Page 64 of Hazard

He had to wonder who was going to save him from himself. Closing his eyes, he took a deep, uneven breath, seduced by her offer to listen to his fears about his ill father, knowing intuitively that he was struggling with the terror of losing him way too soon. He had let her get too close, and now, dammit, he looked at the message calling him in. It looked like he was going to be working with her again.

He covered her hands, needing some anchor in the storm inside him. Her soft, warm skin soothed him. “Since I’m such an optimistic person, I’m going to take that as a yes.”

Maybe he had been too quick on his opinion of this little Hummingbird. He’d reserve his judgement, for now.

Hazard picked Leigh up at the airport, and she hadn’t seen him in weeks. But her boss just wouldn’t let her go. He asked her to work in DC with him for two days out of the week, and that was doable considering she was going to be teaching full-time at ODU as one of their new law professors. She would keep her hand in the US attorney part of her life and fulfill her lifelong need and desire to teach. It was the best of both worlds.

She had missed him so much. After kissing and hugging him for eons, they got to his apartment. When he opened the door and she entered, she stopped dead.

“Oh, oh, no, we’re not living here,” she said, immediately. “This place isn’t big enough for all my doodads and lacy shit.”

He rubbed the back of his neck.

“Call a realtor. We’re buying a house.”

“You are pretty pushy, lady.”

She walked up to him, loving his annoyed tone. “Have we met?”

“You know I’m a Navy SEAL and not a corporate lawyer.”

“Ooh, shots fired.” Remorseful for being her blunt self, she sighed. “I’m not taking you to task for living in a dump, babe. This is a tasteful, beautiful studio, and I’m sure you sleep here very little, since you’re deployed so often, but it won’t do. I need space, a home office, and I want a garden.” She walked to the postage-stamp-sized kitchen. “I love to cook, by the way. You’d reap all the benefits from a gourmet kitchen.”

He brightened.

“I have a lacy apron I could wear au naturale.”

He brightened even more and gave her an admiring look. “You do know how to bargain.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I can pay for it. I have some of my own money.”

“Your corporate bloodsucking money?” he said dryly.

“Is that another warning shot over my bow?” she teased him, enjoying every moment of his snarkiness. She nudged him with her hips. “Some blood money, but I inherited a tad more from my grandmother. She was…very generous.”

“Oh, moneybags. You do have a very distractingly nice bow.” Those silvery blue eyes went over her in a slow slide. He sighed in capitulation, then smiled with eagerness. “Can we get a garage so I can actually store my motorcycle in it?”

“You have a motorcycle?”

“Yeah, but I don’t get to ride it much, since I don’t have a garage. I have a kayak, too.”

“Yes, the motorcycle is so sexy—the kayak, not so much.”

“I do have a pair of tight shorts I could wear while paddling it.”

“Oh, tight shorts, huh?” She pretended to think. “Garage, check.”

He grinned. She separated from him but kept her hands around his neck. “I noticed that you have a pretty nice bed over there.” She started to back toward it. “Looks so comfy and cozy, and there is that jet lag plaguing me all the way from California,” she said, mock weariness in her voice.

He grinned wider, and oh, God, she wanted him to do that more often. “Oh, the huge three-hour difference, right?” he said with such sympathy. “You must be exhausted. How many lacy things did you fit into your bag?” The amusement spread to his eyes.

“Oh, my sweet man, more than enough to fill all the racks in your tiny bathroom.”

He chuckled and fell onto the mattress with her.

Then there was no time for anything but the desire that ignited between them. They scrambled out of their clothes, sighing when they touched bare skin to bare skin. Leigh knew that her life had started the moment she’d met him and that she would love him for eternity. Just as Breakneck had said. Love was all that mattered, without it, nothing was enough.

She sank onto him, taking him into her body, her heart full of all the joy and happiness she had denied herself for so long.

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