The Colton Marine

by Lisa Childs

  He pulled her panties down and dropped them off the bed. Then he made love to her with his mouth. He drove her to madness again with his lips and with his tongue, teasing and stroking her. The tension inside her wound tightly until it snapped. She rose off the bed and cried out as pleasure overwhelmed her. But despite the release, she still felt empty. She needed him inside her.

  He was gone again, though. And she realized why when she heard the tear of a packet. He donned a condom before joining her again—really joining her. His erection nudged her core before easing inside her.

  And finally that emptiness was filled. He filled her and then some, with his size and his passion. He kissed and caressed her even as he moved inside her, thrusting gently in and out.

  It wasn’t enough—not as the tension built again in her body. She clutched at him, kissing him as passionately as he kissed her. She nipped at his lips and his tongue. And she wrapped her legs around his lean waist, matching his rhythm. They moved together—each desperate for release.

  But he waited until she came again, screaming his name, before he joined her. His body tensed, then shuddered, and he shouted with his release. He shouted her name, “Edith!”

  It had never sounded sexy until it escaped his lips with a guttural groan of pure joy. Satiated with pleasure, her body went limp. Even her mind, which had been so full of thoughts and fear, slowed. For the first time in longer than she could remember—in maybe forever—Edith relaxed.

  River must have left her. She heard water running. But no pipes clanged. Nothing scraped. The water shut off. Then he was back in her bed. And she was back in his arms.

  She moved naturally against him, settling her head against his shoulder as she stroked his chest. He’d moved his dog tags back around to the front. She toyed with the metal, running her fingertips along the imprint of his name before she moved to the next tag. But it wasn’t his name on that one.

  “Henry,” he murmured.

  That was the name she’d heard him call out when he’d had that nightmare. “Why do you have his?” she asked.

  “Because he had no one else to take them.”

  Henry must have been one of the men he’d lost on that mission—someone who’d had no family, no one to turn to. She knew what that was like. After her father had died, she’d felt so alone.

  So scared...

  But she wasn’t alone or afraid now. She had never felt as safe as she did in River Colton’s arms. To feel that way about a man she barely knew, a man she didn’t completely trust, was more dangerous than staying alone at La Bonne Vie.

  But she couldn’t make him leave. She didn’t want to—because she knew, no matter how satiated she was, she would want him again.

  * * *

  Declan cursed as he read the most recent report on Everything’s Blogger in Texas. A Possible Break-In at La Bonne Vie.

  What the hell was going on at the estate and why hadn’t Edith called him about it?

  He shouldn’t have left her alone there. It was obviously more dangerous than he’d realized. He’d thought the only danger she’d been in was falling for River Colton. He’d believed her statement that the wine racks falling over had been an accident. Now he knew there was more going on than he’d feared. His hand shook slightly as he reached for his cell and punched in her contact.

  It rang just a couple of times before a voice answered. “Hello?” It sounded husky with sleep but it was also deep and very masculine.

  A man had answered Edith’s cell phone.

  “Who the hell are you?” he demanded to know, even as he was afraid that he already did. He was even more afraid for Edith now.

  Chapter 19

  River hadn’t been sleeping when the phone rang. He’d been watching Edith sleep as he held her, making sure she was safe. He’d also been listening intently for the noises she’d heard the night before. But he’d heard nothing until her cell had begun to ring.

  He’d answered it quickly so she wouldn’t awaken. Maybe he’d answered it too quickly because now he had no idea what to say. This had to be the man—her boss—who hated Coltons as much or more than Sheriff Jeffries did.

  Jeffries was probably just jealous of what he imagined was their wealth and privilege. What was this man’s reason?

  “Who is this?” River asked, turning the question around on the caller.

  The guy said nothing for a long moment, but River could feel the tension and resentment in the silence. Then he demanded, “Put Edith on the line.”

  “She’s sleeping,” he replied. But she wasn’t anymore.

  Her body had tensed, and she lifted her head from his chest. The light from the cell phone cast a glow in the dark bedroom. And he could see how her eyes widened with fear.

  Was she afraid to find him in her bed? She’d invited him to stay.

  No. She seemed more afraid to find him on her cell phone. “That’s mine,” she said with a gasp, as she must have realized who her caller was.

  Was she used to him calling her this late at night? In the middle of the night?

  River held on to the phone even as she reached for it.

  “Give it to me,” she said.

  Reluctantly he handed it over. But she said nothing to her caller. Instead she spoke to him, “I need to take this,” she said. “In private...”

  He got the message. He was no longer wanted. Rolling out of bed, he grabbed up his clothes from the floor. He didn’t even bother getting dressed, just brought them all with him as he stepped into the hall.

  He’d give her all the damn privacy she wanted—because now he wanted some of his own. He didn’t like the way her boss made him feel.

  Didn’t like being jealous of a man he’d never met. But he worried that this unnamed boss of Edith’s meant more to her than River ever would.

