Bear Claw Bodyguard
Page 19
She hadn’t realized her heart had stopped beating for a moment, but it must have because suddenly it started up again, thudding to a newer, stronger beat. “But what about your job?” she protested. “What about your family?”
“Tucker says there’ll always be a place for me in Bear Claw, especially now that the city is finally in line for a decent mayor. As for my family, they’ll be here when we get back. And they’ll be happy I took the time off so we could get to know each other and figure out if we’re going to be family, too.”
It wasn’t a proposal, but it was close enough to have her lifting her free hand to her chest as her heart did a little dance. “Oh, Jack,” she breathed. “Really? You’d leave it all behind for me?”
“I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe, Tori. More important, I’ll do whatever it takes to stay at your side. If that means we bounce around a bit, then we bounce around. If we agree to try putting down roots somewhere, then that’s what we’ll do. Right now, all I care is that we give this a chance.”
“Oh, Jack.”
He leaned over their hands, bent down and kissed her. What started out as a chaste brush of the lips caught fire almost immediately as she softened and yielded, and he groaned and took it deeper. Reaching up, she twined her arms around his neck and drew him down, until he was lying partway on top of her and their kiss turned real and searching. A groan reverberated in his chest and his hands went almost rough on her as he dragged caresses along her body and back up again.
She understood, though, because she felt it, too. “It’s okay,” she whispered to him, “I’m here. I’m fine. I’m not going anywhere without you.”
Finally, he stilled, took a long and shuddering breath and levered himself off her to look down, smiling tenderly. “Is that a yes? You’ll give us a chance?”
“I don’t need to give us a chance—I already know that I love you, even though it’s not our fifth date.”
“Tenth,” he corrected. “And I love you, too.” Then he stood and held out his hand. “Are you ready to go? The doctors have cleared you and there’s a plane waiting for us at the airport.”
And although that was normally one of her favorite things to hear—that it was time to visit a new place, start a new adventure—now she found herself hesitating. “What’s wrong?”
She had to laugh at herself. “I’m just realizing how much I’m going to miss Bear Claw and the Forgotten.” She slanted him a look. “We’ll have to come back as soon as it’s safe, you know.”
If she hadn’t been looking for it, she might not have noticed his soft exhale or the slight shift of his weight that said he was relieved. She noticed those things, though, and it warmed her to know that she could give him that sense of relief, and that it was as precious to her as her own anticipation of a new adventure.
He seemed to see that because his fingers tightened on hers and his lake-blue eyes filled with love. “We’re going to be okay, aren’t we?”
She smiled up at him. “Something tells me we’re going to be better than okay.” Because while they might not have been perfect, they were exactly perfect for each other.
ISBN: 978-1-4592-8231-5
BEAR CLAW BODYGUARD
Copyright © 2011 by Dr. Jessica S. Andersen
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