Heart Desires

by Becca Dale

  A petite blonde joined them and put a hand possessively on the tall guy’s bicep. “Is something wrong, Jackson?”

  People were starting to stare and Devlynn wanted to curl up in a hole. She put on her best I’m not insane face. “No, really. Everything’s fine. I just want to go to bed.”

  “Of course. René, please have Ms. Conner’s dinner, along with something sweet, sent to her room. Would the lamb do?”

  “Oui, I mean, yes. That would be fine.”

  The elevator dinged and she rushed inside, eager to escape. Laughing at her own stupidity, she shook her head. “I usually wind up dating assholes, sometimes for years, before I finally tell them to screw off. At least this time I only wasted money, not time or emotion.”

  When the elevator reached her floor, she stepped from the elevator and walked toward her room. Closing the door to her suite, she sank to the floor. Her high hopes for the evening had been shattered in less than twenty minutes. Arrogant bastard.

  Feeling like an arrogant bastard, Erik watched the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen walk away. With a nod to the table of girls from the elevator, he downed the bourbon and headed out. He would count the trip as a total waste if not for the incredible flight. No matter Devlynn’s true colors, the time he’d spent with her on the plane was worth every second. He headed out of the restaurant toward the elevators.

  The waiter gave him a dirty look and stepped in front of him. “A gentleman does not make a lady cry.”

  “Next time I’m with a lady, I’ll remember that.” He sounded like a dick, but all he could hear was the echo of her words: No man I’d ever pick would be that sweet, that concerned about his family. Three steps carried him from the restaurant and to the bank of elevators. He’d convinced himself on the plane that she hadn’t meant it the way it sounded, but away from her sexy pull, he could hear nothing beyond the sarcasm in her voice.

  Something had gone wrong. She had asked for exactly what he had given her, so why did he feel like a first class shit?

  Chapter Five

  Devlynn’s flight was scheduled to leave at noon. She’d called the airline and begged for an earlier flight so she didn’t have to travel home on the same plane as the Lieutenant. The hotel had sent up a lovely breakfast of fruit, yogurt, and delicious pastries, along with fresh juice and the best coffee she’d had in forever. Still, she couldn’t wait to leave despite the Castillo’s wonderful hospitality. Her head ached and her heart hurt. She’d wasted a large chunk of her savings on the trip, but she’d barely left her room and she certainly hadn’t enjoyed the king-size playground as she had hoped.

  After clearing security, she hurried to the restroom and then chose a seat by the window to wait the last hour before her flight. She realized he was there as soon as she sat down. His distinct, masculine scent drifted over her like acid on an open wound. Had he changed his schedule to avoid her as well? Perfect. Well, just because he was on her flight did not mean she had to acknowledge him, did it? She dug out a magazine. If she didn’t look around, he would never know that she knew he was there.

  “Excuse me, miss.”

  Devlynn looked up into the pock-marked face of an airport employee. “Yes?”

  “Are you Devlynn Connors?”

  “Yes? Is there a problem?”

  The young man shifted nervously before he answered. “No, ma’am. I was told to deliver something to you if you showed up here today…without a date. Are you by yourself?”

  “Looks like it, doesn’t it?”

  The guy grinned and pulled a thick, cream-colored envelope from his pocket. “Here you are then.”

  He started to leave but she caught his wrist. “Wait a minute. Let me give you something.”

  “No, it’s been taken care of.” He hesitated a moment longer and a flush brushed his suntanned cheeks. “If you don’t mind my saying so, whoever was supposed to be here with you today is a fool.”

  She smiled her thanks and silently hoped the Lieutenant had heard. Turning the note over, she noticed that it had only her name, no sign of who it was from. For a fleeting second she hoped that Erik had sent an apology. Who else knew where she would be? Her hand trembled as she opened the envelope.

  Ms. Connors,

  Friends and family make mistakes. The heart and I do not.

  Eve

  What the hell did that mean? The young man who had delivered the note stood across the hall talking to a pilot. Devlynn hurried through the crowd just as the other man moved on.

  “Excuse me.”

  “Yes, ma’am?”

  “Where did you get this note?”

  “I don’t know. It just showed up on my desk with instructions.”

  Rubbing at the pain in her temple, she tried again. “Do you know a Madame Evangeline?”

  The man looked around as if afraid someone might hear before he leaned close to whisper. “She arranges a lot of flights through us—sort of. I’ve never spoken to her. Just seen the orders come through.”

  Suspicion rose. “Do you ever do other favors for her? Change seating arrangements or flight times for example.”

  “My boss does sometimes. Madame Eve’s hard to say no to.”

  “I see. Did your supervisor perhaps do her a favor today?”

  “Not a big one. A couple that had been scheduled to fly out at noon wanted to stay later. So we called a guy and asked him if he would switch.”

  “So she didn’t say anything about me or Lieutenant Mallard?”

  “No, though the instructions that showed up with the note for you said something kind of weird.”

  “What’s that?”

  “She said that some people don’t know what they want until they don’t get it.”

