Mister Distraction (Distraction #2) (18 page)

“I love you, Jason.” She sounded emotional.

“I love you too, sis.” I hung up first and put a piece of clear tape over the infrared light on the underside of my dad’s mouse before leaving his office and heading into mine.
Take that, old man
.

I entered my office and took off my jacket in one swift motion like I did every day, but for some reason, with her watching, it felt foreign.

“I’m not a good veterinarian’s assistant,” she said and paused as I froze, and then continued, “sorry.” I hated myself in that moment, because I made her feel less wonderful than she was. I didn’t move, didn’t respond; I don’t think I knew how too. Comforting someone wasn’t something I did unless it was after extremely rough sex and I felt reasonable. She spoke again, and her words broke my heart.

“Are you upset with me?” I looked up at her, immediately finding her sad blue eyes, and I smiled, hoping she would mimic mine like she did in the coffeehouse. I moved towards her slowly and she didn’t run, which I found to be incredibly brave of my rabbit. When I was inches from the top of her head, I tipped my nose in to inhale of her scent, and brushed my lips over her soft forehead. I wanted to hug her, but it didn’t feel right. I wasn’t used to this kind of relationship. It didn’t come naturally to me. I wanted to be normal and loving for her, but I needed to go slow, for me this time. I steered her out of the office with my hand on the lower curve of her back. I could do this; this was me controlling her for just a few minutes. I heard my dad on the phone as we passed his office, repeating the earlier Cutler story to the person on the other end. He was chuckling as he tried over and over to use his mouse. Katarina waved goodbye, and I laughed as he continued clicking his mouse with no response.

We reached my Jeep, and I gently lifted her up into the passenger seat. A giggle left her mouth when my hands touched her hips. It was a great sound. I needed to hear more of those. I rounded the Jeep and climbed in. She glanced at me with the cutest smile and started talking before we pulled out of the parking lot.

“Have you always wanted to be a vet? Or did you just want to work with your dad?” I was quiet, taking in her questions. “I like your dad. He seems,” she hesitated, and when I gazed in her direction she was in deep thought. Her eyes shifted to mine and warmth filled my body. All I could see was her eyes; every other feature fell away. Her voice jolted me back to reality, “gentle and kind. You’re lucky; you scored a great dad.” Her smile fell slightly and she looked away. It bothered me when
she purposely blocked herself from me. I turned and focused my attention on the road, trying to remember her questions.

“I always wanted to take care of animals. Growing up, my dad took me on all the house calls. He would explain to me step-by-step what he was doing and why. He is a great teacher, very patient.” I nodded my head in agreement. “I have a good family.” I was thinking about my sister, Jessica, and secretly hoped I hadn’t ruined her evening.

“What is your favorite animal?” I couldn’t describe how pleased I was with her constant questioning. I didn’t smile though, I couldn’t deal with the thought that as soon as I stopped the Jeep, she would get out and disappear. It was an overwhelmingly disappointing thought.

“I like bigger animals. Horses are my favorite. There is something graceful and mysterious about them. Growing up, my father would let me take part in deliveries, and like most deliveries, the babies are a miracle, but horses…” I looked at her to see if she was listening. Her eyes were bright and full of curiosity, and they seemed to dance all over my face. “Horses were fascinating.” I couldn’t come up with the right words to describe my fixation on horses. My lack of words was humorous to her because when I snuck another peek at her, she flashed a big smile.

“I get it. You don’t have to say anymore.” She was so perfect for me, this princess that drove me insane. That one little comment made me feel like anything was possible.

We drove in silence for a while; I worked on taking deep breaths to calm myself, and she gazed out the window. I would give anything to read her thoughts. We pulled into her apartment complex and just sat for a few minutes, neither of us ready for this to end.

“I would feel much better if I checked out your place before I left.” I squeezed my eyes together trying again for a more traditional approach. “I mean, please let me see you to your door.” She scrutinized me as I spoke; her eyes traveling over every inch of my face and didn’t say anything. She opened her door when she finished and called Bo out to her side. Her love for Bo surprised me, but it was very welcome from both Bo and me. I looked at her in wonder, and she spoke like it was the simplest decision.

