Stalked Ch 3

When Emily came to she was lying in a bed. Mike was leaning over her pressing a cool, damp cloth to her forehead. She tried to sit up but was pushed gently back against the pillows.

"You need to lay back down. You've had a bit of a shock I'd say," he said.

"Mike, I have to get out of here. I have to go!" She exclaimed in a panic, once more trying to struggle out of the bed only to be restrained once more.

"You're not going anywhere. Do you think I would let you go when there is some nut on the loose making threats. You can't go back to your house. What would you do but worry yourself to death waiting for him to make his next move? No way, I won't allow it," he said firmly in a voice that left no room for argument.

"But----"

"No. You're not going back to your house. At least not without me. I heard that message on the answering machine and I'll be damned if I let that maniac get his hands on you." He had grabbed her firmly by the shoulders and shook her a little to get his point across. Emily felt a shiver of excitement run up her spine at the feral expression in his eyes. His protectiveness made her want to give in to him but she knew that if she did, something could possibly happen to him and she would never forgive herself it did.

"I can't allow you to become involved with this. I don't want to get involved in all this. I'm not sure what this person is capable of and I would feel responsible if you were harmed in any way because of this. It's so creepy. It's like he knows my every move. He knew that I would be the one checking those books out. He knew my schedule, and the right time to enter my house. It's very disconcerting. It's kind of you, but this is my problem and I'm going to have to deal with it myself."

"Do you think I'm just being kind? Do you think I'm doing this to earn some sort of fucking boy scout badge?" he demanded. Emily could only stare at him in bewilderment not sure where the anger was coming from. "I care about you Emily. Surely you know that."

Emily's eyes misted up a bit. After all this time, Mike was saying the words that she had wanted him to say so long ago, but now the words just seemed so out of place. "You care so much about me, that you took me out once and then you practically ignored me. Then you disappeared and I never heard from you again until yesterday and all of a sudden you care about me?"

"Yes, I do. I know my behavior was strange and I really can't get into that right now, but I do care about you. I did back then and I still do."

"And, I'm just supposed to believe you and everything will be OK? Well, I may have been naive back then, but I've smartened up a lot." Instead of saying anything else, he took her face in both hands and brought her lips to his. Emily's first thought was to struggle, but the feel of his tongue against her lips felt so good. She sighed, which allowed his tongue to creep slowly into her mouth. His tongue explored and plundered until her tongue came forward to tentatively meet his. It had been so long since he had kissed her like this. She didn't object when she felt his hand slid to her breast and squeeze gently and then a little more roughly.

His hand moved under her shirt until he was touching her bare skin. His fingers pinched at her nipples, gently at first and then he increased the pressure, making her gasp. She pushed him away, and looked away. She was red all over her body with embarrassment. "Don't ashamed of what you feel. I feel it too. There has been this chemistry between us since we first met, and I may not be able to explain why I had to take off so suddenly after that time I took you, out but it will all be explained in due course. You'll just have to trust me. Do you trust me?" He asked, looking her directly in the eyes. Emily meekly nodded not knowing why, but strangely, she did trust him. "Now, how about some breakfast, and we can talk about all the other stuff when you have something in your belly. I promise that it will make you feel better. I make a killer ham and cheese omelet." He smiled that smile that made her heart melt.

Over their breakfast of omelets, toast, and coffee they began to feel in the gaps of their life since they had last seen each other. Emily told him, what she did after her aunt had died, and her long term goals. "You know, I haven't really given a lot of thought to what I want to do with my future. I know that at twenty-one, I should have figured out where I'm going and all that, but I have been content with my life as it is. I have a job that I like, I have my own home, sometimes, I like to visit the theater. I guess I'm not the type of person that needs a lot of stimulation. I guess growing up with my aunt, I never thought to much of my future. I think if my Aunt would have lived, she probably would have married me off to one of the nice church going boys and I would have went along with it of course, but now that she's not here. I guess I'm kind of at a loose end, but at least I would be able to make my own decision as to what I want to do with my life." She sighed.

"Are you happy?" He inquired.

"I'm content."

"They're not the same thing my dear."

"I guess, I'm happy." She shrugged.

"That's what I thought," he said simply, not bothering to elaborate. He took a sip of his coffee and looked at her thoughtfully. She blushed again. It seemed as if he had a way of seeing right through her.

"So what have you been doing these past few years?" She asked a bit nervously.

"Oh, a little of this and that." He said vaguely.

"But I mean what are you up to now? You must have a flexible job to be able to not be at work right now." She observed.

"Well, when you're your own boss, you don't have to worry about getting to work on time or going in at all."

"You have your own business?"

"Sort of. It's really the family business."

"The family business? I thought that you wanted to be a teacher full time?"

"I wasn't sure what I wanted a few years back. I kind of knew I wanted the type of job that made a difference so to speak, so I choose to teaching. My mother really wanted me to get into the family business, but I rebelled, and did the college thing and took a regular job. I was substituting at your school, trying to figure out if teaching was what I really wanted to do. I figured that it would give me a taste for it at least."

"But you left so abruptly. I guess you didn't like it."

"No, I guess I realized where my priorities lay, and it was with the business."

"Tell me about it."

"Not much to tell really."

"I'd still like to hear." She probed.

"Well, my mother started it really. When my dad died it was just me, her and my brother Steve. Steve was twelve, I was nine. Money was kind of tight, so my mom and she wasn't really trained in anything since she had been a stay at home mother. She found odd jobs of sorts to do and my brother had a paper route and I collected bottles for cash. Anything to help out to bring a little extra cash around the house. Well, my mother was doing these odd little jobs for different people and thought to go into business servicing clients with their special needs. It became successful, and when Steve was old enough he got into it, but I kind of held back. I wasn't sure if that was what I really wanted so I tried to get my teaching degree, but then there was a bit of a family crisis that involved the business. I went to their aide when my mom needed help and I have been in the business since."

