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Cooper didn’t know whether to be more amused or more pissed off. He was leaning towards the first as he and the patrol had easily cornered the intruder and scared the shit out of him—literally. Anabella wasn’t immediately visible inside the cottage, so Coop withdrew his gun again and made a quick sweep of the interior.
Reaching for the pantry door, he opened it to find himself staring at a terrified Anabella with a shotgun leveled at him.
“Take it easy, baby,” he soothed. “It’s just me, and everything is okay.”
It took her a moment to focus. “Is he dead?”
“Is who dead?”
“The guy who wanted to kill me,” she said in a surprisingly calm voice that was completely at odds with her body language.
Her eyes were wide and fixed. Her body was trembling but her hold on the shotgun, including the finger on the trigger, was remarkably firm.
“Anabella, sweetheart, everything is fine. Our intruder was just some pothead who thought he’d found an empty lakeside cottage to rob. I imagine when we check with the local police, we’ll find there’s been a rash of break-ins. A lot of these places are vacant this time of year.”
“How did he get past all your security measures?”
“No system is foolproof, but the boys are trying to figure that out so it doesn’t happen again.”
“Didn’t he see the smoke coming out of the chimney?”
“Yeah, you’d think that would be a giveaway, but junkies don’t process information the way the rest of us do. He tried to convince us he was a good Samaritan just come to check up on the place, but he wasn’t an overly impressive liar. One of the boys is taking him into town, but we still have a couple of our guys here on patrol.” He walked towards her slowly. “How about you ease your finger off the trigger and let me take that gun from you. Do you even know how to fire a shotgun?”
“Theoretically, but you weren’t here, and I was scared, and you didn’t show me how to open the escape tunnel, and your phone hates me,” she said, the words tumbling out of her mouth one after another.
“I know, babe. I thought about not showing you how to get out after making such a big deal about it. That’s my bad. Can you forgive me?”
“Of course. I didn’t think to ask, either.”
He grasped the barrel of the gun and gently moved it up and away so if it went off, it was only property it would damage. “How about you let me take this?” he said as he eased her finger off the trigger and then removed the gun from her grip. “And my phone doesn’t hate you, but it can be cantankerous. I’ll show you how to use that, as well. Are you all right?”
“I’m just scared.”
“Of course, you are. That’s only natural; I’d be worried about you if you weren’t, and I’m proud of you for taking the initiative to try and save yourself.”
“You are?”
“Absolutely. This is the second time you’ve impressed me with how much courage you have. I’d offer to give you a hug, but I’m drenched in sweat.”
“I don’t care,” she said flinging herself into his arms.
There was no power on earth that could have stopped him from lowering the gun butt to the floor, leaning it against the shelving, and folding her into his embrace. He stood holding her, inhaling her sweet scent and wishing this moment could last forever. She felt good in his arms; right. Given he was all sweaty, he tried to pull away, but she was having none of it. She burrowed into him, giving his dick all it needed to start making itself known. That didn’t seem to bother her, either. Maybe he’d have to post the junkie’s bail.
“How about if you let me take this t-shirt off?”
“You didn’t kill him?”
“Nope. I promise. Do you want me to call up one of the other guys to give you an eyewitness account?”
“No. I believe you.”
“Okay. Why don’t we go in the kitchen, and I’ll towel off and then we can go sit by the fire and talk.”
He wasn’t sure what prompted him to do so, but he swung Anabella up in his arms. He expected her to struggle, but she didn’t. What she did was place her arms around his neck and her head on his shoulder. Yep. He owed the pothead. He was definitely paying his bail. He walked into the kitchen, setting her on the countertop.
Removing his t-shirt, he watched as she let her eyes caress him. He washed off as best he could in the sink. He’d thought about taking her into one of the baths attached to a bedroom and decided against it as it would be too easy to maneuver her into bed. His cock thought it was a most excellent idea, but his cock had the rational thinking skills of a thirteen-year-old boy seeing his first nude woman.
Her body still made the occasional shiver, and he leaned over to press his lips against hers. “Everything is fine, baby,” he crooned.
