Colt snorts, shaking his head. “You’re gorgeous. Any man with a brain would give his left nut to be with you.”
I blush again but this time for an entirely different reason. His words put a whole new spin on what he has planned, and for a moment, I let myself dream. Before I know it, I’ve spilled the whole sorry tale to him, from my parent’s sudden death and my shitty jobs, right up to the notes I found on my car and the weird phone calls.
Colt’s eyes turn dark as I explain what’s been happening at work and by the end, he’s shredded his napkin into tiny pieces. They lay strewn across the table like snow. “You’re not going back there. Ever.”
I tense. “I can’t do that. I have to work. I need the money.”
He reaches out and takes one of my hands in his. God, his skin feels so warm. “Don’t you worry about that. I’ll take care of it.”
Before I can ask him what he means, he stands, dropping enough money on the table to cover the bill and a sizeable tip, then whisks me back out to his truck, his senses on hyper alert just as they were when we left the bar. As he pulls back out onto the road, I finally get up the nerve to speak. “Where are we going?”
He looks over at me, long and hard, and something deep within me heats under his gaze. “Home.”
3
Colt
I’m still fuming when we get back to my truck. Not at her, though I’d like to lay her over my lap and spank her gorgeous ass for keeping the full story of her stalker secret. My dick rises at the thought of her rounded ass bare over my lap and I shift in my seat. This is not the time. She’s just like every other scared woman that’s ever needed the services of Red Wolfe Security.
Except she isn’t. No one else has ever made my blood boil like Emma does. I felt it as soon as I walked into Mickey’s office and first laid eyes on her, and the feeling has only gotten stronger in the hour it took to get some food into her and finally find out the truth. I wasn’t joking—she is going to need her strength for what’s coming up. I hadn’t meant sex, but I saw her reaction. The blush, the sparkle in her eye. I swipe my hand over my face as we turn a corner. God, another time, in another place, I’d have her under me in a heartbeat, pounding into her glorious body while my hands caress her curves.
I look over and my semi deflates at the sight of her, her fingers twisting together again in her lap. As much as I want her, I can’t be sorry that the universe lead her to me so I can protect her. Keeping her safe is more important than getting my rocks off. If that’s all this ever is, then I’ll have been worthy of her.
“I can’t.”
Her voice is so quiet I almost miss her comment at first and it takes a few seconds for my brain to catch up. “Can’t what?”
“Can’t come back to your place. My sister…” her voice trails off again.
“She’s ten, right?” I ask. Emma’s face lit up in the diner when talking about her sister. They’ve been through so much with their parents’ passing and now this asshole is looking to make Emma’s life more difficult. He won’t get past me. That much I know. She nods and I keep talking. “She home?”
“At the babysitter’s,” she says. “Next door.”
“So, we’ll go get her.” She shakes her head back and forth so hard her hair flies around, hiding her face. My fingers twitch, itching to tuck it back behind her ear, but I can’t take my hands off the wheel. Still, it’s hard not to touch her. That’s another urge that hasn’t left since I first saw her.
Enough of this. I’m not letting her say no again. She needs this, even if she won’t let herself believe someone wants to help for a change. I just won’t give her a choice until she figures it out. “Honey, I’m in a big old house all on my own. You’d be doing me a favor, bringing some noise and smiles into the place. You and your sister can share a room, or we can work out another arrangement. There’s plenty of space.” I look over, being sure to catch her eye. “I’ll give you anything you want, except letting you go back to that apartment block.” She’d told me where she lived over the meal. “I know that part of town. It’s not safe and sure as hell won’t have enough protection if the bastard decides to make a house call.”
I watch her think it over, thankfully only for a few seconds before she finally nods. “Okay.”
I take another turn and make the quick drive to her place. I knew the neighborhood was run-down, but her place doesn’t even have buzzers on the door, much less any other protection. Anyone could walk in, day or night. She seems surprised when I park and get out of the car, opening her door and then following her into the building. I told her there was no way she was going anywhere on her own and I meant it. Thankfully, it turns out ten-year-olds are more accepting than young women the world has fucked over, and not twenty minutes later, we’re all back in the truck, Emma and Sophia both with a bag packed, enough for several days, at least.