"Did this happen around the time that you left my school?" She asked putting two and two together.

"Yes," he said and then he changed the subject again. They continued the flow of conversation easily. Emily felt that she had learned so much more about Mike, but something in the back of her mind was nagging her. Despite the fact that he revealed, a little more about himself, it seemed as if he didn't tell her much at all. "I brought you a gift, by the way. I got it when I was out this morning."

"A present? No one has ever given me a present before. What is it?"

"Come and take a look." He led her to his room and collected a package wrapped in red tissue paper. Emily looked at him uncertainly. "Well, open it up," he urged.

She opened the paper, tentatively. What she found made her turn beet red. Wrapped up in the tissue paper, were several pair of panties. Tiny panties, of all colors. Some of them had a big gap where the crotch was located, and some were throngs. All were lacy concoctions that Emily would never have had the nerve to purchase herself. "You needed these didn't you?"

"Well, yes, but.... I couldn't possibly wear these things."

"Why not? They would suit you."

"But none of these panties cover my all privates." She said primly.

He looked at her for a second in disbelief, and then he started to laugh. "You sound like my old Sunday school teacher. You're right they don't cover you all the way. They're not supposed to. I would like to see you in these though. You stalker probably did you a favor by taking your panties. I bet they were the nice respectable kind that you could pull all the way over your stomach."

Emily once again turned a deep shade of red because it was true. Defiantly, she snatched up the underwear and stalked to the bathroom. She picked out a lacy black thong and slip it on. There was a full length mirror on the bathroom door, and she couldn't help but stare at herself. She looked... Sexy. When she came back out of the bathroom, she stared defiantly at Mike, daring him to say something, but he didn't say a word. He merely smiled. Mike persuaded her to stay with him. He persuaded her to call in to work and take a leave of absence which Mrs. Smith was none to happy about. Mrs. Smith went as far as to suggest that Emily's job might not be available if she did not return soon.

At that point it really didn't matter. Though she liked her job, there were other libraries, and she had enough money in the bank to allow her to be off work for quite a while. In the back of her mind, she knew that she should be dealing with her problem herself, but Mike mad it so easy for her to lean on him. He had taken care of everything for her.

He went back to her house to get some extra clothes for her. He contacted her neighbor to inform her to call him if she say a suspicious character lurking around her house. He had only done this when Emily had begged him not to contact the police. He made sure that he always answered the phone. There were times when she knew that the mystery man was only the other line by the taunt expression on Mike's face when he would answer the phone, but he never said a word. When the dead roses were delivered to her, he disposed of them without saying word. It was all a little frightening but being with Mike, had made it easier for her to deal with it.

He stayed with kept her entertained, while remaining the perfect gentleman. He didn't some much as give her a goodnight peck on the cheek. After three days of this treatment, Emily was so frustrated that she couldn't take it. Sexual frustration was not a new experience for her but only now was she able to recognize it. On the fourth night, she tossed and turned on her bed unable to sleep. She knew that something had to be done and knew exactly what it was.

"Well, Em, you have to grow up sometime." She said to herself. She slipped out of bed and removed her night shirt, and then her panties. It gave her a bit of a thrill to stand there naked thinking about the pleasure that awaited her. Emily crept silently to his room. She had never seduced anyone in her life, and she was shaking all over. She pushed his door open. "Mike." She called his name softly. "Mike." Again no answer. When her eyes adjusted to the darkness of his room, she noticed that the bed was empty. Her heart squeezed painfully in her chest. She flicked on the light switch, and screamed a blood curdling scream. The covers were pulled back, but in the sheets, written in blood was: I TOLD YOU NOT TO FUCK WITH ME!

With a speed she didn't know she had, Emily, ran back to her and threw on some clothes and grabbed her coat. She was getting the hell out of there. This was what she had feared. Something happened to Mike and it was all her fault. She raced ran out of the apartment and into the street. Fortunately for her a cab was pulling up. She hailed it, and hopped in before the cab had properly come to a stop. "Where to lady?"

"To the police station and hurry please." Then she remembered that she didn't have any money to pay cab fare because she had left her purse in Mike's apartment. She would have to make a pit stop at her house. She had some money stashed away there. Fortunately her house keys were in her coat pocket. She instructed the driver to take her back to her place first and to wait for her. She was a little nervous upon reentering her house, but nothing could happen with the taxi driver waiting outside for her. When she crossed the threshold, she turned ash white.

Everything in the house was vandalized. The coffee table was broken in two, the couch was slashed. Things were thrown all over the floor. Her books. Her precious books were ripped out of the binders. What kind of sick person was this. Emily didn't know how long she stood there but the taxi driver must have become impatient because her began to honk his horn. She still could move. She couldn't believe that someone would destroy her home like this.

She jumped when the taxi driver came up behind her, "Hey lady are you coming or.....Holy Shit! What happened here?" he asked. She didn't answer. Couldn't answer. "Come on, I'll take you to the police. You don't have to worry about the fare." He guided her back to his cab and she let him. She was still in semi catatonic state. In the back of his cab Emily felt completely numb. Who would do this to her. She had a conflict with anyone. The driver was talking about something and she wasn't listening. "Are you listening Emily?" The driver asked. She snapped to attention.

"How did you know my name?"

"I know a lot about you Emily." That voice! Emily looked frantically in the rear view mirror to see a pair of eyes gleaming viciously at her. She screamed.

To Be Continued...