by Soraya Lane
He stretched and shook the blanket, before placing it over her lap. Luke grinned at her, looking at her from the corner of his eye.
A lot, was the answer. There was a lot different about this guy, and she didn’t even want to think about it. There was a confidence within him that terrified her, and something playful that was making her want to get closer to him. His hard-edged sex appeal made her nervous and… excited. Because he could reel her in and spit her out before she even knew what had hit her.
“You going to let that coffee get cold?” he asked.
Saskia shook her head and clutched her coffee cup tighter between her fingers. “No sir,” she mumbled.
Luke just laughed, and so did she. How the hell had she ended up stranded in an airport with a Navy SEAL for company?
“Chocolate?” Saskia asked, putting her now empty coffee cup on the ground and reaching for the Kit Kats she’d purchased on her way back from calling home.
“Sure.”
She passed one of them to Luke and tried not to stiffen when his hand touched hers. Because he didn’t move it, just left them connected for a beat before taking the Kit Kat and peeling off the wrapper.
“Another reason why it’s good to be home, huh?” he asked, taking a bite.
Saskia nodded and did the same. “I’m sure I’ll put on the pounds when I’m back for good. Between home cooking, chocolate bars, wine… you know what I mean, right?”
He chuckled, made her look up.
“What’s so funny?” she asked.
“The idea of you putting on the pounds.” Luke took another bite and shook his head. “Somehow I don’t think that’s likely.”
The slow movement of his gaze going up then down made her entire body flush hot.
“I think we should try to get some shut eye. It’s late and we’re going to have an early start.”
“How early,” she asked, drawing the blanket up around her, pleased by the change in subject.
“0600 hours,” he said, slumping down a little, feet extended out and crossed at the ankle. “That’s when we’re leaving, so we’ll need to be up before then.”
The lights in the terminal dimmed as if on cue. He guessed they did this to let people get some sleep when there were so many stranded.
“I guess it’s good night then,” she said, wishing she knew exactly how he was planning on evacuating them in the middle of a snow storm.
“Sweet dreams,” Luke drawled.
Saskia shut her eyes. He was just a man. They were just two people stranded at the airport. There was no reason for her to be acting like a hormone-crazed teenager crushing on a handsome guy.
But one thing was for sure… if she did manage to ever fall asleep and dream, she had no doubt those dreams would be very sweet indeed.
Luke eased his arm out from behind Saskia’s shoulders and gently tucked a balled-up sweater under her head. He’d just about lost all feeling in his forearm and it was starting to cool off again. He pulled the blanket up higher across them both, making sure she was covered.
He surveyed the room, watched people walking, sleeping and talking. The food court was shut down for the night, and there were hundreds of people stranded. It was a wonder their plane had even been able to land.
Luke shut his eyes. He needed sleep if he was going to try to drive them out of here, and he wasn’t even starting to feel tired yet. Fatigued, sure, but there was too much going on in his head to want to sleep. Like how the hell he’d ended up sitting next to Saskia on the plane, and then promised to get her home to her son.
But he knew why. Because she was beautiful and interesting, and he was alone again for Christmas. Not to mention god damn sick of everyone in his life knowing that his wife had died. He’d had plenty of invitations for the holidays, but the last thing he needed was someone feeling sorry for him and asking him to tag along with their own family.
This? This he could do. Because Saskia was the one in need of help, and he was only too happy to do something about it. He could take her to her family, and be back on the road driving through Christmas Day, with the Humvee back to base before any one even knew it was gone.
Unless she was actually able to catch a plane in the morning. Then he’d be shit out of luck.
CHAPTER FOUR
“Morning sunshine.”
Saskia groaned and forced her eyes open. Her neck was sore and her back felt like it had twisted into a pretzel. But her head… oh. There was a reason her head was so comfortable, because it was tucked into Luke like he was her pillow, and her hand…
She slowly retrieved her arm, taking her hand from his thigh.
“Morning,” she mumbled.
“Do you know how cute you are when you snore?”
Oh Lord. “Sorry. Twice in two days.”
She traced her tongue around the inside of her mouth and swallowed. She could really do with a toothbrush, but hers was safely tucked in the bag she’d checked in and their luggage hadn’t been available after landing.
“I’ll apologize now for the early wake up call,” he said, easing himself up with a big stretch. “Evil but necessary.”
She watched, unable to take her eyes off the guy she’d just spent the night tucked up next to. The fine knit of his sweater stretched with him, showing off a bare stretch of back that was tanned and taut, the muscles through his shoulders and arms visible too. Saskia gulped. He was beyond attractive, Luke was…
His phone rang and he picked it up. Smiled as he thanked someone, before hanging up as fast as he’d answered.
“Let’s go.”
Her savior. Her knight on a white horse somehow promising to get her where she needed to be.
“Any sign of the luggage? Or flights taking off?” she asked, running a hand through her hair and securing it up into a ponytail. She’d had a band around her wrist from last night and forgotten to pull it up. Saskia rubbed her fingers under her eyes, sure there’d be mascara smudged there from sleeping without washing her face.
