Healing Danger (Fortis Security Series, #1) Read online

  Crossing to stand in front of her, he watched her put plates and cutlery on the breakfast bar “Is it okay to eat here? I’m not much on formality.”

  “Yes, of course.”

  He smiled as he remembered how it had annoyed his dad when he and his sisters tried to eat in front of the TV instead of at a table. Those were good times. Good until everything with his sister and mum and then family life had gone to hell. Things had settled down eventually, after his mum’s death, but it had never been the same. Much as his dad tried.

  Dane was distracted from the depressing direction his thoughts had taken, by Lauren, who was bending to retrieve the salad from the fridge. He knew he should stay away and keep his distance, but his brain wasn’t obeying tonight. He felt the battle he was waging with his body was about to end.

  His eyes swept her from her toes to her head. She turned and saw him watching her and her eyes went dark and sultry with desire as she looked at him. The look in her eyes caused his dick to strain against his zipper painfully. She seemed frozen on the spot-the want and vulnerability he saw cautioning him to go slow.

  He watched as her body responded to his slow perusal. The lace edge of her white bra making him want to sweep his finger along the curve of her soft-looking skin as it dipped and disappeared into the valley of her breasts. Her nipples beaded against the white tank top, just begging him to take them into his mouth.

  He could see from the pulse in her neck that she was as affected as him. Her breathing became choppy and shallow as he watched her eyes glide from his face down his body, slowly. The desire in her eyes was making his body hum with suppressed need. His eyes, once again, travelled over her then met hers, and watched them dilate in response to what she saw.

  He stepped forward so their bodies were almost touching and he could feel the heat from her. His body tightened even more. His gaze lingered on her face and the curve of neck. God, she was beautiful.

  Dane moved in even closer and heard the hiss of her breath as she felt his erection brush against her lower belly. He bent his head towards her slowly, giving her every chance to pull back, but all he felt was the first soft brush of her lips against his. He felt her body go slack against him as she slowly and completely surrendered to him.

  He grasped her neck in a commanding, yet gentle, grip and tilted her head so he could deepen the kiss. She rose on tiptoes as he pulled her body flush against his. Her arms went round his neck, she brought her body tight to his and he felt his control slip.

  He felt like a man possessed. He wanted to consume her, to worship her glorious body, but tried to keep things light and gentle, as he instinctively knew she needed to be the one to move this to the next level.

  He was trying hard to restrain the power pulsing through his body as she leaned into him even more and wrapped her leg around his hip. Dane teased her mouth with his tongue, he couldn’t get enough of her. He could feel the heat of her core against his hard length and revelled in feeling her need.

  His hand started to move up her rib cage and cupped the perfect mound of her breast. Pulling his head from her lips, he trailed kisses down her neck. Tilting her head with the hand that was now buried in the silken curls of her hair gave him better access while her hands danced all over his back and shoulders, sending electrical pulses to his throbbing cock. Dipping his head, he trailed hot kisses down her neck before he caught one plump, peaked nipple in his mouth and began to suckle it through the material of her top.

  ~~~

  Lauren arched towards him wanting more and burning with the fire that was starting to flow through her veins. She slowly started to become aware of a loud hissing noise behind her and spun back guiltily to see that the pasta had boiled over.

  Turning the nob off, she turned around and faced Dane. He still caged her with his arms around her waist. He rested his head against the top of hers as they both tried to regain their equilibrium and regulate their breathing. She’d never reacted like that before, so wanton and uncontrolled. Suddenly, she felt shy.

  “I’m not sorry Lauren. This will happen, this thing between us. It’s been simmering for a long time.” Looking down, he was incredulous to see she was laughing. “What’s so funny?” He asked indignantly.

  “Seriously? The pot boils over and you start talking about simmering!” She said, smothering a laugh. “I couldn’t help it, sorry.”

  Smiling, Dane dropped a light kiss to the top of her head and said, “Come on. Let me help you clean this up and we can order pizza. That soggy pasta looks past saving.”

