The Protector (20 page)

Cole
sat down next to Blair and pulled her into his arms. She may have balked at the
hospital stay, but she had to admit she felt very close to normal. The forced
bed rest had done her a lot of good.

“I
hear you get to come home in the morning.” Cole said in her ear.
 

“I
am hoping so,” Blair told him before kissing his lips lightly.

“Good,
I can’t wait to show you how much I missed you.”

Aaron
cleared his throat. “Fuck, Cole, I can’t tell you how much I do not want to
hear that shit.”

Cole
looked up at Aaron. “Just because you don’t get any, doesn’t mean I am going to
be careful about showing my mate affection.”

Aaron
raised his eyebrows, but when he opened his mouth, Mandy smacked him in the
chest.

“Don’t
you dare,” she hissed. Even though he had not said anything her cheeks were
turning pink.

Aaron
glanced at her, shut his mouth, and smiled.
 
Cole and Lucas both laughed, making Mandy blush again.

“Wow,
that is called held by the tail, Aaron,” Cole said after his laughter calmed,
then looked over at Lucas who was leaning against the wall.
 
“Lucas, you need to find yourself a girl,
maybe a nice human. It will improve your mood.”

Lucas
scowled. “I will never mate again and especially not a human.” He glanced over
at Mandy.

Blair
glared at Lucas. Damaged or not, she refused to take any shit from him. “Don’t
intimidate my friends.”

Lucas
turned his dark eyes to Blair. “Humans are fragile, emotional, and drive
shifters crazy with their neediness. I will never fuck or date a human, ever.”

Blair
raised her eyebrows and in a sarcastic tone, said, “Wow, well, I see you are
improving.”

Lucas
shoved off of the wall. “Yeah, loads.” He opened the door. “I am going to head
home.”

Cole
waved. “Thanks for all of the extra help. We found the girl alive thanks to
your tracking.”

“No
problem,” Lucas said without turning around.
“Won’t change
anything though.”

Mandy
looked at Blair with tears in her eyes. Blair would have thought that he said
or did something to hurt her feelings, but they were all in the room the entire
time Lucas was there. Mandy wiped her eyes. “He is so broken. It is sad.”

Cole
shook his head. “He killed Cassie’s friend and is paying the price for it. Just
because
Ilithyia
lifted his banishment does not mean
he gets the burden of his crime lifted from his soul.”

Mandy
shook her head and wiped her eyes. “I don’t think that’s it.”

Cole
shrugged and said, “Lucas is damaged, probably beyond any hope of being normal
again. You heard him. He refuses to ever take a mate again.”

Mandy
looked at Cole in the eye, something she had rarely ever done. “No. I looked
into the eyes of evil, and Lucas is far from being what I saw.”

Blair
did not bother debating with Mandy. She was always trying to see the best in
people. She wanted to view Lucas like a lost puppy. Blair felt Cole was right
and Lucas was too far gone. It was just a matter of time before he went
completely feral and someone had to shoot him in the head.

****

Silas
was beginning to wonder if he should just give up and go home. He was hungry,
tired, and missing cable TV. He had killed some old chick living in a rat-hole
of a house, but the bitch lived like an animal. No cable, had what looked like
self-butchered meat in her freezer, and she had no indoor plumbing.
 
He had watched the sheriff’s house for days,
but no one came home. What the fuck was going on? Did they move? He didn’t see
them moving any furniture. He went to turn when an overweight man with greying
brown hair, a tan spring jacket, and a mostly grey stubbly beard tried to hit
him over the head with a brick. Silas cussed and dodged the brick at the last
minute.

Silas
kicked his attacker’s feet out from under him, making him land hard on his
back. He landed with
a humph
as the wind was knocked
out of him. Silas acted quickly before the man recovered, and stuck his booted
foot against his neck. The man thrashed around making strangling noises and
trying to pry the Silas’s boot away from his throat.

“You
have about a minute before you pass out. Then I will put you out of your
miserable existence. Who the
fuck are
you?” He let off
the man’s neck just enough so he could breathe.
 
He gasped for air loudly. “Hurry up before I decide you’re not going to
answer me.”

“Josh,
my name is Josh
Hamen
, I’m a private investigator.”
Josh gasped for air and still tried to get Silas’s boot away from his neck.

“Well
Josh, the PI, why the
fuck are
you trying to knock me
out?”

“My
boss wants a word with you.”

