Wait For Me: Swoon Series

by J. H. Croix

  I wasn’t up for conversation and, blessedly, someone else said something to Wade, and he turned away to reply. Glancing at my watch, I calculated I’d been here for a solid hour, more than enough time. If necessary, I would claim I had headache. In a way, I did.

  Turning, I clapped Wade’s shoulder as I passed by and started to thread through the crowd. I wasn’t paying much attention to where I was going when Evie’s voice caught my ears, dragging my gaze sideways to where she stood only a few feet away.

  “Excuse me?” Her tone was sharp.

  Without thinking, I veered closer, stopping at her side just as the man who had been staring down her cleavage curled his hand around her upper arm. Her skin dimpled under his grip, deep enough I figured he’d leave bruises. I cut between them, shouldering the asshole out of the way.

  The man’s dark gaze swung to me, his mouth opening as if to protest. I glared at him, and he snapped his mouth shut. “What the fuck, dude?” he muttered as he released Evie’s arm.

  My eyes flicked down, noticing the red splotches left from his fingerprints on the soft curve of her bicep. “You okay?” I asked, glancing to Evie.

  She looked up, a pink tinge cresting on her cheeks. “I’m fine.” She looked back to the man. “Back the fuck off, asshole.”

  The guy simply snorted and shook his head before turning away. Another waiter walked past us just as a woman turned quickly, her shoulder colliding with the tray and sending three glasses of wine tipping to the side, red wine splashing all over Evie’s dress.

  “Gah!” Evie exclaimed, jumping back.

  Evie didn’t wear dresses too often. In fact, I didn’t know if I’d ever seen her in one. The dress in question was a light, shimmery cream fabric. With a fitted bodice, it fell to her knees in a twirl, the sweet curve of her hips tempting me to run my hands over them. I didn’t think it was meant to show off her curves, but with her, it was impossible for them not to show. She’d paired her dress with a pair of chunky black boots, which suited her perfectly.

  Her dress was now stained red all over the front. Evie looked down and sighed, eyeing the wine stains running in streaks. With the waiter murmuring his apologies and the woman who’d run into the tray chiming in, Evie simply shrugged. “It happens. Leave it to me to take the wine tasting far more seriously than anyone else,” she added with a laugh.

  A genuine smile stretched across my face for what felt like the first time in weeks. Evie had that effect on me. There was something so real about her it was hard not to smile.

  The waiter interjected, “Ma’am, can I bring you a towel or anything?”

  She shrugged. “Not much point to it. I guess I’ll cut out early.” Her eyes scanned the room.

  “Want a ride?” I asked.

  I knew by chance she’d caught a ride here with Dani. Like me, Evie lived at Stolen Hearts Lodge where we both worked.

  “You’re leaving?” she countered, sounding surprised.

  For good reason. I wasn’t usually wont to leave anything resembling a party early. I just couldn’t find the mood for them the last few weeks.

  I met her gaze and nodded. “I was on my way out when I passed by.”

  “Okay.” She glanced down at her wine stained dress. “My dress is ruined.”

  I shrugged. “Maybe. Come on,” I said, gesturing toward the exit at the back.

  Evie fell into step beside me before stopping. “Wait a second, I need to let the girls know I’m leaving.” She spun away, threading through the crowd and ignoring the glances at her wine stained dress. She stopped beside Shay and Dani, pointing at her dress and shaking her head. Shay’s eyes met mine across the room, and I could sense her curiosity. I didn’t usually leave early for anything.

  Within a moment, Evie returned my side. “Okay. Take me home.”

  Reflexively, I slipped my arm around her shoulders as we walked through the crowded winery. As soon as my hand landed on the curve of her shoulder, I became acutely aware of her silky skin. Her scent drifted to me, a hint of sugar and cream. I wanted to bury my nose in her hair. My hyper awareness of her didn’t make any sense. Or perhaps it did.

  “Shay and Jackson are gonna make gobs of money for the rescue,” Evie said just as we reached the door.

  “I’ll say, and that’s a good thing. Jackson was commenting last week he’s thinking of expanding the rescue program.”

  Her eyes canted up to mine as I held the door for her. “Really?” Answering her own question, she continued, “Well, it’s full all the time anyway.”

  The door swung shut behind us as we stepped outside into the soft autumn air.

  Fall in the Blue Ridge Mountains was definitely cooler than summer, a relief from the heat that hung over the landscape like a heavy curtain on the hottest days.

  Our footsteps crunched as we walked across the gravel parking lot. I took a breath, feeling a subtle sense of ease inside. I hadn’t felt like myself for going on a month. Just now though, I felt a little lighter.