  ~~~

  Other than her near monumental mistake of trying to tear his clothes off in the kitchen earlier, Lauren found herself thoroughly enjoying her evening with Dane. Laughing and talking the way they used to, it felt almost like Jeff never happened. They slipped back into the relaxed friendship they had before. None of the awkwardness that she might’ve expected after that steamy make-out session in the kitchen was there. They kept to safe subjects, though, like sports, movies, and their jobs.

  She could feel the undercurrent of attraction between them, but it was nice and exciting and didn’t make her feel pressured or embarrassed. She also liked that he kept wanting to touch her. It wasn’t overtly sexual, just light touches as his shoulder brushed hers and the way he kept playing with her fingers as they talked. It was nice, and it made her feel special. She was sad that it had taken losing Claire for her to realise that life was not a dress rehearsal, and to grab onto it with both hands.

  ~~~

  As Dane got up to leave, he was surprised that it was so late. He couldn’t remember a time when he had so much fun with a woman who wasn’t naked, except that he did. It had been at a BBQ Claire and Daniel threw before his last deployment. He’d spent most of the night talking to Lauren. Just remembering how beautiful and relaxed she looked that night and looking at her now, all-soft and comfortable, made him think that maybe he wanted something more with her, something real.

  She made him smile and he liked being with her. She was intelligent and he loved that she had her own opinion on things. She made his body burn with the need to touch her. He knew that he needed to go slow with Lauren, despite his earlier stupidity in the kitchen. He didn’t regret kissing her, but he regretted moving too fast. She was so responsive and his body had taken over, but he couldn’t allow that to happen, again. He needed to stay in control or he would mess this up. He wanted to make her laugh. Lauren had been so serious the last few years. He’d seen the old Lauren again tonight. The one who laughed freely. Losing Claire seemed to have changed something in her. She looked so carefree when she laughed and after the pain of the last few weeks, he was glad he was the one to have put a smile back on her face.

  ~~~

  “I want to check that all your windows and doors are locked before I leave,” Dane said seriously. Lauren nodded. She’d feel better if he did. She remembered the feeling from the park and although she thought it had been nothing, she would rather be sure it was all secure before she went to bed. Dane walked from room to room, checking that everything was locked down tight.

  “You need a security system,” he stated firmly, as he stood with her by the door. He pulled her closer to him by her hip so that their bodies were close but not touching. He could feel the heat of her body, but ignored his body’s response. He looked down at her intently. “Call if anything seems off or you get any funny feelings. I’m only five minutes away.”

  “I’m sure earlier was nothing, I was just feeling spooked. I feel kinda silly now.”

  Dane gave her a stern look that brooked no argument and nodded.

  “No matter, call if you need anything, okay, Lauren? It doesn’t matter what time.”

  “Okay. I will. Goodnight, Dane.” She leaned up and put a chaste kiss on his cheek. “I had fun tonight,” she said. “Thanks for keeping me company.”

  “It was my pleasure. I’d forgotten how much we have in common.” Moving his hand from her hip and taking her hand, he said, “Wou
ld you have dinner with me next Friday night?” Lauren looked a little shocked and he wondered if he’d said the wrong thing. Maybe it was too soon after Claire’s murder?

  “I’d love to have dinner with you,” she beamed.

  “Great, I’ll pick you up at eight o’clock,” he said, trying not to grin.

  “I’ll be ready.”

  He waited until she closed and locked the door before he left, and once on the street, noticed that she’d crossed to the window to watch him walk down the road towards town.

  Dane walked down the road and kept a close eye on his surroundings. He’d had fun tonight and despite the awfulness of the last few weeks, he felt excited about the future. He couldn’t believe even a peck on the cheek made him feel like a fourteen-year-old boy where Lauren was involved. He needed to get a grip and behave like the gentleman his father had raised him to be.

  Chapter Six

  Lauren sat up in bed with a start, her heart racing. She didn’t know what had woken her, but something had. Staying stock-still and listening intently, she tried to figure out what she’d heard. A scratchy, bumpy noise. Getting out of bed and tiptoeing to the wardrobe, she grabbed her hockey stick and crept to the door.

