Page 21 of Shielding his Legacy (Shattered SEALs #7)
Her stomach clenched even as her lungs expanded with excitement.
Us. Could there really be something long-term between them?
After wanting him so intensely, feeling like she was dying inside without this man, was it really possible they could have a relationship?
A smarter woman might have quit while she was ahead.
Instead, she said, “That weekend, you said it was just sex for you.”
He slowed the truck to a crawl and turned to her. “Yeah well, I lied.”
“Oh.”
“Oh,” he repeated. “I’ve thought of you every day since we met, and I’ve dreamed of you damn near every night.
And when I started this conversation, I was going to say we should cool it, which we probably should.
I’m sure it would turn out better for you that way.
I keep telling myself that, over and over again.
That you deserve better than me. But I can’t stay away from you any more than I can stop breathing, and that’s the God’s honest truth. ”
Pulling in beside a small log cabin, he turned off the engine and took his duffel and the diaper bag out of the backseat while Eva unhooked Abby’s car seat from its base. The baby had slept for a long time and wasn’t likely to stay asleep much longer.
Eva followed Gavin to the door. The distant sound of water lapping at the lakeshore punctuated the whisper of a breeze. There was a crispness to the bitterly cold air that highlighted their remote location, and Eva considered that the Adirondacks might not be so terrifying after all.
Perhaps it was a magical place.
The moonlight illuminated the landscape more than she would have thought possible.
He lifted a rock beside the front door and withdrew what must have been a key, then unlocked and entered the cabin.
She followed him inside, gently putting the baby’s carrier down a few feet inside the door.
The air held the faint scent of pine sap and disuse, but what struck her most was an atmosphere so cozy, it felt warm inside despite the frigid temperatures.
She turned at the flick of a lighter to see Gavin lighting an old-fashioned oil lamp, the warm glow bathing his skin in golden relief.
Her appreciation for him had moved far beyond the physical, so much so that she’d almost forgotten the heavy balance of his muscular arms and shoulders, the chiseled lines of his face and brow.
Gavin DeGrey was a beautiful man, and she was so attracted to him in that instant she literally felt weak in the knees.
She turned back toward the room, needing to steady herself, and looked around the space.
It was a single room with a refrigerator, a small bank of old-fashioned kitchen cupboards, a table and chairs off to one side, and a stone fireplace and sofa on the other.
A tarnished brass bed was farther from the fireplace against the back wall—making her stomach dip with hopeful anticipation—and a door led to what must be the bathroom.
Gavin walked by her, the scent of his body a subtle intimacy. “Home sweet home. I’ll get a fire going. Once it’s warm, I can turn the water on. Make yourself comfortable.”
Sudden concern had the corners of her mouth pulling down. “Where are the HERO Force guys going to stay?”
“There’s a bigger cabin on the other side of the property, a few hundred yards away behind some trees. You can’t see it from here.”
Walking into a small living area, her breath caught as a picture window came into view and Tupper Lake spread out before her, its surface almost completely covered in ice that glistened pure white beneath the moonlight.
Beauty extended as far as the eye could see in vivid swaths of brightness and shadow, and she knew she’d never seen a more beautiful place outside of pictures.
“I can’t imagine the main house has a better view than this one. ”
“It does, if you can believe that. It’s set back on the hill. You can see mountains, the lake, everything.”
“Who owns this place?”
“The wife of one of the guys from HERO Force in Atlanta. We use it when we need to stash someone in a hurry.” He flashed her a quick grin. “We need wood. I’ll be right back.”
She nodded, turning back to the view as he went in search of fuel for the fire that would keep them warm.
For the first time since this nightmare began, she finally felt safe—and she knew it was as much because of her strengthening relationship with Gavin as it was because of his protection.
She wondered if they would make love tonight, anticipation racing along her skin in a flash of excitement.
Letting her eyes close, she took a fortifying breath.
Whatever will be, will be.
Her mouth curved as Abby stirred behind her with a plaintive whimper. A burst of pure joy, fierce and all-encompassing, filled Eva. Turning, she crossed to the infant, unbuckled her, and lifted the baby’s little body into her arms with a contented sigh.
It struck her she was happier than she’d been in a year, yet more in danger than she could even allow herself to examine.
Gavin had real feelings for her, but she never would have known if she hadn’t been in mortal danger.
Were they better off as they had been, on their own, but safe?
Or better now with Gavin by their side and a predatory wolf at the door?
The mental image of the big bad wolf on the doorstep of the tiny cabin made goosebumps rise on her arms. She took a step backward, her gaze fixed on the closed door, when the crack of an axe splitting firewood nearly made her jump out of her skin.
She squeezed her eyes shut, heart racing, as Abby burrowed hungrily into the side of her neck.
Keep it together, Eva.
Gavin is here. He’ll protect you.
The uneven floorboards creaked as she crossed the darkened room toward the bed to feed the baby, telling herself she and Abby would be safe here.
Of course they’d be safe.
But she could feel a threat getting closer, a pulsating danger lurking, even more insidious than the dark, shadowy forest that surrounded them.