Mature Audiences Only (18+)

Read part one, part two, and part three first!

I had to be nuts to believe him, right? I mean, really, it was crazy. He just admitted to watching me, following me, borderline stalking me.

“Karen, please. I wasn’t stalking you. Haven’t you ever seen a guy and thought he was cute and wanted to talk to him, but you were too chicken to actually do it? That’s all that happened.”

“Except you said you saw me over and over again. That’s-”

“Yes, I saw you,” Blaine interrupted me. “And every time you were either on your way out of the pet store or I was. It’s not like I was hanging around there for weeks hoping to see you again, or watching you and creeping around the store following you. I happened to pass by you a few times and I wondered if you were as sweet as you appeared.”

I looked at him, wondering what the hell I was thinking. Why did I bring a random guy home? Was I really going to sleep with him? Was I so desperate that I was still thinking about it even though he was a stalker, sort of?

I pushed past him and went out to the living room. I had to focus. Being in the same room with him, especially my bedroom, distracted me. My base instincts were screaming at me to forget how we met and drag him back to bed. My gut instincts were saying kick him out. Now!

“What would you say if I told you to leave?” I asked. If he was a psycho he would get violent, or angry. I was taking a risk, but I had to know.

“I would say I’m sorry you feel that way but I would leave. I would leave my phone number just in case you changed your mind about me though.”

We stared at each other, me trying to decide if he was being honest and Blaine, well, it looked like he was trying to appear trustworthy. I just didn’t know.

“Okay, Karen. I’m sorry I deceived you. I’m going to give you some space to decide if you want to see me again. Here’s my number,” he pulled out a card and left it on the table near the door. “I hope you can forgive me for adoring you from afar, and for finding you so beautiful that I was afraid to talk to you.”

I watched Blaine walk over to where Skyy was snuggled up under my Christmas tree. He lifted the little cat, who fought him and grabbed the tree skirt in an attempt to stay. Blaine gently unhooked Skyy’s claws and snuggled her against his side. He grabbed his jacket from the back of the couch and walked out the door without another word.

I tried to breathe a sigh of relief with Blaine gone, but it got stuck in my throat. A lump lodged in my chest and I couldn’t breathe. Aw, shit. I was a fool.

Blaine walked out without a fight because he wasn’t a psycho stalker, he was a decent guy who was exactly what he said he was. We’d spent all evening at my house and he didn’t once make me feel like something was wrong. And I pushed him out.

I threw open the front door and chased out after him, barefoot and without a coat. His car was slowly backing down my driveway. I screamed, flailed my arms, and ran after him trying to get his attention. His car kept going, further and further away from me. He made it out onto the road.

Then stopped.

The passenger window slid down and Blaine called out, “What are you doing? You’re going to freeze!”

“I was wrong. Come back inside. Please.”

Blaine looked at me, his eyes meeting mine as he considered my words. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

Blaine pulled back into my driveway and tucked Skyy under his jacket before following me inside. I rubbed my hands up and down my arms to warm me up once we were inside. Blaine set Skyy down before he took of his coat. Skyy went straight back under the tree and curled up. Blaine rubbed his hands together then set them on my arms and rubbed gently, warming me up almost instantly.

Inside and out.

“I’m sorry I didn’t believe you. It’s a little strange to know you knew about me before I knew about you. But I believe you.”

“Thank you. I’m sorry I scared you. I won’t lie to you though, Karen. I feel a connection with you, a closeness that I don’t really understand. Thanks for giving me another chance.”

I stepped into his embrace and stood there while he held me. It felt right to be in his arms. It felt good. And I wanted to get back to where we were before.

“Shall we pick up where we left off? Before I flipped out.”

“Karen, I don’t want to rush you. We can just watch TV and get to know each other.”

“Really? I mean, I’m ready and waiting for you and you just want to watch TV?” I asked, baffled.

“Karen, I’m more than willing to do whatever you want, but I don’t want you to think I’m just here for the sex.”

“What if I want you here for the sex?”

“Well, when you put it like that…”

Blaine chased me down the hallway to my bedroom. He closed the door behind us and we picked up right where we left off.

For Mature Readers Only (18+)

Read part one and part two first. 

The blazing fire between Blaine and I was burning me. I couldn’t stop wanting him and it looked like I was finally going to get my Christmas wish. Blaine laid me back over the bed and whispered, “Where was I?”

His mouth closed around my neck, those delicious shivers racing up and down my spine. I arched into him, silently offering myself to him. He accepted everything I was giving him and more.

His fingers glided over my throat, down to my chest where he latched on to one of my nipples, teasing me through the fabric of my shirt and bra. His mouth worked in tandem with his hand, tormenting me until I was a puddle beneath him, whimpering and begging for more.

