Chapter 10
“Knock-knock.”
Devon looked up from her desk. Logan was standing in her bedroom doorway. She allowed herself a moment to look her fill of him. The black T-shirt and jeans outlined his lean, toned body with its sculpted muscles. The image of him naked flashed into her brain, heating her body and sending the beat of her pulse up another notch. She was crazy, thinking such erotic thoughts when in the middle of a crisis like this.
“Sheri called.”
She tried to read his face. “The Coast Guard? Did she hear from them?”
“Yes, and it’s not good.”
Oh, God.
Suddenly she found it hard to breathe. “They found a body?”
Logan shook his head. “No. Devon, I don’t think they’ll find anything. The cutter commander said they’ll give it until the end of the day and then they’re calling off the search. They think, and so do I, given what we’ve learned, your father pulled off a disappearing act.”
She had to agree with him, but it filled her with such emotional pain.
Oh, Daddy.
“The good news is, that means he’s still alive somewhere.”
“But we don’t know where.”
“No, we don’t, but tomorrow we’ll talk to Avery about options. Vigilance has helped people disappear like that before. She’ll have ideas about what to do next.” He held up a bottle of white wine and two glasses.
“I didn’t know if you wanted red or white, but white is usually a safer choice. I found the glasses in the bar in the living room. The wine was chilling in the fridge. This house is prepared for everything.”
She twisted her lips in a wry smile. “Like I said earlier, my father had regular business meetings here. It was in his DNA to be prepared for everything.”
A sober expression crossed his face. “Too bad you don’t know more about those business meetings, but I can understand him wanting to keep you out of everything.”
“With all the stuff that’s happening now, I wish he hadn’t.” She heaved a sigh. “I hope Avery has some more ideas when we talk to her again.”
“Me, too.” He wiggled the hand with the wineglasses. “Dinner is warming in the oven. I thought we’d take this out on the patio. The sun’s going down and it’s nice out there.”
Devon tried to read the expression on his face. “Are you trying to get me drunk for some reason? To have your wicked way with me?”
Now why did I say that? He probably wants to tell me what a mistake it was, and there are rules and all that. Why don’t I ever keep my mouth shut?
His smile was uncharacteristically tentative. “Not quite. And maybe after we…talk, you won’t want me to, anyway.”
A sudden cramp gripped her stomach and she forced herself to take a slow breath. “Well, um, let’s find out.”
She shut down her laptop and pushed back from the desk. “Lead on.”
The patio as usual looked like a decorator had just left, an artful arrangement of lounge chairs, easy chairs, and a table with six comfortable chairs surrounding it. The last remaining rays of sunlight bathed it with the same golden glow they cast on the emerald green of the lawn and the bright colors of the flower beds.
Logan uncorked the wine and filled the glasses before handing one to her.
“To good thoughts,” he said, touching his glass to hers.
“Good thoughts,” she echoed, although she had no idea what he meant.
When she was seated at the table, he drank his wine in two swallows, set the glass on the table, and walked to the edge of the patio, standing with his back to her. Despite her edgy feeling, Devon forced herself to sip the cold, crisp drink and wait for him to speak.
“At one point in my life in the Marines,” he began, “I was stationed at Camp Pendleton, at San Diego. I was invited to a party one night where I met the most incredible woman. Amanda was the daughter of a very wealthy attorney in San Diego. She was a language expert who often did work for the government. She also taught at San Diego State. She was an incredible person, independent, smart, brave. Really had her act together.”
A shaft of pain pierced Devon’s heart.
“She sounds…amazing.” Devon didn’t know what else to say. She was afraid she wasn’t going to like the rest of this story.
“Without getting into too many details, we fell in love. She told me her father always worried about her because he’d made a lot of enemies and he was afraid they might go after her. It had happened to friends of his. He tried to have a bodyguard trail her, but she used to tell me how trapped she felt, what a lack of privacy it gave her. She resented sacrificing her privacy for a danger she wasn’t even sure existed.”
Another pause.
Devon reached for the bottle to refill her own glass. She had a feeling she was going to need it.
“And?” she prompted.
