TiedandTwisted (6 page)

David, home and females brought the wedding issue back to
the fore. An uneasy knot formed in her stomach. He didn’t wear a wedding ring
but that didn’t mean anything. Her ex hadn’t worn a ring either, because it was
dangerous for a commercial chef to wear jewelry that could be caught in kitchen
machinery or fall into food. She closed her eyes tight and prayed for
girlfriend, not wife, because she didn’t screw married men and she still held
this man’s cock inside her body.

The exchange was brief. He tossed the phone aside and
brushed his fingertips across her lower back. “Sister. In case you were
wondering.”

“I wasn’t,” she said into his hair.

“Liar.” Her corset loosened.

She should stop him from undressing her. He freed a second,
then a third, clasp. As the pressure on her ribs eased, she dragged a deep
breath into her lungs. What matter did it make if she ignored one more “should”
where he was concerned?

“She has high hopes of your lesbian leanings. I’ll have to
correct her misconception before she gets her feelings hurt.” He unfastened the
last clasp and spread his fingers between her shoulder blades.

“Mmm. Women have their appeal but I don’t do family pairs.”
She pushed herself up to sit on his groin, leaving her corset behind.

David’s eyes immediately went to her breasts. He used his
fingertip to draw a circle around her left nipple. “You’re blonde beneath all
that dye, aren’t you?”

“Lip and nipple colors aren’t reliable indications of hair
colors.” He was definitely blond despite the flat brown discs of his nipples.
Golden hair dusted his chest and arrowed down the center of his stomach toward
a darker patch currently hidden between her thighs.

“White-blonde, I figure. Any other shade, and I wouldn’t be
able to see these.” He followed the faint blue path of a vein from the inner
curve of her breast to her collar bone.

“It makes me look like an albino.”

David shifted beneath her, abrading the over-sensitive flesh
between her thighs. She sucked in a quick breath and lifted to kneel above him
while reaching for her corset. Her body instantly missed his occupation but she
ignored the twinge of longing. Outside, the sun had faded to nothing, leaving
behind a slowly darkening sky.

“I need to get moving,” she said. “I wanted to be home
before dark.”

Frowning, he tugged the corset from her grasp and tossed it
aside. “You’re still afraid.”

“While nice in theory, in reality, my plan to dress from my
dominatrix bitch underwear drawer and fake it through the day didn’t really
make things any better.” She flashed a smile down at him and crossed her arms
over her breasts. “I do like the view of you from on top though.”

“Police should have forensics reports by Monday.” He sat
with her and offered his t-shirt. “Wear this. I’ve got something else in the
car.”

“I don’t think they’re going to find anything. I guess my
best hope is the asshole does something again and makes a mistake of some
kind.” While he dealt with the condom, she pulled his shirt over her head and
tried not to moan her appreciation of soft cotton and his scent.

David’s knowing grin told her she failed at total silence.
“Keep it. I have a spare in the car. Is the bathroom locked?”

“Yeah, but you have my keys.” She climbed to her feet,
wobbly on the four-inch heels after a day of standing in them followed by a
powerful orgasm. Too bad David didn’t keep ballet flats in his car along with
spare t-shirts.

While he cleaned up, she tidied the store front and sprayed
each sofa with a good layer of Febreeze. Just in case. She might be the boss,
but being in charge didn’t mean nobody raised eyebrows at professional—or
unprofessional—behavior. When she turned to close the Venetian blinds in the
front window, her heart jumped into her throat and she choked on her own
breath.

The empty parking lot wasn’t empty.

A man, his features indistinct in the gloom, turned away
from the hood of her car and looked directly at her.

“David?” She jerked away from the window and plastered
herself to a tall sectional filled with unbleached wool ready to be dyed.

In the bathroom at the back of the store, the toilet
flushed. David hadn’t heard her. Sliding along the bank of display shelves, she
positioned herself to see out the window without being seen.

He wasn’t beside her car anymore. A gray blur of limbs
half-ran across the field between her shopping strip and the community center
across the way. Empty tennis courts stood in his path. As he hit the courts,
the outdoor lights flared bright, finally activated by their timer. She lost
him in the seconds she spent blinking to readjust her vision.

