She twisted the remains of a tissue. “I know. But I’d still feel safer because Ana would be on the base during the day, and we could stay with Bailey when the team deploys.”
Neo rubbed his forehead. The whole thing stunk, but he understood why she didn’t want Bailey to know. She was happy, planning a wedding, moving on with her life. Still, Camel was his teammate and Neo wasn’t going to be able to keep this from his brother-in-arms. Not for long anyway.
Kayla reached out and cupped his face in both hands. It shocked him enough that he stilled, waiting for whatever she wanted to say. Her hands were cool, but his skin still sizzled where she touched. His cock twitched to life at that reminder of what it had been like between them.
He’d owned her hot little body once, and he’d wanted so much more. He’d wanted to drown in her. He still wanted it.
“You want to tell Alexei. I know you do. I get it—but Zach, if we’re married, then Bailey won’t worry as much about me once she finds out about the threats. She’ll know you won’t let anything happen to me because she knows how safe she is with Alexei. She won’t quit school and she won’t postpone her wedding.”
“Or suggest that Camel marry you instead.”
She made a soft noise and then nodded. “Right. She’s capable of that. Just for a while, just to protect me. But what would that do to her happiness to watch the man she loves marry me so I can have his military benefits? I won’t do that to either one of them. I’d run away first.”
She sounded so fierce that he believed her. He turned his head, pressed his lips to her palm. She didn’t snatch her hand away. She might have whimpered. He didn’t know why he did it, except he wanted to taste her again. He wanted to taste a lot more than her palm, but that would do for the moment.
They were only inches apart. He could smell her scent, that combination of lavender and baby powder that had permeated his sheets and pillows before he’d stripped the bed and washed them in detergent and bleach in an effort to erase her from his dreams.
He could tell Camel about the threat she’d gotten. They’d go to Viking and Ghost, and they’d start digging. Find out who was harassing her. Find him and make it clear as crystal that if he came near Kayla or Ana, he’d suffer in ways he’d never dreamed.
Yet, what if it wasn’t that easy? The military had no authority when it came to domestic crime. When they’d gone after the Kings of Doom before, they’d been temporarily assigned to Ian Black, who didn’t run a military outfit. The Kings were officially done, so how did Neo and his team go after stragglers in any official capacity?
They didn’t, which meant it would be better for Kayla to be married and safer for Ana to go into daycare on base. He could also apply for base housing, move onto the facility with Kayla and Ana. It would take a couple of months, probably, but once it happened they’d be secure when he deployed. Living on a military installation was like living in the most secure gated community in the world. Everything Kayla would need was there. Hospital, commissary, Exchange. She wouldn’t have to leave the base at all when he was gone.
And if he deployed before they got on base, he could arrange for some of the guys on other teams to watch out for her and Ana. He could keep them safe from afar.
Neo blinked. Was he really considering it?
Yeah, he was. He told himself it was for his teammate, so Camel wouldn’t end up marrying her instead. But that wasn’t the whole truth. He was also thinking of Lesley and how fierce she was when it came to her kids. She’d do anything for them, and he loved her for it. She was nothing like their mother, and she was determined to give her kids the best life she could.
Kayla was cut from the same cloth as Lesley. She’d had a rough time of it, but she loved her child—and her sister—fiercely. She would do whatever it took, including run away again, if that’s what she thought would save them both from harm. It was in his power to prevent that. If Kayla ran, she’d never stop running. She’d never be free.
“If I agree to this, we have to iron out a few things first.”
She nodded. Her hands dropped to her lap. He hated that she wasn’t touching him anymore. Yeah, that was another reason he was thinking about it. Bastard that he was, he liked it when she touched him. He’d like it even better if they were naked when it happened. That wasn’t a reason to marry anyone, but his dick didn’t think too deeply about much of anything that wasn’t physical.
“What kind of things?”
“If we’re married, and I’m responsible for you and Ana, then I’m not living downstairs and dating other women. I want us to have the kind of relationship married people have.”
If he was getting married, it wasn’t going to be a marriage of convenience. He only knew what that meant because Lesley had liked romance novels growing up and told him about them whenever she could make him listen. And he wasn’t doing that shit. If he was giving up the single life to protect Kayla and Ana, then he wanted more from the relationship.
“Sex, you mean.”
Awareness flickered hot. “It’s more than sex, Kayla. We’ve done that once, and we know it’s good. I’m talking about making a real go of it. I don’t want to live separate lives and pretend that’s normal. If we get married, then we get married. If it doesn’t work out for some reason, then we’ll figure that out when we get there. But
