by Pandora Pine
“So then call him.” Archer wore a perplexed look, as if to say if he were in my shoes, he would have already punched in the number.
“I need a little time to myself. How about we meet for lunch around one?” I was exhausted. A few hours to myself might help unscramble my brain.
“Sure.” Cabot gave me a final squeeze before standing up. “If you need anything before then, text me.”
The others made similar offers before they finally left me alone. I couldn’t believe how quiet the hotel was. There had been total silence last night at Kodi’s cabin, but for the crackling of the wood in the fireplace. That silence had been warm and comforting, while this one felt like fingernails scraping down a chalkboard.
I got up from the couch and paced to the window. The top of Mount Washington was obscured by clouds. Yesterday was really a once in a lifetime moment, being able to see the summit clearly. I should have taken more pictures, even though I’d always remember it in my mind.
“If I lived here, I could see the mountain every day,” I said aloud to myself.
Where the hell had that come from? If I lived here? Jesus, I didn’t even know if Kodi liked me more than a one-time lay. How ridiculous was it of me to think about living here?
I needed a nap. Everything would be clearer after I got a little sleep.
Setting the alarm on my phone, I laid down and closed my eyes. All I could see in my mind’s eye was Kodi.
10
Kodi
I was certifiable. Absolutely out of my fucking gourd. Crazy like a fox. One McNugget shy of a Happy Meal. If I were going down, I was going down swinging.
After I’d gone back home and cleaned up, I headed to work. All of the field agents were there. Someone brought a cake, and I was hugged and back-slapped more times in the space of an hour than I had been my entire life. I had to admit it felt damn good, even though I’d used my bear rather than my five human senses to find Tanner. A win was a win.
Once the hubbub calmed and the cake was gone, I’d sat down at my desk to write out the report from last night. I mentioned finding Tanner by seeing one boot sticking out of the snow and how I dragged him back to my cabin, leaving out that I was a bear at the time and I’d run back with his limp body clamped in my powerful jaws.
The minute I hit the button to submit my report, I knew what I had to do. Crazy or not, I jumped in the truck and drove straight toward The Presidential. I had no idea when Tanner and his friends were scheduled to check out. After what happened yesterday, I wouldn’t be surprised if Tanner decided to go home early and sleep in his own bed.
It’s what I would have done. Or, rather, it’s what the old me would have done. This new, invigorated Kodi was going to get Tanner back or go down swinging. There was no third option.
Parking the truck in the visitors’ lot, I checked myself in the rearview mirror. Aside from the dab of white frosting on the side of my cheek—how long had that been there?— I looked okay. A little worn down, but okay. I headed toward the front portico of the hotel.
I ran up the stairs and through the revolving door into the lobby. The brightly colored sign for the gift shop caught my eye. Stopping short, I ran into the store and found the perfect make-up present. After waiting for what felt like hours, the clerk wrapped my gift, and I beat feet out of the store.
Now came the hard part, finding out which room Tanner was staying in. Dressed in my Fish and Game uniform, I approached the front desk.
“May I help you?”
“I wanted to check on Tanner Reign. I was the warden who found him in the woods last night.” There were other ways to find out which room was his, but I figured honesty was the best policy.
The clerk’s eyes widened. “You’re the one who saved him? We were all so worried about Tanner. I’m so glad he’s safe. It’s room 410. Do you want me to ring him and see if he’s accepting visitors?”
Accepting visitors? What the hell was he, the queen? “No, that’s okay. If he doesn’t answer the door, I’ll just leave my gift and wish him well another time.” My stomach pitched at the thought of him not answering the door.
I took the stairs two at a time. When I reached the fourth floor, I took a minute to catch my breath. It was pitiful enough showing up here unannounced, but to be breathing heavy on top of that would be too much.
Tanner’s room was on the left side of the hall. My hand shook as I raised it to knock on the door. This was the moment of truth. My stomach tossed and turned harder than before. I hoped the giant slice of cake I had at the office stayed put.
“You forgot your phone, Cabot,” Tanner said as he opened the door. “Oh!” His green eyes widened at the sight of me. “You’re not Cabot.” He shook his head. “Come in.”
Was it my imagination or did Tanner seem flustered by my appearance? My gut hurt as my mind started playing the what-if game. The time for that had passed. I was here to tell the truth and let the chips fall where they may from here. “I brought this for you.” I handed over the bright-red giftbag. Thankfully, my hands were steady.
Tanner took a seat on the sofa and gave the bag a little shake. He pulled out the red tissue paper and then the gift. “It’s a teddy bear!” Tanner’s eyes danced with laughter. He gave it a cuddle before setting it on the table next to him.
I crossed the room in three steps, taking the seat next to him. “I don’t know what happened this morning, but things between us didn’t go down the way I wanted them to.”
Tanner looked from the bear back to me. “How did you imagine this morning playing out?” He wore a curious look.
“There’s something about you, Tanner. Something I can’t explain.” Shit, that didn’t sound right. “From the moment my bear spotted you in the snow, I knew…” For fuck’s sake. This was the most important thing I would ever say in my life, and it was turning into a complete and total cock up.
I opened my mouth to start again when Tanner kissed me. Moaning against his lips, I framed his face in my hands. That pull of attraction was stronger than ever. I couldn’t get enough. I would never be able to get enough of him. “I know it’s crazy, but I need you in my life.” There. That wasn’t so hard.
Tanner’s eyes widened. “It is crazy. I mean, have you ever heard anything crazier? We haven’t even known each other for twenty-four hours.”
My heart stilled in my chest. The look on Tanner’s face was unreadable. Did he think my confession was batshit crazy or let’s-run-off-to-Mexico-and-elope crazy?
