Claiming Sarah (Ace Security #5)(14)

Sarah knew he was referring to her feeble attempts to pull her hand out of his, and blushed. But he was right, this was something she should know. It would come in handy at the hospital too, just in case one of the patients or family members got a little too familiar, as they’d done in the past.

Concentrating on his instruction, she did her best to put her nerves about dating Cole behind her.





Chapter Four

At the end of their first lesson, Cole walked Sarah to her car. The chemistry between them during the lesson was powerful, but he’d done his best to keep things businesslike while he was teaching her the best way to get out of some easy holds. In upcoming sessions, he’d teach her how to hurt someone who was trying to prevent her from escaping.

“How do you feel about what you learned tonight?” he asked when they got to her car door.

“Pretty good. But it’s just nerve-racking to think about having to use anything you taught me.”

“We’ll keep practicing. The more you do it, the easier it’ll become. Soon it’ll be second nature, and you’ll simply react.”

She nodded. “I appreciate you helping me.”

“When are you free next?”

“For my next lesson?” she asked.

“That too.”

She stared at him. “Seriously?”

“Yeah. I’d like to make you dinner one night after you get off work. I want to hear all about your shift and the interesting people you met that day.”

“I can’t talk about most of the stuff I do. Privacy laws and all that,” she told him.

Cole grinned. “I know, angel. I was talking more about the people in general and not what ails them.”

“Oh.”

“And I want to arrange a time for you to come to Ace Security and sit down with the Anderson brothers too.” Hiding a grin at the way she wrinkled her nose, he continued. “I know, it sucks, but the more information Logan and the others have, the more they can find out about Owen. If he’s in any way a threat, they’ll find out and do what they can to shut it down. You want that, right?”

“Oh yes,” she breathed. “I can’t imagine not having to worry about picking up my mail, wondering what he’s said in a letter today. Or finding some ‘gift’ he’s left for me. But I already contacted them. They said they were fully booked. That, and I hadn’t realized exactly how expensive they’d be to hire.”

“Hmm. It doesn’t matter, angel. When they hear your story, I know they’ll want to help.”

“I don’t want them to skimp on someone else’s case if they take mine,” she protested.

Cole shook his head. “They won’t. I promise.”

Sarah sighed. “Okay. If you think it’s necessary. Maybe they can find something that I can use to make him back off and forget about me.”

Cole wanted to say that he doubted Owen would back off. The man obviously knew Sarah was as good of a person as he was ever going to find and wanted her for himself.

Not that Cole was any different. From the second he’d met her, something about Sarah had struck a chord inside him. And now that he knew her a little better and felt their intense chemistry? Yeah, he definitely wanted to see where things could go between them. “We also need to figure out when’s a good time for your next lesson.”

“Sounds as if you’re going to be filling up my social calendar,” Sarah quipped.

“Damn straight,” Cole told her with a straight face.

“I have the next two days off, then I have three twelve-hour days again. Then I get another three days off before restarting my shifts. Eventually I’ll be moved to night shift, though. Then it’s harder for me to do anything, because all I want to do during the day is sleep.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Cole said confidently, not able to keep the thought of her sleeping her days away in his bed out of his mind. It was crazy how attracted he was to Sarah after mere hours. But everything he learned about her just intrigued him more.

“I didn’t ask . . . and I feel horrible, now that I think about it. But is owning the gym all you do?”

Cole grinned. “Yeah, angel. It’s definitely a full-time gig. But I’m happy to tell you anything you want to know about me and my life when you come over for dinner.” He felt ten feet tall when she nodded.

“I’ll call Logan first thing in the morning and see if he and the others have time in their schedule soon to meet with us about your situation. We’ll get that out of the way first. Sound okay?”

Sarah took a big breath and let it out in a whoosh. “Yeah. But I have to get some stuff done at home first.”

“What stuff?”

She shrugged. “Mow the lawn, for one. And my neighbor’s too.”

“They can’t mow their own?”

Sarah shook her head. “No. Mrs. Grady is in her eighties, but doesn’t want to move out of the house because her husband died last year and she misses him something awful. Her kids don’t visit very much, and she needs help with the upkeep of her house.”

“Something tells me you do more than just help in the yard,” Cole said dryly.

Sarah blushed. “I like her. It’s no hardship to hang out with her and let her talk while I tidy her house once a week.”