Protect and Serve (Stripped Down Prequel Book 3)

by Sabrina York

  “That sucks.”

  “It’s not always easy. But it’s better to know. Are the two of you interested in the same thing? Are you heading in the same direction? I hate blindsides.”

  Claire wasn’t sure which would be worse. Knowing for certain that Charlie didn’t share her growing feelings, or finding out too late that she meant nothing to him.

  “Don’t look like that. I’m pretty sure he’s crazy about you.”

  “How do you know?”

  Lisa winked. “Because he’s willing to put up with your brothers. Not many men would go to those lengths for a woman if he wasn’t really interested.”

  True. That was a comforting thought. Oddly enough. Her brothers, and their protective natures, had been the bane of her existence growing up. Would she really want a man who couldn’t stand with them, toe-to-toe?

  “Well, we’ll find out for sure this weekend,” she said sticking her finger into the pastry cream Lisa set on the counter. Mmm. Raspberry. It was delicious.

  “Find what out?” Cade asked as he sauntered into the kitchen with an armload of mail. He dropped it on the table and went to kiss Lisa.

  Claire froze. “Um, find out if the show in Austin brings in more customers,” she said, grasping the first non-Charlie-related thought that popped into her head.

  “I’m sure it will,” Lisa said with a credible nod. Her expression was hardly impish at all.

  Cade looked from one to the other. “Of course it will.” He frowned at Lisa. “I just wish you could come too.”

  “So do I, hon,” she said. “But my sister needs me.”

  “She should stop having so many children.”

  “Talk to Gregg about that.”

  Cade huffed a laugh. “Yeah. I’m not going to be the one to tell a former Navy SEAL to quit having sexy time with his wife.”

  “Good call.” Lisa smacked his hand when he reached for a cinnamon bun. “Those are for Claire.”

  “All of them?”

  “Of course.”

  Cade made a disgruntled noise, and then pulled Lisa into his arms for a proper kiss. While she was distracted, he stole a cinnamon bun. “Oh, there’s a letter or you, Claire,” he said as he turned away—with a grin—and began to wolf the pastry down.

  She sat at the table and began sorting through the mail. “They’re all for me,” she grumbled. Bill, bill, political mailer, insurance offer she’d never requested. Ah, there it was.

  Her address was handwritten and it had no return address. She flipped it over, but there was nothing on the back. With a shrug, she ripped it open with her thumb.

  There was one sheet of paper inside, and on it, a poem.

  This morning, I awoke with thoughts of you

  As ever, always. What’s a man to do?

  I’ve never known a woman so fine

  I’ll do what I must to make you mine.

  Her lips quirked and she glanced triumphantly at Lisa. Granted, it wasn’t the most romantic poem she’d ever read, but it was from Charlie, and that was all that mattered. She’d never envisioned him as a poetic type—him being ex-military and a cop and all—but it proved one thing. He was willing to do whatever it took to win her.

  And the thought was fascinating.

  “Who’s it from?” Cade asked, his mouth full of pastry.

  Claire stood and bit back an exultant grin. “Just never you mind,” she said. And then she headed for her room as though she were floating on a cloud. She had lots to do to prepare for this weekend and no time to lose.

  When Charlie arrived at the ranch house with his weekend bag in hand, Cade met him at the door with a dour look. It would have been a dismal greeting if Lisa hadn’t been at his side, smiling.

  “You can pick any room on the second floor,” Cade said. “But you are not, under any circumstances, to go up to the third floor.”

  “That sounds pretty Gothic. Do you have your crazy first wife locked in the garret?”

  Lisa snorted a laugh, but when Cade frowned at her, she fixed him with a wide-eyed stare and said, “Well, do you? Have a crazy first wife in the garret? As your fiancée, I think I have the right to know.”

  He must have assumed it was a rhetorical question, because he didn’t respond to Lisa. But to Charlie, he said on an ominous thread, “Claire’s room is on the third floor. You are to avoid that room like the plague.”

