by Foster, Lori
He could hardly wait.
Ozzie had just pulled out of the parking lot when his pager went off. A rape-and-kidnapping suspect had barricaded himself in a woman’s home. Neighbors said they heard the woman’s screams.
With everything he’d need for a call out already on his person or in his truck, Ozzie turned around and headed to the location. He figured it’d take him less than fifteen minutes to get there, but fifteen minutes could mean life or death to a hostage.
As SWAT, he was used to being on call and didn’t even think to resent the intrusion. It was his job, and he was damn good at it. Marci faded from his mind and he went into SWAT mode.
As soon as Ozzie and the other team members arrived, a detective filled them in. Ozzie learned that the suspect had a violent past and an extensive criminal history.
“Everything I’ve got right now is really vague,” the detective explained. “I know that we’ve got an adult female being held against her will. Her mouth and hands are duct taped.”
Ozzie nodded as, by rote, he prepared himself.
“We believe the victim is an old girlfriend of his, but we haven’t been able to confirm that yet.”
In rapid order, the SWAT team evacuated all the neighbors. Some joined a television crew outside a blockade down the street, while others made use of an enclosed unit brought in to offer a place of warmth for the residents. Even though uniformed officers kept the reporters and camera crews too far away to interfere, Ozzie detested having them around during a time of crisis. He could do nothing about it, so he ignored them.
The SWAT team concentrated on establishing contact with the suspect. The man was antagonistic, desperate, and probably pumped up on drugs. After a couple of hours, when he still refused to come out peacefully, the team formulated a new plan.
They couldn’t wait any longer, not with a female hostage inside.
Most of the SWAT team spread out, taking sniper positions that gave them the cleanest shots. Then, a couple of them deliberately broke the front windows of the home, drawing the suspect’s attention while Ozzie slipped in through the back. On silent feet, he crept forward. He could hear the suspect cursing, outraged over the broken windows.
And he could hear the woman crying.
Keeping his H&K .40 caliber at the ready, he edged around a wall—and came face to face with the suspect. The panicked bastard fired a shot at him, but Ozzie was already moving.
Without a single second’s hesitation, Ozzie brought his forearm up and slammed it into the man’s face.
The man’s nose shattered and he dropped his gun while staggering backward. In a heartbeat, Ozzie had him contained. He called in the rest of the team, and the crisis was over, with no innocents injured.
All in all, a job well done.
Once the scene had been cleared, the suspect arrested, and the hostage transported to the hospital via ambulance, Ozzie started for home. Reporters tried to interview him, but he dodged them.
As usual, the adrenaline began to fade, making him bone tired. But today, he wouldn’t be heading home to an empty house. He thought of Marci waiting for him, and contentment seeped in.
The snow was thick on the ground and it crunched beneath his tires as he pulled down the long drive. He parked, trod through the white stuff to the door, and stomped to clear his boots.
To his bemusement, no one stood at the door waiting.
He walked in, heard an awful racket, and located Marci seated on the family room floor with both dogs, in front of the television. Tears tracked her cheeks and the dogs were howling, which probably explained why she hadn’t heard him arrive.
“What’s going on?”
They all looked up at once. For two seconds, time stood still—then they rushed him. The dogs reached him first, jumping and barking and circling. Sniffling, Marci threw herself against him.
Getting worried, Ozzie caught her close. “What is it, honey? What’s wrong?”
She hiccupped, and burrowed closer. “I’m sorry,” she said, and her voice sounded strained and unsteady. “I know you don’t want a woman who frets. I tried not to.”
Her hands knotted in his coat and she pushed back to glare at him. “But let me tell you, Osbourne, it’s unreasonable of you to make such demands.”
He had no idea what she was talking about. As usual.
When he said nothing, she tried to shake him. “We saw that awful situation on the news!” New tears welled up. “The reporters said what you did, and that you got shot at, but they didn’t know anything beyond that.”
“Damned reporters,” he grumbled. “I’m fine.”
