Page 198 of Cowboys & Navy SEALs

A crease formed between her brows as her eyes went to the journal. “What’re you doing?”

“I figured I might as well be of some help, instead of just sitting here like a lump on a log waiting for you to get out of the shower.” There was a window in her bathroom. It was locked, but that didn’t mean someone couldn’t break through it and get to Addie. Corbin was having a security system installed tomorrow, which would make protecting her easier. Still, he wanted to be close enough to hear what was going on, hence him sitting in her room while she showered.

“Have you been reading my journal?” She gave him an accusing look.

“Geez, no.” Heat crept up his neck.

She arched an eyebrow, her hand going to her hip.

He held up both hands in defense. “Promise, I wasn’t reading it.” Guilt cloaked over him. Then again, looking at a picture wasn’t the same as reading her journal. He’d answered her honestly…somewhat. “How are you feeling?”

She managed a rubbery smile. “Better.”

Right after the attack, Addie was pale as alabaster, a dazed look in her eyes. For a few seconds, Maddox feared she might be going into shock. Thankfully, that hadn’t been the case. Addie was a tough cookie. Still, she was wound up tight. Maddox suggested that a shower might help her relax. It seemed to have done the trick.

“Good.” The conversation lagged. Maddox missed how it used to be, the two of them having so much to say to each other that they could hardly draw in a breath between sentences. “Are you hungry?”

She shoved her hands into her pockets. “A little, I guess.”

He chuckled. “You hardly ate two bites at the diner. Unless you grabbed something afterwards, I’d venture to say you’re pretty hungry.” The Addie he knew had a healthy appetite. He used to tease her about having a hollow leg because she could eat him under the table and was naturally thin. In fact, Addie had to work to keep from becoming too skinny.

She laughed in surrender. “Yeah, I’m hungry. Starving, actually.” The moment slowed as he caught something in her eyes—a longing that matched the fire raging in him. The two of them were here, alone, the memories of how it was before swirling around them like beckoning sirens to unsuspecting sailors. She was a mere two steps away. He could pull her into his arms and crush his lips to hers, drinking in her passion.

She cleared her throat and broke eye contact, scrunching her hair with her hand. Maddox remembered the unconscious gesture as something she did when she got nervous. His gazetook in her thick mane of curls. Everything in him wanted to bridge the distance between them, take her in his arms and explore her soft, sensual lips. “Want me to do that for you?” he uttered in a low tone.

She jerked as she caught the intent of his question. For one agonizing second, he feared that he’d gone too far, but she only laughed. “Thanks, I think I can handle it.”

“Is there anything we can fix in the kitchen?” He hoped so. If they ordered takeout, that meant he’d have to vet the person who brought the food. Another ordeal.

Her eyes clouded as she lowered her voice. “We’re supposed to eat and go on like normal with that guy tied up in the guest bedroom?”

“Sutton’s men are due to arrive in the next couple hours.”

She nodded, her lips vanishing into a thin line.

“Are you sure you don’t recognize him?”

“No, I’ve never seen him before.” She clenched her hand, the words coming out in ragged strips. “Do you think he’s the one who killed Jordan?”

“I don’t know.” He clenched his jaw. “But you can rest assured that Sutton will beat it out—get to the bottom of it,” he amended when he saw her stricken expression.

The kidnapper was in his early thirties. An average looking Joe with hard features and thinning hair. Maddox punched him a couple of times, demanding to know who he was and who’d sent him, but the guy sat in stony silence. He had no identification. No phone. Nothing. He snapped a picture of the guy and texted it to Corbin and Sutton, knowing that Sutton would run it through a database.

Addie shuddered, her eyes taking on a haunted look. “I keep thinking about what might’ve happened if you hadn’t shown up when you did.”

Maddox didn’t like to think about that either. “I’ll stay right by your side until this thing’s over. You have my word.”

“Thank you,” she said softly.

His mind went back through the events that had led them here. Maddox left the diner in search of Addie. Unfortunately, she’d gotten too much of a head start. He assumed she was going back to the resort. When he realized Addie wasn’t there, he headed to her cabin. He saw another car in her driveway with no license plate. He parked a short distance away and jogged back. He reached her yard just as the man was shoving her into the trunk.

Addie stepped up and touched his face. Her finger trailed lightly down his skin, sending a jolt of awareness through him. He gave her a questioning look. “You have a bruise,” she explained, frowning, “from your fight with that horrid man.”

“I do?” A wry grin twisted his lips. “I hadn’t noticed.”

Her eyes lit with amusement. “Tough guy, huh? The weasel was obviously no match for your hotshot, ninja, Navy SEAL skills.” There was a touch of admiration in her voice.

He laughed in surprise, not sure how to answer.

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