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even though I really was curious.”
    “We like it,” Ariel said. “Nine times out of ten it’s a
great place to relax. Are you here visiting friends? There aren’t any Marine
bases in the area that I know of.”
    “Just visiting. I’ve never been to Philly myself. I walked
here from the hotel for an after-flight beer.”
    “Only in town for a bit then?” Mary Ellen asked, shooting
Ariel a glance.
    “Yup. ‘Bout a week or so, I guess. We’re on post-deployment
leave so we’re limited in our time here.”
    “Well, in that case, maybe you’d want someone to show you a
decent first night. A native of the area.” Mary Ellen gave him a look even an
idiot could figure out. And from the smile creeping onto his face, he was no
idiot.
    “Now that’s the best offer I’ve had in a long time,” Goodwin
agreed, setting down his empty bottle and making some hand signal that had the
server cashing them out in no time. Though Mary Ellen grabbed for the bill,
Goodwin snatched it away and paid the tab, including tip.
    Ariel realized it was the now-or-never moment. She could
pretend to not be listening, let Mary Ellen keep Goodwin for herself and stay
on call if she needed help. Then her phone beeped in her bag and she reached
for it on instinct.
    Chairs scraping back on the concrete floor made her look up,
hand hovering over the bag’s clasp. Goodwin’s lips were curved in an easy,
unassuming smile, but Mary Ellen’s look was more direct. It clearly said, What
the hell are you doing? Let’s go!
    She gave the cell one more longing
thought then mentally slapped herself. She was standing right next to a
flesh-and-blood man and she almost passed that up for a night of texting? She
was going crazy.
    Ariel stood, deliberately not opening her bag, but tucking
it under her arm instead. “So, Goodwin, would two natives be better than one?”
    That easy, noncommittal smile spread into a welcoming grin.
“Two is always better than one.” Then he held out an arm for each of them and
led them out of the bar and into the cooler night air.

Chapter Three
     
    A loud knock on the door woke Trav up from his dreamless
sleep. In forced habit, he woke with a start, jerking out of bed and onto his
feet before he could blink twice. The ability to wake up in an instant wasn’t
just a skill in combat, sometimes it was a lifesaver. He grabbed the cell off
the nightstand and glanced at the screen on autopilot.
    No new messages. Again.
    So Ariel was busy. All right, no biggie. He could do this on
his own. Granted his sister was four years younger than he was, but he could
think like a twenty-four-year-old. Couldn’t be too hard.
    But why wasn’t Ariel responding?
    More pounding on the door reminded him of why he woke up,
then Pete’s voice called, “Seriously, you want to get out here.”
    Knowing Pete, that could mean anything from wanting to show
off the girl he picked up in a bar—under the pretext of introducing an old
friend, of course—to needing to borrow twenty bucks to pay for a pizza. There
was no point in ignoring the summons, since he knew his friend would just
continue knocking until he answered.
    But when he pulled open the door, it wasn’t a pizza delivery
guy. Pete stood in the hallway between their rooms, a pretty redhead attached
to his side. She barely reached Pete’s shoulder, even wearing heels. Travis
propped a shoulder against the door frame, vaguely amused and definitely
curious. Had Pete found a woman all right with sharing for the night? The idea
sent a vague stirring of interest through his cock. “Good evening, Goodwin.”
    “Donovan, this is Ellen. We met at the bar down the street.
The Home Run. Ellen, meet my buddy here, Donovan.”
    “The Home Stretch,” she corrected, then held out a hand to
Travis. “Nice to meet you.” For a teeny thing, her grip was firm and her voice
was solid. No breathy wisp of a voice, no sissy limp-fish handshake. He knew
right away she was no barfly or some weird groupie