A. Arthur - Hunger for You

I moved around the bar, clearing a couple of tables, putting some glasses on the bar to be put into the dishwasher, trying to ignore the sensations still sifting through my body. It was as if he’d just touched me five minutes ago. My boobs still ached, between my legs throbbing. I was a mess. I had a boyfriend and was thinking about letting another guy touch me, kiss me, damn I wanted … I didn’t even know his name.

Half an hour later Hanna and I both had our jackets on, purses on one shoulder, car keys in hand as we walked out the front door. Roy was still inside so he’d lock up after he recounted our receipts. Hanna had come in an hour after me today, said she had some kind of appointment before work, so the parking lot had been almost full when she arrived. She’d had to park around the side of the building. I had parked right out front. After we said our good nights and shared a hug, she went around the corner. I hurried to my car, planning to get inside and drive around the corner so I could see that Hanna had gotten into her car safely. The dark figure leaning against my car stopped me.

I looked back immediately to see if Hanna was still there but it had grown really chilly out tonight and she only had on a thin sweat suit jacket, so she’d been hustling to get into her car and turn up the heat. I wore my old leather jacket so I wasn’t really cold, but I was very concerned about who was waiting for me at my car.

Scratch that, I was a little afraid. My heartbeat picked up as I moved and I wondered for a split second if I should just run around back to get Hanna to bring me to my car. But I didn’t stop, I kept moving toward the car, toward the dark figure as if, somehow, this was where I was supposed to be.

As I walked I adjusted the keys in my hand, finding the can of Mace on the chain and flicking off the top so I’d be ready if needed. My heart thumped as I drew closer to the driver’s side of my car. The tall male that had been leaning against the door stood, hands in pockets, staring at me.

His facial hair made his complexion appear darker than I really thought it was and those ominous eyes glared at me just the way they did as I moved around the bar. No matter how much I tried to ignore him, I knew he watched me every night he was there. The funny and probably crazy-as-hell thing was that when he wasn’t there watching me, I sort of missed it. Yes, I’m going to stick with calling it crazy that I’d obviously managed to attract some kind of stalker, and wasn’t totally freaked out about it. My finger moved over the nozzle of the Mace as I stopped in front of him.

“What are you doing here? I thought you had left a while ago.” Maybe I could have been nicer, but why? He was creeping me out, standing here in the dark parking lot like he was Batman or something. I half expected him to speak in a raspy voice and to say something obscure instead of superhero-like. And the way he made me feel inside, despite the creepiness was beginning to piss me off.

“I wanted to be sure you were okay,” was his response.

His voice seemed deeper out here in the cool night air than it had in the bar. However, his body was just as broad, just as muscled as I’d noticed on many nights before. And he smelled … I tried not to inhale too deeply, because I already knew how he smelled, especially after our collision earlier. It was an extremely fresh smell, like a rainy day. It made me want to run my fingers through his hair, the unruly, too-long locks that tended to fall over his forehead just as it furrowed and his eyes narrowed. I would only admit that to myself since I’d die if he knew I’d been paying as much attention to him as it appeared he had to me.

“I’m fine and I don’t think you should be checking up on me,” I told him, no matter how sweet I thought it actually was. “If you’ll excuse me, I’d like to get home. It’s late.”

I tried to move around him. That was pointless. He stood between the side of my car and Roy’s car, which was parked right beside mine. And he filled the space completely. He was built like those guys at the gym, the ones that I figure must have lived there with all the intricate cuts and chiseled muscles they readily displayed. Sure, I’d never seen this guy in shorts and a tight tank, but I was positive he was as mouthwatering as the gym buffs.

“Did he hurt you?”

His next question startled me and I stopped my attempt to get past him. I looked up at him questioningly. “Nobody hurt me and nobody is going to hurt me ever again.” My lips clamped shut as soon as I’d said those words. It was too much information and I knew it the second the words tumbled free. His head tilted slightly, that thick lock of hair falling close to his left eye. My fingers itched to brush it away, even as my heart began a steady pounding. It wasn’t fear that had tripped my heart rate this time, not that bone-chilling fear that had seeped into my body when Dex had grabbed me earlier. This was different, it was … anticipation, and that had me gasping.

“I saw him grab you and yell at you. If he hurt you I can take care of it,” he proclaimed seriously.

Licking my now-dry lips, swallowing to be sure my voice didn’t crack when I spoke, I shook my head. “I don’t need you to take care of anything. I don’t even know you,” I replied.

He opened his mouth to speak, then pressed his lips together. He took a deep breath and then exhaled. For those seconds I watched that movement as if being mesmerized. His lips, the rise and fall of his chest, everything about him made me want to … to what?

I had no idea what this guy was about to do and I didn’t want to wait to figure it out. So I pushed past him to get to my car door. His body was so hard and the heat that emanated from it made me want to lean in farther, to wrap myself in the warmth and possibly feel the safety I’d always longed for. That didn’t make any sense. How could someone I didn’t even know make me feel safe? How could I know how warm being wrapped in his arms would be?

I didn’t anticipate his next move and it startled me so badly I dropped my Mace and gasped. He turned with my movement and flattened me against the door, his hands going to both sides of the car to trap me there.

“I’m Caleb and if I see him grab you like that again, I’m going to break his arms.”

His words were spoken with such vehemence, such absolute rage I knew they were true. He would break Dex’s arms. I don’t know why and I knew that wasn’t what I wanted to happen, still, I didn’t doubt his … Caleb’s words one bit.

“He’s my boyfriend,” I said defiantly. “He’s allowed to touch me. You,” I said, gathering my strength and lifting my hand to poke him in his chest, “you are not.”

He frowned down at me, sparks of brightness streaking through his otherwise dark eyes. I thought he was going to hit me then or at the very least shake me until I felt like my eyeballs would roll right out of my head—that would have been all too familiar.

“You are foolish,” he said through clenched teeth. “He will hurt you if you let him.”

“You don’t know me and you don’t know Dex. And if you don’t get away from me right now I’m going to—”

My words were cut off at the sound of a horn and then we were caught in the intense glare of headlights on high beam. The brightness fell over his face and my breath caught. He looked so fierce, so angry and yet he was the most attractive guy I’d ever seen in person—magazine and online pics of man candy did not count. There was a sudden urge to wrap my arms around his neck and hold on for dear life, but I dismissed that as being over-the-top romantic and definitely falling for the bad-boy hero, which I swore I’d never do.

“Hey, Zoe, you okay?” Hanna called from her car. “You need me to dial nine-one-one?”