“I would love to,” she heard herself say. She smiled and bit at her lip.
Isaac’s eyes traced over her lips before meeting her gaze again, and she felt heat suffuse her face. He didn’t say anything but offered his elbow. Cosette threaded her hand through his elbow and wrapped it around his bicep. The bulge of muscle there made her heart race and her throat go dry. How would it be to touch more of his perfect muscles? She blinked and tried to shut those wandering thoughts down. This was just a walk as old friends. Unless her dad was serious about hiring Isaac to protect her. Yet Isaac was still in the Air Force. He wasn’t going to quit to be with her.
Her dad patted Isaac’s shoulder again. Cosette wondered if Isaac was surprised by the change in her father. She knew he’d threatened many boys to stay away from her, including the Jewel brothers. When she’d gone away to college, she’d dated men—well, whoever Mar set her up with—and her father wouldn’t have approved of most of them. She’d given up dating when she’d graduated with a doctorate in chemistry and started formulating perfumes. Her chemistry peers looked down on what she did, but she loved it. Scents were her obsession.
Speaking of, she leaned a bit closer and sniffed Isaac. Ah … it wasn’t one of hers, but she didn’t mind the way his body chemistry mixed with 1 Million by Paco Rabanne. It was a nice mix of cinnamon, citrus, and leather. She’d love to try her Military Man line on him. It would probably be his signature cologne. She wondered if she’d created those scents with him in mind. There were always so many thoughts going on in her head that it was sometimes hard to pin down specific memories or inspiration. One that always stood out to her, though, was kissing Isaac.
“Have fun, you two,” her dad said. “Take good care of her.”
“Of course,” Isaac answered seriously.
Cosette knew that her dad was concerned. They’d assumed from Vance’s last texts that he’d gotten a tip from someone in Vegas’s police force about what she’d seen and why she’d fled. He would probably try to find her. She’d at first assumed Vance wouldn’t try to hurt her or “silence” her, but she didn’t know anymore. Her innocent trust in mankind had been shattered. The sight of Vance carving up that man’s back made bile rise in her throat and her hair stand on end. He’d been so callous and vicious as his men held the victim in place while the poor man let out the most heart-wrenching scream. She used to dream about new scents, fairies, and her mom up in heaven. Now she dreamt about that scream.
She forced her focus back to Isaac. Not that it was too hard with his strong frame close by and his handsome face tilted toward her with a secretive smile on his lips. He directed her away from her father as she clung to his bicep. Maybe she shouldn’t have clung, but she was emotionally drained and his arm felt so good under her fingertips. They walked through the gorgeous resort, past the water features, and toward the pool areas and the beach beyond.
“Did you just sniff me?” he asked in a low voice close to her ear.
Cosette looked up. His face was right there. If she arched at all, she could kiss those tempting lips. Heat flared through her at the thought. “Hello to you too,” she said back.
He chuckled.
Cosette pushed out a huffy breath. “And people claim I have poor social skills. I haven’t seen you in … at least twelve years, and the first thing you say to me is, ‘Did you just sniff me?’” Sniffing people wasn’t a socially acceptable thing to do, but perfectly mixed smells were her life’s work. Of course she couldn’t miss an opportunity to do a little practical research. Vance had refused to wear her Businessman line, preferring Caron Poivre at a thousand dollars per ounce. She thought the spicy oriental scent of Caron Poivre was a little heavy-handed, and it didn’t mix with Vance’s chemistry as well as her originals would have.
“And you’re even more beautiful than you were twelve years ago, Cozy.” Isaac’s voice was deep, manly, irresistible. A smooth line like that from other men would have felt just like that—a line. From Isaac, it was the most beautiful compliment she’d ever received. She’d almost forgotten about his nickname for her. It had started off kind of silly: he’d told her that she was cozy and warm like a blanket when he’d impulsively hugged her once. He’d said it after he’d kissed her on the beach in the same husky voice he’d used just now. He made her warm, but definitely not “cozy”—more on fire.
“Thank you.” She found herself leaning even more heavily into him. She wasn’t tired around him—far from it, as he gave her a boost of energy—but she instinctively knew that he could lift and protect her. She needed both right now. So much. She’d lived the past few years in her lab, burying herself in creating delicious scents for her “Cosette” brand, naming them after different career paths for men and women and keeping the prices reasonable. Her best friend, Marietta, was a business and marketing genius. She’d worked countless hours and landed accounts with everyone from Target to Walgreens with her charming personality and vast network of associates. If Cosette wasn’t going to be able to create in her lab until her dad determined she was “safe,” it might kill her. How would they know she was safe? The only indicator she could think of was Vance being killed or arrested.
“You’re even more handsome than you were twelve years ago, Ike,” she admitted, also using the nickname she’d given him. Everybody else called him Iceman because he was cool under pressure, but he wasn’t icy to her.
He smiled softly down at her. Had his eyes always been that blue, or had she forgotten?
They passed a myriad of pools, the water glowing blue in the night, and eventually made it to the soft sand of the beach. Other people were also strolling on the beach, and a few groups gathered together, most likely partying and drinking. Isaac directed her away from the crowds to where the beach was darker, more private.
She thought about taking her heels off to revel in the feel of the soft sand, but when Isaac stopped and turned to her, drawing their clasped hands up to his chest, she couldn’t have cared less about sand between her toes. A thrill of anticipation and delight trickled over her as he used his other hand to brush a curl away from her cheek.
“Cosette,” he murmured, “I—”
A sharp pop sounded, accompanied by an explosion of light. Cosette screamed and hit the ground, covering her head with her hands. Was this it? Had Vance found her, brought his henchmen, and now he was going to kill her and Isaac?
Tugging at Isaac’s pant leg, she begged, “Get down! He’ll kill us both!”