“Dinner,” David said, stepping out of the bathroom. “Will
you say yes this—what happened?”

Jovanna swallowed hard and snapped the blinds into place.
“He was outside. Maybe the whole time we were….”

She trailed off, unable to stomach the thought. “He ran. I
couldn’t get any details because the damn timers on the parking lot lights aren’t
reliable.”

“Ran which way?” David swiftly crossed the showroom floor to
stare through the door.

“Toward the community center.” Raking her hands through her
hair, she paced away from the window and dug her phone from her purse. Paul
answered on the second ring.

“You can talk to my lawyer,” her ex-husband said by way of a
greeting.

“Wait. Don’t hang up.” Jovanna closed her eyes and blew out
a breath, trying to drive the tremor from her voice. “Did you send someone
after me?”

“The police already contacted me and I’ll tell you the same
thing I told them. You don’t mean enough to me to hunt you on the other side of
the country. Lawyer, Jo. If you need anything else, you know his office
number.” Paul ended the call.

“I really wanted this to be some elaborate harassment
arranged by my ex,” she said. “But he’s denying it.”

“Do you believe him?” David asked before she turned around.

“I don’t want to. If Paul isn’t responsible, I have no idea
where to start.” Big change from her feelings several days earlier, when she’d
been relieved she wouldn’t have to deal with her ex after such a long struggle
for freedom.

“I’m going outside,” David said. “I’m going to lock the door
behind me. You should call the police again.”

He slipped out and she placed the call. After, she spotted
her tube of lip gloss wedged between the cushions of the window-facing sofa. A
new, smaller panic washed over her. Had she missed any other evidence? Cheeks
hot, she grabbed the lip gloss and checked everything one more time to be sure
David’s socks weren’t hidden under a display or something crazy that would
mortify her if found by a customer. Her cursory search turned up three knitting
needles of various sizes and a gum wrapper but otherwise the area was clean.

Except for the security feed. Hell. David would have to fix
that.

No.
She would have to learn to fix it. Because that
damn sense of safety was following her around again, cemented by his presence
during a crisis.

He returned minus the easygoing expression she’d come to
associate with him. And wearing a fresh t-shirt, tan with the U.S. Army logo
silkscreened across the chest.

“Ex-soldier? That’s hot,” she said, searching for anything
to alleviate the grim set to his mouth.

He double-checked the locks and closed the blind over the
door. “I wasn’t in long. Did you call the cops?”

“Yeah. They’re sending an officer over.” Since he wasn’t
going to bite the tension relief bait, she gave up on the idea. “Did you find
something?”

“Nothing you need to see. I’ll drive you home tonight and
pick you up in the morning if you have to open the store.” He turned away from
the door and pinned her with a commanding stare that brooked little argument.
“If you give me a schedule for opening and closing, I’ll see to transportation
until he’s caught.”

“No,” she said flatly, ignoring the dominant position he
gravitated to so naturally. “I’m not becoming some protected, trapped moth just
because some dick is harassing me.”

“I don’t think this is simple harassment. And your car needs
to be checked out for signs of tampering.”

“Fine. Yes, you’re right. It does need to be checked.” She
sagged against the counter, strangely defeated by acknowledging her
powerlessness. Voluntary surrender was one thing. Surrender out of
necessity…she’d done so much of that through the course of her marriage that
having to surrender now felt like being mugged.

“I know you need your freedom.” David left his post beside
the door and joined her where she stood near the business phone. Strong fingers
stroked her cheek and urged her to meet his eyes. “I’m not trying to take it
away from you. In any aspect of your life.”

“I know.” She swallowed, caught by the heat in his eyes.
Heat tempered by concern. Trying to ignore the hard plane of his chest,
right
there
because he stood so close, she drew a deep breath and blew it out.
Her nipples peaked on contact with the warmth of his pecs. Jovanna closed her
eyes. “I know you’re not trying to move in but someone is and I hate it. I want
to tell him to fuck off and leave me alone but he won’t give me a chance to
respond. He’s trying to terrorize me from the shadows, like some dickless
coward. It’s pissing me off.”

“You’re responding by going about your life. That’s the only
response you can give right now.”

