Millie looked up from her book and smiled as Cole’s footsteps tapped on the stairway. They’d been back in New York for a few days, and the horror of thinking she’d lost him forever was finally receding, although she still woke panicking and drenched in sweat, her brain playing tricks on her. Every time Cole had tried to talk to her about what had happened during those few days, she’d shut him out. Not because she didn’t want to talk to him—she very much did—but because she couldn’t find the right words.

Cole hadn’t pushed her to talk, but he had encouraged her to start counseling, not just to work through Tanner blackmailing her, but to start to deal with the ten years of abuse she’d suffered at his hands. She had her first session on Monday, and she was dreading it, even though the sensible part of her knew it was for the best. She needed to start the long road of working through the feelings swirling inside before they caused irreversible damage.

“Pack a bag,” Cole said, stripping off his duty belt. “I’m taking you away for the weekend.”

“Where to?”

He bent over the back of the sofa and kissed her. “The sooner you get your fine ass up and out of that chair and pack, the sooner you’ll find out.”

He sauntered into his bedroom with Millie scampering after him. “Are you sure you can take more time off work?”

Going away for the weekend meant space, and space meant time, and time meant talking. Oh God. She still owed Cole an apology for the terrible things she’d said when they’d argued before she’d returned to Chicago with Tanner. And he’d definitely want her to go through what had happened in the days they’d been apart.

“No,” Cole said, interrupting her thoughts. He hung his duty belt in the closet. “I’m playing hooky.”

Millie gaped at him. “You’re not?”

“No,” he said, laughing. “I’m not. I happen to have a very understanding superior officer.”

She playfully punched his arm. “Tease.”

He pulled her into his arms, nuzzling her neck. “I am. And I plan to tease you all weekend.”

Her stomach twisted with need. Three days they’d been back in New York, and they hadn’t slept together once. She knew Cole was giving her space, and she loved him for it, but she craved their intense sexual connection.

She slipped her hands around his waist, dropped them to his ass, and squeezed. “Is that a promise?”

His eyes flared, the vivid green darkening with desire. What was the saying? Eyes were the windows to the soul? Well, right then, she could see into Cole’s, and what she saw had her heart beating faster.

“I don’t want to rush you.”

She stood on tiptoes and brushed her lips over his. “You’re not,” she confirmed. “I’m rushing you.”

His smile lit up her heart. “Then let’s get out of here.”

Cole stopped the car outside a wooden cottage painted in a deep red. Outside, on the front porch, was a swing, and off to the side under a canopy, she spied a hot tub. All around them were trees and mountains, and it was quiet enough to pick up the birds tweeting, an impossible feat in Manhattan.

“I’ve never been to the Catskills,” she said, grinning. “I thought you were going to take me sailing.”

“I thought about it,” he said, removing their luggage from the trunk of the rental car. “But sailing is hard work, and I wanted somewhere we could relax. Plus, it’s freezing out on the river in the dead of winter.”

He captured her hand and led her inside. The interior layout was open plan: a small kitchen, lounge area with a comfy-looking couch, and—yes!—a real fire burning in the fireplace. There was also a pine dining table with four red-cushioned chairs and a single doorway leading into a bedroom with a king-size bed and small bathroom. It was rustic—and absolutely perfect.

“I love it,” she said.

“You do?” He clasped a hand to his chest. “Thank Christ for that.”

It didn’t take them very long to unpack and put their things away. As it was only mid- afternoon, they donned warm coats, boots, and scarves, and went for a walk to get their bearings. The snow crunched beneath her feet, and a smile inched across her face as an idea came to her. Snowball fight.

She bent down, pretending to tie her shoelace, and quickly made a snowball. Cole didn’t see it coming. Her aim was true—right on the back of his head.

“Score,” she said, laughing.

Cole shook the snow from his hair. “Oh, you are so dead.”

He made a snowball of his own. She set off running but, because she was laughing so hard, her feet wouldn’t work properly. She hadn’t gotten very far when the snowball exploded on her left shoulder.

As they had a good old-fashioned snowball fight, happiness erupted within her. She honestly couldn’t remember feeling so content, so free, so much joy in her entire life. Panting, she held her hand in the air.

“I call a draw,” she said, trying to catch her breath.

Cole playfully bumped her shoulder. “Mm-hmm. If that’s what you want to believe, Mia. We both know I won.”

She cocked an eyebrow at him while dusting snow off her gloves. “If it makes you feel better, darling, you go ahead and think that.”

He laughed at her sarcastic retort, pulling her into his arms for a lingering kiss. It was far too cold to stand around for long, although being surrounded by Cole’s big body took her mind off her frozen feet.

About a mile from the cottage was a small grocery store, and next door to that, a cozy diner. They stopped off to get some provisions for dinner and had a hot chocolate at the diner to warm them up.

The second they walked through the door of the cottage her pulse sped up, and a tingling sensation spread to her limbs. They had nowhere else to go now, nothing else to do—apart from each other.

Cole put their groceries away and opened a bottle of wine. He poured them each a glass and headed into the bedroom. She followed, her legs as unstable as Jell-O. He placed the glasses of wine on the nightstand and turned around slowly. The look in his eyes scorched her, and she exhaled a shuddering breath. He stepped forward, his fingers sure and steady as he unbuttoned her shirt. He slipped it slowly off her shoulders. His eyes locked on to her chest. With the lightest of touches, he grazed the skin between her breasts and then dipped his forefinger inside the cup of her bra. The tip of his nail grazed her nipple, and she closed her eyes and tilted back her head, a soft sigh falling from her lips. Cole undressed her, his touch setting her alight. He took his time, savoring every brush of skin against skin. Only once she was fully naked did he remove his own clothes.

