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“Because I know how to handle these types of situations.”
“Are you a cop?” the robber shouted, wrapping his arm around Skye’s throat. She reflexively reached up and curled her hands around the guy’s forearm, the panicked look on her face making Elliot ache.
He shook his head in response to the asshole’s question, but kept his sharp gaze locked tight on Skye. Then, for the second time, he asked, “Will you trust me and do what I say, baby?”
Her eyes went wide at the husky endearment, and he kept his focus on her as he directed his next words to the bastard trying to use her as a human shield. “You so much as cause her even one second of pain, man, and you’re going to be dealing with me,” he warned. “And you really don’t want that.”
“Fuck you!” the guy spat.
Elliot felt his wolf seething just beneath his surface, and knew he needed to end this quickly. Any hope he’d had that the idiot would rethink his plan and run was gone, and now his time was up. “Wrong answer,” he scraped out in a voice that was more animal than man, his hard gaze still locked tight with Skye’s. “The instant I get my hands on him,” he told her, “you drop and crawl away.”
“Are you fucking crazy? I swear I’ll shoot you, you stup—” was all the robber got out, before Elliot went into action. He was not only stronger than a human male, he was faster than one. It took him no more than a second to charge the asshole, knocking the gun out of his shaking hand and squeezing the wrist of the arm he’d wrapped around Skye so strongly he felt the bones crack. The asshole screamed as Elliot jerked his arm up with enough power that it dislocated his shoulder, allowing Skye to drop away from him and quickly crawl across the floor, exactly like Elliot had told her to do. Then he pulled back his free arm and knocked the bastard out with a single punch.
“Yes!” the older woman working the hostess’s station shouted, coming around the podium and kicking the junkie in his ribs with the pointed toe of her shoe. “And you stay down, you slimy jerk!”
All of a sudden, a great roar of cheers exploded across the diner, and Elliot found himself being hugged by one human after another. The mother of the family Skye had been waiting on even planted a kiss on his cheek before bursting into tears of relief that her children and husband were safe. It was a surreal moment, and all he wanted was to find Skye and get the hell out of there before someone called the cops and he ended up having to deal with the local PD.
He searched the crowd for her, worried when he couldn’t spot her, a raw sound on his lips when he finally caught sight of her coming through the swinging door that led to the kitchen. For a brief moment, he wondered what she’d been doing back there. Then he forgot all about the question as their gazes locked, the grateful look on her face making him feel like he’d just saved the friggin’ world.
He began making his way through the crush toward her, and she did the same. “Are you all right?” he asked, the moment they reached each other. The question felt heavy on his tongue, his arms aching with the need to pull her close and wrap her up tight against him. But he hadn’t earned the right to touch her yet, and he didn’t want to frighten her.
“I’m fine, thanks to you,” she said with a soft smile. “That...what you did...it was amazing.”
“You don’t need to thank me.” Not for protecting you, baby. It’s what I was born for. “You sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah, I’m good.” She stepped a little closer to him, the difference in their heights making her have to tilt her head back a bit to see his face. “I just... I can’t believe you came at him like that when he had a gun.”
“He wasn’t going to shoot anyone.” And if he had, Elliot would have survived the shot. As a Lycan, it was damn difficult to kill him with a bullet. “I was more worried about you. There was no way I was letting him keep his hands on you a second longer.”
She blinked up at him, and he thought, Because you’re mine, doing his best to appear like a normal guy so he didn’t scare the hell out of her. But inside, his wolf was seething with fury, prowling like a caged beast, with only one thought churning through its mind:
No matter what it takes, we protect what’s ours...
Chapter 3 (#ulink_9a0e623c-5920-5180-a6dc-72d06a7f67f9)
Skye Hewitt stared up at the gorgeous, dark-eyed stranger standing in front of her, and couldn’t help but remember how he’d called her “baby” when the robber had been using her as a human shield. She’d been so stunned by how hearing that word on his lips—in reference to her—had made her feel, she hadn’t been able to find the words to answer him to save her life. Literally. Lucky for her, though, he’d trusted her to do as he’d said anyway.
