He watched her for a moment then nodded slowly.
She wasn’t sure if she’d just made the best decision of the day, or the worst.
*
It was two thirty-seven a.m. Sleep had long ago gone from being elusive to becoming the Impossible Dream. The silence magnified everything in the dark house. Kye could hear each time Oleg shifted in his sleep inside a downstairs crate. He’d listened to the clock down the hall ticking until he had to get up and unplug it. He would swear he could hear the snow falling. He was absolutely certain he could hear Yard breathing directly below him.
God, she tasted and felt good. He’d almost muffled the voice in his head telling him he was taking advantage. Yet he’d spent the past four years dealing with vulnerable people, some of whom had survived horrible ordeals. You learned to pull back from sometimes spectacular offers of generosity, even if the victim didn’t understand.
Tonight that self-control was costing him. Costing him more than peace of mind. It was taking him back to a time when he’d failed her.
He’d been military, sent to Harmonie Kennels for two weeks with his K-9 unit for rappelling practice from rooftops and helicopters with their dogs. He’d heard all the stories about Yardley Summers, seen her from a respectful distance. Every man knew the boss’s daughter was off limits. They made jokes about her, calling her the Citadel. He’d never even spoken to her. Until the day he’d stumbled across her alone cleaning out the kennels.
She was on the phone. She was talking with her father, a one-sided conversation that had her in tears. He hesitated, unsure how to back away without being seen.
Then she’d looked up, trapping him with an angry and defiant stare as she wiped hard at the tears staining her face. “What are you doing here, McGarren?”
He was stunned that she knew his name. And grateful. Feeling like the top of his head was floating away, he’d smiled at her. “Who do you want me to kill?”
She blinked. “What?”
He pointed to her phone. “Way I figure it, anyone who makes someone as special as you cry needs murdering.”
He wasn’t sure why he’d said such an outrageous thing. He knew he was talking about her father.
She looked at him in surprise. “You’d take on Bronson Battise?”
“For you? Hell, yeah.” It was supposed to be an empty boast. All the handlers admired Battise’s K-9 training techniques. Some noticed how he treated his daughter. Like less a member of the family than a hired hand. Not his business
Until Yardley laughed, a sound so sexy that it nearly brought him to his knees. Then she’d looked at him with those shining black eyes and he’d heard trumpets sound and swords clash. One glance had him thinking he could slay her dragons and share a happily-ever-after. It was like a goddamn Disney movie playing in his head.
They began meeting in secret. No one could know. By the end of his two weeks he’d known this was love, the real thing. They were going to be together forever.
But he’d underestimated her father.
He’d never forget Battise’s words to him. Youngsters like you are good for sport. But if you think you’re going to get a piece of Harmonie Kennels by shagging my illegitimate daughter then you got shit for brains, son. Bang her all you want. She gets nothing.
As if a man needed any enticement beyond Yardley herself.
But Battise had gone one better. Now get the fuck off my property before I tell your sergeant you aren’t fit to handle one of my K-9s. Your dick or your job. What’s more important to you?
Kye blew out a breath, feeling the heat of that long-ago embarrassment race across his skin. He couldn’t save Yardley. He barely saved his job. The army didn’t let you go. It dishonorably discharged your ass. He left with his unit, without even a good-bye.
Now the damn trumpets were back. Blaring louder than a phalanx of Roman legionnaires announcing their entrance onto the field of battle. Behind it all pounded the drumbeat of desire. He still wanted to be Yard’s hero.
He’d learned something tonight. Not all wars are fought against an enemy. Not all battles take place in combat zones. Sometimes the fight is within, heart against mind against emotions. Three entities roiling and writhing to take control. To be victorious, the three had to turn from enemies into allies.
Yardley could and did fight for everything else in her life: her dogs, her business, her brother. But she didn’t seem to have the first clue about how to protect herself from herself.
She’d kissed him tonight, just like she had the first time twelve years ago, with everything she had. Everything. And he’d wanted more. He still did.
He heard a door open downstairs. He was suddenly so alert he knew he could have heard a dog’s whistle.
He heard whispered footsteps crossing the room below and stopped breathing. He couldn’t hope for anything.