Bailey couldn’t believe she’d agreed to stay, but it was a done deal now and there was no backing out. She scrubbed her hands up and down her forearms, chasing away the chill. He noticed. Of course he did.

“You cold?”

“A little.”

After he’d said he would try to find Kayla, he’d let her go and retrieved his phone. He’d called someone, outlined what had happened and what he wanted, and then ended the call. That’s when he’d turned and witnessed her rubbing her arms.

He picked up a blanket off the back of the couch and brought it to her. She shrank away for a second and he frowned.

“I smell like smoke and sweat,” she protested.

He wrapped the blanket around her shoulders anyway. She didn’t try to stop him this time. “It washes.”

“So do I,” she said jokingly.

His hot gaze swept her face. Her nerve endings tingled to life beneath her skin. What was it about him that did that to her? He’s a player, girl. Don’t forget it.

“You can shower if you like.”

“I don’t have anything to change into. All I have in my gym bag are my work clothes. Or lack of clothes,” she added, trying to make him laugh.

He didn’t. “Someone will bring clothes for you. Anything else you need from your place?”

Bailey started to shake her head, then blinked. “Wait a minute—I never told you where I lived.”

“You didn’t have to.”

“You know? Just like that?”

He nodded. “It’s my job. I know shit.”

She hugged herself, oddly comforted and also a bit intimidated. “So you’re a professional stalker?”

That earned her a grin. “Not a stalker. But Bailey, your information isn’t a secret, okay? I didn’t go searching for you—but the second you told me someone threatened you, I needed to know how easy you were to find. My guys found you with a simple Google search while I was on the phone just now.”

She was boggled by the whole thing. “But how will they get in? Don’t you need a key?”

He looked amused. “No, we don’t need a key.”

It occurred to her that if he’d found her that quickly and didn’t need a key, then perhaps the man who’d threatened her earlier could do the same. And that was a scary thought, especially if she’d been home alone with Ana.

She shivered again. “I think I’ll have that shower after all. I want to wash off the stink of the club.”

“Sure. Down the hall, first door on the left. There are towels. There’s a robe too. On the back of the door. It’s clean. My sister gave it to me for a gift. I don’t use it.”

The thought of wearing his robe was oddly arousing. She wouldn’t have thought she was in the mood to be aroused, but apparently she was wrong. Except it wasn’t a jump-his-bones aroused. More of a I could fall into him and not come up for air for hours aroused.

Which was totally wrong because he wasn’t the kind of man you counted on to be there for you after the novelty of sex wore off.

“Do you have anything to eat?” She was usually pretty hungry after a shift. She typically stopped at McDonald’s and grabbed something quick, but she’d been unnerved by that man earlier, and she’d wanted to come straight here. Brian had walked her to her car and waited for it to start. Once it had, she’d freaked a little. She’d been certain someone was following her, so she’d driven around a couple of blocks, doubled back on herself, and then headed straight here.

“I have a few things. What do you want?”

“Carbs and fat,” she said. “Though I really should say I want something healthy.”

He laughed. “Carbs and fat. How about a frozen pizza?”

Bailey’s mouth watered. “Sounds delightful.”

“I’ll stick it in the oven while you shower.”

She wanted to melt into a pile of relief and gratitude, but she told herself she had to stay cool. “I should have asked this originally, but how’s my niece?”

“You’ve been dealing with some shit. It’s understandable. Not only that, but not asking right away says that you trust me with her. Which I appreciate.”

“I do trust you with her.” Probably more than she trusted herself since she didn’t know babies as well as he did.

“I know.” He smiled. It was a beautiful smile. And a cocky one. Dude was seriously confident about himself. “She’s fine. She was fussed over at my buddy’s place, and now she’s asleep in her carrier.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He frowned, and she bit her lip in anticipation. She knew he was about to say something else. “She’s going to need a crib. Something she can be a little freer in.”

Bailey gulped. She’d been thinking about that. “I know. But I don’t know where to start.”

