Mine To Hold (4 page)

After a moment, while the other men got busy
unpacking those bags, Noah turned back to glance at her. “You look
good in the morning.”

What?

“No makeup. Just soft lips. Wide eyes.” His
voice was low, carrying only to her ears. “And you even have a
little sprinkle of freckles across your nose. Your makeup hid that
from me before.”

Claire shook her head. “Who are those
men?”

“Franco and Paul both work in the concierge
department here at the hotel. They’ve got plenty of connections in
this town, and they used those connections to help me out.”

Only they weren’t helping Noah. They were
helping her. “How did they know my size?”

The clothes they were
unpacking—
unreal.

“I knew your size. Don’t forget…” And his
voice dropped even more. “I did have the chance to get up close and
personal with you in Chicago.”

Up close and personal?
She’d been
punching him! But he’d been holding her tight. “I thought you
were—you were some mugger. I was scared—”

“So you attacked.” He nodded. “But when you
did, I was able to get a pretty good feel for your body.”

She suspected the guy was an expert when it
came to getting a “feel” for a woman’s body.

“The shoes will be here soon,” Noah murmured.
“Don’t worry. I didn’t forget them.”

Franco and Paul nodded toward her, then they
slipped out the door.

“The only thing I didn’t get picked up…”
Noah’s voice was stronger now that they were alone. “I didn’t want
them getting your underwear.”

Her cheeks had to be flaming.

“I’ll take care of that today,” he added.

“No!” That response was a horrified squeak
from her. “I can take care of that myself!” There was no way she
wanted him buying her bras. Her panties.
Anything
sexual.

She paced away from him and stared at the now
full closet. “I can’t pay for this.” She also couldn’t pay for the
underwear that she needed. Shame burned through her. She’d tried to
stay at those other jobs. Tried to save money, but each time she’d
been forced to move and start again, her bank account had depleted
more and more.

Until nothing was left.

“Consider it an advance on your salary.” He
didn’t even sound a little concerned.

Probably because he had money to burn. She
didn’t. She also had pride. Her hands tightened around the robe’s
belt as she glanced at him. “You have to deduct every penny from my
paycheck.”

He rolled one shoulder in a careless shrug.
“It’s really a business expenditure, you know.”

Bull.

Another knock sounded at the door.

Noah advance toward the door as he told her,
“Where I go, you will go. You needed clothing that would—”

“Let me fit in your circle?” Claire finished
and her pride sure felt like it took a hit then.

He paused at the door. “You already fit me,
Claire.” He opened the door. Franco and Paul were already back—and
loaded down with shoe boxes this time.

While they unloaded the shoes, Noah returned
to Claire’s side. “The police have nothing,” he said, voice softer
once again. “They think it was just a random break-in at the
Hamlet.”

“I-I’m sure it was.” She needed to believe
that.

“Claire…How can I help you, when you’re so
determined to keep your past locked away?”

She forced herself to meet his gaze. “You
already know what happened to me. I saw that manila file on your
desk. That file told you what college I went to, so I’m sure
whatever investigator you hired also told you all about what
happened when I was sixteen.”

He didn’t speak again until Franco and Paul
were headed toward the door.

“Thank you,” Claire told them as she stepped
forward. “Thank you so much—”

Paul, a red-haired man with dark green eyes,
waved away her thanks. “Ma’am, when the boss tells us to jump, we
do. And considering some of the crazy things we’ve had to do for
him…” Paul laughed. “Taking care of his new assistant was a
pleasure.”

“Yes,” Franco agreed, smiling. Franco
appeared to be in his early twenties, and his skin was a deep
coffee cream. “Nothing like the time he had us get rid of that dead
body.”

“
What?”

Franco laughed. “Sorry. Couldn’t resist.” He
gave her a little wave. “I’m sure we’ll be seeing you very
soon.”

Then he and Paul were gone.

Claire faced Noah. “I should go use those new
clothes and get dressed.” She gave a firm nod of her head and
turned away to—

“Running, Claire?”

“Walking,” she said without looking back at
him. “Walking very slowly.”

She’d taken about four steps when he said,
“Trace Weston.”

