Men of Courage II by Lori Foster Read Free Book Online Page A

the information, and Martin assured him he’d be able to get it to the paper on time.
    Ham made everything so much easier. With him by her side, she couldn’t imagine dealing with her father’s death alone.
    After he hung up the phone, Hamilton asked, “Are the buckets in the garage?”
    “Yes. I’ll show you.” Everywhere they went, Jack followed. The second they stepped outside to the narrow path connecting her house to her detached garage, the dark sky closed in around them, thick with moisture and static with electricity.
    Ham lifted the heavy, warped wooden door with an ease that brought home the contrasts in their physiques. Liv had a replacement garage door on her list of things needed for the house, but like the missing shingles, she hadn’t gotten around to it yet.
    The dark, dank interior of the concrete-block building smelled musty and Jack, the big baby, pressed into her side. “On the shelf over the lawn mower.”
    Ham grabbed up three buckets. “Are these enough?”
    Half-embarrassed, Liv reached past him and took up two more. “Unfortunately, no.”
    Ham frowned a little in thought, then urged her back out of the garage. The wind caught his words, rushing them past her as he brought the door back down to close it securely. “If the rain holds off, I’ll check out the roof. Maybe I can patch it so the leaks don’t damage your ceilings too much.”
    Unlike her father, who had hated repair work, Ham offered with no hesitation. Such a simple thing; shoot,most men were happiest with a tool in hand. But it was more than that now. She couldn’t analyze Ham or the way he made her feel, not now with her emotions so close to the surface. Her independent nature rebelled, but more than anything, she wanted to turn herself over to Lieutenant Colonel Hamilton Wulf’s tender care.
    Dangerous. Very, very dangerous—most especially to her heart.
    They reentered the kitchen just as the rain came in a deluge, washing over the windows and filling the house with noise. Jack whined and tucked himself closer to her legs, nearly causing her to stumble.
    “I guess I won’t be patching the roof today.”
    Liv wanted to comfort Jack, but leaks were a major priority. She put a hand to the dog’s neck and started for the hallway. “Don’t worry about it. I was going to hire someone next week, anyway.”
    “Fibber.”
    Affronted, Liv jerked around at the base of the stairs—and saw the gleam in Ham’s eyes. He always saw right through her.
    She scowled at him.
    He smiled crookedly and shook his head. “You can’t lie to me, Liv.”
    “All right,” she grouched, stomping up the steps to avoid his astute gaze. “It’s a fib. Big deal.”
    “Why tell it in the first place?”
    “Because I don’t want to be indebted to you.” The second the words left her mouth, she felt the change in the air.
    “Don’t push it, Liv.” At the top of the stairs, he caught her elbow and drew her around to face him. Jack looked between the two of them, alert to the new tension in the air, wary. “There’s something between us. It’s been there for years.” His voice lowered, his expression hard. “It will always be there.”
    “No.”
    “Yes.” To make his point, he backed her up to the wall, looming, imposing. He still held the buckets in his hands, so he used his chest, pressing in on her, keeping her immobile. His mouth grazed her throat, up the side of her neck to her ear, where his tongue gently explored.
    “Ham…” Her protest came out a breathless plea.
    “Anything you need, Liv,” he whispered, “anything you want, you can always get from me.”
    Her heartbeat drummed and her mouth went dry. Against the hard muscled wall of his broad chest, her nipples drew tight. Her stomach bottomed out when his thigh pressed against her belly….
    And he stepped away, not far, but enough that their bodies no longer touched. “This is a tough time, honey, I know that. Your world has just been turned upsidedown. And for