by Elle Kennedy
Chloe wanted to stay in his arms forever. He smelled so damn good, felt so damn solid. Derek Colton truly was a rock—she now knew why his family depended on him so much, why everyone in the community turned to this man when they needed help, support, advice.
But as much as she wanted to lose herself in his protective embrace, she refused to risk Derek’s life.
“That’s why I have to go,” she whispered, reluctantly stepping out of his arms. “Felix is capable of anything. If he could do this—” she gestured to her cheek “—to his own wife, then he wouldn’t hesitate to hurt you, a complete stranger.”
Fighting a new dose of fear, she sucked in a breath and hurried toward her duffel bag. “I’m leaving.”
“Running,” he said flatly.
She tightened her jaw. “Yes. I’m running, okay?”
“Without even securing a new identity?”
“There’s no time.” She zipped up her bag and slung the strap over her shoulder. “He knows I’m at the ranch and I need to go before he decides to show up for whatever twisted end game he’s got planned.”
“Chloe.” Derek sighed. “Be reasonable. You’re panicked. Scared. You can’t make impulsive decisions in this condition. You need to be smart about this. So put down the bag, come into the kitchen and we’ll make some coffee and come up with a plan.”
The fear swimming in her belly wouldn’t let her consider the suggestion. She marched to the door, stopping only to shoot him a look loaded with sorrow and regret. “I’m leaving, Derek.”
When he made a move toward her, she held up her hand. “Please,” she begged. “Please don’t try to stop me.”
“I wasn’t going to.”
She stared at him in bewilderment. “What?”
His face hardened in fortitude. “If you’re so damn determined to go, then I’m coming with you.”
CHAPTER 9
Derek was calling Chloe’s bluff. Well, not so much calling her bluff as waiting for her to come to her senses.
He knew she was acting on pure instinct, driven by fear rather than rational thought. The latest delivery had left her feeling as if she’d been backed into a corner, and faced with the choice of fighting or fleeing, she’d chosen the latter. But Derek knew that any second now she’d realize what a mistake this was. The way she’d executed her escape from Felix with careful consideration and diligent preparation told Derek that this woman was a planner. No way would she skip town half-cocked without any semblance of a plan.
And so he sat quietly in the passenger seat of Chloe’s hatchback, watching her from the corner of his eye as she followed the river that ran along the edge of town. He doubted she even had a destination in mind; she seemed to be driving aimlessly through Eden Falls, which told him she was beginning to see the situation with clarity.
It still floored him that she was doing all this to protect him. Yes, she feared for her own life, but it was the thought of her husband hurting Derek and his family that had pushed her over the edge. He couldn’t remember the last time a woman had worried about his well-being. Tess had been so focused on herself he hadn’t even made a blip on her radar.
But Chloe? She’d been downright inconsolable from the notion that he might get hurt. Ironically, he felt the same damn way—the mere thought of Chloe getting hurt sliced at his insides like a razor blade.
Derek shot her a sidelong look, feeling utterly bewildered. Her delicate profile, those straight white teeth worrying her plush bottom lip, her blond hair falling over one shoulder…the woman was so beautiful she took his breath away.
Ever since he’d nearly made love to her—on his desk, for Pete’s sake—he’d been fighting the need to kiss her again. The urge to strip off her clothes and explore every inch of her tempting body. The little moans she’d made when she’d come apart from his touch continued to echo in his head, and he’d been in a state of hot arousal ever since yesterday afternoon.
The primal need to claim this woman had left him unhinged. He’d never felt this way before, not even with Tess. Chloe unleashed a passionate side he’d never possessed with his wife, and he had no idea how to deal with it. All he knew was that he wanted her. Craved her.
At the same time, he didn’t want to make any promises he wasn’t sure he could keep. He didn’t want to hurt her with his inability to open his heart. Christ, she’d been hurt so much already.
