by Nina Croft
A little thrill of pleasure shot along her nerves.
“I think we’ll let Abby decide that,” Jack said.
“So let her.”
“I really don’t think this is the place—”
Logan was bristling with barely leashed menace. He really didn’t like Jack. Time to jump in and keep the peace. She hurried out of the doorway and all eyes turned her way.
Logan took a step toward her, his gaze fixed on her face, his expression solemn, a question in his eyes. She moved toward him as though she couldn’t help herself, ignoring their audience because something was happening here. Something more important than any of her colleagues’ opinions.
Everyone else faded into the background as her whole attention focused on Logan. She could see the fear in his eyes but also his resolve. He’d come for her, to the one place he hated. He was exposing his fears totally, and the love and hope she’d been holding tight inside blossomed, flooding her system with warmth. But also with a need to protect him, keep him safe, and somehow convince him that if he took the chance on her she’d never let him down.
They stopped only inches apart. He stroked a finger down her cheek, and a shiver ran through her. “You look tired, fantasy girl.”
“I haven’t been sleeping too well.”
“Me, neither. You want to help me with that?”
“Every night if you want me to.”
He exhaled, some of the tension easing from his body. “I can’t promise not to screw up, but if you give me a chance, I’ll do my best for you and Jenny. I’ll never purposefully let you down.”
“I know.”
“I’ve got to be honest—I’m scared of messing up, but I’m more scared of not being part of your lives. I need you. Both of you. Everything is meaningless without you.”
God, she wanted to hug him. “We need you too, Logan.”
Closing the final distance between them, he reached for her, crushing his bouquet of flowers between them. He gave her a quick smile, then turned and shoved the roses at Jack. “Hold on to these. I’ll need them in a minute.”
Jack opened his mouth, but no sound came out, then she forgot all about him as Logan cupped her face with both hands and stared down into her eyes. The room and everyone but Logan faded away.
“Kiss me,” she muttered. When he was too slow, she curled her fingers in the silky hair at the back of his neck, tugged him down, and parted her lips beneath his. His hands shifted to her hips and he lifted her so her feet were off the floor, and he kissed her until her head swam.
The sound of stamping feet and wolf whistles finally broke through the haze fogging her mind.
“Way to go, sergeant!”
Logan pulled back slightly, lowered her to the floor, and rested his forehead against hers. “Hardly circumspect, sarge,” he murmured against her skin.
“Bugger circumspect,” she replied.
He chuckled then released her, stepped back, and stretched a hand behind him. “Flowers, Jack.”
As Jack handed them to him, he gave Abby a rueful smile and a shrug.
Logan held out the roses. She took them and buried her nose in the fragrant petals, breathing in the heavy perfume. Finally she lifted her head and found him watching her, a hot, hopeful expression in his silver eyes.
Ask me. Ask me.
He put his hand into his pocket and pulled something out. Her heart hitched then started thumping fast and hard. Her gaze flashed from the ring in his hand to his face, and his eyes were filled with emotion so clear that when the words came they held no surprise. “I love you.”
She didn’t have to think about her reply. “I love you too.”
A cheer went up around the room.
Logan exhaled loudly, and the last of the tension oozed out of him. He’d clearly been in no way sure of her. “Good.”
“Is this one of your fantasies?” she asked.
“No, this is as real as it gets.” He took a deep breath. “So, Sergeant Abigail Parker, will you marry me?”
She held out a shaking hand, and he slipped the ring on her finger. “I will.”
Epilogue
“I hate bloody boats,” Logan muttered.
They were honeymooning on the island of Sicily, staying in the extremely luxurious villa of one of Logan’s friends, Vittorio D’Ascensio, whom she’d met at the wedding a week ago. The yacht was also Vito’s, and they’d taken it out for the day. The sea was calm, but even so, Logan’s face held a tinge of green.
“We didn’t have to come,” she said.
“I wanted to show you.” He held on to the railing with one hand and waved the other out toward the rocky shoreline. “That’s where the ship went down. We were right here when I decided that no way was I going to die without finding my fantasy girl.”
She moved to stand beside him at the rail, wrapping her arm around his waist as she gazed out over the flat sea. The water was a deep turquoise blue, reflecting the clear sky above them, and the sun was hot on her back. “So if you’d never gone on the boat, you would never have come to find me?”
He turned to peer down at her, a lazy smile curling his beautiful lips. “I think I would have come to find you in the end. The life and death thing just nudged me in the right direction.”
A shiver ran through her as she realized how close he had come to dying. They might never have met again. The idea seemed inconceivable. “Nothing like the thought of dying to make you realize what you really want.”
“Exactly. And I wanted my fantasy girl.”
“You have her.”
“Actually, I have my fantasy woman.” He lowered his head and kissed her neck, sending ripples of desire spreading through her. Then he nipped her skin. “So why don’t we head back to solid ground.”
“Are we going to do the fantasy thing?” Her body tingled at the thought. She’d even packed her handcuffs, because she’d never been able to get that particular image out of her mind. Maybe today…
“I don’t need fantasies anymore,” Logan said. “I have the real thing.”
“Aw.”
He grinned. “Okay, perhaps I still have a few left.”
“Enough for a lifetime?”
“More than enough.”
She leaned across and kissed him slowly and thoroughly. “My fantasy guy.”
The End
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Acknowledgments
To everyone at Entangled Publishing, but especially my wonderful editor, Candace Havens, for all her great comments, edits and perseverance. And to all the great women at Passionate Critters for reading my stories and letting me know what they really think. And finally, to my husband Rob, who puts up with me, and encourages me, and does a great job of hiding it when he’s totally fed up with me vanishing into my imaginary worlds and filling the house with imaginary people.
About the Author
Nina Croft grew up in the north of England. After training as an accountant, she spent four years working as a volunteer in Zambia, which left her with a love of the sun and a dislike of nine-to-five work. She then spent a number of years mixing travel (whenever possible) with work (whenever necessary) but has now settled down to a life of writing and picking almonds on a remote farm in the mountains of southern Spain.
Nina writes all types of romance, often mixed with elements of the paranormal and science fiction.
www.ninacroft.com
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Also by Nina Croft…
Babysitting a Billionaire series
Losing Control
Out of Control
Taking Control
Dark Desires series
Break Out
Deadly Pursuit
Death Defying
Temporal Shift
Blood and Metal
The Spaniard’s Kiss
The Order series
Bittersweet Blood
Bittersweet Magic
Bittersweet Darkness
Melville Sisters series
Operation Saving Daniel
Betting on Julia
The Descartes Legacy
Blackmailed by the Italian Billionaire
Love Knows No Bounds
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