Lawton

by Sabrina Stark

  Again, I studied her face. She didn't look like she was lying. But how would I really know?

  "Hey, Lawton," Bishop said. "Maybe instead of interrogating her, you could bring her inside, hose her off or something."

  Chloe turned to glower at him. "Hose me off? Seriously?"

  I released her hand and reached out with both arms. "Forget him," I said. "Now c'mon, let's get you inside."

  She pulled back. "No."

  I stopped in mid-reach. "No?"

  She gave my house a worried glance. "I mean, thanks. But –" She bit her lip, as if unsure what to say next.

  "But what?" I asked.

  "I can't."

  Confused, I shook my head. "You sure?"

  She nodded. "Maybe we could just sit in your car or something?"

  Okay, I knew I'd been drinking, but even if I were stone-cold sober, this wouldn't make any sense. If not my house, why not her own?

  I paused. "My car?"

  "Yeah," she said. "It does have heat, right?"

  "Um, yeah?"

  "And then," she said, "you could just give me a ride. See? Problem solved."

  "A ride?" I felt my eyebrows furrow. "Where?"

  "Um, well, I'm not sure yet."

  I leaned closer. Was she hurt more than she looked? Slowly, careful not to startle her, I reached a hand to the side of her face. Her skin was dangerously cold. She leaned into me, and something in my heart melted. I wanted to gather her up and take her inside, whether she agreed or not.

  But why wouldn't she agree? "How's your head?" I asked. "You bump it on the way down?"

  "What?" She pulled back. "No. Of course not." Again, she glanced toward my house. "It's just that, well, you probably have people over, and –"

  Suddenly, her reluctance made sense. Obviously, she'd heard the music, or maybe saw the cars.

  "So?" I said. "I'll get rid of 'em."

  She shook her head. "You don't have to do that."

  "No big deal," I said. "It'll take just a minute."

  She gave the house a worried look. "How many are there?"

  I considered the mass of bodies. My house was big, and the place was packed. I shrugged. "Not that many."

  From a few feet away, Bishop gave a snort of laughter.

  God, did he have to be such a dick? I turned toward him and asked, "Don't you have something better to do?"

  "Well," Bishop said, "I figure in a minute, I'll be asking fifty or so people to get the hell out of your house. So 'til then, I figure I might as well take it easy."

  Finally, he was making some sense. I gestured toward the house. "Hey, do that, will ya?"

  The corners of his mouth lifted. "Take it easy?"

  This was no joke. "Quit messin' around," I told him. "No. Go back to the house, and get rid of them. I dunno, use your dick powers for good, not evil, or something."

  "Well, this should be fun," he muttered, turning to go.

  "Hey!" I called after him. "On your way back, cut the lights, will ya?"

  His voice echoed through the trees. "Sure thing, Romeo."

  I turned back to Chloe. She was shivering again. I reached out. "Come here," I said, wrapping my arms around her. She didn't fight it. Instead, she burrowed closer, snuggling against me like her life depended on it, which for all I knew, it did.

  But when she pressed her cold cheek to my bare chest, I felt my body react with more than concern. I reminded myself that it wasn't me she wanted. It was the warmth. I wrapped my arms tighter, trying to shield her nearly naked body from the cold night air.

  "You're freezing," I murmured into her hair. "Sure you don't want to head inside now? It's a big house. You wouldn’t have to see anyone, if that's what you're worried about."

  She shook her head.

  "You sure?" I asked.

  She nodded against me, and I didn't push the issue. I knew Bishop. He had way with things. The house would be empty soon enough.

  Chapter 29

  A moment later, the floodlights went off, leaving us surrounded by darkness. For a long time, Chloe was quiet. So was I. Yeah, I wanted answers, but for her sake, I could wait. So instead, I held her steady and tried like hell to ignore all those thoughts that I shouldn't be having.

  I still had no idea what had happened tonight, but I did know one thing. This might be my only chance to hold her, and I wasn't going to waste it on questions that she probably wouldn't answer anyway.

  I let the silence settle over us as my thoughts churned in the cold night air. I felt her tremble, and I pulled her close, wondering if I'd ever hold her like this again.

