“Fine! Do you want to know why I was crying in another man’s arms?”
Finally, she was ready to spill the truth. This was all he wanted. “Yes, I do! Enlighten me, Emma, and tell me why you were weeping and couldn’t come to me.”
She opened her mouth to begin, but he cut her off.
“In my life, Emma, if you sleep with someone you trust them. I don’t have one-night stands. You matter to me, and I need to know if you give a shit about me.”
It earned him a pillow to the head.
He had to admit, it was a good shot.
Emma let all the anger go. “Damn you, Greyson Croft! I was crying in Reese’s arms because I’m falling in love with you. I’m terrified I’m going to lose you. The idea of having to watch you leave hurts me.”
It wasn’t what he was expecting.
Some part of him believed it was about her brother, or the killer stalking her. Never once did it occur to him, that she would feel exactly what he was feeling inside.
She waited for him to say something. He just stood there openmouthed.
“Well?”
“You’re falling in love with me?” he asked softly, and then turned to pour more whiskey into a glass. He most definitely needed a drink to calm his nerves down over this one.
“Yes, Greyson Croft. I’m falling in love with you.”
“Emma,” Croft whispered her name, and all the anger had suddenly washed away. He was at a loss for words. This was more of a gift than he ever hoped to receive in his life. A beautiful woman was on the precipice of loving him.
“Do you see my dilemma, and why I couldn’t cry in your arms?” Emma accepted the glass of whiskey from him. She wasn’t going to pretend she was brave enough to chug it. She simply took a good healthy sip, and as it burned her chest, she continued, “Who else could I tell? If it wasn’t about you, I would have gladly leaned on you and told you. I needed an objective person to listen to me and tell me if I was crazy, or perfectly sane to fall for a man in four days.”
“If you want my opinion, I think you’re sane,” he said, finishing her whiskey.
She laughed. “Reese is part of my past, and you’re part of my now. I needed to see if it was crazy to believe we have a chance.”
Holding out his hand, he waited for her to take it. “For the record, Emma, you could have told me. I want you to know that you can always come to me and tell me anything. I want a relationship with you. I want something more than just sex. I’m not a one night stand kind of guy.” Croft pulled her into his body, wrapping his arms protectively around her. “When did you know, Emma?”
“The damn second you opened your bossy mouth,” she answered, taking a deep breath. “Do you believe in love at first sight, Grey, or fate? When I looked up at you the first day in that field something unlocked, and for the life of me I don’t know or understand why.”
“We aren’t always supposed to know why, Emma. It’s a leap of faith,” he replied, knowing what she meant. He had the same instant connection when he saw her.
Fear dissipated and the loneliness ebbed away. For the first time since Gage died, she wasn’t feeling like she was all by herself. As she stood in the circle of his arms, it occurred to Emma that he didn't tell her he was falling in love with her. Immediately, her stomach knotted and filled with stone, but as Emma gazed up into Croft’s eyes, she had to believe. Her heart skipped a beat at the tender kiss he placed across her lips. Ultimately, Emma knew that Greyson Croft wouldn’t hurt her.
He needed a few minutes to think. “Emma, go take your shower. I’m going to make us something to eat.”
Stepping back from his arms, she smiled at him and gave him a precious gift--her trust. “Yes, Agent Croft,” she answered, saluting him before escaping from the room.
Emma stripped and left a trail of clothing to the shower from her bedroom. As she turned on the spray and stepped beneath the water, she sighed. The water rushed over her and offered her sore head, and body, some relief.
“Emma?” he called from the doorway.
She replied, looking around the shower curtain. “Yes?”
He handed her a mug of tea and held a bottle of pills in his hand. “You’re going to need these.” Croft placed them on the sink.
“Thank you,” she answered, taking a sip.
“Anything, honey,” he answered, walking away to finish their dinner. What he wanted was to climb in with her and get all soapy with Emma. The need to protect and care for her overcame the need to find pleasure.
Standing in the steamy shower, Emma finished her tea. It warmed her up inside, especially since the man had dumped whiskey in it too. She started laughing at his method of getting her to relax. Emma gave him credit. She wasn’t feeling any pain.
Exiting the shower, Emma dried herself off and slipped into a pair of panties and a nightshirt. Emma noticed that all her clothes had been picked up and put in her bedroom in the laundry basket.
Her heart flipped. Yeah, she knew he cared. What man would bring a woman tea, make her food, and clean up her laundry? Running her fingers through her hair, she padded barefoot into the kitchen to find him standing there.
“Are you hungry?” he asked with his back to her.
“Not really, but I have a feeling that to argue about it would be useless,” she answered, honestly.
Greyson turned, and his breath was stolen. Emma looked so small and frail standing there in her college t-shirt and barefoot. The urge to guard and protect kicked in.
When this was over, what would they do? She wouldn’t come back to Philadelphia, and he couldn’t commute from Celestia to Philadelphia field office every day. Croft thought about the paper folded in his back pocket of the house he saw for sale. Emma said she was falling in love, but would she meet him half way? He stared deep into her eyes and knew she had been thinking the same thing.
