Colton's Cinderella Bride

by Lisa Childs

  “What happened?” she asked the female officer.

  “I don’t know,” Juliette replied. “She went after a perp. I don’t think he shot her because I don’t see an entrance wound.”

  Patience turned her attention to the dog. She would deal with her brother later. “No blood...”

  Juliette’s breath shuddered out. But a lack of blood wasn’t always a good thing. There might have been no blood because the injuries and bleeding were all internal.

  Patience ran her hands along the dog’s side, and Sasha whimpered softly and arched her neck. Patience rubbed the dog’s head between her ears. “It’s okay...” she soothed her. To Juliette, she said, “I’m going to take some X-rays. You two should step outside.”

  Juliette hesitated, clearly unwilling to leave her partner alone. But Blake slid his arm around the slight woman and escorted her toward the waiting room.

  And Patience drew in a deep breath. She wasn’t just worried about the dog. Now she was worried about her brother, too. She had never seen him look at anyone the way he’d looked at Juliette—with such caring and concern.

  Had her father been right? Should she not have called Blake to come back to Red Ridge? Because if he had fallen for the beautiful K9 cop, he would be putting his life in danger—from the Groom Killer.

  But that wasn’t all the danger he faced if he was involved with Juliette Walsh. She’d heard about the murder in the park—the one Juliette’s daughter had witnessed.

  She tensed as she suddenly understood the message her father had left her. The voice mail had told her that she needed to talk some sense into her brother. She hadn’t had a chance or the inclination to call him back yet.

  But now she knew what he was talking about...

  Juliette Walsh.

  She pushed concern for her brother aside, though, as she focused on the beagle instead. Once she read the X-rays she’d taken, she finally blew out the breath she’d been holding. She opened the door to her exam room and gestured for Blake and Juliette to step back inside.

  “How bad is it?” Juliette asked, her blue eyes glistening with unshed tears. She really loved her partner.

  How did she feel about Patience’s brother?

  Patience smiled reassuringly. “She’s fine. Just bruised. I would say someone kicked her side.”

  Juliette leaned over her dog and pressed her head against the dog’s as she rubbed her neck. “You are such a good girl. You tried to get him...”

  “Do you think she got a piece of him?” Blake asked.

  Juliette stepped back, and Patience looked in the dog’s mouth. A few strands of denim were stuck between her teeth. “Looks like she might have gotten his jeans.”

  “Good dog,” Blake praised the canine, too.

  “What’s going on?” Patience asked. And she wasn’t asking about just what had happened to Sasha. She suspected it was that other killer on the loose who’d kicked her. She was asking what was going on with them. How did Blake even know Juliette Walsh?

  “The man who killed the woman in the park was in my house,” Juliette told her.

  And apparently so was Blake.

  “Sasha alerted me to his presence,” Juliette said as she lovingly ran her hand over the dog’s head again. “If she hadn’t, I might not have survived.”

  The color drained from Blake’s face, leaving him looking pale and shaken. The thought of losing Juliette obviously upset him. What did she mean to him?

  “Are you okay?” Patience asked her. She narrowed her eyes and studied the woman. She looked as upset as Blake was. She truly had had a close call.

  Juliette nodded. “Yes, I’m fine—as long as she will be...” She stared down at her dog.

  Patience smiled. She loved how close every K9 officer was to his or her canine partner. But then, that was bound to happen when they trusted each other with their lives. Patience’s smile slid into a frown. “I heard you’re in danger. And your daughter, too.” She glanced at her brother. “I’m sorry...”

  “We’ll catch him,” Juliette said, but she still sounded scared and uncertain.

  “We will,” Blake insisted.

  “We?” Patience asked, and her control on her curiosity snapped. “What the hell are you talking about? You’re a businessman, not a police officer!” She hadn’t called him to Red Ridge to lose him.

  “That’s what I keep telling him,” Juliette said. “He needs to stop trying to protect me.”

  Blake shook his head. “I can’t.”

  “Why not?” Patience asked. Was he in love with the beautiful K9 cop?

  “Because she’s the mother of my daughter.”

  Patience’s knees shook for a moment, and she nearly dropped. But she clutched the edge of the exam table and stayed upright. Sasha licked her hand, as if in commiseration or out of gratitude.

  Her brother was a father? She was an aunt?

  “No way,” she murmured.

  And she couldn’t help but think that her dad was finally right about something. She never should have called Blake back to Red Ridge—because it was clear to her now that he was in danger.

  * * *

  Blake waited for Juliette to step across the threshold and enter his suite. She hesitated so long that he was tempted to pick her up like he had that night so long ago and carry her across it.

  But he’d freaked himself out when he’d done that because it had felt too much like a honeymoon. And he’d never intended to get married. Then.

  That hadn’t changed, even though he knew he had a daughter now. Sure, he’d never intended to be a father, either, but that choice had been taken from him.

  And he wasn’t mad about that at all.

  Juliette seemed mad, though. But then, she hadn’t wanted to come back here when he’d asked her earlier. It had taken her house getting shot up and her canine partner hurt for her to agree to return to the suite with him.

