Stalker (A Dark Romance Novel) Read online

  There had to be some reason I hadn’t been able to get him out of my head lately. There was no way I could deny the instant attraction that I felt for him and wondered if he’d felt the same way about me.

  Oh, what in the hell was I thinking? There was no way he was thinking anything of the sort about me. I know I’m far from ugly, but I’ve been cheated on by everyone I’ve ever been with.

  I’ve been emotionally abused in one way or another by most of the men I’ve dated. It’s been enough to give me a complex about myself. I always have a problem with not feeling pretty enough or feeling like I’m not good enough for people. Doubting myself is probably my biggest flaw.

  Later that afternoon, I received a text message from Kim.

  Hey, we’re about to head your way. You still up for making dinner?

  Yeah, I’ll whip something up.

  Yay! You have enough for an extra mouth? Nick was wondering if he could come with us.

  Sure thing. Hope he likes pasta.

  Holy shit! He was actually coming to my apartment. As soon as I read his name, I felt the butterflies developing in my stomach as I jumped up off my couch and ran into the background to check myself in the mirror.

  I touched up my makeup and made sure my hair was looking presentable before he came over. I wanted to look as good as I possibly could when he got there, just in case.

  Once I was made up enough for my liking, I needed to get out of my sweatpants and old t-shirt. I changed into a pair of jeans that I knew made my ass look fantastic and my favorite gray sweater. I knew they’d be a bit, so I got started on dinner. Knowing that Curtis and Nick had worked all day, I was sure they’d be starving.

  I brought a pot of water to a boil and threw in some spaghetti before cutting up some crusty bread that I’d bought at an Italian bakery the day before. I wasn’t a great cook by any means.

  The pasta sauce was coming straight from a jar but I did spice it up with some garlic, and a bit of sugar, which I always joked was my secret recipe. After that, I made up a salad and sat out a few dressing options before setting the table for four.

  The spaghetti was still cooking on the stove when I heard knocking on my door. I knew I didn’t have to say anything. Kim and I always walked right into each other’s homes and today was no exception.

  “Hey girlie,” Kim yelled out as she wiped her snowy shows on the mat in front of my door. “It’s just me. I’ve already put the boys to work trying to get your car out from all that snow.” She laughed as she took off her coat and joined me in the kitchen. “Your boyfriend is out there,” she said with a smile, making some weird up and down thing with her eyebrows.

  I didn’t know what to say to her, so I just smiled and nodded back at her, acting like I was concentrating on the noodles that were basically cooking themselves.

  She tried everything to get me to talk about him, but I was remaining silent on that subject. Finally, she changed the subject to how cold it was outside as I mixed the sauce with the noodles.

  They must have had some kind of radar in their stomachs because as soon as the food was done, the men came in from outside. I watched Nick as he made his way inside my place, his eyes scanning his surroundings.

  I wondered what he thought about my little apartment. Did he like it? Did he think it smelled good? Did it look clean? Suddenly, I was paranoid, wondering if I should have given my house a deep clean.

  Eventually, his eyes made their way over to me, and I met him with a smile, this time looking him straight in the eye. I liked his eyes.

  They were so big. He nodded at me and smiled back. He took off his sock cap, exposing his hair that was disheveled from wearing it. He didn’t look nearly as imposing as he had before. He now resembled a giant teddy bear.

  Nick broke my gaze and looked me up and down before bringing his eyes back to mine. Knowing he was checking me out excited me. Hopefully, he was happy with what he’d seen so far. After that, we just kind of looked at each other in silence.

  I finally looked away, telling everyone that dinner was ready. I sat down and looked up at Nick, only to find him staring back at me. The butterflies made a comeback in my stomach, fluttering all around. Why was he still looking at me like that? Was there something wrong? What was going on in that mind of his?

  “Have a seat big guy,” I said with a giggle, trying to joke away the intense stare he was giving me. He almost looked like he was in a daze. Eventually, he blinked his eyes, smiled and took the seat directly across from me.

  “Thank you very much,” he mumbled, looking at the food as he licked his lips. He looked over the offerings at the table, his eyes looking as hungry as he probably was. “Looks like you can cook,” he laughed, smiling at me the entire time.

  “Well, I can cook some things really well, but I wouldn’t get too excited. Culinary arts were never my specialty,” I joked. “I wanna thank you guys for coming over to help me with my car. I know the weather sucks out there.”

  Curtis started to tell me that the problem with my SUV was that the battery was dead, as if I didn’t already know that. Still, I let him explain it.

  I’ve learned that’s one thing guys love to do. As was typical of him, his tale about my car quickly turned into a conversation about their day at the job site and some funny stories about people they worked with.

  I wasn’t interested until Curtis started telling me about he and Nick met when they were in foster care and gave me a bit of their history.

  Once everyone was done eating, we sat at the table talking and joking with one another. I was feeling a lot more at ease, and I was actually starting to get to know Nick a little better.

  Much to my surprise, Nick became much more talkative as we ate, asking me more and more about myself. I was excited that he seemed to be interested in me.

  He may have just been being polite since he was at my house but he seemed like he genuinely wanted to know more about me.

