The music thumped loudly in Jess’s ears until it felt like her brains were melting and were going to come dribbling out of her facial cavities any second. Despite being so loud that she had lost all conscious thought, the music was still being played with perfect clarity. She just went with it. The whole atmosphere was more fun than she remembered from her college days. The lights and the smoke machines, the crowd jumping up and down and cheering, several people crowd surfing being passed directly over her head, the bass thumping in her chest causing vibrations to reverberate through her entire body: it was all amazing. She loved it and she wished she had never stopped doing it. She made a pact right then that she was going to start doing this at least once a month.

Alex slapped her on the ass and then pulled her close to him. She laughed at his juvenile antics and grabbed his ass right back. He smiled at her with that sexy grin of his and licked his lips. He enjoyed having his ass slapped a little too much, she knew. She loved to squeeze his tight buns and she did so as often as she could.

On stage the Foo Fighters singer, Dave Grohl, ran from one end to the other swinging his guitar wildly as the other drummer launched them into a breakdown. They were doing one of the new songs that no one had yet heard since Dave said they were getting ready to start working on a new album.

Jess had been a Foo Fighters fan ever since the first album. There was something about their music that really spoke to her. It apparently spoke to a lot of people since they repeatedly broke attendance records everywhere they played. There was just something about the artistry and the energy they brought to every show that made you a true fan for life.

“Having fun?” Alex yelled.

“Yes! This is amazing!”

Alex began grinding on her a bit and she grinded on him right back. It wasn’t the typical type of song you would grind to, but it had a pretty funky vibe to it. Besides she never needed an excuse to grind on Alex Mathers. He pulled up his shirt slightly revealing the tight abs he crunched an hour a day to sculpt and she ran her fingertips slowly over them, tracing every nuance and muscular ripple.

She was getting very turned on and she could see Alex was too. The question was what were they going to do about it?

* * *

The back of Alex’s SUV was plenty roomy and spacious and she found herself feeling a whole new level of appreciation for the tinted windows. Jess had not had sex in the back of a car since college. She was revisiting some old ground here tonight and she was enjoying every second of it. She hated to miss the last few songs of the concert, but she couldn’t stand it anymore. She was too turned on and she had to have Alex right now.

They had no sooner than touched ass to the back seat and Alex had her panties down, her skirt raised, and his zipper open. He was inside of her in a flash and she was leaning back enjoying the ride of her life. This was one of those times that they forgo all of the sweetness of lovemaking and just had some quick, rough, and dirty sex. It was hard and it was fast. It was dirty. It was taboo. And it was public. She wondered if anyone could see them through the tint. She didn’t think so because it was dark out and the tint was pretty dark as well, but passersbys had to see the car moving up and down. That was what made it all the more exciting. Jess was finding out some things about herself tonight, that was for sure.

After the sex they drove to Alex’s house where they continued the festivities. Something about loud rock music and alcohol mixing together that turned Jess into a sex demon and apparently Alex was feeling that vibe too.

One thought stayed with her through the evening, lingering in the back of her head. When she and Alex had left the concert parking lot, Jess had glanced around to see if any people were paying attention to them and their rocking vehicle. She only saw one person—Detective Tim Packard. He was sitting on the hood of his car just about fifty feet from where they had parked. He was looking at her intently. When their eyes met he smiled at her.

Had he been enjoying the show? It certainly looked that way.

* * *

Jess’s feet pounded the pavement on the track finishing the last few strides of her run. The world spun around in its increasingly familiar kind of way and she felt the routine nausea that threatened to soil the track beneath her feet, but she held it together. She was rather proud of herself for having a perfect record of not puking even though she definitely could have.

She grabbed for her water bottle and chugged half of it, letting the excess that would not fit in her mouth roll out of the corners and down her chin.

“I think you missed a few drops.”

Jess shot him an angry look, but Detective Tim Packard’s smile never faded. He kept at her with that steely gaze that she found intimidating and primal. It stirred a very special kind of beast in her and she wondered what it would look and feel like to unleash it. Would it be different than she had with Alex? Better? She tried to push the thought out of her mind.

Jess picked up her bag and began walking towards the car. She wasn’t totally sure why she was angry with Tim. Was it because he had watched her and Alex while they had sex in the SUV? Was it just because he was always there and his welcome had started to wear a little thin? Or was it because she was developing feelings for him just as she was getting her love life in order? She guessed it was probably a combination of all three things.

