Read Online The Protector by Sara Anderson - Free Book Online Page A

stopped and sniffed the air. He smelled
pizza and frowned. Then he remembered he’d sent Harley to here to get the
leftover pizza to share with Ashley. He must have used the oven to heat them
before leaving, and the scent had not dissipated yet. Harley loved the kitchen
here.
      Cole was disappointed Blair wasn’t here
waiting for him. He loved her, and never stopped. She loved him, too. He had
seen it in her eyes last night. He would find her though, and show her again
and again. As many times as it took until she believed him.
    Cole
knew the moment he had seen her that first time after she had come home that he
still loved her. He had been patient with her, letting her settle in and
reconnect with her friends. He felt a little bit like a stalker at night when
he made sure she made it home safely when she closed her coffee shop at the end
of the day. He had sat on a park bench and watched her after dark through the
window. Part of him was he was afraid she would reject him, but he had to see
her. He sat in the sheriff’s office, watching her come and go from her coffee
house. Blair was friendly with people, but he noticed she had built a wall
around herself. Except for those few friends she had, she never let anyone get
too close to her. Cole knew that was his fault. Blair was a kind, loving, warm
woman, but his fear had broken her heart. He would spend the rest of his life
trying to make it right with her, even if she forgave him.
    He
opened his gun safe, then stuck his gun in and closed it. The scent of Blair
was still strong in his room. She was driving him mad, and she wasn’t even
here.
      She had run from him, and he could not find
any clues to show him where. It wasn’t a rejection though. He could sense it.
She wanted him as much as he wanted her. Blair backed off when she needed to
process her emotions. He had put a bulletin out on her car so if she were
spotted the officer that saw her would call it in. No one had seen her. Her
debit and credit cards were also not active. No one’s security footage spotted
her. Chad, his computer guru, knew all about facial recognition, and her face
never once came up.
    Where are you?
      He opened his freezer to pull out a pizza. He
saw the three cheese , the super supreme, and Mexican.
“I could have sworn I got a triple meat,” he muttered. “Harley stole my triple
meat. I told him the pizza in the fridge.” He had been looking forward to that
pizza. Whenever he and Blair had ordered a pizza together, she wanted the
triple meat.
    Blair
was in trouble for disobeying Michael. She could have been given extra duties
with shifter business and the town, but Michael liked this idea better. Most
times when shifters disobeyed the punishment was light, but the danger it had
put Cassie in made it more serious. Blair needed to be taken in hand, and
Michael felt Cole was the best man for the job. If he was fortunate he would
walk away from this with Blair’s heart once again.
    Now
he just needed to find her. Stubborn fox.
    Cole
had been looking forward to dinner with Blair. That would have to wait though.
He could buy another pizza. Hell, he could buy hundreds of pizzas if that was what
it took to win Blair’s heart and trust once again. They would share their pizza
yet. Cole looked around the freezer again, then shrugged.
    He
stuck the pizza in the oven and turned it on, not bothering to preheat. That
just took longer for the pizza to get hot. Staring at the professional grade
oven made him miss Blair all the more. She designed
this kitchen when they decided to sell her house and keep his. It had the
privacy they wanted, and the space for a family.
    Blair
loved to work in the kitchen. It didn’t matter if it was cooking or baking, she
loved it. When she turned her baking skills into a business, although she
worried at first, it had not ruined her love of baking. She could spend all day
making turnovers, rolls and cookies, then come home and make a fantastic
homemade supper.