"Is that when the real threats started?"
She nodded. "Messages left on my windshield, notes pinned to my door. He wanted me back. He hated me. I was the greatest thing on this earth. I was the demon queen out to destroy the world." The highs and lows of Gregory's rants chilled her still.
"The asshole stalked you."
"Yup. And the police couldn't really do much about it. They could caution him all they wanted. No restraining order was keeping him away. He just got smarter about his stalking and didn't leave evidence behind that it was him."
"All kinds of small dick stunts until the big one. The fire."
She frowned. "How did you know about that?"
"I had you checked out." At least he didn't lie. It didn't mean she liked it.
Spine straightened, she looked him in the eye. "You did what?"
"I had you investigated. When I saw that message on the door, I could sense your fear. I didn't like it, and having certain connections, I decided to find out what I could about the jerk stalking you. The fire at your old hair shop was one of the facts that popped up."
"And what else did you learn?"
"That you have a sister who lives with your parents in your childhood home. You graduated with steady C's and B's."
Not exactly a model student. "I hated school. Let me guess, you were an honor roll star?"
"The finest a prep school could buy."
"Explains a lot."
"Do you want to know what else I found out? Do you recall a certain full moon at the age of nineteen?"
She almost groaned. Lovely, he'd read about the time the cops caught her and her best friend skinny dipping, high as kites on ‘shrooms, giggling that they were mermaids. In their defense, they swam pretty damned good and could hold their breath for up to a minute. She stayed away from fungus after that incident.
"This study you've made of me and my life is kind of creepy, big guy."
"Only because you barely know anything about me, so let me rectify that. I am an avid lacrosse player. Love the color gray. Am a smoothie fanatic. You'll have to try some of my signature flavors. I enjoy watching sports. Follow the stock market. And I can't wait to make love to you again."
Blink. He tossed those words in with nonchalance. But she had a harder time pretending they didn't affect her. "Things are moving too fast." Way too fast. He kept claiming they belonged together, and crazy as it was, she suffered from the same belief too. Had they become infected by some strange virus or drug that made them crave each other? "I don't understand what's happening to me. Why I feel so strongly about you. It's not natural."
"That's often the way it happens when true mates meet."
"There you go with that mate thing again. You can't just up and claim me, big guy. That requires something like permission."
"Or fate. And that is what we are, mouse. Fated. True mates, destined to belong together until the end of our time. We are the human equivalent of soul mates."
She stared at him for moment, trying to digest what he'd said, but it still baffled her. Arik was a mature businessman, not one given to flights of fancy. He wasn't really going to try this line of BS on her, was he? "Oh, come on, no way you can expect me to swallow the fact that you believe in soul mates, or love at first sight."
"As strange as it sounds, yes."
"Fated? Really?" She snickered. "Please don't tell me that harem downstairs fell for that dorky come-on line." The irony didn't escape her that she kind of had. He'd spouted possessive and flirty things, and she'd fallen right into his trap-and his arms.
In her defense, the man was sizzling hot, and she really didn't regret the sex. As a matter of fact, even though he was completely freaking nuts, she'd do it again. Kind of like her addiction to chips and dip, the man proved irresistible.
"First off, those women aren't my lovers or part of a harem. That would be really unseemly given they're all pretty much related to me in some way, shape, or fashion."
"They're family?" She couldn't hide her surprise. Then again, hadn't she thought the eyes freakily similar to Arik's? Knowing they were family also put a whole new spin on their remarks. They weren't sizing her up as competition for Arik's affection. They were checking her out to see if she was good enough for him.
Poor guy. She knew how cousins could be. "I wish someone would have explained that earlier. Still, the fact you don't have a harem doesn't change my point of view. I think you're feeding me a line about the whole soul mate thing, which you might as well stop. If you want to have sex again, just say so." He could rock her world anytime.
"This is not a con to get you into bed. We both know all I'd have to do is kiss you and … " His sensual smile said it all.
"You just can't help yourself, can you?" She shook her head at his arrogance. An alpha male at his most extreme. Frustrating and yet inexplicably sexy.
She really should seek some professional help.
"You're right. I can't help myself. I'd heard of the pull when a male meets his mate, but never expected it would hit so hard and fast. You are mine, mouse. The lioness, if human, to my lion."
"Lioness? And things just went from weird to where's the hidden camera."
"I am a lion. Therefore, it stands to serve that my woman would be my lioness."
Kira gasped as the truth hit her. "Oh hell, don't tell me you're one of those guys who likes dressing up in those big teddy bear costumes? Do you have some fuzzy Leo the lion costume that you like to wear and then get it on? You'd better not be because, I'll tell you right now, I don't swing that way."
Arik chuckled as he stretched his arms across the back of the couch, the movement pulling his shirt taut and outlining a perfection her body remembered only too well. Her blood heated, and moisture pooled between her thighs. She crossed them.
Why did he have to be so nuts? Why did her curse with men have to strike with him?
"I must admit, mouse, your mind works in really wondrous ways. But let me clarify. When I say I am a lion, I mean real lion. As in I turn furry, have great big teeth, roaring kind."
Said with utter seriousness. He truly believed he was a lion. Which meant he was working with a few loose screws, which, in turn, meant he could be dangerous.
She shivered.
As quickly as fear tried to insinuate itself, it dissipated. No, no matter what Arik's fetish, she didn't get the impression he was a violent man. Yet that belief didn't quite curb all the nervous hysteria from her giggle. "Joke's over. Good one. Ha. Ha. Can we get serious now and talk about our situation?"
"But that's just it. We are. There is a lot about this world you don't understand, Kira. Mysteries you can't even begin to imagine and truths I will have to reveal. The first being my feline side. However, that doesn't mean you have to fear me. As my mate, I will never harm you or allow others to bring you harm. I will be your staunchest defender. Another promise I make is that I will be faithful. From henceforth, you will be the only one to feel my touch. And, in return, you will not touch another. I have jealousy issues."
"Jealousy issues. Dictator issues. Freaking a girl out issues." Kira wrung her hands, a part of her doubting every word he said, recoiling from it. However, another part of her, the girl who used to believe in romance and the concept of love at first sight, wanted to trust. Who didn't want to live and enjoy the kind of love Arik proposed?
But what about freedom?
"I can't be with a guy who keeps me locked up."
"Ah yes, your continued insistence that I am holding you against your will."
"Well, you are."
"Don't make me kiss you and prove you wrong. Actually, on second thought, please do. It has been much too long since I held you naked in my arms."
Was there a comeback for that kind of brazen challenge? Not a verbal kind at any rate. Her body, on the other hand? It shivered, it woke, and all her senses came alive, hoping she'd do or say something that would force him to act upon his word.
She used the facts to bolster her resolve. "Attraction to you still doesn't explain why you locked me in your condo."
"How about a lack of time to have you placed within the condo's security system? An issue I rectified in between meetings, actually. See, I trusted you to stay inside. I took you at your word."
She shifted uncomfortably. "How do I know you're telling the truth? Maybe you're just saying that to make me look bad?"