Page 47 of Dreaming About Forever

“No problem, sweetheart. I’ll see you bright and early in the morning.”

Alicia nodded, choking back the lump lodged in her throat.

Jordan lost his leg in the line of duty, and the pain and loss he must have endured had Alicia’s skin heating.

She took the stairs slowly, searching for something–anything–she could do or say to help him move on, but nothing came to mind.

At the top of the stairs, she stopped at the closed door of his bedroom. Was he worried about what she’d think of him? That was a waste of his time. She’d already made up her mind about him. Injury or not, Jordan was one of the best men she’d ever met.

She’d just have to make sure he knew that.

16

JORDAN

Athud woke Jordan in an instant. His eyes flew open, and every muscle in his body tensed as he listened. The Marine Corps had taught him how to block out the pounding of his own heart when listening for danger, and the skill came in handy.

After a solid thirty seconds, Jordan eased from beneath the covers and sat on the side of the bed. It took less than two minutes to put on the prosthetic and the sleep pants he kept nearby in case of emergencies.

Emergencies. He was already two minutes behind, and that reminder always grated on his nerves.

Throwing on the white T-shirt draped over the foot of the bed, he grabbed his gun and slipped into his shoes by the bedroom door. With his hand on the knob, he listened one more time but didn’t hear anything.

Pulling the door open, he stepped out quietly and surveyed the hallway. All was quiet. With his gun in hand, he snuck down the hallway and checked the stairs. Nothing there either.

There wasn’t any movement downstairs, and he slid into his coat before stepping out into the freezing night. The sun would be up in an hour, but the predawn darkness covered everything in a thick blanket of black.

No tracks in the frost. No sign of movement. No noise.

It was possible he’d imagined the noise. His search was coming up empty.

Jordan slipped back inside and locked the door behind him. He had two hours before he had to be up and ready to head to Denver with Alicia, but there wasn’t any sense in trying to sleep now. The adrenaline after the noise and the cold outside had him ready to run.

He crept up the stairs, checking everything again on his way back to his bedroom. His attention snagged on Alicia’s door.

He shouldn’t have looked. Giving Alicia an ounce of his attention always led to a landslide. He had to put up enough walls every single day when she dominated his thoughts. He didn’t need her taking over his nighttime hours too.

Resting his back against his door, he stared at hers. With his arms crossed over his chest, he settled in to torment himself with thoughts of her. She was behind that door, sleeping soundly.

Safely. Always safely. At least when he was around.

He’d never gotten attached to a client before. Not even close. The thought of parting ways with Alicia made his stomach roll. He wouldn’t trust anyone else with her safety.

There was a creaking behind her door. One tiny noise before it opened, revealing Alicia in a silky tank top and shorts.

Jordan’s eyes widened before he could temper his reaction. Her dark hair was only slightly out of place and hanging over her creamy shoulders, and she didn’t have on a single bit of makeup.

Just his luck. She wore the natural, innocent look better than the glammed-up model look.

This was bad. Horrible. His chest filled with a thick excitement at the sight of her just-rolled-out-of-bed look.

“What are you doing? Sneaking around outside my room?” she asked. There wasn’t a hint of annoyance in her tone, only playfulness.

“I think it’s called surveillance when it’s my job.”

No, watching her bedroom door was not in his job description.

Her expression shifted into concern. “Is everything okay?”

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