  Charlie fixed an innocent look on his face. If Claire was interested enough, they wouldn’t even have to climb the stairs for what he had in mind. “Understood.”

  Cody clomped down the stairs with a suitcase in his hand. He frowned at Charlie, which was, all things considered, a bit rude, because Charlie was doing them a favor, after all. “Did you tell him to stay off the third floor?”

  Hell. Had they had a meeting about this?

  “He says he understands.” Both men studied him through narrowed eyes.

  “Look, if you don’t want me to stay, I can leave.” He and Claire could spend the weekend at his place. He had a nice bed. Not a four-poster, but he could work around that.

  Besides, he didn’t even know if she would enjoy his preferences. Not yet.

  He suspected she was open to a little sugar kink, but they hadn’t exactly had time for that conversation with her bodyguards hovering.

  Why didn’t they just leave already?

  “Of course we want you to stay.” There was a thread of annoyance in Lisa’s voice. She glared at Cody and Cade.

  It took a moment, and a couple of sullen glances, but they finally nodded.

  “Yeah.”

  “I suppose.”

  “Well okay then.” He shot a grin around the circle, apparently provoking them both because, in tandem, they opened their mouths. Before they could speak, he grabbed at a conversational straw. “Nice flowers,” he said with a nod to the stunning bouquet on the table in the hall.

  Lisa’s grin broadened. “Aren’t they, though? So thoughtful.” He assumed Cade had sent them to her, so he didn’t understand his friend’s glower.

  He had no time to think about it, because Claire came down the stairs wearing a sexy, flippy skirt and a tight top that outlined her fascinating curves. That in itself was mind-melting enough, but she sent him a bright smile that made his heart flutter. “You’re here,” she said in a hush when she set eyes on him. She seemed as poleaxed as he felt.

  “I’m here.”

  And they stared at each other as though they could never stare long enough. And yes, that was how he felt. He could look at her forever—

  “Say, maybe Charlie should sleep in the bunkhouse,” Cody said, apropos of nothing.

  Charlie glanced at him. He had his arms folded over his chest—making his biceps bulge like a cage fighter’s—and his expression was ferocious.

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” Claire said. “He can’t protect me from there.”

  Cade snorted. “Yeah, but who’s going to protect him?”

  “Don’t worry, Charlie.” She looked up to catch his eye. “I’ll protect you.”

  “From you,” Cade bit out. “Who’s going to protect him from you?” His gaze strafed her. “What are you wearing?”

  “This old thing?” She spun around and the skirt billowed.

  “What happened to your jeans?” He glanced at Cody. “She usually wears jeans.”

  “And flannel.” Cody joined the chorus. “You should be wearing flannel.”

  “I’ll wear my flannel PJs. Promise.”

  Which, for some reason, made both her brothers go an odd shade of purple.

  Claire forced a dazzling smile. “Isn’t it time you got going? Traffic will be a bear.”

  Lisa—bless her—checked her watch. “It is getting late. I want to get to Lia’s before dark.”

  Cade turned to Cody. “Maybe this isn’t a good idea.”

  “Yeah. It’s not. Claire, you’re coming with us.”

  Charlie was still looking at her face, so he saw it. The transformation from a flirty coqu
ette to an Amazon woman faced with a dire threat. It sent a shiver of trepidation down his spine. “I’m not going. But you are.” She pushed them toward the door.

  “But—”

  Lisa silenced Cade with a hand to his arm and a speaking glance.

  Too bad there was no one to silence Cody. “Damn it, Claire. We can’t leave you alone with him.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because.”

  She stared at Cody, waiting for him to finish the thought, but he didn’t. Apparently because was enough. “This was your idea,” she said in an arctic tone.

  Cody put out a lip. “I changed my mind.”

  “Damn it, I am a grown woman.”

  “You’re my baby sister.”

  “I’m not a baby. And I don’t appreciate being treated like one. And I most especially dislike the evidence that you don’t trust me to make my own decisions.” And then, just when she had them on the ropes, she dropped the bomb. “Maybe it’s time I moved out.”

