“Catch it!” yelled Danny.

My chest tightened. Suddenly, I was back in high school, kids screaming at me as the softball dropped towards me. The laptop spun through the air, glossy and fragile, the lid half-open. I heard the soft wump as my backpack landed in Danny’s arms. C’mon, Erin, you can do this—

I shuffled forward, shuffled back, grabbed…and my fingers brushed smooth plastic. I’ve got it!

The laptop slid through my hands and slammed into the ground with a sickening crack.

I screwed my eyes shut, not wanting to look. Maybe it’s not that bad, I told myself. Maybe it’s tougher than I think, maybe I’ll open my eyes and it’ll be fine, just a couple of scratches….

I opened my eyes. It wasn’t fine.

The laptop had come open as it flew through the air and it had landed facedown, snapping the hinge. As I gingerly turned it over, chunks of glass fell from the shattered screen. The case had cracked open and circuit boards and wiring were spilling out.

The wind was getting up and an icy gust blew through me, leaving me shivering uncontrollably. I felt myself crumble, about to break. I was exhausted, freezing cold, out of work, I’d just lost the laptop I needed to job hunt and I was in the backwoods of Colorado, almost a thousand miles from Vegas. My instincts kicked in: I wanted to be somewhere warm, somewhere safe. I wanted to be home.

Then I remembered what happened, what was waiting for me when I got back to Vegas. I didn’t have a home anymore.

I’d never felt so adrift, so alone. I felt my eyes going hot—

And then suddenly, the wind stopped. I looked up.

Danny was standing in front of me, sheltering me, his overcoat billowing out around him like a cape. His green eyes were burning with such a fierce, protective need that it took my breath away.

I wasn’t alone. And even though I was far from my burrow, I felt safe and warm in a way I couldn’t explain, in a way I’d been searching for my whole life. I took a slow breath, staring into his eyes, transfixed. Who is this guy?

He slowly leaned closer, almost as if he didn’t realize he was doing it. In that moment, he dropped his guard: he was so busy worrying about me, he let his mask of cocky confidence slip and I thought I glimpsed something underneath.

Pain. Unbelievable pain.

4. Danny

4

DANNY

I stood there staring at her, drinking in every detail of her face. Her eyelashes were so blonde, they almost disappeared and she looked innocent. Then she’d turn her head just a little, the light would catch them and she’d look sexy as fuck. My eyes kept going back to one particular spot at the back of her jaw, just below her ear. The skin there looked incredibly soft and with all her hair drawn back into that golden braid, that place looked…naked. And very, very kissable.