The Watcher Read online

  The moment was broken when her friend came stumbling onto the dance floor. I made myself scarce once more, circling the bar. Her friend started searching for me and I couldn’t help but smile, knowing my kitten was excited about seeing me again. She danced for a few more songs, thoroughly letting go and enjoying herself. I was so happy that she wasn’t letting that asshole ruin her night. After watching her do nothing but go to work and school for months, I knew she needed this night out.

  When her favorite song came on next, though, I knew I needed to be near her. I needed to know what she smelled like and how soft her skin was. Her friend had once again let her go dance alone, so this was my chance. I noticed some creepy asshole staring at her from across the bar and felt like something was off about him. I would take care of him after this song. It was time for Lily to feel me against her. I silently walked up behind her and moved my hands to her hips. I leaned closer to her ear and whispered, “Don’t turn around” and waited for her to start moving her hips again.

  I sang some of the lyrics to her and pressed her lightly against me. She’d never heard my voice before, so I wanted to give her something to think about later. I took a deep breath and smelled the vanilla in her hair. She smelled like my very own dessert...that I wanted to devour right then and there. I saw that chubby asshole who had been staring at her get up and go towards the exit, so I reluctantly stepped away from her. I followed him out to the parking lot where he lit up a cigarette and went to his car. Thinking that he was done here for the night, I went back in to find Lily. I wanted to make sure she got home ok and maybe talk to her one last time. She was saying goodbye to her friend so I gave her some privacy and waited on the sidelines in the dark.

  Chapter Four

  *****

  Lily

  I was sober enough by now to head out for some fresh air. I needed to get home…to what I wasn’t sure of. I kissed Emma on the cheek, made sure she was good by herself, and made my way outside. I walked quickly to my car, feeling eyes on me yet again. I scanned the lot, but there were so many cars that I’d never be able to find him. I opened my door, only to feel it being pushed closed. My nostrils were assaulted with whiskey and stale cigarettes and a masculine voice said, “Hey baby, what’s the rush?” I froze in fear and slowly turned around. I was greeted by the beady eyes and drunken sneer of a very large stranger. I mumbled that he must have mistaken me for someone else. He laughed, making my heart pound, and he said, “Nope, you’re the fat slut from the dance floor.” I cringed at the word fat, knowing I should be used to it by now.

  I tried to sidestep my way out but he quickly put both of his beefy arms onto my Beetle, effectively trapping me. I began to panic and couldn’t think straight. All I could smell was his putrid breath, and all I could see were those beady eyes burning with hatred and lust. I took a deep breath, willing myself to think. I could scream, but he might hit me or pull a weapon. I could hit my car’s panic button, but no one pays attention to car alarms anymore. I could try to kick him in the groin, but I feared I might miss and piss him off. I was out of options and in an all-out panic when I caught a glint of silver at his throat. A deep voice almost whispered, “Back away from the lady and I won’t slit your throat from ear to ear.” His eyes grew wide in fear as he took a step backwards. I instantly recognized that whisper. I held my breath, waiting for this scene to play out.

  My attacker tried to turn around, but green eyes held the knife a little closer. I could see a drop of blood trickle down my attacker’s thick throat and I felt a small thrill at being rescued. Green eyes started to slowly walk backwards, pulling my attacker with him. Once they were about 10 feet away from me, he pushed the heavy man forward and I watched him stumble away very quickly without looking back.

  Once he was gone out of our sight, green eyes flicked the knife back and put it in his pocket. He raised his head and stared openly at me. His breathing was heavy, like he had just gone for a run. I watched his chest rise and fall and wondered what was under that baggy sweatshirt. His hood had come down and I could see his hair was black, slightly wavy, and overgrown. He shook his head and a curl fell into his eyes. I was still frozen in my spot, also breathing heavily. I had no idea what to say or do and I didn’t want to break the spell his stare had once again cast over me.

  He approached me slowly, as one would a wild animal that had been backed into a corner. I just stared into those eyes, numb to the coolness of the night, and deaf to the activity of the bar near us. He lifted his arm and ran a finger down my cheek, wiping a tear away in the process. I hadn’t even known I was crying. He said quietly, “It’s ok. He’s gone now. You’re ok.” I let out the breath I was holding and sobbed in another one. I kept staring into his eyes as I quietly nodded. He lifted his other hand and wiped away another tear. “Do you need to leave right away?” he asked. I shook my head no, still unable to speak. I wasn’t sure if it was the shock of almost being attacked, or the spell his eyes had cast over me.

  “Walk with me for a while,” he said. It was more of a command than a question. I nodded again and took a step forward. He took my hand, gently prying the keys from me. He locked my Beetle and put the keys into my jacket pocket, but never let go of my hand. I knew he had to have felt my wedding ring, but I didn’t say anything.

