Mine To Hold (28 page)

“Neither are you.” She’d tried to forget him
after Chicago, but he’d started to slip into her dreams. He’d made
her feel, made her fantasize, and that had terrified her. So she’d
run. Tried to start a new life—
only that hadn’t worked.

“When you walked into my hotel in New York, I
knew the instant I saw you that I wasn’t going to be able to let
you go. I was going to do anything necessary in order to get you to
stay in my bed and in my life.”

Claire lifted her hand. Pressed it to his
chest. She was still wearing the bracelets he’d given her, and the
diamonds gleamed. “You’re talking about sex.”

“With you, I’m talking about forever.”

Now it was hard for her to breathe. “You…you
heard me when I said that I loved you.” That was why he was doing
this. He felt like he’d put her in danger with the engagement, and
he was trying to make up—

“Hell, yes, I heard you. Those were the most
important words of my life. Do you really think I
wouldn’t
hear them?” Then he dropped before her, sliding down on one
knee.

It wasn’t hard to breathe. It was
impossible.
Claire had just stopped breathing entirely.

“I want to marry you, Claire Kramer. This
isn’t some bullshit fake engagement. It’s real. It’s forever.”

“Noah…” Claire felt her heart thundering in
her chest. “The Press. You know what they’ll say about me—”

“Screw them. I don’t give a damn about them
or what they have to say.” His fingers slid over the bracelet on
her left wrist. “I care about you. I
love
you. Enough to
kill for you. Enough to die for you. And, baby, enough to live for
you, too. That’s what I want to do. I want us to live together and
make love and be happy for the next fifty years.”

It sounded so good. So perfect. “Everyone I
love…they all die.”

“Not me, Claire. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll
be right by your side, from here on out.”

Her eyes burned, and Claire had to blink away
tears. “I don’t want to lose you.” Her fear. Her
weakness—
him.
She loved him so much. And it was love, not
obsession. Loving him…she wanted to put him first. Wanted him to be
happy. Safe.

Loving him gave her hope. Without Noah,
Claire didn’t know what would happen to her.

“Say you’ll marry me.” Then he reached into
the pocket of his coat. Pulled out a small, black box. When he
opened that box, Claire saw a huge, blue diamond ring nestled
inside. A ring to match her bracelets. To match… “Just like your
eyes,” Noah told her.

He was on his knees. Offering her everything
that she had ever wanted.

And fear was there. Surrounding Claire.
Choking her.

I lose everyone.

She stared into his eyes, and in that moment,
Claire was finally able to read the emotion there. It was the
emotion that had always been in his gaze, but she’d been too scared
to see it for what it was.

Love.

Noah loved her.

And she loved him. “Yes,” Claire whispered,
and she threw herself against him. Noah fell back. They both hit
the floor, but Claire didn’t care. Her mouth was on his, and Claire
was kissing Noah with all of the love and passion that she had.

This was her chance. Their chance. They could
be happy. They could have everything that they wanted.

Noah was laughing and kissing her, too. They
stripped in a tangle of limbs. He put the ring on her finger.
Sealed it with a kiss. Then he was thrusting into her. Claiming her
with a fast and hot lust that stilled the laughter.

The sex was intense. Hard. Consuming. Their
fingers linked. Their eyes held.

There was no fear. It was gone.

There was only pleasure. Love.

It wasn’t about control or power.

Just pleasure
.

Claire called his name when she came.

And when he came, Noah kissed her. There was
lust in that kiss. Raw need.

So much love.

She wrapped her arms around him. Held him as
tightly as she could.

This was an ending she’d never seen coming.
Wrapped in a lover’s arms. Dreaming of a future.

Life.

Hope.

***

Claire slipped from Noah’s bed. He felt the
mattress shift as she rose, and Noah opened his eyes. He enjoyed
the view of her back and her perfect heart-shaped ass before Claire
slipped on her clothes.

Frowning, he sat up. He didn’t care that he
was stark naked. He’d rather hoped Claire would join him for an
early morning round of mind-blowing sex.

He’d never get enough of her.

“Where are you going?”