“You can start with a pop-up crib. It’s actually a playpen and a bassinet too—I’ll show you,” he said when she started to get confused.

Bailey gulped in a breath. Did he have any idea how sexy that was? That he knew such things? Probably. There probably wasn’t much he didn’t realize about how women perceived him. Strong, beautiful, sexy man. He was big and lean and so pretty it almost hurt to look at him. No wonder that waitress had gotten so upset at IHOP. She’d thought he was going to be hers.

Truth was, he probably wasn’t going to be anybody’s. He didn’t have to be.

“Kayla didn’t bring much with her,” she told him, forcing her mind back to the topic at hand. “The stroller. A diaper bag. Bottles and diapers and some clothes. I’ve done what I can, but I’m not really knowledgeable. Though I’ve spent a lot of time on YouTube lately.”

That was an understatement. She’d watched videos on so many things to do with babies—feeding, burping, diapering—and she still hadn’t scratched the surface of all that needed doing. When she thought of it like that, the weight of responsibly threatened to squash her. No wonder she’d pounded on his door this morning. She’d been terrified of all she needed to learn. Terrified she’d fuck it up.

Wow, was that only this morning? It seemed a lifetime ago at this point.

“Shower,” he said. “We’ve got time to talk. I’ll put the pizza in the oven.”

Warmth filled her at his tone. She was determined to make the best of this thing. Let him help her. Let him do what seemed to come naturally to him. Pray he found Kayla before the asshole from tonight did. “You really are a good guy, Alexei.”

He hesitated a moment. “No, I’m really not.” A chill slid down her spine at the coolness in his voice. “But I am right now.”

The pizza was hot and cheesy. Bailey ate more than she should, but she was hungry after a night at the club. Dancing took it out of her. But it had been a good night. Between the stage and a few lap dances, she’d gotten nearly eight hundred dollars, though she’d had to give some of it to the club and some to the bouncers and waitstaff for their services. Not a bad gig if you could get it.

But not enough to save for college, pay living expenses, and care for a baby. Bailey took another bite of pizza and sighed. She was warm and safe for the moment, but she wasn’t worry free. She’d taken a hot shower, scrubbed off the makeup and sweat, and wrapped Alexei’s robe around her body. He’d said he didn’t use it, and that was true. She could tell because it smelled like laundry detergent, not him.

He sat across from her and ate a slice of pizza, though he didn’t eat as much as she did. She told herself she didn’t really care, but then she wondered if he was judging her for eating so much fattening food.

That’s your mother talking.

Yes, it was. Her mother had been obsessed with her weight. She’d gotten addicted to drugs in the first place because she’d wanted to maintain her figure. When she’d injured her back pushing herself too hard during a workout, she’d started taking painkillers. That was the beginning. By the end, she’d been skinny, but she’d also been dead. One overdose too many and she’d departed this world.

Bailey wasn’t going anywhere. She had a baby to care for and a sister to find. And if she had to do it with a little extra fat on her thighs, so fucking what.

A high-pitched wail came from one of the bedrooms. Bailey froze. Alexei dropped his pizza, wiped his fingers on a napkin, and stood. She tilted her head back to look up at him, thinking he resembled nothing less than a warrior headed into battle.

It took a second for her brain to kick in, but she stood as well.

He frowned at her. “I’ve got it.”

“I want to see her.” And she did, because even though the tiny baby scared her, she was also the sweetest thing in Bailey’s life right now, as well as a physical connection to her sister.

He didn’t argue. Instead, he led the way into a darkened bedroom where he’d placed the carrier. She thought it must be his room because the bed was large and the covers were thrown back. She tried not to think about the fact he slept here. She focused on Ana and then felt guilty about the baby lying in her little carrier for hours on end when she needed a crib.

