by KaLyn Cooper
When his hand grasped her breast and began kneading, she had to put a stop to him.
She broke the kiss.
“Not tonight.” At her words, understanding filled his eyes. “Soon, though, I promise.” Teagan couldn’t wait to follow through on that vow.
“I’m not sure I’m very good company tonight, anyway.” Logan settled her back into his arms. “I’m sorry things have been so crazy the past two weeks. I know it hasn’t been easy for you, handling everything here. I haven’t been around to parent as much as I should.”
She rolled her head to look up at him. “You know who you’re talking to, right? I spent ten years in that world. I know what you’re going through. It’s not as though you can just leave because the clock ticks five.” She’d been so consumed with her own situations, she hadn’t considered him in weeks. “Do you want to talk about it?”
He was quiet for a long moment. Just as she was about to tell him he didn’t have to, his hands stilled. “I had two teams in trouble. One in North Africa and the other in Honduras. Both were deep in bad guy country. It seemed like every time we tried to extract them, the situation just got worse. We lost two good men in Chad. If we’d been able to get them out as soon as they’d been shot, even within twenty-four hours, they’d be alive right now.”
She rolled over to face him, crawling up into his lap. “This is not your fault.”
He glanced away.
She cupped his face and forced his gaze to meet hers. “Did you do everything you could to rescue them?”
“Of course.”
“Were they trained as well as they could be?” She pushed.
“Absolutely. Our men are some of the best trained in the world. I’d put them up against any SpecOps team from any service in any country.” His voice was filled with conviction.
“You did your job, and then some, I’m sure.” At the questioning look in his eyes she added, “because I know you. That’s why you worked so late the other night that you ended up sleeping at your office. I’m proud of you. Two teams made it out.”
“But I couldn’t be here to help you and be with the kids.” His eyes were filled with regret. “I couldn’t do my half of the parenting. On top of everything, you weren’t feeling well. I promised to help you, and I failed.”
“You didn’t fail me, the children, or those men.” She had to make him understand. “I’ve got this.” She waved her hand in the air meaning to include the children. “Sure, the kids missed you, but they understood. I personally believe that Gabriel was gone more often than he was home. By the way, thanks for calling me and letting me know you’re going to be gone.”
“It was the least I could do.” He rubbed his hands up and down her bare arms.
She grinned at him. “The kids weren’t the only ones who missed you.”
He ran his long fingers over her scalp, through her hair. “You missed me?”
She decided to tease him. “Yeah, that meant I was stuck dealing with dinner. Three nights in a row.”
“I’ll try not to let that happen again.” He pulled her head toward him, and she let him. “You missed me.”
She laid her hands on his chest then leaned in and kissed him. It started as a light touching of lips. He was so gentle as he kissed his way down her jaw then took little nips from her neck. He worked his way back up to her lips while caressing her breasts in both hands.
She reached between them and stroked his hard cock through his jeans. He rocked his hips into her hand and thrust his tongue into her mouth. He ran his thumbs over her nipples and they hardened even more.
When she reached for his belt, he pulled back from the kiss and clasped his hands over hers.
“I don’t like having sex during my period, but I can take care of you.” She purposely licked her lips and tried to free her hands. “You had a rough week. It’ll help you relax and sleep better tonight.”
Keeping her hands held captive, he leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss. “I truly appreciate the offer, but not tonight.” He shook his head. “Someday I would love to have that talented mouth of yours wrapped around my cock, but the first time I come inside of you, it won’t be in your mouth. I’ll be buried deep inside your hot wet channel, after I’ve already made you come at least twice.”
Two orgasms? She wasn’t sure she was capable of two orgasms the same night anymore. It had been a long, long time since any of her dates even tried for the second. Hell, most of her dates shot off within five strokes, leaving her hungry for her own release. More than once, she’d arrived home disappointed, yet needy enough to drop the batteries into one of her favorite vibrators and get off to her fantasy man.
He grinned. “You don’t believe I can do it. Mission set.” He carefully rose with her in his arms. “We’re going out to dinner on Saturday night. I’ve already arranged for a babysitter. We’ll see how you’re feeling then, but I want you to make me one promise. Will you do that?”
“Depends on the promise,” she countered.
“No self-pleasuring.” He kissed her slow and gentle. “No fingers.” Another kiss. “No vibrators.” He kissed her deeply as he massaged her breasts. “No touching these either.”
He took a step away from her. “Can you make that promise?”
“I promise.” She ran her gaze over his entire body, staring for several seconds at his impressive erection, before returning her eyes to meet his. “Same goes for you.”
“You’re a cool one, aren’t you? Chill as Brann would say.” Logan moved closer to the door.
“I earned my handle of Ice-T,” she noted.
He closed the distance between them once again and kissed her until she was breathing hard. “I prefer my tea, hot.”
He quickly walked out the door, closing it quietly so as not to wake the children.
Letting out a long slow breath, she decided that Saturday will come soon enough.
Chapter Seventeen
For Logan, Saturday was no different than any other day for him. He was up at the crack of dawn running on the beach then swimming back to the house. As usual, the children were waiting for him on his deck.
