HOLLY STARTED TO SETTLE INTO THE ARM CHAIR across from the couch where Ian was sitting, but he patted the seat next to him. Hesitating for a moment because she was sure she needed a clear head for the conversation ahead, and sitting next to him pretty much guaranteed she wouldn’t, she finally gave in. Moving to the couch, she sank into the farthest corner from him, hoping every little bit of distance would help her keep her focus.
She hadn’t meant to eavesdrop on his phone call. When she came to the living room and found him on the phone, she was just going to stand quietly until he’d finished, but she hadn’t been able to help listening. She hadn’t understood a lot of the things he said, but she understood enough to realize whatever was going on was bigger than she initially thought.
“So, what’s going on? And don’t try to protect me by sugar coating things, or downplaying them. Tell me straight.”
Nodding, he turned sideways to face her, blue eyes bright and silver specs glinting in the light. “The blunt, honest truth, is that someone’s trying to kill me.”
She stared at him in shock, mind racing to process what he just said. “Someone’s trying to kill you? Did I hear that right?”
Exhaling, he ran his fingers through his hair, disheveling the long strands. “Yes. Remember when I told you the barn roof caved in? What I didn’t mention was that someone gave it a little help, sawing the beams directly over our sparring area. I wasn’t too sure what to think at that point. I mean, it was obvious someone was messing with us, but I thought it was with the fighters in general.
“Then last week, we were all gathered here to eat. Seth and Amelia picked up dinner for all of us from the diner. Mine and Kian’s were both poisoned. Luckily, Alex is familiar with that sort of thing and noticed it before we ate any. Kian and I always order the same thing, so we think that’s why both were poisoned. One of us was the target, the other just the casualty.”
“And that’s when you pulled away from me,” she said softly, trying to take everything in. She badly wanted to ask how Alex knew enough about poison to recognize it, but she had too many other things to think of.
“Yeah. If I was the target, I didn’t want to bring attention to you. The last thing I wanted to do was stop seeing you, Holly. And I definitely didn’t want to give you time to overthink things and decide to fight what’s between us even harder. But your safety was more important. It’s the most important thing to me, aside from Shelby’s. But I was watching over you from a distance. I followed you to school and back every day, made sure you were safe.”
“And then someone messed with my car today.”
“I thought you’d be safe at school, so I left once you were inside, and came back when school was over. So I wasn’t there when someone vandalized your car. I’m so sorry about that. And I know you think that was kids, but the timing doesn’t add up. Yeah, kids do stupid shit like that, but how often does it happen in Eagle Creek? Add in what was written on your back window, and it seems targeted at you specifically. And it feels like more than a coincidence.”
“And that’s why you didn’t want me to stay in my apartment by myself,” she said softly, thoughts chaotic.
“You’re in danger because of me. Whoever is doing this clearly knows what and who I care about. I can’t let you be hurt because of me.” He swallowed hard, staring into her eyes. “I can’t let you be hurt for any reason. Losing you would gut me, Holly, and I’ll do anything to keep you safe.”
His words washed over her, and her heart warmed for a just a moment. And then cold, hard fear drenched her body, turning her blood to ice in her veins. Mouth turning to ash, she swallowed painfully around a dry throat. He might be worrying about what could happen to her, but she wasn’t the one someone was trying to kill. He was.
Oh, God, she couldn’t do this. Risking her heart and soul on him under normal circumstances was nearly impossible. But with the chances of something happening to him skyrocketing, with someone trying to kill him—how could she take the chance?
She felt sick at the thought of him getting hurt, or worse, and bile crept up her throat. And it was then she knew. There was no more worrying about whether she could take the risk anymore. She was in this, for better or worse. They’d only grow closer now, and the possibility of her breaking if she lost him was only going to get bigger, especially with her staying here, but there was no going back.
“Hey,” he said softly. “What are you thinking? I can protect you. You’ll be safe, I promise.”
“I’m not worried about me,” she replied, looking into his eyes. “I’m worrying about you. If something happened to you…”
“It won’t. I’m strong, Holly. I’m a fighter. And even more than that, I have a whole crew of fighters watching my back, and Alex is a damn genius. We’ll get this figured out soon, and no one here is going to let anything happen to any one of us. I promise you that.”
Searching his gaze, his conviction to keep that promise blazing from his eyes, she finally nodded. Scooting closer to him, she laid her head on his shoulder and wrapped an arm around his waist, snuggling in close. He started in surprise and his heart pounded in his chest under her palm, but it took him no time at all to catch up. Kissing the top of her head, he put a big, warm hand over her arm, rubbing softly.
“Please keep yourself safe. I wouldn’t be able to stand it if something happened to you, or to Shelby. I’d lose it, Ian, and that’s not an exaggeration.”
“I’ll keep all of us safe, sweetheart,” he said, squeezing her arm before continuing with his soothing strokes. “And that includes you. Everything’s going to work out. You’ll see.”