  We began to walk down the sidewalk and into the nearby neighborhood. It was late, so many of the streetlamps were off. The street was dimly lit by some of the porch lights. He began to quietly hum Hang by MB20. His voice was melodic and calming. I could feel the calluses on his palm and the strength of his fingers as he lightly held my hand. He hadn’t put the hood back up, giving me a chance to study his profile. He had high cheekbones, a large almost Romanesque nose that had a slight bump in the middle, a strong chin covered in a goatee of thick, dark facial hair. His moustache was neatly trimmed and connected to his goatee around his full lips. He was tall, over six feet, and towered over my 5’4”. He must have felt my eyes on him, because I saw the side of his mouth rise up into that same slight smirk he had given me at the bar. Busted.

  I opened my mouth to say something, but had no idea what I should be saying. I stuttered a few times and finally mumbled, “thank you”. He stopped walking, turned to look at me, and my heart leapt into my throat. He ran his finger down my cheekbone once more, causing my breath to hitch. He was still humming Hang, and I couldn’t help but think it was on purpose. Some of the lyrics popped into my head and I thought, ‘How could he know how much that song spoke to me?’ It was like those green eyes pierced my tough exterior and looked right into the cloudy depths of my soul. He sang the final lyrics, softly so that only I could hear, and my heart almost stopped.

  He let that last note fade into the night and I continued to stare at him. My mouth was slightly open and my breathing was labored. His face was as beautiful as his voice. I was light-headed and began to wonder if I was actually dreaming up this entire night. No one this beautiful would ever even look at me let alone stare so openly and sweetly sing to me.

  He took my other hand in his free one and stooped down to look at me closely. “Better now?” he asked quietly. I nodded slowly, still unable to form words. He smiled and my breath caught. “Stunning,” slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it. My face burned bright red and I was thankful for the darkness.

  Stunning?” he repeated questioningly. I shook my head, trying to clear it. I might as well finish my thought, as the foolishness had already spilled from me in a moment of insanity.

  *****

  Gabriel

  Dammit, I lost sight of her. She was in a hurry all of a sudden. That jackass at home probably had her worried that she was out too late. One of these days I was going to sucker punch him right in his big fucking mouth.

  I hurried outside to make sure she got to her car ok when I saw that disgusting pig from the dance floor hovering over my Lily. I couldn’t see her, but I felt her fear as clearly as if it were my own. Less than a second later, I held my pocket knife at
his throat and made it clear who was in charge here. Never taking my eyes off Lily’s, I backed a safe distance away from her with lard ass and shoved him off towards the road.

  Once he was out of sight, I saw Lily’s breath catch and the tears that threatened to fall. I needed to get her away from this spot for a few minutes, and let her calm down before driving home. Approaching her slowly, I never broke eye contact. I took deep breaths, trying to calm my own rage, and hoped she’d do the same. Her eyes were so wide and a tear escaped down her cheek. Before I knew what I was doing, I had reached out and wiped it away.

  “It’s ok, he’s gone now. You’re safe.” She took a deep, sobbing breath and I wiped away another tear. “Do you need to leave right away?” She shook her head no, apparently still in shock. “Walk with me for a while,” I said. It wasn’t a request, and somehow she knew it. I wasn’t big on requests anyway. I wanted what I wanted, when I wanted it. I had a way about me that made people agree, so that worked in my favor. I took her keys and tucked them away in her pocket, took her small hand in mine, and led her away from the parking lot.

  As we walked, I began to hum my favorite Matchbox Twenty song, Hang. It was meant to calm her nerves, but it began to help mine too. I didn’t want to scare her with my anger so I tried to relax my shoulders and look less intimidating. I wasn’t a small man, and after what she had just been through, I didn’t want her running away from me in fear. Later, however, I would find that asshole and make him pay. For now, I just wanted a few more minutes with her.

  I continued to hum as she stared openly at my profile. My hood had come down and I hadn’t bothered to put it back up. I wanted to know if she liked what she saw. I could feel her eyes travel down my face, taking in all the sharp angles and felt her breath catch. I couldn’t help but smirk a little. Yeah, she liked what she saw. I could tell she was struggling to find something to say and I heard a small “thank you” come out. I stopped walking and turned to face her. She was so beautiful and I wanted to let her know so I sang the last few lines of the song instead of humming. I knew she’d always wanted a man to sing to her, so this would definitely make its mark. I took a chance and ran my finger down her cheek once more, singing directly to her.

  Those beautiful eyes of hers widened in something other than fear and I knew I’d made an impression. She was warring with wanting more and thinking she didn’t deserve it. That fucking Ryan had stolen her confidence and I wanted to rip his heart out for it. I wanted so much to tell her all the beautiful things she deserved to hear, but I knew that would take time. Instead I took her hand in mine and stooped down to look her in the eye.

  “Better now?” I asked. She nodded slowly and I smiled at her encouragingly.

  “Stunning,” she said.

  “Stunning?” I inquired as an incredibly sexy blush crept up her cheeks.

  Chapter Five

  *****

  Lily

  “You,” I said, “you’re stunning.” His slight smirk returned and he said thank you. He let go of one of my hands and turned us around and started walking us back to my car. We hadn’t gone very far and we reached the parking lot quickly, too quickly. I didn’t want this night to end. He pulled out a business card from his hoodie and tucked it into my jacket pocket.

