Hold Me Close, Contemporary Romance (Last Frontier Lodge Novels Book 7)

by J. H. Croix

  She loved her job and still occasionally had to pinch herself. She’d ended up with the job of a lifetime and gotten lucky enough to find Owen. With a mental shake, she forced her attention to work. In the past year, they’d made massive improvements on the efficiency metrics for the battery project, but she was waiting on the latest data that would reflect progress from a major design tweak she’d made. She’d sworn the entire team to secrecy and made Derek promise not to breathe a word to Owen. Derek had laughingly agreed. With Owen tied up on the wind turbine projects and having entirely handed the reins to her for the battery project, she’d succeeded in keeping this latest update off of his radar.

  She logged into the online monitoring system and pulled up the most recent data report. She scanned it quickly, squealing when she saw the results. She stood so quickly, her wheeled chair rolled back and bumped into the wall. She started to run to Owen’s office, but forced herself to stop. She wanted him to see the data himself because that’s how he was. Sitting back down, she saved the report and quickly emailed him, titling the email Urgent: Read Immediately.

  She knew he was in his office because he had an early morning conference call, the only reason they hadn’t come to work together this morning. She waited impatiently, eventually forcing herself to work on something else when he didn’t respond to her email or show up in her office. It was close to lunch when she looked to the wall separating her office from his and glared at it. “You’d better be damn busy,” she said to the wall.

  A sound at her door drew her attention. She spun in her chair and saw Owen standing there, his mouth hitching up at one corner. She kept thinking she’d get used to seeing him every day, but not so. Her eyes devoured him—he wore a pair of faded jeans, so soft they hugged his muscled thighs, topped with a navy t-shirt, which brought out the blue of his to-die-for eyes. His jet-black locks were rumpled. Her belly did a slow somersault, her pulse took off on a wild run, and heat rolled through her in a wave. Her need for him seemed endless. Every time it was slaked, it rose again with fervor. He’d already left her nearly boneless this morning in the shower when he slid a hand down her spine and bent her over, sinking into her wet, clenching channel from behind. Yet now, all he had to do was appear, one of his slow, sexy smiles spreading across his face, and she was nearly panting.

  He stepped into her office and shut the door behind him. The click of the lock made her squeeze her knees together. When he closed the blinds, she thought she might melt right where she was. He walked to the table and leaned his hands on it, his blue gaze locked on her.

  “96 percent, huh?” he asked.

  She grinned. “That’s right. 96 percent efficiency. Pretty good, huh?”

  “Very good. How’d you manage to keep this off my radar?”

  “Swore everyone to secrecy. Even Derek.”

  His low chuckle sent a shiver up her spine. “Damn. I’m impressed. You know how much it turns me on that data gets you so excited.”

  She flushed and nodded as he straightened and rounded the corner of the table. Without a word, he leaned over and lifted her into his arms, taking a few steps to the chairs by the windows and sitting down with her in his lap. Her legs dangled to one side on his knees. She glanced up, her breath catching at the look in his eyes. His gaze was intent and somber. She lifted a hand and trailed her fingers along his jaw.

  His shifted his hips and reached down to pull something out of his pocket. She was puzzled when he handed her a slightly rumpled piece of paper. “What’s this?” she asked.

  “Take a look.”

  She unfolded the paper and scanned it quickly. It took her a moment for the details to sink in. When they did, her heart started pounding hard and fast. “Am I reading this right? This says you’ve already filed to share full ownership of Off the Grid with me.”

  He nodded, his gaze solemn. “That would be right.”

  “Owen, you didn’t have to…”

  “I know I didn’t have to do anything, but I tried to think of how I could show you how important you are to me. It may seem weird, but I know how important your work is to you. I wanted to make sure you knew that this place isn’t just mine. You’re as much a part of it as I am.” His cheeks flushed and his shoulders rose and fell with a deep breath. “I hope it makes sense. I just wanted to find a way to show you that I wanted every part of my life tangled up with yours, so…”

  She threw her arms around his shoulders, tucking her head against his shoulder. Her mind spun back over the past year. After Owen’s lawsuit against Dr. Parkhurst, Parkhurst had settled with a whimper and a public retraction of his prior statements about Ivy. After she and Owen had gotten to the other side of fumbling through the start of their relationship, they’d continued to stumble here and there, mostly because neither one of them had much experience with falling in love. She’d had her struggles to let their relationship be known around the office. She hadn’t wanted anyone to think she received special treatment and worried about how the rest of the staff would react.

  Both of them had struggled with navigating the tricky territory of being open about their feelings. She’d initially resisted moving in with him, though he’d asked over and over. When Ginger had finally pointed out that Ivy was all but living there anyway, she’d stopped fighting. She’d come to discover she had a rather independent streak and had occasionally floated the idea that perhaps it would be better if she branched out on her own for work. Not many people would understand, but engineering was her first love. Owen was one of the few who met her at that level and could share her passion and joy with the same fervor. Within that context, his gesture was enormous.

  She lifted her head and met his eyes, her own tearing up. “I never would have asked you to do this, but I can’t even say how much it means because this place is you, it’s your life.”

