Under His Protection (Protect and Defend 1)

“I promise.”

She studied him, not sure she believed him. “Luke-”

“Miss,” the attendant said, sounding urgent, “your flight is going to leave without you. You really do have to board now.”

Julie walked backwards. “Getting killed would ruin the wedding, Luke.”

“I know.” He chuckled, a deep, sexy sound that tickled every nerve ending she owned. “Get on the plane. I’ll see you there. Alive.”

She inhaled and forced herself to break eye contact and hurry towards the ramp. She was worried about him, and she told herself that was because of the wedding. It was something to focus on other than what he’d almost said. We could...We could what? It didn’t matter. Nothing was going to happen between them. She wouldn’t let it.

So why with each step did she have to fight the urge to turn and see if Luke was still there. She didn’t want to know if he’d tuned her out, when she couldn’t forget about him, which was another reason not to turn. Luke was trouble, heartache, misplaced emotions that couldn’t end well. She didn’t do relationships for a reason. They didn’t work. Yet, he made her forget caution, made her want to believe in something, she didn’t know what. Lauren and Luke’s brother Royce made her want to believe, though. They deserved happily-ever-after. They would be the exception. She believed that, but for most part, love hurt. No one knew that better than she did.

***

Luke Walker watched the only woman who’d ever rocked his world sashaying her sexy little behind towards the plane, remembering another goodbye, and wondering if she was remembering it too. It had been two years ago and he’d been headed back to active duty after a month off and in her arms. She’d taken him to the airport, even walked with him inside. They’d stopped at security and stared at one another, long seconds of silence heavy between them, and he’d been unsure what to say. Their time together had been a short term thing. They’d both been clear about that, no strings, no tomorrows, but he didn’t want it to end. He squeezed his eyes shut, reliving the past.

Julie leaned into him, her hands on his chest, scorching his skin through his shirt. She pressed to her toes and brushed her lips over his and it was all he could do not to kiss her like it was his last kiss in this lifetime. “Don’t die, soldier,” she whispered. “The world needs more men like you, not less.”

He’d wrapped his arms around her and held her close. “And you? What do you need?”

She blinked up at him and he saw the uncertainty in her face for an instant. “One last kiss,” she said, her mouth finding his again for a featherlight kiss that was over too soon. She pushed out of his arms and turned away, half-running toward the exit. Regret and disappointment filled him.

Luke scrubbed the tension at back of his neck. As time had ticked on, one thing about that day that day had replayed over and over in his mind. There had been no goodbye.

An announcement sounded over the intercom, snapping Luke back to the present. His flight was cancelled. The doors to Julie’s plane hadn’t closed. He had a gut feeling she wasn’t going anywhere either.

He walked to the counter and found the attendant. “Is this flight going to take off?”

She sighed. “They’re trying to get clearance but it’s not looking good.”

“If they don’t, since you put them on the plane, will you put them up in a hotel for the night?”

“We won’t pay for the room since weather is an act of God,” she said, “but we’ll get them to a reserved room if they want it.”

“Which hotel?”

“The Royal Blue,” she said. “If you’re thinking about staying there, I’m not sure that will be possible. The airline reserved a large block of rooms. You should check around quickly before everyone is sold out.”

“Understood,” Luke said. “Thank you.” He turned away and started walking. The airline wasn’t the only one with a Royal Blue contract. Airport administration and security had one as well, and he had a security clearance badge that gave him priority reservations. He was headed to the Royal Blue and he wasn’t giving Julie a chance to run away to a different hotel.

He’d see her when she arrived.