AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Six
It felt awkward, having her boss in her house again. Of course, since he had been here before, given himself the grand tour, she could skip that part. The problem was more his presence, how he seemed to overwhelm the room with his sheer size and strength of character. It made her feel out of place in her own home. Then again, that same strength made her feel feminine and protected, like she didn’t have to worry about anything when he was around.
Giving herself a little shake, Terri slammed the lid closed on that thought. That line of thinking was exactly how she had gotten herself in such a mess with Randy. He had been the same kind of guy, strong in both body and mind. He was the kind of guy who commanded attention when he entered a room. Women loved him, men wanted to be him. In the beginning, he had been her protector, and in the end, he had become her attacker. Luke was exactly like that, and Terri refused to get involved with another man who fit that description.
No, Terri thought next. Luke wasn’t anything like Randy. Luke showed compassion and understanding, whereas Randy had always been about himself. He never wanted kids and hated animals. Who hated animals? Serial abusers, that’s who. He hadn’t even managed one kind word to help her through the toughest time in her life, when her dad died of a brain aneurism. Luke? When she showed fear, he had wrapped her in his arms and assured her that everything would be fine, and he would not only shelter her from any storm that might roll in, but he would weather it with her, as he was doing now.
And it helped that he was amazing to look at.
Feeling marginally better now that she had her concerns squared away, Terri moved on to her next thought: being a good hostess.
“Would you like something to drink? I have water, juice, coffee, tea…” She trailed off waiting for him to make a choice.
Luke shook his head. “I’m good, thanks.”
Terri pursed her lips. She never had been much of a conversationalist, and offering beverages was about the extent of her hostess abilities. She was lost, completely out of her element. With nothing more to say, she excused herself to go change.
Once inside her bedroom, Terri slipped out of her painful shoes and shed her tight, skin-smothering clothes. It always felt good to get out of her work attire and into something more comfortable, breathable. When she came to the push-up bra, she hesitated. Normally, she wouldn’t bother with one, but with Luke sitting in the next room…
She chose to leave the bra on. Pulling a purple T-shirt from its hanger, Terri tugged it over her head then opted for a pair of black yoga pants. A comfy pair of thermal socks later and she was ready to head back to the living room. Almost.
Ducking her head into the hall, she called out to Luke. “I’ll be out in a minute. I just need to wash my face.”
“Take your time,” Luke called back.
Closing the door again, Terri was just turning to head into the bathroom when she thought she heard something, a muffled noise, almost like a shuffle of fabric against fabric. She stood, waiting and listening, straining her ears and willing the sound to happen again. It didn’t, and Terri almost laughed at her edginess. Her mother always said that a solitary existence was a breeding ground for lunacy. Living alone must finally be getting to her.
Shaking her head, Terri slipped into the bathroom and started the water.
***
The moment Terri disappeared into the bathroom; Randy dragged himself out from under the bed. It enraged him that she would allow another man in the house, but there was nothing he could do about it right now, short of killing the guy. He knew that he would, too, if he didn’t get control of himself. Even now his hands were shaking, crying out for him to do violence. Restraint would prove difficult, if not impossible, when another man was sitting just within reach, but he would have to practice control if he didn’t want to go off the deep end and land himself back behind bars. Murder had a way of catching up to you. Not to mention, Terri was the kind of woman that needed constant guidance, and where would the lesson be in that if he got himself arrested?
The water was running now and he could just make out the small splashes of her hands dipping in and out of the water. A part of him wanted to march in there right now and ask her what the hell she thought she was doing, but again, he reminded himself that he needed control. There was a plan, and he needed to stick to the plan if things were going to work out.
Opening a drawer in the table next to the bed, Randy pulled out a small tablet of paper and pen he had seen earlier while rummaging around, and started writing. Terri might know that he was out and about, she might even realize that he had been keeping an eye on her, but he didn’t think she realized how close he had gotten yet, and he wanted to shake up her world a little. He wanted her to know that he was everywhere, watching, waiting…planning. He liked the idea of her finding his note, knowing that he had been right where she was standing, in her home, touching her things.
With a dangerously dark smile, Randy placed the pad on the table top. What would she do when she read his words? Call the police? Crumble into a pitiful ball and cry into herself like the weak little girl he knew her to be?
A knock on the door jerked him from his thoughts and Randy froze, unsure what to do.
“Terri?”
The deep, smoke-roughened voice of the man Randy knew from the bar came through the thin wood causing a growl of hatred to bubble up his throat. He just barely kept himself from wrenching the door open and pounding the guy’s face into the floor.
Balling his fists, he listened as the man continued to speak.
“Terri, I forgot something in the car. I’ll be right back.”
The water shut off in the next room and Randy felt that familiar, ridiculous urge to duck and hide. He held his ground, though, his heart pounding in his ears, waiting to see how this would play out.
The door to the bathroom opened a crack, shedding a thin line of light into the room. “Luke? Did you say something?” Terri called out.
Luke? It even sounded like a rich boy name.
“I’m going to run out to my car for something,” Luke repeated.
“Okay.” Once it was clear that Luke was gone, Terri turned the water back on, not bothering to close the door again.