  You could have heard a feather drop in the silence. It was clear both men were devastated. The stared at her with open mouths, their eyes wide.

  “You can’t move out,” Cody burbled.

  “Can’t I?” She turned to Charlie and grabbed his hand. “Come help me pack.”

  He had no idea why both Cody and Cade suddenly fixed him with feral frowns. It hadn’t been his idea. In fact, he hadn’t said a word.

  “Claire… Please.”

  It was pretty clear Cody rarely used that word, because Claire stopped short and sent him a questioning glance. He grumbled a bit and raked his hair with his fingers and finally muttered, “Oh, all right. We’re going.” He flicked a look at Charlie. “But I want updates on the hour.”

  “On the hour?” That would be awkward at two a.m.

  “The numbers are on the fridge.”

  “Numbers?”

  “You know. Our hotel, our cells, her doctor…”

  It was so surreal, Charlie had to ask, “And what time is bedtime?” Because, since he was babysitting, it would be helpful to know.

  Apparently they didn’t appreciate the joke. They glared at him and then glared at her and picked up their bags. As they left, Cade shook his finger in Claire’s face and said, “You behave, young lady,” the way any good father would.

  When the door closed behind them, Claire ran to the window in the dining room and watched them drive away. When they were gone, she huffed a heavy sigh.

  “Finally,” she said, spinning toward him with a wicked smile. “We’re finally alone.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Oh, good glory. The moment was finally here.

  She and Charlie were alone for the whole weekend.

  She didn’t know why the nerves hit her so hard, why she suddenly felt shy. She was planning to seduce him—surely that was something a bold woman did.

  But all of a sudden, she couldn’t meet his gaze. Not really.

  “Are you hungry?” she asked, out of pure desperation.

  He chuckled. “I could eat. But first…” He took her shoulders in his hands, pulled her closer, and kissed her. “I’ve been dying to do that.”

  Feeling very encouraged, she nudged against him and looped her arms around his neck. “Me too.”

  “I thought they would never leave.”

  “Me too.”

  He fell silent and waited until she looked up at him before he said, “I’ve been thinking about this weekend a lot.”

  “Me too.” She knew she sounded like a parrot who had only bothered to learn one phrase, but her brain wasn’t cooperating. At the moment, being clever and suave was beyond her.

  He kissed her again, but this time on her nose, which she recognized as code for, we should talk. She hated we should talk kisses. “I just want to make sure we’re both on the same page here. I don’t want to, you know, jump to conclusions.”

  She remembered what Lisa had said about the importance of communicating her feelings, so she nodded. “Okay.” She blinked when he remained silent. It occurred to her that he might be just as at sea as she was. “And what conclusions were you planning to jump to?”

  He went pink to his ears. “I am planning to seduce you.”

  He was alarmed by her laugh, judging by the way he lurched back. “I was planning to seduce you. Oh, what a conundrum. Whatever shall we do now?”

  She liked the way he smiled. With a wicked cant. “We could seduce each other. Make it a contest, if you will.”

  “Oooh. I’m very competitive,” she said. “It’s only fair to tell you that.”

  “I’m competitive too.”

  “Excellent.” She hooked her arm in his and led him to the kitchen. “We’d better eat. I suspect we will need the fortification.”

  He chuckled. “Good idea.”

  Claire pulled the casserole she’d made from the oven and set it on the table with the salad and fruit. Then she went back for the wine. They were just sitting down when the front door opened and Cody came barreling in. He stopped short when he saw them at the table. “Oh,” he said, as though he couldn’t think of anything else to say. Then, “What are you doing?”

  Claire gestured to the meal. “Eating dinner.”

  “Oh.” Her brother’s gaze flicked from her to Charlie and back. He seemed terribly put out that he hadn’t caught them in a clinch. “Okay.”

  “Did you forget something?” Charlie asked, barely holding back his smile.

  “I, ah… Yeah. My, um… My wallet.” But then he headed back for the door without it, leading Claire to suspect that had hardly been the case.

