Free Careless by Cheryl Douglas

in the buff.” He shifted through the letters,
obviously looking for some mention of her tattoo.
    Tori panicked, trying to remember whether
her stalker had ever been specific about the tattoo, what it was, or more
specially, what it said. “Um, what are you doin’?”
    “I’m just tryin’ to get a handle on where
this guy’s head’s at. I mean, he obviously thinks he’s in love with you, but…”
    Tori shuddered involuntarily when she
thought about what that lunatic planned to do in the name of love. She wrapped
her arms around her mid-section. “What do you think he hopes to gain by doin’
this?”
    “He wants your attention. He hates you were
able to cast him aside like he didn’t mean anything to you.” Mike looked her in
the eye, and she got the impression they weren’t talking about the man tailing
her anymore. “He wants to remind you of what you two had, whether you want to
remember it or not.” 
    Deciding to play along she said, “Sometimes
it’s best to leave the past in the past. There are times when sex is just sex,
nothin’ more.”
    “And there are times when it could evolve
into a whole hell of a lot more, if you’re not afraid to let it.”
    Why did he have to say things like that,
giving her false hope and trying to make her believe she was more than just a
long-forgotten one-night stand he’d referred to as a mistake? Angry, hurt, and
determined to lash out, she grabbed the notepad and pen from his hand. “You
want names, I’ll give you names.” She scribbled the names of the three men
she’d slept with in the past two years on a blank piece of paper. “Happy now?”
    “Three? Only three?”
    The question stung like the slap across the
face she’d taken in the eighth grade when her best friend’s boyfriend invited
her to the school dance. “Nice to see you still think so highly of me.” She
started heading down the hall toward her bedroom when he crossed the room and
grabbed her arm.
    “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that,” he
whispered, looking down at her as though he truly was remorseful for speaking
his mind.
    “Don’t be sorry. You said what you were
thinkin’. You always do.” That’s what she loved and hated about him. He knew
exactly who he was, stood behind his judgements, right or wrong, and didn’t
fold in the face of popular opinion.
    “Sometimes I don’t think before I open my
big mouth.” His full mouth tilted up at the corners. “This was one of those
times. Just like that night at my place. I was actin’ like a jealous jerk ’cause
I thought you had somethin’ goin’ with my brother.”
    “Me and Jay?” She frowned, trying to decide
whether he was serious. “Why would you think that?”
    “You said y’all had gone out—”
    “Yeah, as friends. I love Jay, but there’s
never been anything between us.”
    “I’m glad to hear that.”
    His fingers were biting into her skin and
she tried to break free of his grip, but he slipped his arms around her waist.
It felt like a chain she couldn’t break free of… drawing her toward him against
her will. She made the mistake of gripping his biceps, trying to push him away,
but that just reminded her of how incredible it felt when he was unleashing all
of that unrestrained power on her.  
    “I need to go to bed,” she whispered,
barely able to look at him. She’d never felt so weak, so powerless. The force
drawing them together seemed too formidable to resist. “I have to get up early
in the morning.” She knew she should offer to show him to the guest bedroom,
but his hands were gliding lower, sneaking into dangerous territory. 
    “So do I.” His eyes landed on her lips and
he groaned when her tongue darted out to lick them. “You don’t know what you’re
doin’ to me, darlin’.”
    “Mike…” She pressed her palms into his
chest. It felt like he was stealing the breath from her lungs along with her
objections.
    “There are a million reasons why I
shouldn’t even be