Blaine grinned as he sat up. His eyes locked onto mine before he yanked his shirt over his head. As if he knew what kind of power his bare chest would have, he watched my reaction.

“Damn,” I breathed.

“That’s all I can think when I look at you. I want to see you, Karen, all of you.”

He reached for my shirt and my shyness kicked in. The only ones I’d been naked in front of lately were my cats, and they didn’t really count. Slowly, as though he was torturing himself, he peeled my shirt up. With each inch of skin he bared he covered it with kisses, sensual, open-mouthed kisses that had my skin burning like he was licking me with fire.

When my shirt hit the floor he reached around behind me and unhooked my bra, quickly sending it after my shirt. His bare chest rested against my stomach as his mouth devoured me, licking, nibbling, and inhaling my breasts as though they were the most delicious dessert he’d ever tasted. Blaine moved slowly downward, tugging my pants off as he moved.

I laid before him on my bed, naked except my plain cotton panties. “Jesus, you’re beautiful,” he said reverently as he ran his hand over his face. “I don’t know why I waited so long to talk to you.”

I froze, immediately both creeped out and confused. “What did you say?”

Blaine backed up, the realization of what he admitted to crashing over his beautiful face. All of a sudden, I saw him in a different light. He wasn’t a random guy who needed help. He was a crazy stalker.

“Who the hell are you?” I nearly screamed, trying to cover myself up with the blanket as I backed away from him. “What do you want from me?”

“Karen, please, baby, don’t flip out on me. It’s not like that,” he pleaded.

“Then, please, Blaine, tell me what the fuck it’s like because it sounds like a big fucking mistake on my part.”

He picked my clothes up off the floor and reached them out to me, staying far enough out of reach that I couldn’t slap the shit out of him like I wanted to do. He grabbed his own shirt and pulled it back over his head then turned his back so I could get dressed. “This isn’t a mistake, Karen. Please give me a chance to explain.”

“I’m waiting for something other than you telling me you have something to say.”

“Listen, I shouldn’t have said that, but I don’t want to lie to you. I’ve seen you before. At the pet store. The first time was a few weeks ago. Your smile absolutely lit up the whole place. I knew from that moment I had to find a way to talk to you.”

I smiled, unable to stop myself. He half-smiled back at me and I forced my lips back into a frown. Blaine ran his hand through his hair again before he continued.

“After that I went to the pet store hoping I’d run into you. I was there so much the adoption center was starting to wonder about me. When I went earlier this week I was talking to Molly, the woman who manages the adoptions, and saw Skyy. She was beautiful and really took to me. Molly convinced me to take her home and I loved her. Tonight was purely an accident. I didn’t know you’d be there, but when I saw you in the cat food aisle, I couldn’t resist talking to you. Just for a minute I wanted to feel that incredible glow you bestow on everyone around you.”

I was dumbfounded. I really wanted to believe him but felt stupid giving in so easily. Could I really trust a guy I just met? One who just admitted to essentially stalking me? Wasn’t that Smart Woman 101 – don’t give away trust?

“How can I believe that you’re just a normal guy who happened to follow me around for a few weeks?”

“I didn’t follow you around,” Blaine pleaded. “I only saw you at the pet store. When I went back I hoped to see you, but I only saw you there a few times. One of the cashiers noticed me watching you and mentioned that you work with the adoption group to place cats. That’s how I met Molly. But I never followed you home until today when you invited me. And I never asked anyone about you. I didn’t even know your name until you told me. I promise you, Karen. Please believe me.”

 

Will Karen give Blaine a second chance? Is he really a creep or just a man who fell in love at first sight? Come back next week to find out!

Check out part one first. 

I unlocked my front door and flipped on the lights. My Christmas tree stood in the corner, lit up and blinking at me. Two of the cats were snuggled up underneath and Max stood on the mantle batting at one of the ornaments. I shook my head at his playfulness.

Blaine was right behind me, carrying Skyy in his coat. It was the second man I’d let into my apartment in one day but for some reason I didn’t worry as much about Blaine insulting it. He already knew I had a bunch of cats, and why, and I didn’t think he was going to judge where I lived.

“Your tree is awesome. That one looks like he’s going to leap into it though.”

“Yeah,” I said, brushing Max off the mantle. “He thinks he’s a squirrel. He doesn’t do any damage, but he gets feisty. All my ornaments are non-breakable though, just in case. A few years ago I had one cat that was seriously nuts and he pulled my whole tree down.”

Blaine laughed. “You’re kidding me? How did you ever get rid of him?”

I smiled thinking back on the family that took the crazy cat. “It was a big family that had a big house and lots of property on the outskirts of town. The parents said one more crazy thing in their house would just make it more fun. I don’t know how they did it, but I get a Christmas card from them every year. So far it hasn’t come with coal. Or flaming dog shit. I guess that means he’s doing okay.”