“We spent as much time together as we could. Amanda was good at giving her bodyguard the slip. After all, I was a big bad Marine who could protect her, right? And I always got her home safely.”
“What happened?” She whispered the words.
“I was supposed to pick her up one night but I had something to do so we agreed to meet at the restaurant. She was kidnapped in the parking lot.” He bowed his head, not saying a word for a long moment. “She was killed before she could be rescued.”
“What about her bodyguard? Had she ditched him that time?”
“No. I insisted she not go there alone. Because of an international deal he was involved in, her father had recently received an escalation in threats, warning him what would happen if he did not kill the deal. Her bodyguard drove her to the restaurant. His body was found in the parking lot, hit as soon as he got out of the car. By the time I got there police were all over the place and her father was a raving maniac. Justifiably so.”
He paused, swallowed, took a deep breath.
“He tried to have me arrested. Even suggested I was behind the whole thing, to keep her bodyguard away from her so I could have her all to myself. Then he got the message from the kidnappers and hired his own firm, one like Vigilance, to rescue her. But the kidnapper was ready for that. The minute the premises were breached he shot Amanda. Just like that.”
Logan stood where he was for a long moment, silent, his body lined with tension. The pain radiating from him was so palpable she thought she could reach out and touch it.
Devon felt the guilt he carried.
She got up, refilled his glass, and carried it back to him. He started to refuse the drink but then changed his mind. He lifted it and drank half in one swallow.
“Logan.” She said his name in a tentative voice.
“I know, I know.” He slugged down the remainder of the wine. “You can tell me all you want that it wasn’t my fault. That her bodyguard should have been more alert, but hell. They were on him the minute he opened the car door. I still can’t help thinking if I’d picked her up it wouldn’t have happened. It made me question myself as a man and a Marine.”
“I’m so sorry. I—” She stopped. What could she say?
“After that I made up my mind love was not for me. It was too painful to lose someone, and besides, I was sure I’d never find another woman just like that. So strong, so independent, so determined no matter what the circumstances. It’s worked for all these years.” He gave her a piercing look. “Until I met you.”
Devon tried to conceal her shock. This was the last thing she expected to hear.
“It’s not just the chemistry,” he told her. “Although that’s pretty damn strong. But you are so much like her it’s unbelievable. And when we made love…”
At least he’d said made love instead of had sex.
She cleared her throat. She didn’t want to ask him, but she had to. “Are you sure you don’t just see me as a replacement for her?”
He shook his head. “The truth? I asked myself the same question, and the answer is no. As much as you’re like her, you’re that many ways different. Your own person.”
“I don’t know…”
He held up a hand. “Let me finish.” He refilled both their wineglasses. Lifted his and took a swallow. “There are rules, Devon. My rules. Vigilance rules. Top of the list is clients are off-limits.”
“I know,” she broke in. “That’s why I had reservations about…what we did. I have rules, too, Logan. It seems we both broke them.”
He nodded. “I just couldn’t help myself. I’ve asked myself every minute if I was imagining this, but the connection we made... Devon, it’s been years since I felt one that strong.” He stared at her, the look in his eyes piercing. “Am I just imagining all this?”
She shook her head. “No. You’re not. At first I thought maybe I was crazy. I mean, thugs run me off the road, a man saves me, and the first thing I feel is an unbelievable attraction for the man who rescues me? I thought to myself, Am I nuts? Is it possible for something like this to happen that fast?”
His mouth curved in a lopsided grin. “It must be, because it hit both of us.” Then his smile disappeared, replaced by a serious look. “I broke my rules here, because I wanted you more than I wanted my job, which is really saying something.” He looked away for a moment, then back at her. “I worry that I’ll let myself get distracted and something will happen to you.”
Like Amanda. He didn’t say it but she knew that was what he was thinking.
She took a slow sip of her wine and tried to collect her thoughts. She needed to take great care with her words.
“Logan, listen to me.” She put down her glass, walked over to him, and took both of his hands. “I can’t even begin to imagine the pain you carry with you from such a devastating situation. But she could have been snatched at any time.”
“I know that’s logical,” he agreed, “but I never could make myself believe it.”