“I am not leaving your dog in the Jeep. I wouldn’t be his favorite anymore.” Oh hell, the smile that followed made me want to club her over the head and drag her home. I grabbed her bags and followed her to the front of the complex. I didn’t want to run into her neighbor Chelsea. I knew she would only cause problems. I led her up the stairs and waited patiently until she opened her door. Bo was in first, and he ran room-to-room, searching the place while Katarina went to the kitchen, getting water for both of us. I was so proud of my protective dog. We all ended up in the kitchen, and my mind was going a million miles a minute. I wanted to check the place out for myself. I debated about just doing it, but I wanted her to want me there, and I felt like I was somehow impinging on her privacy.

“Can I have a tour of your place?” I was putting the ball in her court to shut me down. That was something I never did. She didn’t miss a beat and just answered like she couldn’t care less if I saw it or not.

She pointed as she talked, “That’s Heather’s room,” she looked to the opposite side of the apartment and pointed, “and that’s mine. In the center is the living space, and the bathroom is straight ahead.”

I moved immediately to her bedroom and opened the door, stepping inside. The room was very clean, immaculate. Everything was put away, and there were no signs of dirty clothes or dusty dressers. I sat on her bed briefly. It was soft, like it had a pillow top. I pictured myself wrapped around her, hugging her all night. I shook my head at that thought.
What the hell?
I moved to her closet, noticing the door was removed and completely missing. I stepped inside, running the pads of my fingers over her clothes. It was neat and tidy, with the dresses on one side, and shirts and pants on the other. Most of the clothes still had the tags on them. The shoes were placed in a rack on the floor. I walked to the dresser next to the closet and opened the top drawer. I saw thin, lacy material folded into neat sections. It gave me an instant hard-on. I closed the drawer, attempting to control my rapid breathing. I examined the window next. It was across from her bed, and it had a small lock in the center that was easily breakable. I felt my temper rising at her lack of safety. I moved to the door to check the locks there and noticed the same, one lock on the handle, which was not nearly enough
to deter someone from entering, or a selfish bastard from breaking in and holding her down in the middle of the night. One thing was for sure—she was not safe here.

I left her room, ready to confront the fact that she blatantly lied to me. “You said you had locks, three to be exact, on your door, and two on your window.” She looked unaffected by my words and the anger in my voice.

“I did say that, but I could have been a little off.” I was put off by her words. It didn’t matter to her. She had a death wish, and there was nothing I could do about it. I had no control over what she did.

“Would you like to sit with me on the couch?” she asked as she gave me one of her sweet smiles, and I watched her eyes flutter a little. She was flirting with me.
Holy hell. She was out-right flirting
.

I followed her to the couch, letting her take the lead. She sat, and I took a seat next to her, close enough to breathe her air. Bo did the same at her feet. I wanted to demand her to come home with me, tell her it was for her own good, but looking at her this closely did things to me. She liked me. I could tell. She wanted me to stay, and offered to fix me dinner. She grabbed my hand in the most innocent gesture and began running her tiny finger over it, tracing the palm with her index finger. It was sexy as hell, and she had no clue what she was doing to me. I suggested that she come back to my house, but she was just as insistent about staying here. She tried to convince me that her place was safe, but I knew better. When a man wants something, he will do just about anything to get it. I was guilty of that. A man’s brain was a dark place, and she was clueless.

“I think of you as an innocent princess, and I have this overwhelming need to protect you. I can’t describe it; I just feel better when I am with you. You do and…uh…say things that drive me crazy, but I can control it.” I gave her a look that told her I was serious about what I was saying. I felt tiny bumps on her skin, and then her face blushed. It gave me the illusion that I was in control.

“What do you mean…control?” she said slowly as she glanced at my lips, licking hers as she did.

I had her right where I wanted her. She wanted me to kiss her, and I was in charge. I gave her my winning smile. “Control the predator in me that wants to devour you.” And I wanted to devour her more than anything else. I mapped out her body, where I would go first, and how long I would take at each part. We both sat in silence as I let my own dark thinking take over. I thought about her own experience, or lack of, trying to plan my strategy to get her to come home with me.

