Free Home Bound by Samantha Chase, Noelle Adams Page B

“It’s okay. It’s really okay.”
    For some reason, his obvious concern and the tenderness in his touch and voice completely broke me. I shook against him in silent sobs—not really crying but feeling completely broken.
    I wasn’t much of a crier under normal circumstances. I had no idea what was happening to me.
    Cole’s arms were tight and strong and protective, and they felt better than anything in the world. He wasn’t saying anything now, but he didn’t need to.
    He was trying to make me feel better.
    He did.
    After a minute, I was able to control myself and straighten up. His arms loosened but not all the way. He gazed down at me, something soft and intense in his expression. “Are you okay?” he asked.
    “Yeah.” I sniffed a little, although there were only a few tears. “I’m sorry about that. I have no idea what happened.”
    “You were scared.”
    “Yeah, but there was no reason for it. It was the epitome of an overreaction.”
    “It’s normal,” he said. “You’ve been a trooper this whole time, but the stress and fear eventually catches up to you. It doesn’t matter how much protection you have. The threat of a stalker always does that. It keeps you from ever feeling safe.”
    I nodded, feeling understood and much less stupid. “It’s been nothing but little things, but...”
    “They add up. He wants you to feel this way.”
    I took a few deep breaths, flattening my hands on Cole’s firm chest.
    “I’m going to catch him. I promise.” His eyes were still intense and protective, but now they were something more, something hot again.
    I suddenly felt hot too, and I slid my hands up toward his shoulders. “Thank you,” I whispered, leaning toward him.
    I wanted nothing in the world more than to touch him, kiss him, be with him all the way.
    I knew he wanted it too. It was clear in his eyes, in his touch, in the way his hand slid up toward the back of my head.
    But then he suddenly dropped his hands, and I realized what was about to happen.
    I ducked my head, my heart racing and my body shaking again—this time for an entirely different reason.
    Cole was so tense he was frozen, and I could see from a quick glance that he was aroused. It was strangely exciting but also terrifying.
    I wasn’t sure what I would have done, but I didn’t have the chance. Cole gave himself a quick shake and said, “If you’re all right, I’m going to call in and get a report from Baltimore.”
    I knew the words were intended to put us back into a professional dynamic, and they worked. Kissing Cole would have been a huge mistake—for both of us—so it was just as well to get some distance.
    “Yeah,” I said, steadying my breath. “I’m fine. That’s fine.”
    He walked out of the room quickly, a little stiffly—probably just to stand outside the door in the hall—and I tried to shake off the intensity of the moment before.
    That was easier said than done, though. I kept thinking about it for the rest of the day.
    ***
    C ole kept his distance for most of the morning and afternoon, but he finally loosened up again after I ordered room service for dinner and invited him to have some.
    I didn’t want him to think I was angry or awkward about our moment. I’d much prefer for him to believe it was no big deal to me at all. So I made a point of being friendly with him and asking him to join me for dinner.
    He did, and we had a conversation about his time in the Marines. I asked him some about his upbringing, but he evidently didn’t want to talk about that.
    That was my fault. I never should have said I wanted to hear more about his childhood for research purposes. It hadn’t been true even then—I’d just gotten scared about how close I felt to him and had to do something to cover it—but I realized he wasn’t going to forget it.
    As we were finishing up, I said, “I guess I should do some work this evening.” I hadn’t done much of anything all day, and I was starting to feel guilty about