Page 14

The club was wild. Bodies crowded the space and loud sounds thrummed through the airwaves, pulsing through my body with every beat of the bass.

I was impossibly hot from dancing with Raina and Maddy.

Maddy wasn’t big on dancing in clubs, or even clubs at all, but she was trying.

Raina, however, was a natural. Her body moved with the grace of someone with an untouched gypsy soul.

There was no darkness in Raina, and although I wished I could be like her, I knew I couldn’t. For me, that wasn’t possible. I wasn’t carefree. I’d never been carefree and I sincerely doubted I ever would be.

Hell, I wasn’t even sure if I wanted that.

Something about being carefree seemed—well, it seemed dangerous.

I didn’t like taking risks that could lead to danger with my body or my life.

I’d had enough risks taken for me that resulted in danger.

I’d learned my lesson many times. I didn’t need to learn it again.

That’s why when my body felt like it might overheat at any moment and I needed refreshment, I walked to the bar and called, “Water, please.”

A warm body caged me against the bar, two thick arms coming around my frame. My heart leaped as my mind fizzed with panic.

Then the voice sounded, “Water, peanut? Let go for just one night.”

Turning in the circle of Beckett’s arms, I lifted my chin. “I don’t drink at clubs.”

“Why not?”

“Because there are people at these places who aren’t good people.”

“There are bad people everywhere.”

I rolled my eyes, “My point exactly.”

“You can’t live your life in fear of bad people. Hell, you can’t live your life in fear. You do and it’ll ruin you.” He tipped his chin. “Besides, you got people with you tonight who care about you.”

“Anything can happen, Beckett.”

His eyes flared, and I saw something I’d never seen in the mocha depths. I didn’t know what it was. I didn’t know what it meant. What I knew was that I liked it. A lot.

And then his already low voice lowered. I liked that too. “Do you think I’d ever let anything happen to you?”

His voice and his words sent shivers pulsing down the length of my spine. My breath snagged and I whispered, “No.”

“Then order a drink. Let go just this once—and let me take care of you. We’ll have a good night out together. We’ll take a taxi home, and I promise in the morning you’ll be safe and in one piece.”

I turned again in the circle of Beckett’s safe arms, and waved at the bartender. “I’ll take something strong.”

A few hours later the strong drink I asked the bartender to give me, proved its strength. I was hammered. Very hammered.

For the first time in as far back as I could remember, I was in public and I was blissfully unaware of all but one thing; the fact that Beckett was taking care of me.

Raina leaned in and yelled over the music, “I don’t think he’s taken his eyes off you once.”

“He hasn’t,” my hips kept rocking to the music and heat flamed over my flesh at the feel of Beckett’s eyes on me. “He promised he’d keep me safe if I wanted to let go. He’s keeping his promise.”

“I think he really likes you.”

“A lot,” Maddy put in, moving her hips in small motions to the music. The girl was even worse than me at clubbing, and I was pretty bad, so that was saying something.

“I think from now on Maddy and I are going to stick to wine and ice cream nights at her place.”

Maddy bobbed her head. “Yes. I agree. One hundred percent.”

“Good.”

“I love dancing,” Raina objected, pouting.

“We can dance at Maddy’s.” I assured and Raina giggled.

“Done!”

“Well, that was easy enough.” Maddy smiled easily, drunkenly. “My place next time.”

“I think we should join the boys at the table,” Raina said, smiling at Kaiden. “They’re looking lonely, and so delicious over there.”

One minute she was in her little dress dancing up a storm, and the next she was half way to the table. Maddy and I watched her go before we decided that without Raina, we weren’t much for dancing.

We followed, and I felt my blood heat a little more below my skin with every step I took closer to Beckett.

He’d been drinking, but unlike me, he wasn’t obliterated.

This was the first time in my life that I’d let loose with friends.

Granted, this was the first time in my life that I’d had true friends to let loose with, so that could have something to do with my letting go.

Regardless, the importance of this night wasn’t lost on me.

It also wasn’t lost on me that I was feeling this kind of happy and carefree, while still feeling safe, because of Beckett.

So when he stood up to gesture me into the booth, I didn’t hesitate. I also didn’t get tense and uncomfortable when he lowered his big body back to the seat, his arm lazily swinging to rest behind me on the booth.

I saw Raina’s green eyes pop wide, her smile huge, as she watched Beckett move. When I didn’t react, but rather pretended not to notice, her smile got even wider.

