And that pissed me the fuck off.
This was the first time she’d let me down. From the moment I found her three weeks ago, I knew I had to have her. She’d been walking her dog along the path here. A tiny, pretty little thing, looking so helpless. I bumped into her. I’d barely grazed her, but she’d jumped, and when she stuttered out an apology, her pulse pounded beautifully in her slim throat. I smelled the fear wafting off her, and I knew she’d be so much fun to toy with.
The last bitch had hardly reacted when I followed her. She’d laughed at how often we ran into each other, and she didn’t even know I was there half the time. I was invisible to her, just like everyone else. A joke. She was barely scared until I was on top of her, and then the fun was over too fast.
But Jenna…she was so easy to scare. To play with.
From the day I met her, I jacked off wondering if her skin would tingle when I watched her. If she’d be afraid if the bushes rustled as she passed. When it was time, how loud would she scream?
The bushes had been a good one. I’d gotten the pleasure of watching her delicate legs and tight, round ass through the leaves as she’d tried to pull her mutt away. She’d shushed him, her words saying it was okay, but the high pitch of her voice saying she was scared.
I’d lost her when I tried to follow her home from the park, but later, when I overheard her talking about the library, she gave me everything I needed. I’d had to visit a lot of libraries, but I’d finally found where she worked, and yes, she’d felt me watching her. She really didn’t like it when I stood too close. Or touched her. Or watched her for hours at a time. From there, it’d been easy to follow her home.
The best part, the part that would make my dad roll in his grave, was that I could finally put all the construction crap he taught me to good use. The other librarian had yelled out the construction company doing their work, practically inviting me to apply for the job.
I still had to decide: who would show up on the first day of work? I’d learned a long time ago to blend in to survive. A chameleon, I could become whoever I needed to be. Should I keep driving Jenna crazy, lurking in the shadows? Or should I befriend her as a trustworthy construction worker?
I could fool most people with a hat or a haircut, a shave or lack of, a phony smile, and a change of clothing style. But Jenna’s fear was unlike anyone I’d met before. She saw a person worthy of her fear, a person who couldn’t be ignored. Couldn’t be beaten down. Would she be so attuned to me that she could recognize me no matter what?
What would she do when she saw me working with her? Everyday I’d have access to her, and there was not a damn thing she could do to get away.
Not a damn thing that big guy could do to protect her. He thought he was tough, but I was persistent. Patient. The torturous tease was where all the fun was.
How crazy could I make Jenna before I made my move? How long would it take her to fall apart?
Today, though…she thought she could ignore me. My heart had been racing, my cock stirring in anticipation of seeing her again, seeing her reaction to me. And she fucking ignored me.
Holding his fucking hand, getting in her fucking car with him. Smiling. Laughing.
Ignoring me.
Red hazed my vision as I stalked back into the park. Someone was going to pay for this.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Jenna
“Wow, there’s a lot of people here.” I watched out the windshield as more people than I’d anticipated filled the sidewalk outside the restaurant and spilled into the parking lot.
Liam turned in his seat to face me and grabbed my hand. “You okay with this?”
“Of course. I’m excited to see everyone.” I knew a lot of them, and Juliette loved all of Dylan’s friends she’d met, so I was sure I would too.
“Are you okay being here with me?”
That was a harder question. I’d been out with Liam and our friends many times before, wishing for what I had now. But now that those wishes were coming true…I was more than okay with it. I loved it, but I didn’t know how to do it. I felt like a teenager with my first crush, but I was expected to act like a grownup. “Yeah.”
Oh man, that didn’t sound convincing. There was no way he’d let it go.
Liam frowned. “I know this is new, and we’re moving fast. We don’t need to tell anyone yet, if that’s what you want.”
“No! I don’t want to keep it a secret. I’m so happy, I want to scream it to the world. It’s just...is it silly that I don’t know how to do this?”
Liam raised my hand and kissed my knuckles. “Not silly at all, Firefly. It's new for me too. I’ve dated before, but not like this. Being with you feels more serious, more real, than anything ever has before.”
His sincerity threatened to melt my heart and all my defenses.
“There are no rules,” he continued. “You want to stick by my side, I’ll be happy to have you there. You want to go hang out with your friends, go right ahead. Just know this, Jenna—with me here, you’re safe. You need to use the ladies’ room, I’ll stand outside the door. Hell, I’ll go in with you. You want to drink, I’ll watch you and your drink like a hawk. You want to talk to someone across the room, I’ll have my eye on you, and I’ll be there in a heartbeat if you need me. No one is going to hurt you. Never again.”