The waiter brought them some water and she grabbed it like she was dying of thirst. After taking a deliberate but dainty sip, she sat the glass down. “No, this is perfect. We have good food, a nice atmosphere and I get to spend time with a handsome hero who rescued me from an awkward situation. I think getting to know you this way is very special.”
Oh, she was going to get to know him well, he was going to make sure of that. “What was your awkward situation? Does your friend try to fix you up often?”
Savannah cleared her throat. “Tammany is a doll. She’s been a good friend. I’m just not as outgoing as she would like for me to be. And she tends to want to take me on as a project, I think.” The waiter had brought some hushpuppies and she took one from it and chunked it over the side and watched as a small alligator headed straight for the treat. “While our little ploy will satisfy my friend’s matchmaking needs for a little while, what I’m really grateful for was escaping Fred March’s clutches. He scares me a little.”
Immediately Patrick’s protective instincts went into high gear. “There was someone bothering you at the Memorial? Why didn’t you say so?” That was one thing he wouldn’t tolerate. Women should never have to put up with being threatened.
“He wasn’t really bothering me. His name is Professor March and he makes me very nervous. I’ve turned him down several times and he has made some veiled threats becaue of it.” Remembering what she had told Patrick about being dateless, Savannah felt she had to elaborate. “I know you wonder why I haven’t taken advantage of his invitations.” She clasped her hands together, trying to force herself to stop shaking. Patrick was so attentive. Savannah didn’t know what to do with the way he made her feel. The need to be closer to him and the reality that she couldn’t was almost too much to bear.
“No, I wasn’t thinking that at all.” He made himself very plain. “A woman has every right to choose who she spends time with. I wish you had pointed this man out to me; I can guarantee he wouldn’t be bothering you anymore.” Just the idea of someone making Savannah feel less than safe infuriated him. Patrick watched her tear another hushpuppy into smithereens. It was clear to him that she was beating around the bush and whatever she wasn’t telling him was the real problem. Damn, what he wouldn’t give to put off his deployment. But he couldn’t. The situation with Lucas had to be resolved one way or the other. Meeting Savannah like this and then having to walk away from her so soon was tearing him up inside.
“You would have defended me?” At that moment, he owned her. Oh, she knew he would never want to take possession of her – but that didn’t negate the fact that he had just earned the keys to her kingdom.
The absolute amazement on her face and wonder in her voice made it hard for Patrick to sit still. He wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and show her how it felt to be cherished. They had just met – and he knew it wasn’t logical – but he felt possessive of her. This woman was important to him, but he didn’t feel like he could say all of that – not just yet. But he damn sure could put her mind to rest. “Hell yes, I would have defended you.”
Without thinking, she picked up her napkin and fanned herself with it. Then she laughed. Truthfully, she was having a hard time maintaining her composure. Savannah was extremely attracted to this man. Her whole body was tingling from arousal and she had the most incredible urge to crawl over in his lap and kiss him silly. “You say the most amazing things,” she sighed. “Maybe it would be better if we talked about something else till I calm down.” She began to thumb through the book, heading for the table of contents that would list the names. “The name LaVerdure isn’t familiar to me. But, I certainly don’t have this volume memorized.”
“Savannah, I don’t want you to calm down and I don’t want to do research right now.” Patrick took the heavy volume from her and sat it on the chair next to him. “Frankly, I’d rather get you alone and kiss you till you can’t remember your name.” After he had declared his intentions, they stared at one another for a long moment. Patrick was doing his best to re-memorize her face. During the long weeks ahead, he knew he would want to remember every beautiful detail and even though he had seen her in the well and drawn her likeness, nothing compared to the stunning reality of Savannah.
Savannah was dumbstruck. “You want to kiss me?” She was asking too many questions, and she probably sounded like she didn’t have a brain in her head - but this w important.
“More than you can ever imagine.”
Should she? Could she? She was clean, she knew she was. No doctor had ever found even one thing wrong with her. Savannah knew she was just like any other girl. He deserved to know the full truth – but, it was just a kiss. She wouldn’t touch his lips, but she longed to experience kissing someone – just once.
“Lean over the table,” she commanded quickly.
Dang, if she didn’t bark orders as good as he did. Patrick found himself doing
