Celestia is Falling (A Croft & Croft Romance Adventure Book 1) Read online

  “Emma.” It was all he could think of saying.

  She continued on, needing to purge it all. “Then I crawled to my brother. Blood was pouring down my side. I was sliding through the snitch’s blood, and then I was sitting in my brother’s waiting for help. He died before they got there. I just sat there with my hand over the wound praying that this was a bad dream.” Emma looked into his eyes. “It wasn’t.”

  “Honey.”

  Pushing on, she fought to get it out. “The old woman next door called the cops when she heard the gunshots. The police I worked with came through that door to find my brother dead in my lap, me sitting there with a knife sticking out of my shoulder, and a dead man pumped full of bullets.”

  Emma’s hand went to her chest as if remembering. “They wanted to rush me to the hospital, but I wouldn’t let go of him. They had a hard time getting me into the ambulance. Eventually, I lost enough blood to pass out. I woke up a few days later in the hospital thinking it was a dream. My brother’s best friend was standing there waiting for me to wake up. He had taken care of the arrangements and was there to put the pieces back together again. I still owe him to this day. He left his job and came to Philly to help me heal.” A sob escaped her lips as the memory threatened to break her all over again.

  He whispered words of peace in her ear and ran his hands up and down her arms, offering to soothe the pain she was reliving.

  “It never healed, Greyson. That scar was too big and gaping to heal ever again. My brother’s best friend told me about the sheriff’s job back in his hometown. I jumped at the chance to get away from Philly and came here to hide.” She stopped to breath, finally getting out the entire story.

  “Reese?” he asked, feeling like the world’s largest jackass over what he said earlier.

  She looked up at him. “Yes. Gage made him promise that he would keep me protected if anything ever happened to him. So in losing my one brother, I gained a surrogate. There was never anything between us but the love for my brother. What you saw today…”

  He stopped her before she continued, “I was an out of control idiot, and you didn’t deserve my words. Will you please forgive me?”

  “It’s okay. It must have looked like lovers from your point of view. I do love him, but not that way. He brought me here to escape the blood. He wanted me here for peace. Reese could have had the sheriff’s job himself, but he made a promise to my brother and kept it. I owe him, Greyson, and in part that’s why I let the first name slide at work.”

  “Do the other deputies know why he calls you Emma?”

  “They just know him and my brother were college roommates and best friends. They think it’s a family thing and nothing more. There never could be anything between us more than what we have. He’s a happily married man, and wouldn’t ever cheat on his wife. Reese is just a really good guy, keeping a promise to someone he loved and the last person around to try and protect me.”

  “I don’t know what to say,” he stumbled with the apology.

  “It’s ok, Greyson. It was a misunderstanding,” she offered, reassuring him.

  “Emma, is there anything I can do to make up for this mess I’ve made?” he asked, hoping he could help stop some of the pain.

  “There is one thing.”

  “Name it, Emma. Just name it,” he replied. He would walk over broken glass to stop her from hurting. Her life had been filled with more than her share, and he’d willingly carry some of it for her.

  “I’ve had a really shitty day. Would you just let me sit here on your lap until I fall asleep? If you leave, the dreams will haunt me, and I can’t do it tonight. I just have nothing left in me to get through it. I’m raw and empty now. ”

  The request surprised him. It wasn’t what he’d expected to hear from her. This woman continually kept him off guard and guessing. “Sure, honey. Go ahead and close your eyes. I’ll stay right here with you and keep you safe while you sleep.”

  “Thank you, Grey,” Emma whispered. When she closed her eyes, she missed the flash of fire that passed through his.

  It was bittersweet. She’d given him what he wanted, but at what cost? The sound of his nickname on her lips offered him peace and torment at the same time.

  Emma cuddled into his arms, laying her head on his shoulder, and letting her face rest against his neck. She left a kiss across his jugular, grateful he’d let her cling to him.

