Page 8

8

KAI

M ason’s lips hit mine, and I froze in shock. But his arm stayed firm around my waist, grounding me, and before I could process it, my body responded on instinct. My lips parted, and his tongue slid into my mouth. I tilted my head back, hands rising—one to his shoulder, one to the back of his neck—fingers pressing tight into the muscle there. His lips were so soft, his tongue so sure, and I felt dizzy, weightless. A quiet sound escaped me, part groan, part gasp.

And then, just like that, Mason pulled away.

He stared at me, wide-eyed and wild, and sucked in a sharp breath. “What the fuck?” he said. “Why did you do that?”

“Why did I do that?” I blinked at him, stunned. “ You kissed me .”

“No, I didn’t—I mean, I wasn’t—I can’t—fuck.” He ran a hand through his hair, looking like he wanted to bolt. “I can’t think straight around you.”

I bit back the joke that jumped to my tongue. He looked too shaken for that kind of comment. I wasn’t afraid of him, exactly —not when he’d saved me from tumbling out a second-story window—but I wasn’t about to push him either.

“Just go,” I said, heavier than I meant to. My chest ached, stupidly. All there ever was between us was friction and fighting. What had I expected? “You never should have come here today.”

I still didn’t understand why he had. Was it really because I hadn’t answered three texts? That didn’t seem like enough. It’s not like we were close.

“No,” he said, steady now. “I’m not leaving until you’re home safe. And I’m not leaving from there until you call another security service and hire someone to start guarding you tomorrow.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Maybe. But it’s happening.”

“You sure you want to stick around?” I said, lifting a brow. I couldn’t resist needling him a bit. “You just said you couldn’t think straight around me. What if I use my secret gay powers to confuse you again?” I wiggled my fingers in mock menace.

“Don’t be absurd. You’re not going to make me do anything.”

Anything but scowl, apparently—and tail me for the rest of the site visit like my own personal thunderstorm, lurking over my shoulder. When I called for a town car, he took it upon himself to interrogate the driver before letting me get in. Then he brooded silently the whole ride home. If glowering were an Olympic sport, he’d have taken gold, silver, and emotionally repressed bronze.

At least Bella got a smile out of him, but I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. She was supposed to be my guard dog. Couldn’t she tell Mason was as much a menace as my stalker?

Jesus. What if Mason was my stalker?

The thought made me pause halfway through the living room. I turned and watched as he crouched to scratch Bella behind the ears. Was it really a coincidence that he’d reappeared in my life only weeks after the threats had started?

I shook my head. No. Mason might be frustrating, even infuriating, but he wasn’t unhinged. Not like that. He’d seemed genuinely impressed by the Butterfly Center. And I believed him when he said I was making a difference.

Had he really been in the military ever since college? What was that like? He’d acted almost ashamed when he told me, which was surprising. Mason didn’t strike me as someone who felt shame. About anything.

He looked up and caught me staring. I turned away quickly and headed into the kitchen. He followed.

“Can I look around your place?” he asked, bracing his hands on the kitchen island.

I frowned. “Why? Are you casing it or something?”

“Don’t be stupid. I just… It’s a feeling.”

“A feeling about what?”

“Just a feeling. Do you mind if I go upstairs?”

I didn’t see a reason to say no. It’s not like I’d left a bunch of sex toys scattered around. Though honestly, I kind of wished I had. Making Mason uncomfortable was unexpectedly fun. Maybe I could sneak upstairs and leave a giant dildo on my pillow.

“Be my guest,” I said, shrugging.

I trailed after him as he walked through the house—a reversal of our roles at the center. I still didn’t know what he was expecting to find. He opened cabinets in the bathroom, glanced inside, but didn’t really seem to care what was in them. He ran his fingers along my bookshelf in the office, checked the windows, peeked behind picture frames. He even looked under the bed. When he picked up the lamp on my nightstand and examined the base, I’d had enough.

“Seriously? What are you doing? This isn’t a spy thriller. No one’s bugging my house.”

“Can you be sure about that?”

“Well, no,” I admitted. “But I don’t think it’d be very useful. I live alone. I don’t talk to myself. What exactly would this guy be hoping to learn? My bedtime routine?”

“Guy,” he said suddenly, narrowing his eyes. “You think it’s a man? Do you know who it is?”

“No. It’s just an expression.”

He didn’t argue. Instead, he pressed his lips together and headed back downstairs, continuing his patrol. He finished up in the living room, peeking out through the front windows.

“You always keep your curtains open?” he asked.

“I’m not a vampire.”

“Do you know your neighbors?”

“The ones on either side. Van Houtens are to the south. Older couple. They have a tiny dog who’s obsessed with Bella. Clemency Beauregard lives to the north—single, hosts parties. I wave at the folks across the street, but I don’t know their names.”

“Any of them have security cameras?”

“Not that I know of.”

He frowned, mouth pulling tight.

“What?” I said. “Do you want me to interrogate the Van Houtens about Pixie Dust? Is their dog secretly part of a surveillance op?”

“You need better home security,” he said. “I came by earlier today when you weren’t answering your texts. I was able to look through your windows and climb the wall into your backyard, no problem. No one noticed. No one stopped me. And those sliding glass doors?” He glanced towards them. “They won’t stop anyone who’s determined to get inside.”

“You what ?” I said. A chill prickled over my skin. I felt violated—and scared in a way I hadn’t before. Not of Mason, exactly, but of the vulnerabilities he was exposing. “You’re as bad as my stalker.”

