Page 34 of Defender

If by some miracle she could forgive him for that, then maybe they truly could have a future together.

Tomorrow, he promised himself, everything would be clean between them tomorrow.

Ashton stretched a little, raising one arm over his head.The woman in his arms murmured something in her sleep before flipping herself over so her back was pressed into him.

Her very naked back.Ashton rolled onto his side, spooning her, and pulled her closer, forcing himself not to do anything else.Certain parts of his anatomy were having more trouble with that directive than others, but they both needed sleep.The sweet smell of her hair and curves in all the right places lulled him into closing his eyes.

The silence awoke him.

Ashton’s eyes opened and his body tensed, senses immediately aware that something wasn’t right.

Summer still slept against him, her back to his chest, her head resting on the crook of his elbow.She’d tucked her small feet between his calves.

Had she done something to wake him?Ashton wasn’t used to sleeping with his body in a constant state of contact with someone else.Maybe she’d had a dream or sudden movement and woken him.

But soon Ashton realized the silence was too crisp.Too encompassing.There was no hum of electricity whatsoever.The power had gone out again.

Then he heard it.The soft sound of someone forcing a lock open.As best he could tell the sound was coming from her garage.

Someone was in the house.

Chapter Eleven

Curtis Harper’s face immediately came to Ashton’s mind after last Friday’s shoot-out at the florist.And the man’s total disregard for collateral damage and innocent bystanders.

If it was Harper breaking in, getting Summer out of here was imperative.

Ashton wrapped his arms tightly around her, shaking her slightly.

“Summer,” he whispered in her ear.“We’ve got trouble.Someone has cut the power again and I’m pretty sure is breaking in your garage door.”

He hated to feel her go from soft and pliant to tense and fearful, but it couldn’t be helped.

“We need to get out of bed and hidden from whoever is breaking in here.”

She nodded.

Damn it, Ashton wished he hadn’t left his sidearm at home.It had been a conscious decision—he thought bringing a gun to Summer’s house when he was there to talk about his secret SWAT life might be a little insensitive.

But given the choice between insensitive and dead, he’d take insensitive.

They got out of bed, Ashton slipping on his jeans and Summer pulling his shirt over her head.It was almost completely black outside, with no moon out to provide light through the windows and all electricity off.Ashton took her hand and led her out into the hall, closing the bedroom door behind them softly, before making their way around a corner.

All the time he’d spent in her house fixing things came to his aid now.He knew where every room was, where every potted plant and baby item lay.He was careful not to make any noise.

He heard a low creak at the bottom of the stairs.If it was Harper, the man wasn’t wasting any time.Ashton pulled Summer behind his body near the linen closet door.

The man made no further noise as he came up the stairs.Fortunately, he didn’t look around the hallway before moving directly into Summer’s bedroom.

The perp knew where the room was.That wasn’t good news.Burglars would be looking around, trying to ascertain the most valuable items, not making a beeline for a certain place.

As the man passed them, Ashton caught the faintest gleam of metal in his hand outstretched in front of him.A gun.

He’d cut the power to silence Summer’s alarm and was making his way toward her bedroom with a gun in his hand.This didn’t look like a robbery.It felt like an assassination.

Ashton knew he had to get Summer out of the house, couldn’t take a chance tackling an armed man not knowing if the guy had any backup with him.Ashton could feel Summer’s hands holding onto his waist from behind him.As soon as the man had cleared the hall enough for Ashton and Summer not to be seen, he took her hands and guided them both down the stairs.

It wouldn’t take the guy long to figure out whoever he was looking for—Ashton had to believe it was him and not her—wasn’t in the bedroom.

---