Blaine laughed again, the booming sound echoing off the walls in my small house. He made it seem more like a home, like he belonged there. Skyy was making herself at home too, nuzzling up to Flower who was curled up in the corner trying to hide from the crazy boys. I smiled at them before lifting my gaze to Blaine’s.

And stopped breathing.

His eyes were heated and focused on me. He looked like he was as swept up by the day as I was. I could use a confidence boost in the way of some male attention after the disaster of a non-date earlier. Blaine looked eager to please.

He stalked toward me, carefully dodging cats and toys, and came to rest without actually touching me. I could feel him, almost like a physical presence, on me. Like being near him was enough to know he was there, without actually being in contact. But being close wasn’t enough. I needed to feel him.

We leaned in at the same time, an invisible pull drawing us together. When our lips met an explosion occurred within my body, heat and desire and need and impatience all warred for a starring role with Blaine. He clawed at me as I clawed at him, desperate to get closer and closer. We collapsed onto the couch, knocking a few cats to the floor in the process. The disgruntled mews fell on deaf ears as Blaine and I focused on each other.

He pressed my body into the couch cushions and positioned himself between my thighs. I could feel his desire hard against me and arched up into it, my body seeking his. Blaine growled against my throat and returned the gesture with his hips leaning into mine. If he kept doing that I knew it wouldn’t be long before I lost it like a teenager on the couch with her first boyfriend.

Blaine seemed to get the unspoken message and ground his hips into mine again and again, making me moan as his body tortured mine. His lips and tongue burned a trail down my neck to my collarbone before he got frustrated with the layers I wore to fight off the chill outside. His hand worked it’s way under my shirt and was sliding it up my ribs when Blaine screamed and jumped off me.

“Crazy cat,” he howled as he reached behind himself for the offending creature. I giggled when I saw Skyy dangling from his shirt as he danced around.

I stood and went for the cat, pulling her close to me for a snuggle. “Oh, you sweet thing. You were just trying to play with your daddy, weren’t you? You thought it was a game and you were missing out. I told you to get some toys for this playful little one,” I teased Blaine. His eyes held the same heat they did before but it had dropped to a simmer. He grinned at Skyy and rolled his eyes.

“I see she has you as wrapped as she has me. Little shit. It’s a good thing you’re cute,” he said affectionately as he scratched behind her ears then under her chin. “Maybe we should head out,” he said, not meeting my eyes.

Disappointment and shame washed through me, thinking he thought I was nothing more than a pet store slut, picking up guys in the cat food aisle and taking them home to have my merry way with them. I guess I was, although he was the only one I’d ever taken home.

“Unless, you want to order dinner?” he offered, giving me hope. I shouldn’t want to spend time with him so much, but I didn’t want him to leave.

“Dinner would be great,” I said, desperately trying not to sound too eager. His grin matched mine and we went together into the kitchen to find take-out menus. After deciding on Chinese for dinner we settled in front of the TV and found a movie. Blaine pulled me against him and wrapped his arm around me, kissing me softly and sweetly before turning his attention to the movie.

After dinner arrived we ate in companionable silence then settled on the couch again. Blaine stretched out and positioned me in front of him, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me close. His scent tickled my nose and made me want to burrow into him and never leave. My fingers entwined with his and I wriggled my hips to get closer to him. He breathed out a huff of breath when my ass nudged against his jeans, which were still happy to see me.

He drug my hair off my neck and covered my skin with his lips, a kiss that made my entire body shiver and want more. Just when I thought he was going to pull back he growled in my ear and whispered, “Fuck it.”

Before I could ask him what was going on he scooped me up and was carrying me down the hall. I directed him to my bedroom and felt my pulse kick into high gear as Blaine checked for cats then kicked my bedroom door closed. “You’re all mine tonight,” he demanded before sealing our lips together and cutting off any possible answer.

I slammed the door in his face, not giving him another chance to say something. The nerve, calling me a Crazy Cat Lady. He’s a first class asshole and I’m not wasting my time on him, or any other man, again. Some people have no vision, or compassion.

“Alright, kitties. Since my night just got ruined, I’m going to go to the store. It’s always nice and quiet on Friday nights. Unfortunately I know that well. I’ll be back in a little while.”

I draped a scarf around my neck to ward off the chill in the evening air and went out to my SUV. A few meows followed me out the door, but they would be fine. My nine cats were used to being left alone and occasionally there would be fights as a result, but it seemed Boots was showing the others who was boss.

The pet supply store was a brightly lit beacon calling to me as soon as I turned into the shopping center. Even the employees were starting to recognize me, probably thinking I must be a crazy cat lady too. Well, screw them too. I knew I wasn’t crazy.