“I’m gonna go check everything out, but from the announcements I’ve been listening to, I doubt you’ll be going up on a plane.” He grinned. “The luggage is available now though, so I do have some good news.”
He touched her shoulder, fingers gripping firmly then opening, trailing down her arm. Luke looked into her eyes, searching her face, his smile fixed in place.
“I’m going to get you home.” His voice was soft now. “You believe me, right?”
She smiled up at him. “Right,” she responded. He’d promised, and she believed him.
Luke went to walk away, then turned back. “I meant to ask if you needed anything? I’ve got a toothbrush in my bag, and there’s…”
She held up her hand. “Hold up. You’d actually share your toothbrush with me?” He was even nicer than she’d realized.
He grinned. “Actually no.” Luke laughed. “The airline passed out complimentary packs last night just after you fell asleep.”
Luke passed her a plastic wrapped bag.
She smiled and took it, slowly, still watching his face. “Thanks.”
“Hop to it,” he ordered, moment over. “You have until 0600 hours to meet me at the entrance to the terminal.” Luke pointed. “Over there.”
Saskia glanced at her watch. That gave her less than fifteen minutes. She saluted him and grabbed her bag, walking briskly to the bathroom. There were people crowded everywhere and after waiting in line she didn’t think she’d be able to get more than ten seconds in front of the mirror, but she was going to try. Because if whatever plan Luke had hatched actually worked, she could be spending a fair bit of alone time with him. And that meant she wanted clean teeth, some make-up on her face, and a ponytail that wasn’t a sloppy disaster.
Not to mention a spray of perfume to her neck… just in case.
Saskia gulped but she didn’t look over her shoulder. Because if Luke was standing there watching her, she didn’t want to know.
Luke wasn’t having any luck,
but then he hadn’t expected to. Flights were scheduled to recommence within the hour and they were opening the airport to arrivals, but there was no chance of getting Saskia on a plane anytime soon. If his calculations were correct, he could drive her the 400 miles before the next plane did leave for Buffalo, and that was if he even managed to get her on it and there were no delays.
He nodded to the sleepy cashier behind the counter and took the take-out coffees and breakfast sandwiches he’d ordered, then headed for the doors. He’d received another phone call while he was standing in line, and their ride was ready and waiting for them.
And there she was. Saskia was walking toward him, head down, bag slung over her back.
“Do you want the good news or the bad news?” he called out.
Saskia looked up, her blue eyes meeting his, softening as she saw him. A smile hit her lips. “Bad.” She sighed. “Hit me with the worst of it first.”
Luke chuckled. He’d thought she’d take the good news first. “Bad news is that you’re not going to be flying home today because there’s a major backlog, but I did get your bag.” He held it up. “You were right about your bright red suitcase standing out.”
She groaned. “Great.”
He laughed, wishing she wouldn’t frown.
“Want the good news now?” he asked.
Luke passed her a coffee and one of the paper bags, watching as she held the cup up so she could inhale the aroma of caffeine. He nudged her and walked toward the door, bracing himself for the blast of ice cold air as it engulfed them.
“What are we doing out here?” she yelled, struggling to be heard.
“What time does your family have Christmas dinner?” he asked.
Saskia stopped and stared at him. “Later on, about five I guess.”
Luke pointed. “Let’s go. We’ll easily make it there before then.”
He couldn’t help it, he had to stop. Had to watch the look on her face, the way her eyes widened in disbelief as she saw the Humvee parked on the curb. There was a black SUV parked right behind it, two soldiers waiting to give him the keys then head back to base.
“No way.”
Luke put his coffee in the other hand so he could sling his arm around her shoulders, had an excuse to draw her in close. “Yes way,” he said, not so loudly this time since they were side by side. “I told you I’d get you home to your family, and I meant it.”
Saskia squealed so loudly he had to jump sideways.
“Come on, let’s go.”
“I can’t believe you did this. For me.” She shook her head as she buckled her seatbelt and he jumped in the driver’s seat. “Are you sure you’re not going to get in a heap of trouble?”
Luke sat back and sipped his coffee, looking completely unfazed. “Let’s just say I had a favor owed to me and now I don’t.” He shrugged. “And if I don’t have this back in one piece within 48 hours, I’ll probably be shot at close range by an elite squad of Navy SEALs. Or worse, SAS.”
She felt a pang of guilt run through her. “I don’t want you taking any risks for me.” Saskia appreciated what he was doing, but borrowing a Humvee for her and putting his neck on the line? In this weather?
“Why, Luke?’ she asked, twisting her body around, still holding her coffee between both hands to try to stay warm. “Why are you taking this risk for me? You don’t even know me.”
He stared at her for so long that she had the urge to look away, but she fought it. Kept her eyes pinned on his.
“Because you’ve flown halfway around the world to get home for someone you love, and I don’t have anything more important to do between now and tomorrow than to make that happen.”
Saskia settled back in her seat, slowly starting to warm up as the heater fired into life. The vehicle rumbled as Luke dropped his empty coffee cup into the void between their seats and put his foot on the accelerator.
“Thank you,” she said, her voice low as her eyes filled with tears. This was really going to happen. She was actually going to make it home. “Thank you for everything.”