Now, with another one of those sexy, kind of crooked smiles that he’d given her earlier curving his lips, he shook off the visceral tension that seemed to be coiling around him, and said, “I guess we haven’t really been introduced yet, have we? I’m Elliot Connors.”
Elliot...mmm. The sexy name fit him, because...like, seriously. This guy was by far the sexiest freaking thing she’d ever seen. Tall and lean and muscled in that way that didn’t come from being a gym rat. No, this guy looked like a soldier. Someone who did brave, dangerous things for a living, and he had the body of a god to show for it.
It no doubt made her a hussy, but she couldn’t stop herself from imagining what he would look like without the black Henley, worn jeans and kick-ass black boots. Just thinking about him in the buff, with all that dark golden skin on display, stretched tight over rippling slabs of muscle and masculine cords of sinew, had her pulse roaring in her ears, while lust poured so thickly through her veins it was probably written all over her face.
Heck, from the way he was looking at her, it had to be. Because he definitely looked like he was trying to figure out what she was thinking.
Then she realized that he was still waiting for her full name, and she laughed as she shook her head at herself. “I’m Skye. Skye Hewitt.”
“It’s lovely to meet you, Skye.”
“You, too, Elliot.”
He grinned in a way that had his dimple showing again, and she was pretty sure her ovaries spontaneously combusted. Holy freaking cow, was he hot. And nice. And, oh...not to mention brave as hell, going up against that guy the way he’d done. It was like he hadn’t even cared that the junkie had been pointing a gun at him. He’d only seemed to be worried about her, and that little fact was dangerously close to melting her into such a huge, embarrassing puddle of I’m crushing on him so bad and seriously want to have his babies it wasn’t even funny.
When she heard the sirens in the distance, she cleared her throat a little, just in case her voice came out all rough with lust, and told him, “I called the cops as soon as I got away from him. That’s what I was doing in the kitchen.”
She could have sworn she heard him mutter “Shit” under his breath, but when she looked up from his broad chest to his face again, he didn’t look angry or upset. She honestly didn’t know what to make of him, her emotions all in a jumble where he was concerned. Desire, gratitude, awe and no small amount of disbelief. The guy could have any freaking woman he wanted, and yet, he was looking at her as if he wanted to pull her into his powerful arms and kiss the ever-loving hell out of her.
“Come on,” he said, jerking his chin toward the door. “Let’s go outside and talk to them where it won’t be so loud.”
Skye went and grabbed her purse and coat from the break room, then had a quick chat with her manager. When she came back and joined Elliot near the booth where he’d been sitting before all the madness had started, she saw that he’d pulled on a black jacket that looked incredibly good on him. He gestured for her to take the lead, and she purposefully didn’t look at the jerk-off that was still passed out on the floor, a couple of the younger male customers keeping watch over him until the cops arrived. Elliot opened the door for her, then followed her outside, the chilly December air making her huddle deeper into her coat. They stood together on the sidewalk in front of one of the diner’s massive windows, and she was about to ask him what he was doing in town, curious about what had brought him to a place like Charity, his accent making it clear he wasn’t a local, when the first cop car pulled up in front of them, parking at the curb on the far side of the road.
This time, she was the one who muttered “Shit” when she caught sight of the stocky, good-looking policeman climbing out the passenger-side door. She blinked as he made his way toward them with an arrogant stride, hoping her vision might clear and the guy would suddenly morph into someone she didn’t want to kick in the balls every time she ran into him. But no such luck.
This cocky jerk wasn’t just a cop. No, coming straight toward them was one Officer Derek Carlton—her freaking ex-boyfriend from hell!
At that moment, Skye kind of wished there was a hole in the ground that could just conveniently swallow her up. The last thing in the world she wanted to do was talk to Derek, and especially not in front of Elliot.
Please, God, don’t let him be an ass. If he embarrasses me, I’m going to kill him. Or castrate him.
Seriously, what next tonight? Maybe it would start raining a little fire and brimstone. Or a tornado would sweep through the center of town. Who knew? They might even be attacked by a deranged, ax-wielding Santa. That certainly seemed to be where her luck was headed.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Elliot asked in a low voice, shifting a little closer to her side.
She gave a tired sigh. “The cop headed toward us—he’s my ex.”