I parked out near the cart return and headed into the store. The smell of the animals and the pet supplies wrapped around me and made me feel better already. That jerk didn’t know what he was talking about. Maybe nine cats is a bit much, but he didn’t even want to consider anything other than me being crazy. Maybe a part of me was, but I couldn’t turn my back on those cats.

I had no problem turning my back on an asshole though.

I wheeled a cart over to the cat aisle and looked at the options. Not that I needed to. I practically had the aisle memorized. I could close my eyes and still pick out exactly what I needed. Something was bothering me though. Like that jerk got to me more than I wanted to admit.

“Excuse me,” a deep voice said behind me. My eyes flashed up, and up, and up to the brightest blue eyes I’d ever seen. A smile quirked the side of his stubbled jaw and a dimple peeked at me. But it was the tiny kitten cuddled in his large hand that melted my heart.

“Mew,” whispered the kitten and I reached out to pet her.

My hand connected with her soft fur and she nuzzled her head into my hand. My fingers grazed the edge of his hand and reminded me the kitten wasn’t alone.

“I’m sorry. I should have asked. I have a weakness for cats,” I admitted sheepishly. The last thing I needed was another man telling me how crazy I was in one night.

“You’re fine. I was actually wondering if you would be willing to help me. I just got her and I’m a bit lost with what she needs.”

“Oh, uh… I don’t work here,” I stammered. I glanced down at my clothes and wondered why he would think I could help him.

His free hand dove through his hair and he scratched the back of his neck. “Uh, yeah, I know. Actually, I saw you in here a while ago buying a huge bag of cat food. I just sort of figured if you needed that much cat food you would know what a cat needed.”

Embarrassment crept over me, turning my cheeks pink and making me wish I’d just stayed home tonight.

“I’m sorry. If you’re busy, that’s fine. The employees seem nice but they’ve always come across as doing a job, not loving animals the way I figured any animal owner and lover does. I didn’t mean to bother you.”

He turned away and tucked the kitten closer. My heart melted just a bit and I knew I was taking out my anger with that jerk, Rob, on him. “Wait,” I called after him. “I’m sorry. I’ll be happy to help you.”

“Really?” he asked with an adorable grin. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, let’s get this little one set up. I’m Karen, by the way.”

“Right, sorry. I’m Blaine and this is Skyy.”

“Nice to meet you both. So, Blaine, do you have anything yet?”

He shook his head and his dark hair drifted over his right eye. I noticed his broad shoulders and long lean form and couldn’t stop the flash of desire that rocketed through me. He looked adorable with his black and white kitten nuzzled against his chest and the look of pure confusion on his face. I wanted nothing more than to cuddle up with the two of them for the night.

Or the rest of my life.

No, I wasn’t going to go back there. I wasn’t going to imagine my life with a guy, especially one I just met.

“The first things you’ll need are food, litter, a litter box, and food and water bowls. After that, you might want to think about a carrier and some toys.”

“Let’s just get it all. Any suggestions?”

I walked Blaine and Skyy through picking out everything they would need. He had gotten her earlier from the pound so I also gave him the name of my vet and offered him some flea meds to get them started.

“You seem to know a lot about cats. How many do you have?” Blaine asked as we walked out to our cars, me with a super-sized bag of cat food and a matching box of litter, and Blaine with everything Skyy needed and more.

“Uh, well, I actually have a lot. I sort of can’t stand to see an animal put down if it’s healthy so I tend to take them in.”

He cocked his head to the side and looked at me. “You rescue rescues, don’t you?”

I blushed and nodded. He’d so easily explained what I could never seem to get others to understand. When the shelter had cats that were set to be euthanized I would adopt them. It’s added up, but I always seem to find a good home for them.

“That’s really admirable.”

I shrugged. “It’s my small part. Anyway, that’s how I know so much. I’ve had about thirty in and out of my house this year.”

“Are you sure you don’t mind us coming over?”

“No, it’s fine, as long as you don’t mind a bunch of cats and being around the Crazy Cat Lady.”

His eyes narrowed at me and he reached out to grip my shoulder. “You are not a Crazy Cat Lady. You’re amazing. And beautiful.”

His compliment hung in the air between us. Blaine stepped toward me and brushed a strand of hair from my cheek, his warm fingers feathering over my face until they tunneled through my hair. His lips came down on mine as his hand pulled me into him. Warmth spread through me, heating my body from the inside out, as Blaine kissed me thoroughly and passionately, like a man starving for everything I had.

I returned his kiss with equal fervor. His tongue tangled with mine until a sharp pain pierced my chest. “Ow,” I cried, jumping back.

“Mew,” leaked out from between us, reminding me that he was cradling Skyy the whole time. One of her claws must have got me as we crushed her between us.

“Sorry,” Blaine started. “I… You just looked so beautiful and I couldn’t stop myself.”

I cocked my head to the side and gave him a look full of confidence I didn’t really feel then asked, “Are you going to follow me home?”