  After a long silence, she pulled back to look up at me. "You don't really have fifty people over, do you?"

  "Eh, I didn't really count 'em," I said. "Probably not fifty though."

  More like a hundred.

  She bit her lip. "So, who are they?"

  It was a good question. Who were those people? Were they really important to me? Some were. But most of them weren't – obviously, considering I'd just sent them packing with no warning. I shrugged. "Friends, acquaintances, that sort of thing."

  "Wait a minute," she said. "They've been drinking, right? You can't turn a bunch of people out on the streets all boozed up." On the last word, she gave a shiver so violent that it rattled her teeth.

  I hated that. I pulled her close and spoke into her hair. "Don't worry about it."

  "But what if they hurt someone?" she asked.

  "They won't."

  "How can you be sure?"

  "I hired drivers," I said. "Always do."

  "Really?" She sounded surprised.

  I guess I couldn't blame her. It wasn't exactly a normal thing to do, but it wasn't just drunk-driving I was trying to avoid. It was the hassle when people couldn't take a hint.

  "Yeah," I said. "A local company. Mostly college kids. It gives me one less thing to worry about." I glanced toward the house. From the back, I couldn’t see what exactly was going on in there, but I knew there had to be plenty happening out-front.

  Bishop was nothing if not efficient.

  "Plus," I added, "it keeps people from trying to crash at my place. It's a lot easier to kick 'em out when I'm paying someone to drive them home."

  She let out a breath. "Oh."

  I tried to make a joke of it. "Although," I said with a laugh, "I don't normally kick them out quite so suddenly."

  Her voice grew quiet. "I'm really sorry about all this."

  "Don't be. I'm not." And I meant it. This – the chance to hold her in the darkness – was the best birthday present I'd gotten all night.

  "You sure?" She gave a shaky laugh. "I literally took the shirt off your back. You're probably wishing I'd just go away already."

  No.

  I was wishing she'd come into my house and stay there, and not only because she was in trouble. I was wishing she'd let me hold her in my arms, and not only because she was cold. I was wishing I didn't have people in my house and a douchebag next door. I was wishing for the same thing I'd been wishing for earlier – the chance to make Chloe my own.

  I leaned my head closer. "Whatever I'm wishing for, it's not that."

  "But you must be freezing," she said.

  "Nope."

  She trembled against me. "Liar."

  "No lie here." I held her tight and whispered in her ear. "Here a beautiful girl falls from the sky right into my lap, and you think I'm gonna let something as stupid as the temperature bother me?"

  She gave another little shiver. "Beautiful?"

  Bishop's voice cut through the darkness. "Don't forget half-naked."

  With a gasp, Chloe pulled away.

  That's it. I was going to have to kill him.

  Later.

  With a muttered curse, I glared in the direction of his voice. "Don't you have a bunch of people to get rid of?"

  He strode out of the shadows. "Already done."

  Chloe looked up. "That quick?"

  "Yup." He turned his gaze on me. "But I woul
dn’t be expecting any thank you cards, if you know what I mean."

  Like I cared. "I can live with that," I said.

  "I'm heading out," Bishop said. "See ya in an hour." With that, he turned away and disappeared into the darkness.

  Chloe stared after him. "Well, he's interesting."

  "You don't know the half of it," I said.

  "Where's he going, anyway?"

  I shrugged. "Who knows."

  "Is he like a security guy or something?"

  Bishop was a lot of things. He was my brother. He was my partner in a certain side-venture. He was a pain in my ass and a thorn in my side. And yeah, he was also someone I'd kill for, because fair was fair.

  But I didn't want to talk about him. I wanted to talk about Chloe. "It's the 'or something'," I said.

  "You're not gonna tell me?" she said.

  I studied her face. "You not gonna tell me what happened tonight?"

  She glanced down. "Honestly? It's pretty boring."

  "Uh-huh. Boring. Got it." Giving her no time to argue, I cradled her in my arms and stood. "Now, c'mon, let's get you inside."

