by Soraya Lane
He reached out to her and she let him, leaning in for a slow, toe-curling kiss. Luke’s lips moved so slowly, so gently, that she was tempted to drop her bag and wrap her arms around his neck, to force him closer, to make their kiss more forceful. But she couldn’t, because she was just as desperate to get inside.
Saskia stepped back, hand lingering on Luke’s arm. She glanced over her shoulder before taking his hand and leading him up the path. “I still can’t believe you hijacked a Hummer for me,” she muttered.
“I can.”
Luke’s steady gaze and calm words made her hurry toward the door. This man, her knight in shining armor, thrilled her one minute and downright terrified her the next. Because something had happened between them, something had sparked from the second she’d woken up on his shoulder on the plane. And it scared the hell out of her.
“Come on, it’s time to meet my folks.”
She took a deep breath and tried the front door. She found it unlocked, smiling when the knob turned under her hand. Saskia let Luke close it behind them and walked slowly down the hall, wondering what she was going to see. How her son would react. What she’d say…
Jack. Her baby was sitting at the head of the table, head down, her parents chatting on either side of him. And they had no idea she was even here. Tears filled her eyes but she furiously blinked them away. This wasn’t a time for crying. She was here. After all those weeks of excitement, then all those hours of worrying, thinking she’d come all this way only to turn back without seeing him, and she was here.
“Surprise.” Saskia cleared her throat. Her voice had come out all quiet and low, not obeying her.
Jack looked up before her parents turned, and by then she couldn’t see anything else anyway. Her eyes were locked on her son’s.
“Mom?” he said, quietly at first, blinking like he wasn’t sure it was actually her. “Mom!”
When he said it the second time it was a high-pitched scream, his chair knocked to the ground as he sprinted past the table and into her arms.
“Mom!”
Saskia knelt to the ground and opened her arms, falling over backwards when Jack launched himself at her, arms wrapped so tight around her neck she could hardly breathe.
“Hey baby,” she whispered to him, holding him back just as tight, never wanting to let him go. “I promised you I’d make it, didn’t I?”
Jack didn’t say anything, and he didn’t need to. All she needed to know was that he’d missed her and that he loved her, and from the grip he had on her there was no question about it. She kissed the top of his head, hugging him hard again, before gently prying him off her so she could look at him properly.
“When did you get so big, huh?” she asked, pushing back up to her haunches and keeping one arm around him.
Jack just grinned at her, like he couldn’t believe she was actually there.
“We had no idea you’d make it.” Saskia looked up at her dad’s voice, remembering that there were actually other people in the room. “We told him there’d be no hope of you getting here, not with the snow this bad. And then when we didn’t hear from you…”
She let go of Jack only so she could stand up and wrap her arms around her dad. She kissed his cheek and hugged him tight, then pulled back to hug her mom too.
“I can’t believe I’m here,” Saskia told them, shaking her head and reaching out for Jack again. She slung one arm down and across his shoulders, then turned to look at Luke. She’d forgotten about him in her excitement, but now everyone was watching him. “And this is the man you can thank for making it happen.”
The room was silent, like her family was all suddenly wondering how a stranger had ended up standing in their living room. Saskia held out her free hand, reaching out to Luke, wriggling her fingers.
“This is Luke Gray,” she said, grinning at the shy look on his face. He’d been anything but shy from the moment she’d met him, but now that he was faced with her family staring at him he didn’t exactly look comfortable. “He managed to hijack a military vehicle and drive me here when I couldn’t catch a flight.”
Her dad stepped forward first, holding out his hand to Luke. “John Cullen,” he said, shaking Luke’s hand and giving him a slap on the back. “It means a lot to us to have her home.”
Saskia watched as her mom walked over, eyebrows pulled together like she was trying to figure something out. Or perhaps she just didn’t believe that a gorgeous guy like Luke would have done something so heroic if there wasn’t something going on between them. Her mom was forever trying to set her up with eligible men, planning dates for when she came back for good.
“It’s nice to meet you, Luke,” her mom said, before giving her the look. “Saskia hasn’t mentioned you before…”
Saskia groaned. Her mom had let her sentence trail off like she was on a fishing expedition – for information.
“I met your daughter on the plane,” Luke told her. He looked like he was starting to relax. “When I heard she had a young man to get home to, I promised I’d help.”
“Which is exactly what he did,” Saskia said, glaring at her mom. “Now let’s eat instead of letting all this fabulous food go to waste.”
Luke cleared his throat as she turned to the table. “If you don’t mind, I’ll just use the restroom and be on my way.”
Saskia spun on the spot, eyebrows shooting up at the same time. “Aren’t you going to stay for dinner?” She hadn’t even asked him, had just presumed he would be here for the evening.
The room was silent again.
“I’d best be off. Get this vehicle back before it’s marked as missing.”
She didn’t miss his joke, but she didn’t laugh. “Luke, please,” she said, her voice low, not taking her eyes off him for a moment.
“I won’t have it,” her mom announced, marching to the table and setting another place. “Unless you have a family waiting on you, you’ll sit that backside down right there,” she pointed to a seat, “and let us thank you properly for getting our girl home in time for Christmas.”
