His to Command

Oh, God, what was she thinking? Matt wasn’t in her life anymore, and for good reason. If she saw him again, she would avoid him. She did not want to see him again. She did not want to talk to him. The man was dangerous.

She changed into her own clothes again and left the changing room. The saleswoman already had her new purchase in a suit bag hanging behind the counter. Kate looked at the black and red lingerie on the hanger in her hand and waffled for a moment, then drew in a deep breath and laid it on the counter.

“This, too.” She pulled her credit card from her purse.

Matt Pearce wasn’t the only man in the world. She deserved to have something sexy and feminine to wear, just for herself. And who knew? Maybe things would work out between her and that handsome doctor.

“Would you like a pair of black stockings to go with those?” the saleslady asked.

Kate nodded. Why not?

Once the transaction was complete, the saleslady handed her the suit bag, which Kate draped over her arm, and a small black and gray paisley bag with her new undergarments and stockings.

She returned to the flow of intent shoppers, beaming with thoughts of the possibility of meeting a new man. Going out to dinner, maybe seeing a show. After she got things sorted out with her company, she would make a point of ensuring she took time for a social life, and going out and having some fun. And definitely finding a man she could show off this new lingerie to.

With a big smile on her face, she stepped onto the escalator, descending to the second floor where she would slip into the department store at the center of the mall to treat herself to a new nail polish.

“Kate!”

Her breath caught in her throat. That voice!

She swung around and saw what she feared most. Matt Pearce, staring directly at her. He leaned over the third-floor railing overlooking the escalator, only three yards away—straight up.

She gasped and glanced desperately at the press of people in front of her. Panic exploded through her. She pushed past the teenage couple in front of her, excusing herself, then continued past the next few people, ignoring the dirty looks she received along the way. Mutters of discontent behind her made it clear Matt had decided to pursue her. At the bottom of the second floor, she hopped off the escalator and slipped into the throngs of people.

“Kate. Wait!”

He was much too close. Kate hazarded a glance over her shoulder and saw Matt only several yards behind her. His height made him visible over the crowd. Dodging back and forth amid the clumps of people, she headed toward the center of the floor. Would she be able to duck into one of the service hallways, under the obscurity of the crowd? Matt would assume she’d head for the set of stairs and continue that way once he lost sight of her.

Before she could swing around the corner, she felt a tug on her arm. She yelped and stumbled. The bag with her lingerie had caught on an information display as she’d rushed past. A quick yank didn’t free it and a quick glance back told her she didn’t have time to struggle with it, so reluctantly, she let go and forged ahead.

“Kate!”

She actually thought he had reached her when she felt a hand brush against her arm through the sea of people as she surged forward. But it hadn’t been Matt. The mirrors on a nearby wall showed that someone had tried to grab her attention, holding up her precious paisley bag. But Kate couldn’t stop. Matt was closing the distance rapidly.

Suddenly, through the throng, she could see that the mirrors surrounded an elevator only a few steps in front of her. And the doors were closing. She sucked in a lungful of air and raced forward. She made it inside but she’d caused the doors to whoosh open again. Glancing back, she saw Matt burst through the crowd. She jabbed the CLOSE DOOR button.

As though in slow motion, the next moment stretched on forever. Completely helpless, her breathing stopped and every part of her body froze while the opening between the doors shrank as Matt raced toward it. With his arm flung out in front of him, he strained to reach the barrier before it closed between them. Kate’s throat tightened. Anxiety ripped through her at the thought of being trapped in the tiny elevator with no possible escape.

Face-to-face with Matt.

Her heart thumped loudly as the doors finally closed. The elevator began to move downward.

Panting, Kate leaned against the wall, the rasping sound intensely loud in the silent elevator. The other shoppers made a concerted effort to ignore her and she edged toward the doors, ready to flee once they parted.

Until this moment, she’d always hated the layout of this mall. The stairs and escalators were placed at each end of the single straight corridor, while the elevator she rode was in the center. She knew Matt couldn’t dodge his way to a set of stairs and get back in time to catch her, especially through the crowd of Saturday shoppers.

The doors whooshed open and she dashed through the crowd and out the mall’s main door. Within moments, she had reached her car, unlocked it, and hopped inside. As she started the ignition, she had trouble controlling her breathing as she gulped in the frigid January air. As she pulled into the main traffic area of the parking lot, she gasped as she glanced in her rearview mirror and saw Matt tear out the main entrance, scanning the parking lot with an efficient eye. A line of tightly packed traffic in front of her prevented her escape, and she was confined between a concrete pillar and a narrow walkway.

Trapped.

Her heart thundered in her chest. Any second now he’d recognize her car and there’d be no escape. But then Matt marched past the cars behind her and into the parking area.

Not toward her.

The car in front of her started to move. She pressed the accelerator, moving slowly ahead with the traffic. She watched in her side mirror as Matt walked toward a gray van and glanced inside. She giggled nervously as realization struck. Last week, he had seen her driving Ellen’s van. She sucked in a deep breath and released it slowly.

He thought she drove a van.