Winters Heat (Titan) (19 page)

“Very short and sweet, Colby.”

“Baby, if you want to talk about what happened, go for it. I’m listening. But you know, I’m no angel, and I’m not finished dancing with the devil. If anyone ever hurts you like that again, there’s nothing I won’t do to protect you. To make sure you’re never hurt again.”

She nodded. He was an angel to her, no matter who he danced with.

He traced the scar under her chin. “This mark is a call to arms. This made me angry, hateful, and full of a vicious need for vengeance.” He kissed her bare shoulder. “But I didn’t need to see scars to know the day I met you, my world changed.”

She had fought the urge to cry like she avoided his closeness. Again, tears begged for release. Her eyes burned. Her throat was raw. But, in his arms, with his words, it was finally okay to cry.

Mia didn’t move. She didn’t sniff or sob. But cleansing tears escaped.

“Are you crying?”

Again, no point in lying. She smiled. “Yes.”

Colby leaned over, pressing her into the bed. His jaw flexed, and he locked his eyes with hers. Such intensity. Her stomach flipped, sending a rush from her head to her toes.

“Sweet Jesus, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”

“No. No, this is… welcome.” She snorted a laugh.
Very attractive
.

He laughed at her oh-so feminine laugh. “If you say so, Dr. Freud. Smiling and crying don’t mix.”

“They do right now.”

“And why is that?”

“Because my world changed, too.”

That was an understatement if there ever was one. Was there a handsome man and even a dog in her future? Years of studying psychology went out the door. None of this made sense. Nothing was practical. But here she was, a veteran gunfight spectator and kidnapping survivor. Liberated with simple words from a warrior.

Liberated
. She played with the idea, turning the word over in her head. Liberated worked and was the truth. That was an accomplishment and, because of it, she earned anything she wanted. A fluffy puppy with an appropriate name like Killer or Slayer. A sexy man who wanted nothing more than to keep her safe and in bed. Life was marvelous.

“What do you think about dinner?” he asked.

“I’m not hungry.”

“No, I mean, do you want to go to dinner tomorrow night?”

“Like a date?” Even as the shadows faded over the room, she saw him blush.

“Yes, like a date, doll. Like candlelight and roses.”

A date with candlelight and roses? He surprised her when she least expected it, though that was the exact definition of surprise. A suit and dress shirt on his solid body might be her greatest weakness. Would she be able to hold a decent conversation while admiring the view?

Her heart sunk. So close and she was going to ruin it. “All I have to wear are your mom’s sweatpants and shirt. Very sexy.”

“We can remedy that hiccup.”

“What? You’re going to be my white knight fashionista?”

“I’m your whatever-it-takes-to-keep-you-happy-
ista
.”

Whatever it took? She should define that so he wasn’t left grasping at assumptions in the proverbial dark.

“I can run out tomorrow morning and pick something out,” she said.

“No sweater sets. Or khaki pants.”

She could hear the smile in his voice. “I don’t always wear that. I just didn’t plan on more than one outfit on my excursion to Louisville.”

“You need something short and tight.”

She laughed. “Making requests?”

“And low cut.”

“Colby!” Her cheeks heated. “I can dress myself, thank you very much.”

“Just letting you know where my mind is. Are you all done with your smiling tears?”

Her nerves tinged. Was all this to make her stop crying? “You don’t have to take me to dinner to make sure I’m not crying on your watch.”

“No you don’t, Mia. No rebuilding those walls.”

“I’m not—”

“The hell you aren’t. I’m taking you out because you like that stuff, and I like you. Simple. Don’t you shrinks know how this stuff works? All that
making you happy, makes me happy
bullshit?”

“I’m not a shrink.”

“But you
are
missing the point. On purpose, I’d assume.”

“I don’t have my credit cards or cash. I need to—”

“Cash is in the drawer in the kitchen, next to the surveillance camera you kept eyeing. Cars are in the garage. Take your pick. Keys are on a peg board next to the door.”

“I’m not taking your money.”

“You think I care about coin after dodging bullets with you? But if you’d rather just go to dinner in my mom’s sweats, cool by me, doll. I don’t care. I was just giving you my wish list. As long as you’re there, I wouldn’t notice your clothes.”

“Uh.” What to say to that?

“Tell me when and where you want to go, and I’ll make sure I’m there. Or someone from Titan, for your protective detail. I have to work sometime in the morning, but after that, we’ll do whatever you want.”

“Thank you.” Whatever she wanted? Staying right here was top on her list. Mia leaned up and kissed him. “Do you still have the NOC list?”

“I do. It’s safe.”

“Why do you still have it?”

“I’m only going to give it to my boss. He wasn’t there, and I didn’t stick around.”

“After we get rid of it, I’ll be safe?”

“In theory.”

“Very reassuring. How about in reality?”

He didn’t answer. That was several versions of concerning.

“Colby?” Worst case scenarios would begin forming if he didn’t answer soon. Heck, in the back of her mind, they’d already started.

“In reality, the fuckers will be pissed. They’ll want to do something about it. We’ll make sure they engage Titan, not you, and we’ll all come to an understanding.”

“I don’t know what that means.”

“It means we work out an agreement. You won’t be worth pursuing, because the cost will be too high.”

“The cost?”

“Their resources. Their men. They’re all the way in South America. Once they know they can’t get that list, anything they do will be out of retaliation. But they’re businessmen. Everything has a price. A cost of what their time and interest is worth. Eventually, they move on. It’s dirty dollars and cents.”

“So more people will get hurt. You can get hurt.” Her voice sharpened.

