Page 22 of Nightfire

“Must feel good to say that out loud,” Mike mused and she looked at him, startled, surprised all over again at how perceptive he was, this uber alpha male.

Everything about him screamed macho, from the outsized shoulders and arms to the hard face with bright blue, piercing eyes. Above all, he simply had this incredible macho aura, a being that oozed male pheromones.

It was usually a perfect recipe for cluelessness, at least in Chloe’s small experience of macho men. They rarely noticed anything outside themselves, which was why Mike was such a surprise. He’d seemed to be tuned into her from the first moment he’d set eyes on her.

“Yes,” she said softly. “It does feel good. And not something I’d ever thought I’d say.” She turned to look at him, full on, and fell right into those bright blue eyes.

She couldn’t have moved if a bomb had gone off a foot away.

“I’m glad,” he said softly. He had a deep voice with bass tones that reverberated in her belly. “Really glad you’re here.”

What could she possibly say to that?

“Your key, ma’am.” Chloe was disoriented, out of time, out of space. It took her a moment to connect the elements of the man at the front desk holding out a card. When she simply stared at him—and it had been an effort to wrench her eyes away from Mike’s—he put the card down and slid it across to her, probably thinking she was mentally incapacitated. “For check-out?”

Chloe flushed. All these emotions, all of them strong, finding a long-lost brother who came with an extended family, including children, reacting so strongly to Mike—they were so outside her personal experience she was having problems coping.

“Thanks.” Mike pocketed the key with its holder.

“It’s in the Resort,” the clerk said helpfully. “Let me show you.” He whipped out a map and traced the route with his index finger.

“Got it.” Mike took her arm. “Come on honey, let’s get you packed up so we can go home.”

Honey. Home. Oh God.

Another gaggle of men stood between them and the walkway. Super-sized, middle-aged men in sportswear, crossing their path obliquely. Chloe stiffened a little but needn’t have bothered. Again, without even being away of it, the men parted for her—for Mike, actually. They would never even have noticed her. Mike navigated them through without any difficulties at all.

She was so unused to being looked after, to being protected. Such an unusual feeling – to relax totally while among people. She was usually on her guard against so many things.

The Del was huge and there was a lot of walking to be done. It was pointless for Chloe to try to hurry—she’d only trip, perhaps fall. Though falling wasn’t actually an option with Mike at her side. He seemed to be hyper-aware of her, matching his steps to hers exactly. He’d actually offered her his arm, as if they were at a Regency ball in Bath. She took it, marveling at the warm, steely feel of him under her fingers. It seemed to her that if he were anywhere near her, she could never fall down.

Such a delicious feeling. Chloe loved walking, but it didn’t love her back.

Most of the fifty bones she’d broken had reknit fairly well, but the fact was that she wasn’t entirely in control of her own body. An orthopedic surgeon had once explained to her that she had lost millions of proprioceptors—tiny feedback devices in the body that help humans keep balance. Walking involved intense attention to where she put her feet, to making sure she didn’t trip over things that others would automatically correct for.

Never with Mike by her side, though.

Down crowded corridors, over thick uneven brick walkways, over grassy swards, they made their way without incident. When they stopped at her door, Mike slotted the card key and opened it for her.

It was a lovely room, with a sea view she’d paid an extra $250 for. There had been no way of knowing what she’d find at RBK. She’d been determined that if seeking out her long-lost brother turned out badly, she’d at least have a pretty room that looked out over the ocean as a consolation.

“Nice room,” Mike said, strolling in, looking around.

“Yes, it is,” she agreed, delighted that it wasn’t going to have to console her. “It won’t take me but a minute to pack.”

“Take your time.” Those bright blue eyes fixed on her. “You weren’t planning on staying long.” It wasn’t a question.

“No. I, um. I booked for three nights, as I said. If—if it didn’t turn out well with Harry, at least I could look forward to doing some touristy things here in San Diego. When I left Boston, there was a foot of snow on the ground and sub-zero temperatures.”

“Well, you’re not going back to Boston for a while.” Mike watched as she pulled open the one drawer into which she’d put her underwear, nightgown, two sweaters and a pair of lightweight wool slacks. Not many things. “You’ll want to do some shopping. Harry’ll be good for it. Hell, I’ll be good for it.”

Chloe turned, nightgown in her hands, frowning. “I’m not too sure I under—Oh!” She blinked in surprise. “You mean Harry would pay for new clothes. Or you would.” She felt herself blushing. “I could never accept that. And anyway, my parents left me a lot of money.” A ton of it, in fact. The amount still astonished and, in a way, shamed her. She didn’t deserve all that money. “As a matter of fact, that was one of the reasons I came here to find Harry. I wanted to offer him half of the value of the estate I inherited. It is only right. We’re siblings, he should have half.”

Though nothing could ever compensate Harry for having been left behind, abandoned, at least she could try to make it up this way.

Mike walked over to her, smiling. “You want to give Harry money? Good luck with that. As a matter of fact, I’ll bet you dinner at the Crown Room, right here at the Del, that he won’t accept a dime from you. Won’t even entertain the thought.”

“And what would I bet?”