When I finally pry my hands away, they’re shaking and I can feel the sweat coating them. My heart is beating faster than normal, and I feel as if I’m going to be sick. Finally, I get out of my car and slowly head inside. I feel as if I’m walking to my death instead of facing a room of women who have been through similar things as me. It’s too bad I’m so consumed with my own thoughts I don’t see someone following me inside the building.
Chapter Two
Killer
I SET MY alarm to be up early this morning. Gwen doesn’t think I know where she’s going this morning, but I do. She’ll be heading to the community center for her weekly meeting with other domestic violence survivors. I’ve followed her several times since she started going to the meetings.
I had to set my alarm since sleep was almost non-existent for me last night. When Gwen walked into the kitchen in her pajamas, I almost swallowed my tongue. She was wearing a pink pair of pants with a matching tank top. What she wasn’t wearing was a bra. I could see her nipples poking through the thin material of her top the second she walked in the room. Gwen had no clue what I was looking at either. She simply doesn’t think about those things. That’s how innocent my girl is. There was no way in hell I was about to call her out on it. I want Gwen to feel safe around me. Not as if I can’t handle seeing her in her damn pajamas.
Dinner wasn’t the easy meal I’d been hoping for since it was her first night in our home. It was awkward and filled with tension in the air. Tension so thick I could’ve cut it with my knife. Gwen didn’t know what to do either. I could see her mind working as she tried to figure out what to say to me. She never says a lot to me unless she has to. The only thing I get out of her is her blushing from head to toe. Last night showed me her chest does in fact turn red when she blushes.
This morning, I stayed still for as long as I could while her eyes roamed my body. Gwen’s eyes landed on my tattoos as they always do. She’s always looking at tattoos on everyone. Especially me. I’m not sure if it’s because she wants one or if she simply likes looking at the ink marked on everyone’s skin. I’m not going to complain about her eyes being on me though. I’ll take whatever look she wants to give me and let her look her fill when I can.
Yes, I’m a selfish fuck and want her eyes always on me. I want to be the only man she sees and get to know my body only.
There is something different about Gwen this morning and I need to know what’s going on. She’s nervous and fidgety without even realizing she’s playing with her fingers or the necklace resting around her neck. It’s something Kim got her shortly after she moved here, and my Sparrow never takes it off. At least not that I’ve seen and I’m always looking at her.
Making a split-second decision, I head up to my room so I can get dressed. I don’t bother with taking a shower because I already did that at some point in the early hours of the morning. After making sure my hair was up and I had everything I’d need for the day, I carefully waited until Gwen left.
With my bike, I need to give her a slight head start so she doesn’t see me following her. It’s not as if I don’t know where she’s going so I can afford to be a few minutes behind her. As I pull in the parking lot of the community center, I immediately zero in on Gwen’s car. She’s still sitting behind the wheel as I park my bike in the far corner of the lot under a tree. From where I’m standing, Gwen is lost in her own pain filled world. I want nothing more than to rush to her side and take that pain away. To carry the burden from her and carry it on my shoulders.
Instead, I remain sitting on my bike until she gets out of her car. For a minute, I don’t make a move to follow her. I’m content to watch her hesitant steps