The Protector (14 page)

He
disappeared into the bathroom, and she heard him turn on the water. He came
back with a steaming washcloth. He wiped down her sex and thighs while keeping
his eyes locked on hers. She swallowed hard at the love she saw shining in
them. If he kept this up she would have nothing left to protect herself
with.
 
The Cole who avoided her except to
try to find a reason to dominate her was far easier for her to keep her walls
up against than this Cole.
A Cole who showed her how much he
still loved her, and asked her to forgive him.

He
tossed the washcloth in the dirty clothes hamper and turned to face her. “You
look deep in thought.”

Blair
looked at him. “I am. You are making me fall in love with you even more, and it
scares me. We’re different people now.
What if the spark is
gone between us?”

“Don’t
be scared, baby. Go ahead and fall. I promise to catch you and hold you tight.”

Blair
felt so emotional this morning. “Do you promise? I don’t want to be hurt. I
won’t survive it.”

“Baby,
I would much rather cut off my own arm, than to ever hurt you again.” Cole
looked at her with sincerity shining in his eyes.

She
reached out and stroked a finger down his rough, unshaven face. “Cole, I am not
on any kind of birth control, and we’ve had a lot of sex in the last few days.
What if I get pregnant?”

Cole
looked into her eyes. “Then we will become parents, and I hope we will be good
ones. Honestly though, nothing would make me happier than to see your belly
growing with our pups.”

She
felt relieved knowing Cole would not be upset. Of course a man in his forties
should know about how babies come into the world.

Blair
looked back over and saw Cole had closed his eyes and his breathing had evened
out. She ran a hand through his black hair. Her poor wolf was exhausted. She gently
pulled herself away from him, and covered him up. She closed the window
shades,
thankful Cole had blackout shades, then tiptoed out
of the bedroom.

She
cleaned up the breakfast mess, happy she had someone to cook for again. Cole
had paid her the best compliment by eating all the food she made him. She
covered the rolls and put the sausage in the refrigerator. She looked around
the house feeling like her heart was full once again. Home, she was home. Tears
filled her eyes at the realization that she really believed Cole. He wanted to
mate with her and not run away this time. She could sell her house to one of
the younger shifter couples that were just starting out. Maybe a new family would
move here since they were building. Caleb seemed to think the mini mall would
be excellent for Pleasant Cove.

She
would need it for her wedding, and she
would
have a wedding. Cole may balk that they were shifters and mated, but she would
stuff him into a tuxedo and force him to walk down the aisle. She wanted her
wedding picture, and pictures of their closest friends wishing them well. Blair
had never realized how beautiful it was until she watched Cassie planning her
wedding. She cried the entire time, and decided then and there that when she
mated, she would get a wedding, too.

She
sat at the table tapping her foot and thinking. Sure Cole had wanted her to
stay close to him, but he was sleeping, she hoped for more than a few hours.
She had work to do at her coffee shop. Her regular customers would be upset if
she didn’t get the dough made for tomorrow’s pastries. She could shift and run
into town, then stop by her house and get some clothes before heading into
work.

Her
mind made up, she kicked off her shoes and undressed. She folded her clothes
and set them on the floor next to the back door.

Chapter
Eight

Cole
woke up and stretched. Early afternoon sunlight came through the windows. Even
though he’d only slept for a few hours, he still felt better than he had in a
long time. He felt he was making progress with Blair, and at least she was not
fighting him anymore. For over a year every time he tried to talk to her, she
did her best to get away from him. Now she was softening, and admitting she
loved him.

Even
though his duty was to protect Blair right now, he still picked up his phone
and made a quick call to Travis. A short conversation revealed that there were
no new leads in the search for Stacy.

He
realized the house was awfully quiet. Blair was a television addict, so the TV
should be on. He called Brad’s cell number. He picked at the first ring.

“Yeah,
boss?”

“How
is everything outside?”

“Quiet.
I haven’t seen anything suspicious.”

“Thanks.
Keep up the good work.” Cole ended the call. After everything that had happened
lately Cole still had the need to check on Blair. She could be sneaky, and Brad
was not watching for Blair, but threats to Blair.

Cole
walked through the house checking every room.
She hasn't left, no way,
Cole thought but as he got to the kitchen,
and found her clothes on the floor, he knew what she had done. She had shifted
and run from him.

“Son of a fucking bitch.
It’s
like one step forward and two steps back with her,” Cole said already thinking
of her punishment. He had warned her if she ran, he would chase her, and he
meant it. He paced a few times wondering where she would have gone to.
 

He
picked up his phone and hit Michael’s contact. He answered on the first ring. “Yes
Cole, what I can do for you?”

