Page 201 of Unexpected Hero

“When I broke my toes because I’m a first-class klutz, you literally carried me to an urgent care, even paying for it. Then you took me grocery shopping since you knew I wouldn’t be able to drive for a while. That was damn thoughtful and compassionate.” Her smile widens until it brightens the room. “Despite being a bit of a stalker, you followed me to the hotel at night because you’re protective and concerned for my safety. And since we became intimate, you’ve never once pushed me to do anything I wasn’t ready to do, putting my comfort and consent above your own pleasure every damn time. You even did it tonight when you denied yourself and brought me in here instead. Right?”

I nod, finding no objection to her assertions thus far.

“And since you were in the military, you’re obviously brave and honorable. Plus, I’ve never known anyone who makes me feel as special, beautiful, and free as you do.”

My sinuses sting.

Before I have time to worry whether I’m coming down with a cold, she cups my cheeks and hovers her mouth over mine. Her words feather across my lips. “Now tell me. Does that sound like someone who’d do more bad than good?”

She paints a different picture of me than the one I see in the mirror each day.

And she believes her vision of me wholeheartedly. It makes me want to believe it too.

Instead of answering with words, I capture her mouth.

And I kiss her.

I kiss her with all I am and everything I’ve longed to be.

I kiss her because I don’t have the words to express how much her faith in me means.

And I kiss her for what she said. For who she is. For how she sees me. For how she makes me feel.

This beautiful woman makes me fucking feel.

More and more each day.

Succumbing to the fantasy, I let her belief in me scrub away the stains on my soul.

I let her fill the emptiness, knowing full well that when this ends — and it will — the man she sees in me will exist no more.

And he won’t ever return.

Until then, I’ll take comfort in knowing that not only do I have a heart, but it was blessed to beat alongside hers for one sweet moment in time.

Chapter 39

Postpone the sexiversary

Three months later

TOMER

Big Al barges into my office without knocking — not that he needs to, given it’s his company. He’s usually a little bit more reserved, often hovering in the doorway and rapping on the frame before popping his head in.Not the case tonight.

His expression is one I’ve seen often. But that was when we were in battle, and everything was about to go to shit.

“Stop everything you’re doing. We’ve got an emergency. Sammy Mason has been abducted.”

Did I hear him right? Leo’s sister, Sammy Mason, has been abducted?

That means someone is fucking with our Redleg family.

My spine goes ramrod straight. “What do we know?”

I shove myself, chair and all, across the lair to my primary computer. The three screens come to life, ready to do whatever the fuck I need them to.

Boss’s voice is steady, barely masking his alarm. “Lionheart just called. He and Sawyer were at the Sassy Parrot. Sammy was supposed to be working, but they never saw her. When they grew concerned, they asked around for her. Her coworkers hadn’t seen her for approximately thirty minutes. The only trace of her was her cell phone, found on the ground in the alley behind the bar near the dumpster. No other sign of her.”

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