Page 7 of Shielding his Legacy (Shattered SEALs #7)

They pulled up beside a two-story log cabin and Eva got out, eager to stretch her legs. Her eyes focused on the snow-covered mountain range in the distance. Arizona had mountains, but they were nothing like these majestic rolling hills, with evergreen trees covered in snow like a Christmas card.

She stole a glance at Gavin from the corner of her eye.

She hadn’t forgiven him for his comments, even though it was she who’d pressed him for the truth.

They still hurt her feelings much more than they ought to, considering he’d made no secret of his intentions toward her before he’d ever kissed her lips.

“I told you it was pretty up here,” he said.

Damn him and that deep voice that vibrated all the way up her spine with an intimacy she desperately wanted to avoid.

She didn’t answer, opening the back door to get the car seat.

Conversation was too hard, as if no nice words could possibly be spoken between them, and she longed to get some space between herself and Gavin DeGrey.

Preferably a door, too.

A thick metal door with a big, heavy lock.

Abby was again asleep, and Eva unhooked the car seat from its base and carried it to the door just as Gavin opened it. On the house beside him hung a slate plaque, hand-painted with the words Safe Haven.

Her shoulders dropped, the muscles of her neck relaxing. A safe haven was exactly what he was providing, and she reminded herself to be grateful no matter the tension between them. Without his help, she would be on the run, or possibly worse. She or Abby might have been killed.

She couldn’t even think about that now. Sometime in the future when the immediate threat was gone, she’d unpack it, allow the terror to sluice over her nerve endings like an electrical charge. But right now, she needed her wits about her.

He gestured for her to enter first. She’d been expecting a rustic cabin, but this place screamed money, with wood-planked walls in a rich golden brown, high ceilings and a stone fireplace with a wide hearth in the center of it all.

Her whole life she’d wanted a fireplace. She hoped he’d light it while she was here. Putting Abby’s car seat on the floor, she worked to strike a balance between pleasantly impressed and holy shit. “This is quite a fishing cabin.”

“The Esopus creek is at the end of the road. More like a river, actually, especially in the spring.” He moved to the kitchen island and unpacked the groceries he’d bought on their way in, the stunning glossy countertops drawing her near.

They were polished stone with swirls of color, and she ran her hands along their cold, smooth surface.

His voice was gravelly. “You like them?”

“I do.” His eyes were hooded, and she was suddenly unsure if they were talking about countertops.

She took a step back. “Think I could take a shower? I’m wiped out, and Abby should sleep for a little while, anyway.

” That last part was a lie—the baby had already exceeded her typical nap—but Eva was desperate for the promise of hot water and privacy.

“Sure. I’ll show you where you’re staying.”

Climbing the stairs behind him, her eyes followed the shape of his jeans around the familiar curves of his firm ass and muscular legs.

She remembered touching his naked body, the springy hair that covered his legs tickling her fingers, her fingernails sinking into his glutes as he filled her eager body with his.

Stop it.

She shook her head.

The same golden wood walls flowed upstairs, a single door leading to a bedroom. The cabin was small but luxurious, with textured fabrics and decor that must have been chosen by a professional decorator. Following him into the bedroom, her mouth dropped open at what she saw.

French doors framed a snow-covered porch, the deep green of the forest blanketed with white snow, its majesty broken only by a fissure where white water gushed over boulders and rocks. Purple and white hillsides flanked the distant horizon, drawing her toward the glass.

“It’s gorgeous,” she said softly, trailing her hand over the king-size bed, a subtle reminder of their long weekend together. She walked to the doors, touching the cold glass as if she could touch Mother Nature’s majesty beyond.

His masculine scent lingered on the air, and she took it deep into her lungs, memories of the last time she’d smelled him assaulting her clear-headedness. “This is your room,” she said.

“Yes.” His voice strummed her skin, making the hair on her arms stand on end.

Her fantasies had taken her here so many times. This reunion with Gavin, being with him in a bedroom again was how every one of them started, and she was aware of his presence behind her, her pulse thrumming at the crotch of her jeans.

She bit her lip. “It smells like you.” She shouldn’t have said it.

She shouldn’t have even thought it. Her cheeks grew hot, imagining he felt the draw of attraction that was sucking her in, spinning her around as she circled the drain.

But it was all in her head, and the rational part of her screamed that he didn’t want anything to do with her.

What did he have to do to prove that? She’d told him she loved him once, and he’d walked away from her without looking back. So why couldn't she get that? What was it going to take?

She turned around, annoyance with herself adding haste to her movements. His face was lightly flushed, as if he’d just exerted himself. She licked her lips, his eyes dropping to watch the movement of her tongue. For an instant, his stare held a mirrored intensity.

He looked away, leaving her certain she’d imagined his attention on her mouth. “There are towels in the bathroom closet,” he said. “You and Abby will be comfortable here.”

“Great. Thanks.” She walked to the door.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“To get the baby. I’ll put her car seat on the floor in the bathroom in case she wakes up.”

“You don’t need to do that. I can watch her.”

Eva furrowed her brow. She’d barely left Abby’s side in the tiny girl’s entire life.

Oh, she’d tried—but it never worked out—and what he was suggesting sounded heavenly.

Heavenly, and definitely not something she wanted to get used to.

Waving her hand dismissively, she said, “Thanks, but it’s fine. ”

“Really, I can watch her for half an hour.”

Narrowing her eyes, she said, “You told me yourself you’ve never held a baby.”

“How hard can it be?”

“If that doesn’t inspire trust, I don’t know what would.”

