Gavin felt the shiver race up Regan’s spine as he guided her out of the bar. Chloe was fine, heading home with Erin, Logan, and Mitch. The sly smiles the women shared when that was announced didn’t go unnoticed, but Gavin didn’t say anything. If they wanted to play matchmaker, fine by him. As long as he wasn’t in their crosshairs this time.

He’d been serious when he told Erin they had her covered. They’d spent several hours going over her grandfather’s house, outlining the plans to add motion sensors to the perimeter and increase the video feeds. Between the local authorities and Peaks, whoever the sick fuck was that broke into her house wasn’t going to get near her while she was in Sapphire Creek. What she hadn’t mentioned to the group—or her grandfather—were the letters. Those would be harder to stop.

Now this attack at Chloe’s car. While neither Chloe nor Regan had been seriously injured, Gavin’s mind was playing out all the possibilities. It could be connected.

Despite what had happened tonight, Sapphire Creek wasn’t ordinarily a hot bed of criminal activity. The normal action around here was a drunken brawl, a little vandalism when the kids got bored, maybe the occasional domestic dispute. Typical small-town stuff. More nuisances rather than felonies. Nothing people ever thought much about.

Gavin gritted his teeth and took a deep breath. In through his nose, out through the mouth. That was supposed to relieve stress, right? It wasn’t working. Bone-numbing fear had grabbed hold when he turned and saw the abrasions and bruises blooming all over Regan and Chloe. That fear hadn’t loosened its grip yet.

He slid his hand up Regan’s spine and settled it on her shoulder, needing to touch her, to assure himself she was really all right.

The lights and sounds from the historic downtown area buzzed around them while their feet crunched on the gravel littering the lot behind the bar. “You okay?” he asked again, because he couldn’t not ask. The silence was becoming suffocating as it settled around them. Something he definitely didn’t want with her.

She shot him a quick smile and stepped closer, settling herself against his side. Maybe she was cold and seeking his warmth, so he took the opportunity to wrap his arm around her. Her hip brushed against his leg with each step, shooting sparks of awareness straight to his groin. He’d never realized how arousing such a simple movement could be.

“I’m okay,” she assured him, seeming not at all disturbed by the friction their bodies were generating as they walked. “Just thinking.”

“About what?” Please let it be about getting naked. He held his breath, not daring to hope their thoughts were lining up so perfectly.

She stopped so suddenly his feet skidded on the gravel. Before he could ask why she’d stopped, she turned to face him.

His arms were suddenly full of woman. Soft, beautiful, sensual woman. Strong, capable, amazing woman. His hands didn’t wait for instructions. One lifted and buried itself in the silky strands of her hair while the other gripped her hip, and pulled her more firmly against him.

This. This was what he’d been aching for. From the moment he saw her in his kitchen, he’d been desperate to hold her like this again. Nose to nose. Knee to knee.

Her fingers locked in his hair, tugging his willing mouth down to meet hers, her lips demanding as she took what she wanted.

She didn’t need to know that he’d be more than happy to let her take everything he had to give.

But not here.

He slowly pulled back, unable to resist capturing her bottom lip between his teeth and gently tugging as he did. Her answering moan almost had him changing his mind. Her grip on him was solid. Tight.

Viciously, he reined his lust in. She deserved more than being mauled in a parking lot. Especially after what had happened earlier. Their previous encounter had been hurried, fraught with the idea of getting caught. This time, when they got together he wanted to take his time and explore every inch of her.

Leaning in, he gave her another soft kiss, just a brush of his lips against hers, and tried to remember what he needed to tell her. “Not here,” he whispered. “Let me get you home.”

She whimpered and pulled her hands from where they were clinging to his neck, resting her fists against his chest before she blew out a breath. She dropped her forehead against him.

Yeah. He felt the same way.

“I shouldn’t have done that.”

Okay. Maybe they weren’t on the same page. “Why not?” he asked, startling himself with how gravelly his voice sounded. Gavin ducked his head to search her face, but her eyes were squeezed shut. “I’ve got to say, that was the highlight of my night and I definitely want to do it again. That and more.”

When she remained silent, he gripped her shoulders and set her away from him. “What’s going on, Regan?”

She scrubbed her hands over her face. “I don’t know,” she muttered as she turned and started walking again.