 
“Does he now? And who is your boss?”

Josh
coughed a few times. “Hell if I know, some freak with a kabuki mask. He pays
well though.”

“Well,
Josh, the PI, tell your fucking boss to come and talk to me himself instead of
sending an old fat man to do his talking.” Silas stepped away and kicked him
hard.

Josh
let out a grunt and held his stomach, his eyes closed tightly.

Silas
crouched over him. “If I ever see you again, I will kill you. Understand me?”

Josh
nodded quickly. “Yeah, I get it.”

“Good.
Now get the fuck out of here," Silas said in a sneering tone and gave Josh
another kick.

After
Josh had limped off, Silas shook his head in disgust.
“Fucking
amateur PI.”

“Yes,
he is, I am impressed at how easily you subdued him.”

Silas
turned around and faced him. “Are you fucking kidding me?” He thought this
place couldn’t get any weirder. “What the fuck is the mask for?”

“It
is for my own protection. If they capture you, they have ways of making you
tell them what they want to hear. I do not want you telling anyone what I look
like.”

“Good
news for you then. I don’t give a fuck who you are, or what you are doing
around here. I have my own plans.”

“Yes,
I know, Dani told me. You are after Cole for killing your brother, Levi.”

“I
am. That fucker is going to know suffering, and then he will know death.
Besides, that chick already told me about hiding my scent.” Silas was not
interested in help. He wanted his revenge. Then he would leave this crazy ass
town and find somewhere hot to settle down.

“There
is more she didn’t tell you. If you really want to get to Cole, you will need
to know how to get around their senses. Guardians and
Kelachs
are such a pain in the ass with how easily they track.”

Silas
slowed down and turned to look at the other man. “I’m listening.”

“Good.
Why don’t you come with me, and I will teach you some simple ways to get around
their senses.”

Chapter
Thirteen

Blair
hummed while she kneaded the dough on the counter for the French bread. Her
homemade Bolognese sauce had been gently simmering all day, and she had just
finished the layers of cheese, pasta and sauce for Cole's favorite lasagna. Now
she was working on the freshly baked bread.

There
was something she found peaceful about creating food. Not only was it
nourishing, but Cole's heart was connected to his stomach. His mother was from
an Italian family that believed in showing love through food. Blair smiled at
the memory of how they had begun their relationship. He had started coming into
her coffee shop for the pastries. Once he realized she made all of the pastries
by hand, he was in love. Blair heard Cole’s vehicle pull up next to the house
and his car door shut.
 
She hurried with
flattening the dough so she could get it rolling.

It
was a wet, chilly day, so he would appreciate the hot meal all the more. The
door to the mud room opened, and she heard Cole kicking off his boots. The
first rule she had made when Cole moved her stuff over was he had to take his
boots off. Their log cabin had beautiful hardwood floors, and she could not
stand to see muddy boot prints all over the wood. She heard the keys and the
gun cabinet open. Even though they had no children yet, Cole had already got in
the habit of keeping the guns locked up. The cabinet closed and locked, and she
could hear him moving across the hardwood floors.

Being
only in stocking feet made it a bit harder to hear Cole coming up behind her,
but her shifter hearing still made it possible to hear him sneaking up. She
smiled, ready to turn to meet him, but his arms wrapped around her before she
could turn around.

“I
think my little fox
is wanting
a reward tonight,” Cole
whispered in her ear.

“I
am guessing you approve of dinner.” Blair turned her head just enough for Cole
to capture her lips with his own. He captured her mouth with his, nipping at
her lower lip with his teeth.

He
let her go and stared into her eyes. She could see want in his eyes as he
stared at her, “You know how to get to me.”

“Yes,
I do, I just need to cook your food.”

Cole
let go of her and drew his hand back, swatting her ass, making her gasp, then
smile at him. Cole rubbed the spot on her ass where he had slapped his hand,
soothing the sting. “Just looking at you makes me burn. No need to cook
anything.”

Blair
giggled, knowing Cole was lying. He was a big man with a big appetite. She
would be lucky if her giant lasagna pan had any leftovers for lunches this
week. He also had the metabolism of a cross country runner, and burned off
everything he ate.

Cole
growled seductively in her ear. “You laugh now, but you won’t be laughing when
I am done.”

Blair
felt her arousal grow at Cole’s threat, or rather promise. “I don’t want dinner
to burn,” she said breathlessly.