“So, last night at dinner, Heather mentioned you had some men that wanted to date you.” I was trying to be gentle with the questioning, not wanting to bring up any bad memories. “Have you or did you date anyone…after what happened with Red?” She turned her whole body away from me, and I immediately felt guilty. I made her feel awkward and had no idea how to take it back. I didn’t move to touch her and tell her she was okay, because chances were, she would never recover from that. She turned back to me after a long moment of silence.

“I have kissed men, but no, I have not dated anyone.” I was not a kisser, and never had been, but in that moment, there was nothing I wanted to do more than remove all her previous memories of kissing anyone other than me. I was so focused on what she just said that it finally clicked: she was still a virgin. She might have been raped, her hymen taken away from her, but she was still a virgin in the sense that she had never consensually had sex with a partner for pleasure. I clued in to what she was saying, trying to calm my fire and anxiety at this one single moment.

“…I prefer to be alone.” I studied her for a second, trying to determine if the statement was attention seeking or honesty. It was daunting to know that this beautiful creature felt the same way I did about being alone.

We were interrupted by her roommate, Heather, dressed for business like she was returning from work. Her demeanor was immediately aggressive, and she looked a little green from jealousy. It was clear to me that Heather was the one who normally got all the attention. The look on her face had me both gloating and defensive, which was a weird mixture of feelings, even for me. I wasn’t really paying attention to what
she was saying, but she didn’t get too far before Katarina stood her ground, telling her to get lost, but in her own words. My little princess was on fire. She defended Bo like her life depended on it. Then I heard her defend me, and my heart began to hurt in my chest. I wondered if this was what it felt like when your heart breaks, or maybe just the ice around it as it’s being chipped away. It all happened so fast that the next thing I knew, she was leaving my side, and I immediately felt the loss. I stood and watched her at the door of her bedroom.

“I will get my things and we can go to your house, if that’s still ok?” I only heard victory in her voice, my victory. “Let me know if I can help,” I said, my day getting better by the minute. She closed her door, and I sat back down. I was sure I held the smug, confident smile that would irritate any loser.

“I am sure you’re happy now.” Her roommate looked at me as her teeth gritted. She had no idea how happy I was.

“Heather,” I said as I gave her my win-her-over smile, and her anger lightened, “I like your friend, and I promise to take great care of her. I respect Katarina, and I am going to do everything in my power to convince her to stay with me.” Her face flashed confusion. I was hitting too close to something, something she didn’t want me to know.

“Red has told me things about you, things that make me want to hate you.”

“I wasn’t always a good man. My last girlfriend and I had an open relationship. I am not proud of the things I did, but I am different now. That’s all I can say. Katarina trusts me, and Heather, that’s all that matters. I know some things about Red as well, but the past is the past.” I knew I was speaking complete bullshit, but I knew the key phases to comfort a disgruntled woman. I threw in ‘I am different…trust me’… and I also let her know Red wasn’t perfect, and she was buying it. She gave me a naughty smile, and I could see in her eyes she was formulating a plan, but I played along. I was feeling generous, and if giving her an ego boost was what she needed in the place of her best friend, I would comply…for Katarina. Heather asked me to help her with hanging a picture in her room. My eyes analyzed her as she move toward her bedroom. Her nose tilted toward the ceiling, giving the impression that
it was directing her way, and her hip swayed to the music of her heels on the tile floor. I got the strange feeling her plan involved me being seduced by her. I rolled my eyes and glanced over my shoulder towards Katarina’s room.
Why is she even friends with her?
I’d have to shelve that question for a later day. I wasn’t convinced that Heather was all that loyal. Everything about her seemed a little over done; her bleached blonde hair, her fake nails, the designer purse with matching heels. She reminded me of the women at Strikers, a selfish spoiled little rich girl.

Heather’s room was messy and disorganized, with dirty, expensive clothes laid over a sofa chair in the corner of the room by her closet. The bed in her room had grey satin sheets hanging from it she didn’t even bother to pick them up when she walked past. She turned on music from a small player on her dresser and then bent over and picked up a picture off the floor, and then shot me a glance over her shoulder.
Ugh…
My brain actually hurt from all the disorganized clutter.