Page 18 (2/2)

Ella’s heart skipped a beat every ti her as a desirable woman She had been crazy about hiine that ever changing She knew his tough exterior intimidated others, but with her he showed a softer, more romantic side From the first moment their paths had crossed, when she had dropped the stack of papers she was carrying right at his feet, she had been completely taken with him From then on he asked her questions about her family and her life, as if he truly cared about her He remembered her favorite kinds of food, or sweets that she liked, and usually showed up with them every few days He told her that she looked pretty when she wore soht her favorite coffee almost daily

Well, until the day she had asked him to her apart her She felt in her heart that he was interested in her as ht she was too innocent for someone like hi that he would finally see her as a wo with that dance He had held her close and brushed his lips against her forehead, but as soon as the dance was over, he left her standing there and had never looked back

And now, she was finished with hiht not have any experience withthe girl that everyone wanted to protect Declan was about to find out that even an innocent could wage a war that he wouldn’t soon forget

Chapter Two

Declan Stone slammed the door to his condorabbed a bottle of Jack Daniel’s froenerous ulp, he felt the burn of the alcohol blazing a trail of fire down his throat and into his sto the bottle away

Ella Webber was going to be the fucking death of hi his time with her since she asked him over to her place for dinner a few irl crush Hell, it was too late to avoid that and it was his own fault He was in too deep with her He knew better than to keep seeking her out She eet, innocent, and so very trusting He had firstright at the door of his office When they ain at a barbeque at Gray’s house, he had been drawn to her That day she had sat beside him clearly uncomfortable and nervous If he had said boo, she would have juh the sky Her slender body shown to perfection in the sundress that revealed her shoulders and bare arolden brown hair around her finger when someone spoke to her Most of the woet attention; he thought for her it was probably a nervous habit Her sweet floral scent had intoxicated hiain

What would sweet Ella say though, if she knew all of the demons that he battled? After two tours of active duty in the hanistan, he had seen and done things that he would never be free of Even with that, he had planned to make a career of life in the service until the awful day that he lost his friend Craig and al to save hinosed him with post-traumatic stress syndrome, but what they hell did a bunch of pencil pushers who had never seen a day of active duty know? What they didn’t say was that it looked bad for the military if you went postal and took out either yourself or some innocent civilians

Neither had been an option for Declan, but he didn’t re-up when his tour ended Instead, he carandfather to start his own consulting firet him to join the fa than he illing to do So he kept his distance and made his ho

Now that Ella was in the picture, he had to question the decision he had ht a lot of Jason Danvers and his old college buddy, Gray Meris and he tried damn hard not to do complicated Ever And yet he couldn’t lay it all at her door because he had started things between them He had been powerless not to Someone with a soul as dark as his couldn’t resist the draw of the light

Men like hiet to have women like her and it had become a battle to remember that Especially when her face lit up when he found a reason to seek her out at the office She worried about him if he didn’t co worthy inside hied as he was could look into her eyes and still believe that redeht be possible

Declan settled down on the sofa and laid his head back Then the situation with Ella had gotten worse He had finally caved and sought her out before leaving work that afternoon His heart had kicked in his chest when he saw her sitting at the receptionist desk in another pretty dress Some type of coently curved into a s in front of her As he got closer, he saw her pick up her purse and stand, walking around the desk and toward the man

His ears roared as the man handed her a sht for her and she gave him a smile of pleasure After a feords, which Declan wasn’t close enough to hear, the man motioned Ella ahead of hiuide her toward the elevator Declan stood there staring at the closed doors wondering why he felt so betrayed

When someone cleared her throat behind him, his back had stiffened as he turned around to see who it was Suzy, Gray’s wife, stood there with one raised eyebrow “You look like someone stole your favorite toy, Dec”

He always felt like Suzy saw far tooby her co boy, Suzy I don’t do toys”

A smile curved her lips as she said, “That’s a shaet theht So shot, Suzy turned on what he considered an ih pair of heels and sauntered down the hallway

He had stalked away and had broken every speed li home Now, as he sat on the couch, he wondered what the hell he was in such a hurry to get home to As usual, it was too quiet and the walls were threatening to close in on him When would he ever be able to relax without the s that gave him temporary peace: sex, exercise, and work

After seeing Ella go off with that s idiot, he wasn’t in theThanks to a serious lack of judgym rat named Tiffany, even that sanctuary had taken a nosedive He should have re where you sleep So, until he found another gym, it looked like a run was his only option Three shots of Jack Daniel’s ht have made this difficult for soe off for his he had learned in the military was how to focus under any condition and he could drink the whole damn bottle and still be able to pass any test put before him

Declan quickly changed out of his dress clothes and into a low riding pair of jogging shorts and a tank top Black tattoos in swirling script adorned his bare biceps: one read “Semper Fi” and the other, “Brotherhood” Both were co his unit and he had been proud to wear the ink Even after leaving the military, the code that the tattoos represented was still a big part of his life Thefor them

As he pulled the door closed behind hi to take hiured he could kill time if he had to, just to make sure she made it home okay He knehat men were capable of and he would ht not be able to have her, but he could make sure no one else hurt her