Her Soldier Protector (13 page)

CHAPTER TWELVE

L
OGAN
STOOD
OUTSIDE
the plane and stretched. He was exhausted. Not the kind of bone-tired exhaustion that he’d experienced on tour, but he was still ready to collapse into bed and not stir until late the next morning. The smart thing to do would have been to stay in the city for the night, but he’d already let his apartment and his only option would have been to crash at Jamie and Brett’s. He doubted any respectable hotel would have let him arrive with Ranger, even if he explained how highly trained he was, and he didn’t want Jamie’s pity. The way she’d look at him would only remind him of what he’d lost since last time he’d seen her.

“I’m getting old,” he muttered to his dog, bending to give him a scratch on the head. “We were definitely ready to retire.”

Ranger looked up at him, waiting for a signal that it was okay to run off, and Logan waved him on. He threw his pack over his back and headed for the house.
So much for planning to be gone only a few days, a week at the most
. He’d ended up being talked into spending time with some of the newer recruits in the K9 division, which he was pretty sure was his superior’s way of trying to push him into a teaching position. It wasn’t that he hadn’t enjoyed it—he had, and Ranger had, too—but after so long thinking about coming back home, he was more than ready to make it happen. Not to mention the fact that he wasn’t ready to make any long-term commitments just yet.

Logan stopped when he noticed a light on in the house.
Weird.
He hadn’t phoned ahead and told the manager he’d be back a day early, which meant they wouldn’t have bothered to go and turn lights on, and...
crap.
There was smoke coming from the chimney. Either his manager had decided to take some serious liberties and move into the main house, or there was a squatter or someone in there. His sister was away at a conference, and she was the only other person who had a key, and the right, to enter their house.

He broke into a jog, whistling out to Ranger to come back. His dog was trained to sniff out bombs, but he was also a lethal weapon when it came to providing protection when he had to be. Logan knew he was better with the dog at his side than a weapon, especially if there was an intruder.

He moved quietly up the steps, breathing slowly and filling his lungs as he trod, before trying the door handle. It was unlocked. Logan pushed it open, glanced at his dog and tapped his thigh so he stayed right at his side, and closed it behind them. He listened and heard only the low hum of the television, so he walked silently down the hall, pausing to listen before turning into the kitchen. There was a cup on the counter that he hadn’t left there, and a couple of shopping bags sitting on the floor.

Someone had definitely been making themselves at home in his absence, and he wanted to know right now what on earth was going on.

Logan could see the television from where he was standing, saw the closing credits of a movie, but he couldn’t hear anything else. He stepped carefully, not wanting to make any of the wooden floorboards creak, hardly breathing as he saw a foot sticking out. That someone was lying on his sofa.

“What the hell...” Logan’s voice died in his throat as he leaped around the corner of the sofa.

No. He must be dreaming. Seeing things.

He bent to silence Ranger, still staring at the woman lying, asleep, her lips slightly parted, long blond hair messy and covering the cushions beneath her head and shoulders.

Candace.
The woman he’d done nothing but think about these past two weeks was actually in his home, lying on his sofa. Logan had been so close to trying to track her down, but he hadn’t even asked for her phone number before they’d parted ways, which he’d been telling himself had been smart, not having any of her contact details.

But now she was here? He couldn’t believe it.
He didn’t believe it.

Logan bent to retrieve the television remote, hitting the off button, and disappearing to find a blanket. In his room the bed was slightly crinkled, and when he went to yank the comforter off, a hissing noise startled him. Then Ranger’s low growl put him on high alert.

“Leave it,” he ordered, wondering what kind of animal had gotten into his room.

A head popped out from between the pillows, followed by a yawn and a stretch. Candace was in his house, and she’d brought her cats with her? Logan pulled the comforter off despite the kitty’s protests and put a hand on Ranger’s head to settle him. The poor dog looked like his eyes were going to pop out of his head and he didn’t blame him. Heck,
his eyes
had just about popped out of his head when he’d seen Candace.

