Page 3 of Threatened

Not that he planned to act on those feelings at all. Women were a distraction he couldn’t afford. The last time he’d given into that, it had cost him everything. Now he had the twins to consider too, and their welfare came above everything else.

Still, he didn’t want to be a complete dick and toss her out on the street either. So, he came up with what he thought was a good compromise. “Well, if you need a place to crash for a couple of days, my sofa’s available. I’d let you have the guest room, but the babies are in there now, so…”

He congratulated himself for working a deadline into his invitation. A couple of days. She’d mentioned staying in the area indefinitely, but that was a no-go where he was concerned. Having her hanging around here, bonding with the twins, messing up what order he’d managed to establish in his life post-military, was not going to happen. Even if it might be nice havingan extra set of hands around to help out with the babies. Images of her on the sofa with little Maya flashed into his head. She’d been good with her niece. A natural. Maya had quieted instantly in Kylie’s arms, and Brennan had seemed equally enraptured when she’d helped put him to bed right before joining Gage in the kitchen. So, he’d enjoy her help for a couple of days then send her on her way.

With that in mind, he stood and dumped what was left of his coffee down the drain. The last thing he needed was more caffeine. He should be napping himself while the kids were asleep to make up for the sleep he hadn’t gotten for most of the night. “I’ll, uh, just grab some bedding from the closet so you can get set up on the sofa.”

“Thanks,” she said, her forlorn tone following him down the hallway and causing a buzz of awareness in his blood. Which was bad. So, so bad. As Gage sifted through the linens in the closet, he couldn’t help thinking he was suddenly in more danger here in his own home than he’d ever been in the worst sniper fire.

“Thanks,” Kylie said again a few minutes later when Gage returned with her bedding. At least he’d covered himself now, thank goodness. She was up for some male eye candy as much as the next woman, but she felt way too vulnerable at the moment, and Gage seemed way too strong and tempting for her comfort. She took the stack of sheets and blankets from him and walked into the living room, as much to put distance between them as to get herself set for some rest.

He followed her, of course, so she concentrated on tucking the sheets beneath the couch cushions and not the way his shirtoutlined the sculpted muscles of his chest or how his scent—soap and sandalwood—seemed to wrap around her like a fuzzy layer of security. Which was insane. She’d just met the guy. Well, okay. She’d met him before at her sister’s wedding, but that didn’t really count. They’d shared one dance and a toast and that was it. Besides, she’d been dating someone else at the time and hadn’t been interested in anything more with the handsome best man.

Not that she was now either. She was here to size Gage up as a parent and figure out why Christine had left him the twins without even telling her. That was it.

You already know the answer to the second one.

She punched the pillow he’d given her with far more force than was necessary before throwing it onto the end of the sofa. Ever since she’d been diagnosed with endometriosis at nineteen, her sister had treated her with kid gloves. And yes, Kylie had grown up always talking about how she wanted to have a big family of her own one day. She loved kids. The fact she couldn’t have any of her own now was hard to deal with, of course, but it wasn’t a reason to exclude her from anything related to babies.

Was it?

A familiar lump of sadness clogged her throat before she swallowed it down hard. Her last serious boyfriend had certainly thought it disqualified her as long-term relationship material. God, if she closed her eyes, she could still hear Jeff’s words from the day he broke up with her—the day her life and future had changed forever. At first, when she’d told him she couldn’t have children, he’d tried to act like it didn’t matter, like having kids of his own someday wasn’t a big deal, but that state of affairs hadn’t lasted long. Eventually, Jeff had sat her down and toldher that he just couldn’t tie himself to someone who would never get pregnant. That memory was still like a knife to her heart, stabbing deep. Forget their discussions about adoption, forget everything else they’d had together.

No kids, no relationship. The end.

Her sister had apparently thought Kylie was too broken and defective to be a good mother to the twins as well. Maybe they were right. Maybe if she hadn’t told Jeff and had gone down to Mexico to have those experimental treatments she’d read about that were supposed to increase fertility, she wouldn’t be alone right now. Maybe…

No. She shook her head and turned to find Gage still watching her with that too-perceptive dark gaze of his. Ugh. Why did it seem like he could look into her very soul with those bottomless eyes of his? Then again, it could just be the jet lag making her act like a fool. Feeling far more defensive than she liked, Kylie crossed her arms and frowned at him. “What time do you get the twins up in the morning?”

“Whenever they wake up, I suppose,” he said, blinking at her.

“Well, that’s not good. Babies need routine. You have to get them on a schedule. Everyone knows that.” She ignored his arched brow at her snippy tone. “I’ve done a lot of research on childrearing and all the books say that?—”

“I don’t care what the books say. I’ve read plenty of them myself, and they haven’t been real helpful so far,” he said. “I’m in the trenches here, day in day out. I know what’s best for Maya and Brennan.”

“Do you?” She took a step closer to him, refusing to be intimidated. “Because last time I checked, you’re a single guy with no clue what he’s doing around kids.”

“Excuse me?” He moved closer as well, the soft cotton of his T-shirt shifting over his muscled torso. “How dare you walk in here and presume to tell me how to raise my children.”

“Your children! I’m their aunt. I’m a blood relation. I should be involved in their lives and in how they’re raised.”

“Like you were so involved before your sister died, huh? Remind me again where you were the day of the funeral?” He narrowed his gaze on her, a small muscle ticking near his tense jaw, his expression skeptical. “You want the twins, don’t you? That’s why you flew halfway around the world in the middle of the night to show up on my doorstep. I was hoping you just wanted to see them, like a good aunt.”

“I do want to see them and make sure they’re safe. And I need to understand why my sister chose you over me.” Damn. She hadn’t meant to say that last part out loud. The heartache about Christine and Tucker’s deaths and their decision to trust a stranger with their babies was just too much. Okay, so Gage wasn’t a stranger to them, but he was to her. And being this close to Gage wasn’t helping. It was like her brain went haywire around him. She tried to squeeze back her spiraling emotions and focus. “So, yes. I’m here to check you out. Make sure you’re a fit parent.” Her gaze flickered from his eyes to his chest before returning. “You’ve got baby food on your shirt.”

He continued staring at her a moment, his warm breath fanning the hair around her face. He was close enough for her to reach out and touch him, if she wanted. Her fingertips itched to do just that, so she clenched her fists at her sides instead. Seriously.Whatever this thing was sizzling between them, she needed to get over it fast. She didn’t do relationships anymore. Break her heart once, shame on him. Break her heart twice, shame on her. Or something like that. Whatever. She didn’t need to get involved with anyone else right now except the twins. Especially not Gage.

She didn’t back down. He didn’t either. It was like those old western movie standoffs, without the guns. Finally, Gage cursed under his breath and moved back away from her to peer down at the front of himself, picking at the splotch near his shoulder.

Grumbling, he turned to head back down the hall, casting her a glance over his shoulder. “I need to take a shower.”

“Don’t worry,” she called after him, unable to resist getting in one last barb. “The twins will be fine with me. Take your time.”

“Take off with my kids, and I’ll have the state troopers on your ass so fast you won’t know what hit you,” he shot back before giving her a fake smile and shutting the bathroom door behind him.

She wanted to yell back at him but didn’t want to wake the twins.

Instead, she stood there stewing in her rage as a multitude of great comebacks surfaced in her mind.

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