“I wasn’t trying to get inside,” he said. “I was doing reconnaissance. But if I could do all of that in broad daylight without anyone asking questions or calling the police, that’s not a good sign. There are so many places for someone to hide on your block. It’s dangerous.”

“Is it really, or is your brain just so poisoned from the military that you’re seeing threats where there are none?” I said. “Why can’t you leave this—and me—alone?”

He flinched. A flash of something crossed his face—hurt, maybe—and for a second, I felt a little triumphant. But then he said, “Because I’m trying to keep you safe.”

“I’m in my own home. It doesn’t get much safer.”

“Someone left a dead pig on your doorstep,” he said, voice flat. “What happens when they decide they want to come inside?”

“That’s why I have Bella.” I reached down and ruffled her ears.

“She’d jump and slobber all over anyone who came inside, trying to get them to pet her.”

“Not if I tell her they’re bad and need to be attacked.”

He raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think she’s that great at picking up on your cues. You hate me, after all, but that doesn’t seem to make a difference to her.”

I flushed. I didn’t like how easily he read me. Or how right he was about Bella.

“Look, if I promise to call another service, will you go?”

“If you actually do call, where I can see you, then yes.”

“You’re a real pain in the ass, you know that?”

He smiled like a saint. “Just doing my job.”

He really did make me call another company right there, in front of him. Even handed me a list—three security services, ranked by his personal preference. I called the third one out of spite. A small, satisfying fuck you. I don’t think he noticed.

Unsurprisingly, my call went to voicemail. I left my info and asked them to call me back. That seemed to satisfy him, because after I hung up, he finally headed for the door.

“Take care, Kai,” he said—and then he was gone.

Gone from my house, but not from my head. I paced the living room, jittery. Part of it was the worry he’d stirred up, planting seeds that had already taken root and grown into tangled weeds. But mostly, it was the kiss.

What did it even mean? Was Mason into guys? If so, shouldn’t he have said something back when I accused him of being homophobic? Or was that the whole issue? Maybe he was scared to admit it. Scared of what it would mean. Maybe he thought I’d throw myself at him if I found out.

But if that were the case, why kiss me?

I sighed and moved into the dining room, staring out the sliding doors into the backyard. The golden light of the setting sun bathed everything in a warm glow. It didn’t make any of this make sense.

One minute, I’d been sure he was about to yell at me again. The next, his lips were on mine.

And damn it, it hadn’t been a bad kiss. It had, in fact, been really fucking good. His tongue was confident, his grip firm, his body warm and solid against mine. He’d tasted like cinnamon and sunshine and left me breathless. I’d never tell him, obviously, but the feeling was mutual. It was hard to think around him.

Which probably meant I needed to get laid. If one kiss from a straight guy could unravel me this much, I was clearly overdue.

Because Mason was straight. I was sure of it. That kiss had to have been…an anger thing? Some people cried when they were mad. Maybe Mason kissed people. It made no sense. But I had no other explanation.

I looked down at Bella. “Wanna go for a run?”

Not really a question. Bella always wanted to go outside. She loved running as much as walking—more, even. Anything that got her into the open air, with new people and scents to investigate.

I needed it too. Needed to shake off the adrenaline and anxiety still coursing through me. I changed out of my suit, pulled on my running clothes, popped in earbuds, and clipped Bella’s leash to my waist.

We headed south, crossing M Street and jogging up to the Key Bridge. I loved running across the river, seeing the sprawl of the city stretched out along the Potomac. From there, we took the Mount Vernon trail down to the bridge to Roosevelt Island. I kept our loop short—only four miles—but even that left us both wiped out by the end.

By the time we got back, I was starving. The fridge held nothing but leftover Chinese food that I didn’t want to eat—or smell—ever again. I chugged a glass of water and grabbed my keys. The Safeway on Wisconsin was open 24 hours. I could grab a quick sandwich and yogurt, and restock on the basics while I was there.

I had my own car, though I rarely drove to work because parking was a nightmare. Honestly, parking in Georgetown was a nightmare too, but it was late enough that my space might still be open when I got back.

Still, I glanced over my shoulder twice while walking to my car. The sense of unease was back, clinging to my spine like cold sweat. I hated that Mason had gotten in my head like this. But I couldn’t help feeling relieved when I got into my car and locked the doors behind me.

At the store, I grabbed a prepackaged sandwich and pushed my cart down the aisles, grabbing random things—fruit, bread, soup, cereal. I kept looking over my shoulder there too, though the only people in the store were some college kids giggling in the chip aisle and an employee restocking coffee.

Fuck you, Mason, I thought bitterly. Fuck you for making me paranoid.

Except…what if he was right?

What if someone really was following me? What if they did decide to break into my house next time? Bella might bark—maybe—but she wasn’t going to tear anyone’s throat out. Hell, she’d probably bring them a toy and wag her tail.

I wanted to stay mad at Mason, but I couldn’t. Not really. All he’d done was force me to look at the things I didn’t want to see. That I wasn’t as safe as I pretended. That I needed help. He was both infuriating and correct—my least favorite combination.

I sighed, paid for my groceries, and walked to my car with a sense of dread clawing up the back of my throat. I’d called the service. I’d probably hear back tomorrow. I’d done what Mason asked. What else could I do?

And then I saw it.

My car. The windshield was shattered. A rock the size of my head sat in a spiderwebbed crater in the glass. My breath caught, and I nearly dropped the grocery bags. A note was taped to the rock.

I set the bags down and peeled it off with shaking fingers.

Stop the center, or I’ll show the world what you did.