The Protector (5 page)

“I
am so hungry.” Cole looked at her, but the hunger she saw in his eyes was more
than just for food. “I gave you some space when you first came home and you
were getting the coffee shop settled, but I plan to prove it to you now.”

Blair
felt her own heat growing. She forced herself to breathe and not think about
sex with Cole, or reconciliation. “It’s ready.” Blair wanted to pat herself on
the back for keeping her voice steady. She put the sandwiches on the plate.

“Not
just yet.” Cole leaned and brushed his lips against hers. He wrapped his arms
around her and threaded his fingers through her hair, deepening the kiss. He
claimed her lips in a deep, sensuous embrace.

Blair
clung to his muscular shoulders. She opened her mouth, allowing him to deepen
the kiss. Her soft tongue danced with his as they held each other. Holding him
and having his strong arms around her felt too good. She felt safe in his arms,
and she relaxed into him.

Cole’s
hands moved over her body, pulling her closer to him. Time stood still for her.
They clung to each other, pressing their bodies closer. Cole pulled his head up
far enough to look into Blair’s eyes. “We’d better eat, or I’ll eat dessert
before dinner.”

Blair
nodded mutely. Her thoughts and emotions spun. If Cole had tried to strip her
and make love to her on her kitchen floor, she would have let him.
You’re supposed to be stronger than this,
Blair!

But he’s sorry, and you want to
try again
..

Wait to hear about Cassie first.
Then think about reconciliation.

It’s been so long since a man
held me though. I’m so lonely.

She
had no argument for herself on that one. She was lonely, and Cole stood right
next to her offering her comfort.

****

They
finished dinner, and Cole got her some clothes for her. “Now, we are going to
my house. Are you going to come willingly, or do I have to tie you up and carry
you over my shoulder?”

“I
am coming.” Blair did not want to argue. She felt better with Cole, and didn’t
want to ruin the moment with fighting. She still felt shaken by everything that
happened. Perhaps it made her weak to admit she wanted to be held and assured
everything was going to be fine.

They
walked out of the house, and he held the SUV’s door open for her. He helped her
in,
then
closed the door. He climbed in and started
the car. He smiled at her. “You ready?”

Blair
nodded, and he backed out of her driveway and headed out of town.

She
sat in the seat of his SUV watching out the window. It was completely dark now,
making the drive as bleak as she felt. Michael still had not called. Blair bit
her lower lip in worry for Cassie. Cole's cell phone started to ring. Cole
answered the call. He spoke in choppy sentences and gave little away. Blair sat
up straighter, desperately trying to hear the other half of the conversation.
Curse her weak shifter DNA and weak hearing. Blair could see Cole's jaw was
tense and his muscles flexed.

"All
right, I'll talk to you later, Michael," Cole said as he hit the red phone
on the screen. Blair's stomach churned to know it had been Michael on the end
of the line, and she needed to know if Cassie was ok.

Cole
stared out of the windshield deep in thought.

Blair
stared at him, wanting to know about Cassie, but terrified to ask at the same
time. He put his phone in a slot in the SUV’s dashboard. Just when Blair was
ready to scream with frustration, Cole turned to her.

“Cassie
is going to be all right.”

“Oh,
thank the Goddess.” Blair felt a huge weight lift off her.
 

Cole
turned into the gravel drive to his house. Just as Blair opened the car door,
Cole’s phone rang again, with what she now realized was Michael’s ringtone.
Blair knew Michael and Cole conferred a lot. He was the territory beta as well
as the sheriff. She got out of the SUV and closed the door to give them
privacy.

She
walked to the front porch as she felt she needed to get some fresh air.
Casually sitting on the front porch swing, she pushed back against the porch
floor, making the swing squeak slightly. The night air was fresh and had a
pleasant scent. It was so peaceful, contrary to the last few nights.

Blair
noticed a twinkle in the corner of her view and turned her head to see a
min-min light fairy playing in the front flower garden. The min-min fairy was
just like a regular fairy, but they were nocturnal and glowed like lightning
bugs. She watched as another one joined the first. They jumped into the petals
of the flowers, doing flips in the air. She could barely hear their happy
chitters over the rustling of the trees blowing in the wind. She smiled as the
fairies played, and Blair envied their simple, childlike existence. They had no
worries and always seemed happy, well, most of the time.

Instead,
Blair was apprehensive about how much trouble she was in with Cole. Was he as
angry as Michael was and just hiding it well? Would he punish her severely? Was
that what Michael and Cole were discussing now?

Cole
finally stepped out of his SUV and walked up to the house.

Blair
felt the urge to run, but she mentally smacked herself.
Come on, girl. You are not a child. Stop acting like one. Chin up, spine
straight, and face your punishment.
Maybe she could even have a good fight
with Cole. That would make her feel better. Getting some of her anxiety out
with a good old-fashioned argument would let off some steam.
Then we can have sex.
Dominating,
kinky sex.
Blair felt her eyes widen at her own thoughts.

Cole
stalked across the porch to where she waited for him on the swing. His look
wasn’t one he had when he prepared to fight with her. He was happy.

“Let’s
go inside.” Cole held his hand out for her to take.
He looked
more at peace and more confident than she had seen him in a long time.

Blair’s
plans of having it out with him immediately vanished. Cole just looking at her
was arousing her even more. It was not fair that he could look at her a certain
way, and she wanted him. Blair nodded and took his hand.

Cole’s
grip was strong and warm as he wrapped it around her smaller hand. He then
brought it up to his lips and kissed it, while maintaining eye contact with
her. His eyes smoldered as they watched her. Blair’s body began to heat up with
arousal.
 