Finally, he spoke, “You’re right. Arguing would be useless. I made you a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup,” he said as he walked to the table, placing it in front of her. “It’s made with soy cheese, so eat at your own risk.”
Emma started laughing. “You’ll learn to love it,” she said, winking at him.
“I wouldn’t bet on that, honey, but for you I’ll try.” Grabbing his own plate, Greyson returned to her side.
“You’re such a romantic.”
Now, he laughed. “Yeah, well I try.” Croft was pretty sure no one ever called him that before. Maybe stubborn, difficult, and pig headed.
Emma leaned over and kissed him gently on the lips. “No complaints here.”
At her words, his chest tightened. All he truly wanted was to make her happy and have her not just think she’s falling in love, but to be completely crazy for him.
“How’s your head?” he asked, taking a bite of his sandwich.
“It’s fine, I guess.” She spooned up some of her soup and started laughing.
“What?” he inquired.
Emma put down her spoon. “My life is completely insane. This morning a killer was stalking me, tonight he was in my home; you’re making me dinner and bitching about soy cheese, and I told you that I was falling in love with you. Today is just a very odd day.”
He leaned back and thought about it. “It’s about to get more interesting.”
She took a bite of her sandwich. “It is?”
Croft nodded, staring in her face. “Were you going to sneak off to Philadelphia alone or were you going to tell me about it?”
Emma stopped chewing.
Tomorrow, Curtis Briggs was a dead man.
~ Chapter Eleven ~
It sat between them like a rock. Greyson was curious to see if she’d tell him the truth or lie. He wasn’t sure if his heart could handle the idea that Emma could stare him in the face and not be completely honest with him.
She knew he was waiting for her to tell him something, and Emma suspected it was a test. The man was staring at her as if he was fully expecting her to make up some elaborate story.
A part of his past had damaged him, and she refused to make him bleed more over former wounds.
“I wasn’t going to keep it from you, but I wasn’t going to tell you either. I was mad at you from this morning.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
She took a sip of her tea. “I won’t ever lie to you, Grey. No matter what happens between us, I’ll always tell you the complete and total truth.”
He calmed immediately at her words. Everyone had scars in their lives, and his stemmed from being hurt by a woman’s deceit.
Subtly, his face relaxed and Emma knew he’d accepted her words as truth.
“I’m falling in love with you too.”
She dropped her spoon and quickly stared up at him. “Pardon?”
He needed to know the truth about her leaving for Philly before he could give her back what she gave him. “I’m falling in love with you too. I just thought you should know.”
Emma started laughing. “You thought I should know?”
“I would have said it earlier, but I needed to see if you planned on lying to me. I don’t do one-night stands, and I don’t start relationships with women who lie. It’s my two big rules.”
She stared at him, grinning. “That’s it? Not even a kiss or something?” Now, she was teasing him. “You’re falling in love, and then how’s the grilled cheese?”
He pulled her into his lap and whispered in her ear all the things that were going through his mind.
“Greyson Croft, you have a vivid imagination,” she giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Want to climb into bed and prove you can pull half of that off?”
He nipped her on her earlobe. “You take your tea to the couch, and first I’ll do the dishes.”
Emma started laughing. “I found a man who just picked dishwashing over sex. I think that I’m the luckiest woman in the world.”
He pushed her up from his lap and swatted her on her panty-clad ass. “Don’t bet on that. I just happen to have a great deal of control.”
Yeah, when it came to anything but her.
Emma Starling brought out the crazy in him.
She winked at him, grabbed her tea, and headed to the couch. Emma fluffed the pillows and leaned into them. This was really nice to have someone to come home to at night. It was amazing to not eat or sleep alone.
Croft cleaned up his mess and put everything away. He would have made her help, but she did get one hell of a knock on the head. Tonight, he’d cut her a break. Tomorrow, she was doing the dishes at his place.
That thought made his stomach flutter. Rarely did he have women to his home. There was a very good reason for that. His house was his sanctuary. Yeah, his mom and his sisters were always there, but never anyone he wanted to roll around naked with in bed.
He’d been there before with another woman once, and she destroyed his heart for the longest time. Now, he was overly guarded. He suspected Emma wouldn’t ever hurt him, but bringing her home still made him nervous as hell.
Greyson thought about it. There was still time to make other plans, and then he realized something. He was asking her for full honesty, but he wasn’t willing to offer her the same.
Putting away the last dish, he turned off the light, making sure the kitchen window was secured, just in case the killer returned.
Heading into her living room, he stopped when he saw her. Emma was sprawled on the couch, fast asleep. He grinned, watching her for a few minutes. Sitting on the coffee table, his gaze roamed over the body of the woman he loved. There was a bruise forming under the cut on her forehead and dark circles from exhaustion marred her pale skin.
Not touching and being able to have his way with her was going to be hard. As he ran his fingertip down the bridge of her nose and the freckles, his heart skipped in his chest.
He was more than falling in love. Croft would marry her tomorrow if she’d run off with him.
He had it bad.