  Cracking open the door, she stopped and listened. It was coming from the window in the bathroom. Oh, shit. Someone was trying to open her bathroom window! Heart hammering and feeling panicked, Lauren looked around. What should she do? She spied her phone as she locked herself in her bedroom, and quickly dialled Dane’s number. She didn’t care to wonder why she was calling him first.

  “Dane!” She whispered when he answered. “It’s Lauren. Someone’s trying to get into my flat through the bathroom window.”

  “Okay, sit tight. I’m on my way, and Lauren? Lock yourself in the bedroom and don’t come out until you hear me or the police.”

  “Okay,” she said to the dial tone.

  ~~~

  Dane checked that his Browning Hi Power was loaded and slipped it into his shoulder holster before slipping a Ghoststrike fixed blade into an ankle sheath. It always paid to be prepared in these situations and knives drew less attention than a firearm. He grabbed his phone and keys from the side table and ran for the door.

  He ran out of his house at breakneck speed, nearly barrelling into Nate.

  “Wow. Man where you off to in such a hurry at this time of night?” asked Nate.

  “Lauren just called, someone’s trying to get into her flat.”

  “And she called you?” Nate said with a raised eyebrow.

  “No time to explain, man. Jump in the car, I’ll explain on the way.”

  “Sure, I could do with some action.”

  “Cool, you carrying?”

  “Seriously Dane, do bears shit in the woods? Of course, I’m carrying. Don’t go anywhere without my baby,” he said, referring to his Sig P226 handgun.

  “Okay, let’s move,” Dane said as he reversed out of his drive at full tilt.

  Although it was illegal to carry a weapon in the UK, all of Fortis team had a PPW license, which allowed them to carry for personal protection, and at times like this, he was glad he was. He felt naked without his firearm.

  “So, what’s up, what are you doing at my place at one-thirty in the morning?” Dane asked as he drove.

  “Couldn’t sleep, so was out getting some air, saw your light and I wanted to talk to you about something.” Nate shrugged, making him think it wasn’t as casual a visit as he said.

  “Is it something that can wait until tomorrow?”

  “Yeah, sure, no problem.”

  ~~~

  Arriving at Lauren’s house less than five minutes later, he could see it was completely silent and in total darkness, except for the streetlights. The back of his neck was itching like hell and he definitely felt eyes on him. But who and why?

  He turned to Nate, who was surveying his surroundings carefully. “You too?”

  “Yeah man, my neck’s crawling” Nate responded.

  He learned very early in his career that when you got that itchy neck feeling, you should watch your ass. It had saved his hide more than once. Parking his Ford Explorer down the road a bit, they stalked silently towards the old Victorian style house that made up the apartments of Mr. Aden and Lauren.

  Falling into a natural routine from working together for a long time, they split up, weapons drawn, with Dane going up towards Lauren’s door and Nate going round the back. Dane silently ascended the steps, steadily listening for any noise that indicated that someone was there.

  Reaching the door, he could see that someone had unsuccessfully taken a screwdriver to the lock. He was about to knock when he heard a crash followed by swearing in Nate’s deep rumbling voice. Running back down the black wrought iron steps he saw a large figure run off down the street with a very pissed off Nate behind them.

  Deciding that Nate had things under control, and not wanting to leave Lauren unprotected, he went back up to check on her. He was very conscious of further threats and could still feel the prickles on his neck. Stopping at the door he quietly listened for any movement to indicate what the situation was inside the flat. He quietly took out his phone and pressed Lauren’s number. He couldn’t hear anything except the phone at his ear.

  “Hello,” she whispered

  “Lauren, it’s me,” he said. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. Where are you?”

  “I’m outside. Open the door.” He could hear shuffling and locks being undone. He waited impatiently; keen to see she was okay. Opening the door and peeking out, Lauren was beyond relieved to see Dane, she threw herself into his arms.

  “It’s okay, honey,” he said, gently stroking her hair and cradling her close. “You’re safe now.”

