His to Steal

Ch. 11: Lies

Nicolai

I haven't seen Sutton leave her apartment in a few days; admittedly, I've had to work for Juri a couple times, so it's not like I've been able to just sit around outside her apartment 24/7. I've also felt guilty about what happened at the restaurant the other night and then, I don't know...a little...weird about what happened afterward in the shower. Not that she knows about that.

But each time I have been there, I've wiggled my way inside the parking garage (don't ask) and seen both the S-Class and the Tesla. Xavier must have gotten another car or is working from home every day. I don't have any idea, and honestly, I don't really care. I'm just happy that Sutton appears to be safe inside that building.

All I've been able to think about all week since that night at the restaurant is how I spoke to her. Those horrible things I said have haunted my every waking thought and my nightmares too. That's not how I wanted our reunion to go. Quite the opposite actually.

I'm about to drive away from Sutton's building and go home for the night when I see the revolving door start to spin. My eyes lock on the person exiting the lobby, and when my gaze trails up her body, all those curves covered in nothing but skin-tight leggings, then her exposed stomach underneath a cropped sweatshirt that has no business being that sexy, my jaw clenches in irritation.

Why the hell is Sutton coming out of that building by herself?

At 10:30pm?

Where's her bodyguard? Or useless ass Kincaid?

I give it a second to see if one of them follows her out, but they don't.

As I sit and watch from my car, she walks across the street to Central Park alone, and my blood heats in my veins, my nerves on fire with apprehension. There is no way in hell I'm letting her go into that park alone.

I realize I'm being extremely overprotective of someone who really isn't mine to protect, someone who likely hates the ground I walk on even more now than she did before. But I can't stop myself.

I jump out of the car and jog after her, maintaining a safe distance between us while keeping her well within my line of sight. There isn't anyone around right now—that I can see—but that doesn't mean there isn't someone hiding behind one of the giant boulders or in a bush or behind a tree. And she's just out here by herself.

What the hell is she thinking?

She stops suddenly and I skid to a halt, ducking behind a tree just as she glances over her shoulder.

"Hello?" she calls out, her voice small and a little shaky. She's scared.

Good. Maybe she should be scared; maybe that would stop her from venturing into places that appear beautiful but are nothing more than pits of danger to an enticing piece of forbidden fruit like her.

After peering around for a couple more seconds, she turns away and keeps walking, and I step back onto the path, following in her footsteps. After a few minutes, it becomes apparent that she has no purpose for being out here, which irritates me even more. Risking her safety, and for what? A random nighttime stroll in the park?

I'm so busy silently ranting and raving about how pissed I am at her for putting herself in danger that I don't notice that she's stopped in the center of the path right in front of me.

I run smack into her upturned ass right as I realize she's tying her shoe, and she yelps in surprise as I leap away from her and attempt to turn around before she recognizes me, but of course, it's too late.