by R. E. Butler
“Then I’m happy for you.”
“We have plenty of time to figure out the music for the bar and find another bouncer.”
Holly scoffed lightly, ignoring the way her eyes stung with tears. “You don’t need to worry about that. I knew when you and Jack came back from your vacation that things were different with you. I’m not surprised that you’re ready to start the next chapter of your life.”
“The cool news is that there’s a way for me to have a studio there. His parents are already working on that for me. I’ll finally get my dream.”
“You deserve it.”
And she really did think so. Ivy had given up so much for Holly to have her dream; it was high time she started to make headway to get her own dreams back on track.
When the office was empty, and she was certain she was alone, Holly let the tears fall.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want her sister to be happy, but it had never occurred to her that Ivy might leave town and start a life somewhere else. Holly didn’t want to feel left behind, but she did.
The door swung open and Vaughn was at her side in a heartbeat, pulling her up from the chair and into his arms. He just held her tightly and let her cry. She’d never felt so safe or cared for in her life.
When the tears were gone, she listened to his steady heartbeat.
“I thought you left,” she said, her voice raw.
“I did. But then Jack told me what’s going on with them, and I thought you might be upset, so I came back.”
“I feel like such a bitch.”
“What on earth for?”
“Because I’m upset that Ivy’s moving on. I’m happy for her, but I’m disappointed for me. I’d never tell her that, though, because I don’t want her to feel bad.”
He cupped her face, and she sniffled as he brushed the tears from her cheeks. “You’re strong enough to make this work without her.”
“I know.”
“Do you? Because she might’ve told you to come up with a plan for the bar, but you’re the one who actually did the legwork. The bar’s success for the last few weeks has little to do with the music and everything to do with the marketing and theme nights you came up with. You’re each other’s only family, and I get why you’re sad, but your business isn’t going to go under because you lose the live music and bouncer a few months down the road. And I’m not going anywhere.”
His jaw was set and his eyes were narrowed, the picture of determination.
“Why?”
“Because I want to be here.”
“But why?”
“You’re mine, Holly. You just haven’t figured it out yet.”
She stood in his embrace, her knees weakening by the second as she stared at his perfectly kissable lips. Had a possessive statement ever sounded so sexy? She knew Vaughn liked her, and although she’d been purposely avoiding the subject, she liked him, too. She liked how capable he was. He never got overwhelmed, even when the bar was crowded and people jostled at the counter to get his attention. He never got tired of working hard. Her previous employees had only done their jobs and nothing more, but Vaughn did everything, anticipating what she needed and just handling it on his own. She’d come to rely on him more in the last week than she had on Ivy, and that was saying something about where her mind was right then.
Firmly stuck on Vaughn.
“Listen,” he said gently, his hands flexing on her back. “I’m here, okay? I’m not going anywhere, and I’ve got your back. You need time to figure things out, but I’m 100 percent sure that you and I are destined to be together.”
She scoffed, her hands fisting on his chest. “You can’t want to be with me.”
“Why not?” he demanded, his eyes flickering to gold.
“You’re confident and strong, the exact opposite of me. You just found me in my office crying because my sister found her happily ever after.”
“Crying doesn’t make you weak, Holly, it just means you’re human. It’s been you and Ivy by yourselves for so long, and it’s understandable that you’d feel left behind when she’s planning to move away. But you’re not alone by any stretch, and you’re definitely not weak. You’ve kept this bar going out of sheer determination.”
Tempting. Vaughn was so utterly tempting.
She rose slowly onto her toes and pressed her lips to his. She swore she felt his chest rumble under her hands as if he were growling, and she liked the idea that she could draw out such a primitive response. He teased her lips with his tongue and she opened for him, the first touch of their tongues sending shivers down her spine.
He cupped her face and tilted her head, deepening the kiss until the whole world fell away and it was just her and him. She didn’t want the moment to end.
But it did, all too quickly.
He nipped her bottom lip with a sound that resembled a growling chuckle. His eyes were very dark hazel with little gold striations.
“Let me walk you home, beautiful.”
She nodded, her lips still tingling from the kiss.
After closing the office, they walked out the front door and around to the apartment. It was nearly 3:00 a.m. and snow swirled around them, blanketing the ground with shimmering white flakes.
The apartment was dark, which told her that Ivy was either asleep or at Jack’s.
“Would you like to come up?” she asked.
Vaughn’s brows rose. “I would love nothing more than that, but I don’t think you’re ready.”
She hummed. “I might be.”
He smiled. “You need some time to think about things without my interference.”
“You think you know me so well?”
“I’m pretty sure you’re still reeling from Ivy’s news, and you’re reaching out to me because I’m here. Don’t be mistaken, I want you very much, but I don’t want one night. I want all of the nights to come, too. Are you ready for that?”
She hesitated, so tempted to say yes.
He kissed her forehead and paused, his lips warm against her chilled skin. “I thought so, beautiful. I told you I’ll wait, and I will. Good night, Holly.”