Claire tensed and glanced back at him. Then
the tension drained away, and she smiled. “Just for a walk. The
sun’s coming up, and I thought that I’d watch it. Seems like a good
way to start a new life.”

He rose from the bed and pulled on a pair of
jeans and snagged a sweatshirt. “I’ll come with you.” Because it
did seem like a damn good way to start their life together.

And I want to be with you, Claire.

Their fingers twined together as they headed
out of the house. They walked down the steps. Their toes sank into
the sand. Claire laughed a little then, and she flashed him the
smile that had first stolen his heart.

The smile that started with the little curve
of her bottom lip. The smile that made her dimples wink. The smile
that ended when it reached her eyes and made them shine.

He pulled her close. The wind was chilly
against them, and he wanted to warm her. Noah sank his hands into
the thickness of her hair and kissed her. Noah took his time with
that kiss, savoring Claire. She’d always be the sweetest thing that
he’d ever tasted.

When he pulled away, Noah knew there was one
more thing he needed to share with his Claire. She’d proven just
how much she loved him.

It was Noah’s turn to prove his love to
her.

“I want to take you out today,” he told her
as he kept her close. “On the boat.”

Claire searched his eyes. “Are you sure?”

“It’s time to put the past to rest. For both
of us.” And he wanted to show Claire that he’d share all of his
life with her. The good and the bad.

They walked toward the boat. It gleamed,
already set in the water. The day was clear and bright. The waves
were easy. It was the perfect weather for a trip out.

“We don’t have to do this,” Claire said,
stopping him on the dock. “You don’t have to—”

“You’ll be the first woman I’ve taken out
with me, and you’ll be the woman who stands by my side for the rest
of my life.” This mattered to him.
She
mattered.

Claire smiled again. Damn but he loved her
smile.

They climbed on board. Noah untied the
vessel. He started the engine. The boat roared to life, and soon,
they were pulling away from the dock and heading out toward that
rising sun.

Claire slipped below the deck. Noah’s hands
tightened on the wheel as the salty scent of the water filled his
nose. He’d expected to feel the pain from his past as soon as he
got on the water. He usually did. But he didn’t feel those old
ghosts this time. Because she was with him? “Claire?” Noah
called.

She didn’t answer.

The boat was forty feet long, so Claire could
still be exploring below deck. He waited a few more moments.

But Claire didn’t come back up.

A tendril of unease snaked through Noah. He
killed the engine. Left the boat drifting a bit. “Claire, is
everything okay?”

Then he saw the top of her blonde head as she
climbed back up. Her face became visible, and his heart stopped
when he saw the fear heavy in her expression.

Not just fear—
terror.

Then Noah saw the gun barrel pressed under
Claire’s chin. She kept rising, climbing up from below deck, and
soon the man who held her was visible, too.

Blond hair. Green eyes. A smile that was smug
and evil.

“I told you she was my one and only,” Ethan
Harrison said. “You should’ve believed me.”

Every muscle in Noah’s body locked down. “I
thought you were still in the city.”

“Wh-what?” Claire gasped. The gun barrel
shoved harder against her skin.

Noah glanced at her face. The desperation in
her eyes undid him. “You said that you saw him,” Noah said simply.
“I believed you.”

“Th-that’s why you wanted me out of New York
so badly?”

Noah nodded. Yes. It hadn’t been about the
reporters. The escape to the Hamptons had been about protecting
Claire. Trace and his men were tearing apart the city. Noah had
thought Claire would be safe at his beach house.

He’d been wrong. Noah focused on Ethan once
more. The man’s gaze was wild, too bright with intensity, and his
fingers trembled around the weapon. “You need to move that gun. I
know you don’t want to hurt Claire.”

“No.” Ethan lifted the weapon, just an inch.
“I love Claire, and she loves me.” He kept a tight grip on her.
“But Claire has to be punished. She let you touch her. I saw…”

Claire shook her head. “Ethan,
no.
”

“I’m going to kill him,” Ethan told her. He
pressed a kiss to Claire’s temple. “Then we’ll be together. We’ll
sail away, and no one will ever bother us again.”

That wouldn’t happen. Noah would not let that
bastard take Claire. “Sloan Hall. You found out about this place
through him, didn’t you, Harrison?”

