Creeping downstairs, I head into the kitchen and whip up an omelet as well as a pot of hot coffee. I like my coffee black with one spoonful of sugar, but Rach is a hedonist: she likes hers with lots of milk and four spoonfuls of sugar. By the time I’ve set out the omelets on my dining table, the water upstairs shuts off and minutes later, Rachel shuffles into the kitchen. She looks so small and fragile in my huge sweats. Her wet hair leaves dark marks over the shoulders of the t-shirt, and her normally pale skin is slightly flushed.
“Hey,” I say, keeping my voice gentle. I expect her to sit down and immediately devour the food, having skipped dinner last night. But instead, she surprises me again by ignoring the meal entirely. She comes over to where I’m standing and wraps her arms around my neck.
I hold her tightly to my chest, as she trembles in my arms. The beautiful woman smells like my shampoo and my soap, but there’s an underlying sweetness that’s all Rachel too. I say nothing for a while, just holding her close while rubbing small circles on her back. Before too long, she pulls away and there are tears in her eyes.
“Hey, bunny,” I say, gently pushing a lock of hair behind one ear. “Everything’s going to be okay, okay? You’re home now.”
She looks up at me with deep chocolate eyes, and gives me a watery smile. It’s nothing like the brightness of her usual grin, but I’ll take it. “Damon,” she murmurs.
Warm, tender pressure fills my chest. The first word out of her mouth since we arrived is my name, and it fills me with a possessiveness that I’ve never experienced before. She presses her lips to mine, and the urge to lay her down and part her legs is strong, but I hold back. Rachel needs me, but I won’t ravage her because she’s already been ravaged enough as is.
“I missed you, bunny” I say in a low voice when we finally separate. “I missed you so much.”
“I missed you too,” she whispers. “I kept meaning to call you for the longest time, but …” she trails off and shakes her head.
“Hey, this goes both ways,” I intone gently. “I could’ve reached out to you too, but I didn’t because I wanted to give you time.”
She gives me another smile, and this time, there’s real happiness in it. “I know,” she says gently. “Thank you for that.” Then, she tucks her head under my chin and lets out a long sigh. “Damon?”
“Mm?” I say, rubbing her back again.
“I’ve been thinking because there were some things that didn’t make sense.”
I nod.
“I know, honey. A lot of things don’t make sense.”
She trembles a bit in my arms but then pulls away to look into my eyes.
“Yes, but how did you know I was in trouble? How did you get to the hospital so fast? After all, I used the pen you gave me, but why were you lurking outside to begin with?”
Oh shit. This is going to be difficult to answer without letting her glimpse my dark side again.
“Well,” I begin. “I’m sure you’ve noticed that I can get very possessive.”
The corner of her mouth lifts in a shadow of a smile. “I’ve noticed.”
“Well, since we broke up, I’ve kind of been stalking you. Sort of.”
The pretty brunette stares at me, her expression confused. “Stalking me?”
I run a hand through my hair, and it takes everything in me to meet her eyes. “I couldn’t let you go without worrying about you, Rach. You’re a beautiful woman. You’re sassy, curvy, and far too trusting too. Plus, I was trying to summon the courage to talk to you again, and to apologize for how I reacted at the mall, but I kept wussing out. So I was following you.”
She stares at me.
“How long have you been following me?”
I shrug helplessly.
“Maybe a week? I wanted to talk to you, Rach, and I was going to after your last shift. But then when the pen went off, I went berserk,” I say.
She nods.
“So you were lurking in the hallway at the hospital, hoping to talk to me?”
I look down, embarrassed.
“I know what it sounds like,” I say in a low voice. “You’ve had so much trouble with men lately, and I’m just another one. I totally understand how unsettling this must be.”
But to my surprise, she lets out a deep exhale and looks into my eyes again.
“Well, you being there saved me,” she says in a low voice. “At least let me thank you for that.”
I nod. “Of course, honey. I’m glad, and you’re welcome.”
She then tilts her head.
“Also, I kinda love your alpha male ways, Damon.”
That startles a laugh out of me. “Alpha male? Is that what how you describe me to your friends? Have you been reading romance novels again?”