Watch Me (Dark Obsession #1)(7)
Author: Cynthia Eden

He waited.

“I got a new number a few times,” she confessed. “But…but I haven’t seen anyone. No one has been in my house or at my gallery.” The gallery…her gallery. The place she’d built from the ground up. She didn’t just showcase her work there. She showed the work of up and coming artists. She gave them a chance to shine in D.C. She loved that damn gallery. But lately…I’ve been nervous there. I hate to work alone at the gallery late at night. My spine tingles and I wonder…am I really alone? Gwen cleared her throat. “I just…I’ve had some kids prank calling me.” She rubbed her arms. “I can’t go running for help every time my phone rings.”

He crossed to her side. Stood close, but didn’t touch her. His control was already a near thing and one touch might push him over the line. “You can run to me any time you want.”

He heard her breath catch. “Months pass,” she whispered, “and I don’t see you. Now, suddenly, you’re back in my life?”

“You’re the one who told me to leave.” Shit. He hadn’t meant to say those words. But they were right there. Right between them. When he’d burst into her apartment, when he’d put Ethan in the hospital, she’d stared at him as if Chance had been a stranger.

Stay away from me. Her desperate whisper had haunted him for too many nights.

Until he couldn’t stay away any longer.

“I was kind of in the middle of a break down right then. My ex had just broken into my apartment and you’d gone all crazy bad-ass fighter on me. Things like that will shake up a woman.” She licked her lips. “I…missed you.”

Because he’d been her confidant. For years. Her father hadn’t let many people get close to Gwen, and when Chance came on board, Gwen had gravitated toward him. She’d been living at her father’s place back then, and they’d shared late-night dinners. They’d gone for early morning runs. He’d gotten used to her being the first person he saw when he woke up in the morning, and the last sight he had before bed.

And she got beneath my skin.

Then things had changed. One night…on Christmas Eve, he’d been weak. He’d almost given in to his need for Gwen. Too late, he’d pulled back, but he’d hurt her.

Gwen had moved out of her father’s house. A few months later, she’d fucked that bastard Ethan. And she’d seen Chance for the man he really was.

Stay away from me.

Now she reached out. Her fingers skimmed along his jaw.

Did she have any clue how long he’d wanted her touch? How he’d dreamed about her? Dreamed of the things he wanted to do to her? “I got tired of staying away,” he told her, his voice close to a growl.

She inched closer to him. “You’re not working for my father anymore. So that whole…not crossing the work line doesn’t apply any longer, right?”

“We can cross any line we want.” He wanted to cross every line with her right then. He wanted to take her, right there, to claim her as he should have done so long ago. Then there would have been no fear from Gwen. No threat from Ethan. It would have just been the two of them.

“I want you,” Gwen said, staring up at him. “But I’m afraid.”

No, no, no. He didn’t want her afraid of him. “I’d never hurt you.”

Her smile was bittersweet. “You could destroy me, and you’d never have to lift a hand to do it.”

“Gwen—”

“Ethan didn’t matter, not enough to break me. You…you’re different.” She backed away, almost hitting the window. “You should go now.”

The last thing he wanted to do was leave. He wanted to stay right there with her. All night long.

“I’m safe. You protected me.” Her head inclined toward him as her hair brushed lightly over her shoulders. “Again. So you can go home knowing that I’m all good for the night.”

“Or I could stay here, with you, and make absolutely certain that you’re…good…for the night.”

Her pupils expanded. For an instant, he saw desire blazing in her eyes. His heart thundered in his chest because he was so very close to the one thing he wanted most.

“I’m not going to make a mistake again.” She shook her head. “So for tonight, it’s good-bye.”

“But your locks—you need them changed—”

“I’ll secure the deadbolt again when you leave. And I’ll put a chair under the door.”

She’s kicking me out. His back teeth clenched, but he leaned forward, and, after a tense moment, he pressed a quick kiss to her forehead. “If anything happens, if you get scared, call me.”

“I will.”

She walked him to the door. Gazed at him a little wistfully as he slipped out of her apartment, then she shut the door in his face.

Hell. Getting back into Gwen’s good graces wasn’t going to be nearly as easy as he’d hoped.

***

Gwen was being a good girl. She’d just sent that bastard on his way. Locked the door. Now she was pacing her apartment. Looking a little lost.

And completely alone.

He leaned toward his screen. She had no idea the hell that was coming her way. She thought she was safe.

There was no safety.

Before he was done, Gwen would know that. Gwen would know what it was like to lose everything.

Every fucking thing. It was his job to make sure she suffered before the end came.

***

Gwen’s light was still on.

Chance sat in his car, darkness all around him, and peered up at her apartment. He could see her silhouette near the window.

A light rap came from the passenger side of the car. He’d known that Lex was there, so he unlocked the door and let the guy inside.

“Huh…kind of figured you’d be doing the surveillance from inside her apartment,” Lex said as he handed Chance a burger from the local fast food joint. “Guess you struck out tonight, huh?”

“Screw off,” Chance told him as he tossed the wrapped burger onto the dashboard. “I want to know how the hell you lost that van.”

Lex winced. “The clubs are all letting out, man. Traffic two roads over is a bitch. The guy knew that. He planned it. He disappeared in that maze and there was no catching him. At least…not yet.”

Chance waited.

“I’ve got some connections we can use. I’m already pulling strings to get access to the traffic cams in the area. We might get lucky and spot the guy on video. If we do, we’ll find him. The guy only slipped away for the time being. He’s not gone for good.”