Intimate Desires (The Love and Danger Series) (15 page)

Sam moved forward, his gun pointing at Luis, ready for anything.  “Put your hands on the counter, Luis,” Sam ordered.

Luis
wasn’t going to comply.  Hannah knew it in her heart and she looked from Sam to Luis, then caught Brock, Walker and Colt, knew that they wouldn’t let anything happen to Sam. 

“
Luis don’t do anything stupid,” she warned, wanting to protect Sam.

“Hannah, I need you to come over here and get behind me,” Sam commanded.

Hannah immediately started moving in that direction but Luis’ fury stopped her.  “Don’t you move a muscle Hannah, or I’ll do something you won’t like!”

Hannah froze, not sure what to do. 

“Hannah, move!  Now!” Sam almost yelled. 

Hannah immediately started moving again, but
Luis’ yell startled all of them, so filled with fury.  He threw his coffee, trying to spray it across the four men, then started running around the counter, trying to get to Hannah. 

Sam spun around, blocking the scalding hot liquid so it landed on his shirt.  He felt a moment of sharp pain, but it was almost instantly gone and his whole focus was getting to the crazy man before he
could hurt Hannah. 

With a twist and a curse, Sam
spun around and slammed the older man onto the stone floor, pinning him with his body and holding the man’s hands. 

“You’
re nothing but a filthy pig!” Luis screamed out, his body writhing in an effort to get away.  “You’re not worthy of her!  She’s too good for you!  They were all pigs and had to die!”

Colt was right there, s
lapping the handcuffs on one flailing wrist and twisting his arm back so the other wrist could then be restrained.  Within moments, they had him immobile but still screaming about how no one should be allowed to blemish Hannah.  Police sirens were heard in the distance and Hannah watched, terrified until she saw Sam stand up, his hand gripping Luis’ arm to maintain control. 

He nodded to Brock and
Walker, both of whom understood what Sam needed.  They both grabbed the man who was flinging his body back and forth, trying to break their hold.  But Luis was almost a foot shorter than the three men surrounding him and had his hands behind his back.  They weren’t releasing Luis for any reason. 

Sam was behind the counter, lifting Hannah into his arms and kissing her, his hands moving all over her to make sure she was okay and unhurt.  “Talk to me, honey.  Tell me you’re okay.”

“I’m fine,” she whispered, her arms wrapping around his neck and holding on for dear life.  “You did it,” she said, her body shivering as reaction set in.  “You caught him and you’re okay!   Oh Sam!  I can’t believe it was Luis.  He was such a nice man!”

Sam lifted her up and carried her into her office, soothing her with his words and his hands.  “I’m okay.  And he’s gone.  There won’t be any more murders.” 

Hannah laughed and buried her face against his neck.  “Then you’re out of a job.  Want me to show you how to make coffees?” she asked, relief setting in but the shivering increased. 

“Could you picture me behind the counter?” he teased, trying to show her that everything was over. 

Hannah pulled back, but didn’t release him.  “No.  Never,” she laughed, then pulled him closer again, not ready to relinquish her hold. 

“You did good, honey.  You got a confession out of him.  I doubt there will even be a trial after what he said.”

“So it’s over?” she asked, her voice still a whisper. 

“I think so.  We’ll need to look through his place, find all the evidence that ties him to the murders, just
to be sure.  But I think it’s pretty much over.  And all because of you,” he said and bent low to kiss her tenderly.  “If you hadn’t remembered those comments about Luis’ gardening hobby, we wouldn’t have really looked at him very closely.  We were looking for someone younger, with more upper body strength.”

She laughed, relief starting to set in.  “He looked pretty strong to me.”

Sam agreed with a chuckle.  “Yeah.  He had some pretty good moves there for a moment.”

“Not enough to stop you,” she said with pride and kissed him.  “You were magnificent!”

The other police officers arrived and took control, stuffing the man into one of the patrol cars, then whisking him away.  Hannah watched with amazement that someone who seemed so normal could be….well, crazy!

“You’re okay?” Sam asked
, keeping his arm around her as the customers started shuffling in. 

She took several deep breaths,
then nodded. “Yes.  Definitely.  And relieved!”  She looked around, and laughed.  “I think I’ll get some help in this morning.  I might be a bit too shaky to handle hot coffee today.”

Sam walked into the coffee shop later that night, his eyes immediately moving to find Hannah.  When he saw her behind the counter, his shoulders relaxed somewhat.  Hannah instantly moved from behind the counter to slide into his arms and it occurred to him that she fit against him perfectly.  He couldn’t believe that he’d always dated tall blonds, but then again, he didn’t think any other woman would fit him as perfectly as Hannah. 