“I see that. Now. But you could have been killed.”
His mood lightened and he had to fight a smile. “So you were worried about me?”
“Worried, and…” She gulped, hugging him close again. “And so proud. You saved that woman.”
Still amused at her, and touched by her concern, Ozzie ran his hands up and down her back. “It’s my job, honey.”
“And, thank God, you’re very good at it.”
She wasn’t going to complain about the danger? She wouldn’t ask him to quit? Ozzie had never felt so loved—until Lakeisha peed on his foot in excitement.
“Oh, hell.” He jumped out of the way and poor Lakeisha lowered her head in shame.
Marci switched alliances in an instant. “Osbourne, she’s sorry. It was just an accident. She’s been as worried as me.”
“Is that so?” More than likely, the dogs were reacting to Marci being upset, but he didn’t want to correct her.
“It’s okay, Lakeisha,” she said to the dog. “He understands. Osbourne, tell her you understand.”
“I understand.” He scratched the dog’s ears and she relaxed again.
Marci nudged Ozzie, saying as an aside, “Don’t forget Grimshaw. We don’t want him to get jealous.”
Ozzie wasn’t sure if it was Marci’s emotional upheaval, her instruction, her understanding, or the way she catered to the animals, but in that instant, everything became crystal clear to him.
Marci wasn’t like other women. She sure as hell wasn’t like Ainsley. Marci didn’t have a mean or manipulative bone in her entire body. She was so open with him that she showed him a side of her he’d once scorned.
Her heart was big enough to care for everyone and everything, even when it earned her derision from others. And most of all, she trusted him.
Ozzie realized that he not only trusted her, too, he loved her. Everything about her.
Before he could think to censor his thoughts, he said, “I’m proud of you, too, Marci.”
“You are? But why?”
“You’re gifted, and caring, and strong. Strong enough to keep helping animals despite the grief people give you.”
Her eyes welled with more tears. “Thank you.”
“I love you, Marci.”
She froze. Dashing away the tears, she blinked at him, then nodded. “I love you, too. I have almost from the first time we met. I knew you’d be different.” And to the dogs, she said, “Didn’t I tell you he was different?”
Ozzie touched her chin to bring her attention back to him. “Will you move in with me for good?”
“Yes.”
Her quick answer had him grinning so big, his cheeks hurt. “Will you help me remodel the house so that we both like it?”
“I’d love to.”
He went for broke. Dropping to one knee and taking her hand, he asked, “Will you marry me?”
Her smile trembled, then broke into a grin that rivaled his own. “The dogs think it’s a wonderful idea.”
“They’re obviously smart dogs.” He kissed her hand. “So what do you think?”
Laughing, she straddled him, then laughed some more when the dogs started jumping on them. “I think I’m getting everything I ever wanted this Christmas.”
And he was getting everything he hadn’t even realized he wanted. Thank God Lucius had insisted he keep an eye on Marci, otherwise he
’d still be a lonely, miserable fool.
Now all he had to do was explain to Lucius why he’d disregarded his order not to touch Marci. Maybe when he got a ring on her finger, that’d do the trick.
“You want to go shopping?”
She pressed back to look at him. “Now?”
“Yeah.” He kissed her. “I have one more gift to buy you, but I’d like your input.”
“What is it?”
“An engagement ring.” Ozzie stood with her still wrapped around him and started for the stairs. “I want every available male to know you’re mine.”
She laughed. “I knew you watched them watching me.”
Of course she had. There was a lot Marci knew, because she was a very special, intuitive person. And now she knew they belonged together.
What had started out as the loneliest Christmas of his life was now the very best. He hugged her tightly and said, “Thank you, Marci.”
“You’re very, very welcome.” She kissed him, and whispered, “Merry Christmas.”
THE CHRISTMAS PRESENT
1
Why, oh why, couldn’t this be a normal storm? Instead of soft, pretty snowflakes dotting her windshield, wet snow clumps froze as soon as they hit, rendering the wipers inadequate to keep the windshield clear. Even with the defroster on high, blasting hot air that threatened to choke her, the snow accumulated.