His gaze was drawn to her cheek, the smooth ivory skin flushed with a pinkish hue. She was facing straight ahead to watch the road, so Derek couldn’t see the scar, but the memory of it had been burned into his brain.
Fury clamped around his spine and he had to wrench his gaze away in case she caught a glimpse of his expression. What kind of monster took a scalpel to the face of the woman he claimed to love? Felix Moreno was damn lucky Derek wasn’t standing in front of him at this very moment—because Derek would have strangled that sick bastard to death, his oath to heal and protect be damned.
“Aw, hell.”
Chloe’s anguished mumble jarred him back to the present. He turned to look at her, hiding a smile as she slowed the car and pulled onto the shoulder of the road.
“What am I doing?” she said with a heavy sigh.
“Come to your senses, did ya?” He couldn’t control the teasing note in his voice.
“Remind me never to make impulsive decisions during a panic attack,” she said wryly.
Before he could respond, she reached for the door handle. “I need air.”
They got out of the car and Chloe drifted toward the gentle slope that overlooked the river below. Derek came up beside her, and, after a moment of hesitation, placed his hand on her arm. “You okay?”
She offered a faint laugh. “Not really.” She paused, focusing on the riverbank. “Let’s walk.”
He blinked. “Now?”
“Yes.” Without waiting for his answer, she began descending the slope, her black leather boots sinking into the two-inch layer of snow covering the grass.
Deciding to humor her, Derek zipped up his coat and followed her down the slope. It was a cool evening, dark and chilly, but at least it wasn’t snowing. The moon sat high in the sky, illuminating the river as they made their way to the muddy, pebble-strewn bank.
Chloe didn’t say a word as she walked. Her breath left white billows in the air. Her cheeks were as red as her scarf, but she didn’t seem to mind the cold. Derek let her take the lead, realizing immediately where she was heading. Eden Falls River culminated in the serene waterfall that the town had been named after, but Derek hadn’t been there in years. It was too close to the bridge where he’d lost Tess, a site he avoided as often as possible.
“I have two options,” Chloe said suddenly.
“Which are?” Because she was walking ahead of him, he couldn’t see her expression, but the droop of her shoulders revealed her unhappiness.
“I can disappear. For good this time. No nursing, no public life. Just get a new identity, leave the country and hide for the rest of my life.”
Twigs and frost crackled beneath their boots as they approached the spot where the river narrowed and the landscape dipped. The sound of rushing water hissed in the air, and then the waterfall came into view. It was wider than it was tall, and Derek had never seen it go dry or freeze, not even in the hottest of summers or coldest of winters. Just like the water washing over the boulders at the fall’s base, a sense of peace washed over him. He rarely had the time to be out in nature these days; his practice was too busy, his family too demanding. As he glanced at Chloe’s strained profile, he wished that they were here under different circumstances.
“But I don’t want to do that,” she said, referring to the option she’d raised. “I don’t want to hide away, Derek. And then there’s my dad—I can’t leave him. He might not remember me, but I still want to be
close by if he needs me.”
“What’s the second option?” Derek asked.
“Go back to California.”
Every muscle in his body went taut. “Go back to Felix?” he demanded.
She quickly shook her head. “Go back and face him,” she clarified. “I’ll hire a lawyer and a bodyguard. File for divorce, get a restraining order and then maybe I’ll move to Missouri to be near my dad.” A shaky breath left her mouth, staining the air white. “I’ll just have to be careful, never go anywhere alone and pray that Felix doesn’t decide to come after me.”
“And live your life constantly looking over your shoulder, waiting for him to make a move,” Derek said grimly.
Her pretty features creased with desperation. “What other choice do I have? Faking my death clearly wasn’t enough, and I don’t want to sit on some beach in South America until the end of time. My dad is safe thanks to that bodyguard you hired, which means Felix can’t use him as a way to lure me back.” She sighed. “I just want this to be over. If that means confronting Felix and getting cops and lawyers involved, then I think I have to do that.”
