by Amy Lamont
I walked to the windows and tried to peer into the trees, searching for all the secrets the woods had to offer.
“This is incredible, Cole. It’s magical.” And it was. Even better than the Christmas lights on all the houses.
“Make yourself at home.” He pointed to the stairway. “I’ll bring your bag up to the bedroom, but you can take your time exploring.”
I fought down the moment of panic that came when he mentioned carrying my suitcase out of my sight. Everything I had left in the world, not that it was much, was stored in that case.
I somehow managed a nod.
“You okay?” His perceptive gaze narrowed on me.
“I am. Just…like you said. I’m a woman alone in a strange place. Common sense is telling me I should head for the hills.”
Cole left my bag sitting at the base of the stairs and marched over to me. I did my best to hold my ground as he loomed closer, but it wasn’t easy. His bulk meant he could easily overpower me in seconds should he choose to. He stopped when only a few inches separated us and reached for my hand.
Instead of squeezing it as he did on the ride over, he placed it over his heart, keeping his own hand covering it there. “You do not have anything to fear in my home, Ivy. I promise you.”
Again, I had the sense that he was making a vow, one that he would keep. Maybe I was being stupid or allowing my imagination to get the better of me. But it was Christmas, my favorite time of the year. I’d been on the run for over a month, spending most of my nights dozing on a bus or sleeping fitfully in a hotel room with scratchy sheets and questionable carpeting. I wanted more than anything to believe him.
So I made the decision, for better or for worse, to do it.
“I believe you, Cole,” I said softly, holding his gaze.
Something shifted in his eyes and his expression went from serious to molten in seconds. “Good.”
He moved in closer and allowed his forehead to drop against mine. My lips parted in surprise and I found myself wishing for another first from him, in addition to the first date I’d had this morning. More than I wanted my next breath, I wanted him to give me my first kiss.
He stood there for several long moments, his forehead against mine and my hand still held to his heart. Our breath mingled and I leaned forward slightly.
But my first kiss wasn’t to be. After a few more seconds, Cole straightened and dropped my hand. He pressed a warm kiss against my forehead—not at all the steamy, smoldering first kiss I’d been hoping for.
But since I’d been severely lacking in human contact for months now, I’d take what I could get.
As I watched Cole return to my suitcase and carry it up the stairs, I sent up a little prayer to the universe. “Please don’t let him disappoint me.”
Chapter 6
Ivy
I took Cole at his word and explored the first floor. There wasn’t much more to it than what I’d already seen. The great room encompassed the dining room, kitchen, and family room all in one. Off the hall behind the kitchen was a powder room, laundry room and a small room that Cole had turned into a home gym.
I spent a few minutes in there imagining him shirtless, his muscles straining and glistening with sweat as he used the equipment.
Down girl.
I moved back into the great room just as Cole came down the stairs. He held up his cell phone.
“Just got a call from my boss. Looks like this storm is moving in fast and furious and might dump quite a bit of snow on us. We might be stuck here for a day or two.”
My heart stuttered in my chest at the thought of being snowed in with Cole for two days. The bad weather might mean we couldn’t get out. But it also meant my stalkers couldn’t get in.
I resisted the urge to jump up and down in glee. Who would have thought I’d be this excited to get stuck in a snow storm?
Then something occurred to me. “Am I keeping you from anything? Do you need to go into work or is there anybody else you need to see to?”
Cole stepped closer and shook his head. “No. I was working on a case that’s just about settled and nobody I need to go see to.”
Relief filled my chest at his words. Silly of me to worry at this point about whether he already had a woman in his life. Not that I was vying for that role. My life didn’t exactly lend itself to a relationship right at the present moment.
But when I looked at Cole, my dream man, an odd sense of possession stole over me. I think hearing he was already involved with someone would hurt more than I could fathom.
“You need some Christmas decorations in here,” I blurted. I don’t know where the words came from, other than my need to escape my own crazy thoughts. “It’s already December. What are you waiting for?”
He grinned. “Do I look like a deck the halls kind of guy to you?”
I eyed him. And then swallowed. Hard. He did not look like a deck the halls kind of guy. He looked like a guy who could grace the cover of a Soldier of Fortune magazine. The kind of guy who knew how to fight his way out of a sticky situation. A guy whose motto might be something like, “Take No Prisoners.”
I grinned up at him at my silly thoughts. “I’ll give you that. But just because badass is you day job, does that mean you can’t hang up a few Christmas lights?”
He grinned at my teasing, but then as he looked at me, his eyes grew dark. Not in a menacing way, but in a way that made my belly feel melty and my pulse rate to kick up an extra notch or thirty.
Again I found myself hoping he’d come on over and lay some firsts on me. But even as I had the thought, he squared his jaw and fisted his hands at his sides. A little glow of hope ignited inside me. It seemed like maybe he was experiencing at least some of the same feelings I was if his reaction was anything to go by.
Silly me, I should be happy he wasn’t pouncing on me the first chance he got. I had to remind myself that even though I’d been seeing him in my dreams for over a month, he’d only shown up in my real life this morning.
