Chapter 9 #4
After she yawned a few times, Craig had decided they were done and she needed to get to the hotel and get some sleep.
She was tired, but she’d hated to leave.
Though she hadn’t said goodbye right then, since Craig had insisted on following her to the hotel and walking her inside.
It was dark out, and he said he wasn’t going to take any chances with her safety.
Now, he was pulling one of her suitcases behind him while she towed the other.
“Is this a part of you being protective?” she asked in the elevator as they headed up to her room.
“Yup.”
“And if I tell you I’m fine and don’t need you to follow me?”
“I’d say ‘too bad.’ This is who I am, Em. I’m not the kind of guy who lets his girl drive to a hotel in a city she just arrived in, in the middle of the night, by herself. I’m just not. If this is a deal breaker, you need to decide now.”
Ember stepped up to him, right into his personal space, and kissed the underside of his jaw. “I’m not complaining. Just making sure.”
Craig relaxed against her. “There are a lot of things I’ll step back and let you do by yourself. Kick business ass. Run your social media accounts. Hire employees and basically manage your life. But when it comes to your safety? I won’t compromise.”
“And I’m one hundred percent all right with that,” she said before reaching up and putting her hand on the back of his head and pulling him down to her. They were still kissing when the elevator door opened.
When they stumbled out of the elevator with her bags, Ember rested her head on Craig’s shoulder and kept her free arm around him as they headed down the hall.
She opened her door and they wheeled her bags just inside.
After turning around to face him, for a second she felt as if she was back in that dorm in South Korea.
“What are you smiling about?” Craig asked.
“Déjà vu,” she told him. “Standing in front of my door, not wanting to say goodbye to you.”
“Never say goodbye, remember?” Craig asked.
She nodded.
“You’re meeting with the manager of the apartment complex in the morning?”
“Yeah. At eight. I usually work out first thing, but I’m looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow, so I’ll be lazy.
After that, I’ll verify with the movers where to meet me the day after next.
Then I’ll tour the building I bought for my gym to see what I need to do to get it up to speed.
I have a meeting with a lawyer to finalize the papers to make my business official here in Texas, then I have a few interviews with some potential coaches.
I need to make sure the apartments I found for Marie and Julio are acceptable, since they’ll be here Sunday.
“Oh, and I’ve set up a meeting with the director of the Boys and Girls Club here in Killeen, to talk about partnering with them.
She can help me decide which kids would be best for the program.
Eventually, I want to branch out and meet with principals of schools, and someone in Child Protective Services too. ”
“Jeez, Em, you don’t have to do everything in one day,” Craig said.
She smiled. “I know, but I’m just so excited to get started.
I also need to order some equipment, hire cleaning crews, find a good place where we can run and shoot, set up security, meet with a few local ranchers about using their horses, then meet with the YMCA director about dedicated pool time.
Oh, and I need to move my stuff in, go to the store to buy food, and lastly—decorate my place. ”
“I’m tired just listening to everything on your list. You gonna be done with a few things by dinnertime tomorrow?”
“Of course.”
“I can pick you up here and bring you to my house, if you want.”
“I can drive myself.”
“I know. And I meant to tell you before that your BMW is sweet. But humor me and let me pick you up on my way home?”
Ember couldn’t help but love that he was so eager to spend time with her. “Okay.”
“I’ll text to make sure you’re done with all your appointments before I leave post. Anything you want to eat tomorrow?”
“Anything’s fine. I don’t want you to go out of your way for me.”
“I have a feeling I’d go to the ends of the Earth for you, Em. What time is your stuff supposed to arrive on Friday?”
“I’m not sure. Probably in the morning sometime.”
“I’ll talk to Commander Robinson and see if he’ll give us some time off to help you move in.”
“Oh, that’s okay. I hired the movers for a few hours and I don’t have that much stuff.”
“Em, there’s no way in hell I’m not going to help you move your stuff in.
And the guys will feel the same way. And if the girls aren’t working, they’ll be there to help too.
Although their help is more standing around drinking wine and watching us do the work, but they’re damn cute while they do it, so we tolerate it. ”
Ember chuckled—and a pang of something so visceral hit her hard. She wanted to be a part of this man’s tribe. Wanted that more than she’d wanted to win an Olympic medal. “Okay. Thank you.”
“No need for thanks. If Gillian shows up, you can ask her what we should bring to the party on Saturday. She usually tries to say she’s got it all covered, but that’s bullshit.
We all like to contribute. Tell her if she won’t tell you, then we’ll hire a bunch of clowns to come over and entertain Logan and Bria. ”
“And that’s a bad thing?”
“Babe…they’re clowns. Yes, that’s a bad thing.”
She laughed. “Right. Noted. I’ll ask.” She liked that he’d used the pronoun “we.” To ask Gillian what we should bring. Being linked to this man was heady.
“Okay, I’m going to leave while I still can.”
The look of lust was easy to see in his eyes. Ember had never been all that sexual, had never felt the need to have sex. But with this man, she was barely holding herself back from peeling off his shirt and climbing him like a stripper pole.
“And if you don’t stop looking at me like that, I’m never gonna be able to leave,” he drawled.
“Like what?” she asked coyly, playing with the buttons on the front of the shirt he’d changed into when he’d gotten home.
She liked seeing him in his camouflage uniform, but she liked him dressed more casually like this too.
The white button-down shirt brought out his tanned skin and the blue in his eyes.
“Like you want to swallow me whole,” he growled.
Ember licked her lips and saw his nostrils flare. God, she loved knowing she affected him as much as he did her. “How long do you think we can hold out?”
He didn’t pretend to misunderstand her. “Before we end up in bed? Not very long, if you keep looking at me like that.”
For a split second, Ember debated pulling him into her room. But a yawn came from out of nowhere, surprising her.
Craig chuckled. “There’ll be plenty of time for us to explore this chemistry we’ve got later.
You have a long day ahead of you, and I know you’re tired from driving the last two days.
” He pulled her into him and kissed her forehead, keeping his lips against her skin for a long moment.
Then he stepped back and put his hands in his pockets, as if to keep himself from reaching for her again. “Sleep well.”
“You too.”
“I’ll talk to you and see you tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
“Good luck with all your meetings, although it sounds as if you have everything under control.”
Ember grinned. “I do.”
“Fuck, I love your confidence. Later, Em.”
“Later.”
She liked that he was still careful not to say goodbye to her. It was silly and stupid, but she couldn’t make herself say the word either.
She waited until she’d closed the door before closing her eyes and putting a hand over her heart. She had a huge smile on her face, but couldn’t have held it back if she tried. Things were looking up, and she had a good feeling about her future.