“You were married to that guy?” His deep voice was all rough with shock, and she could feel the heat of his stare burning hot against the side of her face.
“God, no.” She shook her head, and shot him a look that no doubt said I’d rather be anywhere but here right now. “Ex-boyfriend. We went out together back in our senior year of high school.”
He grunted in response, and a heartbeat later, Derek reached them, looking as smug and as full of himself as he always did. Before he could get a word out, Skye said, “Elliot, this is Officer Carlton. Derek, this is Elliot. He’s a customer at the diner.”
Neither man said anything, since they seemed to be too busy staring each other down, and she ended up just rambling on. “Elliot is the one who saved the day. He disarmed the robber and made sure no one got hurt.”
Derek slowly brought his gaze to hers, and she could tell by his tone that he was going to be a dick. “How do you know him, Skye?”
Crossing her arms over her chest, she spoke through her gritted teeth. “I just told you, he’s a customer.”
Derek cocked one pale brow. “A regular?”
Skye rolled her eyes. “What does that have to do with anything? You should be thanking him for doing your job for you, not asking stupid questions.”
Derek glared, and she drew in a deep breath to keep going, only to stop short when she felt Elliot place his big, strong, deliciously warm hand on her shoulder. He gave it a comforting squeeze, letting her know in a supportive way that she needed to calm down.
Right, she thought. Okay, I can do this. She could be calm...and civil. It just meant burying the hurt she felt every time she came into contact with this jerk.
It seemed so bizarre now to think that there’d been a time when she’d thought Derek was the hunkiest, greatest, most awesome guy she’d ever known. She’d secretly crushed on him for months her senior year of high school, and had nearly died from excitement the day he’d come up to her after math class and asked if she wanted to go out with him on Friday night. It’d been like a dream, the star running back of the football team asking out the poor, chubby girl who only had Vivian for a friend. And he’d been so sweet and persistent, she’d found him impossible to resist. So much so that she’d ended up giving him her virginity when they hit their four-month mark, only to find out the next week that he’d been banging five cheerleaders from three other schools the entire time they’d been together.
She’d learned a hard lesson from the experience, and it wasn’t one she ever planned on forgetting.
Stepping a little closer to her, Derek lowered his voice. “I’d like to talk to you alone for a minute.”
She shuddered, and knew that Elliot must have felt it, because he moved his hand off her shoulder and pulled her into his side instead. And, oh geez, did it feel good to have this gorgeous hunk’s arm wrapped around her waist. She’d have preferred to stay right where she was, but from the look on Derek’s face, it was clear he was going to cause a scene if he didn’t get his way. And Skye had already had enough drama for one night. So with a muffled curse, she pulled away from Elliot, giving him an apologetic look. “I’ll be right back.”
He didn’t argue with her—but he sure as hell didn’t look happy about it, either. “You sure?”
She nodded, and couldn’t help but smile at him. “Will you wait for me? I don’t want to miss being able to say goodbye.”
Something warm and delicious began to smolder in the depths of his dark, hooded gaze. “I’ll be right here. I won’t take my eyes off you.”
She caught her lower lip in her teeth as she stared up at him. “Thanks.”
Derek muttered something under his breath, and she quickly walked a little farther down the street as he followed behind her, just wanting to get this over with.
“You really going slumming with that guy?” he demanded, as soon as she turned around to face him.
“First of all, that guy happens to be awesome. So stop sounding like a jealous douche.”
“Jesus, Skye.” His lip curled as he sneered at her. “I thought you were different.”
“From what? What does that even mean?” she demanded hotly. “And who are you to judge me? You’re a cheat and a liar! And I’m...” She suddenly broke off, shaking her head as she laughed. “Oh, God, why am I even having this conversation with you? We have nothing to say to each other.”
She started to walk around him, when he quickly blocked her path. Giving him her best go-to-hell look, she growled, “No, Derek. I’m done talking to you.”
“You’re done when I say so,” he snapped, sounding like a petulant child as he puffed up his chest.
