“We saw the For Sale sign and wondered if we might look at the house,” Hope said, smiling in return, her arm through Logan’s. “We’re getting married in a few months and are looking for a place of our own.”

  “Oh, how marvelous.” Ann stepped back and gestured them inside. “Please, do come in. I’m always happy to show people around. And congratulations on your impending nuptials.”

  “Thank you.” Logan’s posture was stiff and his polite expression a bit too wooden. Hope nudged him with her elbow and gave him a look, and he exhaled slowly, a bit of the tension in his shoulders relaxing. He looked around the foyer and nodded. “Nice place.”

  “Thank you,” Ann said, indicating they should follow her as she began their tour. “My husband passed away last year, so I’ve finally decided to downsize.” She led them from the living room through to a formal dining room, then a spacious, eat-in kitchen with a large granite island at the center. “I love the idea of passing this home on to a lovely young couple like you two.”

  They finished touring the first floor, then the second before ending up in the foyer again at last. Ann seemed perfectly nice and completely authentic. A nice, rich old lady who used the chauffeur service to get around because her eyesight was failing. Hope chatted with her a little more and discovered Ann was also in the Baltimore Ladies Association, and she had been at the hotel for the meeting the last night that Diana was seen, but that was the only connection she found between the older lady and Diana Lauren. And even that link was a tenuous one. Plenty of people had been there that night.

  Hope and Logan left and went back to their car, with a card from Ann’s real estate agent in case they wanted to put in an offer. She didn’t have the heart to tell the old lady there was no way in the world she could ever afford the lovely home.

  “Well, that was another dead end,” she said once they were both back in the car and buckled in.

  “Yep,” Logan said, scowling as he pulled away from the curb.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked, having a pretty good idea. He’d been in a foul mood since his phone call with his former boss. “This is about leaving your job, isn’t it? Want to talk about it?”

  “No.” He didn’t look at her as he said it, just stared straight ahead at the traffic, still going way slower than necessary after the accident. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  9

  “Well, you don’t seem too happy about it,” Hope said after a while. They were about halfway back to her place, and it might have been better to just leave it alone, but dammit. That had never been her nature, and she wasn’t going to change now. She fiddled with her phone in her lap, mulling things over. “You know, I bet if you called your boss and talked to him, he’d let you come back. You don’t have to watch me every second, Logan. I know I asked you to stay and protect me, but I was emotional from the accident. You shouldn’t have to give up your livelihood for me.” She sighed, then looked over at him. “Maybe I could hire you to protect me.”

  “You can’t afford it,” he grumbled, signaling and turning the corner. “I already asked.”

  “Oh.” She watched the passing scenery, trying to come up with another solution. “How about I go and stay with my friend Ben? He lives downtown in an apartment building with great security. Or what about your SEAL buddy, Glen? We’ve stayed in touch—his wife, Allison, is a good friend. He’s a former SEAL, so I’d be safe with him, right? He and Allison bought a house about an hour away last year. I bet they’d be happy to have the company for a while until all this is over.”

  “No.” Logan had resorted to one-word answers now, never a good sign.

  Hope bit her lip to hide a smile. Secretly, she had to admit part of her loved the idea that he was so determined to protect her. On the other hand, she didn’t want to be a burden to him. They weren’t even a real couple.

  They stopped at a red light and he finally glanced her way, his expression unreadable. “Look, Hope, you and the baby are safer with me around until the police can catch whoever is behind these attacks. I don’t know what happened to Diana Lauren, but someone’s very worried that you’re going to expose the truth.” The light turned green and Logan slowly accelerated through the intersection after looking both ways twice, flipping a rude finger gesture to the impatient person honking behind them. “Police investigations take time. They need to make sure they get every detail right. Meanwhile, whoever is behind this has deep pockets to hire hit-and-run drivers to take out the nosy reporters on their tail. They could have a different one lurking behind every corner, for all we know.” He reached over and squeezed Hope’s hand. “So, no. I’m not leaving you or the baby until this is over, job or not.”