The name had her pausing.

Trace Weston was a billionaire, a man with a
dangerous reputation—and the man who’d saved her sanity once upon a
time.

Claire’s sister had worked for Trace. Sara
had been his assistant for several years before she’d been brutally
murdered in Chicago.

Claire cleared her throat. “If you had Trace
Weston investigate me, then I’m sure you discovered all of my dirty
little secrets. Weston Securities is the best firm in the U.S.”

“You don’t have dirty secrets.”

Yes, she did. Everyone did. Hers were bloody
and dirty and dark.

“You know, so I don’t have to tell you.” She
needed to get dressed. The clothing almost seemed to be armor that
she had to don in order to deal with him.

“There’s plenty for you to tell me. One day,
you will.”

He sounded so certain. So confident.

Claire found herself whirling toward him. For
years, she’d been the good one. The quiet one. The one who never
tried to step a foot out of line.

But I still lose everyone who gets close
to me.
“Only if you tell me your secrets, Noah. Because I know
you have them. You and Trace…your
military
past. You both
pretend to be such good, upstanding members of society, but there’s
more to you both, right? Secrets that some people would kill to
know.”

His lips twisted. “Touché.”

Her breath heaved out. “I’m going to get
dressed. Wait outside the suite.”

He blinked.

What? Had no one ever given the guy an order
before?
Money can’t buy everything, Noah York.

“I’ll go,” he said with a nod, “because we
need to get ready for our flight.”

“Flight?” she echoed.

“York Towers is a world-wide operation, you
know that. I rarely stay in one city too long.”

She pulled at the sleeves of her robe, making
sure her wrists were covered. “Where are we going?”

“This time, it’s just a short trip to
D.C.”

Claire could feel all of the blood leaving
her face.
D.C.

“Claire?”

“I’ll be ready in twenty minutes,” she
promised him.

He’s not in D.C. any more. He’s long gone.
I’ll be safe there.

“You don’t have to—”

“Outside,” she said again. Then she headed
for her closet and the clothes that he’d bought for her. She heard
him walk away.

Heard the soft click of the door shut behind
him.

And then she heard a whisper from her past.
The voice of Ethan Harrison’s father, Senator Colby Harrison.

You little bitch. I know you made my boy
kill. You did this. I’ll make you pay. No matter how long it takes,
you’ll pay.

And all of his rage had come at her
before
he’d lost his senate seat due to the scandal. After
that, he’d blamed her, hated her, even more.

But Colby Harrison isn’t in Washington, D.C.
I’ll be safe with Noah.

Her hands were shaking when she reached for
the clothes.

***

Noah yanked out his phone as he paced in
front of Claire’s suite. He didn’t give a damn what time it was.
His buddy owed him.

The phone rang once. Twice. Then—

“Dammit, Noah,” Trace Weston growled, “you
know I’m on my honeymoon, right?”

Yeah, he did. Lucky bastard. Two weeks ago,
Trace’s fiancée, Skye, had confessed that she didn’t want to have a
big wedding that would just be fodder for the gossip pages.
Instead, she’d asked Trace to run away with her. To elope.

And since Trace would do anything for
Skye…

They’d gotten married in Paris.

“I need your agents in New York to look into
a break-in for me.” He kept his eyes on Claire’s suite door.

“Uh, then
call
the office there, man.
Don’t just—”

“It’s about Claire Kramer, and I only want
your best men on the case.”

Silence. Then… “Is she all right?”

“She’s with me.”

“That doesn’t answer the question.”

Noah yanked a hand through his hair. “The SOB
who killed her parents is still locked up in an Alabama
prison.”

“I made sure of that.” Grim satisfaction
coated Trace’s words.

Noah knew that Claire’s sister Sara had used
her connection to Trace in order to get his help. He’d used his
power to convince the parole board that Ethan Harrison shouldn’t be
walking outside of those prison gates anytime soon.

“Someone broke into Claire’s hotel room at
the Hamlet yesterday. Slashed her clothes. Destroyed every damn
thing there.”

