Pass Interference (19 page)

He wanted her.

But in what way and for how long? Obviously not long enough to stick around after the most incredible sex she could ever remember having. She was sure he would either pretend it didn’t happen or try to explain why it could never happen again,

She grabbed one of the pillows he’d used and pulled it over to smash against her face. When she inhaled, she could still smell the traces of his scent, that warm leather that spread through her body and made all her secret places tingle. It occurred to her how absolutely stupid she was, lying here hugging the pillow of a man who had probably already wiped last night from his mind, but she wasn’t giving up. Whoever this stalker was, he’d created a situation where she had a chance at connecting with Rafe. At realizing a dream she’d held onto for a long time. She wasn’t giving up that easily.

Glancing at the little clock she kept on the nightstand, she realized it was after nine o’clock. Not so late for her but probably for Rafe. He’d have team business—security business—to take care of. Who knew how long ago he’d left the room. Okay, time for her to get up, too. She rolled out of bed and started to pull the top sheet around herself then laughed. Who was she covering herself over for? He’d seen just about every nook and cranny in her body already. Opening the door to the hallway a crack, she tried to listen for sounds downstairs. Rafe’s voice floated up to her faintly, no doubt from a phone conversation.

Phone. Her brain clicked over.

She looked around for her cell phone, which had been strangely silent. Maybe because she’d left it downstairs last night when Rafe carried her up to her room. And wasn’t that a delicious image to hold onto. Meanwhile, she wanted her cell. She was sure by this time at least Betsy had tried to get hold of her. They hadn’t spoken since yesterday morning.

Had her stalker called again? Would Rafe have told her if he had? Time to get moving.

She quickly showered and washed her hair, taking a few extra minutes to lather all the places Rafe had used his mouth and his fingers and his cock the night before. She slipped on a pair of skinny jeans and a bright green T-shirt. Again this morning she left off her makeup, realizing with a shock how good it made her feel. Yesterday the ball cap she wore, along with the absence of her usual painted public face, had served to keep people from staring at her, so she dug one out of her closet and plopped it on her head.

For a moment, she was tempted to wear the one from Tequila Sunrise but that would precipitate a lecture from Rafe, and she was not in the mood for that. The waning of the postcoital glow was bad enough. She didn’t need him destroying it altogether. Instead she found one with no artwork on it (And where had that come from, anyway?), stuck it on her head and pulled her ponytail through the opening in back. Then, still barefoot, she hurried down the stairs.

“Okay,” she heard Rafe saying, “I’ll get back to you but we’ll probably be there late morning.”

She followed the sound of his voice to the kitchen. He was hanging up just as she walked in. “Are we going somewhere?”

He nodded. “There’s a game tomorrow. I have things to do at the stadium today.”

Go to the stadium? The place she despised? Sitting in Rafe’s office yesterday had been bad enough.

“Can’t someone else do it for you?” She sashayed over to him and pulled out her most seductive smile. “My father said you could turn stuff over to someone else.”

She reached up to play with the curl of hair peeking out of the vee of his soft-collar shirt, but he grabbed her wrist and tugged her hand away. When she looked up, his face wore that same hard, implacable expression she was used to. The one that said don’t waste your time trying to tempt me. The one she’d seen every time except for last night. The hot, passionate man of the previous night had completely disappeared. In his place was a man totally in control of his feelings and not about to let that control slip.

Well, wasn’t that what she’d predicted earlier? She swallowed the hurt that bubbled up and stepped away from him.

“Then I’m staying here. I hate that place and I hate the team. You go without me.”

“Not happening.” He said the words as if it were a done deal. “And don’t bother trying to argue with me. I’m not letting you out of my sight until we catch whoever this is.”

She tried on a grin again. “So does that mean we sleep together again?”

His fingers were like steel gripping her shoulders. “Last night was a big mistake, Tyler. It’s the last time it’s going to happen. Trust me on that.”

She searched his face for some semblance of softness but his expression was hard as steel.

“You loved every minute of it,” she reminded him. “Don’t try to deny it.”

“That doesn’t matter. It can’t happen again and it won’t.”