  He brushed her hair away from her face, tucking a loose lock behind her ear, his touch sending a hot shiver through her. “You mean more. I wanted to make sure you knew that. You’re stuck with me now because this is a done deal.”

  He shifted his hips and fumbled in another pocket, this time lifting his hand and dropping a ring in hers. It was warm from the heat of his body, a simple silver band. Her eyes flew up, hot tears pricking at the back. “Is this…?”

  He nodded to the ring. “Read it.”

  She leaned back. With her hands between them, she turned the ring over in her palm and angled it so she could read the engraving. It read: 2 (2x-i) > 4x-6u. She quickly ran the equation in her mind with the result: i <3 u. She burst out laughing. Leave it to Owen to find a way to use math to tell her he loved her. If she typed the answer to the equation into her phone, it would turn into the emoticon ‘i heart you.’

  She looked up at him again, smiling through her tears. “So, does this mean…?”

  “It means I love you and even though I’m not the most traditional guy, I’m asking you to marry me,” he said, his gaze strong and steady.

  She threw her arms around him again, savoring the feel of his arms coming around her and holding her close. With the feel of his heart beating in tune with hers, she leaned back. “I think I forgot to say yes.”

  Owen climbed out of his car and took a moment to enjoy the view. It was Valentine’s Day, which meant they were deep in the snowiest, coldest part of winter in Alaska. A snowstorm had blown through last night, dumping another foot or more of snow on the mountains. That meant good skiing this weekend. The surface of the bay was choppy this late afternoon with the sky clear and the wind up. Whitecaps dotted the water, along with a few fishing vessels. The mountains rose high on the far side, strikingly beautiful with their snow-capped peaks. He took a deep breath, savoring the icy air, before turning to walk inside.

  He spent a lot more time at home ever since Ivy had moved in. They often worked together when they were home, but working from home with Ivy meant her legs were draped over his lap on the couch while they tossed ideas back and forth, or worked quietly. He’d been obsess
ing about what to do for Valentine’s Day and finally decided he would cook dinner. Ivy had told him way back when she wasn’t much of a cook, and he’d found that to be true. She loved it when he cooked though. He’d begun to cook with greater frequency, mostly because he had someone to share it with. He stepped inside and his eyes started watering.

  Smoke was billowing from the stove, and Ivy was running around waving a towel in the air. She swung to the door, her hand flying to her mouth. “I caught a pan on fire,” she said.

  He toed his boots off and walked to the kitchen counter, setting down the groceries he’d carried in. “I didn’t know you were planning to cook.”

  Ivy opened a few windows nearby, chattering as she did. “I wanted to surprise you for Valentine’s Day. Delia gave me her recipe for that glazed salmon you like so much, but I burned the glaze.”

  His heart gave a little kick. With the windows open, the smoke started to clear. Ivy turned to face him, a rueful smile on her face. “So much for an amazing surprise dinner,” she said with a shrug.

  All he had to do was look at her and he was lost. Her hair was falling loose from its knot, tendrils escaping every which way. Her eyes were like amber fire—always. He loved her so damn much. She was brilliant, kind, funny, beautiful and showed him every day in so many ways how much she loved him. A burned dinner was just one more thing she did perfectly. He took a breath and closed the distance between them. “Good thing I was planning to cook dinner.”

  She cocked her head to the side, lifting a hand to brush a loose lock of hair out of her eyes. “You were?”

  He slid his arms around her waist, nodding as he did. “Uh huh.” He couldn’t resist and dipped his head to the soft curve of her neck, dusting kisses along her throat.

  When he lifted his head again, she bit her lip. “I think maybe I should try a different surprise.”

  “You still haven’t beat your 96 percent surprise,” he said with a chuckle.

  Her wide grin was so satisfying, he felt like a fool. He felt like a fool most of the time when it came to Ivy because her mere existence took away all reason. Foolish or not, he didn’t mind because she made it okay. He leaned his forehead to hers. “I’ll do dinner. You work your magic with a few equations.”

  He caught her laugh in a kiss.

  ~The End~

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  Please enjoy the following excerpt from Crazy For You, the next book in the Last Frontier Lodge Series!

  Excerpt: Crazy For You by J.H. Croix; all rights reserved

  Sawyer Hamilton gritted his teeth and swore under his breath as he climbed the stairs into the hospital. Searing pain shot through his knee when he cleared the last step. He swallowed his next muttered curse and navigated through the revolving door, not an easy thing to do with a bum knee. Once he made it inside, he paused and glanced around. He’d refused his brother’s offer to accompany him here and for the moment, he temporarily regretted it. He was tired of being in pain and not in the mood to find his way around a labyrinth. The hospital in Diamond Creek, Alaska was much larger than he’d anticipated with several long hallways branching off the main entrance. He scanned the signs, looking for anything that would tell him where the laboratory was. He finally saw the sign indicating he needed to find his way to the third floor.