Saskia sat still, watching Luke. Because she didn’t want him to leave. After the hours they’d just spent together, she wasn’t ready to say goodbye.
“Please, Luke,” she asked, eyes trained on his, “stay.”
Luke looked unsure, watched her long and hard before smiling over at her mom. “If you’re sure I’m not putting you out?”
Saskia crossed the room and sat down at the table. “Are you kidding? Mom will probably make you an honorary member of the family for getting me here.”
And she was only half joking.
“So Luke, where’s your family this Christmas?” Saskia’s mom asked.
He looked up and swallowed his mouthful, slowly. The food was delicious, and Saskia’s family couldn’t have been nicer, but talking about his past? His family? Not a topic he wanted to talk about.
“Unfortunately it’s just me,” he said, wiping his mouth with his napkin and hoping they weren’t all going to give him the pity looks he loathed so much.
Saskia was watching him like she was ready to jump in and save him if she had to.
“I see. Well, I’m glad we could have you here.”
Luke put the napkin down, knowing Saskia’s mom was just trying to be polite and not ask any more, but he’d already told Saskia so he might as well tell the rest of them. “My parents both passed away, and I lost my wife to cancer a few of years ago.” He cleared his throat, refusing to look at Saskia even though he could feel her eyes on him. “I’ve avoided Christmas these past few years, ever since she passed, so it’s about time I enjoyed it. She, ah, died on Christmas eve three years ago.”
Saskia reached for his hand across the table, fingers grabbing hold of his as she squeezed. He was sure her parents noticed, but she didn’t seem to care so he tried to just relax. Because she cared, and for once he was okay about someone giving a damn about him.
“Can you stay the night?” Saskia asked. “It’s a l
ong drive back and I’m sure I’m speaking for everyone when I say we’d like you here.”
“The boy brought you home to us, I’d say that’s reason enough for us to keep him for a night.”
They all laughed at Saskia’s dad, Luke included. He looked around the table, watching the strangers he was seated with. It had been a long time since he’d been part of a family, and it wasn’t half bad being here. But staying the night?
“So tell us what you do for a living, son.”
“It’s classified information,” Saskia quipped before he had a chance to reply.
“Are you a trained assassin?” Jack asked, leaning forward and staring at him.
“What do you know about assassins?” Saskia asked, ruffling his hair and play-punching him in the am.
“I’m a Navy SEAL, sir. Just back here for a little downtime before I’m sent back out again.”
Her dad laughed and left the table, coming back with a couple of beers.
“We’re gonna get on just fine then,” he said, passing him one and slapping him on the shoulder as he passed. “I had a feeling when you walked in the door that you were military.”
“Wait until you see the Humvee he hijacked to get me here. Called in some big-time favors,” Saskia told them.
Jack was wriggling now, like he was desperate to jump up and race out to see it. “A real Hummer?”
Luke gave him a wink. “I’m sure there’ll be time to take you for a spin before I go,” he told him.
“Awesome.” Jack couldn’t keep the grin off his face.
Saskia met his gaze across the table and mouthed thank you. He just smiled in response. But the truth? He was starting to think that there wasn’t much he wouldn’t do for Saskia, and it scared the hell out of him.
Saskia dropped a kiss to her son’s silky blond hair and pulled the covers up to his chin. She stood there, unable to move past the door, watching him sleep.
A touch to her shoulder made her turn. Only it wasn’t who she expected.
“Hey,” she whispered, still not taking her eyes from Jack.
“You look like a woman in love,” Luke told her, arm going around her waist.
Saskia dropped her head to his shoulder, so tired she could have shut her eyes and gone to sleep against him. “Just seeing him gives me the strength to go back, knowing that I’m coming home to him.”
They stood in silence, before Luke took her hand, softly intertwining his fingers with hers. “I think it’s time you went to bed,” he whispered. “You’ll both be up early in the morning.”
She let him lead her away and into her bedroom, but she hesitated, looking back out into the hall. They were in her parents’ house, her son was sleeping only two rooms away, and going to bed with Luke just didn’t seem right.
“It’s not that I don’t want to be with you, Luke, but….”
He shook his head and took her hand again, tugging her into the bedroom and toward the bed. “Your son’s going to be bursting in here in the morning and you feel weird about doing it under your parents roof?”
“Yeah, something like that,” she mumbled. She was a grown woman, it wasn’t like she was embarrassed about having a relationship with a man and her parents knowing about it, but he was right.
“I promise I won’t try to take your clothes off,” he told her, eyes shining with laughter. “But there’s no rule against holding you, is there?”
Saskia couldn’t help but grin. “No, Luke, there’s no rule.”
He walked backwards and led her to the edge of the bed, lying back down against the pillows and holding out his arms. “I think we both need the sleep.”
She crawled onto the bed, flopping down on the pillows. “You must be beat. At least I slept on the way.”
Luke lay on his side, propped on his elbow, looking down at her.
“Am I ever going to see you again?”
His question took her by surprise. She looked up at him, searching his eyes as his hand searched out hers. They linked fingers, holding on tight, not saying a word.