  Could he blame her? The guy was obviously rich and successful—while River had lost his career along with his eye. He’d lost his identity during that explosion and when he’d come home to learn his father wasn’t the man he’d always thought he was.

  Who the hell was he?

  Until River knew, he had nothing to offer Edith.

  * * *

  Edith stared after River with a mixture of longing and regret. He was so damn good-looking. Muscles had rippled even in his ass as he’d walked away from her. Naked and proud.

  “Edith!” Declan shouted her name from the phone, bringing her back to her senses.

  “Yes...” she murmured. She’d been so deeply asleep that she struggled to awake even now.

  “Who the hell was that or do I even need to ask?”

  “Obviously you don’t,” she replied.

  “River Colton?” He uttered the name as a question, anyway, his deep voice echoing hollowly in her ear with the sound of disappointment and betrayal.

  She drew in a deep breath and sat up against the pillow. Even though Declan couldn’t see her, she pulled the blankets up to her neck. She felt exposed in a way she never had before. But Declan couldn’t know that he’d caught them in bed together. Or could he?

  “Edith,” Declan called out again as if worried that she’d hung up on him.

  Maybe she should have. It was late. She wasn’t on the clock right now. But then, as his executive assistant, she was never off the clock. That had never bothered her before—because she’d had nothing for work to disrupt before.

  “Yes,” she said.

  His breath hissed through the phone in a sigh of shock. He must have taken her reply as affirmation that River had answered her phone.

  “What the hell is he doing there at this hour?” he demanded to know.

  Sick of being on the defensive, she asked, “What the hell are you doing calling at this hour?”

  Another breath hissed through the phone. She�
�d obviously shocked him again.

  She’d shocked herself, as well. She had never spoken to him that way before—not just because he was her boss but also because he was her brother. He had protected her in that foster home. She owed him.

  “I just saw the report about there being a break-in at La Bonne Vie,” he replied. “I was worried about you, apparently with good reason.”

  She felt a pang of guilt. “I’m sorry,” she murmured. “But you should know better than to believe that blog.”

  “So there was no break-in?”

  “No.” The sheriff had assured her that there were no signs of forced entry. So how had the news of a break-in leaked to the media?

  Unless the person who’d been in the house had leaked it? Or had the dispatcher? Edith’s money was on the dispatcher, who’d probably been paid for the report. Everything’s Blogger had paid an old boyfriend of Leonor’s for scoop on the Coltons. Thorne had told her that; that was why he’d limited the guest list for his and Maggie’s wedding. He had wanted only people they could trust at their special event.

  Edith had been there. She’d even asked Declan to be her plus one. But, predictably, he had refused.

  Why?

  “There’s something you’re not telling me,” Declan said with suspicion and anger. “What’s going on, Edith? Why are you with River Colton?”

  Because she was falling for him. But she couldn’t admit that even to herself yet. She didn’t want to face her fears.

  “He’s protecting me,” Edith said.

  “And if there was no break-in, what do you need protecting from?” Declan asked.

  Edith heard it again. First the clanging noise. Then a scraping noise. And she shivered. “I don’t know what’s going on in this house,” she said. “And I didn’t want to be alone here.”

  “Why River?” Declan asked. “If you need protection, why didn’t you tell me and I could have sent out a security team?”

  “You didn’t want me to hire a handyman,” she reminded him. “I doubted you wanted security guards hanging around, too.”

  “Then what about your uncle?” Declan asked. “Why didn’t you turn to him?”

  Maybe it was the promise she’d made to her mother all those years ago. Merrilee hadn’t wanted her brother to know how sick she was. She’d insisted Edith tell the social workers that they had no family. That it was just the two of them.

  But it had never been just the two of them. Merrilee had never been there for her after her father’s death.

  “I don’t know,” she replied.

  “If you had to turn to a Colton, why not Thorne?” he asked. “He’s your cousin. Why River?” His deep voice reverberated with resentment of the other man.

  Had they ever met? With River being gone as a Marine for so many years, she doubted it.

  “Why do you have a problem with River?” she asked. “Why do you have a problem with any of the Coltons?”

  “Because I don’t trust them,” Declan said. “And neither should you. I don’t want any of them in La Bonne Vie.”

  She flinched as she realized that a few of them had been there. River. Thorne. Knox.

  She drew in a breath, bracing herself for the admission she should have made days ago. “River’s been working here.”

  A curse slipped out of Declan now. But he sounded almost calm when he asked, “Why?”

  “I needed someone to make some necessary repairs around here—”

  “No,” Declan interrupted her. “I’m not asking why you hired him. I’m asking why he wants to work there.”

  “You know why,” she said. “You read that blog.” She couldn’t understand why a man as busy as Declan would waste his time on it. “You know River was hurt on his last deployment. He’s no longer a Marine.”

  “He’s not a handyman, either,” Declan pointed out.

