Free COLE (Dragon Security Book 1) by Glenna Sinclair Page A

over her shoulder at me. “Trying it on isn’t agreeing to buy it.”
    “No, but it’s a step in the right direction.”
    She stuck out her tongue, and I laughed.
    I moved around the store, pushing PJ ahead of me, picking out blouses and skirts and dresses that I thought would look good on Amber. A couple of women gave me admiring glances, but none of them said anything. They must have thought Amber was my wife, just like the staff at the hospital had assumed. I found I didn’t dislike the idea. I’d never really thought about getting married and settling down with one woman. I liked women. Many women. But playing house with Amber sort of opened up new possibilities that I hadn’t thought I’d enjoy.
    I liked PJ. He was soft and smelled really good, and when he smiled—despite the fact that Megan insisted it was just gas—it made me feel a new sort of joy that was indescribable. I told myself I was just doing a job with Amber, that I was just being a good uncle to PJ, but the truth was, I was enjoying myself.
    I walked into the nursery last night and watched from the shadows as Amber lay the baby on her narrow twin bed with her and lifted her nightgown to offer him a breast. The sight was…I would be lying if I said a burning heat didn’t rush through me. Amber was a beautiful woman, and now that her body was returning to its pre-pregnancy state, I could see more of what Peter saw in her. She was graceful and limber and her breasts were impossibly perky. I was only human. The sight of her lying there, her stomach and breast exposed, I did think of things that I probably shouldn’t have.
    But that wasn’t all. There was more to the feelings that rushed through me, more to the pleasure in seeing such a beautiful sight. I wanted to just stand there and watch her all night; I wanted to file it away and hold onto it.
    I…I don’t know how to describe how it made me feel, really. But looking at Amber…it wasn’t just about getting into her pants. I mean, I wanted…but it wasn’t just that.
    And that confused me. I’d never felt this way when I looked at a woman. The problem was, I was pretty sure she didn’t like me much. When we were alone at the apartment, she tried to stay out of my way as much as possible. I’d sit in the kitchen and she’d sit in the living room. If I moved to the living room, she’d find an excuse to go up to the nursery or to go to the kitchen. And all this arguing over the money I spent on her. It wasn’t like I had much else to spend my money on and I had plenty of it. What was a couple of outfits?
    I was going to buy her some clothes today—whether she liked it or not.
    I had three dresses and a couple of blouses hanging from the handlebars of the stroller when I spotted her headed toward the front of the store.
    “Amber!”
    She kept walking, her back stiff, her eyes staring straight ahead. That’s when I saw the man behind her, standing too close to be just another customer who happened to be walking in the same direction. I couldn’t see a gun, but I knew there must be one.
    I swiped the clothes off the stroller and followed, careful to stay a few feet behind them. It wasn’t the bald guy. I’d never seen this guy before. But he was clearly determined to get Amber out of the mall. I moved off to one side, pretending to be window-shopping. They guy never looked in my direction, so I thought it was safe to assume he didn’t realize I was with Amber. He had one hand on her upper arm, the other pressed against the small of her back, wrapped in a dark shirt that was likely wrapped around a small caliber pistol. I wished I hadn’t left my gun back in the car, but the mall had a no concealed weapons policy and, stupid me, I respected the posted ordinance. This guy clearly didn’t.
    Amber suddenly turned left, moving closer to the stores on that side of the open corridor. I moved up behind them, pushing the baby ahead of me. The mall was crowded, people moving in and out,