  “Text me when you get home so I know you arrived safely.” Again, I nodded, looking up into those emerald eyes, afraid of speaking (should anything else pop out unexpectedly). He brought my hand to his lips and lightly kissed it, pulled my keys from my pocket and unlocked my door. He placed the keys in my hand and opened the door for me, all the while still holding my hand until I was seated. I pulled on my seatbelt and started the engine. He slowly closed my door and I heard him whisper “Goodnight Lily”. He knew my name. He knew my name. I stared up at him and he mouthed “text me” and began to walk away. I turned on my lights and pulled out of my spot. I saw him watching me, yet again, as I left the parking lot and I finally smiled. ‘What the hell just happened?’ I asked myself shaking my head.

  I turned on my Pandora Radio hoping for a song that would fit my mood. Zombie by The Cranberries was on. Perfect. I had been a zombie for years now. Roaming aimlessly through my life, taking what little nourishment came my way, feeding off the scraps that were tossed to me by my husband, my boss, my family. Tonight was the first night in way too long that I had actually felt alive. I could still feel the slight brush of his lips on my hand and the caress of his callused fingers on my face. His voice echoed over and over in my head, “Goodnight Lily,” so soft, yet deep and almost scratchy. I wondered what he did for a living and remembered he had tucked a business card into my pocket. It suddenly struck me that I had no idea what his name was. I couldn’t wait to get home and study every last detail of that card.

  I pulled into my space, ran up to the second floor, and quietly let myself in. Ryan had fallen asleep on the couch still watching the TV at a loud volume. I sighed and turned it down slightly. I knew if I turned it off, he’d wake up and come to bed. I needed to be alone. I was so hoping he’d actually be out tonight, like I had asked. I swear he stayed here tonight just to spite me, or maybe Katie was busy, ha. I wanted the house to myself. This whole night was a blur and I needed to go through the details in my mind and figure out what exactly had happened. Anything could have happened with that drunken ogre, but it was like this green-eyed beauty of a man was my very own personal guardian angel. He’d swooped right in and made the man go away. Then he’d been able to calm and soothe me with just a short walk and a few words.

  I changed into my ratty yoga pants and shelf tank and turned off the light. I had grabbed the business card and made myself comfy amidst the pillows, blankets, and kitties. I pulled out the card and put it in the light from my phone. It was blank, save for a single phone number. There was no name, no business, nothing. I wondered if this was a joke. I thought back to the way he had gently brushed away my tears and how he had known I wasn’t ready to go home yet. He was so calming and so caring. This couldn’t be a joke, right?

  I took a deep breath and texted him, “made it home ok.” Should I say something else? I had no idea if this was even him. I pressed send, held my breath, and just waited. It seemed it was an iPhone, as the typing symbol popped up. Good sign!

  “Took you long enough” popped up on my screen. YES! It was him. Whew. I smiled and wondered if he had missed me. I started typing my reply.

  “Thank you again for everything. You saved my life tonight. I shudder to think what might have happened if you weren’t nearby”

  “You’re welcome.” It would seem he wasn’t much of a talker. I had no idea what to say next, so I just waited.

  He typed “Did you fall asleep?”

  “LOL no, just don’t want to say anything else that will make my face turn bright red.”

  “Lily?”

  “Yes?”

  “I can’t see you ;)”

  “Oh, well, ha ha.”

  I was so nervous and had no idea why. This guy was a complete stranger. I was an overweight receptionist with a sorry excuse for a husband drooling on the couch, who spent her days typing memos and editing other people’s work. There was nothing appealing about me whatsoever. This would most likely be the last I’d ever hear from this guy.

  “I don’t know your name,” I finally typed.

  “You will.”

  “Um, ok?”

  “Oh and Lily?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I find you to be stunning as well. Sweet Dreams.”

  *****

  Gabriel

  After walking her back to her car and slipping my business card into her pocket, I followed her home. Without her knowing, of course, I didn’t want her to think of me as some sort of creepy stalker. I just wanted to make sure she got home safely, or so I kept telling myself. In reality, I just wasn’t ready to call it a night. Revealing myself to her today had been so much better than I had dreamed of. I’ve loved her from the shadows for so long, I had no idea how i
ncredible it would be to be near her and have her actually see me.

  I sat in the backseat of her car, watching so many emotions go through her. She smiled and frowned and looked pensive. So much had happened for her today and I knew she was emotionally exhausted. I saw her rub the pocket that held my card and the grin that broke out on her face took my breath away. This gave me hope that she was thinking of me too. Yeah, I sound like a teenaged girl, I know. As lame as it sounds though, it felt amazing. I’d fallen for girls before, but they’d never lasted. They liked my fat bank account, or my pretty face, but they couldn’t keep up with my particular “appetite.”

  And once, only once, had I let someone know the truth about what I was, and that ended in disaster. Lily was different though. She kept so much bottled up inside, but I was able to see her fantasies and her desires. Through all that self-consciousness and lack of confidence, I knew she was the one that would accept me for who and what I was. Just thinking about her succumbing to some of my “appetite” made me hard as hell. That luscious body was perfect for the things I wanted to do to it.