Refusing to stop and refusing to acknowledge the headlights behind her, Beth Monroe kept her hands tight on the wheel. Let him freeze to death. Let him follow her all the way to Gillespe, Kentucky.
She’d still ignore him.
She’d ignore everything that had happened between them, and everything she felt, everything he’d made her feel.
Oh God, she was so embarrassed. If only she could have a do-over, an opportunity to change the past, to correct mistakes and undo bad plans. That’d be the most perfect Christmas present ever.
A simple do-over.
But of course, there was no such thing, not even with the magic of Christmas. And there was nothing simple about the current mess of her life, or the complicated way that Levi Masterson made her feel.
Finally, after hours that seemed an eternity, her stepbrother’s hotel came into view. Beth breathed a sigh of relief. Now if she could just park and get inside before Levi shanghaied her. Ben knew of her imminent arrival. She could count on him to send Levi packing.
Not that she wanted Levi hurt…or Ben for that matter.
Fool, fool, fool.
Tires sliding on the frozen parking lot, Beth maneuvered her Ford into an empty spot. After shutting off the engine, she grabbed her purse, a tote bag loaded with presents, and her overnight bag. Arms laden, she charged from the vehicle.
Three steps in, her feet slipped out from under her. The stuffed overnight bag threw her off balance and she went flying in the air to land flat on her back. Her bag spilled. Wind rushed from her lungs. Icy cold seeped into her spine and tush.
For only a moment, Beth lay there, aching from head to toe, stunned and bemused. Then she heard Levi’s hasty approach.
“Beth, damn it—”
Determination got her back on her feet. She gathered her belongings with haste and then, slipping and sliding, wincing with each step, she shouted into the wind, “Go away, Levi.”
Harsh with determination, he yelled back, “You know I won’t.”
Daring a quick glance over her shoulder, Beth saw him ten feet behind her. He hadn’t even parked! His truck sat crossways in the middle of the lot to block hers in, idling, the exhaust sending plumes of heated air to mingle in the frozen wind.
Good God, he looked furious!
Beth lunged forward and reached the door of the diner attached to Ben’s hotel. She yanked it open and sped into the warm interior. The tote bag of presents fell out of her hands, scattering small gifts across the floor. Her overnight bag dropped from her numb fingers.
Several people looked up—all of them family.
Oh hell.
Why couldn’t there have been crowds of nonfilial faces? An unbiased crowd, that’s what she sought. Instead she found Noah and Ben in close conversation at a table. Their wives, Grace and Sierra, sat at a booth wrapping gifts. And her father and stepmother paused in their efforts to festoon a large fir tree situated in the corner.
Upon seeing her, her father’s face lit up. He started to greet her—and then Levi shoved through the door, radiating fury, crowding in behind Beth so that she jolted forward with a startled yelp to keep from touching him.
In a voice deep and resolute, vibrating with command, he ordered, “Not another step, Beth. I mean it.”
She winced, and peeked open one eye to view her audience.
Not good.
Levi obviously had no idea of the challenge he’d just issued, or the uproar he’d cause by using that tone with her in front of her family.
And now it was too late.
She hadn’t wanted this. She wanted only time to think, to hide from her mortifying and aberrant behavior, to…She didn’t know what she wanted, damn it, and it wasn’t fair that Levi refused to give her a chance to figure it out.
Muttering to herself, she dropped to her knees to gather the now damp and disheveled gifts one more time. As she did so, she said, “Hello, Dad. Hello…everyone else.” She tried to sound jovial rather than frustrated and anxious and at the end of her rope.
She failed miserably.
With a protectiveness that still amazed Beth, her stepbrothers moved as one. Noah’s expression didn’t bode well, and Ben appeared equally ready to declare war. Even her calm, reasonable father stalked forward with blood in his eyes.
Plopping her belongings on a nearby booth, Beth held up both hands. “Wait!”