Cole
was pacing back and forth in the kitchen, with his nostrils flaring and his
fists clenched when he replied, “She’s gone again. She fucking ran.
Again.
I asked her not to go anywhere unguarded while we
catch this asshole, and she not only ignored me, she fucking ran.”
 
He was going to use the paddle on her ass. He
had a plan forming as he paced.

“Calm
down, Cole. Are you sure she ran?”

Cole
wanted to scream at Michael’s calm voice. “Of course she fucking ran. Why else
would she leave?”

“She
has a business here in town that she runs almost by herself. Are you sure she
did not just go to work?” Michael replied in a placating tone.

Cole
really wanted a chance to punch something. He paced faster and threw his hands
in the air, almost dropping his phone. “Then why not wake me up to tell me so I
could get a guard?”

“Cole,
calm down. You’re not thinking clearly about this.”

Cole
took a few breaths and tried to calm down. “Fine, did you notice if she is at
the café?”

“Yes
Cole, I did. She is at work. She just served me my coffee and gave me her
blueberry turnover,” Michael said in that insanely calm tone of his.

“Ok,
let me get dressed. I will be right there.”

****

Silas
stood at the edge of the woods and watched the bitch at work. The sun was high
in the sky, and his stomach complained wanting some lunch. He ignored his needs
and concentrated on his target. She was some kind of freak of nature or
something. She’d changed into a rabid fox and attacked him. He still had the
bite marks, and wondered if he would get rabies, or turn into an animal now. He
only heard rumors about werewolves, no facts. He knew how to find out though.
He would slice on her with his knife until she told him every one of her
secrets.

After
he had made sure she suffered every kind of torture he could imagine, he would
tell her she was vengeance for Levi. He took a drag on his cigarette. He had to
be careful and remember to have patience. The emails made it clear that these
abominations could smell him, like search dogs. He didn’t have his spray on
him, the one with the added scents that would thoroughly cover his own. If he
didn’t use this they would find him within hours, and kill him. He figured his
cigarette smoke would work until he got back. When he found another place to
camp for the night he would spray himself. He moved his truck every night just
in case. He ground his cigarette out in the dirt and sank back into the tree
line. He would bide his time for now, but soon he would be avenging his
brother.

****

Blair
blew a stray hair out of her face. She had spent a long morning with a stupid
imp hiding in her kitchen. She was about ready to shoot the damn thing when she
finally found him and chased him away with a broom and a spray bottle. It
chittered at her angrily once she shooed it out the back door.

She
slammed the door, happy the thing was gone. Imps had terrible attention spans,
and the first thing that caught its attention would make it forget all about
tormenting her. She huffed, though not very angry. Imps were cute when they
giggled at the mayhem they caused, but she was more annoyed with Warren for
laughing at her chasing the imp with a butterfly net.

She
dried her hands and glanced over at Michael. He waved her over, so she dropped
her towel in the dirty laundry bin and walked over. Travis stood against the
wall with his arms crossed over his chest. He watched Blair and the other
customers.
 
“Can I get you a refill?”

“No,
thank you. Cole is on his way in, and he is not very happy.”

Blair
frowned. “He’s up early. I thought he would sleep more.”

Michael
gave her a long stare. “Did you really take off without a guard?”

Blair
felt herself blush. “I shifted to a fox and ran all the way to work. No one saw
me, not even Brad.”

Michael
sighed and closed his eyes. “Blair, what are we going to do with you?” He
sighed again. “Get ready, because he is mad and thinking you ran.”

Blair
put her hands on her hips, and let out an aggravated breath and shoved her pad
in her pocket. “I have a business. I can’t just leave it. Julie can’t bake.”

“I
heard that,” Julie hollered, while pointing her finger at Blair from the cash
register.

Blair
glanced over at Julie then looked back at Michael. “You told him I have to run
my business, right? You started this mess with your meddling.”

 
Michael smiled at her, the same smile she
wanted to slap off his face. He acted like he had everything under control and
she was just a puppet. “I simply made it so you two were forced to communicate
with one another. Both of you were stuck in this cycle, and neither of you would
make the first move to get yourselves out. I just decided enough was enough. I
suggest when Cole shows up you show him that you did not run from him.”

Blair
could feel the blood drain from her face and her heart race. “I am not sure I
can.”

Michael
stood and patted her on the shoulder. “Sure you can. He is coming now.”

Blair
swallowed hard, and considered running for real. Cole’s SUV pulled into a
parking space by the front door. Cole slammed his car door, and Michael had the
nerve to smile. He caused all of this, and he was abandoning her.

Cole
nodded to Michael as they passed. Then Cole threw the door open and walked in.
Blair felt frozen in place as he stalked up to her, his expression as dark as a
moonless night. “Blair, what the hell do you think you are doing?
 
You promised me you would not run again.”