  The simple action of the moment unlocked his heart. Greyson thought he heard the last click as it opened for this woman for the rest of eternity.

  She was his to care for and protect. He knew it instantly. If she wasn’t slipping off into slumber, he would have corrected her. Reese wasn’t the only person who’d keep her safe.

  That job was destined to be his from the moment he found her.

  Five hours later, Emma was lost in sleep and found herself crawling through blood as she stared into her brother’s face. She shook her head and the vision changed. It was now Connie Hart and Megan Landry, staring back at her, begging for help. Emma sat straight up with a start, pulling away from the dream and sleep. An arm crossed over her body, pulling her back down towards the bed. It startled her even more.

  “It’s ok, honey. It was just a bad dream,” came the familiar voice, tinged with sleep.

  When her focus adjusted to the dark, the man’s head was resting on one of her pillows, staring back at her.

  “I don’t understand,” was all she could think to say. She was naked except for her panties.

  He curled her to her side, and pressed his bare chest against her back, protectively.

  “It’s ok, Em. Go back to sleep, and we’ll talk in the morning when we wake up.”

  He tucked her back under the comforter and against his body, willing her to close her eyes and not bolt like a scared animal from the bed. He’d chase her, but they’d both be exhausted in the morning--more so than they were already destined to be.

  Emma didn't know what to think. Did she hit her head or was she drugged? What the hell had been in that tea? First, she spilled her guts to this man, and now, she was naked in bed with him. Where did she lose control of this situation? She jumped a bit when his hands stroked the naked flesh of her side.

  “I’ve got you, Emma. Close your eyes and get some sleep. I’m right here.” He ran his lips across the back of her neck in a string of kisses meant to offer calm.

  She lay there for a little bit, listening to his breathing and then realized the truth. For the first time in a long time, she was beginning to feel completely and totally safe. Of course there was also the little detail that she was getting overheated, trying to sleep beside a half-naked man. His cologne smelled so damn good it should be outlawed. The mix of aftershave and the natural scent of his skin were drawing a flush to her own. It was earthy and musky and very soothing. Letting go of it all, and only focusing in him, her body went lax and she drifted off to sleep with Greyson curled around the back of her.

  When slumber finally overtook her, Croft finally relaxed. It was semi-entertaining how he was wrapped around a woman who he wanted desperately, and there wasn’t sex involved. When he carried her to bed, he contemplated leaving her in her robe, but the man in him won out on that one. It wasn’t easy to undress her, and then slide into bed with her. Everything smelled like lavender and it might very well be his new favorite scent. God knew he couldn’t get enough of it at that moment. It was all he had to focus to keep from thinking about sex.

  In that moment, he was in control and keeping his promise to her to keep her safe while she slept. For tonight, he’d fight the war brewing inside his body.

  For now, he’d be the saint, but come dawn the sinner might just win this one.

  After all, Greyson Croft was only human.

  ~ Chapter Seven ~

  Thursday Morning

  Emma slowly began to surface from sleep. Other than the one nightmare, she’d slept like a rock. When she went to stretch, Emma found she was pinned beneath something l
arge, and recollection of her situation all came flooding back to her. There facing her was the sexiest man she’d ever had in her bed. He was watching her intently in the very awkward silence of her room.

  Well shit!

  “Ummm… Good morning?” It was all she could come up with in the spur of the moment. He looked tired and like he hadn’t slept all night.

  “Good morning, honey.” His lips curled at the panicked look on her face. Croft had been lying there observing her for almost an hour. It seemed like the second best option, since jumping her and having incredibly hot sex wasn’t on the table. He’d been forced to find a way to keep his mind busy as she used his body as a pillow.

  Not that he minded, she could lay on him any day.

  When Croft had finally fallen asleep after her nightmare, his dreams were plagued with the woman and her scent. Sometime in the early morning, Emma turned to face him in sleep. She nestled her body into his, resting her head on his shoulder and her hand inches from his lower body. The slide of her fingers down his hip immediately woke him. Dealing with her scent was one thing, but a stray hand was more difficult to ignore.