He grabbed her arm before she’d taken more than a couple steps. “Yes, you do. Don’t run away again. Talk to me.”

Leaning her head back, she looked him square in the eye. He was once again struck dumb by how beautiful she was. Even with the scrape across her cheek—which matched the healing one from when the tree knocked her down—and her mouth drawn in a worried frown, she was the most stunning woman he’d ever seen.

He desperately wanted to kiss away whatever was bothering her, but he waited. Knowing she wanted him as much as he wanted her helped give him the patience to hold back and see if she’d admit it to herself.

She shuddered, like a wet dog throwing off water, and spoke in a voice so soft he had to lean forward again to hear her. “I was so scared.”

Gavin forced himself not to react as those soft words pierced him. It was a knife, straight to the heart, her quiet admission.

All thoughts of seduction flew from his mind as he struggled with how to respond. Words didn’t seem enough, but they were all he could offer. “You’re safe here, Regan. Safe with me.”

It wasn’t enough, he hadn’t kept her safe. None of them had.

“That’s not what I meant.” She reached for him, wrapping her arms around his waist and placing her head against his chest. “I’m afraid of you.”

Gavin reared as far back as he could in her arms. He couldn’t have heard her correctly. “What?”

Regan was shaking her head before he could question her further. “Not like that. Not afraid afraid. I’m afraid of what I’m feeling. Of how I could get lost in this. In you. I’d convinced myself that a fling was the answer.”

She hesitated. “But when those guys jumped us at the car, I was afraid of not taking the chance. Of missing out on something because I’m too scared to put myself out there.” Her cognac eyes were shiny with unshed tears.

Several heartbeats passed while he continued to hold her, doing everything he could to ignore her soft curves this time and the surge of lust that her words sent right to his groin.

When she let out yet another shuddering breath, he decided enough was enough. Time to get her home, behind closed doors. Resisting every urge to toss her over his shoulder and drag her away, he offered his hand. “Come on. Let me take you home.”

They stepped around the back end of yet another pickup truck and he paused next to his motorcycle, holding out the spare helmet for her. When she didn’t immediately take it he looked up. “Regan?”

“That’s a motorcycle.”

He nodded slowly. “A Triumph Bonneville.”

She took a step backward but nodded. “I’ve never ridden a motorcycle before,” she admitted.

With a smile, Gavin gave the helmet a little wiggle. “Afraid?”

Regan stared at him for a moment before breaking into her own smile. “Not anymore.”

The ride to her little house was over quickly, too quickly for Regan’s newly discovered sense of adventure. Between her misadventures with the Mini and the muggers, she ached from the top of her head to the soles of her feet, but she realized she was having fun as they cut through the small mountain town.

The porch lights barely reached the sidewalk when they parked and the darkness allowed her to pretend they were the only ones out. She inhaled deeply and loosened her arms around Gavin’s waist only a little, dragging the moment out a little longer. The night had a bite in the air, indicating they would most likely wake up to a dusting of snow. She’d nearly forgotten the distinctive smell in the air. Reluctantly, she let go so they could go inside.

Gavin pulled Regan close after they both climbed off the bike, wrapping his arm fully around her. “It’s a nice night.”

She jerked to a halt and stared at him. She could feel her cheeks rosy from the cold. From the thrill of the ride. Both. “How can you say that?”

“Okay,” he admitted, “it’s not the way I’d planned out our second date to go.”

She stifled a laugh as she dug into her pocket for her keys. “Your date nights are turning out to be dangerous.”

“Not my plan,” he assured her as he took the keys from her and unlocked the door. “The air is fresh, the stars are out, and I’m walking with the most beautiful woman in town. That’s what makes it a nice night.”

The words surprised a laugh out of her, and some of the tension drained from her limbs. Despite everything that had happened earlier, she’d enjoyed spending these moments with him. But in the quiet of her front porch with the dim light shining down on them, uncertainty started to creep in again.

Licking her lips uncertainly, she tried to figure out how to proceed. The last thing she wanted was to be a burden to him, be someone he needed to take care of. If she was going to go through with this seduction—and holy God, she wanted to—she needed to level the playing field. “You don’t have to come inside. I’m fine, really.”

“I heard you the first time, but that’s not the deal.” Gavin grinned at the mulish expression that crossed her face. “I’m going to escort you inside. And I’m going to walk through your house, making sure there’s no boogeymen hiding anywhere. And then, I’ll go if you want. Or I’ll stay, but only if you want. But you were attacked tonight, so I need to make sure you’re safe. Okay?”

