Page 1 of My Reluctant Valentine

CHAPTER ONE

Cole

The last thing I needed today was another entitled client who couldn’t handle mountain driving.

I stood in the small Hope Peak Regional Airport, scanning the arrivals area, already regretting taking this month-long contract. Elite Mountain Transport handled serious security—corporate executives, witness protection, high-risk medical transport. Not playing chauffeur for visiting doctors.

And truthfully, I avoided taking extended contracts during the month of February.

Why? Because I fucking hated February in Hope Peak.

The entire month meant more tourists, Valentine’s decorations, and enough pink hearts to make a grown man nauseated. During this time every year, the town looked like Cupid got drunk and vomited pink hearts everywhere. Red and white streamers twisted around every lamppost, heart-shaped wreaths hung on shop doors, and the local coffee shop’s window advertised love potion lattes in swooping cursive letters.

I was not the Valentine kind of guy.

But when your former commander calls in a favor, you don’t say no. Not to the man who had dragged your bleeding ass through enemy territory. Not to the guy whose search and rescue team in neighboring town of Middleton called you in for their tougher cases.

“Just need someone I trust to drive Ella around,” he’d said over the phone last week. “My little sister’s filling in for a doc. She doesn’t drive in the mountains anymore. Not since the accident.”

He hadn’t elaborated about the accident, and I hadn’t asked. In our line of work, some stories weren’t meant to be shared unless offered.

If he was worried about his sister, there was a reason. Something in his voice had made me agree. Even if it meant playing chauffeur during the worst month possible.

I checked the board, confirming her flight had been on time. I adjusted my stance, boots planted firmly on the salt-stained concrete. The cold bit through my clothing, but I barely noticed it. Running Elite Mountain Transport had taught me to focus on the job, not the discomfort. My hand automatically checked the concealed carry holster at my hip—a habit from too many years in combat zones.

A group of women passengers exited the sliding doors, giggling over something on their phones. One woman gave me an appreciative once-over, but I kept my expression neutral. I knew what they saw—six-foot-three of muscle, dark hair military-short, and a face that had seen too much combat. The scar through my left eyebrow and the one along my jaw usually discouraged civilian interest.

Usually.

“Mr. Sutton?”

I turned at the woman’s voice but the words die in my throat.

Mine.

The thought slammed into me with the force of a bullet. Every muscle in my body went rigid as I took in the woman standing before me. And I did mean every muscle. My bodysprang to attention, swift and hard, as though saluting a four-star general.

Dark hair escaped from under her knitted hat, framing a heart-shaped face with wide brown eyes and full lips that parted slightly in surprise when she saw me. A thick cream sweater dress hugged curves that should have been painted on a museum wall. Full breasts strained against the soft material, while hips made for gripping gave her body that delightful hour-glass shape with just a little more meat on it. And her ass… my hands itched to grab a handful of that beautiful ass. I wanted to back her against the nearest wall and order her to wrap those thick thighs around my waist as I plunged deep inside her.

This couldn’t be Jake’s little sister. The man had never mentioned she was gorgeous. Or curvy. Or exactly my type.

Fuck.

She took a hesitant step forward, and my body moved instinctively, closing the distance. Her eyes widened further when she had to tilt her head back to look up at me, exposing the delicate line of her throat. Something primitive in me wanted to put my mouth there, mark her pale skin for all to see.

Shit. I needed to get my head on straight and my body back under control.

“Dr. Ella Hawkins?” I couldn’t help the dark tone of my words. I almost sounded angry. And maybe I was. What the hell had Jake been thinking? That I lived like a monk?

He wanted me to keep her safe. Who the fuck was going to keep her safe from me?

A blush spread across her cheeks and I had to adjust my stance for a totally different reason. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

“Jake said you’d be...” She waved a hand vaguely at me, then seemed to realize what she was doing and dropped it quickly.

I hooked my hands on the sides of the tactical vest I’d worn. It was either do that, or drag her against me to try and assuage some of the ache she’d caused. “Tall?’

Her lips twitched. “Yeah, that’s what he said about you. That you’d be tall.”

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