Life's Next Chapter (8 page)

Opening the back door, I hear
In the End
by Linkin Park blaring throughout the building. “Hello!” I call out, but get no response. “Anyone here?” I shout as I move towards the music. Coming to the last room in the hallway, I see Luke on his hands and knees, grouting the new tile floor.
Fuck Me!
He’s wearing jeans without a shirt. All I register is his perfectly tight ass staring right back at me, picturing what his toned and lean body would look like naked.

I must have been staring too long because Luke turns around and catches me drooling over his ass. “Can I help you?” He’s sitting on his haunches, looking at me with the cutest smirk.

“I was just wondering what you’re doing here so damn early?”

He’s still kneeling, turned slightly away from me, with his ass resting on his heels, and I can only see the left side of his body.

“I couldn’t sleep and I have a ton of work to finish, so I thought I would get an early start. I didn’t wake you or the girls, did I?”

“No, you didn’t wake me, and the girls are at my grandparents. I have to take the horses to Ocala, but I need to do it early, before it gets too hot.” He hasn’t moved, like he is frozen or something. “You okay?” I ask, wondering why he won’t move from the position he is in. He looks embarrassed, almost self-conscious. Don’t know why…I think he looks hot as hell right now.

Ever since the afternoon he told me about his daughter and being in the army, we’ve been dancing around each other, awkward and clumsy, like teenagers with our first crush. Honestly, I’m tired of this game. I want to get my hands on this man.

“Uh, Kate, can you throw me my shirt? It’s in the other room.”

Snapping back to myself, I walk to the other room, wondering what the big deal is. Does he have an ex-girlfriend’s name tattooed across his chest, or a third nipple? What the hell is his issue? I grab the shirt, and yes, I smell it. It smells woodsy and sweaty. It’s amazing.

When I walk back into the room, he’s squatting with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. “Is this it?” I ask. He turns and nods, holding his hand out to grab it. I toss it to him from the doorway, hoping it will fall short and I can watch his muscles ripple as he reaches for it. But, alas, he catches it, and quickly pulls it over his head as he stands up.

He walks over, stopping just shy of touching me, and shoves his hands in his back pockets, shrugging, “Sorry, all your gawking made me a little shy, I guess. Thanks.”

We’re inches apart, and my breathing escalates. My pulse is out of control. His gorgeous green eyes steadily pull me in, like they’re putting me under a spell. I grab the hem of his shirt and pull him closer. “Please, don’t be shy…what don’t you want me to see?”

The muscles in his arms and chest strain as he holds perfectly still. I look up and see the tension in his face. He’s so much taller than me that my eyes are level with his chest muscles, and the way his shirt is pulled tight, I can see every single flutter, and if I look closely, the veins in his neck are pulsating at warp speed. “May I?” I ask, as I slowly pull up his shirt, not bothering to wait for permission. I can hear him hiss, his breathing getting louder. I continue to raise his shirt exposing his lower abs, and as I watch them tighten, I lean down and place my lips on each ripple of muscle. I have no fucking clue what has come over me, maybe it is the blaring music—
Too Close
by Alex Clare—or the loads of pheromones in the air, or that I haven’t been this close to a man in over a year.

Getting bolder I pull his shirt up a little more, noticing the change in color pigmentation on his upper abs. I’m eye to eye with his defined pecks and light brown puckered nipples. “Take it off!” he pleads, freeing his hands from his pockets, allowing me to pull his shirt off. I step back and stare at his perfect body. I’ve never met a man where every muscle is defined. He looks like something an artist would sketch. Sliding my left hand up his tattooed right arm I feel his skin change textures as I reach his shoulder. He flinches as I gently touch his skin, but I keep sliding my hand across his collarbone, down his right peck, and down his rib cage. I touch the different coloration in skin; this part of his skin is so soft. Feeling each rib and the softness of skin covering it, I notice it continues past his jeans. I look up at him, the color in his eyes has changed and his eyes are hooded. He looks as if he’s in pain.

“You’re beautiful, Luke.” I whisper to him. He licks his lips. I want to taste him. Standing on my toes, I grab his neck, and pull him down to me. Our mouths are inches apart. “Please, kiss me.” I mutter the words to him.

Leaning down he softly places his lips to mine. The moment his lips touch mine, volts of electricity run rapidly across my body. My knees go weak. I can feel the wetness starting to pool in my panties. Soon our kisses become hungrier. Luke grabs my thighs and picks me up. I wrap my legs around his waist. He pushes me up against the wall, and we kiss as if this is the last kiss we’ll ever share. Teeth hit, tongues wrestle, and lips are tugged on.

We both pull apart at the same time to catch our breaths. Looking into those sparkling green eyes of his, I see his soul: the soul that’s screaming to be freed and loved. “Don’t hide this from me, you have nothing to be ashamed of. You’re perfect in my eyes,” I say, softly caressing the pigmented skin on his shoulder.

“Kate, you fucking blow me away. If anyone is perfect, it’s you, sunshine.” I smile at his pet name for me. No one has ever given me a pet name. Still in his arms, we kiss, again. This time it’s not rushed. It’s simple kissing and getting to know each other. I could stay in this man’s arms forever. I feel safe and protected in these arms of his.

Drawing away, I ask him to put me down. I’m running late. I still need to load the horses. “I’ve got to go…I’ll see you later.” I mumble the words to him, unable to tear my gaze from his. Putting his shirt back on, he follows me out.

I’m just about to hop into my truck when he asks, “Do you want some company?”

“Sure.” I say, looking at him over the bed of the truck, He runs back into the clinic to put some things away while I pull the truck up to the horse trailer. Getting out, I move to align the hitch to my truck.

“Kate, let me help you.” Luke comes running over to the horse trailer.