His palm skimmed her jaw. The way he was looking at her, as though she was the most precious thing in the world, she could have sworn her heart skipped a beat. That she had the love of this man, after everything she’d been through, and everything she’d put him through, humbled her.

Then, before she had chance to prepare herself, he metaphorically dragged her into the center of the flames. He was everywhere at once, his mouth searingly hot against her sensitized flesh. His urgency and need rivaled her own. It was as if they’d been apart for months rather than a few days. He devoured her.

“Oh God,” she muttered, arching into him when he pushed two fingers inside her while his tongue laved her nipple. He pulled one erect nub into his mouth and sucked, hard. It edged on painful, but she didn’t care, because her body didn’t care. The wetness flooding between her legs was testament to that.

He sank to his knees and pushed her thighs apart. He drove his tongue inside her, and she let out a long, drawn-out moan. God, he was killing her. She thrust her hands into his thick hair, tugging, pulling, torturing him the way he was torturing her.

“Don’t stop, please, don’t stop,” she cried.

And then she was coming, coming so hard, groans of pleasure tumbling from her lips, her muscles contracting over and over again.

Her thighs trembled, and Cole picked her up and lay her gently on top of the comforter. His mouth crashed down on hers, and he drove inside her with one deep thrust. The bed creaked with every rocking movement of his hips. Maybe in another time, another moment, the intrusion would have made her giggle. But with her eyes firmly locked on Cole’s, watching the desire grow in their forest-green depths, laughter was the furthest thing from her mind.

Sweat beaded on his forehead as he continued to move, their bodies rubbing against each other. The familiar swell grew in her belly, and she forced herself to keep her eyes open. She wanted to look into Cole’s eyes when he came. But when her orgasm swept through her, she failed spectacularly. Her eyes squeezed shut, gold and silver flecks bursting behind her lids in a firework show made for one.

Cole stilled, groaned, and then muttered, “God, I love you,” in her ear.

And it was that declaration that tipped her over the edge. Tears spilled down her cheeks, the enormity of what she’d almost lost crashing down. How her freedom could have been ripped away at the very moment she’d found it. How she could have spent the next several years living in anger and desperation, while she waited for Tanner to give up and let her go.

Cole drew back. “Jesus, Mia, you’re crying.” He wiped her tears with his thumbs. “What’s the matter?”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and crushed him to her. “I love you,” she whispered. “So very much. And I almost lost you.”

He brushed her lips with his and then rolled to the side. He curled an arm around her, encouraging her head to rest on his shoulder. He stroked her hair so tenderly, fresh tears fell.

“Cry all you want to, baby. Let it out. I’m here. I’ll always be here.”

After a few minutes, she recovered her composure. She sniffed, wiped her nose with the back of her hand, and then chuckled. “Classy.”

Without a word, he got out of bed and fetched her some tissue. She fixed herself up, then snuggled back into his side.

“I’m sorry about the way I left. I was so mean to you, but I couldn’t see another way out. And then you came for me…”

He grazed his knuckles down her cheek. “I’d go to the ends of the earth to keep you safe. I’d fight to the death for you. You’re the only woman I’ve ever wanted. My strong, beautiful, brave Mia. You’re a survivor, a fighter. I’m humbled by your courage and your selflessness. Please say you’ll be by my side forever.”

She pressed her lips to his cheek. “I’m going nowhere. Never again. You’re all I want, all I’ll ever want. You make me feel so safe, so cherished, so precious.” She giggled. “And you give the best goddamn orgasms.”

He laughed, then his face grew serious. “Mia?”

His voice was tentative, and she instinctively knew the time had come. He wanted to talk about their time apart.

“What happened in Chicago?”

She leaned up on her elbow and pressed the palm of her hand to his chest. “Firstly, he never touched me, not in a sexual way.”

His entire body relaxed, and his lips brushed her temple. “I want you to know it wouldn’t have changed a thing between us, but I’m so glad you didn’t have to go through that.”

“I don’t think he knew what to do with me. I didn’t cower like before. I stood up to him, refused to allow his moods or his words affect me in any way. Plus, he was barely there. Then the night he came back, he got blind drunk, and then you… you came.” She purposely omitted to tell him about Tanner grabbing her hair and that she’d slept with a knife under her pillow. He wouldn’t take it well. There really was no point in causing him further pain.

His warm hand stroked her back. “I’m so proud of you.”

She laid her head on his chest, her gaze fixed on his face, because she wanted to gauge his reaction when she asked the next question. “What did you do to him when Draven took me to the car?”

Cole’s eyes took on a hard glint. Beneath the warm, kind exterior lay a spine of steel. That trait in him was what made him such an excellent cop and a wonderful protector. And her perfect guy.

“Not nearly as much as he deserved. I wanted to kill him for what he’d put you through.”

“Do you think we’ll ever hear from him again?” She couldn’t stop an involuntary shudder racking her body.

Cole fiddled with a lock of her hair. “I doubt it. But if we do, I promise you this. He won’t get within a mile of you. And I will make him sorrier than he can possibly imagine.”

His lips touched hers in a brief kiss which soon became urgent, and she sank into his embrace. She was the luckiest damned girl in the world.