“Easy, boy. It’s just a cat. You’re still the boss.”

Logan returned to the living room, put a few more logs on the fire and stood above Candace, still wondering if he was imagining the whole thing. He was insanely tired, so it wouldn’t be impossible for him to be dreaming, but...He reached down to stroke her hair from her face, smiling when she stirred slightly. There was no imagining that. Candace was on his sofa, asleep, and he wasn’t going to waste any more time in joining her.

He sat on the edge of the sofa, gently scooped her and moved her across a little, then lay beside her, covering them both with the comforter and wrapping one arm around Candace. The feel of her body, the smell of her perfume, the softness of her hair against his face—they were things he’d tried to commit to memory and been so worried he’d forget.

Logan wanted to lie awake, or even better wake Candace up so he could find out what on earth she was doing back in Australia, but the desire to sleep was too strong to ignore. He relaxed his body into hers and shut his eyes, letting slumber find him. Tomorrow he could ask her all about it. Tonight, he was just going to enjoy having her beside him and falling into the sleep he’d been craving for hours. And after all the therapy he’d gone through, the therapy he’d finally admitted to needing, he was at least confident that he wouldn’t hurt her.

*

Candace had the strangest feeling that she couldn’t breathe. In her dream, there was something stuck on her chest, pressing her down, but when she opened her eyes the panicked feeling almost immediately washed away.
Logan.
Light was filtering into the room, so she knew it was early, which meant he must have arrived in the night and found her asleep.

She wriggled to move his arm down, the weight of it across her chest too heavy, and then turned on her side to stare at him. She had no idea what he was going to say or how he was going to react, and the idea of telling him what she’d done absolutely terrified her, but she was going to do it.
Fear was no longer going to stop her from doing what her heart told her was right.

Candace touched one hand to Logan’s cheek, trailing her fingers across his skin. He hadn’t shaved for at least a day, so the stubble was rough against her fingertips. It took every inch of her willpower not to trace the outline of his lips, parted and full in slumber. But what was even more amazing was that they’d both slept—he hadn’t woken like he had every other time she’d spent the night with him.

“Now that you’ve woken me, you’d better kiss me,” Logan mumbled, eyes still shut.

She smiled, not surprised he’d tricked her and been awake, but she also did as she was told. Candace wriggled closer to him, their bodies intertwined, slowly touching her lips to his in a kiss so sweet it made her sigh. Logan’s mouth moved slowly, lazily, against hers, like he was still half asleep, and it suited her fine to start things out slow, to just enjoy being this close to the man she’d thought of constantly since the day she’d left him.

“Now that’s what I call a nice way to wake up,” he mumbled.

Candace kissed him again, not so gently this time, one hand snaking around his neck and running through his hair as she pulled herself closer to him.

“Mmm, this morning just keeps getting better and better.”

She pulled away only to look at him, to see if he’d opened his eyes, and he had.

“Hey,” she said, staring into his hazel brown gaze.

“Hey,” he said straight back, stretching his legs out and then slinging one over hers.

“Were you surprised to find me here?”

Logan chuckled. “Surprised would be putting it mildly.”

She had no idea what he was thinking, but he hadn’t exactly been opposed to her kisses, and he
had
cuddled up to her on the sofa while she was sleeping, which told her that he obviously wasn’t unhappy to find her.

“I guess I should have called ahead first, huh?”

He raised an eyebrow. “It would have stopped me from almost having a heart attack and thinking squatters were in my house.”

“Sorry,” she said, starting to wonder whether she had been crazy to just move in while he was away, without asking him.

“Then again, being exhausted and actually sleeping through an entire night with you by my side was worth the near-death experience.”

Candace sat up, wanting to tread lightly with what she was about to say. “Logan, I can’t believe you slept the whole night without...”

“Freaking out and having my terrors,” he finished for her. “Yeah, it looks like I did.”

She lay back down again, this time covering his chest, her cheek flat to his body.

“I can’t believe it.”