  I asked Nick some things about him as well, but he wasn’t giving up information very easily. He didn’t seem like he was all that interested in telling me anything about himself. We sat at the table until a little before 10.

  “We hate to cut this short, but we’ve got to get home. Got a long day of work tomorrow,” Curtis said.

  “Oh okay, well thanks for coming you guys. I really appreciate your help.”

  “It’s not a problem. Thanks for dinner.”

  “I owe you one,” I said, making sure I was looking Nick in the eye while I said it. “If there’s anything you ever need. You make sure to let me know,” I smiled, letting him know I was being genuine.

  I said that to him as a way to gauge his reaction, and he didn’t disappoint. The look on his face was one of excitement and gratefulness. I was sure he was wondering exactly what it was I meant by the comment. His expression brought the butterflies out in my stomach once again.

  “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind. I’m sure I’ll take you up on that someday soon,” he said, maintaining eye contact the entire time. He didn’t stop looking at me even as he put the sock cap onto his head. Finally, he waved goodbye as he followed Curtis out the door and into the parking lot.

  Kim gave me a hug and decided to make fun of me. “Oh, I owe you so much!” she mocked. “Anything you need you big stud.”

  “Shhhh, they’re going to hear you,” I said. “Don’t make me feel stupid. That man makes me feel some type of way, and I’m not sure what to do around him.”

  “I’m sorry, I was just playing,” she said. “I’ll see you later.”

  I watched as the pulled away before cleaning up my kitchen and taking a shower before bed. Once I was all clean, I climbed under my blanket, pulling it up to my chin.

  As cold as it was outside, my heater was having a hard time keeping up. Once I was warmed up, I let my hand trail down the thin top I was wearing, pausing to caress my nipples.

  They were already hard from being so cold, and my touch gave me goosebumps along my entire body. It
would have felt even better if it had been Nick’s hand touching me.

  I loved having Nick in my house. I watched him the entire time he was eating, looking away anytime his glance came my way. I didn’t want to seem weird or making it completely obvious that I was watching him.

  I did my best to steal an odd glance here and there. While he ate, I could see the muscles under his shirt flexing without him even trying. He had a large neck that I’d love to kiss, running my tongue along to his ear and biting on his earlobe.

  Out of everything I liked about him, his hands were my favorite thing about him. I don’t know what it is about guys who have big hands, but they always drive me crazy.

  The bigger they are, the better in my opinion. I also liked the d the fact that his hands were calloused and the skin on them was hard and leathery.

  They were the hands of a worker, a man who is strong and could probably provide for his family well. I bet he could do other things well with those hands as well, especially those long, thick fingers.

  I moved my hands lower down my body, rubbing them along my tummy. I may be a curvy girl, but I’ve always been proud of my flat stomach.

  I worked hard to have my body, and I liked the way it felt when I ran my fingers over it. As I imagined Nick’s hands caressing me, I allowed my hand to slip down further, rubbing myself over the top of my panties.

  I teased myself, circling my clit with my middle finger. When I felt like I needed more, I pulled my panties down.

  I placed my finger just inside my lips, feeling the slick, wet feeling of my pussy. I slid my finger in just enough to get it a little wet before moving it back up to my clit.

  The slick lubrication allowed me to circle my clit with no resistance. I shuttered at the feeling as I slipped my finger back inside if my pussy, the feelings of pleasure running through my body.

  Closing my eyes, I could imagine Nick lying there beside me, using his hand to pleasure me instead of mine. I could feel his thumb running circles around my clit while his fingers moved in and out of my hole.

  I felt my climax coming quickly while I pictured Nick climbing on top of me, plunging his cock into my tight pussy. As I started to climax, I could hear Nick moaning into my ear as he filled me up at the same time.

  I arched my back and bit down on my lip as I got myself off. My orgasm had been one of the best I’d had in ages. Easily as good as any orgasm a man had given me.

  The thoughts of Nick were really doing something to me. I wondered what a real orgasm with him would feel like.

  The orgasm had left me spent so I rolled over onto my side, not even worried about pulling my panties back up. It didn’t take me long to fall asleep and have dream after dream about him.

  8

  Nick

  Curtis was keeping me busy with lots of work and long hours. In the last month, we’d been working so much that I’d only had two days off. That was fine with me because long hours and extra days meant big paychecks with plenty of overtime hours on them.

  As the money was rolling in, I was able to get a lot of things that I really needed. It was nice to be able to finally by my own deodorant, soap, and shampoo, but it was especially nice to be able to buy any brand I wanted instead of whatever commissary decided to carry.

  I didn’t like the fact that Curtis had been supplying me with the things I needed, and I was grateful to be able to purchase them on my own.

  Once I had the necessities, I saved every other penny I made so I could get my own set of wheels. Curtis took me all over the place, visiting many different car lots until I found what I was looking for: a black Chevy pickup truck.

  The truck wasn’t even close to being new, but it looked nice enough, and it ran like a dream. It didn’t need any additional work and was ready to go right off the lot, which was the most important thing to me.

