by Paige Tyler
On the upside, the Russian pilot had demanded Logan and the rest of his Team accompany him back to the States. For some reason, he felt safer with SEAL Team 5 than the CIA. That meant they got to come home much earlier than he expected.
Logan leaned over to tell Chasen he was going to grab some coffee then slipped out of the conference room. While he could use the caffeine, it was really an excuse to go downstairs to the little boxes where they had to store their cell phones.
He sent a quick text to Felicia, letting her know he was back and asking if she wanted to get together that night. He hung around for as long as he could get away with, but she didn’t text back. Disappointed, he tossed his phone back in the box and went back to the conference room, stopping to grab coffee for him and Chasen on the way.
Four long hours later, the CIA called it a night and Logan was finally free to get the hell out of there. He’d thought for sure Felicia would have texted him back by now, but he didn’t have any messages from her.
The smart thing to do would probably be to call her, but instead he drove over to her condo. Considering it was a Saturday night, there was a very real possibility she might be out with another guy. That thought sucked.
But when he knocked on her door, Felicia opened it right away.
“You’re back!” she said.
Before he could say anything, she kissed him hard then wrapped her arms around him and hugged him fiercely. A second later, she took his hand and tugged him inside.
“When did you get home?” she asked.
“This morning,” he said.
She looked so beautiful standing there in a pair of shorts and a tank top, her hair loose around her shoulders. All he wanted to do was pull her into his arms and kiss her until they were both gasping for air. But if he did, they’d end up in bed, and he had something important he needed to say to her first.
He ran his hand through his hair. “Can we talk?”
Felicia stiffened at his words, her face suddenly pale. Okay, maybe that hadn’t been the best way to start the conversation.
She motioned him toward the couch. “Yeah, of course. What do you want to talk about?”
He sat and rested his forearms on his thighs. “About us—you and me.”
Logan cursed himself. Of course us meant her and him. Who the hell else could it mean, the guys on his SEAL Team?
“What I’m trying to say is that I think you’re great,” he said. “Better than great even.”
Oh hell, this was getting worse! Why the hell couldn’t he figure out what to say? It shouldn’t be this hard. Just tell her you really like her, you dumbass moron!
Putting his thoughts into words was a lot harder to do than he’d ever imagined. How could he tell her how he felt, when he didn’t know for sure himself?
“You know the feeling you get when you find the absolutely perfect pair of boots,” he said. “Boots you could walk a hundred miles in and never get a blister? Or when you wrap your hands around the grip of a new pistol and instinctively feel like it was made for you? Do you know what I’m saying?”
Felicia stared at him. “No, I don’t have a clue what you’re saying. I’m not even sure if you’re speaking English.”
The hell with trying to finesse his way through this. “Felicia, I think we have something special between us, and I want to keep seeing you.”
Logan exhaled so hard it felt like he might pass out. But it was over with. The bandage had been ripped off. All his hopes and fears were lying out there clear as day.
Or not.
Felicia stared at him in confusion for a moment, but then, suddenly, realization dawned on her face. “Are you trying to say you’re in love with me?”
Okay, that was rather blunt and totally unexpected. It also forced him to examine exactly how he thought about Felicia, which he’d been trying to avoid getting too deep into regardless of the advice Chasen had given him in Syria.
Was he in love with Felicia? Maybe, But he was worried to even admit it, especially since he didn’t know if she felt the same way. He might not be a coward when it came to getting shot at, but having his heart torn out by a woman he cared for wasn’t something he was thrilled about.
But she’d asked the question, and if he took a step back from the truth now, he’d never get the chance to go there with her again. He wasn’t willing to turn his back on a shot at something amazing with Felicia, even if it was a really long shot in seriously high winds.
“I know this should be a simple question, Felicia, but the truth is, I’ve never been in love before. I don’t think I’ve even come close,” he told her. “I guess I assumed getting serious with a woman would have to wait until after I retired from the Navy. But sometimes things happen when we’re not looking—like meeting you.”
He took a deep breath then sighed and started again. “Look, I hate slapping labels on things as difficult to get my hands around as how I feel about you. All I know is that when I’m with you, I feel like there’s something in the world that matters beyond being a SEAL and doing the job. I know it’s crazy since we’ve barely known each other for more than a couple of weeks, but it’s true.”
Logan studied Felicia’s face, hoping to get a read on her. But she gave him nothing. She merely gazed back at him blankly. Like she was too shocked by his confession to even react.
Having no choice at this point, he decided to keep going. He was a man, dammit. If he was going to dig his own grave, he’d sure as hell make sure it was deep enough.
“If being really happy when I’m with you and worrying like crazy about you when I’m not means I’m in love with you,” he said. “Then, yeah, I guess I am.”
Chapter Twelve
FELICIA BLINKED. LOGAN loved her. Well, he hadn’t said it in so many words, and certainly not in the way you typically saw in the movies. But, still, he had said the word love. Of all the things she’d expected Logan to say when he’d showed up at the door, love definitely hadn’t been one of them.
