Stunned, Logan held on to Vivian as she clung to him. Concern clutched his heart as he wondered what had occurred to cause such a reaction. “Viv, what’re you doing?”

Placing her mouth close to his, she whispered, “Is she looking?”

Blinking slowly, his brow crinkled as he glanced over her head. “She was, but she’s gone back inside.” His eyes captured hers once more, still uncertain of why she clung to him so tightly.

She whispered, “Just in case she, or the man inside who was peeking out the window earlier, are at the window watching now, we should stay like this for a moment.” Seeing him about to question, she added, “I told her we were newlyweds. She’d expect me to greet you this way.”

Dawning slid over him as he continued to hold her in his arms, enjoying the feel of her body pressed to him more than he wanted to admit. “Oh, she would, would she?” he said, keeping his mouth close to hers.

“I tried to invite her over for tea, thinking that would be a way to get to know her without her getting suspicious.” With Logan’s strong arms holding her close, Vivian felt his warm breath wash over her cheek and, for a second, she closed her eyes, wishing his lips would move closer.

“I think it’s safe now,” his gruff voice sliced through her momentary distraction. Irritation that Vivian had made contact without a plan or him around forced his arms to loosen, afraid they might go from holding her waist to throttling her neck.

Startled, she settled back on her heels with a jolt. “Uh…yeah. Right.” Turning quickly, she walked toward the front door with him following behind. Once inside, she faced him again, only this time from a respectable distance. “I went over to introduce myself to her.”

Cocking his head to the side, he placed his hands on his hips and said, “You should have waited for me.”

“Oh, no. I didn’t go to their door. I just waited until I saw her come out and then I went out like I was going to my car to get something. I stowed a bag there just in case the opportunity arose. And it did! It was easy to introduce myself to her.”

“And what name did you give her?” he asked, his voice unyielding.

“Uh…Vivian?” she said, a question in her tone. “You and I didn’t talk about names, did we? Oh, dear.”

“You should have waited, Viv. I’m the one planning. I’m the one who has to anticipate what they might think or do.”

His voice was steady, but she felt the undercurrent of anger in his words. Swallowing, she protested, “But, it seemed like such a good idea.”

“Did you give your last name? Did you say Sanders?”

“No. No,” she hurried to say. “I just told her my name was Vivian. And she just said Farrah.”

A relieved breath rushed out of Logan, as he dropped his chin to his chest, closing his eyes on the way down. A soft touch reached his arms and his eyes jerked open again. Vivian was standing right in front of him, her face peering up into his, her dark eyes searching.

“I’m sorry, Logan. I just saw her and wanted so much to make contact. I figured they might get suspicious of us if they never saw us out. Now they know we’re just a couple, newly married, and just moved in. I thought you being gone would be a good thing, not knowing if she would approach with you here.”

Nodding slowly, he reached up, his fingers itching to cup her cheek, but instead resting on her shoulders. “Right. It’s done and it appears nothing untoward occurred. But,” he pinned her with a stormy stare, “from now on, you don’t make a move unless I know about it. I do not want them inside this house any more than I want you over there. Agreed?”

Vivian pursed her lips, frustration filling her. She might not be a covert operator, but she sure as hell was an intelligent woman. “Does that include the labs as well?” she asked, unable to keep the snarkiness from her voice. Immediately contrite, she realized how childish she sounded. Huffing loudly, she said, “Sorry.”

Logan stepped backward, his thoughts tumbling once more. Used to precise planning and execution, this mission was driving him batty…and it’s only been one day. “Right. So, let’s plan more after lunch. I stopped at the bar in town and grabbed some burgers.”

Seeing her eyes light up, he turned and headed back to the truck to retrieve the lunch bag he had abandoned when she threw herself at him. It reminded him it had been a long time since a woman had jumped into his arms. In the Navy, and then SEAL training, the bars near the bases were full of women just waiting to bed a SEAL for bragging rights or wanting to snag one as a husband. Leaning into the truck to grab the bags, he knew how different it was for Vivian to be in his arms. Sure, it had been for their cover but, it still felt…real.

