Chapter 20
Sleeping with Paisley in his arms was totally worth the stiffness in his back.
Ethan stretched from side to side as he stood in the shower—her shower—and hoped the soreness would work itself out.
He’d thought she would eventually get up and return to her bed, when she got uncomfortable enough sleeping against him, but she never did.
He’d shifted them onto the couch, even though his legs were too long, and dozed fitfully through the night.
She’d lain curled against him, her head resting on his chest, her arms folded against her body once she’d let him go. She’d slept better than he had because he’d heard her snore from time to time. Not a big snore, but a tiny one. Cute, like her.
Maybe he should have taken them both to her bed. What would the difference have been at that point? She was asleep, and he wasn’t a beast. He wasn’t going to be all over her simply because they were in a bed.
But, truth be told, he’d thought if he took her to her room, she’d roll away from him when he still wanted to hold her.
And there was always the danger Violet might wander in during the night.
Paisley had told him once before that while Violet was a sound sleeper most of the time, sometimes she had nightmares and came to her mother’s bed in the middle of the night.
He hadn’t wanted to scare her if that happened, so he’d stayed on the couch. And, yeah, it was murder on his lower back, but fuck it. Totally worth it to hold Paisley all night.
Like old times. He hadn’t forgotten how good it felt to be with her, though he’d believed he had.
He’d tried to excise her memory from his life, but it’d never worked.
She’d always been there, the hole in his life he’d never managed to fill.
He’d spent years believing he’d fallen for a woman who’d discarded him as soon as being with him became inconvenient.
She’d found somebody else, moved on, while he’d been stuck, wondering how he’d been so wrong about her.
Except she hadn’t found somebody else, and she hadn’t moved on. Not without lies. Not without a whole lot of manipulation.
Fucking Trey McCann.
Ethan didn’t know if the person on her camera feed last night had been Trey or not.
No, he hadn’t tried the doors or windows, but he didn’t necessarily need to.
Ethan hadn’t told Paisley, but it was possible that Trey was watching for a response.
Not that he would have known she had Ethan in her life again, but he might have expected something.
Test everything and make a plan. It’s what Ethan would do.
That’s why he planned to treat the situation as though it’d been Trey, because that was the only logical response, but he also planned to see what he could learn from any neighborhood doorbell cams or trail cams in yards.
People these days put cameras everywhere because they were inexpensive and effective, and he knew how to hack them. Or knew who to ask, more to the point.
Not that he couldn’t do it himself, but Seth would do it faster and cleaner.
Ethan finished showering, put on the clean shirt and boxers he kept in a duffel in his truck, and dragged on his cargo shorts.
Paisley had an extra toothbrush and a disposable razor, though he’d decided not to shave.
What was a day’s scruff? He remembered that she used to love it when he didn’t shave for a couple of days.
Maybe not the feel of his beard between her legs, but she’d liked how he’d looked with a couple of days worth of stubble.
Paisley was in the kitchen, making toast and coffee, and he strode over and kissed the back of her pretty neck while she bit off a moan.
His dick responded to that sound, swelling swiftly to life. “Morning, gorgeous,” he said roughly. “Thanks for the shower.”
He dragged his gaze from the place where her neck made a graceful curve into her shoulder and told himself to think unsexy thoughts.
Hard to do when Paisley wore a pretty summer dress that fell to just above her knees.
He could imagine lifting that skirt, sliding his hands up to cup her ass before dragging her panties down and sliding two fingers into her.
His other hand would make the trip around her hip and into her cleft where he’d stroke her clit until she shattered around his fingers.
Then he’d get down on his knees, put his head under that skirt, and—
Jesus. Stop.
Paisley turned then, her blue eyes dropping over his chest before lifting to his. “I could hardly tell you not to use my shower after you raced over here last night. Thank you again.”
“You’re welcome. Coffee ready?”
She had one of those coffee makers with a stainless steel carafe and he couldn’t see if it was done brewing or not.
“Yes. Want me to pour a cup for you?”
“You finish the toast. I’m gonna grab a cup and go outside, look around the yard a bit.”
“I can fix eggs or oatmeal if you like.”
“Toast is fine.”
It wasn’t enough to fill him up, not really, but he’d grab a breakfast sandwich at Kiss My Grits before heading to the range.
Wasn’t going to tell her that, though. And he wasn’t going to ask her to fix breakfast either.
She had to feed her kid and she had to go to work.
That was enough to worry about without cooking for him.
“Okay. Let me know if you change your mind.”
“You look pretty, babe.”
Her lashes dropped. “Thank you.”
He put a finger under her chin and lifted it until she had to look at him. “I mean it, Payz. Don’t know what kind of mind fuck games Trey played on you, but you’re beautiful. Sexy as fuck. I’m hard just looking at you.”
She blinked. “You don’t have to say that. But thank you.”
“I’d guide your hand to my dick to prove it, but I don’t think that’s the solution I’m looking for. Better if I think about Rob Harney glaring at me during his wife’s shooting lesson or something.”
Paisley laughed. “Oh, I doubt he’ll glare unless it’s behind your back. You’re twice as tall and three times as big.”