When she’d opened the door, she been so happy to see him standing there safe and sound she’d wanted to cry—or laugh. She didn’t know which.
Then he’d said he wanted to “talk.” Those words, along with the serious expression on his face had her freaking out on the inside. She’d thought for sure he’d been going to tell her it wasn’t working out between them. That his time away had given him a new perspective, and he didn’t want to see her again.
Instead he’d gone into a rambling soliloquy involving boots and blisters and pistol grips. She’d been so lost, she’d felt like pulling out her new cell phone to ask Siri if she had a clue what the hell Logan was talking about.
But he’d floored her by saying he thought there was something between them and he wanted to keep seeing her. Just like that, his bumbling, stumbling words made a strange kind of sense. Logan liked her—as in seriously liked her.
Felicia didn’t know why she’d asked him if he loved her. Maybe it was the stuff Stef had thrown in her face about what you feel for a man being far more important than how long you’ve know him. Or maybe there was simply a part of her that was falling in love with Logan, too.
A few days ago, she’d practically laughed in her sister’s face when Stef tried to convince her love was the only thing that mattered. Now Logan said he loved her and that there was something special between them.
The craziest thing of all was that everything Logan said made complete and total sense. She felt the exact same way about him.
She did a double take.
It was true. She was in love—or at least falling in love—with a man she’d known all of two weeks. It should have scared the hell out of her, but instead it made her feel happier than she’d ever been.
It suddenly occurred to her that Logan was still talking and she hadn’t heard a word he’d said. She tuned in to hear him apologizing for springing all this on her so suddenly and for coming over here in the first place.
“My gut told me this wouldn’t wo
rk, that I was pushing you too fast, but I took a chance. I’m sorry.”
Before Felicia could say anything, Logan got to his feet and headed for the door. He must have taken her stunned silence to mean she didn’t feel the same way about him as he did about her. That couldn’t be further from the truth.
She jumped up and grabbed his arm. When he turned, she wrapped her arms around his neck, dragging him down for a kiss.
Logan immediately kissed her back, his hands grabbing her ass and pull her tightly against him.
Throwing caution to the wind and going with her instincts might be insane, but she knew in her heart it was right.
Just when it seemed the heat of their mouths on one another might lead to something combustible right there in the entryway of her apartment, Logan broke the kiss and looked down at her.
“I’m guessing this means you still want to keep seeing me?” he asked.
She thumped him on the shoulder, which probably hurt her hand far more than it hurt his shoulder. “Of course I want to keep seeing you! Are you crazy?”
His mouth twitched. “I think that goes with saying. It’s the only thing that explains how I could be falling in love with a woman I’ve known for two weeks and have slept with only once.”
Felicia smiled. “Well, I am really good in bed.”
He chuckled. “Well, there you go. That explains everything.”
She laughed with him, feeling a weight being lifted from her shoulders she’d never known was there. But she was the first one to turn serious as she realized there were a few things she needed to say to him.
“You might have surprised me a little by saying what you did, but it doesn’t mean I wasn’t happy to hear it. I spent the whole time you were away thinking about us, what we had, and where we were going. I’ll admit, I’ve always been the kind to take things slowly. I’ve always assumed I would meet this great guy, and we would spend years getting to know each other, planning out each and every step of our relationship.”
“But?” he prompted.
“But then I met you and the whole carefully laid out plan I had for my life flipped upside down.”
“Is that so bad?” he asked.
She gazed up into his beautiful eyes. “If you’d asked me a few days ago, the answer would have been yes. But right now the answer is definitely not. In fact, I get the feeling someday, I’m going to look back on this moment and realize it’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”
Logan smiled, then his mouth came down on hers again and she felt her body melt into his. With a groan, he slipped one arm behind her knees and scooped her up then headed for her bedroom.
Once there, they undressed each other slowly, hands roaming everywhere. When they were both naked, Felicia climbed into bed and spread her legs wide. Logan joined her, settling comfortably between them.
There wasn’t any teasing this time. Instead, Logan slipped inside, taking her breath away. His mouth came down to nuzzle her neck, tracing kisses everywhere as he began to thrust in steady rhythm. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, pulling him deeper.
Felicia had no idea how long they moved like that together, but at some point Logan’s thrusts got faster, making her moan every time he bottomed out inside her.
“Harder,” she whispered in his ear, knowing she was close and wanting him to come with her.
Logan obeyed, lifting his head to look down at her as he pounded into her.
They came together as they gazed into each other’s eyes. She’d never done anything quite like it before, and it was the most powerful thing she’d ever felt. Making love to a man she loved probably had a lot to do with how hard she orgasmed, too. Either way, she wouldn’t complain.
Felicia lay on his chest afterward, listening to the steady beat of his heart beneath her ear. She smiled. If this was what it meant to be with the man she loved, she could definitely get used to it.
She was on the verge of drifting off to sleep when Logan gently nudged her awake. “I was so busy worrying about whether you were going to slam the door in my face when I got here, I didn’t ask if everything is ready for the sunrise wedding tomorrow?”