  By the time they pulled back up in front of her house, silence had fallen once more. Hope got out and waited for Logan, then they walked up to the door together, the weight of everything between them heavy in the air. She wanted to keep discussing him getting his job back because it was obvious it was still bothering him, but he refused to talk anymore about it. He’d said his piece and that was that.

  He was stubborn, just like her.

  They went inside and Logan locked the door behind them, then he did a walk through the house to check all the doors and windows, as had become his new norm. Once everything checked out, he returned to the kitchen, where Hope was trying to figure out what to do about dinner. With all the running around, she hadn’t had a chance to restart her meal delivery service, so they were going to have to figure out something based on what they already had in the fridge. There was plenty there, since Logan had gotten a bunch of groceries delivered…but he’d been right to say that her cooking it probably wouldn’t end well.

  Logan walked over and stood behind her, leaning in to grab a bottled water from the fridge, his muscled front pressed warm to her back, and she shivered despite herself.

  “Everything okay?” he asked, his words closer to her ear, tickling the hair at her temple.

  Her core clenched, want shimmering through her bloodstream before she could stop it. Now wasn’t the time, but damn if her hormones weren’t all out of whack with the pregnancy. Or at least, that was the excuse she was going with. She took a deep breath and straightened, putting a little distance between them, but not much. Not enough, if the way her knees wobbled was any indication.

  “Hey,” he said, setting his water aside and placing his hands on her shoulders. “It’s going to be okay. I promise. Don’t worry about me.”

  “I know,” she whispered, far breathier than she’d intended. God, what was wrong with her? She shouldn’t crave Logan like this, and yet, she did. “I’m not.”

  Hope licked her lips and Logan’s gaze flickered there, following the tiny movement and time seemed to slow around them. When he met her eyes again, his pupils were blown wide and his cheeks were flushed, letting her know he was just as turned on as she was.

  Oh God. This was happening. Was this happening?

  The atmosphere sparkled with promise and passion as Logan leaned in slow, so slow, his attention focused on her mouth, making her lips tingle in anticipation. Then his mouth was on hers, soft and gentle at first, then with increasing hunger. His tongue swept over her lips and she gasped, allowing him entrance. He tasted sweet and spicy and exactly as she’d remembered. She was lost, completely lost in her desire for him. It might be wrong, but man did it feel right.

  “Hope, darling,” he whispered, trailing his lips from her mouth to her ear, nuzzling that spot just below that always drove her mad. She clung to him, digging her nails into his strong shoulders, unable and unwilling to let him go. Not now. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

  “Please…” she begged, not too proud to ask for what she needed. “I want you, Logan.”

  He pulled back enough to rest his forehead against hers, panting. “Are you sure? Is it safe?”

  “The doctor said sex was fine at my last appointment,” she said, running her hands over his back through the soft cotton of his T-shirt just because it felt so good to touch him like this again. She’d missed this, more than she’d admitted to herself. Missed him. “I need you.”

  Logan growled low in his throat and closed his eyes, as if struggling with this decision. Then he opened them again, and she knew they were going to bed. He swooped her up in his arms as if she weighed nothing and headed down the hall, kissing her as he went. “Then, darling, you’re going to have me.”

  Caught up as he was in the moment, Logan made it all the way to the bedroom door before he stopped and put Hope down, the feel of her body sliding along his making him shudder with desire. But while she seemed to be as into this as he was, he couldn’t ignore the fact that she’d told him before that she didn’t go back to her exes. Under any circumstances. The last thing he wanted was to put her in a situation that she’d regret later. They had enough water under that bridge to swim through already, given all the ways he’d screwed up before.

  He started to pull back a bit to look down at her, and she frowned and tried to pull him down for another kiss. When he resisted, she scowled up at him.

