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Yet he was always respectful and acted like what I was saying or doing had merit. “You were a shrew, Nini,” I whisper, horrified by my actions the day I met him for the first time. “A screechy, demanding nag. There’s no way if you’re his mate that he’s going to be happy about that fact. Not at all. Aside from the fact he deserves someone who’s tall and svelte, something you’ve never ever been, he probably won’t be able to handle your silly habits.”
Another song comes on, but I’m so lost in reciting all my flaws, I don’t sing along like I normally do. Instead, I continue my litany out loud. “Okay, so you’ve got some good qualities, Nini. You’ve got great hair, you’re organized, maybe too organized for some people, but still, it’s a good thing, you get along with most people, you can cook and bake, and you like your living area neat and clean. These are all attributes, but I don’t think they’ll hold a man like Stealth’s attention for very long. Now, the not-so-good things include the fact that you’re curvy with plenty of bounce to the ounce, you’re not very tall, and you’re sometimes directionally challenged.”
Another deep sigh erupts because outside of the fact he’s definitely someone I wouldn’t want to cross paths with in a dark alley, he also exuded a gentleness toward me. Jeremy wasn’t gentle, not even when we first started seeing one another. Everything was always about him, with little to no regard about what I wanted or liked. So, just thinking that someone like Stealth could possibly be interested in me makes me slightly giddy. Even if the reality of it all is, it's only in mine and Tressa’s imaginary mind.
* * *
I endup stopping at Tsao’s Chicken for dinner because Tressa’s right, their food is awesome and if they don’t have anything comparable in Zephyr Hills, I need to eat it while I can. Thankfully, they’re not too busy since it’s a weeknight, so I’m in and out in under forty minutes. Now fortified with some great food, I’m ready to accomplish the rest of my room. As I drive toward home, I sing along with the radio, determined to turn my previously morose thoughts around. In less than two weeks, I’ll be in a new place and the opportunities are endless. Plus, I’ll be with my best friend.
When I finally get into the house, I feel like something’s not right, but shrug it off since whoever broke in the other day is highly unlikely to come back, right? After I lock the door, I grab something to drink then take one of the rolls of bubble wrap and head to my bedroom.
“I’m losing my mind, I don’t remember closing my door,” I whisper as I reach over and shakily turn the knob. The condition of my room doesn’t immediately register but when it does, my drink slips through my hand, the bottle exploding when it hits the floor. “What the hell is going on?” I cry out, my eyes taking in the utter disaster strewn across my floor and bed. As fear settles deep inside and tears well up, I reach for my phone, only to realize I left it in the kitchen on the charger. Rushing down the hall, I start to tremble when I see a shadow cross in front of the living room window. A sharp knock nearly drives me to my knees until common sense reminds me that if it was the person who managed to decimate my hard work in less than two hours, it’s highly unlikely that they’d knock and ask my permission to come inside.
Peering through the peephole, I see… Stealth? His deep voice rumbles out, “Nicole, I know you’re home, your car is in the parking lot. Let me in.”
“Don’t have to ask me twice,” I mutter, undoing the locks and flinging the door wide. I’m pretty sure I look like a hot mess with tears streaming down my face, but I’m so glad I’m not alone right now, I don’t think about the fact that it’sStealthseeing me this way.
His arms pull me close before he cups my face in his hands, his thumbs swiping my tears away. “Why are you crying?” he asks, sounding harsher than he did a few seconds ago. “What has upset you?”
Stealth
I wasable to follow her around town without her seeing me, but when I pulled back into the parking lot, I could smell the rage, so I quickly shifted and did a perimeter check while she was carrying her boxes inside. When it dawns on me that the fucker came back, and we were only gone for a short time, I need to put my eyes on her, so I shift back and quickly dress, then knock on her door. I know immediately when she’s on the other side, so I state, “Nicole, I know you’re home, your car is in the parking lot. Let me in.”
Her sweet voice mumbles but I’m able to hear her say, “Don’t have to ask me twice,” before a ridiculous number of locks and whatnot are disengaged and she flings it open.