  With Chloe nestled against me, I strode toward the house, trying to ignore how good it felt to hold her like this. I reminded myself that her hair was wet and her skin was cold. She was banged up, maybe bruised, and potentially hurt in ways that I didn't yet know.

  Still, when she pressed tighter against me, I felt a surge of warmth that defied the weather. As I walked, I looked down to study her face. Her eyes were closed, and her lips were parted.

  I wanted to kiss her.

  God, I was such a bastard.

  With her eyes still shut, she spoke in a voice that was almost playful. "You know, I can walk."

  "So?"

  She opened her eyes and gazed up at me. "So you don't have to carry me."

  "Yes, I do." I kept on moving. "You're not wearing shoes."

  "Hey, I got this far, didn't I?"

  "Uh-huh."

  "Seriously, you can put me down."

  The idea was laughable. "Uh. No."

  By now, we'd made it to my back patio. From there, I had several doors to choose from. One of those doors led to a private wing that had been off-limits to party guests. I nudged us through it, and soon, we were travelling down a short hallway and into my favorite living area.

  A keeping room – that's what the realtor had called it. It had oak floors, floor-to-ceiling windows, and a massive stone fireplace that took up most of the far wall.

  With Chloe still cradled against me, I headed toward the largest sofa and started to set her down.

  "Wait," she said.

  I stopped in mid-motion. "What?"

  She gave the sofa a worried glance. "I don’t want to get your couch dirty."

  I laughed. "Forget the couch."

  "I can't." She looked down at the white upholstery. "What if I ruin it?"

  Then I'd replace it. Not a big deal. In the big scheme of things, a couch was nothing – unlike the girl in my arms.

  But if it bothered her, I had ways of dealing with it. I turned us around so it was my ass, not hers, that faced the sofa. "Hold on," I said.

  "For what?"

  "This." Carefully, I fell backward onto the sofa, taking Chloe with me in a safe, tumbled heap.

  She was supposed to laugh. She didn't. Instead, she looked past her bare feet to give the white upholstery another worried look. Following her gaze, I saw what she saw – bits of mulch and dark smudges where her feet had touched.

  She frowned.

  "Stop thinking about it," I said. "You didn't get it dirty. I did."

  "Only by a technicality."

  "Forget it," I said. "Now c'mon, tell me what happened."

  Chapter 30

  The room was bright, giving me my first good look at the girl in my arms. Doing a quick scan, I saw no evidence of violence. It was a good sign, but no guarantee. She still hadn't answered my question. What happened?

  I waited, refusing to let her off the hook. If someone had hurt her, I needed to know. And then, I'd deal with it one way or another.

  She lowered her face, looking up at me through long, dark lashes. "I just got locked out. Okay?"

  I gave her a dubious look. "There's more to the story than that."

  "Yeah, there is," she said. "And it's called stupidity. Can't we just leave it at that?"

  I raised an eyebrow. "Stupidity?"

  She gave me a sheepish smile. "Well, that and Chucky."

  Chucky? Something in my shoulders eased. By now, the dog and I were practically best buddies. He was smart – too smart sometimes. I felt a slow grin spread across my face. So it was just a thing with the dog? She hadn't been attacked? Or hurt? She'd seriously fallen, half-naked, into my yard by chance?

  Man, I loved that dog.

  After this, I owed him a special treat – maybe a T-bone and a designer purse. He liked those, right?

  I was still smiling. I couldn’t help it. "Now, that makes sense," I said. "What? Did he outsmart you?"

  "Hey," she said. "I'm smarter than a dog." The corners of her mouth lifted. "Just not as devious."

  She was still cradled in my lap, and I made no move to let her go. Instead, I reached out and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and asked, "You sure you're okay?"

  Her lips, pale blue just a few moments earlier, had warmed to a nice, healthy pink. She smiled. "Other than my wounded pride, I'm fine."

  I'd been drinking all night – shots, beers, whatever. But the buzz I'd gotten that way was nothing compared to the sight of Chloe, curled up on my lap and smiling. Yeah, her hair was wet. And yeah, her legs were smudged. And yeah, she was wearing a shirt several sizes too big.

  But she was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.

  She glanced at my chest, and her smile faltered. "I'm getting you all dirty."