  “I was so scared,” she said, the sound muffled by his shirt. “I just kept picturing what happened to Claire.”

  Walking with her into her flat and kicking the door shut behind him, he sat her down on the couch gently. He pulled the blanket from the back of the couch and wrapped it around her shaking body. Dane crouched in front of her and tipped her head up so that she could see his eyes.

  “I’m just going to take a look around and make sure everything is clear and secure, okay?” He said gently. Lauren just nodded.

  Walking from room to room with his weapon drawn, he was fairly certain that they were clear, but as he’d seen in the past, rookie mistakes like only being fairly certain got people killed. Once he was sure that the flat was secure, he went back to Lauren, who was shaking with shock. He sat down beside her and lifted her onto his lap. He rocked her and stroked her hair until her racing heart slowly calmed and she stopped shivering.

  She sat up. “I’m okay now.” She said slowly, moving off him.

  “Will you listen for Nate?” He asked. “I’m going to go secure the bathroom window better.” Lauren nodded, again, and seemed a little surprised to hear Nate was there.

  Dane checked all the windows and could see that the bathroom was the only one that was tampered with. Someone had been trying to jimmy it open with a screwdriver. It was luck they’d gotten there when they did or God only knew what they would have found, although, he felt they weren’t dealing with a professional. This guy was strictly amateur, but that could make him more prone to mistakes and erratic behaviour, so he was not going to take this lightly.

  Walking back into the living room, he saw that Lauren had moved to the window and was peeking out. In her hand, she had a wooden hockey stick with the local high school’s name on it. Turning, she noticed that he was staring at the stick.

  “This was the first thing I could grab to protect myself, and I have a pretty mean swing,” she said with a self-deprecating smile. She was getting some of her grit back.

  He smiled then. “Well done, honey. You protect yourself however you can. I can teach you some basic self-defence moves if you want so you’ll feel less vulnerable in the future.” Crossing to the front door, he opened it to Nate, who he’d heard com
ing up the steps. “Hey man, did you catch him?”

  “No, the bastard was fast and I lost him.”

  “Did you get a look at him?” Dane asked.

  “Not really, but I would say he’s a young, white male and is built like a brick shit house.” Which, considering Nate’s size, must mean he was huge.

  “Shit!” Dane swore softly.

  “What’s the matter?” Lauren inquired. “Do you know him?”

  “No, but I saw him earlier, that’s why I said to lock up your place safely. I should have stayed and protected you.” He moved closer to Lauren and slipped his hand around her waist from behind, pulling her back to his front.

  ~~~

  “Oh God, it’s the man from the park. He was young and built like a tank. Why is this happening? What does he want from me? Do you think it has something to do with Claire?” Lauren’s mind was going a mile a minute, trying to make sense of things. She leaned back into Dane enjoying the warmth and strength he provided.

  Nate stepped forward. “Hey Lauren. I didn’t get a chance to say at the funeral, but, I’m so sorry about Claire. I know you were close.”

  Lauren looked up at the tall, handsome man with his tan, Spanish colouring and dark chocolate eyes, as if only just realising he was there.

  “Um, thanks, Nate.” Manners and etiquette seemed to kick in, forcing her brain to calm down. “How’s Josefina?” Lauren asked politely. She, Claire, and Nate’s younger sister, Josefina, had been good friends in school. Nate had always been kind and sweet to his sister’s friends. She’d always wished she’d had a brother like him when she was younger. Nate had a beautiful calmness about him, usually. Tonight, though? Tonight she could see some tightness around his eyes and in his stance, indicating he had some pain in his life. As a healer, she had learned over the years to spot the little signs that indicated someone was hurting.

  “She’s good. She and her husband just moved to Aberdeen with his job and they are expecting their first baby in December.”

  Lauren was happy for her friend, but she couldn’t help the pang of pain that flitted through her that her friend was having a baby and she wasn’t. God! What sort of selfish cow was she, envying her friends’ happiness? She shook her horrible thoughts away. “That’s wonderful,” she said and she did mean it, she just wanted the same for herself. “Thank you,” she said, “for tonight.”