On the drive over to my place, Sophia talks almost constantly, filling Emma in on her day at school and what she’d gotten up to afterward. When it becomes obvious the babysitter had barely fed Sophia, I shoot a quick text to my second-in-command, Beck, asking him to organize pizza to arrive just after we do and also to check out Sophia’s school. I’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, but both she and Emma are now under my protection.
Emma’s eyes widen as we pull into my drive. I’m a simple guy but I like my space and privacy, so my house is large, albeit understated. A modern log cabin, the real estate guides love to call the style. It almost blends into the surrounding forest from the road, keeping it hidden from prying eyes, but it opens up with large windows over the acreage at the back. Nothing I like better than watching the sunset over the deck with a beer in hand, and from Emma’s expression, she likes the view as well. Sophia cares less and I chuckle as she makes a beeline for the pizza Beck has placed on my oak table. The man’s a godsend. It takes a lot to earn his trust but once you do then he’s loyal for life, something that’s saved my ass more than once.
I walk into the kitchen to grab Sophia some milk, passing Emma on the way. “Need anything, sweetheart?”
She pauses, gazing at the view for another second before turning around and shaking her head. I smile at the peace I see in her eyes. Now I just need to work out how to keep it there. It’s all she ever deserves to feel. I lift my hand and squeeze her shoulder, running my fingers down her arm as I head to the kitchen. I can deny it all I want—there’s a physical spark whenever we touch, and I know she’s aware of it, too.
It doesn’t take long for Sophia to scarf down enough pizza to feed a small army, but then her eyes start to droop as she’s still sitting at the table. Emma makes eye contact and grins as her sister’s sleepy head nearly hits the table. She gets up and carries her down the hall to where I pointed out the bedrooms while Sophia ate, and I take the opportunity to make a quick call.
“Beck. Got anything?”
“Negative, boss man. Guy’s a slippery little weasel, avoided all the security cameras. I’ve got the note from her locker and I’ll get that off to our contact to check for prints as soon as I’ve checked out Sophia’s school first thing.” He fills me in on the rest of his plans and I thank him and hang up just as Emma walks back into the room.
“Everything okay?” she asks me, that damn worry back in her eyes.
I cross the room and wrap her in my arms before I can stop myself, revelling in the way her curves fit against my hard body. It’s as if she was made just for me. I feel her relax against me and hold her for a few seconds longer than I probably should before finally letting her go, but I keep a hand on each of her upper arms, unable to let go entirely.
Her eyes capture me and I refuse to look away, what I see swirling in those deep green eyes making me mad as hell and horny as fuck all at once. She’s so trusting, so innocent, and someone wants to take that away from her.
They’ll be dead before they try again.
I open my mouth to speak, to tell her to try not to worry tonight, but she beats me to speak
ing. “Colt,” she says, and just the sound of my name playing on her lips has me instantly hard. Her gaze goes down and it’s clear she’s noticed my predicament. I won’t act on it. I can’t. And yet I can’t take my hands off her. The feel of her skin beneath my palms, even something so innocent as her arms, is like heaven. Her gaze meets mine again and this time, her eyes have changed. What was merely warm before is now heated. She feels it, too.
Before I know what’s happening, Emma raises up on tippy toes and presses her soft lips to mine. She tastes like sweetness mixed with the bitter tang of coffee and my cock turns to steel in my pants. I can’t hold myself back, pulling her flush against me. I groan as she presses back harder, grinding her soft body against my cock. God, if this doesn’t stop, I’m going to come in my pants like a teenager. But I don’t want it to end. Not ever. The feel of her in my arms, my mouth attacking hers—it’s the best thing in the world. It’s never been like this. Both my body and my heart are screaming at me that Emma is it for me. Now, I just have to convince her of it.
Oh yeah, and find her stalker and kill the bastard before he even looks at her again. She’s perfection and she’s all mine.