  “What’s wrong?” Hope’s lips looked red and kiss-bruised and incredibly tempting. He wanted nothing more than to strip them both naked and fuck her until neither one of them could remember anything except how much they wanted each other, but…

  Summoning all the self-control he could muster, Logan swallowed hard. “I just need to make sure this is what you want, darling.”

  In answer, she hooked a leg around his waist and ground her hips against his, letting him feel the heat between her legs. “Of course, I want this,” she all but purred in his ear, driving his need higher. “Isn’t it obvious?”

  Blood jackhammering in his ears and chest tight, he sucked in a much-needed breath and shoved the insistent, painful strain of his hard cock beneath the weight of his conscience. His words ground out, deep and dark, “What about what you said?”

  “I said I want this,” Hope said, nuzzling his neck and raising goose bumps on his skin.

  “No,” he said, cupping her cheeks and forcing her to meet his gaze. “We need to be clear on this. This is just sex, right? We’re not getting back together because you don’t get back together with exes, right?” A stab of unexpected hurt jabbed his heart at the last part, which was nuts because he didn’t want to get back together with Hope—not when he couldn’t trust himself not to let her and the baby down again.

  Right?

  He shook off that strange thought and stared down into her eyes. “This is just one night, one night to affirm life.”

  She looked at him, flashing him a confused smile. “Affirm life?”

  “Yeah. Happens all the time after emergency situations. Emotions are running high and people need to reassure themselves that some things are still the same, that some good still exists.” He stroked his thumbs over the velvet of her cheekbones. “That’s what this is, right? After the explosion and the hit-and-run and everything.”

  Hope blinked, then nodded. “Yeah, of course. What else would it be?”

  A dull ache formed in his gut at that, but he pushed it down fast. This was good. This was perfect. Short, sweet, hot sex.

  That’s what he wanted. That’s what they both needed.

  Isn’t it?

  Then the time for talking was over. Her mouth was back on his and this time there was no hesitation, no doubts, just the heat and sweetness and passion of Hope. Logan couldn’t get enough. He was like a starving man finally sitting down to the lavish banquet he’d dreamed of for months. Their clothes disappeared in a flurry of kisses and tugs and tangled limbs until finally they were both naked and lying on the bed. He took his time, savoring every inch of her with lips and tongue and fingers. Kissed his way from her mouth to her breasts then lower still, making love to her with his mouth and hands until she came apart in his arms.

  Afterward, he kissed his way up her body again then held still, the tip of his cock poised at her wet entrance, wanting this to last all night, but fearing it would be over all too soon because he wanted her so badly.

  “Okay?” he asked, his weight resting on his forearms on either side of her head. In the back of his mind, there was still the baby to consider, and he’d never made love to a pregnant woman before. Would it be different? What if he got carried away and damaged the kid or hurt Hope somehow?

  Some of his concerns must’ve shown on his face because Hope chuckled and reached up to stroke his cheek. “Way more than okay. I need you inside me. It’ll be wonderful. Promise.”

  He eased his way in, slowly and gently until he was fully seated inside her then held still, allowing Hope’s body to adjust to his. She rocked beneath him and he began to move too, and soon they’d set up a rhythm that had them both breathless and on the brink of ecstasy way too fast.

  It was different, in a way, from how he’d recalled being with her in the past, but so much better than he’d expected. Even now, so early on in things, Hope felt softer, rounder, more giving than he remembered. And the way she moved beneath him, arching and squeezing and clinging to him… Damn. It was like he was drowning in sensation and sweetness, and he didn’t want to escape. Not now. Not yet.

  Maybe not ever.

  Before he could dwell on that thought, Hope cried out, her nails digging into his shoulders as she climaxed again, her body milking him tight until he thought his head might explode from the pleasure. He thrust once, twice, his balls tightening and that telltale tingling starting at the base of his spine spiraling outward to his cock, then he was there, coming hard inside her, skin to skin, nothing between them, and it was pure heaven.

  Eyes squeezed shut, he rode out the waves of his orgasm until finally he settled back to earth beside her on the bed, their panting breaths the only sounds in the quiet house. She snuggled into his side, her head on his chest, and he tangled his fingers in her hair as they drifted off to sleep.

