Chapter 2
2
ELENA
T he most attractive, burliest guy I’ve ever seen just jumps in to protect me? Wow, this town really is different. Looking around at the last of the Saturday night crowd as they file out, I can tell I’m definitely not in the city anymore.
The way Clark shielded me with his massive body so that I could close my eyes and take a breath… my stomach clenches at the memory of it. I’m safe with him. How do I know this? No idea. Yet I’m positive it’s the truth.
The second before he whispered in my ear, he gave me such a sweet, genuine smile. His eyes lit up, as if he was glad to see me. As if he was…I don’t know…over the moon to be so close to me. Many guys like to be near women because it gives them a dirty little thrill. Clark’s closeness felt as wholesome as this sweet, sleepy town.
…Even though there was a gleam in his gorgeous brown eyes telling me there might be a naughty spark buried deep within him.
I wipe down all the tables while Clark busies himself with his phone, pretending not to watch me. It’s okay, though. I like his eyes on me. It’s as if there’s some sort of invisible connection between us already.
The mountain men out here are truly fascinating. They aren’t hyper energized like urban guys. They’re laid-back. Most of them are super friendly. But there are some who are…loners, I guess. Gruff and grumpy. Keep to themselves.
I’ve seen Clark a few times before, and each time I’ve been struck by his gorgeous face. Not to mention the way he fills out his snug t-shirts. He must be in his mid-thirties, I guess, and definitely the outdoorsy type. Yet it’s the faraway, almost lost look in his eyes that always makes me take notice. Is he a very deep thinker, or is it just that he zones out while he’s driving?
It’s so sweet that he’s playing the part of my boyfriend to keep me safe from that creep. No one’s ever protected me before. Ever. It feels… I don’t know. My head is spinning.
Clark . Of course he’d have a classic, good guy name. Clark Kent! Ha.
He eats slowly, then leans back easily as if he has all the time in the world to wait for me. Luckily, people don’t linger as much as they did last week, and I’m able to clock out just after midnight. When I come out of the restaurant, Clark is just finishing stacking the chairs under the awning. “Chance of rain tonight. Don’t want the lunch shift to have to wipe down the chairs.”
“Well, since the lunch shift is me, thank you very much.”
His scowl is sexy as hell. “You work until midnight then come back for lunch?”
“At eleven, yeah. I asked for every possible shift they could give me.”
He clearly doesn’t like that but doesn’t comment further. I walk with him to his truck, and he opens the passenger door. “Where do you live?”
“I’m staying at the Inn. There aren’t any apartments in my budget available right now, but I hear there might be one in a few weeks.”
There’s something about the way he takes my hand to help me step up. As if he doesn’t want to let go. It’s not just hot, physical desire. It feels like he might really like me.
Once we’re driving slowly he asks, “You don’t usually walk, do you?”
“Yes. Or sometimes I get a ride with one of the cooks. I mean, it’s only three blocks.”
“You should drive,” he states flatly. “That way if anyone is following you, you can just keep going.”
“To where, exactly?” I can’t suppress my giggle. “The whole point of me coming here is that I don’t know anybody, and nobody knows me.”
We pull into the Inn’s small parking lot, and he cuts the engine before turning to me. “So, you’re on the run?”
Suddenly I feel even tinier next to him. “Oh. Um. Is it that obvious?”
Clark’s expression softens. “I just want to help, Elena.”
“I know.”
“Why don’t we go inside and you can tell me all about it.”
My key sticks in the door, but I’ve already learned the trick of it. Pulling the handle toward me and jiggling it to the left, it finally clicks. I go inside, as Clark stops to check the door, frowning. “No deadbolt? No chain lock?”
I shrug. “Guess not.”
This time his scowl is darker. “Anybody could kick—” His head jerks back to take in my wide eyes. “Sorry, Elena. Didn’t want to scare you. I’ll take care of it.” He goes through the small room methodically, checking each window, then the door again. “Be right back.”
My room is already neat as a pin, but I check for anything girlie and embarrassing that I’ve left out while he rummages in the back of his truck. There’s a sharp snap. Then another. Was that…pruning shears?
He comes back in and gets down to work. He sets a long, slim piece of wood into each sill so that the window can’t be slid open. Then he starts screwing a sturdy chain lock into the door. “I had this left over from a cottage repair last month.”
“Should you be doing that?” I ask.
He throws me a glance over his shoulder. “If they kick up a fuss, just tell them I did it. They’ll know I had a good reason.”
When he finishes, he tidies up and washes his hands. Then he looks around. I’m sitting on the bed, and the logical place to sit would be beside me. But instead, he pulls out the rickety chair in the corner and eases his huge frame into it.
“Elena…” He stares down at his hands for a moment. “I feel like I’m already overstepping boundaries left and right. I swear, I’m not normally so…aggressively protective.” His chin lifts as he meets my eyes, looking hopeful.
“No, I really appreciate it.” My hand darts out to squeeze his for just a second. “I’ve been bouncing around, trying to find somewhere that’s sort of off the radar.”