  ***

  Erik pretended not to notice Devlynn sitting ten chairs away. She studied a note in her lap as if contemplating the end of the world. It pissed him off that she pretended not to see him. He’d watched her since she sat down. A flirty mini dress skimmed her long legs and hugged her barely there, fun-sized breasts. His groin tightened as he remembered those thighs wrapped around him.

  Shadows that he hadn’t noticed the day before darkened the delicate skin beneath her eyes like she hadn’t slept well. Her hair was back to the riotous curls, and she’d washed away the heavy makeup. Only a bit of gloss added shine to her mouth and a few cosmetics highlighted the aquamarine of her irises. His angel in the flesh. Son of a bitch! How the hell was a man to know what was real if she kept changing up the game?

  “Fuck this shit.”

  A mother across the aisle glared at him, and he tossed her an apologetic smile before he grabbed his bag and stormed through the crowd to stand in front of Devlynn’s chair. “Come with me.” He hadn’t intended the words as a command, but he didn’t plan to accept no as an answer either.

  “I don’t believe I’m in your unit, First Lieutenant.”

  “It’s Erik and you know it.”

  An oddly sad smile teased her lips. “So you do have a split personality, then.”

  He swung her purse over his shoulder and caught her elbow, practically jerking her from her seat. “Shut up, Devlynn.”

  “You have no right—”

  He pulled her off balance and against his chest, threading his free hand through her sexy hair, and kissed her hard. She tugged to get away, but she was a little bit of a thing compared to him. She didn’t have a chance in hell of escaping if he didn’t want her to, but he wanted her willing. He softened the kiss, nibbling gently at her lush mouth before lifting his head. “Please come with me, angel. We need to talk.”

  A soft sigh parted her lips but she nodded. “All right. There’s a little restaurant across the hall. We could talk there.”

  They could if he wanted to talk. He chose silence over trying to explain and took her hand. He swept her through the growing group of passengers and down the hall toward a construction zone.

  She dug in her heels and refused to follow. “I don’t think we’re suppos
ed to go back there.”

  He had to chuckle. “Why are you whispering?’

  “Because we could get caught. They’ll think we’re terrorists.”

  A true laugh burst from him. “Angel, no one would ever mistake you for a terrorist.”

  “Why not? I could be. Appearances can be deceiving. Just like first impressions.”

  That brought him to a halt. He needed to be alone with her, but he didn’t want to deal with Homeland Security in order to do it. A housekeeping cart stood outside the restrooms. Keeping her close, he strode down the hall. A pretty brown-eyed woman looked up as they approached. “Excuse me…” He dropped his eyes to her name tag before meeting her curious gaze. “…Anita, is there somewhere we could go so my wife and I could have a private good-bye before my plane leaves?”

  A well-plucked eyebrow arched. “You want me to find you a place to…?”

  “No!” He glanced back at Devlynn. She looked like she wanted the floor to swallow her. “Of course not, just someplace without a hundred ears so I can tell her how I feel.” He tried the smile that always worked on his sister and offered a twenty from his pocket. “Come on, give a guy a break here.” Pulling Devlynn forward, he brushed a kiss over the riot of curls. “Please?”

  Anita took the tip with a grin. “There’s an empty store around the corner in the new area. It hasn’t rented yet. Would that work?

  “Perfect. Can you get us in there?”

  “How long? I don’t want trouble”

  “The plane leaves in fifty minutes.”

  “All right, but you have to promise not to mess with anything and let me know when you leave so I can lock it back up.”

  He shook her hand with a wink. “Deal.”

  As soon as Anita unlocked the gate to the store and slid it nearly closed behind them, Erik swung Devlynn off her feet and set her down on the low counter, putting her at eye level. Thick paper covered the glass storefront effectively shutting out the world. “Now, that we’re alone, explain which is real, the beautiful woman from the plane or the bitch that showed up last night.”

  Her shoulders straightened and a glare marred her pretty face. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “Not really.”

  “You first. Who’s the real Erik Mallard? The sweetheart who volunteered to be my rebound guy or the dick who flirted with a table full of women when he was supposedly on a date?”

  “I’m sure as hell not the arrogant, rich bastard you’re apparently looking for.”

  “Really? Because the man who met me for dinner last night had the bastard part down pretty damn solid. What happened? Wasn’t I ‘well-mannered and well-groomed’ enough to fill the bill?”

  He scowled. What the hell did Cari write on that application?

  She tried to get down, but he blocked her easily. “This was a mistake, Lieutenant. I’m going back before I miss my flight.”

  “No, don’t. Please, Devlynn.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because—” There really wasn’t a fucking thing he could say. He’d screwed up. He ran a hand through her hair. “Listen, my sister obviously has the wrong impression about what I need.” Capturing a wayward curl, he rolled the fine texture across his fingers. “I don’t know what she said, but I’m not that guy.”

  “Really?”

  “No. What about you?” He didn’t want to look up, couldn’t bear to see the judgmental bitch behind her pretty eyes. “Is the guy described on the form really the person you’re searching for?”

