A Real Cowboy Always Protects by Stephanie Rowe

Chapter Eleven

The moment Skylarstepped across the threshold into Chase's house, she felt like she'd come home. The home she'd yearned for. The one that had kept slipping out of her grasp, mocking her dreams, her needs, the call of her heart.

It was perfect and cozy, with wood beams, a massive family room with a huge stone fireplace, and floor to ceiling picture windows that looked out onto a huge backyard, endless fields, and a pool.

A woman wearing jeans and a pink, cotton tank top was standing in the kitchen, talking with two young boys. Her dark brown hair was in a loose ponytail and she wasn't wearing any makeup. But her smile was radiant, her eyes crinkling with warmth as she listened intently to the boys.

As Skylar and the men walked in, her gaze slid to Chase's face, then Logan's, and then Skylar's.

The moment her gaze met Skylar's, her face softened. She whispered to the boys, then hurried across the great room. "Logan. It's so great to see you." She gave Logan a smile of pure love, wrapping Skylar's reticent cowboy up in a huge hug.

Skylar was surprised to see Logan hug her back fiercely, as if this woman was part of the breath that gave his world life.

He cared about these people. The loner cowboy who had been so reluctant to smile or connect clearly cared so much more than she ever would have guessed.

The woman pulled back and smiled gently at Skylar as she held out her hand. "I’m Mira, Chase's wife. Welcome to our home."

"Thanks." Skylar shook her hand. "I'm Skylar Jones. I'm—" She hesitated. She couldn’t make herself lie to this woman and announce she was Logan's fiancée, not with the warmth of her gaze wrapping about Skylar like a soft blanket meant to make her feel safe.

But then Mira's gaze fell on Skylar's left hand, on her glittering diamond. Her eyes widened, and her gaze shot back to Skylar's face, and then Logan's. "Seriously?"

Logan grinned one of his not-reaching-his-eyes smiles and put his arm around Skylar's shoulders. "Mira, I'd like you to meet the woman who has lived across the hall from me for two years. I think her name is Skylar, or something like that."

"You ass!" Mira smacked him in the chest, then held out her arms to Skylar. "Welcome to the family, girl!"

Skylar's heart turned over as Mira dragged her into a tight hug. She was appalled when tears filled her eyes, quickly trying to blink them back, but it was too late. All of the Stocktons saw the tears when Mira released her.

Logan swore under his breath, as he walked over to her and caught her hand. He lowered his head so his lips were a whisper from her ear. "What's wrong? How can I fix it?"

"I'm fine," Skylar said, wiping the back of her hand across her cheek, trying not to perseverate on how quickly Logan had come to her aid. "It's just been an emotional time for me." She smiled at Mira. "I wasn't expecting to be so welcomed."

"You weren't? What did Logan tell you about us?" Mira put her hands on her hips. "Honestly, sometimes these Stockton men can be so obtuse." She glared at Logan. "You didn't warn her about the rest of the family, did you?"

Still watching Skylar carefully, Logan shook his head. "Warn her about what?"

"Men!" Mira took Skylar's arm. "Look, the Stockton men seem tough, but they're the most loyal, most protective, kindest souls in the entire world." She smiled at Chase, her eyes filled with love. "They're worth every headache they give the women who love them."

Chase winked at his wife, and then bent down to scoop up the two little boys who were hanging on his legs.

Skylar looked over at Logan. "He does give me a lot of headaches," she admitted. Loyal? Protective? Kind? She believed that.

This time, Logan's smile was a little more genuine as he looked over at Skylar. "I'm sure I do," he said.

"But here's the thing," Mira continued. "In about two hours, a whole bunch of Stocktons are going to descend on this house, and every single one of them is going to claim you as theirs. That's the way this family works, so if I overwhelmed you with my hug, you're going to have to raise your game to handle what's coming for you." She raised her brows. "You okay with that?"

Skylar let out her breath. "Yes, of course." But as she said it, guilt cascaded through her. How could she fake her way through that?

Logan put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her against his side. His torso was warm and solid, and she instinctively wrapped her arms around his waist. "It'll be okay," he said, his deep voice resonating through her. "I'll stay by your side the whole time, I promise."

Skylar looked up at him, and her chest tightened at the intensity of his gaze. He would stay by her side. Not only to protect her from his family, but from the man hunting her down. Either way, she didn't have to face anything alone right now. She smiled. "Thanks."

Logan grinned back, and she suddenly became aware of how close they were. All he would have to do is bend down, and his lips would be on hers.

Making out in public. That was part of the deal. Her heart suddenly started to race, and her breath caught as his gaze went to her lips. Oh, God. Was it going to be now?

Chase grinned. "Go ahead and kiss her, little brother. We don't mind."

"What?" Logan's gaze shot to Chase, clearly startled. He swore. "No—"

"No?" Mira put her hands on her hips. "Honest to God, Logan. Do you think any woman is secure enough to handle the man she loves refusing to kiss her?" She raised her gaze and turned to her husband. "Lay one on me, big guy. Right here. Right now."

Chase grinned. "Yes, ma'am." With a boy still on each hip, Chase walked over to his wife, leaned in, and kissed her like she was the sunshine he'd been seeking his whole life.