She murmured a good night, cursing inwardly as she trudged up the stairs to her apartment. Why was it so hard to let go of the last walls around her heart? Why couldn’t she tell Vaughn she liked him? That she maybe more than liked him. That maybe he was everything she’d ever wanted in a guy and a hundred other things that made him wonderfully complicated and perfect for her.
She waved at him and closed her apartment door, leaning against it with a deep sigh. Vaughn was a great guy. He cared about her and wanted to be with her, so why was she so intent to keep him at arm’s length? Even before the Best Kiss Ever in her office, she’d already been moving toward letting him into her life as more than an employee. She’d come to think of him as a friend at some point. As devastated as she was by Ivy’s plans to move away and start a new life, Holly knew she’d be far more upset if Vaughn were the one leaving.
She peeled off her coat and headed to the bathroom to take a shower. Ivy’s bedroom was dark and empty, which told her she was indeed with Jack. As Holly stripped and stepped into the shower, she debated her future.
What am I really afraid of?
And the answer was terribly simple. She was afraid to fall for Vaughn, to step out on that limb with someone she’d come to rely on at the bar. If the relationship flopped, she’d be dangling alone, and the bar would most certainly come crashing down around her. She’d already come to terms with Ivy’s leaving in a few months, only crying out of self-pity. But losing Vaughn? She didn’t think a few sobs in the office would fix it.
She shut off the shower and toweled off, wrapping her hair in a quick-dry wrap and walking into her bedroom. She stood between the closet and the dresser, her gaze tripping back and forth. If she opened the closet, she’d be looking for clothes to wear to leave. If she opened the dresser, she’d be looking for one of her comfy sleep shirts.
She chewed her lip.<
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And then she opened the closet door. Quickly choosing leggings and a sweater, she dressed and headed to the bathroom to dry her hair. She wove her hair into a french braid and applied some makeup, then shoved her feet into hiking boots and grabbed her keys. She didn’t want to wait a moment longer to tell Vaughn that she couldn’t spend another day without him as more than an employee, more than a friend.
He wanted everything from her, and she realized that she wanted everything from him, too.
She wasn’t sure what would happen when she got to his place, but she did know one thing. He needed to know she wasn’t picking him for one night – she was picking him for every night. She didn’t want to be alone anymore. She’d kept that part of herself locked up tightly, content to let the bar become her sole purpose in life to the exclusion of all else that might hope to make her happy.
And she was happiest with him.
No matter where the journey of life took her, she wanted to be by his side. He might be happy to wait for her, but she didn’t want him to wait another minute wondering when her heart might turn toward him.
It already had. She’d known something was different about him the moment he walked into the bar after Christmas. He’d worked tirelessly by her side, pushing away offers of payment for his time. Why else would he do that unless he really did want to be with her? She’d been purposely blind to him, but when he came to her side to comfort her when she was sad, that had been the instant she’d recognized him for what he was.
The right guy for her.
She just hoped he wouldn’t be mad that she hadn’t answered him immediately.
She should’ve chosen him already, and in her heart she had. Her mind just hadn’t gotten with the program. But she’d rectify that as soon as she got to his place.
She turned on her car and clicked the windshield wipers up to high to battle the snow that fell as fast and thick as rain.
I’m coming for you, Vaughn.
Chapter 4
Vaughn woke suddenly, his phone clattering on the nightstand as it rang and vibrated. Grabbing it, he swiped his thumb over the screen without looking at it and answered.
“Yeah?”
“Vaughn?”
Immediately alert at the sound of Holly’s worried voice, he sat up and swung his legs over the bed. “Is everything okay?”
He glanced at his clock and saw it was nearly 5:00 a.m.
“Well, not really.” She laughed humorlessly. “I’m stuck in a snowdrift.”
He stood and grabbed his jeans off the floor. “What? I left you in your apartment two hours ago.”
“Well, I had someplace to be that couldn’t wait.”
“Where?”
“With you.”
His beasts roaring in happiness, he pressed his phone to his ear with his shoulder so he could pull his jeans on. “Oh?”
“Yeah. I couldn’t go to sleep without telling you a few things, and I needed to do it face-to-face. My car skidded on some ice when I made a turn, and now I’m stuck.”
When she told him the street names for the intersection, he realized she was less than a mile from the apartment. “I’m on my way, beautiful. Stay in the car and stay warm.”
“Okay. Thanks. I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault you got stuck.”
“No, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you this stuff earlier. I could’ve saved us both a trip.”
“No apology necessary. Sit tight.”
He ended the call, grabbing a shirt and tugging it over his head as he walked down the hall, then knocked on Jack’s door.
“Yeah?” came the sleepy reply a few moments later.
“Holly’s car is stuck in a snowdrift down the road a bit. I’m going to get her unstuck and take her back to her apartment.”
There was a rustle of fabric and then the door opened a crack.
“Is she okay?” Ivy asked. “What was she doing out in this weather?”
If he was a peacock, he would have been preening. “She was coming to talk to me.”
“About what?”
He just raised his brows. After a beat of silence, Ivy chuckled. “Oh, cool! Go get her.”
“Will do.”
He drove the truck to the intersection where Holly’s car was stuck, the wheels firmly entrenched in the deep snow at the curb. He got out and smiled at her as she lowered the driver’s window. “Did you call a tow?” she asked.
