Mating Fever (2 page)

“I’m not spying on you, Madison.”

“Then how did you know to call me right when I turned the phone on? How did you get my number and my address or any of my phone information?”

“All in good time. I wanted to replace what I destroyed. I was a little hasty last night. I shouldn’t have threatened you. I was hoping that we could meet for drinks.”

I burst into giggles.
Is this guy serious?

“Do you find the idea of that comical?”

Some of my fear melted away. “Well, yes honestly. No smart woman would go out on a date with a stalker.”

“I’m not stalking you. Look at this as a way for me to apologize for how I acted last night. I can explain to you that I’m not a bad guy.”

Why is this happening to me? Why do I always end up with the strange ones?
I rolled my eyes and groaned. “Sorry. I appreciate the offer, but please don’t call me again.”

“For tonight, I will bid you goodbye.” A small note of remorse lingered in his voice when he hung up.

Whatever. It doesn’t matter.
The only thing I needed to focus on was the pint of chocolate chip mint ice cream that called my name in the freezer. I half expected the phone to ring again, but it didn’t. I brought the ice cream back upstairs and spread out some work I had to look over.

At work the next day, a bouquet of flowers was delivered to my desk.
Ooos
and
ahhs
came from my coworkers as they ogled over the blue roses and irises. Both were my favorite flowers. A card lingered among the blooms. The message read;

You can’t get away from me that easily. I don’t give up.

He didn’t even sign his name. I rolled my eyes, crumpled the card, and then threw it away. My coworkers were mortified I did that, but he wasn’t a beau, and I hoped to never see him again. At the end of the day, I thought about throwing the flowers away but took them home with me instead. They couldn’t help that they were delivered by a jerk, and I wouldn’t make them the helpless victims. When I got home, I half expected him to be waiting for me. He wasn’t.

Relief filled me. I opened the door and slipped inside. I deposited my purse on the small table and kept the flowers so I could get some water for them in the kitchen. The day washed over me and weariness sunk into my bones. I closed the door and rested my head on the hard wood. Laughter drifted from the sparsely furnished living room. I took a deep breath and listened. One was my roommate, Sandi. There was another male that I didn’t recognize. I tried to sneak by them, but Sandi saw me.

“Madi, come on in here.”

I forced a smile and walked into the other room. Next to my roommate was another man. He had medium brown hair the color of creamy coffee that curled around his ears. Just long enough so I could run my fingers through the strands and feel their silky smoothness. His complexion was somewhat paler than normal. No blemishes marred his features. It was his dark gray eyes that held me dumbfounded. They reminded me of the color of storm clouds breaking after a tempest. His lips were full enough that I could see myself kissing them with ease. He had a round face with a slight cleft in his chin. Sandi’s guest was dressed in a black sweater and tailored charcoal pants. An air surrounded him that put him out of my roommate’s usual league of friends. Maybe he was his agent or some prospective buyer for the loads of paintings Sandi had stacked in his room and the fourth bedroom. The stranger stepped toward me, smiled, and stuck out his hand. I glanced at it and then back at Sandi, who grinned and rolled his eyes.

“Hello, Madison. Your roommate was nice enough to invite me inside your home.”

My eyes widened when I heard his voice. Smooth like silk that ran along my skin. I shivered listening to him and clutched the flowers closer to me hoping they could be my shield. That voice stirred my passion even if his presence wasn’t welcome.

“W-what are you doing here?” I asked. I turned to my roommate. “How could you let him in here?”

Sandi opened his mouth, and closed it again. His features tensed up as he thought about a reply.

“You mustn’t blame him. I told you I didn’t give up that easily. Did you enjoy the flowers? Blue roses are nearly impossible to find.”

I glanced down at the blooms and then tossed the bouquet at him. Once they left my hands, I scrambled up the stairs, slammed the door to my room, and locked it. I searched my pockets for my phone and remembered it was still in my purse downstairs.
Shit
.

The stairs creaked as someone came up them. The window beside my bed led to the fire escape, but I didn’t trust the rickety iron to hold my weight. It was barely bolted into the side of the house as it was. Still it would be better than facing him.

The thunder of my pulse echoed in my ears. I could feel the reverberation of it in my throat. I started toward the window and tried to lift. The window wouldn’t budge. I remembered it was painted shut.
Great, now that I need to escape I can’t. Maybe I can break it.
A knock sounded on the door. The breath caught in my throat.

“Please open the door,” his voice came from the other side.

“Go the fuck away!”

He laughed, a soft chuckle that wound down my spine and caressed my nerves. I shivered and gritted my teeth. There was another knock. This time it was softer. A cold draft snuck in through the cracks around the window.

“I won’t hurt you. Please let me talk to you so I can explain.” The plea in his voice allayed his persistent tone.

I took a few steps toward the door, drawn by his entreaty, and almost unlocked it, but stopped. A cold gust came again. I shivered and watched a white vapor seep through the crack. Before I could explore it further, my light flickered and then winked out. My room was dumped into total blackness. The stairs creaked again. Darkness wrapped around me, blanketing more than it normally did. It was thicker and slid along my skin like cool, smooth fingers. The iciness of the room centralized around me, behind me. I spun around. Nothing was there. A chuckle exploded next to my ear. I tried to turn again and see who was behind me, but those silken fingers became hooks that clutched my upper arms and held me against a firm body. I squirmed and wriggled in the grasp of the thing that held me.

