Protect Me: Protectors at Heart (2 page)

K
rista was wallowing
in the warm afterglow of mind-blowing sex while being held in a pair of strong arms. That was until she heard a male voice that wasn’t Mac’s.

She shrieked, trying to scramble out of his arms to find her dress. But he wouldn’t put her down. She felt the muscles in his arms bulge as he squeezed her to him and held her in his arms like a newborn baby.

“Krista, these guys work for me. The ugly one is Cam and the uglier one is Heath.” Mac nodded at each man, as if introducing her to them while she was butt naked was normal.

She desperately tried to cover her boobs and privates. With one hand covering down below, she used her arm to cover her breast. She just knew a nipple was peaking out somewhere.

“What is wrong with you?” She screamed at him. “I’m naked and two strangers watched us?” She was totally baffled.

“Hey, it’s okay. You have a rockin’ body.” She believed it was Heath who spoke, but wasn’t sure.

Her jaw clenched in anger, she used her chin to point at Heath. “Not the point dude.”

“But you have such pretty breasts, I’m sure Mac is just showing off his property.” This time it was the other one that spoke, Cam she believed.

She just about screamed in frustration. They had to be fucking with her. Wait, property?

“Take off guys, you’re upsetting her.” Mac ordered the men.

She heard them grumbling but didn’t see them leave since Mac had turned to take her into his house.

“You can put me down now,” she said, incensed.

“No.” He ignored her command, taking her inside and dropping to the sofa with her now in his lap.

He took the time to brush her golden strands out of her face. “Krista, I didn’t know they were there. Now normally, no one sneaks up on me, but I was in so deep I didn’t know they were there.”

She blushed at his unintended or intended pun. She was starting to understand him so he’d probably said it on purpose.

“They acted like it was a normal thing to see you doing someone on your lawn.”

He sighed. “There’s a club in town that we’re all members of where you can kink out, and no one cares. They made an assumption, baby. My fault and I’m sorry.”

She thought about it for a minute. “So you don’t normally bring a woman home to fuck in front of your friends?”

“No, this was not planned.” He stated adamantly.

She started to relax, realizing that she had been completely unaware of them too. Analyzing her feelings, she pictured the two of them fucking on his truck and was surprised that she found the thought of other men watching her made her hot.

“You’re flushed.” Mac was watching her closely, reading her.

God he was the most attentive man she’d ever met. Hiding something from him seemed impossible. He said he hated lying, so she would be honest.

“It’s kind of hot, them watching and all.”

He grinned. “Stick with me honey and we can explore all your kinks.”

He stood her up and swatted her lightly on her ass. “I’ll get your stuff from your car while you take a shower. First room on the right is the master and you can use that bathroom.”

Still trying to cover her breast and pussy, she looked over her shoulder towards the hallway. “Um, I’m sleeping in your room?”

Coming back to stand directly in front of her, her wrapped his hand around her neck and pulled her in for his kiss. “I know that truck wasn’t the most comfortable place, I want to fuck you in my bed.”

Well, that was certainly clear enough. She left to shower. Maybe she could enjoy the sex while it lasted, and not get attached. Maybe.

M
ac grabbed her purse
, computer bag and suitcase. She didn’t have much. He left her purse and computer on the kitchen table and placed her suitcase on his bed.

Standing at the foot of his bed, he wondered if he was making a mistake. Hearing the shower running, he thought about joining her but changed his mind. She was already getting a hold on him that he’d never allowed before.

Women were beautiful creatures, independent or clingy, he enjoyed all their quirks and differences. He loved their soft bodies, especially the ones with hips and a cushion. The skinny ones made him feel like he might bruise them if he took them too hard.

Krista was making him crazy. Barely tall enough to tuck under his chin, her wide hips, soft belly and blue eyes made him want to slip her into his pocket to keep her safe.

Well, blue eyes with a rainbow of color around one of them. That thought made him want to put his fist through a wall. He left to wait for her in his living room, impatiently wanting to hear her story.