The thought of Chloe confronting her violent husband cut into his gut like a dull blade.
“I’m tired of running,” she murmured. “And I’m tired of being afraid.”
His throat tightened, making it difficult to get a word out. He wanted to tell her that she could stay at the ranch—forever, if she wanted. But he knew she’d never agree. This evening’s delivery confirmed that Felix had tracked her to the Double C,
and Derek knew that Chloe would rather die herself than let Felix hurt anyone living on the ranch.
“I’ll make arrangements to leave in the morning,” she finished in a soft voice.
“No.”
Her brows furrowed. “Derek—”
“Stay,” he interrupted.
“I can’t.”
He bridged the few feet of distance between them and cupped her chin with his hands. His thumb swept over the pronounced scar tissue on her cheek, and a feeling of pure protectiveness seized his heart. Damn it, he didn’t want her to go. It stunned him to realize how deeply he’d come to care about Chloe in the month he’d known her. How much he’d come to depend on her. How much he looked forward to seeing her every day.
What he felt for her went beyond sexual attraction. She…soothed him. Being around Chloe brought him a sense of calm that he hadn’t felt in years.
“You can’t just hop on a plane to L.A. and confront that son of a bitch,” Derek said in a low voice. “You need to contact a lawyer first, hire a guard, make arrangements. Stay at the ranch for a few more days, at least until you figure it all out, and when the time comes for you to face Felix, I’ll do it with you.”
Her breath hitched. “What? Why would you do that?”
“Because I refuse to let you confront that maniac alone.” Anger rippled through him, intensifying when the pad of his thumb brushed her scar. “I won’t let him hurt you again, sweetheart.”
Disbelief echoed in her voice. “You want to come to California with me? What about your family? Your patients?”
“They can survive without me for a week or two,” he said firmly.
“A week or two?” she echoed. “You’re planning on taking that much time off?”
“You think I’m going to hold your hand while you see your husband for the first time in months and then abandon you? No way. I’ll stick around for as long as I can, and if you do plan on moving to St. Louis, I’ll help you make those arrangements, too.” A thought occurred to him. “Or you could move your father to a facility in Philadelphia. That way you could continue working at the clinic. With me.”
Amazement washed over her face. “Why are you doing all of this, Derek? I know you said you want to be friends, but this is above and beyond—”
“Friends?” he cut in. A laugh rumbled out of his chest. “I was lying through my damn teeth when I said that. I don’t want to be your friend, Chloe. I want…I want this.”
His lips covered hers in a hard kiss.
Their tongues tangled, breaths mingled, chests collided. Desire swamped his body as he explored her mouth, and his erection strained against the zipper of his trousers, pleading for attention. When Chloe ground her lower body into his, he growled with sheer masculine pleasure and deepened the kiss, while his hands fumbled with the buttons of her coat.
He was about to push the wool fabric off her slender shoulders when he realized where they were. The frigid air cooled some of the heat streaking through his veins, helping him regain his senses. “Let’s go back to the car,” he rasped.
“It’s too far away,” she said breathlessly.
Then she kissed him again, and his surroundings faded away. The only thing that registered was her warm mouth, her curvy body straining into his, her impatient hands clawing at his zipper.
Groaning, Derek flung off his coat and spread it on the cold earth, then he sank to his knees, bringing Chloe down with him. He’d never experienced such all-consuming lust, such overwhelming anticipation. He needed this woman the way he needed his next breath, and she seemed to be infected by that same mad rush of need.
She lay on her back and yanked him on top of her, their mouths finding each other once more. Her fingers undid his fly. His fingers tugged on the waistband of her snug black pants. He peeled the stretchy material down her legs, cursing when he saw the goose pimples rise on her bare flesh.
“It’s too cold,” he mumbled.
“Then warm me up,” she mumbled back.
