Operation: Endeavor (When The Mission Ends) by Christi Snow Page B

called the ambulance? What phone did you use?”
    “Don’t worry. I used the store phone so they wouldn’t be able to trace the call back to me.”
    He rubbed his forehead in frustration. Incompetent idiots…every single one of them. They continued to screw this all up. He should have hired a professional for the retrieval. “Okay, I’ll take care of this. Just note for further operations, in no way, shape, or form is the owner of the bookstore supposed to get hurt. We need her. If something happens to her, you will pay with your life. Do you understand?”
    “Ye…yes, boss.”  The voice that answered was shaky so he knew he’d made his point, but now he had to find another way to retrieve The Gift.
     
     

Chap ter 14
    Colton sat up with a start and glanced around his darkened bedroom. What had awoken him? His heart was pounding, so he knew it wasn’t a natural thing. Then he heard it…a whimper coming from Penelope’s room. He flung the covers off and ran out of his room toward hers.
    When he came in, he could hear her muffled sobs. There was enough light coming through the window so he could see she was alone. She must be having a nightmare and the torment in her sobs tore his heart in two. He rushed to her bedside and whispered her name, but she was still asleep. He lowered his body down beside her and drew her into his arms. She immediately quieted, although she didn’t wake up. She simply snuggled into his chest and sighed lightly, ruffling the hair on his chest. He felt that movement all the way down to his cock.
    Damn, he was naked. Hearing her in distress, he hadn’t even thought about the need for pants. He’d lay here until she settled back into deep sleep and then he’d head back to his room.
    He lowered his nose to her hair and inhaled her sweet honeysuckle scent. He groaned internally. It was going to be a long night, but despite the aching in his groin, he planned to savor each moment of what he could steal of it.
    She felt so right in his arms, but he couldn’t do anything about that. She’d made it clear that she wasn’t interested in a relationship. There was no way he would open himself up to another relationship where they both weren’t on the same page. He’d done that with Dianna and it had been a disaster. Besides right now, he needed to take care of Chris and make sure he healed. His priority had to be his family.
     
    * * *
     
    Penelope awoke with her face pressed into a very sculpted, very sexy, very hard chest. And speaking of hard, something caught her eye. She glanced down his body and the tingles immediately erupted and coiled towards her core. How had Colton ended up naked in her bed? She took mental inventory of her own body. She still had a mild headache, but that was from her fall, not drinking heavily. She didn’t feel other signs of anything untoward happening between them, so why couldn’t she remember how he got there?
    His muscles tightened and she quickly diverted her gaze from his ever-growing cock up to his face which appeared to be glowing red. Who knew Colton could blush?
    His voice was gravelly with sleep. “Sorry about that.” He waved the hand that wasn’t draped around her down toward his groin.
    She grinned at him, enjoying the fact he was uncomfortable. “No problem. It’s just something that happens naturally right? You’re just a healthy guy.” She glanced back down, and cocked an eyebrow at him as she murmured. “Very healthy indeed.”
    He closed his eyes in a silent grimace while he continued to hold her. He opened them and a barrage of conflicting emotions flashed through. A shiver of awareness skated down her spine. Colton was naked in her bed and God, he looked sexy in the morning. His eyes darkened with arousal and she felt more than a little dazed by it. “Why are you in my bed?” she whispered, not wanting to break the spell.
    “You had a nightmare.” He spoke and his voice was just as hushed as hers.
    Her nipples hardened