Chapter 8: Party Crasher

Genevieve:

“I know you’re there.”

His voice was distant and cruel. A crackly, angry tone that grated along my every bone, and yanked on every ridge of my spine. It was him. He was talking to me.

He knew I was the one that answered? Anyone could have—

He’s still here.

As the world shifted around me, the edges of my vision a blur and my ears filled with the voices of the party-goers, I searched. I looked at the sea of faces and tried to pick him out. To notice anyone that was on the phone, yet a majority of them were. They were all laughing, joking, happy. Where the fuck was he?

Raphael.

I needed him. Was he still close?

“Oh Genna, nothing to say to me?” His voice shocked me back to reality, my entire body vibrating with terror.

I steeled my nerves. “What do you want?”

His laugh cut into my chest and burned up through my throat as bile. “Oh Genna, isn’t that obvious? I want you.”

“You can’t have me.” The words slipped out on a hiss that I wasn’t expecting, but they didn’t seem to faze him one bit.

“Oh dear, I already have you. Even if that big oaf of a man thinks he can touch you whenever he wants, the truth is, you’ve always been mine. You’ll see soon enough.”

My entire body froze up. There he was.

A few yards in front of me, there was a man that stood completely still. A white and black mask covered most of his face, but the chaotic grin that pulled on his thin lips sent a shiver down my spine. He was average height and build, but there was a sinister and lethal aura that wafted around him. His eyes were an icy blue, and they speared me with icicles.

Wait, he knew about Raphael? What did he mean that he touches me whenever he wants? He’s barely done anything to me.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” My voice was more of a quiver, and I wanted to yell at myself.

The man’s demeanor shifted within a split second. His smile dropped and his brow tightened. “Don’t make a fool out of me, Genna. I see the way he looks at you. The way you shake your luscious breasts in front of him. But it’s only me who will get to see all that you have to offer. Who will claim you for myself.”

“You’re f*cking joking. I won’t give you a damn thing.” I forced the fear aside and allowed my anger to rage. He thought he owned me? He thought I was some sort of object he could claim?

“Genevieve.” Raphael’s voice echoed around me, washing over my body and mind. Almost immediately, I felt safe. Even if I didn’t see him yet.

My stalker grinned once more, “Oh, here he comes. Your so-called savior. Don’t worry. I’ll whisk you away from him soon enough.”

“Just leave me the fuck alone,” I gritted out.

“I’ll be seeing you soon, Genna.” He disappeared into the crowd almost like a mist, his eyes gone as soon as I blinked. Even as Vin and Gunner searched the room, there was no sight of the man.

Even so, I could still feel his presence, and his gaze still on me. Everywhere I turned, I felt as though he were still watching. Still a shadow that lurked just out of sight.

“Genevieve.” Raphael appeared next to me, but I didn’t even jump. I couldn’t. My entire being was rooted into place while my skin crawled with the interaction I just experienced. He lowered his head closer to my ear and even that didn’t affect me the same. “Babygirl,” he whispered, “I’m here. You’re safe.”

Am I?

Even with the intense heat that bloomed within from his words, the thought that I was left alone in the moment that I was in desperate need, wracked my very core.

It was the only reason that I had the strength to turn on Raphael. To look up at him and stare into his concerned gaze.

“Am I?” My voice was but a croak, but the point was made as Raphael’s brow twitched down into a deep furrow and his hand faltered before it moved to my side.

“Yes. I am here.”

“But you weren’t.” Fuck, I’m not that weak. Yet, why were there tears now blurring my vision? My chin quivered as I held back the sob that wracked my chest. He could have done anything to me and no one would have stopped him. No one was there. Not even Raphael.

He hesitated for a second, his other hand scratching the back of his neck as a deep sigh reverberated through his body. Raphael pulled me in until our chests touched and his hand on my side dug into my flesh. Even through the thin material of my dress, I could feel the heat of his touch.

“I’m so sorry baby girl. I shouldn’t have left you alone like that. I’ll never do that again.” His voice is low, easily characterized as a growl, and I found myself easing into his hold, using his strength as my own.

I was unable to speak, the fear still gripping my throat in a vice. Why was I like that? I didn't have the strength to stand up for myself, especially at a moment like this?

Raphael’s hand, though rough with callouses, gently grazed my arm as he soothed my nerves. I almost didn’t notice that I slowly accepted his comfort and sighed with relief. He was here.

I wasn’t even mad that he had disappeared. He had tried to save me and catch my stalker. No one would have known that it was a trick to get me alone. He had been just within the throng of partygoers, blending in well enough that even the great members of Grim Security couldn’t find him.

I was barely able to catch the conversation between my three bodyguards as Raphael barked at Vin and Garrett to get the car and track down Karoline so that we could leave. She was, of course, off networking on my behalf, which I was grateful for.

It wasn’t until Raphael was urging me through the exit and into the elevator that moved to the parking garage that I was finally able to speak.

“It’s–it’s not your fault.” Damn my voice for cracking at that moment.

Raphael’s dark gaze fell on me, and I couldn't hold it for more than a millisecond. He was always so intense, and I swore he could see right through me. Down to my core. As we stood there in silence for a moment, I watched the lights on the elevator shift as we went lower in the building.

“It is though,” he finally muttered. “I shouldn’t have left your side. Genevieve, it won’t happen again.”

“Y–” nope. Not going there. I had to bite my lower lip to stop myself from telling Raphael that I preferred it when he called me baby girl. The way he said it, with a hint of a growl, had me in a puddle. Not that my full name on his lips wasn’t downright delicious either. Maybe I’d been writing too much erotic romance lately. I should take a break and watch a rom-com later. Yeah, that’d stop me from pining after my bodyguard. Definitely.

“What?” Raphael dipped his head lower, his eyes catching mine.

“Huh?”

“You were going to say something?”

Could he be any more sexy? Like fuck.

“Oh, it’s nothing.” How could I ever tell him that to his face? I’d die of embarrassment. A woman like me saying that to someone like him? Yeah, okay. He’d think I was a sexual deviant, especially if he read even a page of any of my books. “Just, it’s not your fault. He obviously knows what he’s doing.”

Raphael’s brow tightened, and his jaw clicked as he gritted his teeth. “I won’t make the same mistake again. My job is to protect you.”

“Right... job.”

“What?”

Sh*t... had I said that out loud?

“Nothing.” I mustered up the best smile I could before the elevator doors opened. Raphael placed his hand on my lower back to gently steer me toward the waiting SUV.

“Let’s get you home, baby girl,” he growled out as he kept his eyes on our surroundings.

He probably didn’t know that he let it slip, but d*mn, I sure did. The word alone lit up my insides like the Fourth of July. I had to shift myself around carefully when I got into the car. Not to rub any place in specific, or to give Raphael a peep show below this exceedingly showy dress. I knew I should’ve worn something else.

I needed to get my head together, and stay far away from Raphael. For my own sanity if anything.