  For the last hour, he simply watched her be at peace as he prayed for some for himself. Croft scrutinized the freckles on her nose, counting each and every one. There were forty-three adorable little ginger colored speckles. He memorized the even staccato of her heart beating in her chest as it pressed against his side. Every single motion was noted and memorized, in case he was never invited back again to watch her in slumber. Emma was amazing to simply observe, and he’d tolerate the painful tightening of his body, if he could simply be promised another morning of waking beside her.

  “Yeah, this is just as awkward as I expected,” she answered, almost wanting to laugh at it. Here she was terrified to move since she was topless, and her hand was precariously perched over the bulge in his jeans.

  Croft laughed at that. “I don’t know if I’d call it awkward. It’s more like torture--for me anyway.”

  Emma stared up into his eyes, knowing how rough the night must have been for him. “We may have to stay like this for a long time because I’m not getting out of this bed without a shirt on.”

  He grinned wickedly. “Then we have a whole other issue. I don’t know if I can stay like this and not go crazy.” He looked down at her wild curls and breathed in the scent of woman. Croft felt drunk and lightheaded and knew this vixen was to blame. Suddenly, he wasn’t worried about being forty-one anymore. He was feeling quite young with her pressed against him.

  “You’re a saint.”

  He started laughing again and nuzzled her neck. “If you only knew how many times I said that over and over again last night,” he replied, honestly.

  Emma didn’t know what to say or do next. What was the proper protocol for extricating your half-naked self from a mostly naked man you didn’t have sex with?

  He looked back into her eyes. “I suppose you want me to set you free.”

  “Well, I do have to get ready for work. As a matter of fact, so do you. If you let me go, I’ll feed you breakfast and make you coffee.”

  “Is that my best offer for this morning?” he inquired, making sure his inference was totally clear.

  Emma swallowed and pondered his words. “That’s my final offer for this morning, but tomorrow morning is a completely different story.” She wasn’t going to sleep with a man who was feeling sorry for her. Emma wanted him, but she needed to be sure he wasn’t having mercy sex with her.

  The last thing she needed was to be a wounded little bird.

  “What’s the difference between tomorrow morning and today?” he asked, wondering if she’d be honest with him.

  Emma owed him the absolute truth. The man had held her all night and not once had he tried to make a move on her. Greyson Croft was an honorable, decent man. “I told you my deepest darkest secrets last night, and if we sleep together, I don’t want it to be because of that. What happens between us has nothing to do with my past and everything to do with us here, and now.”

  He understood. “It wouldn’t be mercy sex, Emma.” Croft slid her hand over the bump in his jeans, proving his point. “I want you. Trust me, I don’t have sympathy sex,” he stated, staring into her eyes. “I’m not a young boy out for one thing in life. I’m too old for those kinds of games.”

  She stared at him and was touched by his words. Oddly, she believed everything he was saying. Slowly, Emma ran her fingers up his erection encased in his jeans. When he moaned at the action, her entire body flushed hot. “Do you cook, Special Agent Croft?” she whispered in his ear.

  “Yes,” he answered, willing to beg just to feel her hand touch him again. It sent shocks through his body, like nothing he’d ever felt before. Vixen was right, and he couldn’t wait to get his hands all over her.

  “I’ll make you breakfast, and tonight, you can make me dinner. Then we can discuss the topic of sex,” she answered, grinning down at him.

  There was no doubt which one of them was at the other’s mercy.

  “Deal,” he said, reaching up to pull her mouth down to his. Kissing her, while in bed, was probably the stupidest thing he’d ever done. Now, he’d have to stop at some point and set her free.

  Emma relaxed into the kiss, resting her body against his as the heat erupted around them. The feel of this man was completely maddening. Even if she wanted to escape, she couldn’t. Greyson’s hands were buried in her hair, holding her captive and at the mercy of his lips. It was by far the most erotic kiss she’s ever shared in her life.