She came into the room with her long, wet hair tossed to one side as she tried to brush the tangles out. He cringed when she forced her way through a huge knot and practically ripped her hair out of her head. Her shorts and t-shirt looked comfortable, but he preferred her naked.

“Come here baby, and sit between my legs. You’re making a mess of that.” Mac pointed at the floor and threw a pillow down to cushion her knees on the hardwood floors.

S
he relinquished
her hairbrush and turned to slide down to her knees with her butt resting on her heels. Feeling his hand stroke her head while he gently worked out the tangles had her sighing in pleasure. With her back to him, she surveyed his living room, taking in details she hadn’t looked at before.

Tan walls with blah paintings. Obviously he wasn’t a decorator. Leather sofa, leather recliners. Yeah, this was definitely a man’s room.

The fireplace was huge with multi color river stones going all the way up to the ceiling. She could imagine a fire blazing in winter while the wind howled outside. She was pulled out of her wanderings when he spoke.

“Tell me what happened,” he ordered.

“Actually, if you want the cut and dried version, I can get you a copy of the police reports.” She hoped he would take the offer so that she didn’t have to verbalize the last year of her life.

“Already on it, hon. But I want to hear your version.”

She gripped his thigh as she turned to see his face. “What? When did you do that?”

He placed his big palm on the top of her head and turned her back to face the fireplace, his calm sigh showing his long-standing patience. “This is what I do. Cam is getting those reports as we speak, quit stalling.”

She thought about it a moment before replying. “I worked for a corporate real estate firm in Dallas, accounting stuff. Pretty boring, but I have an affinity for numbers. Basically, I made sure the payroll was correct. Checked overtime, vacation pay, that sort of thing.”

He started braiding her hair while she spoke and she wondered where he’d picked up that particular talent.

“One of the guys, David Johnson, an executive accountant, asked me out. I said no, politely. There was something about him, a bad vibe I guess. Anyway, he started hanging around at my desk and generally being a nuisance.”

“Did you report him to your supervisor?” Mac asked.

She huffed. “I’m getting to that.”

He tugged her braid, gently. Laughing lightly, he told her to continue.

“So yes, I reported him and they took my claim seriously and started an investigation. It helped that my co-workers could collaborate my story. I mean, it wasn’t like he tried to be sneaky or anything. He would bring me coffee and sit on the edge of my desk like we were long time buddies. But women talk, and when us girls got together in the break room, I told them I’d turned the guy down and he just wouldn’t go away.”

She stopped and wrapped her arms around her body at this point.

Mac promptly pulled her up from the floor into his lap, his arms shielding her. “You’re safe Krista.”

Swallowing, she pressed on, wanting to get to the end. “They let him go with severance pay, they didn’t fire him. So this guy probably got a lot of money to simply go away, which gave him the free time to harass me.”

“Companies don’t want the bad press someone in upper management can cause. Sorry to say, but this happens more often than you’d think,” Mac said.

“Yeah, I know.” She paused to clear her throat. “He started following me. Post office, coffee shop, he even showed up at my doctor appointment. He was sitting in his car, stalking me.” She still got shivers whenever she pictured him in his car, waiting and watching.

“I’m betting the police couldn’t do much to help you,” Mac said.

“They told me to get a restraining order, but I never did.” She waited in silence, expecting him to yell at her.

Mac raised her chin so he could look into her eyes. “Why not?” He growled.

She was whispering now, feeling like an idiot.

“I thought it would all go away. I mean, he stalked me but never actually threatened me. I was waiting for him to get tired of it and move on.”

She wiggled on his lap, moving to sit next to him instead of on him so that she could face him head on. If he wanted to berate her or kick her out of his house, she wanted to see his face.

She watched him pinch the bridge of his nose and knew he was struggling to not bite her head off. He let out a whoosh of air and she could see the tension leave his muscles.

His eyes were like lasers as he zeroed in on her. “Obviously he didn’t get tired and go away. When and where did he finally get to you?”

Wringing her hands, she dropped her eyes. “My apartment. I opened my door…”

“You didn’t check the peephole?” Mac yelled, incensed.

