Page 62 of Cloaked in Beauty

Rusty lifted his head and shot her a remarkably similar look.

Letty held her hands up in surrender. “All right, all right.” She chuckled. “I’m coming.”

She stepped onto the middle of the tick, and a lovely warmth radiated through her soles. Then Philip covered the tops of her feet with the edge of his blanket and rubbed her toes until he’d thoroughly driven away the cold.

Her heart turned a flip at the sight of this man bending over her feet and warming them with such care. Such a humble gift, filled with tenderness. Never had she felt so . . . cherished.

“Thank you.” The words came out more as a reverent whisper than the statement of gratitude she had intended.

He made no response, just pushed to his feet to stand before her.

“Hands.” It was an order, not a request.

She complied, holding her hands out in front of her. He took them in his, and the first thing she noticed was the heat radiating from his skin.

Her gaze flew to his face. “You’re warm.”

He rolled his eyes before settling his gaze on hers, his mouth twisting into a self-deprecating grin. “Only took half a day, but, yeah, I finally thawed out.”

“Oh, Philip. That’s wonderful!” She tugged her hands free of his hold, bounced up onto her tiptoes, and hugged his neck.

His arms came around her, forming a toasty cocoon as she found herself encapsulated inside his blanket, her front pressed to his chest as he held her close. Never had anything felt so wonderful. She wanted to linger, to savor the warmth and feel of him, but Rusty’s head bumping against her leg jostled her conscience. She really needed to quit foisting unrequested affection on her poor escort.

Loosening her hold on his neck, she slowly dropped her heels back to the mattress and eased away from his cozy embrace.

“I’m, uh, going to light a lantern and get supper started.”

He made no reply, but she felt his gaze follow her as she backed off the mattress and escaped to the table where the supplies waited.

****

It took a minute for Philip to recover from the boulder-sized impact Letty had made on his heart when she’d nestled up against him so sweetly. He pulled the blanket closed around his chest as he watched her cross the room to the supplies piled on the table. Philip bit the inside of his cheek as his pulse throbbed in his veins. How had she burrowed into his heart so deeply after such a short acquaintance? Like a bullet ricocheting off a metal sign and diverting to a new target, the trajectory of his life had taken a sharp, completely unanticipated turn. He’d become addicted to her uninhibited, spontaneous displays of affection. Her smile. Her laugh. Even the way she smelled. He admired her grit, her loyalty, and her kindness, but it was her affection that dismantled every argument that tried to convince him that the two of them would never work.

Philip forced his gaze away from her and bent down to rub Rusty’s head. “I’m in trouble, boy.”

He couldn’t court her while on duty, yet after his duty ended, their paths would diverge. What if her mother had a suitor already chosen for her? Even if she didn’t, shouldn’t Letty be given the chance to explore other options? Philip was the first man she’d ever spent any time with. If Wendell or Harper had been assigned to her case, she might have developed similar feelings for one of them. His jaw clenched at the thought.

Was proximity and gratitude all that fueled her interest? His gut told him no. That what he and Letty shared was special. Rare, even. Heaven knew he’d never felt anything like it before. But how could she know with any degree of certainty that he was the right man for her if she had no one to compare him to? She was young. Inexperienced with men. He needed to give her time and space to figure out what she wanted without removing himself completely from the equation.

Of course, they both had to be alive, or the question became moot.

Philip frowned as he approached the stove and fed a few more logs into the firebox. Time to get his head and body back into the game. Tomorrow they’d set out at first light and cover as much ground as possible. The faster they got to Houston, the faster they could deal with Drake Radcliffe and erase the threat hanging over Letty’s head.

Yet every mile that brought them closer to their destination also brought them closer to the men hired to ensure that Letty never arrived.

Philip straightened and let his gaze fall on the auburn-haired beauty who’d stolen his heart. Resolve tightened his chest.

She’d told him at the outset that she didn’t need someone to slay her dragons but a warrior to guard her back. He’d guard her frontward, backward, and sideways, whatever she needed. And he’d not be leaving her on her mother’s doorstep and running off to the next job, either. Dragons didn’t go down easily, and he intended to stay by her side until the one stalking her had been defanged, declawed, and detained in a dungeon so impenetrable, she need never fear him again.

29

Letty awoke to a kiss the next morning, only it wasn’t the kiss she’d been dreaming of most of the night. Eyes squinting, she reached for the furry head she knew would be on the other end of the tongue that licked her face.

“All right, all right,” she whispered as she pushed back the blanket and sat up on her bunk. “I’m up.”

Rusty laid his head across her lap, as if giving her a quick morning hug, then dashed off for the door before turning a plaintive look over his shoulder, urging her to hurry.

Letty bit back a sleepy grin, then padded over to the door to let him out. “Stay close,” she warned as she unlatched the door. “We’ll be leaving soon.”