“Sandi, help!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, but my plea sounded weak and muffled.

Darkness encapsulated me, and my stalker held me hostage. The floor dropped away from my feet. Brisk and biting air rushed by me. It pressed into my skin like nails. I tried to cry out again, but the darkness spilled into my throat and smothered me. The more I tried to draw in a breath the more I suffocated. And when I thought I was going to die, the darkness cleared. Air rushed back into my lungs. It tasted musty and stale on my tongue. Everything was quiet around me. The darkness left me blind until my eyes adjusted. I had no idea where I was, just that I something bizarre had occurred. Shaken to the core, I prayed I would live to see another day.

Chapter Two

The pressure of his complete body pressed against mine as he held me to him. Unlike before in the darkness, it seemed he was solid and yet only half there. My captor released my right arm but still had one of his arms around my waist. Now that my eyes adjusted, I glanced around the room and noticed we were in a sumptuous bedroom that wasn’t my own. A large bed stood along the wall covered in cerulean and silver coverings. A gray couch with splashes of cobalt sat at the foot of the bed. An antique chest of drawers was to the left of the bed. The carpet matched the colors and brought them together. The lighter blue walls made it seem like the room was awash in twilight. The coolness of the night loomed just on the other side ready to descend over me.

“Where are we? How did I get here?”

“You’re at my house. We came here by the means of how my kind travels.”

His kind?
“What’s that supposed to mean? You’re an alien that pursues women and whisks them away to torture them in a plush pad?”

A chuckle slipped from his lips. “No. I’m not. I brought you here so we could be alone together. Here you can’t get away from me and there will be no interruptions. Please listen to me. Once I’m done, I’ll do whatever you wish. I’ll remove myself from your life and you’ll never see me again. I’ll bring you home and you needn’t tell anyone what happened. I’m just asking you to trust me. I
did
save your life the other night. Doesn’t that count for something?”

“Let me go, and maybe I’ll listen.” I didn’t care if he was going to tell me he was on the
Titanic
when it sank. All I wanted was to get away from him. Not to mention, I wasn’t going to let him see that I was trembling inside with fury and fear from being ripped from my house. The two emotions were so entwined that it was tough to tell them apart.

He brushed the hair away from my neck and planted his lips on my skin. My kidnapper ran his mouth over my throat sucking in the flesh and then nibbling on it. I drew in a quick breath when the pleasure of his act slithered along my veins. The anger died for a quick moment. He kissed my throat again, trailing the tip of his tongue along my
jugular vein
.

“You taste better than you smell. Would you let me indulge in sampling your lips before I release you?”

“I don’t have a choice. You’re the one holding me hostage. I imagine you want to tie me to the bed, too. Then you...” I turned my head toward him only to be met with his dazzling smile and those eyes that captured me. The rest of my retort died on my lips.

With our mouths being within centimeters of one another, all thought flew from my mind. The fear inside me evaporated. My hand suddenly had a mind of its own. I reached up and placed it on his cheek. Once I touched his face, an electric jolt passed through my body. He uttered a small moan. We both leaned closer until our mouths met in a kiss. I tried to scream at myself to stop. This man had wrenched me from my house by some unknown means, but my reason escaped me. It was all instinct. And my desires dictated they wanted to kiss him, to feel his body pressed against mine. That I would find myself dying in his arms because all I yearned for was for him to consume me.

Before I could have more than a taste of him, he pulled away. As promised, he released me. Once I found myself away from him, I could rationalize again. The impression of his lips still burned on mine. I brushed my fingers across my mouth to remind myself that the gesture had occurred.

I stumbled backward and fell onto the couch. The luscious cushions almost swallowed me whole. He perched on a chair opposite me. “What’s your name? Since you’re forcing me to kiss you, I figured I needed to know.”

“I’m not forcing you to do anything that you don’t want to do. At least I assume you wanted to.”

“Why assume? Can’t you read my mind?”

His brow furrowed. Those stormy gray eyes darkened the longer he stared at me. “No. I can’t. It’s quite frustrating. I also can’t influence you which is doubly aggravating.”

“Why do you say that? Not used to having people not bending to your will?”

A scowl settled on his lips and pinched the side of his eyes emphasizing the creases around his and making him appear entirely feral. “Usually they do.”

“I wonder what makes me the exception.”

“I don’t know.”

“So what’s your name?” I asked, trying to pull my gaze from those tantalizing eyes of his. The longer I looked at him, the more turned on I became. It felt as if I was burning up. I pressed my hand against my forehead to see if I had a fever and that this might be some hallucination. It came away cool.

Tingles of pleasure shot through my body and settled between my legs. I shifted uneasily in my seat. Dizziness overwhelmed me. He was across the room, but something in me was drawn to him. I needed to feel his lips on my flesh again.