She wasn’t going to pretend that she hadn’t thought the exact same thing, but…
“Luke, I’m leaving tomorrow and you don’t even know where you’re going next,” she said.
He shrugged. “I know where I’m going, I just can’t say. And right now I think I might know the one thing that’d bring me home.”
She stared at him. They’d only known each other… how long? A day? Almost two? But it felt like they’d known each other for so much longer.
“Luke, it’s not that I don’t want to see you again, because I do.” She took a deep breath. “I wouldn’t have done what we did if I didn’t feel something for you.”
Luke smiled down at her and dipped his head, brushing his lips across hers so tenderly that her heart started to skip to a faster beat.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed that you’re going tomorrow,” he whispered, his breath stroking across her skin.
“So what are you proposing?” she whispered back, feeling nervous about what might come.
Luke lay back, his head on the pillow beside hers, fingers still looped through hers. “Is it crazy to think we could meet up when we’re both back? To actually give this,” he paused, propping himself back up again, “us, a real go?”
Saskia grinned and pushed herself up on her elbow. “I don’t think it’s crazy at all,” she said. “I’d really like that.”
Luke laughed. “Only next time around I’ll at least take you on a proper date first instead of just seducing you in the back of a truck.”
Saskia swatted at him, punching his arm. “Luke! You make me sound like…”
He raised an eyebrow. “What?”
Like she was going to say. “This might just be the best Christmas ever, you know that?” she asked.
“Why?”
Saskia lay back again. “Because I made it home, and because I met you,” she confessed.
Luke shuffled closer and wrapped both his arms around her, kissing the top of her head as she nestled into him, face pressed to his T-shirt.
“It’s the best damn Christmas I’ve had in a long time, too,” he whispered into her hair.
“So where are we going to meet?” she asked.
“Airport,” he answered without hesitation. “When you arrive back, I’ll be waiting at the airport for you.”
“You sure?” she asked.
“I’ve never been more sure about anything,” he said. “And I know for sure I’ll be back then, because my next assignment isn’t going to take that long.”
Saskia couldn’t wipe the smile off her face, even as she shut her eyes, knowing that if she didn’t get some sleep now she’d never be able to stay awake to enjoy her son in the morning.
“Luke?” she murmured, trying not to drift off just yet.
“Yeah?”
“Thank you. For bringing me home, for everything.”
Luke started to stroke her back – long, gentle touches that made her body turn to mush.
She had no idea how she’d met him, how she’d ended up with a sexy Navy SEAL in her bed, but she sure as hell wasn’t complaining.
CHAPTER NINE
“So this is goodbye, huh?” Saskia refused to cry. She had no idea how or why she felt the way she did about Luke, when they’d met as strangers on a plane less than two days ago, but she did.
If she didn’t know better, she’d say she was already falling in love with him.
“There’s someone who’ll have my head if I don’t get this truck back today, and you don’t have long left to be with Jack.” Luke closed the distance between them, hands on her elbows, tugging her to his chest.
“This sounds crazy, but I think I’m going to miss you.”
Saskia tilted her face up to look at Luke, loving that he was so tall, that he made her feel small, like he could protect her from anything. Because it felt like she’d been having to protect herself for a long, long time now.
&n
bsp; “It’s not crazy, Saskia,” he said, arms looping around her waist, voice husky. “Not any crazier than me wanting to scoop you up and drag you home with me to San Diego so we don’t have to say goodbye.”
Her laugh was muted by his mouth covering hers. Luke’s lips touched hers, his tongue teasing as he deepened their kiss.
When he finally pulled back, Luke grabbed hold of her and pulled her into a tight hug, wrapping his arms around her so that she was crushed to his chest.
“I can’t give you my location, but I’ll write to you and give you a return address when I can.”
Saskia nodded against him, pulling a folded piece of paper from her back pocket and pushing it into his jeans pocket. “If you change your mind, just tell me. Promise me that.”
Luke shook his head and bent to drop another long, slow kiss to her lips. “The only thing I know for sure right now is that I won’t be changing my mind.”
He brushed his fingers across her shoulder before starting to walk backwards, eyes never leaving hers even as he reached the door.
“I’ll see you at the airport,” he said.
Saskia grinned back. “Yeah, I’ll see you at the airport.”
Luke jumped behind the wheel and gunned the Humvee into life, reversing slowly away from her house as she stood and watched him.
“Luke’s gone?”
Her son’s voice pulled her from her thoughts, made her turn away from the truck driving away from her.
“Yeah, he’s gone,” she told him, walking to the door and slinging her arm around his shoulders.
“He was cool,” Jack said.
“He was definitely cool,” Saskia agreed.
“Mom, can we see him again? When you’re back for good?”
“I sure hope so,” she said, trying to stop thinking about Luke and failing. Because all she could imagine was his mouth on hers again, the kind of homecoming she’d have if Luke was actually waiting for her at the airport when she came home again.
“Can we get ice cream before you go?” Jack asked.
“Honey, we can do whatever you want.”
Right now, she would do anything her son wanted until she had to leave for the airport. The only thing she couldn’t promise was that she wouldn’t be thinking about Luke. A lot.