She blinked, wondering when he’d gone and lost his damn sanity. And then every single thought was shoved from her mind as Elliot’s tall, powerful body suddenly pushed between them. Peering around his side, Skye watched in shock as he stepped up to Derek, towering over him, his low voice cut with anger as he growled, “The lady said no, jackass. So get the fuck away from her.”
Derek’s blue eyes went wide with outrage. “Who the hell do you think you are?”
Elliot shook his head and smirked, as if he found Derek’s posturing a little funny. “I’m someone who’s not afraid of you, even with that shiny badge you’re wearing. So. Back. Off.”
Oh, man. Skye could tell that Derek was seriously pissed...as well as embarrassed. And she’d have so been lying through her teeth if she’d said there wasn’t a tiny bit of her that freaking loved it. If Elliot Connors hadn’t been her hero before, he most definitely was now. She felt like she’d found her own personal guardian angel, and she had to bite her lip to keep from smiling when Derek took a couple of steps back and shot her a furious scowl. “We’re not done, Skye.”
Using her best bored tone, she told him, “We were done years ago, Officer Carlton. Let it go.”
Rage made him red in the face, the blue of his eyes burning with it. “Don’t go anywhere,” he bit out. “I’ll need to talk to both of you before we leave.”
A piercing wave of relief spread through Skye’s chest as she watched Derek turn and stalk away, and then she stepped in front of Elliot, tilted her head back and gave him such a wide smile that it hurt her cheeks. “You are like the most freaking awesome person ever!” she gushed, not even caring that she was making a fool of herself. “Thank you so much for standing up for me. For helping me.”
He gave her a look that somehow seemed both hungry and tender, his voice a deliciously husky rasp as he said, “You never need to thank me for that either, Skye.”
“Okay,” she breathed, feeling her face heat despite the cold wind whipping around them. “But, just so you know, you...you’re not like any other guy I’ve ever met.”
He gave a quiet, sexy bark of laughter, and she had a feeling there was a joke somewhere in there that she didn’t get. And now she really felt like an idiot. “My manager said that I could go ahead and take off, since they’re going to shut the diner for the night, and I really don’t want to stick around to chat with Derek again. So I, uh, guess I should get going,” she rambled on, burrowing down deeper into her coat, kind of wishing she could disappear in it. “I mean, you probably have somewhere you need to be, right?”
Without a word, he put his hand against the small of her back and pushed her along beside him as he headed down to the corner, then around it, until they were out of sight of everyone gathering outside the diner to talk to the four policemen who were now on the scene. Then he moved until he was standing right in front of her, in the low, colorful glow of the town’s ancient Christmas lights. His face was tilted down so that he could look into her eyes, and she froze as he lifted his hand toward her, only to pause for a moment, as if unsure he should do it. Then he reached up and gently pushed her hair back from her cheek, tucking it behind her ear. Her breath sucked in on a shallow gasp, desire pumping so heavily through her body she felt filled with it, the lush sensation only growing as his hooded gaze got darker and he cupped the side of her face with his big, masculine hand.
His lips parted, and he made this wonderfully low, rumbly sound deep in his chest that made her shiver. And even though Skye knew it must be a trick of the light, his dark eyes suddenly looked as if they were glowing with a thin ring of gold around the outer edge of his irises.
Oh, God, was he...was he going to kiss her? Or...was she just imagining it? After all, guys like Elliot Connors didn’t get all hot and bothered over girls that looked like her. So, um, yeah...like what was her problem? Seriously? She normally wasn’t this crazy, but this whole night so far had been a giant case of bizarre, and now she was projecting her lust onto this poor guy who had done nothing but help her.
“Skye,” he whispered, and though she’d just scolded herself for letting her imagination get away from her, it sounded like he wanted to kiss her. Like he wanted to take her into his arms and kiss her until she forgot her freaking name!
“Yeah?” she breathed, loving the way his smoldering gaze followed her tongue as she nervously licked her bottom lip. Sure, she didn’t know this guy from Adam, but she...she wanted to know him. And strangers or not, she already trusted him. Hadn’t he earned that when he risked his life to save hers? And when he’d stood up for her to the guy who’d once broken her girlish heart?
Do it...yes...please, she begged with her eyes, her lips trembling with anticipation.
