Too tired to continue arguing, she decided it would be better to fight in the morning when she had some sleep and was more clear-headed.
After Ice and Max left, she went to the hall closet to take out a blanket and sheets, feeling Stump’s eyes on her as she made the sofa into a bed.
“There’s no way both of us are going to fit on there.”
“I’m sleeping on my bed. You’re sleeping here.”
“Hell no, I’m not—”
“Then you’re not staying.” She brought her hands to her hips when she could tell there was another argument brewing.
“We can sleep together on your bed.”
“No, we can’t. Just because we made love doesn’t mean we are going to make a habit sleeping together.”
“We aren’t?”
“No, we aren’t,” she repeated firmly.
“Why not?”
“That’s obvious!”
“Not to me.”
“If you sleep with me, you might get… we might … have sex again.” She twisted her hands together, embarrassed about talking about what had taken place in her bedroom.
“What’s wrong with that? I thought you enjoyed it. Hey, it was your first time; it gets better. A lot better….”
Blushing, she would rather melt into the floor than discuss why she didn’t want to make love with him.
“It doesn’t matter how much I enjoyed it. I’m never doing it again.”
“Then we have a big problem, because we are.”
“No, we’re not!” Bursting into tears, she tried to run out of the room, but Stump caught her before she could reach her bedroom door.
Trying to sidle away from him, she found herself pinned to the wall in the hallway.
“Tell me.”
“He watched us!”
“No, he didn’t. The closet door wasn’t open when we were having sex.”
“You don’t know that for sure!”
“Yes, I do. I was staring at it when we were on the bed. I only saw it open a crack when I came out of the bathroom.”
“He still heard us.”
“We made love quietly.”
A low laugh had her shaking in his arms. “No, we didn’t.”
“We did. You just don’t remember.”
“You’re lying to make me feel better.”
“Is it working?”
“A little,” she admitted.
“Good. Can we go to sleep now? I’m exhausted. If I promise to keep my hands to myself, can I sleep with you?”
“No. He threatened you. You should go home. He could be watching and know you’re still here.”
“He’s not watching.”
“You don’t know that for sure.”
“Yes, I do. Creed is keeping an eye out from his house, Max is behind your house, and several of the other brothers are staked-out throughout your neighborhood. No one is going to move tonight unless we know about it.”
“It will be safer for you if you leave. I’m not going to jeopardize your safety.” She tried to duck under the arm that he had braced against the wall.
“I’m not the one in jeopardy. The fucker who broke into your house is. When I find out who it is, I’m going to carve my own message into him… with bullets.”
Zoey winced at the graphic image. “I don’t want anyone hurt, Stump. Whoever is doing this is sick. They need help.”
“Whoever did it needs more help than I’m willing to give. They need putting down. They destroyed your stuffed animal because he couldn’t get to you. If I hadn’t come out of the bathroom when I did, or if you were alone, he would have taken his frustration out on you.”
“I know.” She shuddered. “I keep trying to think who it could be. I can’t think of anyone capable of doing this.”
“I could look through the recordings of your clients and see if anyone stands out to me.”
“No! Those videos are for my clients. I promised them no one would see them.”
“Calm down. It was just a suggestion. Whoever is doing this already made one mistake, and he’ll screw up again.”
“What mistake did he make already?”
“He chose you.”
23
“Are you taking Zoey to the Kaden’s concert tomorrow night?”
Stump turned in his computer chair at Penni’s question. “I’m taking her. Why?”
“I was going to get you to babysit if you weren’t going.”
“Sorry, you’re out of luck.”
“Darn it! You were my last choice. Jackal won’t be able to go with me if I don’t find someone. All my friends are going.”
“Have you asked Gert?”
Gert was the oldest female member of the Predators. Stump hadn’t seen her around the club lately, but then again, he had spent most of his time at Zoey’s house since the break-in three weeks ago.
“No, I didn’t want to bother her. Jackal said her cancer treatments have taken a lot out of her.”
“Call and ask. If she can’t, Gert will tell you.”
“I will.”
Stump quickly got out of his chair when he heard Zoey’s door being opened, starting to close the door to Penni’s private office.
“Hey, leave the door open,” Grace protested as both women craned their necks to watch the hallway.
“No.” Shutting the door, Stump strode into the hallway as Kristen was telling Zoey he would see her next week.