Cole
reached over and turned the oven off. “There, the bread is rising, and the
lasagna will cook quickly. The cheese just needs to melt anyway.”

 
Blair looked up at Cole and felt her pussy
grow even wetter. Cole was looking at her with the expression he wore when he
was ready to play. Blair leaned into him and kissed his neck. “I am ready to do
whatever you wish of me,” she said agreeably.

“My
naughty Blair is wearing too many clothes. Take them off,” Cole ordered her.

Blair’s
hands shook as she unbuttoned the waist of her jeans. Cole was giving her the
look that turned her legs to Jell-O. She pushed her jeans down, while Cole
watched with a heated stare.

“Goddess,
Blair. You are so beautiful. Do you know what watching you undress does to me?”

Blair
looked into his eyes. “You have always liked watching me undress.”

“It’s
because you are so gorgeous. No one has ever made my blood burn like you do.
You are the only woman in the world I have ever wanted.” He touched her face
softly while he looked into her eyes.

Blair
kicked her jeans free from her legs. Her body was heating up with desire, and
her heart felt light. As she stared at him she wondered how she could ever
doubt how much he loved her. Perhaps her own insecurities had fed her fear. She
had ignored all the facts and believed the things her brain had come up with.
Her eyes filled with tears. She had suffered alone due to her own stubbornness.

“Blair, sweetheart, why are you crying?”
Cole
asked. He looked her over checking for anything that would be causing her pain,
then
looked her in the eyes. “Talk to me.”

“I
have been so bullheaded all this time. I not only hurt you, but myself as
well.”

Blair
saw the look in Cole’s eyes soften. He pulled her to him and cradled her head
in one hand and rubbed her back with the other. “Don’t. This was never your
fault. It was
all my
fault. I acted foolishly. When
Warren stepped down as
Kelach
, I panicked.
 
I hurt you, badly. For that I am so very
sorry. I don’t deserve for you to forgive me, but I am so grateful that you
did.”

Blair
could see the emotion in his eyes and knew he meant every word. “I know. I am
so sorry. We all lost so much that day.”

Cole
nodded. “Yes, now let’s not focus on sadness right now. I want today to be a
new beginning for us. We move forward, letting go of our past mistakes.”

Blair
nodded and whispered, “Yes, let’s let it go.”

Cole’s
look once again grew commanding. He stared into her eyes with a hard look that
made it clear he was in charge.

“I
want you to undress me, Blair,” he told her in a tone that meant he expected to
be obeyed immediately.

Blair
dropped her hands and slowly started to unbutton his grey sheriff uniform
shirt. She could tell from his lack of a bulletproof vest that Cole had spent
the day in his office. Since Stacy’s abduction, no other people or shifters
reported any crime. Everything calmed down, leaving Cole with an enormous
amount of paperwork.

Blair
got to the last button and pushed his shirt off of his wide shoulders, leaving
his white t-shirt underneath. Cole’s heated gaze stayed on her as she pulled
his shirt up, exposing his flat abdomen and muscular chest. Cole had added
strength from the
Ilithyia
. As
Kelach
he took the lead when the
cholan
went out to protect
the territory.

Blair
stroked her hands over the smooth skin of his chest and stomach. Then she
slowly ran her hands down to the waist of his uniform pants. She found the
button and unfastened it, glancing up to see Cole watching her. She licked her
lips, slowly, letting him see her tongue stroking seductively over her lips.

Blair
fought a giggle when she saw Cole’s eyes darken with restrained desire. She
knew he wanted to pin her against the wall, and fuck her hard, but he also
enjoyed teasing almost as much as she did. He would force himself to be patient,
knowing it would be worth it.

Cole
hooked his thumbs into the waist of his slacks. He bent over, and his pants
slid easily down his bare legs.

Cole
bent over and picked her up and pinned her to the wall. His face was inches
from hers, their lips nearly touching. His hot breath wafted over her face as
he sucked air in and it panted out. “You drive me crazy. Do you know that?”

“Hopefully
in a good way,” Blair told him with a smile curling at the edges of her lips.

“Yes,
I am crazy in love with you, Blair Wilson.”

Blair
looked him in the eyes. “Then I want a wedding, with guests and a dress and
everything.”

Cole
smiled.
“Anything for you.”

Cole
leaned in and claimed her mouth in a sensuous kiss. He ran his tongue lightly
along her lips until she opened her mouth for him. Their tongues entwined,
making Blair let out a low moan of passion.
 