Glancing down at his watch, he noticed it was getting late. Scooping her up in his arms, he carried her to the front door, locking it and hitting the lights.
Once everything was secured, he grabbed her gun holster off the table and carried them into her bedroom. Laying her in the center of the bed, he locked the door and began stripping. He tried to gauge how naked he should get, and then figured he’d sleep in his boxers. If he had to chase a maniac through the woods, he’d need at least some covering.
Heading to the window, he checked the lock and then pulled the blinds and curtains closed. Over his dead body was this pervert going to watch them while they slept.
Placing his gun on the nightstand, he slid into bed with Emma. Instinctually, she curled into his body as if seeking him out even in sleep.
When her hand slid across his lower body, he fought the urge to roll her over and wake her up. The scent and feel of her against him was maddening.
With a killer somewhere outside the cabin, and Emma in bed with him, there was one thing for certain.
It was going to be a difficult night sleeping.
* * *
She was supposed to be his next victim and it all went to hell in a hand basket. He was so close to getting his hands on her. If he’d only been a little quicker, not trying to make it look like he was searching for something. Damn! He might have gotten her out the patio door and into the trees.
Then she would have been the one everyone was searching for in the woods.
Now, he needed to find another victim to replace her. He was furious he’d failed. He’d made a promise he’d get her, and now, it was all ruined.
Damn it!
The Hunter trudged to the place where he carefully hid his car and prepared to make the trek home.
Tonight, was a bust when it came to killing whores, but eventually he’d get her. It was only a matter of time before the sheriff was just another picture on her board in the conference room.
Time was ticking and death was coming.
* * *
Saturday Dawn
Rough night sleeping wasn’t even close to how he’d describe it. His brain wouldn’t allow him to shut down for the duration of the night. Not after knowing that the killer was trying to take the woman he loved.
And almost succeeded.
Greyson wasn’t taking a chance, and that meant brief naps and frequently waking himself up, much like he’d learned to do in the army.
He could tell when she came awake, the demeanor of her body changed suddenly. Emma went from lax to tense, and then stretched like a big warm cat.
She went up on her elbow and stared at him. “Babe, you look like hell,” she stated, and then began laughing.
Croft groaned, rolling over to hide his face in his pillow. “I didn’t sleep much.”
Emma ran her lips over his shoulders, perching on top of him. “You’re really tense and your shoulders are all tight.”
“I’m aware,” he muttered.
She began kneading his muscles with the palms of her hands until he moaned. “Woman, where have you been all my life,” he said, enjoying the back rub. Emma had magic fingers.
“I was in Philly and then here.”
Croft laughed at the reply. “That was rhetorical.”
Emma continued, “I’m well aware, Senior Agent Croft, but it’s more fun to answer them. It generally throws the person off who asked in the first place.”
He had a reply, but it was forgotten as she found the exact spot on his back that was knotted up.
“How did you get these scars?” she asked, running her fingers over his shoulders.
Greyson was enjoying the massage. “It happened on my first tour of duty in the Middle East. They’re from shrapnel.”
Emma kept rubbing, even as her heart skipped in her chest. They were incredibly close to his spine. “They make you look all tough and bad ass,” she teased, finding another knot in his shoulder.
“I don’t know why they torture people in wars. They should give massages. I’d tell you anything a
t this point to keep it going.”
She giggled. “I’ll keep that in mind for future reference.”
“When do you want to leave for Philly?” he asked as he enjoyed how she was completely relaxing his whole body. “Or we can stay in bed and you can do this all day.”
Emma snickered. “Whenever you feel like you’re finished with your massage.”
“Pack an overnight bag.”
Her hand’s stopped mid-rub. “Why?” she asked, feeling a little overwhelmed.
Croft rolled to his back, so Emma was perched on his hips, facing him. “The traffic getting in and out of Philly on a Saturday sucks, and maybe I just want to bring you to my house.”
Emma didn’t know what to say. “Okay.”
He didn’t like the look on her face, but instead of assuming or letting anger take over, he tried to understand. “Which part has you more freaked out? The part about us staying over in Philadelphia, or staying with me at my place overnight?”
She looked at him like he was crazy to think it had anything do with him or his place. It was all about the location. “The overnight part in Philly. Going back is hard enough, but the sounds and the smells and the…”
He touched her cheek. “I can do this alone if you can’t handle it.” Then he realized that he’d have to leave her behind and that didn’t exactly make him happy either.
Emma shook her head. She was a big girl and needed to take care of this.
“I live outside Philly in the burbs.”
She physically relaxed. “Can we go there first, to see if I can deal with it?”
“Absolutely, but then we should get going. Megan’s shop opens at noon, and we can beat the traffic to my place if we leave within the next hour.”
Emma hopped off him. “I’ll pack a bag.”
Croft watched her walk into her closet and the tension in his body relaxed. At least it wasn’t his place that was freaking her out.
If anything it was the first step in figuring out how they’d meet in the middle when this was all over.
Celestia is Falling (A Croft & Croft Romance Adventure Book 1) Page 28