“Oh. My. God. Does this mean you two are together now?” came Shelby’s excited voice from the doorway.
Holly glanced over to see the little girl bouncing on her feet, practically vibrating with excitement. Looking over at Ian, she saw him watching at her with his eyebrow cocked, waiting to see what she said. She searched his eyes, a slow smile breaking free and curling her lips up.
Taking a deep breath, she looked back at Shelby and gave her a tiny nod. “I guess it does, sweetie.”
Shelby let out an ear-piercing squeal, making Holly and Ian both wince. Bounding over, she sat right between them, wiggling her butt around until they made room for her.
“I wished and prayed every night for this to happen,” Shelby said happily. “I didn’t think it would. I’ve wished for lots of stuff in my life, but the only one that came true was getting to come live with Dad. It used to make me sad that my other wishes never came true, but now I think it’s okay. I got the two most important things, the things I wanted the most. My Dad, and now a new mom.”
“Whoa, sweets, slow down.” Ian kissed the top of her head. “I don’t want you getting your hopes up. Holly agreed to give this a shot. She didn’t agree to stay forever.”
“She will,” Shelby answered confidently.
Suppressing a smile, Holly glanced at Ian, watching as he gave her a wry look that couldn’t hide the worry in his eyes. He didn’t want to put pressure on Holly, she knew, and he was worrying Shelby would scare her away with talks of being her mother.
But there was no way something like that would scare her off. Ian alone was heaven, but the fact that he came with Shelby was an extraordinary gift. Holly had always longed to be a mother, and not only would being with Ian give her himself, but it would give her Shelby, too. And there was nothing Holly would like more.
Maybe it was premature to feel like this, to already be so invested in whatever this was, but it felt so right. She felt complete with them, whole in a way she hadn’t since Kyle.
And maybe—maybe not even then.
She waited, and then waited some more, for the guilt from that thought to hit her, but it never did. Shocked, she looked deep into herself, searching for any hint of guilt or unease, but there was none. And she honestly wasn’t quite sure how she felt about that.
“Oh, you guys are so cute. You look like a real family.”
Looking up, Holly saw Cammie smiling at them from the entrance to the living room. The petite fighter was rubbing her belly, and once again, Holly waited for the envy and sadness to hit her at seeing a pregnant woman. It was there, but it wasn’t the crushing emotion she normally felt.
Shelby wriggled against her and Holly looked down with a smile. She didn’t need to be sad any longer. She’d always mourn her lost baby, just like she’d always mourn Kyle. But she had a man and potential daughter right here next to her, and it was everything.
She glanced at Ian in time to see him roll his eyes. “You guys are going to scare her off before I have a chance to make that a reality,” he muttered. Holly suppressed another smile. She’d been spot on earlier about what he was thinking.
“We are not. She looks pretty content with the thought,” Cammie replied, nodding her head toward Holly.
Ian glanced over at her and she couldn’t resist winking at him. Eyebrows raising in surprise, he smiled slowly. “Well then, that’s all right.”
They got lost in each other’s eyes, not looking away until Cammie spoke again. “I wanted to let you guys know I’m gonna go get dinner started.”
“It’s my turn to make dinner, though,” Ian protested halfheartedly.
“You want her to stay, don’t you? She’ll be out of here tonight if she has to eat anything you make.”
“Good point,” he muttered.
“Tacos sound good to everyone?”
“Yes, tacos sound amazing,” Shelby piped up excitedly.
“Sounds good to me,” Ian said while Holly nodded.
They watched as Cammie left the room, and then Shelby turned to Holly. “Will you play Barbies with me?”
“Have you finished your homework yet?” Holly asked.
“It’s all done.”
“Then let’s go,” she said, waiting for Shelby to stand up before following suit.
Eyes twinkling, Holly started to follow Shelby out of the room, but Ian reached a hand out and snagged her hand, bringing her to a stop. Standing up, he pulled her in close, clasping her waist in his hands.
“Thank you for agreeing to play with her. I know it means a lot to her.”
“Of course. I enjoy spending time with Shelby. Besides, what girl doesn’t like playing with Barbies, even once they’re grown?”
Breath catching, she watched a slow smile curve his lips as he lowered his head. He pressed his lips to hers in what she was sure he meant as a brief kiss, but it quickly caught fire as her blood heated.
“Holly—I mean, Mrs. White! Come on,” Shelby called.
They broke apart slowly, their lips clinging together, and she smiled at him again before turning to find Shelby. The circumstances that brought her here were the very worst, but there was nowhere else she’d rather be.
IAN ROCKED SLOWLY ON THE FRONT PORCH, breathing deeply of the cold night air. Dinner had been one of the best he could remember having in a long time, maybe ever. The food was simple but delicious, and he’d had everyone important to him surrounding him. He couldn’t ask for more than that.