  He limped into the elevator, relieved no one else happened to be waiting. The elevator whispered to a stop, and he stepped off. When he saw another sign for the laboratory pointing down a long hallway, he swore again and limped his way there. Sitting down with a sigh, he leaned his head against the wall and waited, doing his damnedest to ignore the pain radiating from his leg. While he waited, a few other people rotated in and out of the waiting room. He could feel the curious gazes on him, but he ignored them. He was accustomed to feeling strong, the opposite of how he’d been feeling since his leg nearly got blown to bits from an IED in Iraq. He’d rather be invisible right about now.

  “Sawyer Hamilton?”

  At the sound of his name, he glanced up—straight into a pair of breathtaking blue eyes. He must’ve stared a beat too long because the woman to whom the eyes belonged arched a brow. He stood. “That’s me.”

  The woman pushed off the shoulder she’d been leaning against the doorframe and stepped to him. “Violet Carter,” she said, holding a hand out.

  Sawyer closed his palm around hers and felt a jolt of heat race up his arm and radiate through his body. Violet had a firm, no-nonsense handshake. “Follow me,” she said briskly as she turned and walked through a door that led to, guess what, another hallway.

  He took a deep breath and followed, his eyes drawn to the swing of Violet’s hips as she walked ahead of him. She was all curves, more so because she was on the shorter side. If the top of her head reached his chin, he’d be surprised. At an inch above six feet, he knew that didn’t mean she was particularly short. Her generous hips swayed with each step, along with her almost-black hair swinging in its ponytail. Her hair was tied back with a bright purple ribbon to match her purple scrubs. She glanced over her shoulder and paused to wait for him.

  “Sorry. I walk too fast sometimes,” she said with a rueful smile when he reached her side.

  “Don’t think it’s you walking too fast. It’s me gimping along behind you.”

  Her eyes crinkled with her smile. “You’re not too gimpy, although I bet it feels like it to you. Come on, we’re almost there,” she said, tucking her hand in the crook of his elbow. Somehow she managed to take just enough weight off his bad side that the pain eased slightly.

  He didn’t know what to think about his body’s reaction to Violet. All she’d done was curl her hand around his elbow and another jolt of heat hit him. He hadn’t given a thought to a woman in months—not since his accident. Before that, well, it was safe to say his life hadn’t allowed much time for relationships, casual or otherwise. He’d been on active duty as a Navy SEAL for the last six years. That meant confidential missions all over the world and frequent travel. When he was home for visits with family, all he wanted was to turn his brain off. He’d had a few casual relationships here and there, but since he’d gotten too close for comfort with an IED, he’d been dealing with chronic pain and on indefinite medical leave. He was out of sorts and the last thing on his mind was any woman. Yet, Violet’s mere presence caught his body’s attention.

  Violet paused to open a door and gestured him through. “Have a seat,” she said, pointing to a chair beside a counter.

  Sawyer hated how accustomed he’d become to the feel of medical offices and labs. This room felt like any of the many medical labs he’d visited in the last few months. The space held a sterile feeling with its white walls and gleaming tile floors. Everything was white and stainless steel. Violet closed the door and sat down in front of him, lifting a clipboard off of a wheeled table beside her. She scanned whatever was clipped there before looking up at him. “Looks like they have you scheduled for knee surgery in Anchorage in a few days. We’re just doing some preliminary tests for your surgery. Any questions before I draw your blood?”

  He looked over into her eyes—a deep, translucent blue that he could lose himself in—and lost track of what she said. Her eyes stood out against her creamy complexion and dark hair. She arched a brow. “Sawyer? You with me here?”

  “Oh right. Uh, nope, no questions. Let’s just get this done.”

  Those gorgeous blue eyes scanned his face, and he felt as if she could see right through him to the man who was weary from pain and stumbling through how to accept the reality of physical limitations for the first time in his life. He closed his eyes, shuttering himself the only way he could.

  “Okay. Let’s get this done. Are you left handed or right handed?” she asked, her voice warm and matter of fact.

  “Right. Why do you ask?” He’
d been in and out of doctor’s offices and the hospital for months, and no one had bothered to ask her question.

  She reached over and lowered the arm to the chair on his left side, patting it for him to rest his arm there. “So I can draw blood from your non-dominant side. No sense in making your strong side sore. I promise I do my best to make it painless, but there’s always a little residual soreness. Can’t stab you and have it be totally pain free,” she said with a grin.

  “You call it stabbing? I’m not so sure what to think of people who draw blood anyway,” he returned with his own grin. The desire to smile came infrequently of late, so it was nice to banter about something silly like this.

  Violet rolled her eyes as she busied herself getting a few vials out and carefully lining up her instruments on the small wheeled table at her side. “I’m teasing. It’s not really stabbing, just a poke with a needle. I guess not a lot of people want to be a phlebotomist, but I did. I had leukemia when I was a little girl. I had my blood drawn so often I got really particular about whether they were doing a good job. I decided I might as well do it myself,” she said with a shrug as she turned to him again.

  She was so lively and warm, it was hard to imagine her being sick. Just considering it made his heart clench. “Are you…?” He trailed off, realizing he’d been about to get more curious than he should.

  “Still sick? Nope. Most children diagnosed with leukemia experience a full recovery. I’ve been clear for years, but I spent plenty of time in the hospital before that. I’m healthy as a horse now,” she said with a wink. “Anyway, onto you. We have to do the obvious dance now.”