“Bad workout? You seemed to be giving it some pretty good intensity out there,” Tim said walking behind her.

“Do you always have to follow me around? I’m a big girl; I can take care of myself,” Jess snapped at him.

“Hey, I’m just doing my job. Do you know how many grownups that can take care of themselves but still get hurt every day in this world? That’s why the cops exist; because most capable people can’t handle everything themselves.”

Jess opened the trunk of her car and threw her bag inside. She slammed the trunk closed and glared at Tim. He didn’t flinch. In fact if she didn’t know better she could swear he found it sexy.

“I’m not ordinary,” Jess said as she opened her car door and slid behind the wheel.

“I know that. You are anything but ordinary.”

Jess stopped just then and looked up at Tim who was still burrowing into her with that steely gaze that sat atop the sexiest smirking smile she had ever seen. God, what was it with this guy? She was finding everything he did irresistibly sexy.

Jess shut the door and drove home.

Tim caught up with her within three blocks and she was tempted to break a bunch of traffic laws to lose the dork, but she decided against it. He would probably write her up a bunch of citations and she would find that sexy as well.

Jess pulled into her house and went inside. Tim parked right across the street from her. She pretended not to notice. It was time that she finally just pretended the man was not there watching her every step. It was very creepy having someone there all the time, but she was not going to let him ruin her night.

She stepped inside and began to peel off her sweaty clothes. She was hoping to be done and showered before eleven. Her muscles ached heavily as she struggled with the clingy, sweaty clothes. She had worked out that morning and decided that she was in the mood to do it again tonight. It was the first time she had ever worked out twice in one day and the first time she had gone running at night since she had started her new regimen. It was exhilarating and she found that she was really getting into it. The way her whole body felt alive afterwards and throughout the day was indescribable and she was getting way more work done in a much quicker amount of time. As long as morons didn’t interrupt her she was able to really focus and concentrate with a much higher precision than she had before.

She was shocked to see Tim following her to the track since he had done the same that morning. She was really starting to wonder if the man had a home to go to. A homeless cop? That was a first.

Jess stood and looked at herself in the mirror for a moment before walking into the bathroom to take a much needed shower. She had not weighed herself or even paid much attention to any physical changes that might have been occurring in her body, but she suddenly looked a lot thinner and leaner. She thought it was impossible to see improvements that quickly, but it was happening.

She grabbed her bathroom scale and stepped on it. She had lost twelve pounds in a little over a week. She was conflicted on how to feel. On one hand she had made peace with the fact that she was a big girl and she was perfectly happy with it. She had not undergone a physical workout routine to lose weight; she had done it for her physical and emotional health. It was a great way to deal with stress and if physical changes happened she was OK with that.

She put the bathroom scale away and hopped in the shower.

The water was hot and refreshing on her skin. As she leaned back, letting the water soothe her aching muscles she felt a sense of calm pull over her. Her thoughts were tranquil and she felt totally at peace. It was her favorite part of working out she decided. There was nothing finer than just letting it all wash away as she stood under the hot water, feeling it invade every nook and cranny in her body.

She thought about Tim and wished he was there with her as her hands rubbed over her soapy breasts and her ass, wishing they were his strong, rugged hands. She knew that she shouldn’t be feeling this way, but she couldn’t help it and she tried to shut those feelings off. She felt so guilty thinking about it that she couldn’t stand it. That was one of the reasons she had increased the intensity and duration of her runs, she decided. It was just something else for her to be stressed about.

It couldn’t happen. She really cared for Alex. At this point she was sure that she was basically in love with him. It had been so long since she had felt love that she wasn’t even sure how to do it anymore. Sometimes she felt like she was pushing Alex away, but he had not acted any differently around her. In fact he was even more affectionate and romantic than he had been since the threats had started. She took this to mean that he really cared about her and that he was very concerned. Of course being the macho type of guy he was, he would never tell her that.

* * *

Jess turned off the water of the shower and wrung her hair out a bit. Then she pulled back the shower curtain. Her body instantly lurched backwards, slamming her back against the wall. Her heart began to beat rapidly in her chest and her breathing became very shallow, coming in short, quick gasps.

There, finger written on the vanity mirror in red was a message that read “Enjoy your last days. You are mine bitch!”

That had not been there a few minutes ago. Someone was in her house. She locked the bathroom door and grabbed her phone off the sink.

Jess grabbed her robe off the bathroom door and called Tim.

He rushed inside.