Only in Her Dreams Read Online Free Page B

called.
    “You are full of inquisitiveness. Please stay quiet; it is for your protection.” The words rolled off his tongue, as smooth as liquid chocolate, as if he hadn’t been rude to her. In her own home, none-the-less.
    Her mind was screaming ‘Call 9-1-1!’ at a deafening pitch, while her body was telling her to not be so hasty. She’d reached a whole new level of crazy.
    As he walked into her bedroom, he grabbed the bat, probably to make sure she wasn’t tempted to use it again before he surveyed the closet and the bathroom.
    “If you’re looking for the guy who broke in before you, he left. He slipped out the back door and through the gate, before you came in,” she blurted, crossing her arms over her chest. She had no idea why she was volunteering information to a man who’d broken into her house, took a bat to the head, fell down the stairs, and then treated her like she was bothering him .
    His eyes swung back to her, his eyebrows lifted in question.
    “Just wanted to let you know.”
    He searched the rest of the upstairs which gave her time to study him in detail. He’d changed clothes since she’d seen him at the coffee shop. He was outfitted in all black; t-shirt, cargo pants, and boots--topped off with an all-black baseball cap. Perfect for a night of breaking and entering. He’d planned this!
    Returning to the hallway, he seemed assured that she and Goosey were the only ones in the house.
    They stared at each other for a moment. Lucessa didn’t mind, it gave her another opportunity to look at him, to take in all that was this daunting figure.
    He’s very handsome. Odd, she hadn’t thought of another man as attractive since before she’d married Greg. He’d been her one and only, her solid rock. She felt like she’d betrayed him with the momentary lapse. But it’d been a year since his death, it was time to move on as Dr. Applegate had pushed her to do. What am I thinking? This is definitely not the guy I’m moving on with. I can hear the question now, ‘How did you two meet?’. ‘Funny story...’. Yeah, this wasn’t happening.
    His crystal-blue eyes traveled from her head all the way to her toes and back again. She must look a mess. Slowly she looked down at her attire, the moonlight filtering through the hall window made her night shirt almost transparent. She pushed past him into her room and grabbed her seldom-used robe from the hook in her bathroom. The material slid across her icy skin, providing no warmth from the chill in the air.
    Returning to the hall, he was gone. She hurried downstairs. What the heck is he looking for?
    “Can I help you destroy anything else in my house?” He’d knocked all the pictures off her wall, potentially dented her bat, and now was searching through boxes in her garage.
    “Do you know what the man took from your house? There was something in his hand when he left,” he said, without lifting his head from the box he inspected.
    “Do you always answer a question with another question?”
    “No. Look around and find out what it was,” he answered.
    The nerve of the man didn’t quit. “I know what he took.”
    His head rose sharply. “What?”
    “Is this how it works? You break into my house, rummage through my things, and expect me to answer your questions? Without so much as giving me your name or a reason except that I’m not safe--what does that even mean?”
    His eyes sizzled into her, obviously trying to instill fear and show his power over her. “My name is Maxim Lucas. I have been sent to look after you.”
    Lucessa let out a loud laugh, startling both her and Goosey beside her. He can’t be serious. The man, correction--Maxim--didn’t even flinch as he made his ludicrous statement. And what’s up with the way he talks?
    “Well, Maxim, who sent you to ‘look after me’?” Lucessa asked.
    “You find this humorous? Your safety is not something to jest about.”
    She stood with her hands on her hips and watched his backside as