Page 67 of Her Sensual Protector

“Harper Lee, damn good author. That book makes me tear up every time I read it.”

“You re-read books?”

“My favorites, yes. I usually take a book with me each mission. Last time it was one of Mark Twain’s.”

“Reading gets me through the tough times,” Daisy admitted to him.

Leo reached out, then drew back his hand. “This has been some of the toughest for you, hasn’t it?”

“Full disclosure?” she asked quietly.

He nodded.

“Absolutely some of the toughest. But some of the best too. But I just don’t believe in good like this. You know?”

Leo frowned and this time he did touch her cheek. “No. Explain it to me.” He guided her to the bed, wishing there was a damned chair or something in the room. But nope, just the bed. He sat down beside her.

She nuzzled her cheek into the palm of his hand. “This isn’t real.”

“Yesterday afternoon and last night sure as hell felt real to me. Hell, even this morning when you woke up in my arms felt pretty damn real to me.”

“Was it? Or is it just when we’re in desperate times? How do I know this is real?”

Leo dropped his forehead so that it rested lightly on hers. “Is that how it feels to you? That our only connection is when emotions are high because of outside events, and it has nothing to do with you and me?” I sure as hell hope not.

He watched as Daisy processed his question. Her brain was such a turn-on, even when it went a little sideways, like now. He’d bet his bottom dollar that she didn’t have much relationship experience to draw on, so this was tough for her.

“Let me ask this question another way; could you picture yourself having been comforted by someone else that day in Afghanistan? Ending up in another man’s arms? Kissing another man? Taking another man into your body that afternoon?”

“God no,” she gasped.

“Well then?”

Daisy cupped his cheeks and tried to kiss him.

“No, none of that. We did that yesterday and you ended up confused. We’re getting this straightened out right now.”

“But it was so good,” she murmured.

“Absolutely it was. But I want to know that this has legs. Are you going to go sideways again and think this is only for hotel rooms in foreign countries? Because if you are, I’m opting out.”

Shit, did I just say that?

She pulled back and looked at him. “Leo, I’m not using you for a booty call. I heard you when you were ‘teasing, not teasing’ yesterday. You said girlfriend, right?”

He nodded.

“I’m not good at relationships, though. I work all the time, and I don’t have balance or anything normal. Somebody thought I should have a cat once, and Effie thought we should start with a plant. It ended up dying.”

He touched her hair. “It was from over-watering, right?”

It was her turn to nod.

“See, you don’t neglect things, you just haven’t figured out how to handle some aspects of life. Number one rule, respond to my damned texts.”

She puffed out a laugh.

“Do you know what the number two rule is?”