But I’d known from the first time he appeared in my dreams I had feelings for him. Having him standing in front of me, larger than life, and bringing with him a sense of security and safety I hadn’t had in a while, I couldn’t help but wish he was a little less honorable.
“Let me go check the generator and bring in some wood for the fireplace. If we’re going to be here for a couple of days, we might as well be as comfortable as possible. You want to check the fridge, see if we have enough food to get us through a few days?”
I nodded and headed to the kitchen while he headed out toward the side door. A half an hour later, I’d made myself at home, kicking off my shoes and settling into a corner of his ginormous couch, when he came in carrying a load of firewood that he piled up in a rack to the left of the fireplace. My eyes might have lingered over the muscles of his back and some other parts as they flexed and stretched with his movements.
By the time he turned around I was tempted to check for drool. The man had muscles on top of muscles and they were a sight to behold, even covered in plaid flannel.
“We all stocked up?” he asked.
I rolled my eyes. “You might not look like a Boy Scout, but you’ve got the whole be prepared thing down. Your kitchen has enough food stocked to feed an army for the rest of the month.”
He sent me a wicked grin and dropped down onto the couch beside me. “I tend to need a lot of calories to get me through the day. Especially this time of year.”
I allowed my gaze to rake over him, taking in the view of his muscular frame from the front this time. Heat suffused my cheeks as I realized I was checking him out and not even trying to hide it.
I lifted my gaze up to meet his amused eyes and teasing grin. I shook my head and did my best at nonchalance. “Yup. You look like you could pack away some calories.”
“And you look like a gust of wind could carry you away, but I saw the breakfast you packed away this morning. Where do you put all that?” It was his turn to rake his g
aze over me, but I don’t think he felt even the slightest tinge of embarrassment about getting caught ogling.
“I don’t normally eat like that. I’ve just been traveling a few days and haven’t had a chance to stop for a good meal.” I held back a grimace as I realized it was well more than few days since I’d had a good meal. Since the Thanksgiving on a roll sandwich I picked up at that hole in the wall diner in Montana, I’d been living mostly on stuff I could grab from vending machines and convenience stores.
I pulled my thoughts back to my current conversation to find Cole staring at me with a sharp gaze. It seemed like he could like right into me and pull my thoughts out one by one.
I shook off the feeling and decided to return things to the light, teasing banter. “I had two thoughts while you were out doing your hunting and gathering thing.” I gestured over to the firewood.
“Only two?” he asked with a grin.
I pressed my lips together and shook my head at him. “Don’t be a wise guy.”
He laughed outright and relaxed more into the cushions. “I’ll try to behave.”
“That would be appreciated.” I tried to sound haughty, but his smile told me he was onto me. “Anyway, first I was thinking it would be nice if I volunteered to do the cooking while we’re snowed in as my way of saying thank you for giving me a place to stay.”
“Sounds good to me.”
I held up a hand. “Before you get too excited about the idea, I probably should inform you that I don’t know how good of a cook I am.”
“You’re a bad cook?”
“Well, that’s not exactly true. I’ve just…well, I’ve never actually attempted to cook before. So it’s not necessarily that I’m a bad cook. I might have the natural abilities of a master chef. I just have yet to have the opportunity to flex those particular set of skills.”
Cole was grinning so hard I was afraid he might pop a blood vessel in his cheek or something. “You’ve never cooked? Like anything?”
I tilted my head and gazed upward while I considered it. “I don’t think so. I have some dim memory of our housekeeper letting me help her make cookies once when I was little. But my dad had pretty strict rules about everyone’s role in the household, so I never got much of a chance to test my skills in the kitchen.”
“What about your mom?” Cole asked quietly.
I shrugged. “She died when I was about a year old.”
He reached out and his hand gave one of my sock-clad feet a squeeze. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. You must have missed her growing up.”
A thrill ran through me at the endearment he used, spoken in his low grumbly, growly voice, but I managed, just barely, to stay focused on the conversation. I shrugged. “I don’t remember her at all. I guess I missed not having a mom, but I always had my dad.”
Funny how the thought of my dad made me sadder than the thought of losing my mom. Hard to get too sad over something I never had. But for my whole life I’d had my father. Or at least I thought I had.
Cole shook my foot, bringing me back to the present. “How about this? Since I like to eat and I don’t have a housekeeper, I’ve managed to pick up enough cooking skills to keep myself from starving or poisoning myself. How about I teach you what I know? We can make dinner together tonight.”
He’d be giving me another first. I smiled softly. “That sounds perfect.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do. Now tell me, what was the second thought you had?”
It hadn’t escaped my notice that he’d managed to pull me from my melancholy thoughts. Amazing how easily he could do that.
“The second thought…” While he was outside, I’d had a little premonition. For the first time it didn’t involve men chasing me or my father betraying me. Instead I’d seen Cole and I decorating his house for Christmas. “I was thinking about what you said about how you rented this place from the family that owns the property.”
He nodded.
“Did it come furnished?”
He confirmed my suspicions with another nod.
