sigh and shift toward the window, watching students pass below while my personal sentinel waits like a statue by the courtyard steps. I’m not sure whether I should feel protected or violated.

“What’s up, Pen? You okay?”

She groans. “Yeah, just exhausted. Two jobs and classes all day are killing me. That virgin auction I found online is looking better and better every day.”

“My mother is insane. I’m one hundred percent sure now.”

Penny turns her head toward me, one eye squinting open.

“Okay… I think you’re looking at this all wrong.

” She rolls onto her back, arms behind her head like she’s on a beach instead of buried under life’s avalanche.

“You’ve got a big, hot dude posted outside, staring at you all the time. Make the most of it.”

“Make the most of it? He’s like a hundred years old.”

“No. He’s like what… late forties? That’s like prime mysterious stranger category. You could have some fun with that.”

“Fun for who? Not me.”

She smirks. “Look, I’m just saying… if he’s going to trail you like a shadow, you may as well enjoy the aesthetic.”

“That sexy little kitten thing you do isn’t transferable. I’m not as… I’m a dork.”

“Then don’t think of him as a giant, stranger, stalker guy. Think of him like a big, mysterious weirdo.” She grins and rolls onto her side, laughing. “I’m talking out of my ass. Did I tell you I’m tired?”

“You did,” I laugh, grabbing us both an energy drink from the fridge, “but I need you to wake up. We’ve got that party to get ready for, remember? The one you promised you’d go to with me.”

“Yeah,” her voice creaks, and I already know what’s coming next, “I think I’m gonna bail on that. I’m sorry. I really wanna go, but I could use the extra sleep. My eyes are fuzzy I’m so tired.”

I sit on the bed next to her, land my hand on the small of her back, and try to be soothing though I’m insanely disappointed. I hate going to these things without her. “It’s okay. I should stay with you.”

“No way,” she sighs. “You’ve gotta go represent for the C-wing girls. Plus, you and Brick will have fun.”

“Ugh… will we, though?”

“What? Trouble in paradise?”

I arch a brow. “ Paradise? Were we ever in paradise?”

“What’s goin’ on? I thought you guys were happy.”

“We are.” I tilt my head to the side and stand. “He’s just… there’s something off about him. I mean, he says the right things, but I sort of catch him in all these little lies all the time. Nothing major, just… I don’t know. It’s weird.”

“Dump him.” She yawns. “You’re a hot ticket. Don’t sell it cheap.”

I smirk. “Wow, I think you have the beginning of a pop song.”

“I’ll finish writing it right after I wake up.” She cuddles herself deeper into the blanket.

I linger at the window a second longer, watching the condensation trace lazy veins across the glass.

He’s there again. Same spot, same lean, same unreadable face beneath that overgrown beard.

The tattoos on his forearms glint faintly under the buzzing streetlight, like they’re whispering something I’m not close enough to hear.

Maybe Penny is right. Maybe I should have fun with this.