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After twenty minutes of looking at every knick-knack the gift shop owns, Derek finally decides on a snow globe of the Rockefeller Center ice skating rink at Christmas. It makes a beautiful gift any six-year-old girl would love. I know because I have…had one.
Convincing him to stop for coffee, we take a seat near the back and enjoy a few minutes before we have to leave. My nose scrunches at Derek’s strong black coffee as I blow the steam off the top of mine, adding a little more cream and sugar.
“My parents brought me to New York when I was eleven,” he says, breaking our silence. “My sister and I were so excited to see the Rangers play the Kings. That’s when Gretsky was playing for them. My parents planned this whole day of fun for us, batting cages in the morning, lunch at Times Square, then the game and ice cream afterward.” He smiles, remembering. “Man, that was a good trip.”
“I bet.” I sip my coffee, happy we’re talking about anything else but the real reason we’re here. “Where are you from originally?”
“Washington, born and raised,” he says proudly.
“Are your parents still there?”
His face falls a little. “My old man died a few years back, heart attack. My mom is there, though, with my sister and my niece. My sister left her husband around the same time Dad died, so she moved in with Mom.” He pauses. “I try to step up when I can, so my niece has at least some sort of male figure in her life.” He glances at me. “Sounds like Frank is moving me back to Washington, which is good because I was planning on transferring anyway. Shadows and me,” he shakes his head, “well, let’s just say weain’ta good mix.”
I feel sad, as I do like Derek. He’s been a friend, but it’s obvious for whatever reason the guys don’t like him, and I understand that. Trust goes hand in hand with everything in their line of work.
“Oh, Derek, I hope you’ll be happy there.” I didn’t say Cole had already told me.
He grants me a smile. “I’ll miss a few things.” He winks.
“Mmm.” I chuckle, finishing off my coffee.
“Let’s go back up to the room,” Derek mumbles as he checks his phone for the hundredth time. I know he’ll be glad to get this over with.
It takes him two tries to open the hotel door with the key card. I pretend not to notice, but I can see he’s jumpy.
“You all right?” I ask as he pulls down the handle to open the door.
“Yes,Iam,” he mutters, letting me walk in first.
Two steps past the threshold, I’m met with a set of intense dark eyes that steals every last ounce of air from my body.
Oh...
We stand two feet apart staring at one another. My heart pounds loudly as he flexes his jaw dramatically for me to see. Instead of feeling nervous, I feel the inner pull that he brings out in me. My tongue darts out and does a swipe along my lower lip. His eyes narrow, and I see that familiar flicker. He feels it too, I can tell, but I need to stay strong if I am going to do this. I draw in a deep breath.
“Cole.” My voice comes out raspy.
“Savannah.” He says each syllable slowly.
“And…I’m gonna leave now,” Derek whispers, backing out of the hotel room. Neither of us talks until we hear the door close.
“When did you get here?” I ask, turning my back to him and calmly placing my purse on the bar top.
Suddenly, both of his arms trap me and his mouth is at my ear. “I’m so angry at you right now…!”He is actually vibrating.
“Cole—” He bites at my neck, giving my nerves another jolt.
“Do you have any idea how scared I’ve been these last twelve hours?” he hisses as he runs his hand along my stomach. “I want to handcuff you to me right now and drag your ass back to Montana.” His other hand grabs my ass, squeezing it and making my hand drop back against his shoulder. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
I close my eyes as his hand slides in the front of my pants, running just shy of where I want him to be. “Because you would have said no.”
He whips me around, grabs my waist, and hoists me onto the bar top. He moves between my legs and clutches my lower back, hauling me into him. “Damn right, I would have. You’re mine, and I protect what’s mine.”
He reaches over, clasping my chin, and gives me a rough but sensual kiss. By the time he pulls away, I’m nearly panting with built-up lust.
“Christ, Savannah, are you out of your mind? What if something happened to you? Then what?”
My mind scrambles to think clearly. “Cole, I’m fine. I’m meeting my father to get some answers.”