No one did. From one second to the next, Levi had her behind him…as if to protect her? From her family?
Unfortunately, even that simple touch from him, in no way affectionate or seductive, had Beth’s tummy fluttering and her skin warming.
She quickly shrugged off her coat.
Levi took it from her, then asked, “Did you hurt yourself when you fell?”
“No. You can leave with a clear conscience. I’m fine.” She reached for her coat.
He held it out of her reach. “I’m not going anywhere, so you can quit trying to get rid of me.”
The men drew up short. Her father barked, “Who the hell are you?”
Levi turned to face their audience. Positive that she didn’t want him to answer that himself, Beth yelled from behind him, “He’s a friend.” And she tried to ease backward away from him.
“A whole lot more than a friend,” Levi corrected, and he stepped back to close the distance she’d just gained.
“Where’s her fiancé?” Noah asked.
“Busy,” Beth said.
“Gone,” Levi answered in a bark. He reached back and caught Beth’s wrist. His thumb moved over her skin, a gentle contrast to the iron in his tone. “For good.”
Confused, Ben asked, “You mean dead?”
“Far as Beth is concerned, yes.”
Oh, for crying out loud. Knowing she couldn’t let this continue, Beth yanked her wrist free and, without quite touching any part of Levi’s big, hard body, went on tiptoe to see beyond him.
The masculine expressions facing her didn’t bode well.
She summoned a smile that felt sickly. “Hello, Dad. Brandon is fine, but we’re not engaged anymore.”
Kent Monroe brought his brows down. “Since when?”
“Since she’s with me now instead,” Levi told them.
“No,” Beth corrected sweetly, “I’m not.”
Levi half turned to face her. “Wanna bet?”
His challenge got everyone moving again.
Oh God, she had to do something. “Dad,” Beth begged, “I don’t want him hurt.”
Her father stopped in his tracks. Noah and Ben did not.
But her lovely sisters-in-law took control.
�
��Noah,” Grace called from across the room. “You heard her.”
Frowning, Noah paused about three feet from Levi. “I also heard him.”
Sierra, a little more outgoing than Grace, raced up to Ben’s side and thumped his shoulder. “Knock off the King Kong impersonation, Ben. You’re embarrassing me.”
“You’ll survive.” Keeping his eyes on Levi, Ben crossed his arms over his chest and waited.
For reasons that Beth couldn’t begin to fathom, Levi stood there as if he’d take all three of them on at once. Idiot.
Determined to gain control, she chanced touching him long enough to give him a good pinch. “They’re my family, Levi.”
He nodded, but didn’t relax.
Fed up, Beth moved around him. “I’m sorry for the dramatic entrance everyone. Levi is a friend—”
“Damn it, Beth, we left friendship behind days ago.”
Beth let her eyes sink shut. She’d kill him. She’d never speak to him again. She’d—
His hand caught her shoulder and he turned her to face him. As if they stood alone, as if he had no concept of privacy or manners, Levi lowered his nose to almost touch hers.
In a voice that carried to every ear in the room, he ground out, “I’ve had enough, Beth. I mean it. We’re both adults, both healthy, and finally we’re both single. It’s ridiculous for you to be embarrassed just because—”
“Don’t!”
But her warning came too late, and Levi had already said too much. Silence reigned as everyone absorbed his meaning.
Then she felt it, the smiles, the amusement, the awful comprehension.
It took three breaths before Beth could speak.
Eyes narrowed, she nodded at Levi, turned to face her family, and announced, “I’ve changed my mind. Hurt him all you want.”
And with that, she literally ran away.
Noah and Ben kept Levi from following.
In rapid succession, a dozen different emotions zinged through Levi’s mind. Damn it, he’d loved her forever, he’d finally had her, and the reality far outshone the fantasy.
But she was ashamed—of him, and of what they’d done. It didn’t matter that he’d given her a dozen mind-blowing orgasms. It didn’t matter that she’d taken everything he’d offered and begged for more.