house.”
“How did you know where I live?” he asked.
“A girl’s got to have her secrets.” She winked. “Maybe later I’ll tell you so we can laugh about it.”
Gideon’s blood boiled with each treacherous word she spoke. Not only had she violated his personal space, she’d somehow managed to get his personal information.
“I didn’t have to wait for a bag because I came here with the clothes on my back. There was a male guard at the gate. I told him I was a She-Wolf and here to see you. It helps that we had that personal interaction at the Super Bowl.” She swung her legs back and forth. “Did you like that? I liked touching you.”
Gideon remained quiet. He had to hear her full story first before he took action.
When Gideon didn’t answer, the cheerleader’s smile started to fade and she continued with her tale. “He let me in and called your house. Your cleaning staff was here so they let me in.” She raised her hands in the air. “Tah dah. That was smart of me, right? Do you know any other woman who would do this much for you?” She snaked her tongue over her red, bee-stung-looking lips.
Nothing about this plastic woman appealed to Gideon. She didn’t seem real. The more she smiled, the more he saw her as a mannequin that had come to life. This one, though, had sought refuge in his home, in his bed. He couldn’t have that.
Gideon never wanted to be one of those athletes that bought a big, ostentatious house because they made millions of dollars. Once he’d seen the security measures taken for the area, he’d decided to buy in this subdivision. With this intrusion, he had to think twice about his decision.
Gideon started counting in his head to lessen his anger. He took a deep breath before he said, “One hundred.” Then he glared at her. Counting in his head hadn’t eased his frustration as he had hoped. Regardless of what she did, he had to treat her like a lady. His mother would never forgive him if he did anything less. “For one thing, I don’t even know your name.”
“It’s—”
Although Gideon’s mother had taught him not to interrupt people, he had to stop this one. “I don’t want to know it. I want you to get dressed and get out of my home before I call the police.”
The smile started melting down her face before she firmed it up again. “You are such a kidder. That’s what I like about you.”
“Lady, you don’t even know me. You’ve seen me play. I probably said hi to you once or twice, and now you’re stalking me.”
“I am not. I love you, Gideon. I love watching you play. I love how you are with your friends. I don’t even care that your mother is black. I think it’s cool. It’s like the reverse Blind Side.”
Gideon blinked. “You know what? Sit right there.” He brought his phone to his face. “It’ll make it easier for the cops to get you.”
The cheerleader hopped out of bed and snatched her clothes from the floor. “Loser!” She put on her tight T-shirt. “I can’t believe you’re letting all this go out the door.”
“I’m not. I told you that you can stay right there until the police get here.” After the first ring, Gideon heard a click.
“Nine-one-one. What’s your emergency?” the dispatcher asked in a canned fashion.
“Yes, I got home and found an intruder in my house.” Gideon kept his stare on the She-Wolf to make sure she didn’t do anything else foolish. He had no idea if she had a gun or a knife or any type of weapon. How far would she go to get him?
She growled as she slipped on her skirt. “Bastard! Are you really on the phone with the cops?”
“Ma’am, do you hear her? She’s in my bedroom.” Again, Gideon kept his glare on this intruder. He spouted his address to the operator.
“Yes, sir. We’ll get officers to the scene.”
Gideon heard the woman typing as she spoke to him.
Dennis would have probably loved these antics. Gideon found nothing amusing about it. He felt violated and like he’d lost some control.
The cheerleader slipped on a pair of boots and then snatched her purse from the floor. So the woman wore no underwear? Okay, part of that did appeal to Gideon, but nonetheless, she’d crossed several lines. Don’t encroach on his space and never, ever talk about his family.
She started to make her way to the bedroom door to leave when she stopped. She turned toward Gideon and strolled toward him.
Gideon stood firmly in his spot as he pointed to the door. He’d seen careers of other athletes crumble from one stupid move. No way would this one opportunist make him step out of his character. He wouldn’t lay a hand on her.
“I’m leaving. I need to get this.” The cheerleader reached around his shoulder and removed a small cell phone from behind the picture of his family on the middle bookshelf. She pushed a button on it before slipping it in her purse.
“You were taping this?” The longer Gideon stood in front of her, the more it felt like lava coursed through his veins. His eyes and the back of his neck felt hot. He couldn’t stop balling his hands into fists. If he didn’t calm himself down, he would snap his phone in two.
“It would have been so intense. Me, you, and your Super Bowl ring.” She gazed down at his hand. “Oh, guess you don’t have it yet.”
Gideon spoke to the dispatcher. “Please send someone right away. She’s about to leave and I’m definitely pressing charges.” He gave a description of her outfit to the dispatcher while the She-Wolf continued growling at him. With the call over, he glared at the stranger in his home. “I’m calling the Wolves’ head office to get you removed from the team and banned from getting anywhere close to us. I don’t ever want to see you again.”
The tiny terror stomped down the marble steps to the door. She opened it, triggering Gideon’s alarm. She didn’t even turn around to acknowledge him. He closed the door, locked it again, and then disabled the alarm. As expected, his cell phone rang.
First, his alarm company called him. Gideon explained what he’d found when he’d gotten home.
“We’ll send police to make sure she leaves the premises,” the alarm company representative said.
“I’ve already contacted the police. They’re sending someone over now.” Gideon didn’t want to go that route, but she’d given him no choice.
Then Pearl from the front gate called him. “I got a report your alarm went off. Forget the code, Mr. Wells?”
“No. The guard before you allowed a stranger to come to my home and gain entrance with the cleaning staff here. I don’t appreciate that, and I will be reporting that to management.” As he thought about it, he would also have to call his cleaning company and complain about them letting this woman into his home. They had no right to open his door to a stranger.
“Oh, shit. I mean, I’m so sorry, sir. That shouldn’t have happened. I’ll call my boss right now and connect you to him.”
Gideon