He raised his eyebrows. “You sure you want to talk about trust?”

“What does that mean?”

“You didn’t tell me you were pregnant, Eva. For God’s sake. If you didn’t need my help, I don’t think I ever would have found out.”

The cheeks that had been flushed with desire now burned with anger and embarrassment. “You didn’t exactly leave a forwarding address. The way I remember it, you high-tailed it out of that hotel room as fast as you could when I said I wanted to see you again.”

“That wasn’t about you.”

She laughed without humor. “Yeah, right.”

“It wasn’t.”

Eva held up a hand. “Just stop with the bullshit, will you please? We’re stuck together for the time being, but I’d rather if we keep things on the up-and-up.”

He moved closer to her, his jaw set and his nostrils flaring. He dwarfed her, his massive chest barely at eye level, heat coming off him in waves along with that damn familiar scent of his. “It wasn’t about you,” he ground out.

Tears threatened again. She rolled her eyes, determined not to put on a grotesquely emotional, sobbing display. Biting her tongue to stop the twinge from escalating, she marveled at the emotional roller coaster she’d been on for nearly a year.

Joy at meeting this man had turned to devastation in the wake of his departure. Then the hormonal tsunami of pregnancy had imbedded itself into her life and she’d desperately needed to feel like the level-headed woman she’d been before she’d unwisely decided to make love to this man.

Before she knew what he was about, he had pivoted on his heel and was clearly headed for the bedroom door. “Take the baby with you while you shower, then,” he called. “Do whatever you want.”

The door closed behind him, Eva’s bones seeming to rattle with the wood slab as it vibrated in its frame. Angry now, she followed him out of the room and down the steps.

Turning around halfway down the staircase, he scowled at her. “What are you doing?”

“Getting Abby. She can’t walk yet, you know.” Brushing past him, she continued down the stairs. The desire to scream was so intense, she might have done it if she weren’t concerned it would scare the baby.

She’d spent so much time thinking about this man, dreaming of him, yet he couldn’t care less what became of her and their child.

And she no longer felt like crying. She wanted to scratch his eyes out, hurt him physically the way he’d hurt her emotionally.

She wanted to rewind time and change the choices that had brought her here.

But how could she wish he’d never been in her life, without also wishing away her baby girl?

No matter what else happened, she had Abby.

And she couldn’t be sorry for that, no matter the asshole Gavin had turned out to be.

Bending at the waist, she picked up the car seat by its handle and turned around, heading for the stairs.

He was standing on the steps right where she’d passed him.

With a huff, she stomped up the first several treads, aware she was getting closer to him and wishing she had the strength and courage to hurl his sorry ass down the stairs. Pitching her shoulder forward, she attempted to scoot past him when he held out an arm, blocking her way.

“Wait.”

Keeping her head averted, she swiped at his offending arm. “Leave me alone.”

He let his hand fall to his side, but as she tried to push past him, he said, “Please, Eva. Wait.”

Her legs stilled beneath her, betraying her desperate need for forward motion. “What?” she snapped, finally meeting his gaze as she climbed to eye level.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “Can we start over?”

“It’s a little late.”

“Only if you want it to be.” He lifted his hand and lightly touched her cheek, his finger grazing her skin for an instant before she swatted it away. He straightened to his full height. “I wasn’t expecting to see you again.”

His touch unnerved her, putting her on the defensive. “Yeah? Well, I wasn’t expecting to see you again, either. And I certainly wasn’t expecting to show up barefoot and asking for money.”

Those inscrutable eyes of his seemed to soften, revealing a depth she could fall into, tumbling, out of control. Being near him was a roller coaster of emotion and confusion, a chess game against an opponent whose moves she didn’t understand. She set her mouth.

“I wasn’t expecting to find out I’m a father.” His gaze moved slowly to the baby in the car seat, then back to Eva. He scratched the scruff at his cheek. “Hell, I wasn’t expecting to ever be a father.”

The regret in his tone was clear and hurt mixed with the need that was pulsing through her at his nearness.

“Well, you’re the one who…” She hesitated, the rest of her sentence screaming in her mind.

Who woke me up by filling me with that sweet, thick cock of yours.

Who held me down and made the world shatter into a thousand pieces, then came deep inside me without a condom, creating a life I never asked for.

She couldn’t bring herself to say the words, or anything remotely like them.

The intense intimacy of that night was a million miles away from where they stood.

The closeness they’d shared should be all but impossible to remember.

Instead, it felt to her like it had just taken place, their bond stretching tightly from the night she’d conceived to this very moment like a taut metal cable.

The black centers of those mesmerizing green eyes dilated, and she knew he was remembering the exact same things she was. Heat rose up her chest to her neck, weakness overtaking her knees.

“I remember what I did,” he said.

She’d never forget their last night together. The way he’d touched her—half asleep, half inside some nightmare—but still so desperately connected to her. She’d said yes to that feral side of him, pulled him closer, hoping her body could reach whatever haunted place his mind had gone.

But then he’d woken up, eyes wild, and she’d felt him slip away even as he moved inside her. He’d kissed her like a man drowning, then he was gone, leaving her confused and devastated in his wake.

Her pulse throbbed between her legs, her need for this man mingling with the certainty that he still had feelings for her. Was it possible? Had she been right all along about the special connection between them? She leaned ever-so-slightly toward him, desperate for his touch.

The corners of his mouth pulled down almost imperceptibly. “And I can’t tell you how much I regret it.” He walked down the remaining steps, never casting so much as a backwards glance in her direction.