“Give me one good reason why it can’t.” She knew she was pushing his buttons, but she couldn’t help herself.

He released his grip on her and took a step back. “I’ll give you two. Your father and your lifestyle. I took advantage of you last night. It won’t happen again.”

Her jaw dropped. This was not the reaction she’d hoped for. Wanted. Craved. “Took advantage? But—”

“The subject is closed. Now go put some shoes on. We have to leave.”

“Leave? I told you I’m not going.” She had a childish urge to stamp her foot.

A muscle in his jaw twitched. “You’re going if I have to tie you up to go. And we have to stop for breakfast first, since it’s not your job to cook for me.”

She shrugged. “We could order in. Or eat out.”

“Well, we’re taking option number two this morning. On the way home later, we’re making a pit stop at a grocery store. It’s bad enough that I’m stuck here. I don’t intend to starve. We’ll have to leave time for it.”

“Time?”

“We have that fancy shindig tonight, remember?”

“Oh, right.” He had no idea how much she didn’t want to go to the function.

He rubbed his face as if he could rub everything away. “Get me the invitation. I need to check everything out, and we’ll have to stop by my place to pick up my tux. Fuck.” He picked up his keys from the counter. “How the hell did I let myself get talked into this, anyway?”

Tyler turned away, unwilling to let him see how his words hurt her.

“I’m not leaving without my phone. Where is it? I need to talk to my friends. They probably think I’ve run away or something.”

“Yeah?” His voice was edged with sarcasm. “I thought you texted with some of them yesterday.”

“That was yesterday. So, phone?” She held out her hand, palm up.

With obvious reluctance he pulled it from his pocket. He studied it for a long time, frowning.

“Is there something wrong?” Fear clutched at her. “Oh my God. He called again, right? Didn’t he? Let me see that.” She reached out, but he held it just away from her.

“Before I give this to you, yes, he called. I have to leave everything on there because we’re using it to backtrack to your carrier and get at least a serial number of the burner. Just like I told you yesterday. Don’t freak out too badly when you see it.”

“See what?” She wiggled her fingers. “Gimme.”

Rafe handed over the phone and she began to scroll through missed calls. Several from Betsy and three of her other friends. And five of them from the stalker.

“I didn’t answer them,” he told her. “I was hoping he’d leave a voice-mail message.”

“He’s probably too smart for that,” she pointed out. Next she checked her text messages. Again, a slew from Betsy and her friend Lynn, which she knew she’d have to answer before they invaded her place. And one from her stalker. She nearly dropped the phone when she read it.

“Did u fck hm?”

She looked up at Rafe, who was watching her through narrowed eyes.

“He knows you slept here.” She hated the way her voice shook. “I told you not to leave your car in the driveway.”

“Yeah, well, apparently it’s not as much a deterrent as I’d hoped. Instead it pushed his hot buttons. Whoever he is.”

Tyler frowned. “Is there more?”

“Put your shoes on and I’ll show you. We need to get going so I can get my work done. We have to be back here by four.”

“Why? What’s going on?”

“Shoes,” he said again. “Then I’ll tell you. In the meantime I’m calling the Lone Star offices so they can get someone over here to beef up the alarm system.”

“Beef up? Exactly how?”

“Add more sensors, especially outside. We don’t want this guy to get so close to the house anymore. Next time he might not stop in the driveway.”

A little chill raced the length of her spine, but she did her best not to show Rafe how upset she was. At all costs, she was going to keep her cool. Shoving the phone in her pocket, she raced up stairs and stuck her feet into flat sandals. Rafe was waiting for her at the door. His up and down glance seemed to strip her of all clothing and made her body heat rise.

She waited for him to say something, but he just motioned for her to precede him to the driveway. She stood there while he reset the alarm and locked the door. She hurried down the walk toward his car—and stopped.

An uneven line ran the length of the car, from the front fenders to the rear, along the doors. Forcing her feet to move, she walked around to the other side where the same damage had been done. She looked over at Rafe, who nodded.

“Yes, I saw it earlier when I went out to get something from the car. What really pisses me off is that he managed it right under my nose.”

