During the two weeks since I’d returned from Austin, Patty and I had settled into a routine. It wasn’t so much to protect her as I wanted to be with her every day. Patty hadn’t received any more threats, but I was a little worried we were letting our guard down too much and might get blindsided.

When I walked into my bathroom, it seemed like Patty had exploded in there. Her hair products took up the counter. On the floor were purple pieces of hair. We spent about the same amount of time at each other’s house. I laughed when we came to my apartment one night, and ten Amazon boxes were waiting for us. It seemed Patty had ordered everything she and Lemon needed to be able to stay at my house and not miss anything.

Every day that passed, I seemed to fall deeper and deeper for Patty. She kept me on my toes. When I did something wrong, she would mess with my phone or computer to let me know I’d crossed a line. The one thing I used to get back on her good side was Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

I’d spent most of the previous night bringing Patty to the brink of orgasm many times. Right before she would explode, I would stop. After hearing Patty whimper in frustration, the fifth time, I let her over the edge. Seeing Patty shudder under my touch was fantastic. The look of bliss that overtook her when she went over the edge was worth the wait.

When she’d come out of her orgasm haze, I climbed up and pushed into her hard and fast. She moaned and fell apart again in my arms. Afterward, we spent the rest of the night snuggled in my bed, unable to move a muscle.

Patty had already vacated the bed that morning. Because she would need to leave for work soon, I assumed she and Lemon were in the kitchen, having breakfast. When I walked into the kitchen, Patty was saying something to the toaster. For someone who could do a lot with a computer and other technology, she sure didn’t know how to use any kitchen appliances. She blamed it on having staff her whole life. I suspected she did it on purpose, so I would cook for her.

Lemon was watching her, hoping she would get the burnt toast. The kitchen area smelled like she had already burnt the whole loaf of bread. Lemon was doing her best to look starved, which was not even close to the case. She ate better than most humans.

Patty looked amazing in her white button-down blouse and skin-tight jeans. I walked up behind her while she was still in an argument with the toaster and pulled her body in front of mine.

“Do you want me to help?”

She gave the cutest little huff before she turned in my arms. She wrapped hers around my neck for a morning kiss. “It would be so much easier if we would call out for our meals. Then I wouldn’t have to figure out how to use this stupid toaster, or I could pay someone to come and cook for us.” Her reply was muffled due to her head being pressed against my chest.

We’d discussed it a million times. I didn’t understand why I needed a chef to come into my house when I could cook for myself. She kept talking about a local chef she used to cook her meals a couple times a week. This Chef Anne would premake the meals that needed to be reheated in the oven.

“How about we have your chef make us a couple meals a week and see how it goes? The other nights, let’s cook together and see what we can come up with.”

I could tell she was trying not to get too excited by me caving.

“Okay, if you don’t mind. Chef Anne is going to be so excited. I’ve not used her since we started dating and miss her Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup cheesecake.”

“I’m not used to people cooking for me. Let’s take these lifestyle changes in baby steps.”

“Okay.”

“I need to fly to DC today to look at a case for the government.” Patty seemed to take my job in stride. She didn’t make a big fuss when I had to go out of town. “I probably won’t be back until late or maybe not until tomorrow.”

Patty was biting her lower lip, and I could tell there was something she wanted to ask. “What’s on your mind, Patty? You know I like everything out in the open. I don’t like when you feel you can’t tell me something.”

“Do you want me to go home when you’re gone?”

“I want you to stay where you’re comfortable. I like you staying at my house. It’s safer, and I like the thought of you in my bed even without me here.”

“Okay.”

“Just okay?”

“I like the thought of staying here. The bed smells like you, and it makes me feel safe. I feel like you still have your arms wrapped around me. I will stay here tonight.”

The toaster popped, and I looked over to see she’d finally pulled off cooking a piece of toast. “See? You don’t need your staff to make you a piece of toast. You did it yourself.”

Patty twisted herself out of my arms and grabbed the toast. It was still a little warm, and she ended up dropping it on the floor. For a basset hound, Lemon could move. She grabbed the toast and took off toward her bed to enjoy it.

“Sit down, and I will make you breakfast.”

* * *

The last two weeks were the best of my life. Sam and I had made love every night. Lemon and I were slowly moving in with Sam. I think he noticed but didn’t say anything. His house might have been small compared to what I’d lived in, but it felt more like home.

“What case do you need to go to DC about? Is it the stalker case?”

