Her Soldier Protector

by Soraya Lane

  “Candace, you’re so beautiful.”

  Her shy smile spurred him on even more because it was so unexpected.

  “You’re sure you want this?” He had to ask, needed to make sure she’d thought this through. “I don’t want you to regret anything in the morning.”

  Candace reached for him, cupped her hands around the back of his head and pulled him lower, her lips warm and pillowy as they traced his mouth.

  “No regrets, Logan,” she murmured. “I want you to make love to me.”

  Logan groaned as one of her hands left his neck, her fingernails trailing lightly down his skin, pushing at his jeans like she was as impatient as he was.

  This time, he wasn’t holding back, wouldn’t push her away or ask her if she was sure. He’d given her a chance to say no, and she’d made it perfectly clear what she wanted. Now, he was going to give her exactly what she’d asked for.

  *

  Logan stroked Candace’s long hair, gently fingering the curls that were splayed across his chest. They’d been lying in silence for a while, just lying in the dark. It wasn’t a silence he wanted to break, either—she seemed as comfortable as he was with saying nothing at all, bodies pressed together, his fingers caressing either her hair or her skin.

  He shut his eyes, starting to drift into sleep.

  The sound of a plane’s engine, the dark silence as it stalled and started to spiral, falling toward the earth.

  Logan blinked and went back to stroking Candace’s hair, touching a strand of it to his face as he focused on her again and stamped the dark thoughts away. He was not going to ruin this perfect moment with lurching back into the past.

  “Logan, can I ask you something?” Candace’s words were soft and husky.

  He stopped twirling her hair and brushed his knuckles softly across her cheek as he propped on one elbow to look at her. She was lying on her back, and now he was on his side, facing her. Staring into her eyes seemed to help him to forget everything else.

  “You seem to find it easy to talk about some of the things you’ve been through, and I guess I...” Her voice trailed off. “I guess it’s just unexpected from someone who’s been through what you’ve been through.”

  Logan wanted to look away but he didn’t. “What I’ve told you is a very small part of what I’ve been through, Candace. There are some things I’ll take to my grave that I should probably talk about but never will, and other things that I can talk about for reasons I don’t understand.” What he didn’t tell her was that his head so was full of his memories that he wouldn’t even know where to start.

  She reached for his hand and linked her fingers with his. “So why did you tell me what you did, about being on patrol, being recognized, all those stories?”

  He dropped his gaze to their hands, craving the contact, the touch of her skin to his. “There’s something about you that reminds me of, well, me,” Logan tried to explain. “I’ve been through a lot, and I saw something in you that made me want to talk to you. I don’t know why. I’ve never wanted to before, but...”

  She turned and snuggled into him. “You don’t have to explain. I shouldn’t have asked.”

  Logan dropped a kiss to her forehead, moving to her lips when she tilted her face up to him.

  “That’s the crazy thing. I’m usually so protective over my past, yet with you I wanted to talk.” It was strange, because she also helped him to forget.

  She laughed, just a soft, husky giggle. “Yeah, that’s probably because you know enough about me to hold me for ransom over your secrets.”

  Logan raised his eyebrows. “Meaning I could sell all our sex secrets and whispered conversations to the media?”

  “Exactly,” Candace confirmed.

  Logan just smiled and pulled her into him, lying back on the bed and shutting his eyes. He didn’t need to say anything in response, because if she didn’t trust him, it wasn’t something she’d joke about. And there was no way he’d ever spill the beans on anything about Candace, or any other woman he’d ever been with, for that matter.

  The last woman he’d shared his own bed and memories with, so many years ago, had hurt him beyond belief. She’d betrayed him when he’d trusted her, made him wary of any other woman and what she could do to him if he let her close. But Candace, she was different, because she felt she had too much to lose to betray him, or his confidence.

  It might only be one night, he might never see her again, but it had been worth it. Because Candace had shown him that he wasn’t the only damaged person in the world, and it had done him good to see the world through someone else’s eyes for once. Or maybe it was because he knew it was only one night that he’d allowed anything to happen at all.

  *

  Candace lay awake, her head on Logan’s shoulder, hand resting on his chest. She was listening to his breathing, feeling the gentle rise and fall of his chest, as she thought about what she’d just done. She had no regrets and doubted she would, but there were so many things running through her mind that she knew she’d never be able to fall asleep, even if she was exhausted.

  Logan had shown her what it was like to just be a woman attracted to a man. She had no intention of making one-night stands a habit, and it wasn’t like she’d ever had one before, but tonight had been...just what she’d needed. Her body was relaxed and satisfied, but her mind was working in overdrive, thinking about all the things she needed to do to get her life and her career back on track. And what he’d said about her manager—she didn’t want it to be true, but Logan’s words had made her wonder. Deep down, she wasn’t even that surprised, in fact, if it was true she’d almost be relieved that there wasn’t some psycho out there wanting to kill her! Ever since her mom had passed away, she’d ignored the fact that she no longer had someone she could trust in her life, to make all the big decisions for her.