“The Hamlet? What the hell was she doing
there? Noah, I thought you said you were watching—”

“I’ve got her now,” Noah growled into the
phone. “I want your men to see if they can find out who broke into
her room. The cops aren’t looking hard. The Hamlet gets robbed
every other day. It’s just business as usual at that place.” But
the knot in his gut told him that the destruction in Claire’s room
hadn’t
just
been the result of a robbery gone wrong.

Noah never ignored his instincts. They’d kept
him alive too many times in the past, and they’d put his enemies in
the ground.

“I’ll get my men on it,” Trace said, voice
flat. “And if I find out anything—”

“You call me right away.” He knew he could
count on Trace.

“Will do.”

“And, hey, one more thing, buddy…”

“What is it?” Worry deepened Trace’s
voice.

“Give that pretty bride of yours a big kiss
for me.”

“Screw off,” Trace muttered and hung up the
phone.

Noah’s lips tilted as he kept staring at
Claire’s door.

Trace had loved his Skye for over ten years.
Loved her, but nearly lost her to a crazed stalker.

Once upon a time, Noah had thought that
Trace’s single-minded love for Skye made the other man weak.

Now he knew…

It makes him lucky.

***

She’d never been to D.C. Claire had actually
made a point of staying out of the area.

She hadn’t wanted to attract any unwanted
attention.

But as Noah’s private jet touched down in
D.C., tension settled heavily over Claire’s shoulders.

First trip to D.C. and my first time to fly
in a private jet.

Noah had talked to her all during the flight.
Business only. He’d gone over a listing of his most profitable
hotels, hinted at his plans for expansion, told her the PR work
that needed to be done…

And he’d kept her mind off the fear that
wanted to snake through her.

“What’s that look for?” Noah asked as he
unbuckled his seatbelt. Time for them to go.

She fumbled and managed to unhook her belt,
too. “I, uh, I’m just curious about the city.” Such a lie.

“You haven’t been here before?” He seemed
surprised. Since globe-hopping was no doubt a habit for him, it
probably was surprising.

“Most people don’t get to jet off whenever
they want,” she said as she fought to keep her voice light.
“Besides, I…I was busy.”

“You mean you didn’t want to come here.” He
stood, blocking the exit. Trapping her, but not touching her. “You
don’t need to lie to me.”

Right.

“I didn’t want to come here.” Her hair
slipped forward and fell over her left eye.

Before she could brush the blonde locks back,
Noah’s hand moved. His fingers pushed the hair back and lingered on
her cheek. “But you came for me.”

Her heart was beating faster. “I came for
me.
” Because she wouldn’t let fear lead her life. “Colby
Harrison isn’t here.” She wasn’t going to dance around this issue.
Noah had his neat file, after all, so why hide the truth? “He lost
his position two terms back.”

And she hadn’t seen the man in eight
years.

“When you worry…” His fingers slipped from
her cheek and his index finger moved to lightly tap her lower lip.
“You have a tendency to bite this lip.”

Her breath caught in her lungs.

His finger caressed her lip. “Don’t do that.
Don’t hurt yourself.”

“I-I wasn’t…” She barely breathed the words
against his touch.

But…when she spoke, she…she licked his
finger.

It was an accident. She hadn’t meant to do
that. Not at all.

Had she?

His pupils expanded, swallowing the gold.
“
Claire…”
Need, lust, deepened her name.

She backed away. Tried to. But there was
nowhere for her to go. The seat was behind her. He was in front of
her.

His hand fell to his side. Fisted. “Don’t
tease.”

“I didn’t mean—”

“I want you every fucking time I see
you.”

Her eyes widened.

“But I’m trying to give you what you
want.”

Claire wasn’t even sure what she wanted.

To be safe?

No, no, there had to be more to life than
safety.

“You have to ask, remember?” His voice was so
deep. So dark. So tempting. “Just ask.” He turned away. “Let’s get
the hell off this plane before I forget that part.”

When his back was to her, Claire finally
managed to suck in a deep breath. “I should tell you
something.”

But then the pilot strode from the cockpit.
Claire immediately clamped her lips shut. She sure wasn’t about to
make this particular reveal in front of anyone but Noah.