His smile widened. “Since about eight. I ran into town and brought you something.” He indicated a metal box, the same one he’d been fiddling with when she’d arrived.
Her heart stuttered. “A gift? You shouldn’t have.”
“I wanted to.” He waved his hand. “Go ahead, open it.”
She didn’t move. Though he had no way of knowing, in her previous life with Leo, a gift always meant a service she had to perform as repayment, usually something painful and humiliating. With Leo, nothing was ever free.
But this was Colton. Searching his craggy face, she saw no hidden malice in his easy smile.
“Go ahead, look at it,” he urged. “I think you’ll be pleased.”
She wanted to, oh how she wanted to. But years of training usurped her desire and instead, unable to help herself, she backed away, shaking her head. “No thanks, I’ll pass.”
His smile faltered, then disappeared. “Jewel?” Narrow-eyed, he stared. “What’s wrong?”
Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to stand still and to look at him, though she couldn’t quite manage to stop the fine tremors than ran through her. Inside, her ever-vigilant wolf raised her head. “No gifts, okay?”
“What?” Tilting his head, he studied her face. When comprehension dawned, his frown cleared. He took a step toward her, then stopped. “This has to do with Leo, doesn’t it?”
All she could do was nod.
“My God, what did he do to you?”
She took a deep, shuddering breath, then another, clearing her throat before she could speak. “How did you know?”
“It was written all over your face, in your eyes. You look haunted. Afraid. Despite everything that’s happened to you, I’ve never seen you look like that. What the hell did that bastard do?”
To her credit, she managed to force a smile. “Believe me, you don’t want to know.”
“Believe me, I do.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Despite her unreasonable terror, she couldn’t look away from the box on the counter. “Please, take that thing, whatever it is, and put it away.”
“It’s a gun, Jewel.” His voice was quiet. “And, if it will make you feel better, it’s not a gift, it’s a loan, all right? I went to the gun shop at lunch the other day and filled out the paperwork. The waiting period was up today, so I bought it.”
Her throat closed up and she couldn’t speak.
“If you’re going to work in public, you need to protect yourself.”
She nodded, torn between wanting to run away and the opposing desire to turn into his arms and let him hold her.
Her wolf snarled.
“A gun,” she said. “An honest-to-goodness gun.”
“Yeah. Let me get it for you.” Moving slowly, carefully, he crossed the room to the metal box and clicked the latch. Inside, nestled in a bed of foam, was a shining silver pistol, with a wood handle.
The weapon looked both beautiful and deadly.
Drawn, despite herself, Jewel forced her feet to move. A loan, not a gift. Still, the wolf inside shifted restlessly. “What kind…” Clearing her throat, she tried again. “What kind is it?”
“Smith & Wesson revolver, .45 caliber.”
She couldn’t look away from the weapon. “I thought you preferred an automatic.”
He shook his head. “You said you didn’t want one. After thinking about it, I realized you were right. Personally, I’ve always preferred a good revolver. When you handle a gun like this, you know you’ve got something solid and deadly. Take it out, see how it feels in your hand,” Colton said. “It’s not loaded.”
“Good.” But she didn’t move.
