LOGAN WOKE TO a buzzing sound and the unfamiliar feeling of something warm moving against him. He opened his eyes. One arm held the moving body close against his. The other rested across his face. He blinked. Pink ribbon decorated his wrist as if he were a party favor.
The memory of last night came rushing back. Sadie, naked, stringing him up to the bed so she could ride him. He waited for the guilt, imagining it would drag him back into the endless, lonely sea of mourning like a vengeful monster.
And...nothing.
It was as if he’d finally reached dry land. The sea, it would always be there, but it had drifted into the distance. He’d moved on and it felt good. Logan savored the feel of Sadie’s body against him.
He knew his feelings ran deeper. He felt more connected to another person than he had in a long time, and it wasn’t just the sex. Her laughter, the way she listened to him, it all left him humming with excitement and life. Hell, it felt as if the entire bedroom was buzzing.
Sadie lifted her head and looked up at him, smiling. “I think your pants are vibrating.”
“My cell.” He kissed the top of her head. The room wasn’t shaking with excitement for him; that was reality interrupting.
“I need to get that,” he said.
Logan shifted out from underneath her, watching as she snuggled into the covers and closed her eyes. One glance out the window told him they’d slept late. The sun was high in the sky, which meant that was probably Aunt Lou calling to ask if he planned on starving the animals today.
Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he glanced at the screen. Hunter, his teammate. Shit, this couldn’t be good.
He held the phone to his ear. “Reed here.” Logan crossed to the bathroom, pulling the door closed behind him.
“Hey, Logan. It’s Hunter.”
“Good to hear from you,” Logan said even though he had a feeling this wasn’t a friendly let’s-shoot-the-shit call. “How’s the shoulder? I heard you were close to a hundred percent.”
“Yeah, I’m good. Fully recovered. How are you?”
Logan paced the tight space between the toilet and shower. “Good. Better now. I’m itching to get back to work.” The image of Sadie curled up in bed on the other side of the bathroom door filled his mind. Wild, commanding Sadie looked like a redheaded angel when she slept even though he had a hunch there wasn’t an innocent bone in her body. He’d much rather be in bed than talking to Hunter. But if there was one person he couldn’t ignore, it was the man who’d taken a bullet because of him.
“But the R & R, it’s been good,” Logan added. “Still hate the reasons I’m here, but all in all, not bad.”
“Look, man, I’ve met someone.”
Logan stopped. They were teammates, like family, but Logan suspected he was the last person Hunter would call to talk about his latest hook-up. He had the feeling most of his teammates equated widower with monk. And they’d been close to the truth. Since Jane died, he hadn’t touched a woman. Not until Sadie.
“And she’s it,” Hunter continued. “But I need your help. I need you to drive down to New York for an interview.”
“She’s it?” Logan sat down on the toilet seat. When he’d seen Hunter’s name on his phone, he’d guessed something had gone wrong with the mission. But he’d never expected to hear those words cross his teammate’s lips. Hunter had always been the hit-and-run type. No attachments, no commitments.
“I love her,” Hunter said.
Helluva time for the team’s playboy to change his ways.
“I know it hurts to think about it, but you remember how much you loved Jane?”
Logan closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He didn’t want to think about his late wife. Or how much he’d loved her. He was finally moving on.
“Hey, man, you there?”
“Yeah. I remember.”
“I love Maggie,” his teammate said. “The professor. The one writing the book. I love her and I can’t stand in the way of her work. Not anymore. So I need you to come tell your side of the story. I need you to make her understand you were all kinds of screwed up over the loss of your wife and you made a mistake.”
“I’m under orders to lie low,” Logan said, knowing it was an excuse. And a shitty one. He owed Hunter. He had to talk to this woman. But revisiting his grief? He didn’t want to go there. Not now.
“I know,” Hunter said. “I’ll handle things with the colonel. But I’m asking you as a friend. Please.”
“Send me the address. I’ll head out soon as I can. The drive should take six hours tops.”