“I
didn’t. I came to work.” Blair wrung her hands together nervously. Cole’s eyes
held a lot more than anger. She had hurt him. She didn’t mean to, but she just
could not leave her business. She cringed inwardly. She should have left a note,
but she’d thought she would be back before Cole woke up.

“You
run whenever you don’t get your way. You didn’t like Michael’s punishment so
you ran. You didn’t like that he wanted Cassie to stay protected, so you ran.
That is what you do.”

Blair
looked him in the eyes. Her face felt flushed, and she wanted to yell at him.
He was so wrong about her motives, but to him that was what it looked like. She
felt her anger calm, and she smiled up at him. She was not going to prove him
right. She was going to take Michael’s advice.

She
walked closer to Cole, and nearly laughed at the stunned look on his face as
she rose up on her tip toes to wrap her arms around his neck. “If you won’t
believe my words, then I will have to show you some action.” Blair leaned in
and brushed her lips against his. Cole only took a second to respond and wrap
his arms around her.
 
His hands rubbed in
between her shoulder blades before his hands roamed lower to the waist of her
black slacks. “Come back here with me. I would hate to cause one of my customers
to choke.” Blair led Cole to a back room that held spare tables and chairs for
parties. She closed the door,
then
turned to look to
Cole.

Cole
looked at her with want shining in his eyes. He wanted her and only her. She
felt her heart fill with love for him. She had him, and she would never let him
go again. “Cole, Blair said while looking up at him. “I’m sorry I ran before. I
should have waited and let you calm down and come to you. Instead I just left.
I’m sorry I didn’t try to contact you or give you the chance to make things
right between us. I am just as much to blame for all of this as you are. We
were young, but it’s time to put the past behind us and move forward together.”

Cole
put his hands on her cheeks and lowered his head to kiss her. “I love you,
baby.
So very much.
Let’s put the past behind us and
move forward.”

Blair
held onto Cole trying to remember that she was in control here, but Cole always
had a way of making her want to please him. She made no apologies for being a
submissive. Giving over control to him was something she loved to do.

Cole’s
hot tongue swept over her lips in a molten assault on her mouth. Cole was like
a drug to her, and she was completely addicted to him. His tongue thrust in and
out of her mouth, just like she wanted him to do with his cock.

Blair
melted into Cole, and she could feel his erection pressing into her. He wanted
her as much as she wanted him. She held onto him as if he were her lifeline. Then
he pulled away and stared at her for a moment. His breath sawed in and out of
his chest. “You drive every thought out of my head.”

Blair
reached over and touched his face. “I love you, Cole.” She slid down his body,
until she sank to her knees in front of him. She slid his black sweat pants
down his hips until his cock sprang free. She grasped his long, thick cock and
stroked it lightly.

Cole
put his hands in her hair and hissed as she applied just enough pressure for
him to feel her, but not enough to make him want to come. That she was going to
save for later.

“Blair,
Goddess woman, stop teasing me,” Cole whispered. He thrust his hips, but she
kept her grip light.

Blair
looked up at him and licked her lips. “I am the one in charge right now, and I
think you should be patient. That is what you tell me.” To emphasize her point
she licked her lips,
then
ran her tongue lightly over
the mushroom head of his cock. Her tongue traced his slit, tasting his pre-cum,
and swirled around the tip.

Cole
had looked like he was going to say something until she found a sensitive spot
on his cock. He dug his fingers into her hair. “Fuck, Blair. Don’t stop.” Cole
panted while gripping her hair.

Blair
smiled as she watched her hand moving slowly over his shaft. Her fingers barely
made it all the way around his thick length, but she wrapped it around enough
for her purposes. She saw another drop of pre-cum forming and leaned in,
licking it off again. Cole’s erratic breathing and thrusting hips were proof of
how much power she had over him. He was a big man, and she could put him
completely at her mercy when she stroked his cock.

Finally,
she sucked the head of his cock into her mouth. She kept the suction strong as
she swirled her tongue. Cole groaned long, as she sank down on him until she
felt the head of his cock hit the back of her throat. She slowly pulled back up
until just the tip was at her lips, and she sank back down again.

“That’s
enough,” Cole gasped. He unbuttoned her pants, and she kicked off her sandals
while he pushed her pants down off of her legs.

Blair
giggled at Cole’s haste to get their clothes off. It was as if they were
teenagers all over again. Cole picked her up, gripping her tightly and pushing
her against the nearest wall. “You think that’s funny, huh?” His hands cupped
her ass, and he pulled her until her pussy was in line with his cock.
  

Blair
nodded, feeling the laughter bubbling up inside of her as he rubbed his cock
through her soft, wet folds. She looked into his eyes as he pushed into her. He
slid in easily since the cream coating her pussy made her slick with arousal.
She felt her eyes widen as his cock hit every nerve in her channel.