Perfect Fling (Serendipity's Finest 2)

She went to the mall, where someone was stalking her, so she ran to her car and nearly missed being shot at again. She drove to the police station, but even there, someone was firing a gun at her in the parking lot. She woke up with a scream, bolting upright in bed, her heart pounding as she looked around the darkened room.

Without warning, the lights switched on and Cole burst in, gun drawn, which only caused her to choke out another shriek.

He lowered the weapon immediately. “Easy,” he said, placing the gun on the dresser across from her.

She managed a nod.

“You okay?” he asked, coming up to the side of the bed.

“Yeah,” she whispered, once again feeling ridiculous for overreacting. “I had a nightmare.” Goose bumps raised on her arms as she trembled with the aftereffects of the dream.

He sat on the edge of the bed, and Erin suddenly realized he wore a pair of tight boxer briefs . . . and nothing more. It took everything she had to keep her gaze above his waist, where the dark strip of hair trailed below the waistband. She flicked her stare to his chest, but his bulk and muscles didn’t help either, so she looked at his face. Concern etched his handsome features.

“Want to talk about it?” he asked.

She managed a nod. “Everywhere I went, someone was after me. I couldn’t escape the gunshots or this stalker. I know it wasn’t real, but I felt like I was being hunted,” she said, mortified when a tear fell.

He leaned in and brushed at the moisture with his thumb. “Maybe you should talk to a professional,” he suggested.

She shook her head. “No. It’s stupid and it’ll go away. Nobody’s after me anyway. I still think the shooting was random, but until the police call it closed and you don’t need to guard me anymore, I’ll continue feeling on edge.” But believing she hadn’t been targeted and feeling safe warred in her mind, still heavy with the remnants of the dream.

She shivered and curled deeper under the comforter, not wanting to be by herself again, not knowing how to ask him to stay. She was feeling too vulnerable, and if he said no, she might embarrass herself and burst into tears.

She took in a deep breath, letting it out with a small shudder. He placed a hand on her shoulder and she felt that strong touch deep inside her.

She turned and looked up at him, drawing on courage she didn’t realize she had. “Please stay.”

He sucked in a surprise breath. Erin held hers but she refused to take the words back. From the moment she found out she was pregnant, she’d been alone—with the shock, with the morning sickness, and on her own again when she’d been shot. She was only so strong, and that strength had fled with the nightmare. She needed comfort and she wanted it from Cole.

Even if it was just for one night—and Lord knew they were experts at that.

She held her breath as he pulled down the covers and climbed in behind her, too far away for her even to feel his body heat. That wasn’t going to work for her. She cleared her throat and rolled onto her other side, facing him.

“I can’t sleep. Tell me a story,” she said, getting a chuckle from him.

She liked his laugh, more because he didn’t do it often and she had to work for the ones he gave her.

“What do you want to hear?” He propped himself up on his side.

“How about what you’ve been up to the last few years?” she suggested, knowing he wouldn’t like the subject. “In general, if you can’t discuss specifics.”

His frown told her she was right. “I don’t like to talk about it.”

“Since you’re my baby’s father, I want to know more about you, and I don’t think asking about your past is unreasonable. You said you were undercover, so it must be serious.”

“It is, when I’m living it. When a case is finished, it’s over.”

She held his gaze, looking into his handsome face and refusing to let him off the hook. “I don’t think it is. At least not for you.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “Aren’t you the one who had the bad dream? So shouldn’t we be talking about who or what could possibly be upsetting you?”

Erin bit the inside of her cheek. “Good try. But I asked about you. How do you know so much about anxiety attacks and PTSD?”

“I just suggested it as a possibility,” he muttered.

“When most people would have attributed it to pregnancy. Come on, Cole. I’m not stupid. I see that something haunts you.”

He shook his head and groaned. “You’re so damned stubborn,” he muttered.