Touch me, hold me,
anything
, just show me that you still love me
. Blair
ran her hands up his muscular chest. Now that the weight of her fear for Cassie
was lifted she felt she could touch him.

His
face was so close to hers, and his breath drifted across her lips. “It is time
you stopped running from me, Blair. I told you earlier that I love you. I never
stopped. I don’t think you ever stopped either. I am going to do everything in
my power to show you how much I love you.”

Blair
looked into his eyes. She was in love with him, and he could make her fall even
further. Even though she wanted to try again, she was scared. Could she trust
him?
 
What if some tragedy happened
again, and he left? She couldn’t take
another heartbreak
like that again.

Try anyway.

Cole
stared back into her eyes. He smiled after a few moments. “That’s what I hoped
to see, that there is hope for us. I know you’re scared, and you don’t trust me
yet. I plan to change that.”

He
claimed her lips. Then, sliding his hands through her hair, he gripped her
strawberry blonde strands. He held her hair tight enough that she had no way to
escape him, or his passionate kiss. The bulge of his cock pressed against her
mound. She lost her control and wrapped her arms around him. Passion she had
ignored for five years flared to life. Cole urged her lips open with his
tongue. Once she allowed him in, he took control, dominating her with his
expert kiss. Goddess, she missed how he conquered her body so absolutely.

Cole’s
hips rocked into her, causing her to press her own sex into his hard bulge.
Cole didn’t ask, or even give her any warning. He just picked her up, his lips
still holding her captive, and strolled into his house.

When
she finally came up for air, she saw she was in his living room. “Cole—”

“Not
now, Blair. Right now I have to take care of my very naughty fox.”

Blair’s
blood already started to heat. It had been so long since they played. She felt
her cream coat her pussy.

“Oh, Cole.”
She meant it as a complaint,
but it came out more as begging.

“I
know, baby. You need me as much as I need you, and I am going to give you what
you need now.”

 
Tears were already falling down her face. She
loved and hated his punishments. It hurt, which she didn’t like, but she felt
so cleansed after a hard punishment.

“Now, Blair.
Tell me what you did to deserve
discipline?” Cole asked while rubbing her ass.

Blair
was already crying, her body shaking with her hiccupping cries. “I took a new
shifter out of our territory.”

“You
did, and you know what that will get you.” Cole’s tone was regretful.

Blair
tensed. That wasn’t a good sign. Cole only used that tone when he planned to
use something she hated. “No, Cole, please not that paddle. You know how much
it hurts.”

“I
also know how much you deserve a good paddling.” He pulled her shirt over her
head.

“Cole,
don’t do this.” She looked into his hungry eyes, and felt her own arousal
coating her pussy.

“Take
your jeans off.” Cole gave her a commanding stare.

Blair
couldn’t fight him when he looked at her like this. She never could. Neither
did she want to. She loved and feared this side of Cole. This side was the
sadistic Master that would not stop until she broke completely. Her hands moved
to the waist of her jeans and unfastened them. She slid the denim down her
legs.

“What
a good girl. You please me so much when you obey.” Cole’s voice warmed her with
pleasure.

He
picked up the light paddle he had often used on her in the past when they would
plan to have a heavy punishment scene. He moved her towards the spanking bench
that he had made especially for her.

Blair
started fighting. Even though she craved what was coming next, she feared it as
well. “Cole, stop. Don’t hit me.”

Blair
knew her safe words. They were “red alert”, and unless Cole heard those two
words, he would continue. Any other begging, threatening, or screaming, Cole
ignored. Even as she begged him not to do this, she put her arms and legs on
the padded bench and allowed Cole to restrain her in place.

Cole
stood behind her and rubbed her ass lightly. “Your submission to me is so
beautiful, Blair.” Cole’s voice was full of pride making Blair warm even more
at his compliment.

“I
only submit to you, Cole. No one else has earned it.” Blair wondered where the
hell that had come from and why she blurted it out. Yes, it was true, but she
didn’t need to tell him that.

“I
know that, I have watched you.” He rubbed her back sensuously. “I have
protected you, even when you rejected me. I made sure you were always safe, and
I know you have never looked at another man, only me.”

Blair
wanted to deny it and say she had sex with many shifters. It was, after all,
perfectly acceptable for shifter females to seek out the strongest shifters and
share sex with them.

A
shifter’s life could be dangerous. Many young unmated shifters died every year
from fighting, and from thinking themselves invincible, roaming around during
hunting season and getting shot. The list was endless as to why so many died. Then
to add to the problem, female shifters were only fertile a few times a year,
and unlike animals they didn’t go into heat at set times. Most never knew when
they were fertile.

Blair
had been to several territories that had strong shifters who were interested in
her. She had been asked many times to share a bed with a male shifter. She
never took them up on their offers. The only man she wanted was here in
Colorado.

“No,
I have not sought any other men out. I only want you.” Blair was ready to bite
her tongue, and she could not believe she had blurted out her feelings once
again. What was up with her being unable to lie to him? He had always been able
to control her body, but now did he control her soul, too?

“I
know, baby, and it warms my heart so much. I’ve seen it clearly in your eyes.
If I had not seen the love you have for me there, I would have let you go when
you came home. I would never try to force you to love me again. I vow to you,
though, I am going to make things right with you.” Cole looked down at her with
emotion in his eyes. “I was foolish, and acting on emotion. I turned away from
you when I should have turned to you. I know you don’t trust me yet, but I will
prove it to you. I love you.”