“Well, believe it,” he said, rubbing her back. “You’ve changed me, Candace, in more ways than I’d like to admit. Because I finally got the help I needed.”

She listened to him take a deep breath, his expression serious. “The way I reacted the other night when you confronted me,” he started.

“Was a knee-jerk reaction to being pushed too hard,” she interrupted, the kindness in his eyes making her want to just hold him and never let go. “I should have known that it wasn’t something you could be pushed into dealing with.”

“But pushing was exactly what I needed,” he told her, stroking her cheek. “I was being pigheaded, and I owe you an apology.”

“Can I tell you something?” she asked.

“Of course.”

“I want to explain why I was so scared of you the other night,” she started.

Logan frowned. “Because I understandably scared the crap out of you?”

She gave him a half smile, nestling in closer to him. “No, because the last man I was with, the one I thought was different than the rest because he wasn’t interested in my fame or my money, he...”

Logan touched her hair, left his hand there and waited for her to continue.

“He was my husband, Logan, and he hit me, and when I went to leave, to call for help, he grabbed me so tight around the throat that I thought he was going to strangle me.”

It was as if all the blood had drained from Logan’s face when she glanced up at him.

“So when I struck out at you...”

Candace grabbed his hand and touched his fingers to her cheek. “You didn’t even make a bruise here, Logan, but yeah, when I woke up to you going crazy it really scared me. Kind of brought a heap of memories back that I’ve been trying to forget. It was just all too much, one nightmare too many.”

“No wonder we get on so well,” he said, refusing to react to what she’d told him, to get angry when there was nothing he could do about what had happened to her. “We’re both kind of screwed up about the past, huh?”

“I guess you could say that,” she muttered, closing her eyes as he leaned down to kiss her. “I’ve met a lot of men that seemed so right at the start, but with every relationship that’s failed, it’s just made it so hard for me to trust in anyone. Because it’s not just men who’ve used me, or tried to, it’s been so-called friends, too.”

“So you being here?” he asked.

Candace shut her eyes, knowing she needed to tell him what her being here actually meant. That she hadn’t just flown in for a few days, that this was a whole lot more permanent than that.
If he’d have her.
That all she’d done since she’d left was think of all the reasons why she shouldn’t have lost her temper with Logan, why she needed to take a leaf out of her own book and open up to him, to talk to someone about her past and why it haunted her so badly.

“Logan, I kind of took a risk just turning up like this, but something you said to me, something we talked about, just kept running through my mind after I’d left.”

He was watching her intently, waiting for her to continue.

“I’m not just here for another vacation,” she admitted.

“I kind of guessed that when I found one of your cats on my bed,” Logan told her, his grin telling her that he knew exactly what was going on.

“When you said that if we lived in the same country, if we’d met at a different time or place, that things could have worked out between us...” She paused. “Did you mean it?”

He sighed and stroked her hair. “Of course I meant it.”

“So, does the fact that I kind of just moved to Australia mean...” Candace stopped talking, knowing he knew exactly what she was trying to say to him.

Logan sat up, back against the armrest of the sofa. “You mean to say that while I was away working, you flew halfway across the world with your cats in tow to move into my house and surprise me?” He paused. “And forgive me?”

Candace’s face flushed, the heat rising up her neck and into her cheeks. “When you put it like that you make me sound like a crazy person.”

“You,” he said, pulling her against him so she was firm to his chest, “are not a crazy person.”

“So you do want me here?” she mumbled.

“Yes, I want you here,” Logan said, squeezing her and dropping a kiss into her hair. “You and your crazy cats will always have a home here, Candace. Always.”

From the moment she’d walked through the door with all her things, Candace had started to worry. What had seemed like such a great idea back in L.A. had seemed stupid and childish once she’d arrived, but having Logan by her side, seeing the look on his face when he’d woken with her in his arms, had made everything okay. It was the first time she’d ever taken a risk, except for the time her mom had forced a record label executive to listen to her songs, and both times they’d changed her life for the better.