He moved closer. “It was an attack on you.” Suddenly, he seemed very, very serious. “And, yes, I could feel the rage, that’s what worries me. The guy is fixated. He destroyed the things that mattered to you because I think he wanted to hurt you. I’ve seen stalkers escalate. That’s what I’m worried this guy is doing. First, he broke into your house and just moved some things around.”

“Why? Why did he do that?”

“Because he wanted to feel close to you. Because touching your things, being in your home, being in your bedroom, made him feel like he had an intimate connection to you. That’s how those guys operate.”

Oh, God. She shook her head.

“He waited, and he may have watched you.”

Her lips pressed together.

“Those times you felt as if someone was there? Maybe he was. He could have watched, and he could have wanted you more.”

She couldn’t look away from his eyes.

“Sometimes,” Eric said, his voice careful, “you can get caught up in a fantasy. You can lose track of reality, and you can decide that you’ll do anything to make your fantasy come true. He could have thought that you were his. But then something happened. Maybe he saw you with another man. Maybe something broke his fantasy, and he struck out.”

She swallowed. “He wanted to hurt me, so he destroyed my things?”

“I’ve seen it before.” A pause. “And I’ve seen it become worse. Because the next step—” He stopped.

Too late. “The next step—would that be hurting me?” No, no, no.

His eyes were so dark and deep. “I’m not going to let that happen.”

“I haven’t done anything.” Her voice rose. She sucked in a breath. Get your control back. Get it back. “I’ve been working and doing my job. Why is someone fixated on me? Why is someone doing this to me?”

He shook his head.

“And why are you so quick to help me?” The last question came out too softly. “Especially when I thought you hated me.” It was because her emotions were so raw—that was why she’d just let the last part slip out.

His eyes widened. Then he stepped toward her. He eliminated the space between them and caged her with his body. Growing up, Eric Wilde had been the rock star of her little world. He’d been the star of every single freaking sport in the school, and he’d been valedictorian. There had been nothing he couldn’t do, and he’d always made it clear that she was an annoyance in his life. The girl who tagged around with his little brother and got in the way. She’d been younger than Eric by two years. Two years shouldn’t have mattered much, but, back then, they had.

“Hate is not what I feel for you.” His gaze dropped to her mouth.