  Croft’s entire body was rock hard as her hand slid across the splattering of hair across his chest. Nothing had ever awoken him, quite like this woman. If he could, he’d spend all day in bed with her, simply kissing.

  Her leg slid across his, and he took that all back. He wasn’t brave enough, strong enough, or saint enough to merely kiss her. Already, it was ripping his control to pieces.

  “Emma,” he muttered, breaking the kiss. “I have to stop before I can’t anymore,” he whispered, closing his eyes and letting her go.

  She licked her lower lip. “Okay, Grey,” she answered, grinning down at him. “I’m going to go make you breakfast.”

  “I’m going to walk back to the cabin and shower. It’s going to be a very long cold shower to pay for all my past sins.”

  Emma giggled as she slid across his body to get out of the bed.

  He closed his eyes unable to watch a very naked woman walk around the room. When her fingers touched his cheek, he finally opened them again.

  “You can use my bathroom. I have an endless supply of ice cold water,” she offered, grinning at him. “No need to walk to the cabin in your condition. I wouldn’t want the town talking about you.”

  “Talk about mercy,” he snickered, getting more turned on at the intimacy of sharing her shower. “Thank you.”

  Emma dropped a kiss to his lips before moving to her door. “Thank you for last night, Grey,” she said, meaning every word of it. What he did for her, and his selfless sacrifice meant a great to her.

  “Trust me. I won’t be this noble forever, Emma. I can’t be. Not touching you all night or having my way with you was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my life. I don’t know how I made it.”

  Emma grinned from the doorway and offered the man more truth. “You know that kiss just now, Greyson?”

  He propped his arms behind his head and watched her predatorily. “Yeah, I’m still feeling it.”

  “Had you gone for it, I probably wouldn’t have said no to sex,” she admitted as she enjoyed the shock on his face.

  “What?”

  “You’re a really great kisser.” Now, she was laughing as she headed out to the hall. “Enjoy your shower, Grey,” she called.

  He didn’t know what to say at first.

  “Well hell! I’m out of practice.”

  Out in the kitchen, Emma ground the coffee beans for the coffee, and then opened the refrigerator to try a
nd decide what to make the man for breakfast. She settled on an omelet and a fruit salad. Since she was chopping berries for her smoothie, she might as well make him eat something with vitamins. Not that he needed it. The man was in excellent shape.

  The evening’s prospects heated her body as she pictured herself rolling around in bed with the sexy FBI agent. It looked like he wasn’t the only one going to suffer all day dwelling on it.

  Breakfast was just about done, when she heard him walking down the hall.

  Croft stopped about five feet behind her and was watching her work. She moved with efficiency and grace. It was hard to believe the trauma that she’d been through in the last few years. It tightened his gut. “I borrowed your razor,” he said grinning, as she turned to smile at him.

  “Hmmm, did you now,” she walked towards him and ran her fingers down his cheek. “I guess you did, Agent Croft.”

  The effects of the cold shower had already worn off. It was like he was a hormone ridden teenager again.

  It was great!

  “Hey, that coffee smells really good. Do I get to have some with you?” he asked, holding her to his body. The memory of her being battered, abused, and practically raped flooded through him and threatened to pull the smile from his face. Croft fought to recover and hide it.

  “This really has become a habit,” she replied, moving away from his body to get him a mug. She’d seen the look on his face a second ago, and it shook her to the core. It was anger and Emma had no idea why. She walked a big steaming mug over to the table and glanced over at him.

  “Hungry?”

  “It depends. Are we eating veggies for breakfast? If so, then no I’m not hungry,” he teased, giving her a smile. There was tension back on her features, and he didn’t like that he put it there.

  “Oh, so would that be a yes or no for an omelet and toast?” She held the plate just out of his reach waving it back and forth as if to tempt him.