Shaking the thoughts from his head, he stalked back inside, his earlier grumpiness returning.

Vivian grabbed water bottles for them quietly, feeling his dark mood filling the room. Sighing, she sat at the table reaching for her lunch, thanking him softly as she waited for her next instructions. One bite into the burger and her eyes closed in ecstasy, momentarily forgetting the grumpy ex-SEAL.

Logan leaned back in frustration, hearing her groan as her mouth closed over her hamburger. He knew all too well he would love to hear those sounds in a different context.

* * *

With her woolen sock covered feet on the coffee table, toes pointed toward the wood burning stove, Vivian crunched on an apple as she watched Logan work on his plan. His dark brown hair was the color of milk chocolate and while it was thick, it appeared silky, not coarse. He had reading glasses perched on his nose, giving him a sexy-professor look. Thinking back to the lab she had worked in, there were no men with his virility. Sighing, she shifted her gaze out the window, watching the sun as it dropped behind the tree line.

“It gets dark so early this time of year,” she commented.

“Uh huh,” he agreed, not looking up from the laptop perched on his lap.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve spent any time here…not since college. The last years in California have me spoiled to more daylight and warmer autumns.”

“Uh huh,” he muttered again.

Stifling a laugh, she said, “Do you want me to run around the house clucking like a chicken or crowing like a rooster?”

“Uh huh.”

“Logan!”

“What?” he asked, his brows drawn down as he looked over the top of the computer at her. “What’s wrong?”

“You haven’t been listening to a word I’ve said!” She pulled her feet off the coffee table and plopped them on the floor, leaning forward. “I know you’re busy, but you still haven’t told me what I’m to talk about with Farrah.”

Sighing, he set his laptop down. “I’m working on our backstory. I only created one for me before I came and, frankly, the whole we’re supposed to be married thing has completely thrown me.”

She forced a blank expression on her face, refusing to admit his words stung. Was it that hard to imagine her in a romantic light? “What have you come up with?”

“Okay, you’ve given your name as Vivian, which is fine. I can still be Logan, but our last name is Preacher.”

“Preacher?”

“Old name from my SEAL days…never mind. Just go with it.”

“Vivian Preacher. Vivian and Logan Preacher,” she tried the names out. A smile spread across her face. “I like it.”

“I’m thrilled,” he muttered, rolling his eyes. “My cover job is working as a mechanic at the airport. Before I came, it was arranged for me to have a part-time job at a little airfield a few miles from here. I’ll leave each morning, but return in mid-afternoon. Tomorrow, I’ll go back to the Fairbanks Airport, and fly my helicopter to the airfield.”

Bobbing her head in agreement, she listened more eagerly. “And me? Do I have a cover?”

“You’re working on a college degree, but for now, taking online classes until you start at the University of Alaska next semester. That gives you a reason for being at home during the day. And they can’t check to see if you are actually a student since you won’t be enrolled until later.”

“My major?”

“I think we’ll stick to the truth. Biology.” Seeing her wide eyes, he explained, “When creating a cover, it’s often best to stick to certain truths so as not to get tripped up. Giving you another major could possibly cause problems if they ask you questions you don’t know the answers to.”

“Gotcha,” she grinned again.

“Another thing that I’ll be doing is taking runs in the evenings. They’ll see me running down the road and, if someone follows, it’ll appear I’m just jogging. At some point, I will circle back through the woods and keep an eye on their house after dark, at least until my equipment arrives.”

“So, what will I be doing during the days when you are at work?”

“You’ve made the first contact. We’ll see how that goes, but until the rest of my equipment comes in, which should have already fuckin’ been here—”

“You never told me what equipment was coming.”

Blowing out an exasperated huff, he prevaricated, “Equipment necessary for what I’ll be doing. Until then, I need you to keep a log of who comes and goes. Descriptions, car makes and models and, if you can positively identify the people, all the better. And, of course, you need to get your lab ready.”

Seeing the interest spark in her eyes, Logan met her grin. “In fact, we can start that today.”

Clapping her hands, she jumped up from the sofa, announcing, “Just let me get my boots!”