He shook his head before reaching for my hand. “But if that’s the case, then we’re crazy together.” Tanner barked out a rough laugh.
I felt like I’d been stabbed with a hundred icicles and Tanner was laughing. Maybe I’d read him wrong. Why would he be laughing unless I’d misheard him? “Wait! What?”
“I said we’re crazy together.” Tanner leaned forward, brushing his lips against mine. “My head aches, my body aches, and I feel like I could sleep for a week, but all of that vanishes when you touch me.”
“How about dinner tonight?” I knew he was here with his frat brothers and would totally understand if he’d already made plans with them.
“I’d love that, and maybe drinks with the guys afterward? They’re dying to meet you.”
I was dying to meet them too. “I’m in.”
Tanner yawned. He looked like a roaring lion. “In the meantime, how about a nap? I can’t say sleeping on the floor did much for my aching body, but I wouldn’t change it for anything.”
I stood up and scooped Tanner into my arms. “I wouldn’t either.”
He pressed a kiss to the side of my neck. “I’m not sure how this whole bear shifter thing works, but can you thank your bear for finding me?”
I set Tanner on the king-size bed with a laugh. “It was his pleasure.” Just like it was about to be mine. I slipped off my boots and climbed onto the bed, pulling him into my arms.
“This is perfect. Almost paradise, actually.” Tanner snorted.
“Almost paradise?” What more could we ask for?
“Well, you’re fully dressed, and I didn’t bring condoms or lube.”
As much as I wanted to feel bad about what Tanner was saying, I didn’t. “We’ve got all the time in the world to get there.”
Tanner yawned against my chest. “M’kay. Night, my fuzzy bear.” He burrowed his face against the side of my neck, as if he wanted to crawl inside my shirt.
“Night,” I whispered back. I could already feel his deep, even puffs of breath against my neck.
I don’t know what I’d done to deserve Tanner. Not only did he accept me, but he accepted my bear, which meant more to me than I could explain.
As I drifted toward sleep, my bear growled in contentment.
EPILOGUE
Tanner
Six months later…
I turned my brand-new red Ford F-150 down Base Camp Road. The windows were rolled down, and I was warmed by the summer breeze. This place looked completely different today than it had six months ago.
Miracle of miracles, I was right on time. Kodi had gotten me a GPS that mounted to my windshield after I’d gotten lost, again, on my second trip up to see him. He’d programmed the addresses I needed into the device, and knock on wood, I hadn’t gotten lost since.
Although now that I was moving in with Kodi, I was going to have to learn my way around town.
Sighing like a lovesick schoolboy, my mind turned to Kodi and the life we were starting today. I’d known after our first date I was falling in love with him. Little did I know at the time, he felt the same way about me.
With our work hours and more snowstorms, we didn’t see a lot of each other in February or March. Once the snow started melting in April, it was game on. I drove up to see Kodi every weekend after that. In May, he gave me a drawer in the dresser and told me I could leave my essentials in the bathroom. In June, he asked me to move in with him.
I almost said no. Almost. My first thought had been about my job. I’d spent my entire life wanting to engineer space vehicles. Could I just walk away from all of that for a hot guy in the woods?
Yes. Yes, I could. And I did. It turned out, I was able to keep my job by going remote. I only needed to be in the office once a month for meetings. My bosses were desperate to keep me. I let them dangle for a few days before coming back with my conditions. Looking back now, I’m shocked they didn’t fire me on the spot. To make a long story short, they furnished a field office for me across the street from Kodi’s barracks, and I could work from home when the weather was too treacherous to be out on the roads.
The winter was a long way off. I was going to enjoy the sunshine while it lasted. I turned the truck down Kodi’s driveway. He was standing on the front porch waiting for me. My heart skipped a beat in my chest. I was home.
I threw the truck into park and was out the door. Kodi came down the stairs to meet me.
“Welcome home, Tan!” He swung me around the front yard. “I can’t believe you’re here to stay.”
“I haven’t unpacked yet.” I hooked my thumb over my shoulder at the truck. “There’s still time to change your mind.”
“Never! Falling in love with you and asking you to move in with me are the best things I’ve ever done in my life.” His dark eyes glittered happily in the summer sunshine.
“Saying yes was the best thing I’ve ever done.” I leaned up on tiptoes to kiss Kodi. God, I’d missed those lips on mine over the last week. It was all worth it. Now we’d be able to fall asleep and wake up together every day for the rest of our lives.
Kodi’s eyes darkened. He rubbed his erection against my stomach. I heard him growl under his breath.
“Grab a suitcase, and then we can get down to the good stuff.”
“How about I just grab the good stuff?” Without waiting for my answer, Kodi threw me over his shoulder and headed up the stairs. I smacked his ass and let him have his way with me. The suitcases could wait.
After all, we had forever.
THE END
HAVE YOU READ MY OTHER PARANORMAL TITLES? GO BACK TO WHERE IT ALL BEGAN WITH BOOK ONE IN THE COLD CASE PSYCHIC SERIES, DEAD SPEAK!
Boston Police Detective Ronan O’Mara enlists the help of Salem psychic Tennyson Grimm to help solve the cold kidnapping case of five-year-old Michael Frye. Ronan, ever the skeptic, is out of leads and out of options. He very well could be out of a job if he fails to solve this case.
When the child’s body is found, the work to identify his killer begins. As Ronan and Tennyson get closer to solving the crime, the initial attraction they feel for one another explodes into a passion neither man can contain.
Will working together to bring Michael’s killer to justice seal their fledgling bond, or will unexpected revelations in the case tear them apart forever?
DEAD SPEAK IS AVAILABLE IN EBOOK, PAPERBACK, KINDLE UNLIMITED, OR AUDIO BOOK!
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