by Cathryn Fox
“What I heard…” Her voice fell off and her eyes widened. “Wait… Are you saying…?”
“Yeah. I’m getting out, Gems. My days serving overseas will soon be behind me.”
“Oh,” she said, a mixture of surprise and relief swimming in her big blue eyes. Then she frowned. “So you’re sleeping in the back of his shop?”
“Just until my new place is ready.”
“And when will that be?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Where will you be moving?”
Gemma stifled a yawn, and Cole could see exhaustion pulling at her. Instead of answering, he said, “Come on, I’m taking you home.” He tossed her a lopsided grin, one that always pulled a smile from her when they were younger. “You know, for old time’s sake.”
Their eyes met and everything in his gut told him her thoughts were traveling down the same path as his. She too was remembering her youth and all the times he’d taken her home and snuck her to her room so she wouldn’t get busted by her older brother or her folks. Sure, he’d lectured her on the dangers of her rebellious nature, but he’d always had an inherent need to protect her, from everyone and everything. He couldn’t bring himself to let her get caught, even though it might have been for her own good. Then again, as long as he was around and watching over her, no harm would ever come to her.
“Cole—” she began, but he cut her off.
“I know, I know. You’re quite capable of taking care of yourself,” he said to appease her protest. He still wasn’t taking a chance with her safety now that she was living on her own in the downtown core and he was back from overseas. Besides, when Brandon was dying in his arms and there wasn’t a thing Cole could do to save him, he’d asked only one thing of Cole. And no matter what, Cole planned to follow through with the vow he’d made to Gemma’s brother on that dark night, because he never, ever wanted to fail Brandon again.
Chapter Two
A breeze came out of nowhere and washed over Gemma as she followed Cole outside. Too bad it did little to cool the heat that had taken up permanent residency inside her since setting eyes on the boy—no, the man—from her past. As they walked down the quiet sidewalk, Cole’s boots echoed in the unnatural silence. He stepped closer, moving into her personal space. That’s when she caught his familiar fragrance, the warm spice of sandalwood combined with Cole’s unique scent. Working to ignore the way it engulfed her and reminded her she was a woman who hadn’t been with a man in far too long, she turned to Cole and tipped her chin to make eye contact.
“What about your bike?” she asked, gesturing with a nod to the motorcycle parked on the street. She glanced at his mode of transportation, wondering how he’d managed to ride it to Sherwood Park with a dog in tow. When she noticed the sidecar, an invisible band squeezed her heart. Honestly, if she didn’t already know that Cole was one of the good guys, seeing that side cart would have cinched the deal for her. If there was one thing she knew, it was that you could tell a guy’s character by the way he treated his pet. But to a soldier, a dog wasn’t just a pet. It was a best friend. An important member of the family, and there was no one in need of a family more than Cole.
He twisted his shoulders to glance at his bike. “I’ll come back for it later.”
His arm casually brushed against hers when he turned back around. Raw need shimmered inside her as the air around them crackled with volatile energy. Her skin flushed hotly, making it difficult to keep her voice casual when she said, “You don’t have to walk me home.”
He pinned her with a glare. “Did you ever think maybe I wanted to?”
She averted her gaze and stared straight ahead, not wanting to dwell on the things he didn’t want to do with her.
After a long moment she shot Cole a sidelong glance. She gave him a thorough inspection, taking extra pleasure in his rugged sexiness and long, confident strides. The man was all strength and power, and she didn’t miss the authority in the way he moved or the way he talked.
A fine shiver moved through her and she drew a fueling breath to marshal her libido before it got the better of her. “What do you plan to do now that you’re getting out of the military?”
“Contract work.”
“Like what? Join a renegade operation to fight organized crime?”
“No, Gems.” He laughed, and the rich sound elicited a shudder from deep within and had heat flooding her nether regions. Damn. So much for pulling herself together. “That only happens in those romance novels you love so much.”
“You remember my novels?”
“How could I forget? You had them scattered all over the place. Brandon and I were always tripping over them.” Cole stepped over a crack in the cement and his knuckles accidently brushed hers in an intimate manner. Her mind once again careened in an erotic direction.
She sucked in a quick breath as naked desire moved into her stomach. Cole’s nostrils flared as his glance darted to hers. Their eyes met and locked and his backbone grew rigid. She could tell he was uncomfortable but trying to hide it as he inched away, jamming his hands into his pockets to avoid further contact.
As he widened the distance between them, she tried not to think about the slow burn working its way through her bloodstream, or how everything inside her beckoned his touch, even after all this time. Looking for a distraction, she toyed with the hem of her shirt and focused her thoughts. “If you’re not fighting organized crime, what exactly will you be doing?”
“When I’m not helping out at the bike shop I’m going to do contract bomb hunting.”
She nodded. “I should have guessed.”
His eyes turned very serious. “You wouldn’t believe how many unexploded bombs there are across the country, left over from former training camps during the wars. I’ll be joining a convoy next month.” When she arched a knowing brow, he shrugged and added, “What can I say, I love blowing things up.”
They shared a laugh, but it did nothing to ease the tension inside her or push back the heat threatening to burn her from the inside out.