“And then that piece of shit Lawney shows up.” His voice takes on a darker tone. “That jackass always has his ear to the ground, which means someone has been looking for you.” He hesitates. “What was he was saying about your rings?”
His gaze darts to my left hand, as I burst into laughter. “Oh! Not wedding rings!” I love the way his wide shoulders drop an inch. “I’m sorry, I’m not ready to explain it all. It’s just…too much right now.”
His jaw tightens, then his head shakes slightly. “Okay. So… You’ve been moving around a lot?”
“Yes. I went to college in the southwest for two years. Linguistics.”
He leans back. “Interesting. What do you plan to do with that?”
His eyes light up at my giant grin. “I know most little girls dream of being a princess or a ballerina, but I’ve always loved languages. So I became…drum roll please…an accent coach!”
He tips his head slightly. “One of those people who helps an American actor sound English for a movie role?”
“Not quite. Some people with heavy accents find it a hindrance to their career. They don’t get promoted in a fast-paced company. Or if they’re a doctor, their patients can’t understand them. That one’s really important.”
“You think everyone should speak with the same accent?”
“No!” I laugh. “Not at all. For sure I want people to retain the lilt of their natural voice. But clear communication is vital, especially in medicine. You can’t have people in the emergency room asking you to repeat yourself over and over.”
“Good point.”
“So I teach people how to soften their accent a little so it’s better understood by the North American ear.” I laugh again. “Then they go home to visit their families, and the accent is super thick again when they come back. It always takes a few days to settle down.”
I look longingly toward my laptop. “At least, that’s what happened with the few clients that I had before I found out Dad was looking for me and I had to take off.” It’s hard not to shudder when I think of that. I was never comfortable around the man, but it got steadily worse, to the point where he completely freaks me out now. The people he was associated with, the stuff I heard he was selling… Yeah. Whatever he’s into now, I want no part of it.
Clark reaches out to take my hand. “Elena, is there anything dangerous in that safety deposit box that Lawney was talking about? Is that what your Dad is after?”
His eyes lock with mine, and a breathless tremor ripples through me. It is one hundred percent not normal to be this turned on simply from holding someone’s hand. Someone I just met hours ago.
“I don’t know,” I finally whisper. “If my grandparents had anything to pass down, I guess it would probably be there. It could be anything, or it could be nothing. At this point, I’m not even sure if I want to know.”
“Which bank?”
“Some bank in New York. Mom’s sister Carla still lives there.”
Clark squeezes my hand again, then leans back in the chair. “Do you trust her? You keep in touch?”
“Yeah.” I already miss the feeling of his hand in mine. “She said that Dad showed up at her office, looking for me.” I feel so guilty that Carla had to face him. She hates him nearly as much as I do.
His head jerks up at the sound of a car going past, then he relaxes again. “That’s just James, our police officer. May I please see your phone?”
I fish it out of my purse, not even caring that he sees me enter the unlock code. He enters a contact for OHV Hotline and shows it to me. “If you ever need help, that’s faster than 911 around here.” He enters another number under the name Clark Morrow. “You can call me for anything as well.”
His thick thumbs move quickly as he sends himself a text from my phone, then gives me a look of pure…something. Not quite seduction. More like…longing?
“Jim’s closes at five on Sundays. May I take you to dinner after your shift? Preferably something other than pizza or pasta.”
We’re alone in a hotel room with the heat between us hotter than a roaring fire, yet he seems almost shy about asking me out. Yeah, it’s official. I really like this guy.
“That would be great.” I walk him the two steps to the door. “Thanks for helping me tonight – both with that guy and the locks.”
“Anytime.”
He opens the door, and the fresh night air blows the scent of the forest toward me. Something else, too – the faint earthy fragrance of the huge wall of man just inches away. Inhaling his warmth, my chin tips up expectantly. Everything about my body language is begging him to kiss me, yet he hesitates.
Oh wow. Maybe he’s trying to be proper? I mean, that would be the polite thing to do. Yet after all the stress I’ve had lately, I just want to turn the world off and become lost in him. My hand reaches up to rest on his shoulder as I inch closer. Finally I feel his large palm press against the base of my spine.
“Elena.” His voice is even lower. Darker. As his deep brown eyes search mine, I feel him struggling.
I whisper breathily, “Yeah?”
His head dips. My stomach tightens, heart racing. Those full, inviting lips pass mine, barely brushing against my mouth. His breath tickles along my cheekbone, then he whispers close against my ear, “I can’t wait to see you again.”
It takes a few blinks before I can breathe, the feeling of his hand sliding up between my shoulder blades incredibly distracting. His fingers tangle in the back of my hair and I manage to gasp, “Me, too.”
The second he steps back, I miss the feeling of his body almost pressed against me. As he drives away, I miss the way he looked deeply into my eyes.
That man is a ferocious tease, and I’ll be counting the seconds until we’re together again.
There are already serious feelings brewing deep inside me. I want to see a lot of him. Because… damn , apparently there is a lot to see. Not just on the surface, either. I feel like Clark is only grouchy because he’s been a loner for too long.
Could I be the woman to fix that?