Luke kept his eyes trained straight ahead and cleared his throat. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
The weather was terrible but it wasn’t a problem as far as Luke was concerned. With visibility this bad and snow like he’d hardly ever seen before, it meant he had to keep his eyes on the road and his mind focused on the task. They had hours of driving ahead of them, but he was confident they’d make it. So long as the storm didn’t hit them with the same sort of fury it had unleashed last night.
“I’m told the drive time is usually up to 8 hours,” Luke said, gripping the wheel with both hands as they passed an overturned vehicle. He might be in a bomb proof, impenetrable Army truck, but he was well aware it could flip in bad conditions.
“Ah, maybe a little less,” Saskia said. “But in this weather?” He could see that she was staring straight ahead, squinting into the snowy dark. “I’d say we’d be pretty lucky to make it in nine or ten.”
Luke sat back a little more, settling into his seat. “We’ll make it for dinner, don’t you worry.” They weren’t going to break any speed records, because he was planning on taking it slow, but he was sure that he’d get her home.
“Luke, am I keeping you from your own family?”
Saskia’s question took him by surprise. He glanced at her, took his eyes off the road for a split second and cleared his throat. “Well,” he started, wondering how the hell he’d ended up talking about his family when he never usually talked about them to anyone, “my dad lived to see me come home from my first deployment with the Navy, and my mom was alive long enough to know that I’d become a SEAL,” he said, saying words that he wasn’t used to sharing. “Dad was a military man, so it meant a lot that he was able to see me graduate, wave me off in my uniform, all that kind of thing.”
“No brothers or sisters, then?” Saskia’s voice was soft, low.
“A sister, but she lives in Canada with her husband.”
“And I take it you don’t have a…” she hesitated and he gulped. He knew what was coming. “Well, I mean I can see you don’t wear a wedding band, but then I guess you wouldn’t while you were on a…”
“No,” he said. “I mean, I was married, but I’m not spoken for any longer.”
Saskia let out a nervous laugh, like she wasn’t quite sure what to say. “So we can trade bitter stories about our crappy ex-spouses then?” she said, smiling across at him.
But her smile faded at the grim look on his face, and he couldn’t help it. His wife had been gone awhile now, but talking about it wasn’t exactly his favorite topic. Not when he still hated himself for the way it had happened, for not being able to do anything to protect her, to take away her pain.
Luke concentrated on the road, tried to say what he needed to tell Saskia without thinking, without letting himself get pulled back into the past, of what had happened. And without making her feel like shit for even asking.
“My wife died a couple of years ago after a short battle with cancer,” he told her, slowing as they approached what appeared to be deeper snow. He squinted and gripped the wheel tighter. “I did everything I could to get home, offered to volunteer for whatever I had to in the future so I could get back and be here with her, but before I touched down, she was gone.”
The silence in the car was deafening.
“Luke, I’m so sorry,” Saskia murmured, her warm hand touching down over his arm, connecting with the skin of his forearm bared by his shoved up sleeve. “I am so, so sorry.”
Luke clamped his jaw tight, stared straight ahead, tried to ignore how conflicted he felt over the beautiful woman beside him, sending a shiver of desire through his body just from her touch, and the memory of the wife he was talking to her about.
“When I tell you I know how important it is to get back to someone you love, I really do understand,” he told her, glancing down only when her hand slowly drew away and she unbuckled her seatbelt instead. He didn�
��t expect the kiss she pressed to his cheek when she leaned across to his seat.
“You’re a special man, Luke Gray,” she whispered.
If only she knew what he wanted to do to her, she might have other thoughts. Because right now, he could think of nothing better than pulling over and having his wicked way with Saskia in the back of the Humvee, to push his memories back where they belonged and do something reckless for once.
Luke rolled his shoulders back and stayed focused. Getting a mom home to her son, that was all this mission was about.
“Would you mind passing me that sandwich?” he asked Saskia.
She reached into the space between them and pulled them both out. “Cold,” she said, unwrapping one and positioning it so he could eat it half-inside the paper without spilling it everywhere. “Sorry.”
Luke took the sandwich and ignored the touch of her hand against his, the way her fingers skimmed his and waited, like she wanted to make sure he had hold of it.
Who was he kidding? Today wasn’t just about getting her home, it was about him wanting to spend the day with a beautiful woman, on a day that just happened to be Christmas.
Saskia cleared her throat, nervous. Thank God he didn’t appear to be a mind reader – if he was there was no chance his eyes would still be on the road. Because all she could think about was what she’d do if she was that kind of girl. The kind that would think nothing of a steamy rendezvous with a virtual stranger. Any fantasies she’d ever held about a real life Navy SEAL? Hands down this guy was it. Broad shoulders, muscles visible through his knit sweater, jaw like it was carved of steel, and eyes that could fell her like a just chain-sawed tree.
“So what’s it like being a SEAL?” she asked, not sure what else to ask him about. Being stuck in a vehicle with him wasn’t exactly difficult, but thinking of things to talk about for hours on end? She’d never been great at small talk.
“How about you tell me why you’re in the military first?”
“So you have time to figure out which parts of your answer to censor?” she teased.