“On the other hand,” Devon went on, “if the point of this conversation is to let me know what happened between us is a mistake, that’s okay. I can deal with that. I—”
“No.” He snapped the word out. “That’s not it at all.”
She locked her gaze with his. “Then help me understand what you mean. I don’t want to do anything that—”
“No. Stop.” He blew out a breath. “I’m doing this all wrong. Damn.” He rubbed his jaw. “This feels like a scene out of a bad movie. This is not who I am, this kind of dialogue.”
Devon had to smile. “No, I’m sure it’s not, Mr. Big Bad Marine.”
He smiled back at her, although his expression was tentative.
“What I’m getting at is this.” He skewered her with his gaze again, as if trying to see beneath the surface. “Unless my radar is way off, we have something going here. The last thing I ever thought was to find this with someone again and I don’t want to screw up. You’d think after all these years I’d have enough discipline to put it all in my back pocket until this is resolved, but that doesn’t seem to be working for me.” He stopped, apparently waiting for her to say something.
“If you’re asking do I feel the same way, I think I already answered that.” She chose her words with great care. “I know what’s going on here. What’s at stake. But I’m not a child or an idiot. For whatever reason fate put us together and created something special for us. You’ve had this once before so maybe you’re afraid to take a chance again; I haven’t and I don’t want to walk away from it. I’ve waited a long time for someone like you.”
He studied her for so long she was suddenly afraid of what his answer would be. “Okay,” he said at last, “here’s the deal.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “Do I think it’s smart to put this away until all the danger is past and we can take a rational look at it? Probably. Do I want to do it? Hell, no. But I also have to put your safety first. I don’t want to do anything to put you in danger.” There was that crooked grin again. “Talk about being a mixed-up mess. I might lose my man card.”
Devon took his wineglass from his hand and put her arms around him.
“I trust you, Logan. Trust you to use good judgment and to keep me safe. Whatever exploded between us isn’t going to burn any less bright because you’re here to protect me. How about if we take it slow, one day at a time? If what we feel is real, it won’t disappear. If we can steal some alone time without courting danger, let’s do it. And let’s both be alert, all the time.”
“I’ll feel a lot better when we know exactly what the deal is with your father and where the danger is coming from.”
“Me, too.”
He looked down at her for so long and took so much time to comment on what she said that she wondered if she’d said something wrong. Then he tightened one arm around her, slid his fingers into her hair to cup her head, and took her mouth in a kiss so hungry she wondered if he’d ever be satisfied. His tongue plunged and swirled, sliding across hers in an erotic caress. His hard body was pressed to hers, the thick outline of his cock evident against her pelvis, the earthy scent of his aftershave tantalizing her nostrils.
They broke the kiss only when they both ran out of breath. They looked at each other, stunned by the intensity of what was between them. Logan opened his mouth to say something when the landline rang. They both hurried into the kitchen.
“Let me get it.” Logan reached for the receiver.
“All right, but I want to hear whatever is said,” she insisted.
He held it to give them both access.
“Yes?” He barked the word.
“Tell the bitch if we don’t get what we want, yesterday was just a little taste of what we have in store.” The voice was guttural, with a Spanish accent.
To Devon it sounded like the same man who had threatened her on the road.
“She has nothing for you.” Logan delivered the words in the coldest voice she had ever heard. “And next time I won’t be so friendly.”
“Don’t make light of this,” the voice said. “We always get what we want.”
Then there was a click and they heard the dial tone.
Devon tightened her fists and shoved them in her pockets to halt her sudden trembling.
Logan cupped her chin and tilted her face to him. “Listen to me. They will not get you. Not touch you. Not harm you. You can take that to the bank.”
He rubbed his thumb against her jawline and she pressed her head into his palm, seeking strength from his touch.
“I believe you. It’s just—” She sighed. “This is all just such a mess.”
He winked at her. “That it is, but I’m the best cleanup man you could ever want.”
“Do you think they’ll try to come to the house?”
“If they do, help is just five minutes away.”