“I had a feeling. Because along with not looking like a deck the halls kind of guy, you also don’t look like the kind of guy who picked out those curtains with the roosters on them in the kitchen window.” I nodded toward the window over the sink that looked out into the side yard.
He laughed and gave my foot another shake. Warmth spread through me. How could such an innocent touch make heat start to pool in my belly?
“Anyway, it made me think maybe there was storage here. An attic or something? And maybe the family you rent from left some Christmas decorations behind.”
“There is an attic.”
I sat up and looked at him expectantly. “And?”
He let out an exasperated sigh as he got up from the couch. “And I guess I’ll be going to look to see if I can unearth Christmas decorations.”
I couldn’t help it. I all but bounced in my seat, clapping my hands together. I had no doubt he’d find Christmas decorations in the attic.
Chapter 7
Ivy
The rest of the day was the most magical of my life. There were no lies hiding under the surface that would one day mar the memories of the time I spent with Cole like they did the ones I had with my father. Instead, we had a day filled with simple pleasures, something I’d grown a whole new appreciation for in the last month.
Cole had indeed managed to unearth some Christmas decorations. We’d spent the afternoon hanging lights and greenery over the fireplace, placing Santas and snowmen on end tables, and hanging stockings along the mantel. We’d even found enough white, twinkly lights to string around the top of the room, giving the whole place a festive glow as the sun started to get low in the sky.
Outside Mother Nature did her best to bury us in layer upon layer of heavy, wet snow. But inside stayed snug and warm. Cole built the fire high and the Christmas lights lit the entire room with a cozy radiance. For the first time in forever, I allowed myself to relax.
As the day grew into evening, Cole made good on his promise to teach me to cook. And he meant it when he said he would teach me. He talked me through each part, step-by-step, and in a couple of instances found reason to press his hard body against the length of my back as he showed me how to do chop a vegetable or break up meat.
I enjoyed every second of it. The cooking and the tension that sparked between us.
As we sat close on the couch in front of the fireplace, eating bowls of delicious, spicy chili and rice, the attraction between us became harder and harder to ignore. All afternoon we’d found excuses to pass close to each other, to touch each other and lean into one another.
Now I was all but sprawled across Cole’s lap, my legs stretched out over his. Considering how hard I’d always found it to get close to people before, it astounded me now that after less than a day I felt so incredibly comfortable with him.
I finished up my chili and placed the empty bowl on the coffee table. I leaned my cheek against the couch and watched him eat, shocked at how content I felt just to be near him, watching him doing something so mundane.
“Thank you for today,” I said softly. “I enjoyed every minute of it.”
“You’re welcome. I enjoyed it, too. It reminded me of snow days when I was kid.”
I smiled at the thought of Cole as a little boy. “Do you have family back in North Dakota?”
His lips got tight for a second and something flashed behind his eyes. “A few. But most of them moved away from where I grew up. My parents are in Wisconsin and my younger brother’s in the Army so he goes pretty much wherever they send him.”
I reached out and rubbed my hand soothingly over his arm. I didn’t know what nerve I struck, but I knew I hit something. “You must miss them.”
He nodded. “I do. I grew up with a big extended family. It’s hard for me to think they’re spread out all over the country now.”
“I guess that’s life. Everyone goes in their own direction.”
He shook hi
s head, and this time I recognized the emotion that flashed in his eyes. Anger. “In our case it was more like they were pushed in their own directions.”
My hand froze on his arm. I could feel the tension in his muscles beneath my fingers. “I don’t want to bring up bad memories, but if you want to talk about it…”
He shook his head, but then stopped himself. “It’s nothing new. It’s what happened to a lot of dens when people started to find out about us.”
I heard his words, but it took a minute for the meaning to penetrate. Dens. I might have been sheltered, but even I watched the news. I heard ten years ago when the shifters broke the news of their existence.
Of course, I might as well have been reading one of my novels for all that it touched me. I’d heard stories about the hate groups that grew and tried to push the shifters out. Sounds like in the case of Cole’s family, the hate groups succeeded.
Then the full implication of what he’d told me sunk in. I gripped his bicep. “You’re…you’re a shifter?”
He turned his head and his eyes met mine, though he kept his expression carefully blank. ‘Yes, Ivy. I’m a bear shifter.”
I let that information sink in. And as I absorbed it, I realized it didn’t come as that big of a shock. Even in my dreams, I’d sensed something different about Cole. And since meeting him this morning, there’s been an undercurrent of awareness that seemed beyond normal attraction.
And of course Cole was a bear. Looking at him—his bulk, his rugged features, his growly voice—he might as well have “bear shifter” flashing on his forehead.
I grinned at him. “Another first you’ve given me.”
His eyebrows pulled together. “What?”
“This morning at the diner when you asked me to have breakfast with you…that was my very first date. I don’t know if you intended it to be a date, but at the ripe old age of twenty-two, I’ll take what I can get.”
“Ivy…”
I didn’t let him get another word in. “Then this evening, you gave me my very first cooking lesson. And now you’re telling me you’re a bear shifter. Before I started traveling the last month, I didn’t have a chance to meet very many people. And as far as I know, none of them were shifters. So you’re the first I’ve met.”