  “You hadn’t told her,” she murmured as she finally stepped inside with him.

  Before he closed the door, he glanced into the hallway and expelled a breath of relief to see one of the bodyguards standing sentry. They would be safe tonight.

  “What?” he asked, his brow furrowed. He couldn’t figure out why she was angry.

  “You hadn’t told your sister about Pandora,” she said.

  He shrugged. “I’m not that close to my family. You realize that...” She knew more about him than anyone else—especially his family.

  “Is that the real reason you didn’t tell her?” she asked.

  He nodded. “What other reason could I have?”

  “You’re ashamed of her. Of us...”

  Now he understood why she was angry. But her accusation made him angry, too. “Stop calling me a snob,” he said. “I don’t care that you used to be a maid. I respect that you have always been a hard worker. And there is no way I would ever be ashamed of Pandora.” His voice cracked with emotion when he added, “She’s amazing...”

  And not just because she was his. He would have thought she was special even if he wasn’t related to her.

  “Yes, she is,” Juliette agreed. And there was so much pride and love in her voice.

  “My father knows,” he admitted. “I thought that he’d probably told my sisters.” He was surprised that he hadn’t, but then, his father wasn’t convinced that the little girl was Blake’s. He wanted to see her first.

  And even then, he probably still wouldn’t believe it.

  He stepped closer to Juliette and tipped up her chin so that he could stare deeply into her beautiful eyes. “You have to stop this...thinking I would be ashamed of you,” he said. “You and Pandora should be ashamed of me.”

  Her lips curved into a smile. “Really?”

  “Yes,” he said. “I’m a Colton.”

  She tilted her head.

/>   “Being a Colton isn’t always exactly a source of pride,” he told her. “My cousin’s wanted for murder.”

  “It’s looking less and less like Demi is the Groom Killer,” Juliette said.

  He shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. Other members of distant branches of the Colton family have been killers.”

  “So what are you telling me?” she asked. “That I should sleep with one eye open?”

  “Maybe you shouldn’t sleep at all,” he told her.

  She narrowed her eyes with suspicion, but she grinned. “You told me that I would be able to sleep here.”

  He had—when he’d finally convinced her to come back with him. Patience had had her leave Sasha with her for the night—just to make sure the beagle got a chance to rest and recover.

  “Do you want to sleep?” he asked. She looked exhausted—with dark circles beneath her eyes. He really should let her sleep.

  But she shook her head, stepped closer and pressed her lips to his. Against his mouth, she murmured, “I want you...”

  He wanted her, too—so badly. But he was worried that she was totally exhausting herself trying to catch this killer, so he pulled back and stared down at her. “You should sleep. You need your rest.”

  “I need...”

  He waited for her to say—to say that she needed him. But instead she said, “I need this...” She yanked up his shirt and pulled it over his head. “I have all this adrenaline...”

  He could understand that—after the shooting. His pulse was racing, too, but it wasn’t because of the bullets that had been flying. It was because of her.

  She unbuttoned his jeans and jerked down the zipper. Then her fingers were closing around him, stroking him...

  He groaned as his control snapped. Then he swung her up in his arms and carried her into the bedroom. Just as quickly as she’d undressed him, he undressed her until finally they were skin to skin.

  Almost as close as they could be...

  But he wanted to be closer. He grabbed a condom packet and tore it open. She pulled out the condom before he could and rolled it down his shaft.

  He groaned again and pushed her back onto the bed. But he didn’t immediately join their bodies. Instead he made sure she was ready for him—with his fingers, with his mouth...

  She squirmed against the mattress and arched against him, crying out as he gave her pleasure. He wanted to give her more. But before he could, she was grabbing his shoulders and pulling him up the bed. Then she shoved him onto his back and straddled him.

  Maybe—with all the attempts on her life—she needed to feel in control again—because she controlled the pace, sliding up and down, rocking back and forth...driving him out of his mind.

  Tension gripped his body, and sweat beaded on his brow and upper lip. Then she leaned down and kissed it away, kissing him deeply.

  He slid his hands up from her hips to her breasts and teased her nipples into taut points with his fingers. Then he arched up from the bed and closed his mouth around one.

  She cried out as she came, her inner muscles gripping and convulsing around his shaft. He thrust up, seeking his release, as he gripped her hips and moved her up and down, and finally the tension inside him broke.

  A low, deep groan ripped from his throat as pleasure overwhelmed him.

  She moved off him and dropped onto the bed, trying to catch her breath. He was panting, too. He forced himself up, though, and into the bathroom to clean up. When he returned to the bed, she was asleep—her breathing slow and even.

  Careful not to disturb her, he slid into bed next to her and pulled up the sheets. She rolled over, and it was as if she’d been looking for him because she settled against him. Her head against his shoulder, her arm across his chest.

  He settled his arm around her and held her closely. She was safe now. But he knew that once she awoke she would insist on leaving—on putting herself in danger again.