She opened her mouth to argue, but he shook his head. “Please.” The door swung open and Gavin touched Regan’s arm as she took the step to cross the threshold. “Wait here,” he ordered, slipping farther into the house.

Reaching inside, Regan flipped on the entry light and stifled a scream when she realized Gavin had a man on the floor, his knee firmly planted in the guy’s back while he restrained his hands. “Regan.” Gavin’s voice held a hard edge. “Call Connor.”

“Oh my God, who is that?” Her phone was shaking in her hand as she dialed his brother.

The man on the floor suddenly started thrashing about, seeming to come out of a stupor at their voices. “Goddamn it, get off of me!”

Oh.

Regan felt the blood drain from her face as Connor answered. “I’m sorry,” she said into the receiver. “Gavin just brought me home and we thought there was an intruder, but it’s a false alarm.”

Regan blinked back the angry tears that threatened to erupt. “It’s just Todd,” she told Connor. “My ex-husband.”

Gavin sat across the table from Todd while Regan made coffee. His jaw was beginning to ache from clenching it so tightly to keep himself in check. Connor had shown up despite Regan’s assurance that Todd wasn’t dangerous. The fact he’d been in her house the same night she and her sister had been attacked outside the bar was too much of a coincidence for Gavin to accept. Connor too.

“What are you doing here?” Connor asked, his voice mild as he leaned on a barstool and crossed his arms. He appeared at ease with the situation, which Gavin knew was a load of bull.

Todd straightened and looked Connor dead in the eye. His attempt to be intimidating would have been more effective if his hair wasn’t sticking up in the back and his lip wasn’t bleeding. “I came to talk to my wife.”

His eyes flashed and words dripped with disdain. How Regan had ever been married to this buttoned-up prig was beyond Gavin. “I was napping on the sofa, waiting for her to come home when I was attacked,” Todd accused, looking toward Gavin. “I didn’t have any time to defend myself or explain my position before Regan called you.”

Gavin cut his gaze in Connor’s direction, but at the slight shake of Connor’s head said nothing. After Regan’s announcement that the intruder was none other than her ex-husband, she’d retreated to the kitchen. Connor had spoken to her when he’d come in, but Gavin had given her some space while he made sure Todd didn’t follow her.

“Your ex-wife didn’t invite you here, nor did she give you a key to her house, which means you entered illegally,” Connor stated. “Do you want to try again?”

Todd glowered as he leaned back in the chair, crossing his arms. “I was invited. And given a key.”

“Stop lying.” None of them had heard Regan enter. She handed Connor one of the mugs she carried and set the other one in front of Gavin with a decided thunk. When she didn’t move toward Todd or say anything else, the asshole leaned forward and reached out like he was going to take her hand.

His movement disrupted the papers stacked on the table, scattering them. Gavin gave them a quick glance, surprised to find flyers for advanced nursing programs and air flight trauma nursing training, as he swooped them up and handed them to Connor, who also took a quick look and placed them on the counter behind him.

Regan backed away from Todd, pressing against Gavin’s arm as she stood next to him. “Stop lying,” she repeated. “I’m done being lied to.”

“I’m not lying,” Todd objected, shrinking back from the anger in her voice. “Your father invited me up here to work everything out. Your mother gave me the key and told me you were expecting me.”

“They wouldn’t.” But Regan didn’t sound all that convinced. She closed her eyes, drawing in a deep breath. Unsure what to do, Gavin slid his arm around her, offering what comfort her could.

After a couple of heartbeats Regan found her voice. “I want you to leave,” she told Todd quietly. “Give me the key they gave you and leave.”

Todd shook his head, even as he pulled out a key and placed it on the table in front of him. “I need to talk to you. I’ve been trying to call, but you never answer.”

Regan wiped at her eyes as she shook her head. “I have nothing to say to you.”

And with that, she strode from the room.

Connor shifted then, placing his mug on the table and sliding the key toward Gavin. “It’s time for you to leave,” he told Todd. “And next time, make sure your invitation comes directly from Regan, rather than her parents.”