Ethan smiled. “You know my brother killed
him? Right before I could.” He laughed. “And Austin always
pretended to be so perfect!”

“How’d you get away?” Claire whispered. She
pressed back against Ethan, and the man’s gaze jumped to her.

“I had to get away. I had to come for you.”
The gun pushed back against her skin once more. “York visited me in
that damn prison. Talked as if you were his. I knew I had to find a
way to you then…”

Fuck.
He’d
caused Ethan to escape?

“You faked that car bomb.” Claire’s voice was
so calm it surprised Noah. Her eyes were lit with terror, but her
voice was flat.

“I didn’t fake it. It was a very, very real
bomb. Just ask those dumb cops who were there…oh, wait, nothing’s
left of them now.” He laughed again.

The boat kept drifting in the water.

“I called in my favors,” Ethan said, his lips
curving. “Warden Quill still owed my family, so he set things up
for me.”

The warden?

“Quill made sure the back doors of that
patrol car were…a little broken. I could get out, easy. And I did.
Right before the dumb prick turned the key in the ignition, I
jumped out and slipped into the woods.”

Noah realized that Ethan was damn proud of
himself. The guy was talking and talking…and not even realizing
that Noah was reaching for the knife he kept stashed near the
wheel. The knife had been used the few times he’d fished, and he
always kept it close at hand when he was on deck.

It was the only weapon he had available, but
Noah was good with a knife. Very, very good.

“I slipped through the woods.” Ethan just
sounded boastful now. “You remember those woods, don’t you, Claire?
They led to the little bayou. We made love there. Our first time.”
He inhaled deeply, as if drinking in her scent. “I missed you so
much.” He pulled her even closer, but kept the gun against her.
“Did you miss me?”

Claire was staring right at Noah as she said,
“Yes.”

Noah tensed.

“I missed you so much,” Claire repeated to
Ethan, her voice wooden. Then she lowered her lashes. Cleared her
throat, and said again, “
I missed you.
” But emotion was in
those words, shaking them.

Satisfaction flashed across Ethan’s face. “I
told you. Claire’s mine. She’ll always be mine.” Then he lifted the
gun and pointed it at Noah. “And you’re dead—”

“No!” Ethan’s grip on her had loosened and
Claire whirled in his arms. She put her hands on Ethan’s chest. “He
doesn’t matter. You and I…we matter.”

Noah took a slow, gliding step forward.

Ethan had lowered the gun to Claire’s
side.

“Let’s just leave him,” Claire said, her
words flying out quickly. “Make him jump off the boat. You and I—we
can keep going on this ride, and no one will stop us. No one will
ever find us.”

Ethan’s blond eyebrows lowered. “But I want
to kill him. He
touched
you. He thought he’d take you from
me.”

Noah took another step forward. Claire stood
between him and his target.

“No one will do that,” Claire said. Her hands
were curving around Ethan’s shoulders. “You’re my-my one and only.
We’ll be together always.” She glanced back over her shoulder. Her
gaze held Noah’s for just a moment. “He doesn’t matter.” Then she
looked back at Ethan. “
Please
, just let him go.”

Ethan smiled at her. Noah caught the flash of
his grin. “I love it when you beg me.” Then he kissed her.

Noah leapt forward.

A gunshot blasted.

Noah’s entire world stopped then.

Claire staggered back from Ethan.

“But you’re begging for
him,
” Ethan
shouted at her. “For
his
life, and you know what that tells
me?” He lifted his gun, preparing to shoot it again.
Preparing
to shoot Claire again.

Claire’s blood was dripping onto the
boat.

A roaring filled Noah’s ears. He didn’t even
realize that he was the one making that sound.

“It tells me that you love him!” Ethan fired
again.

Noah shoved Claire to the side. The bullet
drove into Noah’s shoulder, but he didn’t even feel the impact. He
was too busy holding Claire.

There was blood on her shirt. The bastard had
shot
her, at point blank range. The bullet had sank into
Claire’s stomach, and she stared up at Noah as tears poured down
her face. “L-love…s-sorry…”

“No, Claire, you’re okay,” he told her,
frantic. “
You’re okay!
”