  When I wasn’t working, I killed time hanging out with Curtis and Kim. Alexa had been hanging out with us quite a bit as well. Even though I hadn’t had much downtime, I’d gotten to know her quite a bit better. She even spent the holidays at the house with us.

  Alexa and I had long conversations that usually continued well after our best friends went to bed. As much as I hated it, I had no choice but to lie to her about my past. She was aware that Curtis and I met in foster care, but that was all she knew about me. I hated lying to her, but what else was I supposed to do?

  There was no way I could be honest with her. Not if I wanted her to actually take an interest in me and want to be with me. If she knew that I’d spent time in prison and would always be known as a former convict, she’d just view me as a fuck up and never want to speak to me again.

  It wasn’t like I was proud that I’d spent time in prison. As a matter of fact, I’d never been more ashamed of anything in my life.

  Even though I loved spending so much time with her at Curtis’s house, it wasn’t nearly enough for me. I wanted more. No, I needed more. The problem was that I was having trouble coming right out and telling her.

  It wasn’t like me, and I had no idea what my fucking problem was. Before I got sent to prison, I would have asked her without any hesitation. Instead, I found myself conflicted about making a move, mostly because I feared I’d never be able to show her the real me.

  Even though we talked a lot and she flirted, I still wasn’t sure whether or not she was as into me as I was her. There were times when it felt like she was hanging on every word that came out of my mouth or would smile while looking at me with a gleam in her gorgeous eyes.

  The more I thought about it, the more I realized that there was definitely something there between us. There was almost a sort of electrical charge anything she would reach over and lightly touch my arm. I loved making her laugh because she had a smile that could melt the heart of any man, and the sound of her laughter filled the room and gave me a happy feeling that had been missing for years.

  I was surprised to see Alexa sitting on the couch next to Kim when Curtis and I arrived home from work. She usually didn’t come over until later in the evening.

  “Hello boys,” Kim joked as we took our work boots off in the foyer, so we didn’t track mud through the house. “Alexa is going to have dinner with us this evening. You don’t mind, do you Nick?”

  I shot Kim a look that told her to shut up, and she replied with a mischievous wink. I was glad to know that Alexa was going to be having dinner with us.

  “It’s your food,” I said laughing.

  As we ate our meal, I had a hard time looking at Alexa. I worried that my window of opportunity may be closing and that if I didn’t ask her out soon, I might blow it. Seeing her that night, I knew I had to make my move.

  She was giving me all the right signals. She was laughing at all of my jokes, even the ones that weren’t very funny. I’d catch her checking me out when she thought I wasn’t paying any attention.

  Once dinner was over, and everything was cleaned up, Alexa said she had to go and started telling everyone goodnight. My chance had come, and I wasn’t about to let it slip by.

  “Hold on just a second,” I said as she put on her coat and headed for the front door. “I’ll walk you out to your car.”

  I snatched my coat off the hanging and clumsily threw it on.

  “Okay,” she replied, acting shy all of a sudden.

  She gave Kim a hug and waved goodbye to Curtis. I held the door open for her and followed her out, closing it behind me.

  “Dinner was delicious,” she said, breaking the awkward silence that had developed as we stood next to her vehicle.

  “It really was. Between you and Kim, I’m eating better lately than I’ve ever eaten in my life.”

  She smiled at the compliment, showing off a dimple in her cheek that I’d never noticed before. I looked down at the snow, trying to find the right words to say what I wanted to say. I figured the best thing to do was to spit it out and get it over with.

  “So, when I was at your apartment fixing your SUV, you told me that yo
u owe me big time. Do you remember that?”

  “Yes,” she laughed, looking as though she was confused as to where this conversation was going.

  “I was wondering if maybe I could cash in on that,” I told her.

  I closed my mouth and waited to see what her reaction was before I went any further. The last thing I wanted to do was make a giant fool of myself if I had misread her signals. My heart was pounding in my chest, and she looked even more confused than she had previously.

  “Um, maybe. What do you have in mind?”

  “I think you should let me take you out to dinner.”

  Finally, it was out there. I’d asked her out, and the ball was no longer in my court. It was up to her to give me a response. I was a little nervous that her reply might not be what I wanted to hear, but at least it was all out in the open.

  Alexa didn’t give me an immediate answer. I studied her facial expressions, hoping to get some kind of clue of what was going on inside her head, but I couldn’t read her at all.

  She appeared to be surprised that I asked her out. Remaining silent, she just stood there looking at me. I could feel the smile that had formed on my face slowly beginning to disappear. I was genuinely worried that my biggest fear was about to become a reality. She was going to say no.

  I knew that this was going to happen. I told myself that I would just make a fool out of myself, and there I was. I was about to tell her goodnight and go back inside when I saw her surprised look turn into a huge smile.

  “When I said I owed you big time, I meant that I owed you something. Not the other way around,” she told me. “How does you taking me out to dinner justify that. I’m supposed to owe you something, not the other way around. Maybe I’ve got a better idea.”

  “Okay, let’s hear it.”

  “Why don’t you come over to my place this weekend and I’ll cook a special dinner just for you. How does that sound?”

  Was she being serious? How does that sound? That sounded amazing. As much as I wanted to take her out and have an official first date with her, this was a much, much better idea.