“I know. I know you’re right. It doesn’t feel like enough
though.” She raked a hand through her hair and pulled at a knot with a grimace.
“I probably look like hell. I’m going to pull myself together if you’ll watch
for the police.”

Leaving David with her keys, she locked herself and her bag
in the small bathroom. By the time she emerged, the police had arrived. She
found them in the parking lot taking David’s statement and photos of her car.
One of the patrolmen had responded to the Wednesday night break-in. He
separated himself from the rest and reintroduced himself before beginning his
questions.

Weary of repeating the same information three times in four
days, she answered what she could and referred the officer to David where she
couldn’t.

“I have a stalker,” she said to David when he rejoined her.
“That’s what he is now, isn’t it?”

“I want to take you home and show you how to operate your
new system,” he said instead of answering her question. Anger squared his jaw
and lined the corners of his eyes. “The police found what might be a DNA
sample. They’re going to run the sample and see if they get any matches. I’ve
arranged to have your car towed and checked over for tampering that might
affect its safety. And to have it detailed.”

“Detailed. Right.” She shook off his touch and strode across
the lot, ignoring David’s curse. Whatever the message was, she had to see it.

When you’re mine, you won’t be on top.

The words, shaped with angry slashes and deep gouges,
marched across the hood of her car. Jovanna blinked rapidly, her spine numb
with shock.

“Damn it,” David growled behind her. He wrapped his arm
around her ribs and pulled her away from the grim warning.

“I’m taking her home,” he informed the nearest officer.
“Call if you find anything.”

Her earlier protests hung dead in the air. Jovanna forced
herself to breathe while David lifted her into the passenger seat of his SUV
and fastened the seatbelt across her chest.

“He saw us.” She broke her silence several miles down the
highway. “I knew it was a possibility someone would. I was stupid not to think
of the windows first. Stupid not to stop and draw a line between my business
and my personal life. But
he
saw us. And he was…what? What did that
message really mean?”

“He was offended. Means it’s a sex thing. Have you shunned
anyone at Bondage?”

“I don’t give my name there,” she reminded him. “Even if
there was someone—and there wasn’t—he wouldn’t have known who I am.”

“There’s no such thing as complete anonymity. Somebody could
have followed you to your car or followed you home. Even though it’s unlikely,
somebody could have bribed a staff member.”

Jovanna hugged herself and David reached to adjust the
thermostat.

“Think about it instead of saying no outright,” he said. “He
could be anyone. Someone whose wife took a knitting class at your shop and made
him wear wool socks when he’s allergic to wool.”

She snorted. “What happened to sexual?”

“Hell, I don’t know. Maybe his wool allergy led to hives on
his balls. I’m just saying you should think about it. Make a list if you have
to. Write down the names of anybody you’ve been in contact with in the last two
years. Anybody. Don’t stop to reason your way out of putting a name on the
list.” He exited the highway and navigated her neighborhood with ease.

“You really think that’ll turn up something useful?” she
asked as he parked in her driveway.

David cut the engine and faced her. “I think you’re not the
type to sit back and passively take it. Even if you can’t respond directly, you
can take steps to fight back. Make the list.”

Sighing, she rubbed the back of her neck. “All right. I’ll
make the list.”

“Good.” He exited the vehicle and rounded the front to open
her door. “Come on. I’ll show you what I installed this morning.”

“Before we go in, I need to tell you I don’t want you to
stay tonight.” She met his eyes, once more too close for comfort. Physically
and emotionally. Being alone that night—maybe she didn’t want alone, but she
had to draw a line somewhere.

David’s jaw tightened but he nodded as if he understood the
meaning of the line.

Chapter Five

Sunday, 1:39 a.m.

David finished working through emails and tossed his phone
on the passenger seat. He should have gone home and stayed there after
demonstrating her new security features. Instead, he’d driven around aimlessly
for forty-five minutes, stopped for dinner, gone home long enough to take care
of the carnal evidence on her shop’s camera feed and headed out again.
Something gnawed at his gut, preventing him from leaving her alone. Not sure he
wanted to examine the issue, he glanced at Jovanna’s upstairs window for the hundredth
time and stretched his legs out beneath the steering console.