After a moment Cole asked in a quiet voice, “How are your folks, Gemma? I haven’t talked to them since…”
His voice fell off, like he couldn’t bring himself to say the word funeral. “They’re well,” she assured him. “Dad is close to retirement.” She paused and rolled her eyes before adding, “And when Mom isn’t at one of her charity events, she’s trying to marry me off because she thinks I need a man to protect me.” When he didn’t say anything, Gemma went on to say, “I’m sure they’d be happy to see you. There’s a banquet Saturday night to raise funds for my shelter. Mother will be there. You should come.”
He tugged on the collar of his jacket. “I don’t know, Gems.”
She didn’t need to probe to understand Cole had never felt like he belonged in her world, a world filled with glitz and glamour. Cole had grown up poor, having to fend for himself, while her folks had apartments in the city, a summer home in the Mediterranean and a beautiful sprawling ranch on the outskirts of town. That’s where Gemma and Brandon had spent their childhood and went to school, despite their mother wanting them to attend a private boarding school in the city. But Gemma wanted to be near her horses and dogs, and her quiet brother had found an unlikely best friend in the rough and rugged boy who lived on the other side of the tracks.
They reached the front steps of her place, and she turned to Cole. “This is it. Home sweet home. But I guess you already know that.”
He scrubbed his chin, and she caught the way his gaze kept straying to the vacant condo across the street, and to the bright red SOLD banner splashed across the sign.
Gemma’s eyes widened. “Oh, I didn’t realize the Thompsons had sold their condo.” Cole opened his mouth like he was about to say something, but instead turned his attention to the loud barking sound coming from inside her condo.
“That sounds like some watchdog you have there.”
“Would you like to meet him?”
The corner
of his mouth turned up in that boyish way that had her insides trembling with want, and her body urging her to do something about the heat careening through her.
“Uh, he actually doesn’t sound too friendly, Gems.”
She gave a casual shrug. “He can be very protective of me. But he’s a good judge of character.”
“That’s supposed to comfort me?”
“He only attacks unsavory sorts. You know, those with sordid pasts.” She paused at the foot of her stairs and arched a brow. “Do you still want to meet him? Or is there something I should know?”
“Open the door, Gems.”
Grinning, Gemma climbed the three steps to her front door, slipped her key into the deadbolt and unlocked it. “Hey, Stallone,” she said. As she pushed open the door, her oversized St. Bernard flew past her and headed straight for Cole.
Cole stumbled when her dog went up on his hind legs and put his huge front paws on his shoulders. The big wet lick across Cole’s mouth had him grimacing and groaning out loud, and there was nothing Gemma could do to stop her heart from clenching.
“Jesus,” he cursed. Gemma laughed when he wiped away the saliva with the back of his hand, the tension around them easing slightly.
“Here, boy.” Gemma slapped her leg and Stallone pushed off Cole to rush back up the stairs. She rubbed his ears and teased, “And here I thought you were a good judge of character.”
“Ha ha,” Cole said. “And I don’t know why your mother thinks you need a man to protect you when you have Stallone. He’ll lick any intruder to death.”
“Stallone’s a good boy. Aren’t you, Stallone?” She rubbed his ears harder.
“You call your dog Stallone?”
“He’s a rescue dog.” Cole gave her an odd look, which prompted her to explain. “He’s been through so much, yet every time he gets knocked down he gets up again.”
“If he’s a rescue dog, I’m surprised he’s friendly.”
“That’s just it,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s a huge misconception that neglected animals need to be put down. They only want to please, and once they’re placed in the right homes, with the right people, they become amazing pets. We screen every family at the shelter before we let them adopt and we always do a follow-up.”
Cole got quiet for a long time. “You’ve done well for yourself, Gems. Your brother would be proud.”
Her heart beat a little harder in her chest and when her hand went to the back of her neck, she thought she spotted a glimmer of guilt in his eyes before he quickly blinked it away. “Thank you.”
“You always did love animals,” he said, looking a little distant, like he was remembering something from the past. “You always had a way with them actually.”
“Well I’m no dog whisperer,” she teased, “but I understand their needs. I took care of Stallone after he was brought into the shelter. There was something about him that tugged at my heart. Maybe it was the lost puppy look I saw in his big brown eyes.” Not at all unlike the lost puppy look she saw in Cole’s eyes. “And it made me want to keep him.”
“You and your family always did have a thing for strays,” he said and Gemma knew he was no longer talking about Stallone.
Her heart squeezed in her suddenly too-tight chest when she said, “I brought him home and he’s been the most loyal, loving dog a girl could ever ask for. Which is why it’s important I raise money for my no-kill shelter. It’s overcrowded as it is and if I can’t expand…” She let her words fall off, not wanting to think of the alternative.
When he went quiet like he was mulling that over, she panned his handsome face. “You know, Cole, you’d be the perfect poster boy for my cause.” She somehow knew if he came to the event and shared his stories the benefactors would be tripping over themselves to open their wallets.
They exchanged a long look, unease moving over Cole’s face before he asked, “When is this banquet again?”
“Saturday night. Five days from now.” She was about to ask if he’d changed his mind when her home phone started ringing. She looked inside her condo, then back at Cole, debating what to do.
