Page 139 of Mountain Men Heroes
Damon helped her out of the coat and pulled up a chair for her from a nearby table. With the windows at their back now, both cousins had to turn. Morning quickly faded to late afternoon.
She knew there was a bigger story behind all this drug trafficking and the group behind it and the Russian tattoos on his chest made a little more sense now but the way his mouth hardened into a thin line told her not to ask any questions. And she wouldn’t. His past was his to keep or share. Either way, he didn’t owe her anything.
“I’m so sorry all this is happening. Isn’t Christmas supposed to be a time of reflection and love? Peace?”
“You have such a tender heart, angel.” Damon raked a hand through his hair and the frustrated sigh he let out sounded more like a growl.
Jin smiled and if she’d met him on the street with no introduction in that instant, she’d be able to peg him as a Savage. That damn sexy half smile. She had no idea a smile could be genetic but the proof stood out from every Savage man’s lips she’d met in this small mountainside town.
“I like you. You’re going to be good for this man.”
And he liked to wink. A lot.
Damon growled. He liked to do that a lot.
She smiled. She didn't know what was up with Damon and all the possessive behavior toward her, but she liked the little possessiveness he played over her. It was nice. Even if for a short while.
“So what does this have to do with Savage Ridge? Why would these people come back here if they already know you will fight against them again?”
“Angel, who the fuck would miss a community as small as ours in the Arctic Circle? They can re-establish their dominance over this territory and take out revenge for what I did undercover in one swoop.”
Her heart nearly dropped to the floor along with her chin.
She stood and Damon followed. He wrapped an arm around her center and pulled her flush to his front. As he answered her question, his chest vibrated along her back and she loved the soothing effect.
“These people do not forgive or forget. I’m surprised it took them so long, frankly.”
What the heck did she get herself into?
Another fact took root in that instant. She was in some real deep crap.
Seven
Damon flicked the lights over the bar off, leaving only a few spotlights on by the bar. Faceted beams of lights cut through the darkened room in every shade. Reds, blues, yellows.
“When did you hang Christmas lights in the front windows?”
“While you were out with your sister. You don’t think the family gets free drinks all the time, do you?”
“Don’t ask Ethan and your dad that.”
He grabbed her hand and she was in his arms and right where she’d been before the twins walked in on them.
“A hungry man like me is a dangerous thing to have around, Ivy, and you’ve been running from me all day.”
“Not true.”
His eyes infused with heat and the way they pulsed with banked need held her mesmerized. “You have two choices,” he drew out. “Dinner with Mom, Pop, and the whole gang…every last one of them. Or…”
“The or part of this is already starting to sound like the better option.”
“Me. Upstairs, your home or mine. Doesn’t matter to me.”
Home? “Are you actually giving me a choice?” That sounded welcoming and scary all at the same time. Like a dream and nightmare in one.
“Or, I guess there’s a third option. We could spend the evening hanging some lights in your apartment? I can pick up a tree and maybe some mistletoe.”
“Yeah, maybe later.” She cut in. “Right now. You and I are all I want to see lit up.”