  But she was also thinking about the fact that she needed a getaway plan—she’d probably never see Logan again, and she didn’t want things to be awkward between them when he woke up. Better to have a beautiful memory of what had happened than an awkward parting, or at least that’s what she was thinking as she lay beside him.

  “No!”

  Candace jumped, pushing away from Logan as his body convulsed. She pulled the sheets up to cover her naked body, eyes trained on the man she’d just been cuddled up to. She’d been lying in the almost dark for so long that her eyes were fully adjusted, and she could see the sweat that had broken out across Logan’s forehead, his hands clenched at his sides like he was about to start a fight. What the hell was happening?

  “No!”

  His voice was loud this time, the order clear, and Candace had shivers working like propellers down her spine, the familiar taste of fear like bile in her mouth. She knew it was a dream, probably a night terror that had something to do with what he’d been through, but she was still scared. Because she’d seen a violent man up close and personal, and it had terrified her.

  What if he hurt her? Candace jumped clear off the bed. A whining noise made her spin, her heart still racing, but she realized it was only Ranger, and he had absolutely zero interest in her. He had run to Logan, was sitting beside the bed, head cocked to the side, emitting a low whine. Maybe he was used to his master’s behavior? Or maybe he was just as scared by what was happening as she was.

  Candace knew it was stupid, but she also knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of a man’s fist, of being hurt by someone she’d never expected to hurt her, so she wasn’t going to stay too close to Logan. And she definitely wasn’t going to risk waking him. She’d seen enough television shows about soldiers with post-traumatic stress to know she could end up with his hands wrapped around her throat if he mistakenly thought she was the enemy.

  “I’m sorry, Logan,” she whispered, dressing in the dark as he continued to toss and turn, the sheets starting to tangle around him. She should have tried to help him, but she didn’t, couldn’t.

  Candace found her shoes, slip
ped them on, then disappeared out into the living area. She pulled her phone from her purse, saw she’d missed a heap of calls while it had been on silent, but ignored them all and went online instead. She searched for the name of a taxi company, found out Logan’s address, called to order a cab, and sat down on the sofa while she waited.

  Running out on Logan wasn’t something she’d wanted to do. It wasn’t something she’d ever done before to any man, but she’d set the wheels in motion now and there was no turning back. What they’d shared had been incredible, a night she’d never forget for as long as she lived, but they’d made each other no promises, and now it was time to head back to the real world.

  Even if right now that world held little appeal.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  LOGAN STRETCHED AND threw one hand over his eyes to block out the sun. He went to pull the pillow over his head instead before he realized what had woken him.

  Bloody phone.

  He reached for it, sitting up as he also realized that he was alone in his bed when he should have had a gorgeous blonde tucked up beside him. Where on earth had she gone so early in the morning?

  “Hello,” he muttered, shutting his eyes again as he hit the pillow.

  “Tell me the media have gone crazy and lost their minds?”

  Logan groaned as he recognized his best friend, Brett’s, voice, before sitting back up again and pulling his jeans on so he could see if Candace was still in the house. He tripped over his dog, who was looking at him like he was the crazy one. He did that a lot lately, especially in the morning, and he had no idea why.

  “Logan?”

  “Sorry. What have you seen?” He checked the kitchen and living area, before ducking into the bathroom. All empty. Crap! How had he managed to sleep through her leaving?

  “Oh, you know, just you leaving Nick’s Seafood restaurant with Candace-freaking-Evans, and then her spotted arriving back at her hotel at about three this morning looking mighty disheveled.”

  Double crap. Logan swallowed the expletives that he would like to have yelled out. At least it was Brett telling him rather than some stranger confronting him.

  “Are you sure she was seen at the hotel?”

  His friend laughed. “You mean you lost her? Hey, Jamie, he didn’t even know where she was, so they must have gotten the whole one-night stand thing wrong.”

  Logan grimaced as he listened to Brett call out to his wife. If it was all over the news, then there was little chance of anyone else believing that nothing had happened, and the last thing he wanted was the whole world to know what Candace had been doing the night before. He couldn’t care less what anyone said about him, but he knew that she wasn’t exactly the kind of woman used to making headlines for being scandalous.

  A noise made him look up and Ranger let out a loud bark.

  “Look, I spent the day with her yesterday...”

  “And the night?” Brett was laughing, like he found the entire thing beyond hysterical.

  “Oh, man!” Logan ducked out of sight when he saw that the front of his house was surrounded by a bunch of guys with cameras. The last thing he needed was to be photographed bare-chested in jeans he hadn’t even buttoned up properly.

  “What?”

  “There’s bloody paparazzi outside my house. How did they find my place?” Not to mention why they’d want a photo of him when they knew Candace wasn’t even with him.

  “From the fierce looks you gave them last night it’s a wonder they wanted to go near you again.”

  Logan went around the house pulling all the blinds and drapes down so no one could see in.

