"Naomi? Naomi?" I demanded. But there was no answer, no matter how tightly I pressed the cell phone to my ear.

"How the fuck did we beat the cops here?" Liam demanded, pulling the Suburban to a stop at the side of the road alongside Naomi's house. We were hidden from view of the house by the pussywillows and bushes that lined her yard.

"Works for me," I said bleakly. "You two stay here. Meet up with the cops and tell them what's going on."

"You're not going in alone," Liam said. "No way."

"Someone needs to rendezvous with the cops," I said, "And I'd rather work alone. No offense."

"Joe can stay," Liam said. "And I don't really care what you'd rather, you're less likely to die with backup, if you insist on going in without the cops. No offense."

"No time to argue," I said curtly, getting out of the car.

I threw the cell phone to Joe, wanting him to update Naomi if she called back. I couldn't waste another moment getting to her. Pure, rage-fueled adrenaline flowed through my veins.

I took off through the brush, skirting the house, wanting to surprise the men who had dared to mess with my Naomi. Liam followed. We arrived at the front door to the house, which stood open, and then Joe came running up, limping, out-of-breath.

"I saw movement," Joe said. "Someone ran into those woods over there."

I cursed as I took off running.

It didn't take me long to pick up the trail of the two assholes who were just in front of me, and they were right on Naomi's heels. Unable to get ahead of them easily without alerting them that I was there, I stalked them as they tripped through the brush.

"She's hurt," the first guy said. "Won't get far fast."

The anger in my veins turned icy at the thought of Naomi tumbling off the roof, limping into the woods.

"This is a waste of time anyway," the second one said. "This house? That girl? She can't be the girlfriend."

"You never know. All kinds of tastes out there."

"Rich guys don't go wrong-side-of-the-tracks. She saw our faces. We should kill her."

"There's no rush. Let's see if she means anything to him first." The guy stopped, swearing. “God, I hate the woods.”

I skirted ahead of them, choosing my footing carefully but quickly so I could move soundlessly through the woods without breaking branches underfoot. Once I was between them and Naomi, I waited. They almost passed by me without seeing me there, hidden among the trees.

They were looking for prey. They didn’t realize they were the prey.

I registered their startled faces, the guns in their hands that they couldn't turn on me in time. I grabbed the wrist of the nearest man— Mr. Wrong Side of the Tracks— turning it abruptly to one side. The gun came away in my hand as the man let out a pig-squeal of pain. I pointed the gun at the second guy, my finger slipping onto the trigger guard as the gun fully seated in my palm, and pulled the trigger. Twice. The man crumpled to the dirt, red blooming across his shirt.

I stepped in close to the first guy, my momentum carrying me along, and pressed the gun to his throat.

"You have one chance to live," I said.

Liam burst into the clearing, his gun drawn and low, looking far more dangerous than I ever would have expected my little brother to look.

"I need to get to Naomi," I said.

"I've got him," Liam said.

I took off through the woods. Naomi must have heard the gunshots. What would she think? Would she know that they meant I was here, ready to take care of her, or would she be afraid that I might have been killed?

"Naomi!" I shouted. There might be other surprises out here, but I needed to find her, to let her know she was safe. "Naomi! Where are you?"

"Rob?"

The voice was small, behind me. I whirled.

Naomi was above me, her legs dangling as she climbed back down the oak tree she'd taken refuge in. I reached up and caught her in my arms, lowering her gently to the ground. Her knees buckled when her feet touched the fallen leaves.

"You're hurt.” My voice came out heated, even though it wasn’t her that I was angry at.

"I heard gunshots."

"How many of them were there?"

"Two," she said. "Just two. That I saw."

"Well, I took care of two," I said. "I'm not ever going to let anyone hurt you, Naomi. Not as long as I'm alive."

A wry smile touched her lips. "As long as you’re alive. I worry about someone hurting you."

"You don't ever have to worry about me."

She rolled her eyes, but she was still leaning heavily on me, her warm weight against my side. "I do, actually. There's a lot of reasons to worry about you, besides the obvious tendency to get yourself into danger."

I put my thumb under her jaw, tilting her face up so I could study her: those big hazel eyes, that sweet pink mouth, the faint faded freckles over her nose and cheeks.

"You were always a monkey," I said, remembering how we used to climb together in the trees in front of the house. "Who knew that would save your life one day?"

She blinked at me. "It wasn't the climbing that saved my life, and you know it."

"I'll always come to you," I promised. I was desperate to take away the fear in those eyes. "I'll always protect you."

She smiled mirthlessly. "Don't make promises you can't keep, sweetheart."

"Why do you say things like that?"

"Because I know you want to protect me," she said. "But I mostly worry about my heart with you around."

"Naomi," I said.

"What? You're going to tell me I don't have to worry? That you didn't mean it when you said don't fall in love with me? Because I think you're an honest guy, Rob, and I think that was an honest thing you said to me." Those beautiful dark-lashed eyes were serious. “If I doubted it for a moment–if I wanted to doubt it–the truth was right there when you kissed Kate.”

I felt the impossibility of saying the things to her that would matter, that would sum up my fear for her, my affection and my wanting.

"I'm not going to tell you anything," I murmured. I swept her up, holding her against my chest. Naomi let out a small gasp, clinging instinctively to my neck. I liked feeling her arms looped around me like that, her cheek pressed against my shoulder. In the distance, there were sirens. The cavalry. An ambulance for Naomi.

"I think I sprained my knee," she said. "How am I going to change your sheets and wash your dishes now?”

"I don't need clean sheets," I growled. "In fact, I don't need sheets at all." With her body held tight to mine, I sat down on the ground, planting my feet. I leaned back, holding Naomi against my chest, so I could kiss those sweet olive-skinned cheeks.

"You're ridiculous," she murmured. "The police are going to want to talk to us."

"Just kiss me once," I said. "In lieu of me trying to tell you anything. You never listen to me anyway... you don’t answer your goddamn phone…"

“You never listen to me!”

"Just kiss me," I demanded.

"You're so bossy."

"I am." I wrapped my arms around her tightly, possessively. "But you have to trust me. You have to believe I'm always going to be here for you. So kiss me."

Naomi shook her head as if she didn't believe I could convince her of anything from a kiss alone. But I had more faith in the chemistry between us than that.

Still, she listened, for once, and pressed her lips against mine. Her long dark eyelashes fluttered shut against her cheeks. I could feel her heart, still pounding with adrenaline, with her breasts pressed against my chest.

I put my palm on her cheek, kissing her deeply, and felt her body begin to relax into mine. As if her body knew that I would be her safe place, even if she couldn't believe it yet.