  Evie didn’t ask where my truck was and seemed content to follow me. I looked ahead. Lost Deer Winery sat on the hillside with a view out over Stolen Hearts Valley. The famous blue haze of the Blue Ridge Mountains was fading into the darkness, a mist shimmering above the mountain ridge in the distance.

  The moon’s silvery light cast everything in an ethereal glow. I took a deep breath, inhaling the air earth scented with fallen leaves.

  “Where…?”

  Evie’s question trailed off when I slid my hand down her back, angling her with a gentle, coaxing pressure on her low back to where my truck was.

  “Oh, there it is,” she said brightly.

  Out of habit, I went to the passenger side and opened the door for her. Evie looked up at me, and I wanted to kiss her. With the moonlight on her hair, her eyes were a silvery blue, wide with surprise. “Well geez, Dawson, I didn’t know you could be a gentleman.”

  My laugh surprised me. Evie was easy to be with—so, so easy. That was a gift.

  “Amazing, isn’t it?” I countered.

  A smile teasing her lips, she climbed in, tucking her skirt carefully around her legs. With her smile buoying me, I closed the door and rounded the front of my truck, my body humming with anticipation. Evie’s presence was a scattering of sparks on the fire banked between us. It had been there since I first met her.

  Always.

  I usually ignored it and deflected it with humor—because its potency frightened me a bit. With her haphazard beauty, her quirky personality, and her underlying sassy sweetness, she struck me as a woman who might not be satisfied with casual. As much as I wanted her, I hewed to what was safe so far.

  During the drive, I felt her gaze on me and slid mine sideways when I came to a stop sign. In the dark cab of my truck, the air suddenly felt charged.

  If only because Evie’s presence had nudged me out of the edge of darkness where I’d been mentally teetering for weeks, I managed to tease. “Enjoying the view, are you?”

  Her mouth dropped open. “Oh my God. You are so cocky,” she said dryly. Her eyes were flashing, and I knew she enjoyed our banter as much as I did.

  Looking away, I chuckled as I pressed my foot pedal to the gas and rolled forward. “I’m only cocky when it’s obvious.”

  “What’s obvious?”

  “That you were enjoying the view. I wasn’t gonna say anything about what the view might be. I don’t have an opinion on that.”

  She burst out laughing, punching my shoulder lightly with her fist. “Let me guess. You rely on the women who throw themselves at your feet for an assessment of your looks.”

  Sliding my gaze sideways again briefly, I winked before looking back to the road. “Oh no, I rely on the look in your eyes, sugar.”

  “Jesus, you are too much,” she murmured. “How much longer is this drive?”

  “Not much.” I turned onto the road that led to Stolen Hearts Lodge.

  “Thank God. Seriously though, what gives?”

  “What d
o you mean?”

  “You, leaving a party without a woman on your arm,” she explained.

  It was brief, but the sense of coldness that gusted through me was impossible to ignore. I shrugged, striving to keep my tone casual. “Nothing. Just tired. I am human after all.”

  “Oh, and here I thought you were a vampire,” she replied, her tone droll.

  My laugh rumbled in my chest. Rolling to a stop, I parked in the area set aside for staff out behind the two renovated barns that comprised the guest portion of the high-end adventure lodge where we worked. The parking lot was tucked in the trees, and several paths branched away from it, leading to guest cabins and staff cabins.

  Evie was climbing out by the time I made it around the truck. I reached her just in time to catch her from stumbling. I had parked on the edge of the lot, and her boot slipped on the running board. My arm slipped around her waist as I commented, “Easy there.”

  A gasp slipped from her lips when she collided against me. Every soft inch of her. Despite working together for two years now, I had never been this close to Evie.

  Her eyes swung up to mine. There was nothing but the hazy light of the moon to illuminate the deep blue of her gaze. My breath caught in my throat, and every cell in my body tightened. She was pressed to me. I could feel the tight points of her nipples through her dress.

  I wasn’t sure if she expected me to move away, but I couldn’t seem to make myself do so. My eyes flicked down, snagging on her plush lips. The urge to kiss her was almost overwhelming.

  Apparently, it was overwhelming. Before I was aware of what I was doing, I was dipping my head and brushing my lips across hers. They were soft and warm, and a little zing of electricity passed between us.

  By the time my mind caught up to what was happening, I expected Evie to haul off and slap me. She didn’t. Instead, she let out a soft sigh and arched into me.

  Just as I was about to fit my mouth over hers and dive in, I checked myself. With another brush of my lips over hers, I forced myself to lift my head. I couldn’t force myself to step back just yet though. She felt too good. I was aroused as hell. I was certain she could feel my cock nestled at the apex of her thighs. Because somehow we’d ended up plastered together when all I’d intended to do was help her out of the truck.