Derek brought one hand between her legs, groaning when he felt how wet she was. As his heart pounded out a wild rhythm in his chest, he stroked her slick folds, summoning a soft moan from her lush lips. He was too wound up for foreplay, too desperate to get inside her. He rubbed his palm over her core, once, twice, then slid a finger into her wet heat. Lord, she was tight.
With another growl, he eased his pants and boxers down his hips, positioned his throbbing erection and drove into her.
“God. Derek.”
Chloe let out a husky cry and bucked her hips to bring him deeper.
Derek couldn’t have controlled his strokes if his life depended on it. There was nothing slow or tender about their lovemaking—it was frantic, uncontrollable, a wild race to the finish line. Chloe clung to his shoulders as he plunged into her, moaned, whispered his name, urged him to go faster.
His pulse raced as he made love to her with rough, shallow strokes. Hips pistoning, chest heaving, pleasure gathering in his groin and fogging his head. He registered the glazed look in Chloe’s hazel eyes and knew she felt that same sense of bliss and desperation.
“More,” she choked out, lifting her hips again. “Please, Derek, I need more.”
He moved even faster, sliding his hands beneath her black turtleneck sweater to squeeze her breasts over her bra. The second his palms touched those firm mounds, Chloe started to convulse, crying out from the orgasm.
Her inner muscles clenched around his cock like a hot vise, sending him teetering right over the edge. As his climax ripped through him with the force of a hurricane, Derek buried his face in the crook of her neck and breathed in the heady scent of her. His hips kept moving, bursts of pleasure igniting every inch of his body.
Eventually they both grew still, and Derek became aware of the chill nipping at his bare ass. Unable to stop himself, he let out a deep laugh.
Chloe’s eyes flew open. “Are you laughing at me?”
Another chuckle squeezed out of his lungs. “Not at you. At us.”
He slowly withdrew from her tight channel, immediately experiencing a sense of loss. And he suddenly realized that in their passion, they’d neglected to use any protection.
Chloe must have realized it at the same time because she shot him a rea
ssuring look. “I’m not at the right part of my cycle,” she murmured. Her voice cracked. “Besides, I’m not sure I can even get pregnant anymore.”
The pain in her eyes brought an ache to his chest. Not wanting to spoil this perfect moment with past heartache, he flashed her a grin and said, “We’re animals, Chloe. We didn’t even make it to the damn car.”
Now she was laughing, too. She propped herself up on her elbows and glanced around, as if noticing for the first time that they were lying on the rocky ground next to the small pool at the base of the waterfall.
Then her gaze shifted back to his face and her expression softened. “You know what? I’m glad this happened here.” Her throat dipped as she swallowed. “I feel…safe here. Happy.” The smile she bestowed him made Derek’s heart squeeze with joy. “No matter what happens, I’ll always think of this waterfall as my safe place, Derek.”
Overcome with emotion, he lowered his head and kissed her. “Me, too, sweetheart. Me, too.”
* * *
Over the next three days, Chloe and Derek fell into a routine that alternated between work and sex, with the occasional dinner with Sawyer thrown in. They’d told Derek’s younger siblings that Chloe was staying at the ranch while her apartment was being fumigated, and neither kid had questioned it. Sawyer, in particular, had been thrilled to discover that Chloe was Derek’s houseguest.
Although she knew she ought to be making plans to return to California and officially divorce Felix, it was so hard to focus on the dark cloud hanging over her head when Derek had brought a ray of sunshine into her life.
There was no doubt about it—she was smitten. She hadn’t thought the word smitten could apply to a woman her age, but it was the only way to describe how she felt about Derek. Being with him was a whole new experience for her. He listened to her, treated her with respect, complimented her, made her laugh.
And the man couldn’t keep his hands off her. Not that Chloe was complaining—she couldn’t keep her hands off him, either. These past three days, they’d made love every morning before work and every night when they got home from the clinic. Derek had even woken her up at four o’clock this morning, his brown eyes glimmering with sinful promise as he’d slipped his hand between her legs and proceeded to bring her to orgasm before making slow, sweet love to her.