  “Look, she’s a sweet girl and we had a nice night together. End of story. Now I have to go and make sure she’s okay, because she obviously slipped out on me in the night.”

  Brett laughed again. “Guess that serves Jamie right for telling you it was time to meet a woman. We just didn’t expect you to set your sights quite so high.”

  Logan was usually ready to spar with Brett whenever he became annoying, but today he wasn’t going to take the bait. He could deal with his friend later.

  “I have to go. I’ll call you later.”

  “I’ll email those pics through to you,” Brett said. “You know, in case you want to check yourself out.”

  “Later.”

  Logan hung up and opened his fridge, pulling out a carton of juice. He managed to take a few sips before curiosity got the better of him, and he grabbed his phone again and checked his emails. Sure enough, Brett had already hit Send, because there was a link waiting for him to click on.

  Naughty night out in Australia for America’s sweetheart. Candace Evans waves goodbye to good girl reputation with mystery man.

  Logan took a deep breath, refusing to let his anger get to him. He clicked through the shots and saw them leaving the restaurant together, a zoomed-in photo of them holding hands, one of them driving away in his car, then hours later Candace running into the hotel, her hair all messed up and one hand held across her face.

  It wasn’t like they’d actually caught them doing anything, but they’d built a story around nothing and put up a few photos together to try to prove a point. The worst thing was that she’d run from him, and he had no idea why she’d just disappear like that after they’d spent the night together. Had someone sent her the photos and spooked her?

  Whatever had happened, he was going to make sure that she was left alone at the press conference this afternoon. Sure, the media might go crazy when they realized he was her bodyguard, but then again they might think they’d made a huge mistake and he’d just been minding her.

  Either way, he was heading to the hotel now to see if she was okay.

  His phone bleeped again, this time with a text. He flicked through to his messages, anger rising again when he read the words.

  Looks like you had an interesting evening. Heads up that the press junket has been cancelled, so you’re officially off duty on this one.

  Great. Even his boss knew what he’d been up to, or allegedly up to, the night before. And Candace had obviously gone into hiding if she was giving up her afternoon appointment. Still, he was going to see her. If she was still in the country, he’d track her down. What Candace didn’t know about him was that he wasn’t exactly a one-night stand kind of guy, either, and he wanted her to know that he’d be there for her if she needed him, until her flight out.

  Candace had made him see that he needed to move on with parts of his life that he’d ignored for so long, and for that alone he needed to thank her. Usually when he freaked out over anything, he went for a run or hit the gym. In fact, he usually did it every morning because his dreams freaked him out night after night, but today was different. Today he actually had to confront the problem head-on instead of try to outrun it.

  *

  Candace stared at her laptop screen. She was a sucker for punishment, and she still couldn’t help clicking through and looking at each photo one more time. She’d looked before her shower, and now she was sitting on her bed, hair wrapped in a towel, torturing herself again.

  She felt like a fool.

  Being with Logan wasn’t something she regretted, even if she did regret the paparazzi getting snaps of her and making it clear to the world what she’d been up to. It was the fact that it had taken Logan’s comments for her to realize how bad her manager was—she’d hidden behind the fact that her mom wasn’t around any longer, instead of dealing with something she knew was detrimental to her career. But those days were gone. The first thing she’d done in the taxi was text her manager and tell him she was okay, that she would be arriving back at the hotel within twenty minutes, and then when she’d arrived to quietly slip into her room, the place had been buzzing with photographers. There was only one explanation for it, and she was going to be giving him his marching orders and sending him packing before the end of the day, after she asked him whether he was responsible for the letters she’d been receiving.

  Then she was going t
o figure out how to apologize to Logan for running out on him in the middle of the night, before figuring out what to do for the next few days. It was time for her to take a break, figure some things out, and find a beach to relax on where she wouldn’t be disturbed. She didn’t have any more concerts scheduled on this tour, and she’d been too busy for too long without taking time out for herself, punishing herself with work to avoid dealing with everything that had happened.

  Her hotel phone rang but she ignored it, uninterested in whoever it was. She’d made it clear she didn’t want to be disturbed, and she meant it.

  Candace padded barefoot back into the bathroom and let her hair down, running her fingers through it and then working some product into the roots. She would do her hair and makeup, then deliver the verdicts that she’d decided upon.

  It was time for her to take control of her own life, her own destiny, and that started today.

  CHAPTER SIX

  “LOGAN, IT’S CANDACE.”

  He stopped dead, flicking his phone off speaker and pressing it to his ear instead.

  “Candace? I thought you were long gone.”

  There was silence for a moment, and Logan had to check that they hadn’t lost the connection. The last thing he’d expected was for Candace to call.

  “I was wondering if you had time to meet up,” she asked, her voice low.

  “Business or pleasure?” Logan cringed the second the words left his mouth. Pleasure hadn’t exactly been the best phrase, given what had happened between them.

  “Coffee,” she said. “I’m at a different hotel, just down the road from where I was before.”