  Yeah, she was. But not in the way she thought. "Chloe," I said, "you don’t know the half of it."

  She was looking a lot warmer now. She felt warmer, too. But then, she trembled in my arms.

  "Still cold?" I asked. "Need a blanket?" Reluctantly, I began to pull away.

  "No." She held on tight. "I'm fine. Really."

  I looked down at her. She was fine. She felt fine, too. And if I held her much longer, I'd be tempted to show her all the fine things I could do to a girl who meant something to me.

  Somehow, I made myself say, "I'm being an ass, aren't I?"

  Her voice was soft and sleepy at the edges. "Huh?"

  "Here, you are. You're sitting there shivering, locked out of the house, and for all I know, banged up." I made myself pull back, determined to make sure, once and for all, that she wasn't hurt. I started at the top of her head and slowly worked my way down.

  When my gaze reached her breasts, I felt myself swallow. Through the borrowed shirt, I saw her nipples straining against the thin white fabric. They looked hard and ready, and so damn tempting.

  I wanted to take them into my mouth and make them harder. I wanted to roll them between my fingers and hear her whimper for more. I wanted to warm her all the way through and make her shiver with something other than the cold.

  God, I was such a pig.

  I was supposed to be checking her for injuries, not molesting her with my eyes.

  With an effort, I yanked my gaze downward and didn't pause until I reached her toes. Finally, I breathed a sigh of relief. She was okay. I gave her another long look. That was a massive understatement. She was more than okay. She was the most tempting thing I'd ever seen.

  The room was feeling a lot warmer now. Or maybe that was just me. I reached up to rub the back of my neck and forced myself to say what I should've said earlier. "Do you need a shower or bath or something?"

  Looking suddenly self-conscious, she lifted a hand to the wet tangles of her hair. Her fingers came away with bits of dried leaves. She looked them for a long moment, and then laughed, soft and sweet in the quiet room.

  The sound warmed me
all the way down, and I couldn't believe my luck. I had my dream girl. She was here, healthy and whole. And so far, she'd said nothing about leaving. I leaned down to rest my forehead against hers. "What's so funny?"

  She gave me a smile that melted my heart. "I am so incredibly –"

  "Irresistible?"

  "Um, no…"

  "Adorable? Breathtaking? Impossible to forget?"

  And that wasn't the booze talking.

  Laughing, she shook her head. "Actually, I was going to say 'gross'." She looked down at her legs, still streaked with smudges and dirt. "Yeah, I guess I probably do need a shower."

  She looked so adorable that I had to smile. "Probably," I said, letting my eyes roam the length of her. "But I've gotta be honest. You look fine to me, just the way you are."

  Breathlessly, she said, "Yeah?"

  Something in her voice made my body pulse. But this was Chloe, and I was determined to do things right.

  "And," I warned her, "you should probably run as fast as you can for the shower now, before I get tempted to prove it."

  Her breath caught, and I saw her swallow. Her tongue, small and pink, darted out, brushing the inside of her upper lip. The motion, subtle as it was, made want to groan out loud.

  What was it about her? I hadn't even touched her, well, not in any serious way. And already, I felt like if I didn't have her soon, I'd go insane.

  But, I reminded myself, I'd rather go insane than ever risk hurting her, or scaring her, or making her think she was just another girl. I was in this for the long haul. So I waited.

  Finally, she gave me a slow, seductive smile. "A little proof wouldn't be so awful."

  If she let me, I'd give her a lot more than a little. But for now, I leaned forward until our lips were almost touching. If she wanted to run, this was her chance. It might be her only chance.

  She didn't run.

  Finally, our lips met. I started slow and soft, savoring the sweetness of her mouth on mine. The kiss was everything I imagined, but still not enough. With Chloe, it might never be enough.

  I deepened the kiss, moving one hand to her back and the other to her hair. I ran my fingers through the damp, tangled strands, wondering how it would look across my pillow.

  She pressed herself closer, arching up, as if hungry for more. I wanted more, too. A lot more. I wrapped my arms tight around her and tumbled backward onto the sofa, taking her with me.