Ana kicked and screamed, and Alexei picked her up. He determined she needed changing and immediately set about the task with an efficiency that stunned Bailey. He whipped off the dirty diaper, cleansed, powdered, and diapered her again in a matter of minutes. Ana stopped fussing and started kicking and cooing when Alexei put her back in her carrier.

“You amaze me,” Bailey said.

He glanced at her, his green eyes soft and sensual as he gazed at her. “It’s nothing,” he said. “You’ll get there.”

“I hope so. Otherwise I’ll have to figure out how to hire you to be her nanny.”

He arched an eyebrow. “You’ll figure it out. How to take care of her, I mean.”

An intense relief washed through her at the sight of him rocking Ana in the carrier. Without this man, she would be totally lost right now. “Maybe so. But I’m grateful for your knowledge at the moment. I don’t think I could deal with any of this otherwise.”

He rocked Ana, his eyes boring into hers. “Tell me what that guy looked like tonight.”

She hesitated, but then she asked herself why. Alexei was cool and competent—and he was a SEAL. That meant something. “Not all that tall. Maybe five-ten. A little on the heavy side, but beefy instead of fat.” She closed her eyes for a second. “Dark hair, a wide face with a flat nose, and a scar from his upper lip to his cheek. Looked like someone’s idea of a former football player, you know? No neck, bulky, but not exactly fit. He wore a biker jacket with chains. I didn’t see the patch.”

“Name?”

“He didn’t give one.” She chewed her lip. “He said Kayla had something of his. What do you think that could be?”

“Maybe she owes him money. Maybe she stole something from him. Or maybe he’s just a possessive asshole who can’t fathom that she left him.” He looked down at the baby, whose eyes were drifting closed. “Maybe he’s Ana’s father.”

Bailey didn’t like the cold finger of dread that slid inside her chest and touched her heart. She didn’t like to think that evil man could be sweet Ana’s biological father. “Can you find out who he is?”

He straightened and she realized that Ana was asleep again. Magic man. Sexy man. “I intend to, sweetheart.”

Bailey heard the endearment. It was the second time tonight. But it didn’t make her cringe the way it did when one of the men in the club said it. The way Alexei said it, the word was like a caress. Not that she planned to tell him that, of course. He was already too smooth for his own good.

“Thank you.”

“You comfortable in that robe?”

She hugged it tighter. It was a thick robe, falling to her ankles. But she was very aware she had no clothes on under the fabric. “It’s great. Very comfy.”

“If you’re tired, you can go to sleep. I’ll put your stuff by the bedroom door so you can grab it when you wake.”

Bailey swallowed. She was tired, but she was keyed up too. The club, the man, the fear. Alexei Kamarov. It was a lot of shit to process. “I can’t sleep. Not yet.”

“Need a drink? I’ve got wine and beer.”

She shook her head. “No, I don’t drink.”

He looked perplexed. “You don’t?”

“My parents were addicts, Alexei. Opioids. I don’t touch addictive substances.”

“That’s admirable.”

“Thank you… but I think of it more like it’s a matter of survival. If I drink or take pills, then what will I be?”

He was looking at her with an intense expression. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking at all. But then he spoke, and it wasn’t what she expected.

“You’re pretty special, Bailey Jones. I hope you know that.”

She amazed him. Alexei stared at the girl with the purple hair, her body engulfed in his robe, and he wanted to drag her into his arms and hold her tight. She was so lonely. So alone. Not unlike him.

Not that he usually minded. He liked being alone. Until he didn’t. Right now he didn’t. He wanted to tangle with someone in a bed, bury his cock in her body, caress and kiss and come hard and deep before falling blissfully asleep. Tomorrow he might want to do it all again. Or he might want to be alone for a while. Never could tell until morning came.

None of that was about to happen with this girl.

Baby. Complications. Here there be dragons…

“Let’s get out of here,” he whispered. “Let her sleep.”