Gavin remained seated as he watched Connor escort Todd through the door to drive him…wherever Todd was staying. Probably with Regan’s parents. He couldn’t imagine the betrayal she was feeling. When Regan didn’t come out, he stood, trying to process everything that had happened. Without a doubt, this had been the shittiest second date in the history of dates.

He picked up both mugs and brought them back to the kitchen, taking the time to look around. The room was worn, as was the rest of the house, with outdated appliances, peeling paint, and cracks in the laminate countertops. It was obvious that no one had paid any attention to the upkeep of the house after Regan’s grandparents died a few years ago. Weariness settled in as he moved to lock the front door, frowning over the flimsy latch and weather-warped jamb. Regan had said she was going to do some work on the house in exchange for rent, but this looked to be more work than he’d imagined.

When she’d mentioned it, he’d thought she’d be slapping some paint on the walls, maybe picking out new carpeting. Instead, it looked as though it would be easier if they simply tore the place down and started over.

After locking the front door he turned back. Regan still hadn’t come out from whichever room she’d disappeared. Did she want him to go too?

Forget it, he muttered, deciding to throw caution to the wind. The sudden appearance of her ex had rattled her and if she wanted to be alone, he’d abide by that. But he needed to make sure she was okay and wanted to be left alone before he left.

It was easy to find her. There was a dim light glowing around the partially opened door of one of the smaller bedrooms.

“Regan?” he asked, pushing the door open. He’d made plenty of noise so as not to startle her, but she jumped anyway at his voice. Gavin stepped into the room, waiting for her to acknowledge him. She stood at the window, looking out into the inky night.

When she didn’t immediately turn he let his eyes roam over the interior of the room. The white lacy curtains looked worn but delicately inviting. There were matching lacy bits of something on the top of the scarred dresser, those things his own grandmother used to constantly crochet that he’d never understood the point of. The effect made it obvious the room had been decorated by an octogenarian and made Gavin smile.

His gaze took in the wardrobe that stood sentry over the opened suitcases, which spilled their contents onto the floor. Then his eyes focused on something.

“What is that?”

At his shout, Regan finally turned, a small smile lighting her eyes. “That is my bed.”

The laughter started to rumble in his chest. “Well, if I had any doubt about why you told me not to bother coming inside, I now understand. An air mattress isn’t going to be sufficient for our next date.”

Shadows left Regan’s eyes as she gaped at his words. For a moment, he wondered if she was going to take offense, but then she laughed.

And laughed some more. Standing at the window, she threw her head back and chortled.

After several seconds, she wiped her eyes. “I hadn’t even considered my lack of a proper bed when I said that.”

He moved to stand next to her, looking out into the darkness. “What were you thinking about?”

She drew in a breath and shook her head. “I’m not sure anymore. Everything is twisting in my mind.”

“Why do you think your ex is here?” he asked bluntly. He couldn’t figure out any reason other than Todd’s desire to get back together with Regan. And who could blame him?

Gavin’s own claim on her was minuscule by comparison of their marriage, but he couldn’t help the stab of jealousy roaring through his veins at the idea of them getting back together.

Typically, he took his time. Think everything through and analyze all possible weak points and arguments. But he didn’t want to take his time. He didn’t want to think about why he shouldn’t follow his gut.

This woman twisted him up without even trying.

She took a small step toward him and he stopped thinking altogether.

Gavin moved swiftly, sliding his hands up her arms, wedging one into the hair at the nape of her neck while the other shifted back down, grazing her spine and rest on Regan’s hip. She let out a breath that tickled the skin of his neck and had him tightening—everywhere.

Standing on her toes she placed a soft kiss on his jaw, nibbling her way up to his ear where she took the lobe between her teeth. Gavin was afraid to move. Afraid to even breathe out of fear that she’d come to her senses.

“I don’t want to talk about that,” she whispered. “I want to do other things.”

“Things?” His voice cracked but he didn’t care. He forced his hands to remain gentle in their grip on her. He had no idea what she was talking about. Couldn’t remember what he’d asked her before she started kissing him.

He was in serious trouble.

Her smile came through her voice as she rubbed against him, drawing her breasts across his chest, her hip against his growing erection. Killing him. She was killing him with this slow, delicious torture. “You know what things I mean. Things we never really explored. Things that make this heat flare between us.”

He swallowed. “Those things.” Her lips captured his in a sweet kiss. He let her set the pace, the heat, all of it. When she released him, he grinned. “Those were very good things.”