Wild Wolf Claiming. Rhyannon Byrd

raining a little fire and brimstone. Or a tornado would sweep through the center of town. Who knew? They might even be attacked by a deranged, ax-wielding Santa. That certainly seemed to be where her luck was headed.

      “Hey, what’s wrong?” Elliot asked in a low voice, shifting a little closer to her side.

      She gave a tired sigh. “The cop headed toward us—he’s my ex.”

      “You were married to that guy?” His deep voice was all rough with shock, and she could feel the heat of his stare burning hot against the side of her face.

      “God, no.” She shook her head, and shot him a look that no doubt said I’d rather be anywhere but here right now. “Ex-boyfriend. We went out together back in our senior year of high school.”

      He grunted in response, and a heartbeat later, Derek reached them, looking as smug and as full of himself as he always did. Before he could get a word out, Skye said, “Elliot, this is Officer Carlton. Derek, this is Elliot. He’s a customer at the diner.”

      Neither man said anything, since they seemed to be too busy staring each other down, and she ended up just rambling on. “Elliot is the one who saved the day. He disarmed the robber and made sure no one got hurt.”

      Derek slowly brought his gaze to hers, and she could tell by his tone that he was going to be a dick. “How do you know him, Skye?”

      Crossing her arms over her chest, she spoke through her gritted teeth. “I just told you, he’s a customer.”

      Derek cocked one pale brow. “A regular?”

      Skye rolled her eyes. “What does that have to do with anything? You should be thanking him for doing your job for you, not asking stupid questions.”

      Derek glared, and she drew in a deep breath to keep going, only to stop short when she felt Elliot place his big, strong, deliciously warm hand on her shoulder. He gave it a comforting squeeze, letting her know in a supportive way that she needed to calm down.

      Right, she thought. Okay, I can do this. She could be calm...and civil. It just meant burying the hurt she felt every time she came into contact with this jerk.

      It seemed so bizarre now to think that there’d been a time when she’d thought Derek was the hunkiest, greatest, most awesome guy she’d ever known. She’d secretly crushed on him for months her senior year of high school, and had nearly died from excitement the day he’d come up to her after math class and asked if she wanted to go out with him on Friday night. It’d been like a dream, the star running back of the football team asking out the poor, chubby girl who only had Vivian for a friend. And he’d been so sweet and persistent, she’d found him impossible to resist. So much so that she’d ended up giving him her virginity when they hit their four-month mark, only to find out the next week that he’d been banging five cheerleaders from three other schools the entire time they’d been together.

      She’d learned a hard lesson from the experience, and it wasn’t one she ever planned on forgetting.

      Stepping a little closer to her, Derek lowered his voice. “I’d like to talk to you alone for a minute.”

      She shuddered, and knew that Elliot must have felt it, because he moved his hand off her shoulder and pulled her into his side instead. And, oh geez, did it feel good to have this gorgeous hunk’s arm wrapped around her waist. She’d have preferred to stay right where she was, but from the look on Derek’s face, it was clear he was going to cause a scene if he didn’t get his way. And Skye had already had enough drama for one night. So with a muffled curse, she pulled away from Elliot, giving him an apologetic look. “I’ll be right back.”

      He didn’t argue with her—but he sure as hell didn’t look happy about it, either. “You sure?”

      She nodded, and couldn’t help but smile at him. “Will you wait for me? I don’t want to miss being able to say goodbye.”

      Something warm and delicious began to smolder in the depths of his dark, hooded gaze. “I’ll be right here. I won’t take my eyes off you.”

      She caught her lower lip in her teeth as she stared up at him. “Thanks.”

      Derek muttered something under his breath, and she quickly walked a little farther down the street as he followed behind her, just wanting to get this over with.

      “You really going slumming with that guy?” he demanded, as soon as she turned around to face him.

      “First of all, that guy happens to be awesome. So stop sounding like a jealous douche.”

      “Jesus, Skye.” His lip curled as he sneered at her. “I thought you were different.”

      “From what? What does that even mean?” she demanded hotly. “And who are you to judge me? You’re a cheat and a liar! And I’m...” She suddenly broke off, shaking her head as she laughed. “Oh, God, why am I even having this conversation with you? We have nothing to say to each other.”

      She started to walk around him, when he quickly blocked her path. Giving him her best go-to-hell look, she growled, “No, Derek. I’m done talking to you.”

      “You’re done when I say so,” he snapped, sounding like a petulant child as he puffed up his chest.

      She blinked, wondering when he’d gone and lost his damn sanity. And then every single thought was shoved from her mind as Elliot’s tall, powerful body suddenly pushed between them. Peering around his side, Skye watched in shock as he stepped up to Derek, towering over him, his low voice cut with anger as he growled, “The lady said no, jackass. So get the fuck away from her.”

      Derek’s blue eyes went wide with outrage. “Who the hell do you think you are?”

      Elliot shook his head and smirked, as if he found Derek’s posturing a little funny. “I’m someone who’s not afraid of you, even with that shiny badge you’re wearing. So. Back. Off.”

      Oh, man. Skye could tell that Derek was seriously pissed...as well as embarrassed. And she’d have so been lying through her teeth if she’d said there wasn’t a tiny bit of her that freaking loved it. If Elliot Connors hadn’t been her hero before, he most definitely was now. She felt like she’d found her own personal guardian angel, and she had to bite her lip to keep from smiling when Derek took a couple of steps back and shot her a furious scowl. “We’re not done, Skye.”

      Using her best bored tone, she told him, “We were done years ago, Officer Carlton. Let it go.”

      Rage made him red in the face, the blue of his eyes burning with it. “Don’t go anywhere,” he bit out. “I’ll need to talk to both of you before we leave.”

      A piercing wave of relief spread through Skye’s chest as she watched Derek turn and stalk away, and then she stepped in front of Elliot, tilted her head back and gave him such a wide smile that it hurt her cheeks. “You are like the most freaking awesome person ever!” she gushed, not even caring that she was making a fool of herself. “Thank you so much for standing up for me. For helping me.”

      He gave her a look that somehow seemed both hungry and tender, his voice a deliciously husky rasp as he said, “You never need to thank me for that either, Skye.”

      “Okay,” she breathed, feeling her face heat despite the cold wind whipping around them. “But, just so you know, you...you’re not like any other guy I’ve ever met.”

      He gave a quiet, sexy bark of laughter, and she had a feeling there was a joke somewhere in there that she didn’t get. And now she really felt like an idiot. “My manager said that I could go ahead and take off, since they’re going to shut the diner for the night, and I really don’t want to stick around to chat with Derek again. So I, uh, guess I should get going,” she rambled on, burrowing down deeper into her coat, kind of wishing she could disappear in it. “I mean, you probably have somewhere you need to be, right?”

      Without a word, he put his hand against