They tiptoed into the living room. He tried not to watch Bailey’s ass as she walked in front of him, but he couldn’t quite stop himself from doing so. Girl had a fine ass. She also had a narrow waist and big tits, which occasionally gapped the robe open as she moved. He tried to keep his eyes on hers when that happened, but those tits drew him. Especially when he thought they might pop out at any moment.

Just what he fucking needed. A gorgeous girl with a hot body who was off-limits.

She smelled fresh from the shower, not like smoke and liquor and sweat anymore. He tried to picture her on that stage, her smudgy, smoky makeup alluring as fuck, her long limbs supple and graceful, her hips undulating in rhythm to some music, and he couldn’t quite reconcile it with the sweet-smelling girl wearing his robe.

Bailey Jones was an exotic dancer, but she wasn’t like other dancers he’d known. They were always a little hardened by life, but Bailey didn’t seem to be yet. If anything, she seemed determined and overwhelmed at the same time. Innocent and sexy, contrasts that he found far more tempting than he should have, given the circumstances.

There was a hard knock on the exterior door, and Bailey started. Alexei pulled his Glock as he went into protector mode. Bailey squeaked at the sight of the weapon, her hand covering her heart, her eyes widening.

“Is he here? Is he coming for me?

“I doubt it. It’s probably my guys with your stuff. But just in case.”

She licked her lips. His groin tightened. Bad timing, dude.

“Why don’t you go into the guest room and wait. Third door on the right.”

She spun and went back down the hallway. Alexei glided over to the door, put his eye to the peephole. Blade and Neo lurked on the porch, two badasses scanning the surrounding area suspiciously. Across the street, Mrs. Tucker’s curtain whipped back. Nosy old biddy. But sweet. She often baked him cookies. She was under the impression he was a traveling salesman, which was why he was often gone. She watered the plants in the flowerbeds—nothing he cared about, but the landlord did—and kept an eye on things.

Alexei holstered the gun and yanked open the door. “Why didn’t you text?”

“I did,” Blade said. “You didn’t answer.”

Alexei reached for his phone. It wasn’t there. “Shit, it’s on the table. I had to change the baby and forgot to take it with me.”

Blade grinned. “Slipping, old man?”

Too much thinking about Bailey and her tits probably. Alexei stood back so they could come inside. “Maybe so.”

Neo carried a duffel bag. He dropped it on the couch. “Got a bunch of clothes and the diapers she had lying around. There’s also a laptop computer. Not much else to take, really.”

“Thanks. I appreciate it. See anybody while you were raiding the place?”

“There was a car out front with a man inside.”

“He drove away when I approached,” Blade added. “But dude, the place where she lives… It’s pretty sketchy. Could have been anything. Drug dealer, pimp, john. Who knows?”

“So he could have been there for anybody in that building,” Alexei said.

“Yep.”

“It’s not the best place, but it’s affordable. And easy to rent when you don’t have credit.”

They all whirled. Bailey appeared in the opening to the hallway, her lithe body engulfed in his robe, her eyes flashing with heat. She looked like a warrior princess the way she glared.

He didn’t know if she was mad or embarrassed or something in between. But he moved to defuse the situation. It was late and she had to be tired. Not to mention the stress of the threat tonight. “Bailey, these are my teammates. Blade and Neo.”

“Ma’am,” Blade said.

“Ma’am,” Neo said a split second later.

She frowned. Then the frown melted away as she made up her mind about something. “Hi.”

His teammates stared at her. Alexei tried not to feel annoyed, but it didn’t work. Dammit, he wasn’t going to bang her for very good reason—but neither were these two assholes. “You two got stuff to do?”

Neo snapped out of it first. “Yeah. Guess so.”

“Yep,” Blade added, shooting a grin at Bailey. “There’s a pillow with my name on it waiting for me at home. Nice meeting you, Bailey.”

“You too,” she said, her voice smoky.

“You get tired of hanging out with this grumpy asshole, call me. I promise not to be a jerk.”

“Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Alexei growled. “Blade, mind your own fucking business.”