“Uncle Logan, can we have pancakes this morning, please?” Anora asked as soon as he was in hearing distance.
It took him a minute to mentally check the contents of his pantry, to be sure he had all the ingredients, before he said, “We can do that.” He then remembered that Teagan had made chocolate chip cookies the other day. “Do you think Aunt Teagan has any of those chocolate chips left? They’re really good in pancakes.”
Anora’s eyes grew huge. “You put chocolate chips inside the pancakes?”
“You’ve never had them that way before?” He said as he stepped onto his deck.
“Never.” Both children said at the same time.
“Mom never let us have much stuff with sugar in it,” Brann explained. “Especially for breakfast. That’s why we love it here with you. You buy chocolate cocoa puffs and let me eat them for breakfast.”
“I never ate a pop tart until we moved to North Carolina.” Anora gave him a big smile. “And we get to pick what we eat here.”
Brann added to the diatribe, “Yeah, Mom used to make us eat green beans and broccoli—”
“And spinach,” Anora cut in and made a gagging noise.
“We used to have to eat a lot of chicken and rice.” Brann stuck out his tongue in disgust. “I like going out to dinner. I get to eat hamburgers or whatever I want.”
That confirmed it. He and Teagan were going to have a discussion about healthy food choices for children. They were obviously doing it wrong. Logan suddenly wondered what else they were doing wrong.
Mentally shrugging, he’d committed to making pancakes with chocolate chips, if there were any left. “Who wants to go check the pantry at Aunt Teagan’s and see if she has any more chocolate chips?”
“I will.” Brann shot off toward the other half of the duplex. As he ran through the house, Logan looked up at his building and wondered for the fi
rst time if the inside could be reconfigured? Maybe they would start with just one door that went between the two sides. He added that subject to his agenda for dinner that night with Teagan.
When Brann returned empty-handed, and with an unhappy face, he wondered what was wrong. “No chocolate chips?”
Brann pouted. “Aunt Teagan is—"
The door opened.
“Aunt Teagan is what?” She asked. “Awake?” She suggested. “Up and moving?” She bent slightly to look into his eyes. “Feeling better?”
“You said I couldn’t have the chocolate chips.” Brann crossed his arms over his chest and pouted.
She pulled the bag from behind her back. “You didn’t tell me why you wanted them. Nor did you ask if you could take them. I might’ve had plans to use them in a desert this weekend.”
Without moving his head, the boy’s eyes met hers. “I’m sorry, Aunt Teagan, I didn’t know.”
“You didn’t ask, either.” She pulled up the stool next to him at the breakfast counter. “I didn’t know if you were just going to take them and sit out on the deck and eat them all by yourself, or if you are going to feed the seagulls—please never do that. Human food isn’t good for them. And chocolate chips aren’t good for growing boys to eat for breakfast.”
Anora, who had been standing by quietly watching the entire scene, jumped in to explain, “Uncle Logan sent him over there to get the bag if there were any left. We’re going to put them in the pancakes this morning.”
Teagan looked up at Logan as he prepared the dry ingredients. “Is this true?”
“Yep. I think Anora covered all the high points.” He dropped the eggs into the bowl and started whipping. “Would you like to stay for breakfast? That is, if you like chocolate chip pancakes.”
Teagan threw her arms around both children and pulled them in for a hug. “I do like chocolate chip pancakes.” She looked from one child to the other. “Maybe he’ll let us make happy faces with the chips.”
Emoji’s? She wanted to use his pancakes to make emoji’s? What the hell. If it made the kids smile, he didn’t care if they used them to spell out words.
Whenever Logan was off, whether it was Tuesday or Sunday, they tried to do family type activities, at least until Teagan had to return to work. Their current plan was for the children to complete one entire week of school before she started to work full time at the New River Naval Air Station.
Then life would grow exponentially more difficult.
Thankfully, that day, they were together and the sun was shining.
They built a castle out of the wet sand close to the water line. He and Teagan had been teaching the children about the tides. Since they’d never lived near or on a beach before, they had to learn about how the water covered most of the beach at high tide and how dangerous it could be for them if they didn’t move closer to the house. Brann was getting the concept, but it just wasn’t registering with Anora. Fortunately for them, it was low tide most of the afternoon those days. High tide happened around nine o’clock in the morning and after the children were in bed.
They played in the water for hours. Logan had been working with Brann on his strokes, trying to make him a stronger and faster swimmer. Anora was still a little young, or so Logan thought, to be swimming out in the ocean over her head.
He had arranged with Erin, the babysitter, to come by and spend some time casually with the children before she was thrown into the situation of caring for them, alone, for several hours. He had shared with her that he and Teagan were their godparents and had taken custody and guardianship of the children after their parents had been killed. He wanted her to be sensitive to the unusual situation.
A small group of teens, both boys and girls, approached from down the beach. They were laughing and tossing a football around, even among the girls who seemed as athletic as the boys. Their deep tans and surefootedness were indications they were locals or spent a lot of time on the beach. A tall brunette in a ponytail peeled off as they approached Logan, Teagan and the kids.
“Hi, I’m Erin Hendrix.” She had on tan shorts and a white tank top, but he could see a dark bathing suit underneath. “I’m hoping I have the right house. Teagan?” She held her hand out to shake.
