up at him and was confused by the extremely focused look he gave her. “What?” She checked to make sure her robe was still closed and that she wasn’t flashing him, but couldn’t see any reason for that stare.
His voice was low when he said, “I’m sorry about earlier. I thought you were still asleep and was just surprised that you weren’t and then I saw the tattoo.”
The blood drained from her face. He’d seen her tattoo. Panic swirled through her and she pulled her robe tighter. She’d just been so flustered to have him in her room when she was pretty much naked. But he couldn’t have seen all the detail on it from the doorway, right? She tried to brush it off. “Don’t worry about it. No harm done.”
He continued to stare at her. “A purple butterfly? That just seems like maybe it might mean something.”
It meant everything. Everything she’d found and then lost. That butterfly was the symbol of all her shattered dreams. She shook her head mutely. “No, I just thought it was pretty.”
He lifted a single eyebrow at her. It was obvious he didn’t believe her, but he didn’t push it.
Instead, he said, “I talked to Colton earlier. They’d like us all to come over for dinner tomorrow night when Jake and Cassie get home from their honeymoon. Do you think you’ll feel up for it?”
She pulled at her greasy hair. Maybe by tomorrow, she’d have the energy to take a full shower and wash it herself. “That should be fine. Dr. Shelby told me to take off all this week, so I don’t have anything on the agenda except to sleep, read books, and catch up on movies. A couple of hours over at our friend’s place sitting on the couch should be do-able.” She gave a self-deprecating chuckle.
“Okay, good. Why don’t you go make yourself comfortable on your couch right now and I’ll see what I can do about making us some dinner.”
Chapter 25
She came home from the hospital today, but her neighbor, Chris, had barely left her side. What kind of neighbor was that attentive? He didn’t like it, not at all. She belonged to him, just like Jocelyn had.
He’d watched them all evening through the glass sliding door. They moved around the house together like they were married, him waiting on her, digging through her cupboards, sitting on the couch together watching TV. It wasn’t right for them to play house like this.
Julie’s backyard had lots of big bushes that made observing them perfect so the odds of them catching him were practically non-existent.
He’d watched Julie go to bed through the windows and then the guy left a little while later. The neighbor went over to his house about thirty minutes ago. Now everything seemed quiet within both houses. He slid the copy of Julie’s key out of his pocket, thankful he had the forethought to copy it when he had the chance to slide it out of her office a couple of months ago.
The door opened with a quiet click. He turned the knob very slowly, opened the door an inch, and then waited a heartbeat to make sure nothing moved within. Everything was quiet. He slid in the door and then closed it just as quietly. His heart racing, he stood there with his back to the door while his eyes adjusted to the dark. There was a light on above the stove in the kitchen and another lit further down the hall. He knew that light was coming from Julie’s bathroom. He’d seen it when he was outside watching earlier.
He crept down the hall, listening for any sounds that might warn him of getting caught. All was quiet. Finally, he made it, her bedroom. She was asleep in her bed, just like the angel she was. He stood and watched her while she slept. Her breathing was still a little ragged. Anger thrummed through his system. He’d told her to take care of herself. She’d come so close to ruining everything. He clenched his fists against the red emotion bursting through his system. He could control this.
Gently he pulled back the covers from where they covered her chest. She wore a simple t-shirt, but even that looked incredibly sexy pulled tight over her glorious breasts. They rose and fell with her breaths. His arousal, which had been simmering as he’d watched her through the window all evening, punched through to harden his dick to steel. He was so