  She sighed and scooped some of the casserole onto each plate. “I swear. Sometimes those two drive me nuts.”

  “They just love you, Claire.”

  “Oh, I know. But really. How am I ever going to live my life with them meddling?”

  He lifted a shoulder. “You could move out.”

  She gaped at him. Though she’d used it as a threat, she really couldn’t bear to leave the ranch. “I’ve lived here my whole life.”

  “Right, but at some point, your brothers will have wives and children. The house will be full.”

  Which led to another point. It was probably too early to ask him, but she needed to know. “Do you want kids? I mean, someday?” Heat crawled up her neck at her boldness.

  He picked up his glass and sipped at the champagne. “I love kids. I always wanted a big family. How about you?”

  “Yes. Yes. A lot.” She had to add, because the heat had spread, “But not yet.”

  “No. Not yet.”

  “And it has to be right. You know. The right man.” She couldn’t hold his gaze.

  “I agree. My father always said a man’s wife can make or break his happiness.”

  “It’s true. Both ways.”

  He nodded and took a bite of his dinner. “Mmm. This is delicious. Did you make it?”

  Claire forced an innocent look on her face. “Mmm hmm.” But she found she couldn’t lie to him. “Sort of.”

  “Sort of?”

  “Molly left it in the freezer for us when she went on vacation. But I followed the directions.”

  “Did you?” It was cute the way he cocked his head and praised her as though she were a puppy who’d finally peed outside. So romantic. “And how complicated were the directions?”

  She closed her eyes and thought back. “Let’s see. Reheat at 350° for forty-five minutes.”

  He took another bite. “Pretty impressive.”

  “I was impressed with myself.” She leaned closer. “I usually burn things.”

  “So you’re not much of a cook?”

  She couldn’t answer because a peal of laughter overcame her. And then she sobered. “Oh, I do hope that’s not on your list.”

  “My…list?”

  “You know. Things you’re looking for in a wife.”

  Well, crap. She should have kept her mouth shut because suddenly he went still and stared at her and she realized she
’d really overstepped her bounds. This was—kind of—their second date and they’d already talked about children, which was a no-no. Asking him what kind of wife he wanted was absolutely—

  “It’s not.”

  “What?”

  “It’s not on my list. Whether or not a woman can cook. Besides…” He grinned. “I can cook.”

  “Oooh. Can you?” Excellent.

  “I’m looking for someone who’s funny and loving and has good values. Someone who makes me happy and loves children and occasionally lets me tie her up in the bedroom.”

  He said it as a joke.

  Maybe.

  Their gazes caught and something shimmied down her spine. She took a gulp of wine and said, through the lump in her throat, “Only in the bedroom?”

  And damn, she loved the look in his eye. A little wicked and a whole lot horny.

  “We can talk about the wheres and whens later. Right now, we better eat because I don’t know how long I can wait.”

  Wait? “For what?”

  “To kiss you again.”

  And yeah. That was pretty damn encouraging.

  It was probably impolite to wolf down his food, but he felt like a wolf…on the prowl. And he was impatient. He’d prepared for this night, dreamed about it, fantasized about it for as long as he could remember.

  He had every intention of making this the most romantic seduction, the most glorious encounter he could. The thought that he had condoms burning a hole in his pocket spurred him on.

  But he didn’t leap on her the moment they finished eating—the romantic seduction thing and all. Instead, he helped Claire clear the table and load the dishwasher, but they didn’t talk much. It wasn’t necessary. Besides, he knew what they were both thinking about. The tension sizzling between them was exquisite torment.

  And to be honest, he was nervous.

  He wanted this to be right.

  He wanted this to be perfect.

  “There.” Claire wiped down the table and dropped the dish towel on the counter. “Done.” She turned to him with an expectant expression.

  He stared at her. She was so beautiful and he wanted her so badly, but he’d built this night up in his mind to such monumental proportions, he wasn’t quite sure how to proceed. So he opened his arms and said simply, “Claire.”