His teammate grinned and gave him a mock salute. “Just saying, man. If you get tired and want to split a shift. You know.”

“Out,” Alexei said. “Now.”

Blade grinned, and Alexei knew his teammate was ribbing the hell out of him. And enjoying it too. He walked them both to the door while Bailey went over and started rummaging through the duffel.

“Got a plate number on the car,” Blade said quietly, all business now. “We’ll run it.”

“Thanks,” Alexei replied, his annoyance fading. Hell, Bailey was beautiful. Of course they were going to stare. And flirt. He’d have stared too if he were them. He’d already stared, though he’d tried to keep it on the down low. And he damn sure wasn’t flirting. No sense going there when it couldn’t lead to anything. If there were no sister, no baby, and they’d met at a club, things would be totally different. He’d have been all up in that by now.

But he couldn’t, which meant they couldn’t either. No fucking way.

Neo lifted an eyebrow. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, Camel.”

“What wouldn’t you do?”

Neo grinned. “Exactly.”

Alexei closed the door behind them and locked it. When he turned, Bailey was gone. He went over to the table. The pizza was cold, so he took it and put it in the oven again for a quick reheat. In case she wanted more, though she’d eaten half of it already.

She came back a few minutes later, dressed in a formfitting tracksuit that left no doubt about her curves. Her hair was mostly dry now, and it fell to her shoulders in soft purple waves. He wondered what color it really was. It’d been pink in her driver’s license photo. Girl clearly liked color.

“You still hungry? I put the pizza back in the oven.”

She shook her head. “No, I’m good. Thank you for fixing it.”

“It’s not a problem. In fact, it wasn’t even difficult. Read the package, follow directions.” He shrugged. “Not rocket science.”

“Well, I still appreciate it. Can I put the leftovers away for you? Or do you plan to eat it?”

“Nah, I got it.” He turned off the oven, then took out the pizza and wrapped it in foil.

“You don’t let anybody do anything for you, do you?”

She was standing behind him and he turned, met her soft gaze.

“Sometimes,” he said, his voice a bit lower and sexier than he’d intended. Suggestive. Shit. Not what he’d meant to do.

She cocked her head to the side. Then she smiled. “Are you flirting with me, Alexei Kamarov?”

He could lie. Or he could tell the truth. Then he could play it off. “Yeah. A bit. You mind?”

She hugged herself. It was a defensive gesture, and that bugged him. He didn’t think she was aware of it though. “I should. But no, I don’t mind.”

“Look, you don’t need to worry about anything while you’re here. I don’t expect payback and I’m not hinting you owe me, okay? It’s just that you’re kinda sexy and I’m a man who hasn’t had sex in a couple of months because I’ve been working.”

She frowned and laughed at the same time. “Well, thanks. I think. And I didn’t think you were suggesting payment in sexual favors. Honest. But working where I do—well, I don’t get the normal kind of flirting, you know? It’s kinda nice.”

He hated to think about what happened to her at the Pink Palace. He knew the bouncers took care of it, but that didn’t mean guys didn’t grab her anyway. Or hang out waiting for her because she’d smiled at them or given them a lap dance they couldn’t forget. Men should know better, and yet they didn’t. He’d dragged plenty of sailors out of bars around the world for precisely that reason.

But he did know better. He put the pizza in the fridge. “You don’t have to be uncomfortable with me, Bailey. I’ve got your back.”

He’d like her front too, but he wasn’t going to say it.

“And what about when the test comes back? If the results are what you think they’ll be?”

She expected him to bail. He could hear it in her voice. He should bail. Why wouldn’t he? Most guys would, given the circumstances. He’d already gone above and beyond. He could walk away free and clear. Not his problem. Not his kid. Et cetera.

But she looked so certain he was going to toss her out. Her and the pip-squeak. His gut twisted at the idea. He couldn’t do it. He just wasn’t wired that way. If he had been, he wouldn’t be HOT.

“We’ll figure it out,” he told her. “Don’t worry.”