“I’m not sure which upsets me more, the idea of guns or of drugs.” Then a thought hit her and made her stomach cramp. “Do you think maybe he was into both? Oh, Logan, my God.” She rubbed her forehead. “What made him get involved with people like that, if in fact that’s what he did? Was he in that much trouble? Did he need the money so badly?”
“Desperate people do desperate things. Avery said they’re searching as fast as they can. By morning she expects to have a lot more to tell us. Your father was very good at layering and hiding things, though, making it just that much harder to trace. And now that we think executives of CI were involved, who better to cook the books than the vice president for corporate finance?”
She chewed her thumbnail. “I hope Avery can figure out how this all happened and who all is involved besides a cartel.”
“If anyone can, it’s her,” he assured her. He stroked his thumb over her knuckles. “Vigilance is the best, you know. They can find a gnat in the desert under ten tons of sand. They’ll get to the bottom of this and we’ll find your father. That’s a promise from me to you.”
“You know you can’t make those kinds of promises.”
He lifted her hand and kissed it. “I can, I will, and I am. It just takes time. You saw the setup at Vigilance. Right now Ginger’s assignment is to focus on this, nothing else. She’s running every program and writing new ones if she has to. It’s a little more difficult because it looks like your father created electronic walls and traps to protect himself.”
“He knew what he was doing.” The thought was so hard to get her mind around. “But was he burying all this for whoever he was involved with or to protect himself?”
“Hard to tell. I’d say probably both. If he was mixed up with some really bad guys, he’d want to give himself an edge. Just in case.”
Devon didn’t want to ask in case of what.
“What about his phone? Any further news to report on that?”
“We’re looking at a form of encryption more complicated than we’ve seen before.” He sighed. “It seems that the moment companies like Vigilance find a way to crack a code, someone invents a tougher one. But they’re on it nonstop.”
“I know. It’s just—” She threw up her hands.
“Come here.” He drew her into his arms. “You have my promise that we’ll get to the bottom of this, and soon. And that I’ll keep you safe.” He brushed his mouth over hers. “Meanwhile I prescribe another glass of wine and a nice dinner. And maybe a hot bath.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her. “That’s Dr. Malik’s prescription.”
She laughed, knowing that’s what he wanted from her. “Yes, sir. I’ll do my best to follow doctor’s orders.”
Devon had trouble concentrating on dinner and even sitting still. She kept expecting the phone to ring again with a call from the men dogging her. And every time there was a noise from outside she jumped, even though she knew every single sound was being monitored. Logan had even set up a laptop in the kitchen so he could keep an eye on things while they ate.
“I think you’ve pushed that piece of chicken around on your plate long enough.” Logan’s voice held a touch of amusement. “Let’s just say you get an A for effort and leave it at that.”
She dug up a smile for him. “I’m sorry. I don’t seem to have much appetite. I can’t get my mind around everything Avery told us and all the possibilities. It’s unbelievable that my father would be involved in stuff like this.”
“When we get the details, it may turn out not to be as bad as we think.”
“That’s nice of you to say, but you don’t have to be careful of my feelings.”
“What I do have to be careful of,” he told her as he pushed away from the table, “is making sure you get enough rest. You’ve had a traumatic couple of days.”
He stacked the dishes from the table and carried them to the sink.
“Wait.” Devon rose and picked up the few things still left. “I can do this. You cooked. I’ll clean up.”
He took the things from her hands and put them on the counter.
“Most women would rejoice at being waited on.”
“I’m not most women,” she pointed out.
Logan turned to face her, cradling her chin in his palm. “That’s for sure. And thank the Lord.” He dropped his hand and linked his fingers through hers. “Have a nice hot shower.” He leered at her. “Then I’ll tuck you nicely into bed.”
“Oh, really.” She wiggled her eyebrows at him.
He kissed her forehead, then gave her a pat on the ass. “Go on. I’ll be in shortly.”
She stripped off her clothes, and when the shower was good and hot, stepped under its spray. She couldn’t get her mind around the story Logan had told her about himself. To have loved someone so much, and to lose them the way he did was certainly devastating. No wonder he hadn’t gotten over it. Had closed himself off from emotion all these years. That might have made him a damn good Marine and now a security and protection agent, but at what cost to himself personally?
