Under His Protection by Katie Reus

eliminating one, but it would take too much time and could be too messy, especially if the animal was a bigger breed.
    His heart pounded erratically as he made his way across the decent sized backyard. No pool or any clutter, just a couple of older orange trees. When he reached the back of the house, he tested the sliding glass door. Locked. He tried the keys he’d had made, but none fit. Since he hadn’t been sure which key went to what, he’d made copies of all three on her key ring.
    Gritting his teeth, he crept to the edge of the house and peered around the corner. Her privacy fence blocked the side door he’d seen from his earlier recon. He hadn’t wanted to risk making himself any more visible, but he didn’t have a choice.
    Moving quietly, he slipped on his gloves, then unlatched the fence. He had a mask to pull over his face, but wasn’t putting that on yet. There wasn’t much of an excuse if he got caught wearing it. A quick glance out told him no one was there and the neighborhood was relatively quiet except for a few barking dogs in the distance. At least the one next door had finally quieted.
    The flash of headlights made him freeze. He stayed still as the lights swept over the fence briefly.
    Her neighbor was pulling into the driveway. He took a step back into the shadows of Julieta’s backyard, easing the fence door shut behind him, but not fully closing it. He needed to know if her neighbor had seen him.
    A car door shut. “Yeah, I just got home… No, I need to shower and change then I’ll meet you. Yes, I’ll be quick…” The woman’s voice trailed off as she likely headed inside.
    Not wasting any more time, he opened the fence and hurried toward the side door. The second key he tried slid easily into the lock. He twisted it to the side and smiled at the sound and feel of it unlocking.
    After another glance around, he eased the door open, his palms sweating in his gloves.
    An alarm started beeping, making him jerk in surprise. It continued beeping, giving him time to turn it off—if he knew the code. Damn it! She had an alarm system? There were no signs in her yard or stickers on her windows.
    He could run now, or take another risk. The alarm company would contact the police who would then dispatch an officer, but that could take some time. Maybe ten minutes at the most, depending upon how close an officer was. He was betting on seven minutes to be safe. It was possible one of her neighbors would come check but if that happened, he’d deal with the problem then.
    Taking a chance, he ducked inside and shut the door behind him just as the alarm started blaring. He pulled out his black cloth mask from his back pocket and tugged it on. Moving through the house, he quickly scanned her lower floor before racing up the stairs. Two bedrooms were empty, one looked like a guest room and the other was clearly hers.
    His heart pounded out of control, his cock heavy between his legs when he saw her big bed. He wanted to fuck her there, make her scream in pleasure and pain for him right where she normally slept.
    The alarm blared, the piercing sound making him edgy as he hurried to one of her dressers. He opened the top drawer and found sports bras and what looked like work-out T-shirts. Not what he wanted. He went to the other dresser and tugged open the top drawer.
    Bingo.
    All her panties and lingerie. He picked up the top piece, a sheer red scrap of material, and held it up to his nose. It smelled like a floral detergent.
    His rage grew, detonating inside him, clawing at him. That wasn’t what he wanted. He threw it on the ground.
    Moving to her attached bathroom, he quickly scanned the room, looking for dirty clothes. Everything was neat and tidy. He opened a door to what he guessed was a linen closet and felt as if his heart would jump out of his chest when he saw a small wicker laundry hamper tucked under the bottom shelf, sitting next to a scale.
    With shaking hands, he yanked it out. Delicate