STORY EXCERPT

She couldn’t believe he had the nerve to laugh at her fiery words. She glared at him in silence when recognition finally dawned on her on who was standing there laughing at her. Jon Randall. Chloe swore her cheeks must have turned the brightest shade of red ever. Damn the man and his impeccable timing.
He pointed to the empty seat across from hers and said to her, “What a pleasant surprise to see you here tonight, Chloe. May I join you?”
“If you must,” she muttered, lowering her eyes from his.
Hearing him chuckle at her as he slid into the seat across from her had Chloe cursing him under her breath.
His voice stroked over her overwrought nerves as he asked her, “So what brings you here to this fine establishment of ours tonight?”
Shrugging her shoulders, her fingers entwined around the stem of her wine glass. “Just had a need to get out of the house is all. What’s your reason?”
Randall just raised an eyebrow at her question while answering her. “Mine? Well I just finished my shift at the station and didn’t feel like heading home to a big ole empty house.”
She snorted at his answer while her eyes did a quick perusal of his gorgeous body. She had to admit he was looking mighty fine tonight. He took a good long swig of his beer while keeping his eyes on hers. Chloe knew the moment Randall picked up on her despondent demeanour when he frowned at her.
He placed his beer back down and stared across the table at her in silence. Chloe broke their eye connection and darted her gaze back over to the lovers dancing on the dance floor nearby them.
Before she could react, Randall slid out of the booth and pulled her to her feet and tugged her onto the dance floor with him. Of course he found the darkest and most intimate spot for them to dance in. He drew her up close to his taut frame. The scent of his cologne made her resistance to him weak at best. There was no possible way to resist him. He surrounded her completely with his presence. Before she could think about all the reasons why she shouldn’t, Chloe found herself melting against his body.
She needed this. She needed his strength, as hers was failing her big time tonight. Had he sensed it? Is that the reason why he wanted to dance with her, so he could offer up his strength and his comfort to her? If it was she appreciated his unspoken gesture. Chloe knew she was not herself tonight. Her birthdays always did this to her, always made her feel like she was celebrating a loss rather than celebrating her birth. It had been this way ever since she lost those missing six months of her memory back when she was sixteen years old.
She was beginning to wonder if she would ever find happiness in her birth again.
Neither she nor Randall said a word as they swayed their bodies together to their own rhythm of music. Gradually she wrapped her arms low around his waist and laid her head against his chest. He held her, just held her and moved them both to the rhythm of the music. Eventually, Randall rested his chin on top of her head while weaving a hand into the hair at her nape and held her closer to him. Closing her eyes briefly, Chloe took a moment to absorb his strength and the scent of him into her soul. If she had to describe this one moment to someone, she would tell them it was like being in heaven. That was what it felt like to her, being in his embrace as he guided her around the dance floor.
It felt so right being in his arms and dancing with him. Nothing else mattered to her. Nothing else existed outside his strong embrace. She felt safe here in his arms, and it was something she hadn’t felt in a long time. He made her feel protected and she needed his protection, especially with a sick bastard constantly leaving threatening messages to kill her.
The brush of his erection against the softness of her belly caused a soft moan to fall from her lips. And for the first time tonight, Chloe smiled. She actually smiled.