“Are you ready to go?” he asked
softly, not ready to release her just yet so he kept his arms around her as well.

Hannah smiled and nodded, eager to be alone with him. 
“Definitely.  I’ll even buy dinner tonight.  I want alcohol after today!”

He laughed and squeezed her slightly before pulling back. 
“A beer it is!” he teased her.

She leaned her head against his
shoulder as they walked out.  As soon as they were seated at her favorite Mexican restaurant with an enormous margarita in front of her and a beer for him, she sensed something wrong.  “Were there problems with the search warrant to Luis’ house?” she asked.

Sam
looked up, blinking and trying to follow her conversation.  “What?” Her words must have gotten through to him because the question in his eyes cleared up and he shook his head.  “No.  We found an ample supply of each of the poisons he used, even surveillance pictures of the victims as well as pictures of several others that he was possibly planning to hurt.”

She nodded her head, her fingers nervously crumbling a chip onto the small plate in front of her.  “That’s good.  Are the lawyers having problems then?” she asked, still not sure what might be bothering him. 

Sam shook his head, then took a long swallow of his beer. 

Hannah curled her hands into fists underneath the table.  “What’s wrong, Sam?  Are you ready to move on?”  Her stomach clenched with fear and dread at the idea of him moving to another woman, but perhaps this was for the best, she told herself. 
Despite what he’d said last night, that might have been the excitement of the investigation.  She wasn’t the kind of woman…No!  She wasn’t going to fall back into Henry-speak.  Her ex had really done a number on her but it was time to break the cycle.

Sam’s head snapped to hers. “Move on?  What the hell do you mean about moving on?  You’re not moving anywhere, Hannah!” he practically growled. 
“We discussed this last night.  I thought it was all settled!”

The waitress arrived to take their order but stopped short when she felt the tension.  “Do you need more time?” she asked, holding her pen in the air as if she desperately wanted to turn around and run away.

“Yes, please,” Hannah replied politely.

“Yes!” Sam snapped at the same time.

Hannah turned to glare at him.  “Okay, whatever is bothering you, there’s no need to take it out on the waitress.  She’s only doing her job!”

Sam sighed and rubbed his neck.  “You’re right.  I’m sorry.”  He adjusted his chair slightly.  “The thing is,” he started, then stopped, not sure what to say.  “Okay, here’s the issue…” but then he stopped again and shook his head. 

He’d mentioned marriage last night but he wasn’t sure if Hannah was truly willing to marry him.  He needed to officially pop the question and it was tearing up his gut that she might say no.

In the end, he stood up, ignored Hannah’s wide eyes, and pulled her into his arms.  He covered her mouth before she could protest, kissing her until he felt her melt against his chest.  And even then, he continued kissing her because it felt just too damn good! 

When he heard the clapping around him, he lifted his head and looked around.  The whole restaurant was staring at them, applauding Sam’s romantic kiss. 

He smiled, raised his hand in salute, but kept his arm around her waist while she buried her face in his chest.  “She just agreed to marry me,” he said, then pulled a diamond ring out of his pocket, sliding it on her ring finger. 

Hannah gasped, staring at the beautiful solitaire, stunned by his gesture not to mention his blatant display of affection. 

She slumped back down in her chair and, thankfully, the other patrons re-focused back on their own meals while Hannah sat there, staring at the ring.  It wasn’t so much the ring that was making her anxious.  It was all that the ring implied. 

Sam continued to rub his face, shift in his chair, drink his beer and generally just act nervous.  “Hannah, you need to give me an answer,” he finally said, his voice brusque and deep.

Hannah laughed, her tear
y eyes looking up at him.  “You just announced to the restaurant that I’d already agreed.”

He cringed and shrugged.  “They needed to hear something.  I looked like an idiot standing there kissing you.”

Hannah laughed at his tone, thinking he looked cute sitting there.  Well, he would look cute if he weren’t so huge and gorgeous.  Sexy.  Yes, he looked sexy.  And sweet.

“So are you going to marry me?”

Hannah looked back down at the ring, not sure what to say.  The index finger on her other hand touched the diamond reverently even while her stomach clenched with fear.  “Why would you want to marry me?” she asked, almost whispering as if she were afraid of the words.  Or his answer.

Sam looked back at her. 
Stunned.  “Why?”  He almost laughed out loud.  “Because I love you.  Because you’re the sexiest, funniest, kindest, most amazing woman I never knew existed.  And I want to wake up with you every morning, even if it means waking up at the ungodly hour of four o’clock.  I want you in my house and in my bed.”

She laughed slightly, sounding a little like a hiccup.  “Is that all?”