She was shocked that his reaction to her was so strong it could make him break his rules. And the agency’s. She was equally stunned at her own response. What a time for this to happen, but then it wasn’t always possible to predict how and when this kind of powerful emotional attraction would strike. She worried that when everything was over and her life returned to whatever passed for normal, Logan would have second thoughts. He’d regret what he’d done and what he’d told her, and pull back from her.
Okay. She was tough. She’d just go back to Tampa and try to rebuild a life that had come apart before her very eyes.
She turned off the water, squeezed the excess from her hair, and opened the door to get a towel. And gave a little squeak. Logan was standing there, holding the towel for her. She’d been so busy running her brain through hoops she hadn’t heard him come in, nor noticed the shadow outside the frosted door.
His mouth curved in a lopsided grin. “I could smell your brain burning all the way in the kitchen. Don’t think so much.”
She took the towel from him, not the least bit self-conscious about her nakedness, and began to dry herself off.
“I wasn’t thinking,” she denied.
He gave a short laugh. “Never try to lie to an expert.”
She wrapped the towel around her body, and tucked it in beneath one arm.
“Maybe I was thinking about this morning.”
“God. I hope so.” His voice had a rough, husky sound to it. He leaned in the doorway watching her as she spread lotion on her skin.
“Am I putting on a show for you?” she teased.
“I hope so.” His eyes glittered with need.
“So how do I stack up, on a scale of one to ten?”
He moved to lick an errant drop of water from her shoulder. “Possibly an eleven. We’ll see.”
She stripped away the towel and took her nightshirt from the vanity where she’d placed it earlier. After she slid it into place, he took her face in his hands and brushed his lips over hers.
“I haven’t been able to get this morning out of my mind.” His eyes, that mysterious stormy gray/blue, darkened almost to navy as heat sizzled in them.
“Me either.”
He tipped her head up so he could look in her eyes again. “It was…unbelievable. But it can be just as good if we are a little less hasty and frantic.” He took her hand. “Come on. Let’s get you into bed.”
Lifting her as if she were nothing, he carried her into her bedroom and turned back the covers and eased her down onto the sheets.
“Don’t go to sleep,” he warned, giving her another light kiss. “I’ll be right back.”
Devon tried to settle herself in the bed but she couldn’t seem to find a comfortable spot. She thought how strange it was that the bed seemed so empty without him.
He was as good as his word. In five minutes he was back in her room, a towel wrapped around his waist, his hair still damp from a shower. Tossing the towel aside, he slipped into bed beside her and drew her against him, spoon fashion. Despite the shower, his body was still like a furnace. She could feel it even through the thin material of her sleep shirt.
She could feel something else, too, the hard, thick length of his cock nestled against the crevice of her ass. She wriggled her butt against him, pressing back against his body.
His arm around her waist tightened.
“Unless you mean business you better cut that out.”
“Oh, I definitely mean business.” She blew out a breath. “I need to wash away today and blot out all the bad images in my head.”
“It’s been a tough day for you.” His breath was a soft breeze against her ear. “I didn’t want to push you into something you were too wrung out to enjoy.”
“I don’t think I would ever not enjoy this.”
He didn’t say another word, just nibbled on the rim of her ear as he tugged up her sleep shirt and slid his hand up to cup a breast. She loved the feel of him and the way he touched her. His hands had a slightly rough feel to them, the touch of a man who used them for less than delicate things. She also knew he could use those hands to kill, but that didn’t detract from them at all. The moment he cradled her breast in his palm she felt her nipple go hard. When he brushed the pad of his thumb over it, she moaned, and Logan’s low, sexy laugh rumbled in her ear.
“Feel good?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” she teased. “Keep doing it for another three or four hours and I’ll let you know.”
“You just lie there,” he whispered in a low growl, “and I’ll see what else I can do to make you feel good.”
He was unhurried, slow moving, as he stroked and teased her body. When he had tormented one nipple to his satisfaction, he slid his hand to the other one and gave it the same treatment. When she tried to wriggle her butt against him, he threw one muscled leg over both of hers and pinned her in place.
