Guarding Kelsey ((Books We Love Romantic Suspense)) (33 page)

“You didn’t call either. Does that mean you didn’t miss me?”

“I tried to visit,” she said defensively.
“You weren’t home.”

”That’s
your fault.”

Her shoulders slumped.
“Don’t you think I know that already?”

“No,” he said, moving closer.
“I didn’t mean the shooting. It was the nightmare that followed.”

Amadeus wriggled and yelped.
She put him down to let him explore the barn.
“He’s got your personality.
He can only take so much affection before he wants his freedom.”

Cheap
shot
and one he fully deserved.
In his zeal to avoid commitment, he didn’t realize he was already in deep.
His time away from her had taught him just how deep.
He caught her chin between his thumb and forefinger and tiled her head back.
”I was wrong.”

“Do my ears deceive me?
Detective Krieger admits to being wrong.”
She pursed her lips, but she couldn’t hide the start of a smile.
“So, what was this nightmare that followed?”

“I was forced to recuperate with my mother and the step-family.”

“Forced?” she repeated in mock horror.

“She caught me at a moment of weakness.”
He had come up with a host of excuses, but in the end, he gave in.
After his parents divorced he had never allowed her to be a mother to him.
If he had refused, it would have been a slap in the face when she was trying to reach out.
“It was important to her.
And since I had no excuse, like a wife or lover waiting at home for me
.
.”

“You were taken prisoner and doted on twenty four hours a day.
How horrible for you.”

He eased his arms around her waist. “Exactly.
It was hell.”

“And after you escaped
.
.?”

“I figured that since you came back here, you needed time to sort out your own feelings.”

“I needed time,” she repeated. She tried to push out of his embrace, but he held tight.
He had her in his arms, he wasn’t letting go.
“Did you ever notice that every time you try to
figure
out something about me, you get it wrong?”

“I’m here now.
Did I figure wrong this time, Kelsey?”

“It depends of what brilliant conclusions you’ve reached, Detective.”

“That you know what you want.
You aren’t going to change the way you feel no matter what happens over the course of the trial or after.”
He twisted his fingers into her silky hair and massaged her neck.
She let out a moan that brought to mind other times she had moaned with pleasure.
His body grew hard with desire.

“Not bad for a man who was completely clueless about relationships until recently.”

He rolled his shoulders sheepishly.
“I’d like to take credit, but unfortunately, I couldn’t bring myself to believe it until I got a very interesting visit.”

“The ghost of Christmas past?”

“No.
Michael.”
He was only a teenager, but he had stood up to Wolf in a way no man ever had before.

“My Michael?” she squeaked out in surprise.

“The very same.”

“Oh, no.
What did he say?”

“He told me that I must be a jackass to let you get away.
That
someday
, I was gonna get smacked upside the head and get a clue.
But, by then I would be too late because his sister was too intelligent to wait around for a moron to come to his senses.”

“That sounds like him.”
She tipped her head.
“Smart kid.”

“Yes, he is.
Takes after his big sister.
It will be good for both of you to have him here when I have to work late shifts or double shifts.”

She tapped her palm against the side of her head.
“Did I miss something?
What does your work schedule have to do with me?”

“Once we’re married
.
.”

“Now I know I missed something.
Like the proposal.”
Her laughter sounded like heaven to him.
He had her.
He didn’t deserve her forgiveness, but she gave it anyway. She couldn’t hide a single emotion in her adoring smile.
“Could you back up and try again.
I don’t want to miss it this time.”

“Do I have to get down on my knees and get all sentimental?
You know how I feel about you.”
She had known long before he had admitted it to himself.
That was what made being with her so easy and living without her impossible.
She knew him, and she loved him anyway. “And I’ve always believed that actions speak loud
er than
words.”

“Say it once.”
She draped her arms around his neck and brushed against him.
“I swear I’ll never make you say it again.
Please.”

He never could say no to her.
“I love you, Kelsey.”

“I love you, too.”
She kissed him hard.
“Now, let your actions speak for you.”

The End

About the Author

Like most authors, I didn't start out as a writer, but rather as a reader. My passion for romance novels began in my late teens and left me with an itch to discover the world.

After living in places as culturally diverse as Athens, Greece and Cairo, Egypt (where I met and married my own romantic hero), we returned to the States.

From a very young age, I showed an aptitude for telling stories. Of course my mother called me a pathological liar, but I prefer to think back on those days as an apprenticeship for my future craft.

Also published by Books We Love

Murphy’s Law

Hawks Haven

Codename Romeo

Homeward Bound

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