Making the choice easy for her, he said, “You should probably answer that.” Before he turned from her, he pitched his voice low and said, “Thanks for taking care of Charlie. I’ll come by first thing tomorrow morning to get him.” When the phone stopped ringing, he took two steps, paused, then shot her a long, lingering look. Her pulse leapt, her body aching to drag him inside to spend the rest of the night fulfilling the fantasies that had been plaguing her since her youth. “It was nice seeing you again, Gems.”
Her heart fell into her stomach as she watched him retreat, his leather-clad back holding her attention until he disappeared around the corner. Once he was gone, she stepped inside, locked her door and hurried to the phone, which had started ringing again. She checked the display before answering, even though she already knew who it was, since the call came in at around the exact same time every night.
“Hello, Mother.”
“Gemma,” she rushed out, her voice frantic. “What took you so long to get the phone? I was sure you were being mugged.”
Gemma rubbed her temples with her thumb and index finger. “I’m fine. I had an emergency at the clinic, that’s all.”
“An emergency?”
“Yes, but everything is fine now.”
A pause and then, “I can tell it’s not, Gemma.” Her mother covered the phone and Gemma listened to the muffled words. When she came back on she said, “I’m coming over there right now.”
“No,” she hurried out, then worked to put her mother at ease before she showed up on her doorstep. “Everything is fine. It’s just…”
“Just what?”
“Cole is back in town.”
Silence met her words, and then her mother whispered, “I’ve heard.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize you knew.” Not wanting her mother to feel hurt that he hadn’t been by to visit her yet she hurried to add, “He hasn’t been back for long.”
“And he went to see you right away?” she said. “Interesting.”
“Why is that interesting?” Gemma asked, but quickly decided she didn’t want to hear the answer, or talk about Cole anymore. She put a bit of cheer into her tone and redirected the conversation. “I’ll see you Saturday night, then? We should have a great turnout.”
“Yes, that’s why I was calling.” There was a hitch in her mother’s voice and it had Gemma concerned.
“Is everything okay?”
“Do you remember Mr. and Mrs. Washington? They were at our last charity event.”
“Yes, why?”
“Well their son Douglas is back in town. He’s a surgeon, you know. Highly respected in his field.” Never one to beat around the bush, she added, “He’d make great marriage material, Gemma.”
Gemma couldn’t care less what Douglas Washington did for a living. Heck, even if he won a Noble Peace Prize or could spin a web and climb the tallest building, she still didn’t want to go on a blind date with him, especially if it was set up by her mother. “I told you, I don’t need you to find a man for me.”
“But, Gemma, you know I don’t like you living alone in that downtown condo. The city is dangerous.” Gemma’s thoughts drifted to Cole and all the times he’d seen to her safety. She got the distinct impression he was eager to step back into the role of bodyguard. She frowned, wondering what it would take for him to see that while she might always have an impetuous side to her, she was an adult now. She made good decisions and was quite capable of taking care of herself.
Her mother’s voice pulled her back. “Well, you do need an escort to the banquet, don’t you? And it would put my mind at ease to know someone was seeing you home safely.”
“I was planning to ask Victoria to come along.”
“Oh dear, now how would that look? Last time you showed up without a male escort it had the whole town talking. Imagine if you showed up with a girl.”
G
emma could feel a headache brewing. She plunked herself down on her sofa and stared at the vacant condo directly across from hers. “Victoria is my assistant, Mother. And since these events go until the wee hours of the morning I decided to get a room this time and crash at the hotel. So you see, you don’t need to worry about me going home to an empty condo in the middle of the night.”
“Well you should at least let Douglas escort you there. You know these benefactors are conservative and traditional and are more likely to fund your project if your conduct and morals mesh with theirs.”
“In other words, I have to show up on the arms of a respected suitor.”
“Exactly,” she said and, in a sheepish voice, continued, “Besides, I already told him you’d be delighted to attend the event with him.”
“You did what?” Gemma rushed out, shocked that her mother had gone so far as to actually set up a date. In the past she’d been pushy, but never had she spoken on Gemma’s behalf before.
“Well you have to go now, dear. The Washingtons are huge benefactors and we wouldn’t want to—”
“I know, I know,” Gemma said, biting the inside of her mouth to stop from saying what she really thought. “We wouldn’t want to offend anyone.” Even though her mother was far too forceful for Gemma’s liking, she had a kind, caring heart and deep down she meant well. She worried about her only daughter, and wanted what was best for her. After her mother lost a son, in such a tragic way, Gemma couldn’t bring herself to say no, or do anything to hurt her. Stallone came up to her. Sensing her distress he plunked himself down between the sofa and coffee table and let loose a whimper.
“It’s okay, boy,” she whispered. “Everything is fine.”
“You’ll do it then?”
“Just this once,” she conceded. “But please don’t set me up again.”
“You’re a good girl, Gemma.”
“I’ll let him escort me, but don’t expect me to marry him,” Gemma warned.
“We’ll see, dear,” her mother said.
Fearing she was fighting a losing battle and deciding to change the subject she asked, “How’s Dad?”