It was passionate. It was love. It was unconditional.

It was the most beautiful kiss Skylar had ever seen.

Chase finished by brushing his lips across his wife's forehead, smiling tenderly down at her. "Thank you for saving me," he whispered, for her ears only, but Skylar heard it. Saving him from what? Loneliness? Himself? Or the past that all the brothers had fought to overcome?

Chase and Mira looked over, both of them smiling with satisfaction. "That's how you treat your woman, little brother. Don't fuck it up before you even get started."

Skylar narrowed her eyes. Why was Chase pushing it? He knew damn well they weren't actually engaged—

Logan's fingers closed around Skylar's wrist, tugging her toward him. As she turned toward him, her heart started racing when she saw the intensity glittering in his eyes. "What—"

"Skylar." He released her wrist and framed her face with both hands, raising her face to his.

Holy shit.

"From the first moment I met you, I've dreamed of kissing you." His voice was rough and husky. Intimate. "And now I can."

He paused for a split second, giving her a chance to stop him.

She didn't even try. She couldn't have brought herself to stop him if her life depended on it. Instead, instinctively, she set her hand on his lean, muscular hip, feeling the warmth of his body through his shirt. She wanted this. This moment. This kiss. His kiss. "Me, too," she whispered.

A small smile flickered at the corners of his mouth, and then he bent his head and kissed her.

His lips were warm. His kiss tender. Kind. Beautiful. Magical.

More than she'd imagined, and she'd imagined it countless times.

He angled his head and deepened the kiss. She couldn't suppress the little whimper at the back of her throat, and when he slid his arm around her waist and pulled her against him, she knew he'd heard it.

His chest was solid against her breasts, his corded abs pressed tight against her belly. The kiss was searing hot, gaining steam, as if two years of waiting had unleashed a vortex of wanting and need that was getting hotter and hotter—

"Damn, little brother. I had no idea." Chase's laughter broke the haze of passion wrapping around them.

They broke the kiss at the same time, staring at each other in surprised silence.

What had just happened?

"Way to get Logan to step up to the plate, Skylar." Mira sounded thoroughly amused. "I think you're going to be able to handle him just fine."

Skylar cleared her throat. "Of course I can handle him. He's putty in my hands."

Chase coughed, and Logan's brows shot up. "Putty? You think I'm putty? There is literally nothing soft about me. I'm just…hard."

It was her turn to raise her brows. "I don't believe that, Logan. Not for a second."

Something flickered in his eyes, something that felt like longing, but it was gone before she could identify it. Swallowed up as he resumed his customary stoic expression. "Believe me when I show you who I am."

She lifted her chin. "I do."

He cupped the tip of her chin between his thumb and forefinger. "I don't think you do," he said softly. "I love that about you, but it won't end well if you can't see me for who I am."

"Oh, Logan." Mira interrupted. "None of you Stocktons see yourself the way you really are. It's only the women who see the truth."

"We see it eventually," Chase said. "It just takes time." He turned toward Mira. "Can you take the boys to the barn? I need to have a chat with Logan and Skylar."

Her gaze narrowed, and she gave her husband a hard look. "Be good, Chase."

"Always, my dear." He kissed her gently, gave each of the boys a secret handshake, and then stepped back.

"Okay, boys, let's go see baby Simba, and see if he grew since yesterday." Mira rolled her eyes. "I tried for Pegasus, but who wants to name a horse after a horse, right?"

She gave them all a wave as she herded the boys out of the building, but her gaze lingered on Skylar a little bit too long, with a little too much thoughtfulness in her gaze. As the door closed behind Mira, Skylar looked over at Chase. "Do you think she knows we're not really engaged?"

Chase headed toward the kitchen and grabbed some coffee mugs out of the beautiful wood cabinet. "She might. If she doesn't, she'll have it out of me by the time we go to sleep."

Logan swore under his breath. "Chase, that's not cool. Our lives depend on this—"

"She's my wife." Chase picked up a coffee pot and began to pour. "I trust her with my life, which means I trust her with yours."

Logan swore and clasped his hands on his head. "It was a mistake to come here. I shouldn't have put you in this position."

"Bullshit." Chase handed Logan a steaming mug. "That's what we do, Logan. We have each other's backs. All the time. No matter what. You were right to come and you know it." He picked up another mug. "And now it's time for you to tell me what's going on. All of it." He met Logan's gaze. "Every last piece of it, starting with telling me who's after Skylar."

Skylar let out her breath as Chase's statement brought her back to the truth, that they weren't here for family bonding. There was literally an assassin hunting her at that very moment.

Logan was quiet for a moment, then he nodded. "All right, but if you decide it's a danger to Mira, you tell me, and we'll leave. Okay?"

Chase swore. "Logan—"

"Promise me."

Chase finally nodded. "I promise."

"All right, then." Logan gestured to the couch. "Let's sit down. It'll take a few."

Anticipation suddenly hummed through Skylar. Was this going to be her chance to find out more about Logan? Things she didn't know about? Yes. She wanted to know more. She'd been consumed by him for two years, and being around him wasn't helping cure her.

She was finally going to find out the secrets he'd been hiding all this time.