Chapter 333: Stranger Danger

Kayla’s POV

I crashed hard into a solid wall of muscle, the shopping basket I picked up flying out of my hands and scattering on the polished mall floor. Strong hands instantly caught my upper arms, steadying me before I could tumble backward.

“I’m so sorry—” I started saying as I began already pulling away, heart slamming against my ribs. I didn’t have time for this. Not when I could still feel eyes burning into my back.

Could that be Caleb? Or an assassin he hired to kidnap me?

But when I finally looked up, the apology died in my throat.

He was tall, broad-shouldered, and ruggedly handsome in a way that screamed trouble. Dark, slightly messy hair, a strong jaw covered in light stubble, and intense eyes that looked like they’d seen too much. Tattoos snaked out from beneath the collar of his worn black leather jacket and wrapped around his knuckles. The jacket itself looked like it had been through a few fights…scuffed, lived-in, dangerous.

He had that bad-boy vibe…biker, street fighter, the kind of man mothers warned their daughters about.

And right now, he was looking at me like I was the most interesting thing he’d seen all day.

“No harm done, sweetheart,” he drawled, voice low and smooth with a lazy flirtation that sent an unwanted shiver down my spine. “Though if crashing into me is your way of saying hello, I’m not complaining. You can crash into me again.”

I wasn’t in the mood for charm. Not today. “Sorry again,” I muttered quickly, bending down to snatch up my scattered items with shaking hands. “I have to go.”

I turned to bolt, but from the corner of my eye I spotted him clearly…Caleb. Standing quietly near the escalators, half-hidden in the crowd, watching me with that cold, calculating stare. He wasn’t moving. Just observing. Like a predator deciding when to strike.

Fear punched through my chest like ice and my feet froze.

Before I could think better of it, I spun back toward the stranger, stepping close enough that I could smell the faint scent of leather and something woodsy on him.

“Can you fight?” I whispered urgently.

He raised one dark eyebrow, lips twitching in amusement. “Well…”

“Have you ever killed someone?” I cut in, words spilling out faster than I could stop them.

He opened his mouth, but I didn’t give him the chance to say anything. “Look, I’m being followed. That guy over there by the escalators…he’s bad news. Really bad. Can you please just act like my boyfriend or something for a minute? I only came here to buy groceries so I could make something nice for my friend when she gets back. I’ve had the longest day and it seems like everything is falling apart, and this man from my past keeps threatening to take my son away and—"

I was rambling. I knew that. But I couldn't bring myself to stop.

The stranger didn’t interrupt with words.

Instead, he cupped the back of my neck with one warm, calloused hand, pulled me in, and kissed me.

It wasn’t soft. It wasn’t gentle. His mouth claimed mine with confident, unhurried heat, lips moving against mine like he had all the time in the world and every right to take it. For one stunned second, my brain went completely blank. Then reality crashed back in.

My eyes flew wide open. What the hell was he doing?

I wanted to slap him across the face. Who just kisses a random crying woman in the middle of a crowded mall?

What if he had some kind of lip infection? Holly was the reckless maniac in my life, not me.

I almost raised my hand to shove him away when I caught sight of Caleb across the mall floor.

Caleb’s face had gone dark with fury. His hands were clenched into tight fists at his sides, jaw locked so hard I could see the muscle jumping from here. Pure rage rolled off him in waves.

The stranger finally pulled back, just enough to look down at me with sparkling, mischievous eyes.

His thumb brushed lightly over my cheek, wiping away one of the tears I hadn’t even noticed was still falling.

“Needed to get you to keep quiet one way or the other,” he said, voice rough and low, like he was sharing a secret. “You were rambling pretty hard there, sweetheart.”

I forced a bright, adoring smile onto my face…the kind a girlfriend would give her man in public…while grinding my teeth behind it.

“Couldn’t you have just told me to stop talking instead of using your lips, mister?” I hissed under my breath, still smiling like an idiot.

He grinned, completely unbothered. “I don’t like ordering women to stop talking. Especially when it’s what they enjoy doing.”

I muttered before I could stop myself, “That was crazy. I don’t even know if you brushed your teeth today…”

Without missing a beat, he leaned in again and kissed me. Slower this time. Deeper. His hand slid to my waist, pulling me flush against his hard chest for a heartbeat before I shoved him back with both palms.

He chuckled softly as he pulled away, eyes dancing. “Does my breath smell or taste bad? I take my hygiene very seriously. Been hoping for a moment exactly like this…running into a beautiful damsel in distress. Today must be my lucky day.”

I stared at him, equal parts furious and stunned. “That’s your job exactly? Hanging around malls all day waiting for women to kiss?”

He clutched his chest dramatically, faking deep offense. “Ouch. You wound me. You’re actually the only one these lips have touched in years.”

I exhaled sharply, trying to steady the storm inside me.

The anger, the fear, the exhaustion…it was all too much. Nothing in my life was working anymore. Caleb showing up after years of silence, threatening to rip Caden away, the expensive new apartment I could barely afford, constantly looking over my shoulder… I felt like I was drowning.

Fresh tears slipped down my cheeks before I could stop them.

“All I wanted was one minute of help,” I whispered, voice cracking. “Just to lose the guy who’s been stalking me. But you took advantage of that. Is that what all men do? Take and take and take until there’s nothing left?”

The playful smirk on his face faded. His expression shifted into something more serious, more focused.

Those dark eyes studied me carefully now, like he was really seeing the broken pieces I usually kept hidden.

My quiet sobs were starting to draw attention. A few shoppers slowed down, whispering to each other, glancing our way.

Then, without any warning, he did something that caught me completely off guard…something straight out of my wildest, most unexpected dreams.