4
Emma
I wake the next morning to giggles coming from the kitchen. I frown at first, until my brain catches up with my senses. The sheets under me are soft as silk. Heck, they probably are silk. Colt’s whole house is like that—subtle decadence. The guy doesn’t go out of his way to flaunt it but it’s clear he has money. Lots of it.
Colt.
My face burns at the memory. I hadn’t been able to hold back last night. When he’d made skin-to-skin contact and looked into my eyes, all bets were off. The attraction that I’d told myself so many times I’d been imagining had been right there and I couldn’t stop myself from leaning forward and pressing my lips to his.
He’d taken over the kiss, taking control, sweeping me up into his arms like I weighed nothing. The feel of his tongue thrusting into my mouth combined with the press of his cock against my stomach and I’d been gone. I would have made love to him right there on the floor but after a few minutes of a kiss that was better than any sex I’d ever had, he pulled back.
I’d tensed, waiting for the disgust, the pity. I like the way I look, take care of my hair and skin and keep fit, but I’ve always been a bigger girl and most men I’ve dated in the past had always seen me like that—the fat chick. But I’d seen none of that in Colt’s gaze—just heat enough to make me feel like I would combust on the spot.
But then he’d stopped. After one last, lingering touch of his lips to mine, he’d sent me off to bed alone, telling me I needed rest. He was right, but that didn’t mean I had to like it. My dreams had been filled with visions of him, naked and taking me any way possible. If what I thought I’d felt against my hip was right, he would be very satisfying, indeed.
I snort. Who am I kidding? Colt has more sexy in his little finger than any man I’ve ever dated had in his whole body. And somehow, he seems to want me, too.
I get dressed quickly and walk into the kitchen to find the source of the giggling. It doesn’t take long. I pause there in the doorway, watching Colt try to teach my sister how to flip pancakes. They fail miserably, and somehow, he ends up with batter in his hair even though the pancake does eventually end up back in the pan. They’ve obviously been at it for a while, a thick stack already sitting ready to eat and all the toppings you could ever want gracing the table.
Colt looks up and catches my gaze, grinning at me. “Kid’s a natural,” he says. Sophia giggles again and this time I join in. Who is he kidding? The kitchen looks like monkeys cooked breakfast but Sophia is having the time of her life and that’s all that matters. I can’t remember the last time I saw a smile that wide on her face. If Colt can bring that out of her, who cares if I’ve only met the man or what the reason he’s in our lives is?
For the first time in almost a year, I feel at peace.
We end up eating breakfast quickly so that Sophia isn’t late for school. Colt explains on the way that he had one of his guys from Red Wolfe Security check out the school. The security there is good and he’s clued in the principal so Sophia will be safe. I nod, trusting his judgment. Besides, I doubt the asshole even knows Sophia exists. I’ve been very careful to protect her as best I can and keep that part of my life entirely separate from work.
At my insistence, Colt drops me at the cafe where I waitress during the day, although he won’t let me go in until he comes and checks it out, too. The owner gives him a bit of a weird look but allows it once Colt explains what happened at the bar. Mickey’s is as seedy as they come but this is a family establishment. My boss even lets a man named Wyatt, who Colt quickly introduces me to, sit at a table for my entire shift, on the proviso that he orders something regularly. Wyatt grins when he hears that. The man is nearly as tall as Colt and just as stacked. The calories needed just to keep them both alive are likely more than I eat in a week.
Colt snags my arm, pulling me aside as I’m tying on my apron. He pulls me against him again, his arousal clear, if a little less prominent than when we were in private last night. Wyatt shoots us a look of surprise but I doubt Colt even notices as he leans down and presses his mouth to mine. He’s quick this time, likely because of our location, but the arousal it blooms in me is no less intense than our first time.
“I’ll be at your apartment today,” he murmurs. My eyebrows furrow and he continues. “I’m setting up a security system, top of the line. I don’t trust anyone else to do it when you’re involved.”