Crap. She was glad he’d said something. She’d completely forgotten she needed to get up early tomorrow. As she sat up to set the alarm clock, she filled Logan in on the last second changes the bride had requested.
“How are things with Stef?” he asked when she cuddled up against him again.
“Not great,” Felicia admitted, explaining about the argument with her sister. “According to Hayley’s friend Kyla, Stef and her boyfriend are at a hotel in Vegas. They’ve been there since Thursday.”
“Do you think they’re getting married?”
She nodded against his shoulder. “They probably already are. And before you say it, I know she’s a grown woman who doesn’t need an older sister making decisions for her. But it doesn’t mean I’m not worried about her or concerned she’s running off to get married for all the wrong reasons.”
Logan ran his fingers up and down her arm. “I get that. But have you ever thought maybe your sister has stumbled across the person she’s meant to be with?”
Felicia smiled. “If someone had said that to me a couple of hours ago, I would have laughed and insisted following your heart is the worst way to start any relationship. But now, considering I admitted to being in love with a guy I met only a couple of weeks ago, I suppose I have to agree Stef is on to something.”
“What are you going to do?” he asked softly. “When Stef gets back, I mean.”
She shrugged. “I’m not sure, but whatever it is, it will probably start with an apology. Though I’m guessing my sister is never going to let me live down the fact I fell in love with you so fast. She’ll probably take great pleasure in pointing out I have cheese slices in my fridge that have been together longer than we have.”
Logan chuckled.
Chapter Thirteen
LOGAN GROANED AS his phone rang. He ignored it, sure it was Felicia’s and not his. Then he remembered she’d gotten up and left a while ago so she could get to the beach and pull off the sunrise wedding. He said he’d go with her, but she’d told him to stay in bed and sleep in. He’d felt badly about falling back asleep while she went to work, but he was too exhausted to argue. She’d be home before noon then they could spend the rest of the day together.
He was thinking of the sexy kiss she’d given him before leaving when the damn phone rang again.
Cursing under his breath, he threw back the blankets and rolled out of bed, ignoring the perturbed look Chewy gave him from the bottom of the bed as he dug through the piles of clothes on the floor until he found his phone. Seeing all those casually discarded clothes reminded him of the sex they’d had the night before, which only made him think of what they could do later today. The thought started his cock hardening.
He looked down at his phone, relieved to see it wasn’t HQ with another mission. He didn’t recognize the number though. He thumbed the green button.
“Logan, it’s Heather. Is Felicia still there?”
Logan glanced at the clock on the nightstand to see it was after 0600 already. “No. Felicia left an hour ago.”
“Are you sure?” Heather asked. “She never got to the wedding location, and the bride and groom are getting nervous. I’ve called and left her a dozen messages, but she hasn’t called me back.”
“Hold on a minute,” he said as he padded out into the hall and downstairs to the living room. Surely, he would have heard Felicia moving around if she were still home. As he’d thought, she wasn’t there. Her purse was gone, too.
“She’s not here,” he told Heather. “Maybe she got caught in traffic.”
“On a Sunday morning?”
Yeah, that didn’t make a whole hell of a lot of sense. His gut told him something wasn’t right.
Logan walked over to look out the front window. Felicia’s car was still parked out in her space.
Shit.
&nbs
p; “Heather, I’ll call you later. You’re going to have to handle the wedding on your own.”
She said something, but Logan hung up. Running upstairs, he pulled on his clothes then hurried outside. He headed straight for her car in the early morning light, hoping the hood would be warm or there’d be a message sitting under the windshield. Nothing. Just a cold car with a little morning condensation covering the windows.
Now he had a really bad feeling.
He pulled out his phone and hit the speed dial for Felicia. She picked up on the first ring.
“Felicia, are you okay?” Relief rushed through him. “Heather has been calling you for the last hour. Where are you?”
“Felicia can’t come to the phone right now,” a man’s thickly accented Russian voice said. “She’s a little tied up at the moment.”
Logan’s hand tightened on the phone. Even though he’d never heard the man’s voice before, he instinctively knew it was Illarion Volkov.
“What do you want Volkov?”
“I want to kill the police officers who arrested my men. I want to punish your woman for refusing to do as I told her. Most of all, I want to make you pay for killing my brother. So, as you can see, Petty Officer Dunn, there are a great many things I want. But for now, I will forego my wants in return for one thing.”
“What’s that?” Logan asked, though he was pretty sure he already knew.
“A traitorous Russian pilot named Nikolay Maksimov. Bring him to me, and I will give you back your woman safe and unmarred—for the most part anyway.”
Logan tensed at the threat, but he kept his cool. Volkov was taunting him. “What makes you think I’ll be able to get anywhere near the Russian pilot? The CIA are watching him like a hawk.”
“I’m sure a man as clever as you will come up with a way. If not, I’ll be forced to take out my frustrations on pretty little Felicia.”