While we were in bed. Having sex. Fucking.

She wanted to tell him to go ahead and just say it. Get it all out in the open, but the words wouldn’t come. It was bad enough that he’d already been regretting it. Now he’d have a good excuse to avoid it altogether. Well, too bad. She’d just have to figure out a way around his barricades.

In the next moment, the anger was replaced by a surge of fear. “Pretty bold of him, walking right up here knowing you were here with me.”

“I’d venture a guess that might have been what lit another small fire under him.” The muscle twitched in his jaw again. “I called the Lone Star office and asked them to send over an alarm service. They’ll be here later this afternoon to upgrade the system you have and extend it to the outside areas.”

She wasn’t in the mood to argue with him anymore about this. If she did, she was just being stupid, ignoring her own safety. She might want to be independent, she might still nurse a major hurt where her father was concerned, but she was smart enough to know she should not put herself at risk. Independence only worked to a certain point.

She wet her lips. “Okay.”
See how easy that was, Tyler?
“And, um, thank you.”

He shrugged. “Your father is the one you should be thanking. We’d better get going here.”

She was so many kinds of nervous by now she even forgot to ask him where they were going to breakfast. It didn’t surprise her, however, when they pulled into a place called Bacon and Eggs. It was not only a favorite spot for the Hawks players but for most of the social and financial players in the city. What started out as a mom-and-pop restaurant had morphed about ten years ago into a comfortable but well-appointed restaurant that served everything from the food in its name to breakfast quiche and practically any exotic breakfast dish you could name.

It used to be one of her ex-husband’s favorite places to eat brunch on a Saturday. He could rub elbows with everyone from football players to bankers to hedge fund managers to reporters and pretend he was a major player in the city. Crap. It would be just her luck that he’d be here today.

“Could we go someplace else?” she asked as Rafe pulled into a parking space.

“Why? I like the food, and I enjoy the people who come here for it.”

“Well, what if I don’t?”

“Unless you have a very valid reason for that, I’m getting out of the car now. I’m hungry, and we’re burning daylight.”

She put her hand on his arm, trying to ignore the way he tensed beneath her touch.

“Why are you suddenly being so mean to me? Why are you acting this way? I thought—”

He jerked his arm away. “You thought what? That some hot sex would change things? Get real, little girl. And get out of the car. I’m hungry.”

She stared at him as if he had suddenly turned into a stranger. Rafe had been cold to her before, the few times she’d seen him, but not like this.

He blew out a breath. “I’m sorry, Tyler. That was uncalled for. I apologize. I—” He paused, then shook his head. “Never mind.
Now
can we please get some food?”

Tyler wasn’t sure which stunned her more, his insult or his apology. She opted not to say anything, not that she knew what she’d say anyway, and climbed out of the car. All she needed to top this morning off was to run into her ex here.

And yup, the bad luck gods were having a laugh at her expense. They had barely settled into the booth they managed to snag when a voice she’d hoped never to hear sounded in her ear.

“Well, hey, Tyler. I’m glad to see you in here. This must be my lucky day.”

She looked up from her open menu and yes, indeedy, there he was. Mr. Metrosexual Broder himself. Today he wore gray slacks with a black V-neck sweater on his slender build, the one she’d been attracted to because it was so different from the huge musclemen on the football team. Any football team. The sleeves were pushed up as if copying the habit of men obviously more masculine than he was. His hair was gelled and styled, and he sported a gold Rolex on one wrist. He’d always told her it was a symbol of his success.

If she hadn’t been so reluctant to defend the athletes she saw as competition for her father’s attention, she would have told him they could each buy a hundred Rolexes without dipping into their lunch money. What had she ever seen in this phony anyway?

She looked up at him and pasted on a fake smile. “Hello, Nate. Too bad I can’t say the same.” She hoped he caught the vinegar in her words.

She heard Rafe mutter under his breath, “Speak of the devil.”

Nate frowned, and waved a finger back and forth between her and Rafe. “So, are you two an item now?”

“Yes.” She said it for sheer meanness.