  He'd been right. The sex had been good. Short, sweet, and hot, too.

  It had also been like coming home.

  10

  The next morning, Logan was up at the crack of dawn as usual. He left Hope sleeping and got showered and changed into clean jeans and a faded gray T-shirt before making coffee and padding outside to the front porch with his cup and phone to call his older brother Jeremy. The birds were singing, and a slight breeze rustled the bushes surrounding the porch. That early morning energy, where anything seemed possible, crackled through the predawn gloom. Across the street, a pair of yellowish eyes stared back at him, probably a raccoon getting into the neighbor’s trash. The things were all over around here. A squirrel chattered from a tree nearby. It was all so peaceful and domestic, so far removed from the life he’d gotten used to as a SEAL, never more than a few steps from a battlefield. It was a little unsettling because it was so different from the norm for him—but it was powerfully appealing all the same. It made him want to stay—here, with Hope, with their baby. But that wasn’t an option…was it?

  Frankly, last night had thrown him for a loop, and he needed to talk it out with someone who would listen and offer sound, unbiased wisdom. Given the fact that Jeremy Miller was a trained counsellor who worked with military personnel suffering from PTSD, he fit that bill nicely. Plus, he’d always been Logan’s go-to guy for advice. In fact, he’d helped Logan tremendously with his own demons over the past several months. The anxiety and depression that had begun after the near-death of his friend had sent Logan into a spiral—and Hope giving up on him and ending their relationship had been him landing at rock bottom. He’d needed that—needed to hit bottom and realize how far he’d fallen so that he could decide to pull himself up…but that didn’t mean he’d known where to start. His brother had been a lifeline. Jeremy wasn’t his official counsellor, since that would be a conflict of interest, but he was a great sounding board and a trusted friend. In fact, it had been Jeremy’s idea for Logan to go see Hope again in the first place, to put their past to rest after he’d started getting his life back on track.

  Early rising was a genetic trait in the Miller family, so he felt no guilt about calling this early—a decision that was validated when Jeremy answered on the second ring, sounding far more perky than a man had a right to at dawn. “Bro, how you been? Did you go apologize to Hope yet?”

  “Uh, yeah. About that…” He winced, scrubbing a hand over his buzz cut. Jeremy was two years older than Logan and happily married, with two kids and another on the way. His brother was the goody-two-shoes of the family, whereas Logan was more of the rebel son. Jer was used to his screwups by now, but still. There wasn’t enough coffee in the world to prepare a guy for this conversation, so he just went for it. “I did. Turns out she’s pregnant. With my baby.”

  There was no response from Jeremy. The silence lasted for so long that Logan double-checked to make sure the call hadn’t dropped, his heart thudding sickly against his rib cage. Man, this was worse than a late-sniper raid. Finally, his brother exhaled slow and said, “Uh, wow. That’s…wow. How are you handling that?”

  “Okay, I think. I went to a doctor’s visit with her, and we saw the ultrasound images. Even heard the heartbeat.” He gave an uncomfortable chuckle, feeling a twinge of protectiveness for his unborn kid. “Anyway, I’m still processing a lot of it, but then we’ve had a lot of other stuff we’re dealing with too.” He told Jeremy about the incidents with Hope and how he’d left his job at the security firm to protect her and the baby full time. “So yeah, things here have been pretty busy and stressful.” After an awkward silence, he came out with the rest because, dammit, that was why he’d called. He really needed Jer’s help here because he had no idea what the hell he was doing anymore. A few months ago, he’d have reached for a drink and asked questions later. That was no longer an option. “We, uh…” He winced then forced out the words, emotions whirling inside him like a tornado—shame, confusion, uncertainty, joy. Just tell him already. “We slept together last night. We both wanted it, and things have been so rough here the last couple of days that I think we both wanted to feel good, feel alive. It was amazing…but now I’m not sure how to handle it.”