“You’re in the right place,” Teagan said with a smile as they shook hands.
Erin turned her attention to him. “And you must be Lieutenant Colonel Jackson.”
“Thanks for stopping by. I thought it might be easier for kids to meet you first when we’re here.” He pointed to each child as he introduced them. “This is Brann and Anora.”
Erin instantly dropped to the sand and engaged both children in a giant game of tic tac toe. Both he and Teagan sat back and watched their interaction.
“She’s really good with them,” Teagan whispered.
“She came highly recommended by one of my captains who lives a mile down the beach,” Logan explained. “He used her to babysit his nieces and nephews when his family came to visit for a week. Luckily for us, Erin only lives five doors down. She just turned sixteen and is headed into her junior year at the local high school, so she’ll be around for the next two years.”
Two years. That suddenly seemed like a long time. Yet not long at all. They’d need to find another babysitter in two years. Anora would only be six so that meant they’d need to find babysitters for…how old were kids when they didn’t need babysitters anymore?
Fuck.
There was so much he didn’t know about raising children. Why the fuck had Gabe chosen him as godfather? Maybe he needed to start seeing the counselor Teagan took the kids to. Maybe he and Teagan needed to see her together, like couples counseling. Another item for tonight’s agenda.
“Colonel Jackson, Miss Williams.” The mention of his name brought him out of his thoughts.
Teagan smiled up from her lounge chair at Erin. “Is everything okay?” He heard the slight tension in her voice, but Logan was sure no one else would have caught it. He’d come to know her slightest inflections.
“No, ma’am.” Erin pointed down the beach where her friends had headed. “Brann and Anora seem to be getting a little tired. They’re acting a little hungry, too. Do you want me to make them some lunch?”
“No.” Teagan slid from her chair. “I think they’ve had enough fun in the sun for now. Thank you so much for coming. We’ll see you tonight.”
Erin gave them a big smile and a wave. She hugged both children and promised to see them in a few hours before she jogged down the beach.
“Anora, Brann, let’s go in and make lunch,” Teagan called from the deck where they’d both gone when Erin took over kid-watch.
After lunch they all collapsed on the couch to enjoy the air conditioning and watch a Disney movie. Halfway through, Anora fell asleep, snuggled under blankets.
“This is a baby movie. Is it okay if I go play on my computer?” Brann asked.
“Do you want me to download more games?” Logan suggested.
“I need to learn to play the ones I have and get better.” Brann looked tired as he dragged his way up the stairs.
“I think I’ll go shower and start getting ready for tonight.” Teagan stood and stretched, once again giving him a glimpse of that colorful belly button tattoo. She glanced at Anora sound asleep on the couch. “She’ll be fine. I’ll let the video keep running in case she awakes.”
“You kicking me out?” Logan stood.
She cocked her head to the side. “Yes.”
Running her fingertips over his whiskers, she added, “I don’t like whisker burn. It takes too long to heal, especially on skin in sensitive places.”
“Are you telling me I’ll get lucky tonight?” Oh, Christ, please say yes.
Her smile was salacious. “No. I’m telling you I might get lucky tonight.” She stretched up and kissed him. Barely a touching of lips but he felt it throughout his entire body.
After she sauntered up the stairs, his gaze pinned to her perfect backside, sure
she added more sway than usual, he let himself out quietly and all but ran to his side of the duplex.
Even though he and Teagan had been out to supper dozens of times together, Logan was nervous as he shaved for the second time that day. She was beyond special. He couldn’t imagine his life with any other woman. He also couldn’t imagine his life without her.
She was already in his life every day.
In every way…almost.
Like a wife…almost.
As a man, he wanted her in every way. As a highly sexual man, he could think of many ways he wanted her… Staring up at him with half closed eyes as he drove into her, seconds before she came and screamed his name. On her hands and knees, looking back over her shoulder as he took her from behind. On her knees, his cock in her mouth, glancing up at him with those beautiful blue eyes.
She was his…almost.
He had never claimed a woman before through sex, but it seemed the only thing that was left for them to officially become a couple. He wanted them to be together, forever.
Logan loved the life he’d found with Teagan, Brann, and Anora. He wanted this to last forever. He loved all three of them.
In that moment, he’d just discovered the fact for himself. Sometime over the past two months, while they were playing house with the children, dealing with Marsha’s murder, her real estate, moving everyone to his house, he’d fallen in love with the tenacious blonde with a heart so big she’d taken on two children…and him.
He had no doubt there’d be rough sailing, but they’d tackled everything thrown at them so far and come out on top. They could do this, together, forever.
That night was the start of everything new. Or maybe it was just the next logical step. At least it was for him. He couldn’t imagine a life without Teagan in it, even after the children were grown and gone.
That meant he wanted her in his bed. Tonight. Always.
Living at the beach meant dress was beyond casual for any restaurant. Shirts and shoes were required, but even those definitions were lax. As he slid into clean jeans that had faded with years of washings, he decided to go a hair above his usual polo shirt and grabbed a Colombia cool-tech shirt. It was a lightweight button-up that felt like silk on his body.