If I made a big deal out of something as simple as Beckett’s arm kind of/sort of resting around me like I was his, then he’d move. I didn’t want him to move, so I didn’t make a big deal. I also ignored Raina, hoping she wouldn’t make a big deal of it either.

That’s why I trained my eyes to Maddy, who sat on Kai’s other side. Maddy was surprisingly comfortable with Kaiden, even though I was told he looked remarkably like his little brother, whom Maddy had loved and lost. “You having another?”

“I don’t think I can,”

“Nachos!” Raina’s hands thumped on the table. “We’ll order food so we can drink more.”

“Need to take her out more often, Kai.” Beckett teased. “She’s never gonna wanna leave if you’re always keeping her cooped up in that tiny apartment.”

“It’s an awesome apartment, man.”

“I know,” Beckett nudged me. “Amara likes the shower in the middle of the room.”

“Oh,” Raina leaned into the table and whisper-yelled over the music. “The shower is becoming my favorite part of it too.”

Tipping my head back, I let my eyes fall to a grinning Beckett. “You think you’re funny, don’t you?”

He shrugged. “If the shoe fits.”

“So funny.”

He laughed and I felt the low rumble in my belly. I really liked the sound of his laugh, even though I knew I shouldn’t.

It was later, after we’d ordered and devoured two platters of nachos and a few more drinks each, that Beckett leaned back with the neck of his beer between large fingers. “Christmas is coming around soon. Are you lot planning on heading back home?”

His question was directed at our three friends across the table. They were all from the Spruce Grove area, a city just west of Edmonton, Alberta. I knew he was directing his question at them and not me, because I didn’t have a home to go to for the holidays. I’d never had that.

Raina glanced at me. “Actually,” she smiled at Kaiden. “We don’t really have plans yet. But we’d like it if you spent the holiday with us, no matter what we do.”

“Me?” I was surprised, and even though I felt the warmth of her offer, I also felt the burden.

Beckett didn’t let me feel it for long, as his big hand came down on my shoulder and he squeezed.

“I was actually thinking we could make plans for this Christmas. My parents are always busy and I usually spend the day alone so,” he glanced down at me.

“I was hoping I could convince Amara to save me from loneliness this year.”

“Oh,” Maddy lifted her hands. “Don’t let us interfere.”

I could still hear his words echoing in my mind, “Hoping I could convince Amara to save me from loneliness this year.”

Wow.

“That’s just it,” Beckett continued and I blinked myself back to awareness. “I was thinking we could pool our resources and spend a week in Banff. We could ski, or whatever,”

“I think that’d be awesome.” Kai put in, grinning.

“Yeah, then we’d all be together and no one would be lonely.” Beckett chuckled, and I felt his thumb start to move gently over the bare skin of my shoulder. The sensation was—too much. “It’d save my lonely ass, anyway.”

“I don’t know,” Raina winced. “What about our parents?”

“They love skiing. We’ll invite them.” Kai proposed. “And Maddy, you can invite yours.”

“I’m not sure if they’ll go for it, but I’m in either way.”

My eyes sliced to Maddy, who was being a lot more accommodating to the proposition of being without her parents for Christmas than I would have thought. Even Raina looked surprised as she leaned into the table to look around Kaiden.

“Really?” She asked, “You’d be good with ditching your parents during Christmas?”

She shrugged. “If they don’t want to come, it’s not like I can’t head home after the holiday for a visit.”

There was something fishy about this. I was thinking that if I hadn’t drank half the bar, I might have been able to put my finger on whatever that fishy was—but unfortunately, I had drank half the damn bar and at the moment I was good for putting my finger on absolutely nothing.

Therefore, I did nothing but squint across the table at my friend.

“Will you come, Mar?” Raina asked a little hesitantly, and I startled.

“What?”

“If we rent a cabin, will you come?”

Always the downer, I pointed out the only saving grace I could think of to get myself out of this new predicament. “I sincerely doubt you’ll be able to book anything this late. Most everything is reserved for Christmas already.”

“Actually, that’s not entirely true.” I caught a weird look between Beckett and Kai, but didn’t have time to analyze it before he embarked on an explanation.

“My parents bought a cabin a few years back. It’s more like a house, but they call it their summer cabin.

Anyway, I talked to them and they said we could take it for as long as we wanted. ”

“Your parents have a cabin?” I asked stupidly. “I thought they didn’t like skiing?”

“They don’t. They do like to relax on a big deck, entertain, and be complimented on the luxury their lifetime accomplishments have bought them, though.”

“Oh,”