“We’ve already had that conversation. I won’t get hurt.”

“Now, I’m calling bullshit. You
can
get hurt. You
can
die.” This wasn’t what she wanted. She wanted to forget the nightmare they survived and live it up in a fairy tale world. But no, he wanted to go play cops and robbers again.

“Honey, this is what I do. It didn’t change because Clara came into my life, and it’s not going to change because I’m all wrapped into you. I’m sorry.” His fingers drew down her arm, around her elbow to her wrist. “This is complicated, but I promise I’ll keep you safe, and I’ll always come home.”

The room was dark, with the setting sun long gone into the night. Moonlight bathed them, casting a milky glow across the light carpet.

“When this is over, when you don’t have to protect me, do you still want to see me?” She draped her arm over her face, hiding from his answer. If he said no, the moon would drop from the cloudless sky, leaving it sad and inky.

“Of course I do. I’m not making up the things I say for your benefit,” he said, rubbing her arm.

“You’re making it up for yours?”

He shook his head, coiling his arms around her. “Silly girl. Let me rephrase. Everything I’ve done is
for
your benefit, but I’ve never lied to you. We have something special. So let’s play it out one day at a time and see if it works for us. Maybe you’ll hate me on our date. Maybe you’re just using me for the sex.”

“Maybe I am.”

“Well, it wouldn’t be the worst thing that’s happened to me.”

His phone rang from the nightstand. He unwound himself from her and answered. A few short words later, he was back by her side.

“So that was the bad guys calling in their surrender?” She laughed softly.

“You’re cute when you say bad guys. But nope. I have to be at the office at stupid o’clock in the morning.”

“What?”

“Early. I have to head to Titan way earlier than I wanted. So when you wake your adorable head up in the morning, you’ll be all alone. Sorry about that.”

“I suppose now you’ll tell me we have to sleep while in bed.”

They laughed together. The moment was so comfortable and fun.

“Guess so. But there’s an upside. I can vouch these sheets are softer and cleaner than that motel room’s.” He kissed her nose. “Besides, I need my beauty sleep. Hot date tomorrow.”

“Oh, me, too.”

“Must be one lucky bastard.” He gave her another kiss. “Sweet dreams, princess.”

If she had penned all her dreams and wishes and desires, this wouldn’t have made it on to the top one hundred list. It wouldn’t have made it on to the world-is-ending-time-to-make-a-list list. She wasn’t creative enough and didn’t aspire grand enough.

Never would she have envisioned a battle-tried hero offering a fantasy date and calling her princess. Never would that man fall asleep with her in his clutches. Twice. In a row.

Never.

But he was here. And this was happening. It was her unknown dream come true.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

The road noise didn’t dull his thoughts. Nope. No luck for that, as they roared and complained along with the whirl of his speeding tires. Winters drummed his thumbs on the steering wheel and picked up his burner phone a dozen times wanting to call Mia.

It was still dark out, and with dawn yet to break, what was the point of disturbing her? He cursed at blameless drivers observing the speed limit as he maneuvered his way to Titan headquarters.

He woke up holding happiness. Her sweet smell still clung to him in his truck, and the last thing he had wanted to do was slip away from the warm bed. If this job didn’t revolve around Mia, he might have told Jared he was taking a vacation. Time like that accumulated. He must have weeks available. When he busted through the door, question numero uno would have to be,
Where’s the company handbook?

Surely that existed. Right?

But would it have a section entitled Don’t
Do
the Job? He had a date with
the job
tonight. A very hot date. No corporate set of rules would change that.

He snarled to no one and pulled into Titan’s secure parking. Before facing the guys, he had to lose the whole just-woke-up-with-a-naked-woman glow. It was too early in the morning for a razzing, and he hadn’t had nearly enough coffee or Dots to ease into his day.

He squeezed his eyes tight, took a deep breath, and walked to the first door. Code entered. Locking mechanism disengaging. Another door. Retina scan. Another door and another, jumping through whatever hoops Parker had going right now. Goddamn security measures. Good thing he appreciated them.

Winters blew through the ops nerve center, straight into the kitchenette, hoping to hell someone had brewed a pot already. Nope. No luck. Not even a leftover box of candy in his stash. Christ, he felt like a chick. Mood swings. Candy cravings. He needed to cut that shit out.

“What’s your problem, Winters?” Parker eyed him when he stalked back into the computer hub. Despite the heat pouring off hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of electronics, the room was icy cold. “You blew out of here yesterday like you were avoiding enemy fire, and today, it’s like you have the shakes.”

“I had places to be.” Guess clearing his mind didn’t work. “Where the fuck is everyone? I thought this was an ops meeting, or was I wrong?”

“When did you start wearing a watch?” Parker spun round in his chair, regarding him with even more curiosity.

Shit
. Should he just wear a sign that said
hook, line, and sinker,
or just fess up that there was a woman in his bed he wasn’t fond of leaving. He rubbed a hand over his face.

“Never mind. Just ready to wrap this up. This job’s been a headache.”

“Dude,
you
are a headache. Since when did you give a shit about complications? I thought you fed off pandemonium.”

There were Grade A assholes who’d fucked with him and Mia. He could forgive someone going after him. But not her. Messing with her earned a place in his crosshairs.

Winters flashed Parker a shut-the-fuck-up glare when Jared walked into the room, filled to his eyebrows with the usual piss and vinegar. He was an Army Ranger and had been trained by the best to be the best. The military got all they could out of him before he took his Chief Motherfucker in Charge attitude and turned into a very tidy profit for all involved.