  And he was afraid that it was only a matter of time before one of the killer’s attempts to get her proved successful. It was only a matter of time before Pandora lost her mother and Blake lost...

  Everything.

  That was what Juliette was beginning to mean to him: everything.

  Chapter 18

  “Is she okay?” Juliette anxiously asked as Patience Colton brought Sasha out of the kennel the next morning.

  The beagle wagged her tail and greeted Juliette, who had dropped to her knees, with wet kisses. Her entire brown-and-white body moved with excitement at seeing her. And not even a whimper slipped out.

  “She’s fine,” Patience assured her. “I gave her a sedative to calm her down last night, so she would sleep. And she’s raring to go this morning.”

  Juliette breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m so glad.”

  “Like I told you last night, she still needs to take it easy for a couple of days, though,” Patience advised her. “Just until the swelling goes down.”

  “Will that be long enough?” Juliette asked. A couple of days wasn’t too long—not after she’d worried that she’d lost her last night when she’d heard the whimpering in the dark.

  “Yes,” Patience said.

  “Thank you,” Juliette said. “I need her.”

  “What about my brother?” Patience asked.

  Juliette glanced uneasily around the training center. The vet was not alone in the long brick building. Hayley Patton worked as a trainer there, but she must have been late because Juliette didn’t see the blonde woman when she looked around. Of course she’d heard that Hayley was using her fiancé’s death as her excuse for everything—for calling in sick to work, for being late...for not paying her bills.

  “What do you mean?” Juliette asked Patience, even though she was pretty certain she knew. Blake’s sister was asking her what her intentions were for her younger brother.

  “Do you need him?” Patience asked.

  Juliette was afraid that she did—especially after last night. She’d felt so safe and secure in his arms that she’d slept more deeply than she had in a long time. But she shouldn’t have felt safe with him because she had a feeling that he could hurt her badly if she let herself fall for him.

  “I don’t need him,” Juliette said. “I can take care of myself. I’ve been doing it for years.”

  “And your daughter,” Patience added. “You’ve taken care of Pandora for years on your own, too. Why did you tell Blake now?”

  “He saw her,” Juliette admitted. “And he figured it out.”

  “And if he hadn’t?” his sister asked.

  Juliette tensed. She’d known he was back in town because everybody in Red Ridge had been talking about his return. She’d even known where to find him. But she hadn’t sought him out—hadn’t gone to tell him that he was a father despite Elle urging her to do it.

  Patience waited and watched, then nodded. “If you really don’t need my brother, then you should let him go now,” she said.

  “I don’t have him,” Juliette said. While she’d admitted to being afraid that he might break her heart along with Pandora’s, he had expressed no such fear. His heart was safe from her. While he wanted her physically, he wasn’t as emotionally invested as she was.

  “It certainly looked like you had him last night,” Patience said.

  Juliette’s face flushed with embarrassment. But the vet couldn’t know what they’d done in Blake’s suite. She must have been talking about the way Blake had acted when they were in her office.

  “And he’s been following you, trying to protect you,” Patience said as she glanced around the kennels. “I’m surprised he’s not here now.”

  Juliette had snuck out again before he’d awakened. But she wasn’t about to share that with his sister. Her face heated even more with embarrassment, though.

  And Patience nodded again, as if she’d figur
ed it out anyway.

  “I don’t want Blake following me,” Juliette said. Maybe his sister could talk some sense into him, but she didn’t think it was likely since she and the chief had already failed. “I don’t want him putting himself in danger.”

  “Then cut him loose,” Patience said. “Before he gets hurt. Make it clear you want nothing to do with him. Or he might wind up the next victim of the Groom Killer.”

  Juliette gasped. “We’re not getting married. I don’t even think he’s going to stay in Red Ridge.” And if that was the case, she and Pandora were the ones who would wind up getting hurt. Not Blake.

  But his sister was right—for all their sakes. She had to cut him loose.

  * * *

  Damn it!

  She’d done it again. She’d slipped away while Blake had been sleeping. Fortunately the bodyguards had stayed on her. They’d assured him a patrol car had been following her, as well. So she was safe...

  Was he?

  After last night, he knew he was beginning to fall for her. He shouldn’t. He still couldn’t trust her. She hadn’t told him about his daughter. Even now, she admonished him for not seeing Pandora enough while pushing him away when he had. Did she want him to be part of their lives?

  Her indecisiveness left him wary—so wary that he was meeting with a lawyer who had called him at his father’s urging, and Blake had agreed to talk with him.

  “I want to make sure my daughter is taken care of,” Blake said.

  Unlike his father, Blake made that his first priority. He wanted to make sure Pandora always had what she needed. That was why he wanted to keep Juliette safe—because she needed her mother more than anything else.

  He really should have skipped this meeting until after the killer was caught. He couldn’t really focus on this—or the business he’d tried conducting earlier—with thoughts of Juliette in his head. He remembered that flash of gunfire behind her picture window before the glass had exploded.

  Her falling in the parking lot the day before...

  Yes, it was only a matter of time before the killer tried again. He had to be caught.