He took her hands and leaned forward, his own elbows on his knees as he looked into her eyes.  “Hannah, you and I fit together better than any woman I’ve ever known.  Hell, better than any couple I’ve ever met.  From the first moment I saw you in your store, I knew that you were going to be someone special.  To me.”  He sighed and touched her cheek gently. “I know you were hurt before, but I promise, if you’ll take another chance with me, I’ll make you forget the ass that did this to you.  I’ll make you so happy, you’ll never think of him again.”

Hannah couldn’t stop the tear that fell from her lashes.  “You already do,” she whispered, not wanting him to think anything else.  “But…”

“No buts, Hannah.  You’re my woman.  You gave yourself to me and I’m not giving you back,” he replied, stubbornly.  But then he softened his tone.  “You do love me, don’t you?”

She laughed, unable to stop herself when that stubborn, alpha male side of him came loose.  “Yes.  I love you.  It sounds crazy to say that after everything that’s happened, but yes.  I do.”

He grunted his approval and nodded his head.  “Good.  That’s all you have to say.”

She laughed again, so in love with him that it almost scared her.  “But what if all of this,” she said, waving her hand in between them, “is just because of the adrenaline of the…”

“Murders?” he filled in when she couldn’t say the word.

“Well, yes…but what if what we have together won’t work when there isn’t the adrenaline from the investigation?”

One side of his mouth curled upwards.  “Do you think that’s what this is?” he asked.

She stared at him, her heart pounding in her chest as she contemplated saying the words that would finalize this conversation.  “Not on my part,” she finally admitted.

Sam blew out the breath he’d been holding and smiled.  “Not on my side either.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, her hands shaking with the need for him to reassure her. 

One of his big hands moved to cup the back of her head. “I’m absolutely sure.  This is what I do, Hannah.  I solve murders and I’m damn good at it.  So I also know what the adrenaline rush is about and I don’t have any rush at the moment.  I only know what I feel for you and how much I want you in my life.  Forever.”  He looked at her worried eyes, his anger starting to boil over at the insecurity he saw reflecting out of her lovely eyes.  “What did your ex do or say to you that made you feel so unsure of yourself?”

She started to pull back but he wouldn’t let her.  “I told you.”  She took a deep breath.  “I wasn’t enough for him.  I couldn’t fulfill all of his hopes and dreams.”

Sam laughed.  “Or his fantasies,” he finished for her, saying the one word he knew she wouldn’t state out loud, or possibly even silently to herself. 

She grimaced with that. 
“Or his fantasies.”

Sam shook his head. “You rock my world, babe,” he told her. 
“I can guarantee that all of my fantasies are mundane compared to what it feels like when you touch me.”

She sobbed and threw herself into his lap, grateful when his strong, muscular arms wrapped around him.  “
Okay.”

“Okay?” he asked, his hands moving up and down her back. 

“Okay.  Let’s get married.”  She shuddered with that agreement and Sam laughed again, thrilled that she’d just accepted his poorly articulated proposal.  “Can we make it a long engagement though?”

He considered her suggestion and understood what she was trying to do. “You want a long engagement just in case I change my mind and find out that you’re not enough for me.  Am I right?”

She hadn’t thought about it completely but now that he’d phrased it like that, she knew that was exactly what she was doing.  “I guess so,” she said warily, afraid he might be offended.

He nodded, glad that she was admitting it to herself.  “I’ll go for a long engagement under one condition.”

“What’s that?” she asked, putting her arms around his neck and snuggling closer, feeling so much better than she had twenty minutes ago when she’d thought Sam wanted out of the relationship.  She would never have really believed that he would want to make the relationship permanent! 

“You have to move in with me. 
Tonight.  I don’t want to spend another moment without you in my life.”  He paused slightly, seeing the reaction in her eyes and he moved forward.  “And if you need a year or two years or ten years before you’ll marry me, I’ll spend every moment of that time showing you how wonderful and perfect you are.  That will only give me more practice for learning how to love you once you finally marry me and make me the happiest man in the world by becoming my wife.”

By the time he finished with that statement, she was openly crying, unaware of the waitress approaching their table and stopping, tears springing to her eyes as well before she quietly walked away with a dreamy smile on her face. 

A long time later that night, Hannah curled up in Sam’s arms and sighed with happiness.  “Thank you,” she whispered, thinking Sam was asleep.  They’d made love to each other so many times, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to move ever again.

“For what?” he asked, his arms tightening ever so slightly around her. 

She smiled into the darkness and kissed his arm which she was using as a pillow.  She thought about just letting him fall asleep.  But before her mind caught up with her heart, she said, “For making me believe in love again,” she whispered, grateful for the darkness that hid her tears of happiness.