“I’d been in and out all day and had just gotten back from the laundry. I wasn’t thinking about anything but getting my clothes folded and put away.” She shrugged, knowing she’d been stupid but that wouldn’t change the past. “Anyway, his punch was so fast I didn’t see it coming. I fell across the threshold, which in retrospect was a godsend because he couldn’t close the door.”

“Did he rape you?” Mac asked, grimly.

“No, thank God! When he tried to pull me into my apartment, I fought. My face hurt like hell but I was not going to give up and let him kill me. I screamed and punched, although my punches did little to hurt him. It was my screams that got the attention of a woman in the parking lot. I was on the first floor and my door faces the lot. She started yelling and he ran off.”

Mac got up to pace in front of the fireplace. “Your wound looks like it happened maybe two days ago, which means you’ve been on the run for that long.” He stared off into space for a moment. “We’re three hours southwest of Dallas, did you drive straight here?”

She shook her head. “No, once I gave my statement to the police and left the hospital, I contacted my work to take some time off. I have several weeks saved up so I packed and started driving.”

“Any other injuries?” Colin asked.

“No, just my eye. He didn’t have time to hurt me more than he did.”

She plucked at her t-shirt. “As you saw, I didn’t pack much, just the one suitcase with some jeans, shorts and shirts. I drove around, sort of lost before I hit the interstate and headed south.”

“Were you going to family or friends?” Mac asked.

Again she shook her head. “No, I just wanted to get as far away as I could.” She smiled a little. “Your towns name made my decision. Solace, Texas. I was going to eat lunch here and move on.”

Mac stopped pacing to point a finger at her. “Okay Krista, here’s how it’s going to go. You don’t leave this house without me, or one of my men. You’ll be safe here, no one will get to you.”

She couldn’t help but point out to him that two men had already gotten past his security.

“My men have access because their vehicles have all been rigged with a transmitter that allows them in. I trust them with my life,” he said. “And I have my business in another building on this property. Not to go into too much detail, but when you passed through those gates at the end of the driveway, I was notified. You wouldn’t have been allowed access if I hadn’t been leading you in.”

Mac’s phone chirped and he pulled it out of his pocket and went to the dining room to take the call.

Krista stood and stared out the living room windows to give him his privacy. With the dining room and kitchen open to the living room, only a long granite bar separated the space.

She tuned him out as she thought about her problem. Having a company like Mac’s take her on pro bono left her feeling very uncomfortable. This had to be costing him a lot of money.

“Krista.” Mac’s tone was grim.

She turned from the window to see him waiting with a chair pulled out from the table, which sat in a nook overlooking the back property.

His blank face frightened her.

“What’s happening?” The fear in her voice was clear and unmistakable.

Once seated, he pulled out a chair for himself and faced her, their knees almost touching.

“When you told me his name, my first thought was that it’s a very common name. David Johnson. Do you know how many Johnson’s there are in the world? Millions.” Mac raked a hand through his short hair.

She nodded in agreement.

“Heath has been doing some digging and he can’t find this guy. No records from your company, and the police record was wiped clean.”

She gasped, incredulous. “But, I have a copy in my computer bag.”

Mac squeezed her knees to gain her attention. “Heath has a partial report, the rest are gone. Your company records were wiped too. You’re still on the payroll, but there’s no record of a David Johnson.”

She couldn’t comprehend what he was telling her. How could David make his records disappear? This didn’t make any sense.

“Krista, David was not who he said he was. I don’t know what his game is, but this goes a lot deeper than stalking you. We need to figure out what he’s after.” Mac sat back and waited.

“This is crazy! I don’t know anything. I did the freaking payroll. It’s not like I moved money in and out of some Swiss account.” She was practically yelling at this point.

“Come on, we’re going to the office where Heath and Cam are working on this,” Mac said.

“Wait, just wait a minute.” Krista stayed in her chair, needing a moment to think.

This was moving beyond protecting her from a stalker to a world she didn’t understand. Was she putting Mac and his men in danger? And the cost! With paying his guys their salary, he would certainly be out thousands of dollars.