Seeing her face covered in tears, I can’t resist pulling her close and cupping her face in my hands as I swipe my thumbs across her cheeks in a useless move because she doesn’t stop weeping. “Why are you crying?” I ask. “What has upset you?”
Her beautiful eyes hold me captive, while my wolf wants to take over and find the threat so he can eradicate it. The fear wafting off my mate has my senses on high alert. The overwhelming stench of the man from the diner has me nearly murderous, especially since I know she’s terrified and trembling at this point.
Instead of answering, she burrows even closer to me, her arms wrapping around my waist as she breaks into hysterical sobbing. My hands are now buried in her hair while I try to soothe her so I can understand what she’s currently stammering. Granted, my wolf doesn’t want to wait for her explanation, but there’s no way I’ll go off half-cocked in a place where I’m not known. So, I murmur nonsensical things while moving my hands across her back. I barely manage to keep from growling as her scent envelops me; pumpkin pie and the smell of freshly cut grass after it rains. Both are favorites from growing up, so it’s not lost on me that perhaps Mother Earth has a sense of humor since my mate smells like home to me.
Because sheisgoing to be your home, dumbass!
Once she calms somewhat, I ask again, “Why are you crying? Who or what has upset you?”
Instead of answering, she turns while grabbing my hand and attempts to drag me behind her. It’s nearly laughable, because of our size difference, but when I grasp that she wants me to move with her, I do so until we come to a room that looks like it was tossed on its side then righted again. “What the hell happened?”
“That’s what I want to know too!” she wails, her arms waving back and forth in front of her. “I got stuck working for a few hours today, but when I came home, I started in here since most of the rest of the place is done, only I ran out of boxes. So, I went and got more boxes, ate dinner since I was already out and about, then came home to this. I swear, Stealth, it wasn’t like this when I left!”
“I believe you, darlin’,” I reply, having already picked up the scent of the man I ‘met’ while at the diner earlier today. “How long has this been going on?” I inquire, barely keeping my anger in check because both me and my wolf are infuriated that someone was in our mate’s den.
“This is the second time,” she admits. “The other day, it was all the boxes that are now stacked up in the living room.”
“Did you call the police? Why didn’t you call and tell Tressa? We’d have been here right away.”
I watch her shoulders drop before she practically falls onto the bed, tears steadily streaming from her eyes once again. When she sits up, I know she’s ready to explain her reaction, as she swipes her hands against her cheeks while taking a few deep breaths. “Okay, so, right before Tressa left for the book signing, I had felt as though someone was coming in and moving stuff, because I might occasionally forget I’ve done something, like put up dirty dishes, you know, that kind of thing? But not all the dang time! And it was happening a lot. Then, everything happened with Tressa, and I left in a hurry, so when I got home, I figured maybe Ididforget to make my bed, and shrugged it off. Now, though, I know I didn’t pack up boxes, then tear them open and throw the contents around!”
“Nicole, who would be stalking you to this extent?”
It takes everything in me to keep my temper in check. I don’t want to scare her, but someone is obviously looking for something based on the current destruction I can see. What if they decide to go after her? My wolf snarls in my chest, anxious to protect our mate.
“I don’t know! I mean, I go to work, come home, and am otherwise something of a homebody. When Tressa was here, of course, we’d go out to eat, or shopping, but since we’re getting ready to move this whole place, it makes no sense to buy more stuff that’ll have to be hauled to Zephyr Hills! So, I haven’t done any of that.”
“What about an ex of yours or hers? Any family member holding a grudge?”
I watch her scrunch her nose as she looks toward the ceiling, occasionally shaking her head as she goes through people she knows. At least, that’s my presumption, but regardless, she’s fucking adorable while she does it; she wears her emotions on her face, which bodes well for me down the road.
“I mean, Tressa’s stepmonster loathes her, but I can’t see her doing something like this, because in her mind, Tressa’s so far beneath her, she wouldn’t stoop to something so classless, if that makes sense to you. Nancy is all about appearances, so stalking or even worse, breaking and entering, would never cross her mind. She’s the type that would spread an ugly rumor around, one likely to destroy someone, before she’d lift her own hands and dirty them.”