After her bath, Shelby asked Holly to read her a story. Cammie and Alex were off roaming the property somewhere, and Shelby had the room to herself for the moment, so Holly agreed. Shelby was eating this up, basking in Holly’s presence. She never had a mother who would even treat her decently, much less do things like play Barbies or read to her, and she’d been in heaven tonight.
Holly hadn’t been far behind. Ian could tell how much she was enjoying doing things with Shelby, and it made his heart feel impossibly big in his chest to know the two most important girls in his life enjoyed each other.
Turning his head as the front door creaked open, he smiled as he watched Holly walk outside. She looked around, noticing him as he stood up from his rocker. Watching as she walked over to him, his breath caught as his chest tightened painfully. She was always beautiful, but she looked fucking gorgeous in the moonlight. Her creamy skin glowed, and the light from the moon gave her blonde hair a silvery sheen.
When she halted in front of him, he couldn’t have stopped himself from taking her in his arms and kissing her than he could stop the sun from rising in the morning. The hold she had over him was intense, pure, and absolutely nothing he ever wanted to fight. As he pulled back, his tiger purred in his chest, and he quickly cleared his throat, hoping to mask the sound.
“Did you get Shelby all settled in?”
“Yeah,” she replied with a soft smile. “She fell asleep before I was even five pages in, but I kept reading until I’d finished the book. I was enjoying it too much.”
“I love that you two get along so well. It means everything to me.”
“She’s easy to love,” Holly said, smiling sweetly before it faded. “I’m not sure this is ethical though. It might not go over well with the school board, the fact that I’m with a student’s father.”
“I’m sure it will be okay. The school is a small one. You’re the only third grade teacher, so it’s not like there’s much they can do about it, anyway.”
“Yeah, you have a point there. She asked if she had to keep calling me Mrs. White. I told her to call me that in school, and Holly outside of school hours. I hope that’s okay.”
“More than okay. I just love the idea that we’ll be seeing you outside of school hours.”
“Just try to get rid of me now,” she teased, a grin on her face. Looking around, it faded and her brow furrowed as she glanced back at him. “You know, Cammie and Alex still aren’t back from their walk yet. Is it safe for them to be out alone with a crazy person running around, wanting to kill people?”
“Trust me, they can take care of themselves,” he assured her, wishing he could tell her the truth. Cammie and Alex were dragon shifters, and there were very few who could hope to beat one. Cammie was pregnant and couldn’t shift, true, but Alex would never let anything happen to his mate. Generally a mild mannered man, he would turn fierce in a heartbeat and burn the world to ashes for Cammie.
Her frown eased, but the worry didn’t completely leave her eyes. “If you say so. I still worry about them being out there by themselves, especially with Cammie expecting.”
“I promise you, they’ll be okay.”
Chewing on her lower lip, she looked off toward the woods again. Suppressing a groan, he fought the urge to take over for her and nibble her lip himself, and then froze as he realized he could do just that. And really, what better way to distract her from her worry?
Putting his hand gently on her cheek, he turned her face back toward him, immediately lowering his head and pressing his lips to hers. Sensations exploded the second his mouth touched hers, streaking through his body like bolts of lightning, and packing just as much power.
Moaning, she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned into him, kissing him back. His skin felt like it was stretched too tight over his body, and the desire he felt for this woman nearly brought him to his knees.
Keeping the kiss gentle, drawing out the anticipation, he finally caressed her lips with his tongue, urging her to open. As soon as she did, he swept inside, unable to hold in his groan at tasting her fully for the first time. And it was more than he’d imagined it could be. She tasted delicious, but it was more than that.
Rubbing his tongue against hers, he set about exploring her mouth. He was trying with everything in him to keep it gentle, like she deserved. They’d kissed before, but not like this, and he wanted it to mean everything to her, like it did to him.
But she wasn’t having any of that. She writhed in his arms, her body sliding against his, pressing her breasts into his chest. Deepening the kiss, she took over, becoming the aggressor, demanding he give her everything he had and not hold back.
So he didn’t. Intensifying the kiss even more, he set about devouring her, the blood in his veins turning to molten lava. Pushing his rock hard erection into her stomach, he smiled when she gasped into his mouth. Tightening one of the arms wrapped around her waist, he slowly slid his hand up, wishing their clothes would disappear, and he could feel her skin to skin.
Reaching her breast, he slid his thumb along the underside before moving his hand up to cup her fullness, squeezing gently. Breaking the kiss, she tipped her head back, lashes fluttering against her skin, mouth parted and lips glistening.
He felt like he was burning up inside, his desire for her overwhelming his ability to think. But he still found himself pausing, arrested by the vision of Holly, lost in her desire. Gorgeous. Absolutely fucking gorgeous.
Opening her eyes, she gazed into his, her lids heavy and half lidded. She seemed to be trying to gather her courage, and finally, taking a deep breath, she said, “What are you waiting for? Take me to your bedroom.”