“Maybe not three times.”
“Maybe not, but you’ve got more muscle on your arms than he has on his whole body.”
“You’re cute.” He poured coffee into a cup and lifted it in salute. “Thanks for making coffee.”
He left Paisley at the counter and went outside to poke around the yard.
It was summer so no leaves in the yard to disturb.
There was a wood privacy fence surrounding the yard, but it was old and could use repair in places.
He went over to where the trespasser had climbed the fence and looked around.
The house behind Paisley’s was a shotgun style.
It was in good shape with a pretty yard filled with flowering bushes and mature trees.
There was only a picket fence between the shotgun house and the one next door, so somebody could have come from that direction and hopped the fence there before climbing over Paisley’s fence.
Ethan walked the perimeter, carefully checking the ground for anything that might have fallen from the trespasser’s pockets or for a wet patch of ground and a footprint. He also checked the fence for fibers from the man’s clothing. There was nothing.
Whoever it was, they hadn’t left a trace.
Could be Trey, or could be that football playing teen sneaking out.
It could even be Fern Carter’s husband, if he was the kind of guy who’d do her dirty work for her.
Man better pray he wasn’t, though. If Ethan found out it was Fern and her bullshit, sending her husband over to harass Paisley, shit was hitting the fan.
He set his coffee on the picnic table in the backyard and sent a message to Seth.
Seth responded with a thumbs up. If there was anything to find on the neighbors’ cameras, he’d find it.
The screen door creaked. He turned to find Paisley walking toward him, coffee cup in hand. He liked watching her move, the way the skirt caressed her bare legs, revealing and hiding creamy skin as she glided across the grass in her white Keds.
“Find anything?”
“Nope.”
“Well, damn.”
“It’s okay. Seth will check the neighborhood cameras for movement, see where our guy came from.”
“How do you know there are cameras?”
“I walked the block last night. Several of your neighbors have doorbell cams. And I’ve spotted at least two trail cams in back yards since I walked out here.”
She looked up at the trees in the neighbor’s yard. “Oh.”
“People like to watch squirrels or chipmunks or whatever. Cameras are cheap, and you can view the wildlife in your own backyard.” He shrugged. “Not the only thing they catch, though. And all that video is stored in the cloud. Seth will find it.”
“Holy cow.” She shook her head. “I guess I should have known. Trey was always scoffing at people’s doorbell cams and the security risks of using the cloud.”
“For most people, it’s not an issue. But it’s helpful when we want to find out who was in your yard.”
“I guess so.” She tilted her head back as a ray of sunshine filtered through the trees and caressed her face.
“It all seems surreal in the light of day. Like a bad dream, or an overreaction to someone cutting through the yard. I hate that I’m so suspicious and fearful.
I was never that way until I married Trey. ”
It twisted him up inside to hear her talk about her life with Trey, but he had to listen.
He was the only one who could. His friends’ women could, and would, but Paisley wouldn’t be as open with them.
Yet. He had hopes that she’d find true friends in Emma, Rory, Callie, and Daphne, but trust took time.
“I hate that he did that to you.” Birds chirped in the trees and a soft breeze blew, though it’d be hot and humid in a couple of hours.
“I think I’ve always been suspicious. Always wondering what people were up to, thinking about how to neutralize threats.
Guess that’s why I made a good operator once I joined the military. ”
“Trey said you’d gotten into some trouble. That you were accused of using excessive force on civilians. It was something he said early on, when he was convincing me what a lucky escape I’d had. He made it sound like you had an explosive temper.”
Ethan shook his head and sipped his coffee.
It was that or punch a tree. “Yeah, no, that was him. That’s how he ended up with the Green Beret unit at Eglin.
He was kicked out of the unit we were both in.
I didn’t know that at the time or I wouldn’t have trusted him anywhere near you.
Jesus,” he growled as emotion boiled in his gut.
“He really is a fucking waste of space.”
“Not going to get an argument from me.”
He reached over and took her hand, twined his fingers with hers. The electricity arcing through his body was no surprise. Neither was the need. But he could wait. Just being here, with her, when he’d thought she was nothing but a hurtful memory, was enough.
“The only explosive temper I have is when somebody threatens those I care about. Can’t promise I wouldn’t tear him limb from limb if I got my hands on him.”
She sighed and squeezed his hand. “As much as I think he deserves that, I also wouldn’t want you to do anything that could get you into trouble.
Honestly, if he’d just get blown up overseas, I’d be a happy woman.
I know that sounds awful, but I can’t forgive and forget, even if he never comes after me.
He wrecked my life for no reason other than he wanted to hurt you.
And probably me for choosing you in the first place. ”
Ethan tugged her against his side and slipped an arm around her. Then he dropped a kiss on her sun-warmed hair and breathed in her floral scent. Everything about this woman triggered his protective instincts. He didn’t know how he was going to do it yet, but Trey McCann’s days were numbered.
He didn’t get to hurt Paisley and Violet and keep breathing. He didn’t get to live a life without consequences.
One way or the other, Ethan was taking him down. Permanently.