Saving Amber - Zoe Dawson Page 0,20

her, not asking permission. He deadlifted her up out of the snow, holding her securely around her lower back and under her knees, pressing her to his chest. She felt good in his arms and he realized the barrier that he needed to protect himself against her just wasn’t there. She’d disarmed him and charmed him from the moment he walked into Jacobs’s office. Yet, he was stubborn.

He didn’t look at her as he carried her back to the town house. Ignored her protests that she could walk. She was fine. Well, he wasn’t fine, and he needed to hold her in his arms, carry her against his body to prove to himself that she was okay.

When he got to the door, he let her feet drop to the ground, kept her close as she slid down the length of him. Steadied her with his hand on the small of her back as he retrieved the key from his pocket and unlocked the door, pushing it open.

She stepped inside and she moved easily, just rubbed at her shoulder.

He closed the door behind him. “You’re sure you’re all right?”

“Yes, thank you, but I’m fine.”

“You don’t need medical assistance?”

“No, just a bump and a close call. Scary.”

He couldn’t stop himself. He reached up and ran the back of his fingers against her cheek. She closed her eyes and melted into his touch and he stood there, frozen by his need and his desire to touch her more, kiss her. As if she read his mind, her mouth parted, and a little gasp escaped.

Without another word he walked to his room and carefully closed the door behind him before he did something he’d live to regret. This was the right thing to do. He knew it and he bet she knew it, even if she was pissed off at him. Inside he leaned his back against the door and closed his eyes. Caught his breath and shored up his badly damaged defenses. He rubbed at his forehead, running his hand over his thick flattop, and discovered a whole new shade of meaning for the word yearn.

She was something more. Something special. Not a carnal opportunity, not a quick lay. This was a woman he could talk to, get lost in. This was a woman to savor, to sink into, to go slow with, to promise things to. Those were the best reasons for him to keep himself in check.

Because he was damaged, had scars and pain that he’d buried, still hadn’t dealt with, and he wasn’t going to dump his baggage on her. His life was so entwined with the corps that he couldn’t see clearly. His duty and honor were twisted up inside him, tied to a common ground and a common fight. Something that filled him up. He wasn’t sure what would happen if he put anything else in his life first. If who he was would drain away and leave him nothing but a hollow husk.

It was the corps. First and foremost. He still owed his fealty, his duty and honor to them.

Semper Fi.

Chapter Five

Tristan nursed the third glass of bourbon and, even though his body was reacting to Amber’s warmth, his head was going around and around about James. However, he was killed, it wasn’t a fitting death for a kid—man—like him. Tristan still felt sick about it and he wondered if it would have been easier to take if it had been a warrior’s death.

Yeah, he was a Marine through and through. It would have been easier to take.

He did the same thing he’d done when the ambassador had been killed. Went over everything he said or did the days leading up to the attack in Banyan, looking for a weakness, a missed opportunity, insight.

But in James’s case, it was more about how the kid had gotten under Tristan’s defense, just as Rock had.

Just as Amber was doing, and she was sleeping, all warm and sweet-smelling in her room, the door closed.

He swore he could smell that sweetness in the room. He took a deep breath and decided that getting drunk alone in the middle of the night was completely irresponsible, especially when he needed every wit he possessed sharp enough to keep from doing what he’d been thinking about doing yesterday.

He closed his eyes, remembering the scent of her hair, how silky it had been against his rough chin. How perfectly her body had felt against him, how much he wanted to sink into her softness and