“No moving.” His voice was low and warm like molasses. “This is my show. Just relax and let me give you pleasure.”
Lying still was one of the hardest things she’d ever done but she drew in a deep breath, let it out slowly, and willed herself not to move.
When both nipples were hard and aching with need, he slid his hand down lower on her body, pausing at her navel to trace a fingertip again and again over the curled flesh there. Spears of electricity stabbed everywhere on her body, stealing her breath, and making her pulse accelerate until it felt like a jungle drum at the hollow of her throat, her wrists, and most important, between her legs.
Just as she tried to squeeze her thighs together to still the throbbing deep in her sex, Logan eased his hand down over her mound, nudged her thighs apart. As he eased a finger between her outer lips, gliding over her clit, he bit down lightly on her shoulder, intensifying every feeling in her body. She tried to push down on his hand but he held her in place, teasing her with his finger. One of his legs hooked over hers and tugged to inch her thighs apart, giving him full access to her.
She knew what sheer torment was now. It was the very slow glide of his finger over her clit in a touch as soft as a fairy’s kiss, just enough to torment her but not enough to give her the relief she wanted. With the palm of his hand pressed over her mound he rubbed and swirled and rubbed some more. When he finally slid one finger inside her she wanted to cry with relief. Only the moment she tried to press down on it, he eased it out of her hot, slick channel and concentrated only on stroking her clit with those lighter than air touches.
“Feel good, baby?” His voice was a low rumble in her ear. “Like that? And this? And this? You know what I’d like to do to you?”
And while he worked her clit like a master he proceeded to whisper in her ear details of every erotic act he wanted to commit with her. The more he stroked and the more he whispered the hotter and more aroused she became. When he removed his hand, she cried out in protest, but in the next moment he eased his middle finger, slick with her juices, between the cheeks of her ass. As lightly and gently as he’d done everything else he stroked up and down, pressing against the opening there before sliding his finger up and down again.
Devon thought she would go mad with need. She wanted him inside her, his finger inside her, his cock inside her, and she wanted it now. When he traced the shell of her ear with his tongue over and over, shivers raced down her spine and the walls of her sex throbbed and pulsed.
When she was at the point of begging, pleading, he nipped her shoulder again and shifted position for a moment.
“Hold on a minute. I made sure I was prepared.”
She felt him roll partially away from her for a moment. Then she heard the distinctive tear of foil, felt his hands against her ass as he rolled on a condom. Then he lifted her leg to slide his cock between her thighs, resting the head just at her opening.
“Please,” she begged again.
He eased himself in so slowly she wanted to scream. But she was good and ready for him, inner walls pliable and slick with her cream. When he was fully seated inside her, he pressed his hand against her abdomen to hold her body to his and began to move.
Devon never realized before what slow torture was but she knew it now. She tried to signal him to go faster but he was obviously determined to take his slow, sweet time. With every glide and thrust, in and out and forward and back, her desire ratcheted up another notch. He was hard and thick inside her, filling her completely, matching the strokes of his finger on her clit to the rhythm of his body until she wasn’t sure she could stand it another minute.
She was perched right on the edge of release, her body humming with need, nerves firing.
“Please.” She whispered the word. “Please, Logan.”
As if her plea triggered a reaction in his body, he pressed his hand hard on her mound, finger on her clit, thrust once, twice, then bit down on that sensitive spot where neck and shoulder joined. They exploded together, their bodies glued so tight together they might have been one person. Everything disappeared except the pulsing of her inner walls as they milked his cock and the spasms rocking her entire body.
At some point the frenzy subsided, the tension easing from their bodies. Devon struggled to catch her breath, even as she felt the beating of Logan’s heart against her and heard the rasping of his breath mingling with hers. Finally Logan eased from her body and rose from the bed to dispose of the condom.
“Back in a second.” His voice was deep and raspy.
“Not going anywhere,” she managed.
Devon couldn’t move if she wanted to. She just lay there, reveling in the incredible afterglow until Logan slipped into bed again and once more curled her body into his.
“Sleep,” he murmured, trailing kisses along her jaw.
And she did, falling at once into a deep sleep where everything from the past two days disappeared.