Her hands rose to Cole’s black hair and stroked the silky soft strands.

She
felt Cole lining up his cock with her pussy. She wrapped her legs around him
and held on as he sank in for the first thrust. Cole held her hips, driving her
body on his cock, hitting that special place within her channel that made her
scream in pleasure.

If
it was possible to get an overload of pleasure, she was sure this was how it
would happen. Cole knew exactly how to angle his cock to drive her crazy. Blair
pulled away from Cole to get some air. Her orgasm was rushing upon her with
each thrust of Cole’s shaft.
 
Lights
flashed in her vision, and she felt the floor drop away when the orgasm crashed
over her. She dug her nails in and felt her legs shaking as they stayed wrapped
around Cole.

Blair
held on tightly as she felt Cole thrust faster and harder. Another wave of
pleasure washed over her, making her cry out. Cole thrust once more,
then
let out a roar as he came. She felt his cock pulsing
deep within her. They both stood in the kitchen, staring into one another’s
eyes until their breathing returned to normal.

Blair
heard Cole’s stomach growl, and she giggled. “Let me get the bread and lasagna
in the oven before you starve to death.”

Cole
let her go, letting her slide gently to the floor. “I am getting hungry.” Cole
looked at her smiling and rubbing his stomach.

“You
are always hungry.” She reached for her clothes, but Cole grabbed them.

“Nu-uh,
I want to watch you cook like you used to.”

Blair
smiled. “What if the sauce splatters and I get a burn?

Cole’s
eyes lit up. “Then I will lick it for you, and make sure you feel all better.”

Blair
laughed and went over to turn on the oven again. The bread was almost ready to
go in, and even though the lasagna had not done in the oven yet, most of the
cheese was melting. It would not take long for it to cook.
 
She opened the fridge and emptied the salad
crisper to prepare a nice, fresh salad.

She
turned to see Cole watching her with a smile on his face, and her heart warmed
to see him as she remembered him. He had always loved doing this with her, and
she enjoyed watching him do some chores bare ass naked, too.

“I
think after dinner, I am going to make that ass glow red.”

Blair
raised her eyebrows. “You promise?”

“You
bet I do, baby.” Cole smiled at her with that glint in his eye that he got when
he was planning ways to play with her.

“Let’s
eat then,” Blair said with a seductive smile.

Blair
could barely concentrate on her food with the thoughts of what Cole had planned
filled her head. Would he take her upstairs, or use the kitchen utensils? Some
of them made better paddles than their nice ones in their playroom upstairs.

“Open
up.”

Blair
looked over to see Cole holding a forkful of lasagna in front of her.

Blair
knew there was no fighting Cole. He would only punish her more than what he was
going to do in the first place if she didn't, so she saved herself the time and
hassle and opened her mouth.

She
closed her eyes, admitting she did love lasagna. The sauce, meat, and cheeses
were decadent even if she did say so herself.
 
Blair was starting to genuinely feel full now, but the food was
delicious. He blew on it, cooling it down,
then
started the fork toward her. He turned the fork, dropping the food down her
chest, stomach and into her lap. She looked back up to see Cole had a wicked
gleam in his eye.

“Whoops.
How could I be so clumsy?”

Blair
opened her mouth, unsure of what to say. Cole was not clumsy at all.

“I
should clean you off, since I was careless enough to spill food on you. Don’t
move.”

“I…”
She paused when Cole stood up and came straight at her instead of grabbing a
napkin. She watched as he approached her and picked her up.

Cole
shoved some of the dishes aside and laid her out on the table. “I can’t let
this delicious food go to waste.”

Blair
was beginning to understand what Cole was up to. Her pussy started to warm up
as the thoughts of his possible plans ran through her head. “No, you shouldn’t,
and you look so hungry.”

“I’m
starving, baby, and only you can satisfy me.” He looked up at her with such
sincerity she reached out to touch him.

“Put
your hands over your head, Blair, and hold onto the end of the table. I am
going to clean this mess off of you.”

Blair
put her hands where Cole commanded her. Cole leaned over and gently kissed her
lips. He ran his tongue over them until she opened for him. He surged in and
enveloped her mouth in a demanding kiss. When he broke that off, he found the
first dribble of sauce on her chest. He licked her,
then
licked his lips. “It tastes even better with you mixed into the flavor.”