Sam still had a bodyguard on me every day, and I spent most of my free time trying to trace the origin of the emails. Sam was still helping the Austin Police Department with the case where the woman was killed by the stalker. I hacked the Austin Police Department servers and got a copy of the case files to find information on the email that was sent to the woman before she was kidnapped. I wanted to see how her emails compared with the ones I’d received.

The emails looked similar, and the router’s IP address was the same. It seemed strange that there was only one email sent to her. It almost seemed like a copycat, or the stalker was trying to throw us off our game. Maybe he’d given up on me because too many people were watching me. Sam wasn’t convinced of my idea.

“Yes, I’m meeting with the FBI director in Washington, DC, to talk about the case and how we’re going to move forward with the stalker. I won’t be back until late.”

“Since you will get home late, I think I might meet Neal and Jessica for dinner. I haven’t seen them in a week, and they might break down your door soon if I don’t.”

“Take Brock with you. Also, send me your location. If I get in earlier, I will meet you.”

Poor Brock had no life since I’d gained a stalker. If Sam wasn’t with me, Brock was. “Neal will be there, and we’re going to a restaurant.”

The veins in Sam’s neck twitched. He hated when I complained about security. That had led to our first screaming match the week before. And that had led to some of the hottest sex we’d had. He’d bound my wrists and feet together in front of me then proceeded to give me erotic spankings.

He would bring me to the brink of orgasm then ask if I was still going to complain about my security. When I would reply yes, he would let my orgasm subside. By the third time of denying my orgasm, I caved. I would have agreed to anything.

He flipped me so my bound knees and hands were on the bed and took me hard and fast from behind. I orgasmed the second he was inside me. He continued to ride me until he found his release. I came two more times before he was done.

Once we were done, he untied me and carried me to the hot tub, where we had sex again. Later that night, he explained that he was worried the stalker was waiting for us to let our guard down.

“What were you thinking about? You’re flushed, and your pupils are dilated.” Sam set my breakfast in front of me.

Lemon must have finished eating the toast, because she was right under my feet, waiting for me to drop more food.

I think my face might have flushed even more when Sam asked what I was thinking about. “I was thinking about when you bound my wrists to my feet and took me from behind.”

Sam’s pupils dilated, and he walked over and wrapped his arms around me. “If we didn’t have to go to work in a half hour, I would bind you to the bed and have my way with you all day,” Sam whispered in my ear. Then he pulled back and walked toward the bedroom. “I need to go take a cold shower so I don’t have to sit on a plane for two hours with my dick hard.”

When I was about to respond, my phone chirped. From the sound, I knew it was a text from Neal.

Neal: Can you call me on your way in? I think I might have found something.

You found something on my stalker? I added an emoji of a guy fist bumping the sky.

Neal: No, sorry. I meant about the project we were working on and how you were trying to cut down the time it took to search the network.

I responded. Next time say I have to talk about work, ass. You got my hopes up. I will call. You want to meet for dinner also?

Neal: Yeah, let’s meet at Shula’s. I’m in the mood for steak.

I picked up my breakfast plates and put them in the sink. Since Sam gave me the okay, I was going to text the staff and let them know they could come clean Sam’s house. I’d never liked cleaning and cooking. They would be happy Sam had finally broken down. They were worrying no matter how many times I told them there was nothing to worry about.

I started back toward the bedroom to say goodbye to Sam. I needed to grab my bodyguard, who was probably already waiting for me downstairs in his office, and head into work. I heard the click of Lemon’s nails behind me. She was more than likely going to climb into her bed and go back to sleep.

When I walked into the room, Sam grabbed me and wrapped his arms around me, crushing his mouth to mine. I was taken off guard for a second, and he took full advantage by surging into my mouth. He continued to devour me while his left hand came behind my neck to hold me in place. His right hand grabbed my ass.

My knees were weak, and I was out of breath. A whimper left the back of my throat as he wrapped his tongue one more time around mine. When he pulled back, he nipped my bottom lip, which made me whimper even more. I heard the growl in the back of Sam’s throat that he did when he got really turned on.

Every time he kissed me, it made me fall more. I could never get enough of him. He tasted like the mint toothpaste I’d bought him, and I could smell the ocean-fresh soap he used. His skin had a layer of mist on it from getting out of the shower.

“Fuck… I can never get enough of you,” Sam said, pulling me in closer.

I could feel his heart pounding against my ear. His hard length was poking into my stomach. If one of us didn’t pull away, we would spend the rest of the day in bed and never get to work.

I pulled back and said, “I came to say goodbye.” I reached up, pecked him on the lips, ducked under his arms, and took off running. I knew if I stayed a second longer, we would end up in bed. I could hear him yelling something in the background about life not being fair as I headed for the front door.