  “He needed something to do.” And she...she’d needed River. She still did.

  “He can work for your uncle on his ranch. Or for his sister-in-law if he wants to do construction. He has another reason for wanting to work at La Bonne Vie.”

  Warmth flooded her heart. Was it her? Had he just wanted to work with her?

  But when he’d asked for the job, he’d seemed more interested in the house than in her. Did he have an ulterior motive?

  She heard another scraping sound and shivered. “What reason could he have?” she asked. And she actually hoped Declan had an answer for her. She wanted to know.

  “I don’t know” was his disappointing reply. “Maybe he’s looking for something in the house, something he thinks his mother left behind...”

  She shivered again as she realized Declan could be right. Had River just been using her to search the house?

  “What could she have left?” she asked.

  Declan sighed. “Who knows? Money? The FBI never found much, so she must have stashed it somewhere.”

  Of course Declan would think about money. It mattered most to him, too.

  “I’m worried about you,” he said. And she knew that she mattered to him, too. There was affection along with the concern in his voice. “I don’t want you staying there alone.”

  “I’m not—”

  “And I don’t want River Colton anywhere near you or that house anymore,” he continued. “You need to fire him.”

  “Declan,” she said. “You don’t know that you’re right about him.”

  “You know,” he told her, calling her on the doubts he must have heard in her voice. “You know I’m right.”

  She was afraid that she did. Or was she just looking for another excuse to push River away so she didn’t fall irrevocably in love with him?

  “And even if you’re too stubborn to admit that,” he continued, “you know I’m the owner of La Bonne Vie now. This is my call. You fire River Colton tonight.”

  First she had to find him.

  Where had he gone?

  * * *

  He was at La Bonne Vie. Knox knew where River was even without calling him. He’d talked to Mac earlier. River hadn’t told him where he was, either, but they’d both known he was with Edith.

  He was protecting her.

  But who was protecting River?

  That crowbar could have killed him had the blow been just a little bit harder. Who’d swung it at him? The reporter Knox had suggested? Or their mother?

  Could she hurt her own child?

  He stared down at his. The sleeping boy looked happy, his lips curved slightly as if he dreamed happy dreams. Knox was glad. Right after it had happened, his son had had a couple nightmares about his kidnapping. But now it was as if he hardly remembered it.

  Knox would never forget it—never forget his son being used as leverage against Livia. Was that what someone was doing with River? Hurting him to get back at her?

  Sure, she’d brought Cody’s kidnapper to her kind of justice. But that hadn’t been out of any sense of grandmotherly love or affection. She wasn’t capable of love for anyone but herself.

  Not wanting his tension to disturb his son, Knox backed out of the boy’s room and closed the door. But he wasn’t alone in the hall. Allison leaned against the wall, watching him like he’d watched Cody.

  She looked so beautiful that his heart swelled inside his chest. Her long, dark blond hair lay in waves around her shoulders, which were bare but for the thin straps of her nightgown.

  “Are you okay?” she asked, her hazel eyes warm with concern. And love.

  He knew better than to lie to her. So he shook his head.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m worried.”

  She gasped. “About Cody? Do you think anyone’s going to try to hurt him again?”

  He drew his wife into his arms and held her close
. “Nobody will hurt our son again.”

  “How can you be sure?” she asked.

  He cupped her face in his palms and stared deeply into her eyes. “Because I’ll make certain of it.”

  “How?” she asked him.

  She was a stubborn woman. He already knew that. But he suspected she was getting at something else with her questions. He’d been struggling at how to bring up the subject. But now he knew he hadn’t had to wait until the perfect moment. In fact, he knew he shouldn’t have waited at all.

  “Because I’m going to run for sheriff,” he replied.

  A smile curved her lips and she nodded. “It’s about damn time. Shadow Creek needs you.”

  “The voters might not see it that way,” he cautioned her. “They might only see a Colton.” And because of that, they probably wouldn’t trust him.

  “They’ll see a former Texas Ranger who is all about honor and duty and the law,” she assured him. “There’s no way you will lose.”

  He smiled now. “Not with you on my side.”

  “Shadow Creek isn’t the only one who needs you,” she said as she grabbed his hand and steered him down the hall toward their bedroom. “I need you.”

  He needed her, too. He also needed to make sure his family was never in danger again. But he had a bad feeling that River was.

  Chapter 20

  He didn’t have much time. River knew that. The minute Edith had told him she needed privacy for her call he’d headed down to the basement. This was probably his last chance to look around—given that he had no doubt her boss would order her to fire him.

  Was the man jealous? Did he have reason to be?

  River’s stomach lurched with his own jealousy. He had only himself to blame. He’d known right away that Edith’s employer was more than just her boss to her. They had some other kind of relationship, some kind that River would never have with her.

  At least he’d had tonight. But making love with her—knowing how incredible it could be between them—would only make it harder, would make him miss her more if it was over. Was it over?