They swayed a little closer together, and it was like some invisible line between their chests was drawing tighter...pulling them in. She made a soft, needy sound, and his eyes went so bright they burned, just before he squeezed them shut and lowered his head, pressing his forehead against hers. His warm breaths pelted her parted lips, and she was ready to grip him by the shoulders, press up on her toes and do it herself. Just rub her tingling lips against his, kissing him as she gasped for air, desperate to sate this aching need that was growing inside her, making her dizzy with want. With emotions she’d never felt in her entire life—not even at the height of her infatuation with Derek.
“Christ,” he rasped, his thumb sweeping across the corner of her mouth, and she started to lift her hands, only to have the moment broken when his phone suddenly started buzzing in his pocket.
Nooooo! she wanted to scream, as he shifted back from her and reached for the phone. He grimaced as he read the text on the screen, and she knew that whatever it was, the news wasn’t good. He typed in a quick response, then shoved the phone back in his pocket, his beautiful gaze shadowed with worry as it locked with hers.
“Where are you parked?” he asked, looking down the mostly empty street, as if he would be able to tell her car just by looking at it.
“Why?” The cold wind howled around them, and she huddled deeper into her cheap coat. “Do y-you need a ride?” She normally wasn’t in the habit of offering rides to men she didn’t know, but this one...well, he’d saved her life. It was the least she could do for him, right? Especially when she’d only been a second away from shoving her tongue in his mouth. “Because I can drop you off somewhere if you need me to,” she added lamely, feeling like the world’s biggest dork.
He stabbed his fingers back through his short, caramel-colored hair, and released a sharp breath. Then he slid his dark gaze back to hers. “We need to talk, Skye. And this isn’t the place to do it.”
It didn’t make any sense, but something in his stark tone made her believe him. And with the belief came a churning sense of dread. “Why? What’s going on?”
“You and your friend, the one you live wi—”
“Wait!” she gasped, cutting him off. She grabbed his arm, and knew that at any other time, she’d be melting over how hard his muscles felt under her touch. But right now she was too worried to appreciate it. “How do you know that? Have you... Ohmygod, have you been watching me?”
“No. I’m one of the good guys, Skye. I swear,” he said in a deep voice that was low, urgent and full of conviction. “But you and Vivian, you’re both in trouble.”
“Trouble?” she whispered, covering her mouth with her fingers. “Oh, God. Does this have anything to do with Viv’s new job at that club? You’re not here to try to make her strip there, are you?”
His eyes went comically wide, and she would have laughed if she weren’t so freaked out. “No. You’ve got it all backward. My partner and I, we’re not here to cause trouble for the two of you, and we don’t have anything to do with the club where your friend works. We’re working on a criminal case, and we’re here to make sure that both you and Vivian stay safe.”
“What?” she breathed, thinking she had to have heard him wrong.
“Think...think of me and Max like bodyguards. Because that’s essentially what we are.” His chest lifted as he pulled in a deep breath, and then her freaking heart was in her throat as he took her hand in his, gave it a gentle squeeze, and told her, “Baby, I’m here to protect you.”
Chapter 4 (#ulink_25569b07-1bed-54f5-a9ce-1900ef762d5c)
Glancing at his watch, Elliot swore under his breath. It’d taken a good ten minutes to persuade Skye to trust him enough to lead him to her car so they could head to her apartment. In the end, it was the PI license he always carried with him that had convinced her he was telling her the truth, and using it was definitely going to come back and bite him hard in the ass. The damn thing was a forgery, and based on the argument he’d heard between her and the cop, Skye Hewitt had a thing about cheats...and liars.
It felt all kinds of wrong to trick her that way, but what choice did he have? It sounded like Max had somehow lost track of Vivian, and he had a feeling this night was going to get a hell of a lot worse before it got better.
“Sorry, but it’s kind of a piece of crap,” she said, as they neared a beat-up-looking, powder-blue VW Beetle.
“Naw. It’s cute.”
“Thanks.” As she opened the driver-side door, she gave him a brief smile that damn near buckled his knees. “I thought so, too, when I bought her.”
Elliot waited until she’d climbed behind the wheel, then somehow managed to fold his six-three frame into the cramped confines of the car.
