Page 24 of Stalked By Raiden

My phone vibrates as I label the last tray. I look at the screen, and a smile spreads across my face.

Raiden.

His message explains that his last tattoo appointment is taking longer than expected. He wouldn’t be waiting outside the school as usual, but he wants me to call when the meeting ends, and he’ll come across the street to walk me home.

I can’t help but smile. He has become so protective over the past few days that sometimes I catch him scanning every parking lot before we cross it. It’s a little overprotective but sweet. Still, a tiny knot of guilt settles in my stomach.

He has already rearranged his schedule because of me. He lets me stay at his apartment after the break-in. He walks me to work every day. I know he doesn’t care about all of this. In fact, I think he enjoys being around me all the time.

Yet, I can’t keep expecting him to drop everything whenever I need something. The tattoo shop is directly across the street. I’ll be fine on my own today. I slip my phone into my purse and head into the meeting.

At four, we file into the conference room. Once the budget discussions and curriculum changes are done, the district sends someone in to walk us through a training module on behavior documentation. By the time we’re released, my head is stuffed full of new forms I’ll never remember how to fill out. Everyone looks equally exhausted.

Mrs. Langley yawns and stretches as we walk out into the hallway. “I swear those meetings get longer every year.”

“They do,” I agree.

Sarah appears beside me, dramatically fanning herself with a folder. “I almost volunteered to organize the supply closet just so I could escape.”

I laugh. “I don’t think anyone would’ve believed you.”

“Probably not.”

We walk out of the building together. The evening air is warm, carrying the scent of freshly cut grass from the nearby football field.

Sarah glances toward the tattoo shop. “Your bodyguard isn’t waiting today?”

Heat creeps into my cheeks. “He’s working late.”

“Oh?”

“He sent a message already. He wanted me to call when I was done so he could walk me home,” I explain, feeling giddy deep down at how much our connection has evolved.

Sarah stops walking long enough to stare at me. “Elodie? That’s ridiculously adorable.”

“It is not.”

“It absolutely is.”

I roll my eyes even though I can’t stop smiling. “But I don’t want to interrupt his work.”

“So, you’re not calling him?”

“Not tonight,” I reply with a shrug.

Sarah studies me for a second before shaking her head. “You know, I’ve never seen you this happy.”

The words catch me off guard. I know it’s true. Aside from the looming threat of Drake, life with Raiden has been both magnetic and magnificent. The days are filled with tenderness and the nights with screams of pleasure.

Every day, I find another layer of him I absolutely adore and a new side of me that I didn’t think I possessed. I love knowing that I’m the only one privy to all the different sides of him. With that thought, I smile softly.

“I like him,” I say. It’s well beyond like, but I’m not even sure of the extent of my feelings enough to tell Sarah.

“I figured,” Sarah responds, bumping my shoulder. “He looks at you like you’re the only person on the planet.”

My cheeks warm all over again.

“Alright. I should go,” she says and unlocks her car. “And for the record, if he gives you a hard time for walking home alone—”