The warmth from his kiss flees at his words. We’re from two very different worlds. Dropping a thousand, or even more, on a whiz bang security setup is likely something he didn’t even think twice about, but I’m not even sure I can make next month’s rent, especially after missing a shift at the bar last night. The old geezers there might drink enough to make them fall over but they also tip like champions, especially for the outfits I wear to work. I have to be far more conservative at the cafe and it shows in my take-home pay.
I step back, suddenly cold. “Please don’t, Colt. I can’t afford that.”
But he’s having none of it. He pulls me up against him again, looping his strong arms around my waist, a smile still on his face. “Forget about it, darling. Like I said, you don’t need to worry about anything now. I mean it. I need you and Sophia safe. End of story.”
I nod. It’s impossible not to. And he’s right. I can’t turn down any help offered when it comes to keeping my sister safe, and Lord knows the apartment needs a security upgrade from the big fat nothing it has right now. A well-placed boot would be enough to get past the door chain, the only thing I could afford to install. I’ll just have to find a way to pay him back eventually, somehow.
He kisses me one last time before turning and walking swiftly out the door, and I get to work. My shift passes quickly, helped by the little quips and jokes Wyatt tells me every time I pass by his table to refill his coffee. It’s like he’s taken it on as his personal mission to make me laugh today. Not that I don’t appreciate it—with everything swirling through my mind, I could do with the distraction, both from the stalker and what’s happening with Colt. Both are so recent, and so fast, it’s hard to reconcile them.
The lunchtime rush hits. I recognize a few staff members from Sophia’s school and I give them a wave. It seems like they’ve barely left before the after-school crowd of harried moms and teens after milkshakes take hold, and before I know it, my shift is over. I wave at Wyatt, who mentioned he’ll be driving me to meet Colt. “I’ll just be five,” I say. “I need to write up my timesheet and grab my stuff.”
He nods and positions himself back at his table by the door, his eyes tracking between me and the front entrance, just like they have all day. It had to have been boring but somehow, he kept smiling all day and kept my spirits up, too. The best part is that I don’t have to work at the bar tonight and so Sophia and I can finally spend some qu
ality time together. I bite my bottom lip. And then maybe Colt and I can do the same after she’s in bed.
I open my locker to grab my bag and a huge rock instantly appears in my stomach, halting any thoughts of a lusty evening. I feel like I’m going to vomit. Staring back at me from the inside of my locker are large photographs of myself, all in casual wear, going about my day, and—oh God—some in my apartment, sleeping. I clamp a hand over my mouth, half to stop the scream and half to keep from throwing up. I’m successful only at one and a yelp escapes as my legs give way beneath me.
5
Colt
I lay my hand on the horn, blasting it until the damn moron in my way moves his car. He shunts out of the lane into a parking garage, his middle finger coming up near his rearview mirror as he turns off the street. I don’t give a shit. Ten minutes ago, I got the call that my girl was in trouble and, so far, it has taken me ten minutes too long to get back to her.
As soon as the street is clear, I floor it. I don’t give a shit if I get a speeding ticket. A tour or two have taught me to drive as fast as necessary to get out of the way of whatever crap is flying your way. And right now, I have to get to Emma and make sure she’s okay before I lose my goddammed mind.
I slam my hand on the wheel as yet another car gets in my way. Okay? How can she possibly be okay? Wyatt told me what she found in her locker. He’s taking care of it as I drive, clearing out everything so Emma doesn’t have to look at it for a single second longer. He’ll file it all away for later, when I will no doubt go over everything a thousand times until I find the clue that gives the bastard up. But right now, I just need to hold my girl.
I screech up outside the cafe, earning another stern look from a passer-by. Who gives a shit? Thankfully, there’s a parking spot right outside the door—Wyatt’s doing, I’ll bet. He’s that kind of man, just gets the shit done that needs to be done without fanfare, but I’d trust him with my life. In fact, today I trusted him with something more important than that—Emma’s life. I pause long enough to shoot up a silent thank you to whoever’s up there listening that all she found were photographs. As much as I want to gouge the asshole’s eyeballs out for seeing her in her most private, intimate moments, it could have been a whole lot worse.
Colt (Red Wolfe Security Book 1) Page 2
