Eventually, I reached the top of the stairs and pulled out the key to her apartment. I let myself in, noting that all lights were off—like normal.
Once I got to her bedroom, my breathing hitched, my heart thumped, and my dick throbbed against my jeans. On instinct, I licked my lips, already tasting her sweetness on my tongue. I was like a starved animal, ready to stalk, ready to pounce, ready to devour.
With a push of her bedroom door, my eyes adjusted and landed directly on her bed. When I saw she wasn’t there, I began to panic a little. What if she was hiding and waiting for me? What if she was getting ready to pounce on me? The thought of this had my dick throbbing harder, and my head pounding faster. I couldn’t let her get the best of me. That would defeat the whole purpose. I was the one stalking her, not the other way around. I needed to gain focus for a moment. If she was hiding somewhere, I needed to be just as ready for her as she was with me. I had to make sure all exits were covered and, more importantly, the lights. I couldn’t afford to have Tyler switching on any lights. It would reveal who I was. And I wasn’t quite ready for that yet.
Carefully, I searched behind the door, under her bed, and in the bathroom. I made sure I kept myself on high alert the whole time I was moving around. The more I searched, the more I thought she wasn’t here and I just looked like an idiot…something else I couldn’t abide by.
With all angles covered, I looked around the room once more for any clue that she may have been here at all today. I walked over to her phone and could see she had three messages, with the first one sent at one-thirty today. Either she hadn’t been in at all since then, or she was in too much of a hurry to check her messages before leaving. Where the fuck was she?
Somehow, Tyler had gotten the better of me today and I didn’t like it. I didn’t like it one fucking bit.
Chapter 29
Tyler
Buckinghamshire, 2000
“Why do you always have to look super sexy in anything you wear, Tyler?”
Looking up at Dean, I blushed. I had just finished school and was wearing the same old dreary school uniform. I never felt sexy in my school uniform. It was just a pleated skirt, a white shirt, and tie. Over that was my black-and-red blazer. Nothing fancy and certainly nothing sexy.
“Dean, stop,” I protested, nudging my shoulder into his.
“I’m only telling the truth. Can I walk you home?” His sexy lips curved up into the most beautiful smile. I always felt weak in the knees whenever Dean smiled. Somehow when he did, he always made me feel like the most precious and treasured girl on earth. It was almost as if that smile was made for me and me only.
“Of course you can,” I finally managed to say after my heart calmed down a little. “But I think Ian is coming out in a minute. He will want to walk with us, too.” Ian was in sixth form now, but Dean decided to work for his dad. That worried me a bit. Dean was only seventeen, and I knew his dad worked with people I didn’t like the look of.
“Okay,” he replied, gently placing a strand of hair behind my ear. “I’ll just have to capture your stare until he arrives.”
And he did. We stood there for an age just locking me with those blue eyes of his. It was so easy to get lost in those eyes.
And I never wanted that feeling to end.
*****
I woke with a start, wondering where on earth I was for a minute. Of course. The hospital. I had ended up falling asleep hunched over Jeremy’s bed again. I had been here four days now and, for four days, there had been no change. The only time I left was to go home, grab some belongings and my laptop, and hauled my ass back over to the ward. I worked from the hospital and told Suzie I couldn’t come into work because I was ill with the flu. I thought that was as good an excuse as any. I knew it had been going around the office and I kept thinking it was marvellous I hadn’t caught it by now.
The good thing about it was I could still do everything I needed to do, just without physically being there. I knew people would question why as I had never taken a sick day since I started there three years ago. I figured I was owed some sick leave by now.
The other thing I made sure to do was get Jeremy’s photos developed. I was determined for him to see them when he finally woke. I picked out the one of Jeremy and me, and got it blown up as promised, including one for myself. I bought a frame for my copy and I was determined to hang it up on my wall once I got home. We both looked so happy. It seemed like a million years ago.
The doctor came around a couple of times a day to check on him, and his vitals were getting that little bit stronger every day. I had hope in my heart because that was all I could hold onto. I told him day after day that he had me and there was no getting rid of me. He simply had to get better because I wouldn’t let him give up. I was just as much his anchor as he was mine. We needed each other. Our bond was too strong to let go of it now.