  My heart was thrashing wildly in my chest, and I was stunned at the way I felt. I felt more alive than I had in months, perhaps in years. And I didn’t know what to do with any of it.

  When I looked down, her eyes were closed, her dark lashes curled against her cheeks. I desperately wanted to I know what she was thinking, and I just as desperately wanted to extricate myself from this situation.

  Not because I wanted to be away from Evie. To the contrary I wanted to carry her through the woods to my cabin. The feeling was foreign to me. I enjoyed women, but my enjoyment was compartmentalized. It was nothing like this humming, driving need to claim her.

  Her lashes swept up, her deep blue eyes locking with mine. My heart spun and stopped as if a compass found its magnetic north.

  Evie

  Dawson Marsh was warm, tall, and strong. My pulse was skittering out of control, and I could barely pull my thoughts together.

  I was also annoyed as hell with myself. For two long years, even though I thought Dawson was oh-so-tempting, I promised myself I would not fall for his charms. He was a master flirt and tease. I didn’t need that.

  By some miracle, I managed to string together a few words. “What was that?”

  When I looked up at Dawson, I expected to see his sly smirk. Instead, he looked as stunned as I felt.

  “Hell if I know,” he finally said, a wondering laugh slipping free.

  That laugh pissed me right the hell off. Just what I needed.

  I shimmied out from between the truck and where he stood, stalking away. “Thanks for the ride home,” I called over my shoulder.

  The sound of his truck door closing carried to me with his footsteps jogging across the gravel next. “Evie!” he called.

  Coming October 2019!

  Break My Fall

  * * *

  If you love steamy, small town romance, take a visit to Willow Brook, Alaska in my Into The Fire Series. Check out Burn For Me - a second chance romance for the ages. It’s FREE on all retailers! Don’t miss Cade & Amelia’s story!

  * * *

  Go here to sign up for information on new releases: http://jhcroixauthor.com/subscribe/

  Find My Books

  Thank you for reading Wait For Me! I hope you enjoyed the story. If so, you can help other readers find my books in a variety of ways.

  * * *

  1) Write a review!

  2) Sign up for my newsletter, so you can receive information about upcoming new releases & receive a FREE copy of one of my books: http://jhcroixauthor.com/subscribe/

  3) Like and follow my Amazon Author page at https://amazon.com/author/jhcroix

  4) Follow me on Bookbub at https://www.bookbub.com/authors/j-h-croix

  5) Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/jhcroix/

  6) Like my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/jhcroix

  Swoon Series

  This Crazy Love

  Wait For Me

  Break My Fall - coming October 2019!

  Into The Fire Series

  Burn For Me

  Slow Burn

  Burn So Bad

  Hot Mess

  Burn So Good

  Sweet Fire

  Play With Fire

  Melt With You

  Burn For You

  Crash & Burn

  Brit Boys Sports Romance

  The Play

  Big Win

  Out Of Bounds

  Play Me

  Naughty Wish

  Diamond Creek Alaska Novels

  When Love Comes

  Follow Love

  Love Unbroken

  Love Untamed

  Tumble Into Love

  Christmas Nights

  Last Frontier Lodge Novels

  Take Me Home

  Love at Last

  Just This Once

  Falling Fast

  Stay With Me

  When We Fall

  Hold Me Close

  Crazy For You

  Just Us

  Catamount Lion Shifters

  Protected Mate

  Chosen Mate

  Fated Mate

  Destined Mate

  A Catamount Christmas

  Ghost Cat Shifters

  The Lion Within

  Lion Lost & Found

  Acknowledgments

  Hugs & more hugs to my readers! Y’all keep me writing even when I have doubts.

  Much gratitude to my author friends for supporting me, cheering on my books, and reminding me I’m not the only crazy one out there. xoxo

  Many thanks to my editor for kindly pointing out ways to give Lucas & Valentina the story they deserved, and to Terri D. for so graciously proofreading.

  To my detail queens: Janine, Beth P., Terri E., Heather H., & Carolyne B. Thanks for making sure I dust every corner of my stories.

  To my family who cheers me on even though I’m certain I’m the oddest of the bunch. The best kind of love is acceptance.

  DBC—my heart, my home, and my best friend.

  Of course, my dogs because they run with me every morning while I plot in my head and cuddle with me when I need it.

  * * *

  xoxo

  J.H. Croix

  About the Author

  USA Today Bestselling Author J. H. Croix lives in a small town in the historical farmlands of Maine with her husband and two spoiled dogs. Croix writes contemporary romance with sassy women and alpha men who aren't afraid to show some emotion. Her love for quirky small-towns and the characters that inhabit them shines through in her writing. Take a walk on the wild side of romance with her bestselling novels!

  Places you can find me:

  jhcroixauthor.com

 
; jhcroix@jhcroix.com