“Don’t need one, beautiful.”
She looked at the truck behind him. “You’re going to pull it out?”
“Nope. Put it in Neutral.”
“Vaughn! I know you’re strong, but you can’t possibly push my car out by yourself.”
“I don’t have tow ropes. But tell you what, if I can’t get it out by myself, then I’ll pay for a tow.”
She gave him a skeptical look. “Okay.”
He heard the gears shift as he plodded through the knee-high snow to get to the back of the car. She’d thoroughly trapped the rear tires in the deep snow, but he wasn’t worried – being a shifter meant he was stronger than a human. He placed his hands on the icy cold bumper and gave it an experimental push.
It didn’t move at all.
Bending his knees, he gripped the underside of the bumper and pushed. He tapped into his polar bear’s mighty strength, fur prickling along his skin as the power rushed through him. He gritted his teeth to stifle the mighty roar that wanted to burst from his chest as the car began to move. With a grunt that was half snarl and half roar, he pushed the car entirely free of the snow.
Holly shifted into gear and stopped next to his truck. She got out and walked quickly to him, carefully dodging the icy patches on the road.
“You pushed the car out,” she said breathlessly.
“I told you I could.”
“Well yeah, but I didn’t think it was possible.”
He just raised his brows and said nothing.
“Thank you,” she said. “I’m sorry you had to come rescue me. I feel like an idiot.”
“You’re not an idiot,” he promised.
She gazed up at him. “I am. I let you leave. I never should’ve done that.”
Now his beasts were very happy.
“Tell you what. Let’s get out of the cold and we can talk. Do you want to come back to my place or go to yours?”
“Mine, since Ivy and Jack are at yours.”
“Okay. I’ll follow you.”
“I’ll try not to get stuck in any more snowdrifts.”
He snorted and walked with her back to her car, keeping his hand on her elbow to ensure she didn’t slip.
Before long, he parked next to her behind the bar and followed her up the steps to the apartment she shared with her sister. He was hyper-aware of her – how she slowly pulled off her coat and hat, how bright her eyes were, and the subtle scent of her arousal that was sweet like honey. Pulling off his jacket, he draped it over a chair with hers, then turned to face her.
He was hopeful she’d been on her way to see him to tell her how she felt about him, but he didn’t want to jump to conclusions. For all he knew, there was a problem and she’d needed his help, and the late-night visit had nothing at all to do with how crazy attracted he was to her, and how badly he wanted to make her his.
But he knew he couldn’t really mate with her. Not like he wanted to, anyway. He and his beasts needed to mark her with a bite on her throat, swiping a drop of blood into the wound to ensure it would heal quickly and scar permanently. It wasn’t normal for humans to bite each other like that during sex, so he needed to wait until he’d shared the truth of his nature with her.
Which he couldn’t do in her apartment.
Well, he could, but if she freaked out and screamed, or tried to run away, he wouldn’t be able to help her without possibly revealing his nature to others. He’d need to take her somewhere private so they could talk things out, and then he could shift for her. He had no doubt that his mate was a strong-willed female an
d could handle his shifts without batting an eye, but just in case, it was better to be safe than sorry.
“I wanted to tell you I’m sorry,” she said after a brief moment of silence.
“Sorry for what?”
“For a lot of things, but mostly that I let you leave earlier without telling you the truth. I’m just scared, but I’m tired of being scared.”
“What are you afraid of?” He took a few steps to close the distance between them and grasped her hands.
“When I bought the bar, I wasn’t prepared for how much work it was. I’d worked for my uncle, so I had an idea of what went into the day-to-day, but it was so much more than what I’d expected. It consumed me. I thought about it day and night, dreamed about it. I worried over every little thing until everything else in my life became secondary to its success. I thought this was my life’s dream, but somewhere along the way it became a nightmare that blotted out any chance I had to be happy.
“The moment you walked into the bar, I knew there was something special about you. I couldn’t put my finger on it, and I refused to dwell at all on why I wanted to be around you. But I realized earlier that I’d come to rely on you as more than an employee. I think of you as a friend, but it’s not quite a good enough description. I want you as more than a friend. I want you to be my partner, to be side by side with you no matter what tomorrow or the next month or year brings. If the bar crashes around me right now, as long as you’re here, I can get through it.”
He swallowed past the lump in his throat at the raw emotion he could feel as Holly spoke. “What are you saying, beautiful?”
She blinked, lifting her eyes to the ceiling. Tears slipped over her cheeks as she lowered her head to look at him. “I’m saying that somewhere in the last few weeks you’ve been here, I’ve fallen in love with you. It took tonight and the situation with Ivy for me to take a good, hard look at my life. I put walls around my heart so I could focus on the bar. I thought of it as my life’s work, but how crazy is that? What good will having a successful company do for me if I don’t have anyone to share it with? I want that person to be you, Vaughn.”
He released her hands and cupped her face, kissing the tears from her cheeks before he brushed his lips over hers. She sighed and opened her mouth, gripping his wrists as their kiss deepened, and everything within him quieted for a moment before roaring in happiness.