  “I don’t know.” Her voice had dropped to nearly inaudible.

  He studied her expression. Doubt played over her fragile features. “What?”

  “I said I don’t know. My friends filled it out.”

  Happiness sparked in his chest. “For real?”

  She nodded.

  “So what do you want?”

  “I suck at picking guys. I seem to gravitate toward dickwads and jerk-offs, so in my friends’ defense they didn’t have much to go on.”

  He leaned toward her, bracing an arm on either side of her hips. Careful not to touch but close enough that if she took a deep breath she’d brush against him. “What if I’m neither of those?”

  “I would have no idea how to tell.”

  “You didn’t answer the question. What do you want, angel?” His chest squeezed as he waited for her to reply. Pick me!

  “I want someone strong enough to rely on when I need him and relaxed enough to let me be myself. Does that make sense?”

  “What about a guy who takes his nephew to ballgames and volunteers at the animal shelter? Too pansy for you?”

  Was he serious? “Nothing strikes me as pansy about you, Erik.”

  His hands left the faux marble they rested on and cupped her thighs, long thumbs caressing the bare flesh. “I’ll never be rich and I’m fine with that.”

  “I don’t need rich. I make a good living. Good enough, anyway.”

  He groaned and tugged her to the edge of the platform. She studied the buttons on his shirt to avoid his gray eyes. In a perfect world she could lean into him and let him make the bad stuff disappear.

  Strong arms circled her as if he’d heard her thoughts. “Devlynn? Can we start over?”

  “No.”

  “No?” His embrace dropped away as he stepped back. “All right then.” A muscle in his jaw jumped. Was he struggling not to bark an order?

  She grabbed for his hand and pulled him back to her. “I don’t want to forget the first time we met. The jerk at the hotel can be rebound guy. I’d really like it if Erik would consider being my next potential ex.”

  “Not a chance.” Agile fingers slid the straps of her sundress down until the neckline slipped beneath her breasts. Erik’s eyes glowed nearly silver as he stared at her too-small chest.

  She crossed her arms and glared. “I might have made that mistake once, Lieutenant, but I won’t make it again. I don’t screw around with guys who don’t want a relationship.”

  “Who said I didn’t want something more?” He tugged her arms apart and bent to drop a warm wet kiss on each of her puckered nipples.

  She gasped, desperate to focus though he seemed to have stolen that part of her mind. Grabbing the sides of his face, she moved him away from her breasts then righted her top. “I’m serious. You just said you wouldn’t consider seeing where this takes us.”

  Erik shook his head no and his slow sexy smile shot straight to her core. “That’s not what I said at all.” He kissed her long and sweet, coaxing her to open to him before he lifted his head. “I said I didn’t want to be your potential ex.” Tipping her chin up so she had to meet his gaze, he kissed her forehead. “I want to be all except the ex part. Let me be your everything, angel.”

  Laughter washed away her fear. “Channeling a little Andy Gibb, First Lieutenant?”

  His eyes sparkled. “That’s pretty old school, but my mom loved him so I can if it works for you.”

  Snuggling against his chest, she listened to the solid beat of his heart, tender and compelling beneath a soldier’s strength. She could lose herself to such a man, but a little voice whispered that he wouldn’t let that happen.

  “Devlynn?”

  “I’m trying to think of something clever to say.” She sat up and grinned. “Nothing’s coming to me.”

  “Tell me you’re willing to give this thing a shot when we get home.”

  “On one condition.”

  “Uh-oh, that can’t be good.” His hands closed around her waist and tugged her closer to him, urging her legs to wrap around his hips. “What do you need, angel?

  “It’s not bad.” He looked so serious. She bit back a grin. “I just don’t want to be your puppet on a string.”

  He groaned and buried his lips against her throat. His strong shoulders shook when he laughed at her continuation of the Gibb song. “Not a chance in hell.” A wicked gleam settled in his eyes. “Now, are you going to make up for turning me away last night? I promise to gi
ve a little more than you’re asking for.”

  “Stop!” Catching his shirtfront, she pulled him close as she tried to bite back the foolish happiness he ignited in her chest. “Quit being stupid and make love to me, Erik. I miss the man I met yesterday morning.”

  He pressed her back until she lay on the cool counter, his broad chest a solid wall above her. “He’s right here, angel. I screwed up our one night, but I’ll do my damnedest to do better for the rest.”

  Madame Eve and the heart do not make mistakes. Devlynn closed her eyes and listened as her heart sang its desires for the first time in forever.

  ~ABOUT THE AUTHOR~

  Married to her college sweetheart, Becca Dale lives not far from the Midwestern farm where she grew up. She is always looking for examples of love in every situation and never fails to find them even among her stoic and conservative neighbors. She firmly believes that there is someone for everyone, someone who sees beyond the reality of surface faults and embraces the heart beneath. No matter how hot or mild a story ends up, it is love and a need for understanding that drives it.

  You can visit Becca at:

  http://beccadale.blogspot.com

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  ~ABOUT THE AUTHOR~