Her Soldier Protector by Soraya Lane Page A

“I liked you, and I guess I also wanted to show you that you could just spend a night out in Sydney like a regular woman. But it kind of backfired in the end, because we never even made it to a bar.”
    Candace swallowed, not sure where her confidence was coming from but suddenly needing to know more, wanting to know what Logan thought of her. She knew it was needy, that she should have just shut up, but the way he was looking at her, the way she was reacting to him, was more than just platonic.
    “So this wasn’t technically a date?” she asked, dropping her gaze and fiddling with the label on her water bottle.
    “Do you want this to be a date?” he asked straight back.
    Candace didn’t look up, not straightaway, but she heard Logan move, his boots echoing out against the timber floor until he was standing beside her. He reached for her bottle and pulled it away, sliding it across the counter just out of her reach. Then he took her hand, his palm closing over it, waiting for her to respond.
    She forced herself to raise her chin, to meet his stare.
    “Candace?”
    “I don’t know,” she whispered, her voice cracking. “I honestly don’t know.”
    “Do you want this?” he asked, bending slightly, his mouth stopping barely inches from hers.
    Candace didn’t say anything, couldn’t say anything, because as badly as she knew she should say no, she wanted it. Her body was humming like an electric current was running through it, all her senses firing to life, desperate to connect with Logan.
    He paused for what felt like an eternity, before cupping her cheek and touching his lips so gently to hers that she almost didn’t feel it. His lips hovered, pressed lightly, before his entire mouth moved against hers. She matched his pace, loving the feel of his warm, soft lips, the touch of his palm against her skin.
    Candace sighed as he pulled back, like he was giving her the chance to change her mind, and she reached for his shirt, pulling him back toward her. His mouth was firm to hers again, tongue softly teasing hers, desire making her stomach flip with excitement as Logan’s hands skimmed her waist before settling on her hips. His fingers were still then, the only part of his body moving was his lips, and Candace wanted more. She was hungry for him, craving the kind of contact she’d avoided for so long.
    Candace ran her hands down Logan’s chest until she reached the hem of his T-shirt, slowly touching beneath it, connecting first with the waistband of his jeans and then with bare skin. She let her fingertips explore his rock-hard abs, the warmth of his skin and the hardness of his muscles, making her moan into his mouth.
    She had half expected him to pull back, to tell her no, but there was nothing about Logan’s body language that was saying no. His hands matched hers, disappearing under her top and touching her bare skin, the slightly rough edge of his fingertips making the sensation even more erotic.
    “Logan,” she moaned, knowing she should stop but giving it only a fleeting thought.
    His mouth became more insistent, crushing her lips before he started kissing down her neck, to her collarbone, his tongue tracing across the tops of her breasts.
    Candace fisted her hand in his short hair, fingernails scraping his scalp.
    “You want me to stop?” he mumbled, lifting his head to look into her eyes.
    She shook her head. “No.”
    Logan didn’t need any further encouragement. His mouth met hers in a wet, erotic kiss, before he scooped her up into his arms as if she were weightless, carrying her through the kitchen, marching down the hall. Candace sighed against his mouth, her lips moving in a lazy movement in time with his, their kiss less intense now but still making her belly flutter with anticipation.
    It had been so long since she’d kissed a man, since she’d been intimate, and instead of being scared of it like she’d thought she would be, she could feel only a burning sense of desire. That even