“Luke, I’ve been doing this by myself for a long time. I can hitch a trailer.”

“Well, I don’t want you doing things by yourself, anymore. I want to help you.” I just look at him, confused as hell.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Standing tall, he pulls me into him. “It means that the kiss we just shared is only the start. I want more from you, Kate. Dammit, I want a whole lot more from you. And, this,” pointing to the hitch, “will be the last time you do this kind of shit by yourself. Kate, I want you…I want you to be mine. Since the moment I met you, I’ve wanted you to be mine. You’re everything I want and need, and so much more.”

If my jaw could’ve hit the floor, it would have. What do I say to this? This hunk of a man walked into my life a month ago. We’ve talked every day for a month, but not about anything serious, only the project and small talk. Sure, there was heat between us. I think we both knew something was brewing between us. I just didn’t think he wanted ‘this’. I mean…I have baggage. I have two little girls. Yes, he has a daughter, but she’s independent and on her own. Why would he want to back track and be with someone when he’s already done this? I have a piece of shit ex-husband, I work long hours, and I’m a complete mess. The neurons in my brain have died, I can’t think. I just gape at him, as if he is insane.
This
is insane. “Why?” is all I manage to sputter.

“You’re a fantastic vet is one reason. Two, you’re an incredible mom. Three, you’re an amazing woman. Four, you’re fucking gorgeous. Five…do you want me to keep going because we might be here all day.” He makes me laugh. He’s the first man in a long time that’s made me laugh. Being with him these last few weeks made me realize I miss the companionship of a man and laughter to go with it. Oh God, do I miss laughing.

“Luke, I have so much baggage, why on earth would you want to be with someone that has so much to deal with?”

He pulls his shirt up. “You see this…this is fucking baggage, Kate!” But you look at it and see nothing. Just like I look at you and the girls and see happiness. I can see my life being happy with you. Your daughters and my daughter are just icing on the cake. For the love of God, please, be mine. Let’s see where each other’s baggage takes us.”

Grabbing his neck, I pull him down to my lips and kiss him. Damn, he’s such a great kisser; he makes me melt. I lower my hand and slip it under his shirt. I rub my fingers across the burn marks that cover his body. Luke shivers under my fingertips. His eyes have glazed over with lust. I clench my thighs when I feel my nipples harden. Trailing my fingers all over the grooves and creases of his scars, I look up at him with pure lust. “This isn’t baggage, Luke. This is proof of how strong you are, and proof that you’re a fighter. This isn’t baggage; this is honor. For as much as I put myself down, don’t you ever put this,” I pat his shoulder where his burn marks are, “down. You, Luke, are a fucking hero in my eyes. Don’t you
ever
call this baggage,” I command, fiercely.

I don’t know many military men or women personally, but I do know they give their lives for strangers every day. I watch the news; I know how many lives we’ve lost to these wars. To look at Luke and know he was a child when he went into the Army, never knowing this would be his destiny. It amazes me the strength he, and many other men and women, have.

“Now, will you please help me hitch this trailer to my truck while I go grab a horse?” I sweetly ask him, as I walk into the stable and bring Kara out of her stall, loading her in the trailer. Luke brings Mia out, and I guide her into the trailer. It’s supposed to be a hot day, even though it’s fall, and I don’t want the horses to stress out too much because of the heat. My trailer only can hold two horses, so I’m going to have to make multiple trips. The bitch of this is Ocala is an hour and half away.

Luke holds my hand as we drive. He’s easy to talk to. “Where are we taking the horses?”

“A guy I went to college with runs his practice and a horse ranch out here. We’ve stayed in touch through the years, and he was the one that pushed me to board horses, and showed me the ropes. His family owns fifty acres out here, so the horses have tons of room. Plus, he isn’t charging me boarding fees, just food. So, in a way he is contributing to my remodel expenses.”

“What about the owners? How do they feel?” I look down at our entwined fingers. I glance at his thumb, rubbing circles on the top of my hand. Just this simple touch he’s giving me makes me feel cherished. The emotion I’m feeling right now, I’ve never felt. I would’ve never thought the butterflies encasing my stomach would feel so good.

“The owners have known about it for a while. I let them know if they couldn’t find another place to board them for a month, I would take them to a ranch in Ocala. If they wanted to see them, they would have to go to the ranch. Out of the eight horses, four are going with their owners.”

We talk about the practice, my hopes and dreams for it. He tells me about how he became a contractor with the help of Brody. It turned out he enjoyed what he was doing and stuck with it. I ask him about his burns. He tells me about his Humvee being hit. He was the luckiest out of the four men. One lost his life, and the other two lost limbs and were severely burned. He only had the burns on his arm, chest, and stomach. He doesn’t go into detail, but he tells me he was flown to the Army hospital in Landstuhl, Germany where they got him stabilized and prepped for his flight to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. He almost lost his arm. He had to have skin grafts. He spent six months in San Antonio. Six months of hell. “I’d never, ever been in that kind of excruciating pain before. But, I was still lucky, considering many other men and women were burned worse than me,” he softly declares to me.

I hold his hand and return the favor of rubbing small circles on his hand. I change the subject, asking him about his tattoos. Obviously, he got them to cover the scarring and skin grafts. Looking closely, I can see the difference. Yet, it still doesn’t bother me. He was sexy as hell before he showed me his wounds. Like he said, I don’t see it. His shoulder, shoulder blade and upper arm is mostly a tribal tattoo and in between the artwork are dog tags with the names of the men he lost in his unit. He has a bald eagle with a banner that reads
Live Free or Die
below the tribal art on his lower bicep
.
A
skull head with a military helmet on his head with sunglasses over his eyes and under the chin of the skeleton it reads ARMY. That artwork is on top of his forearm. Under his forearm, he also has a pink rose with Danika’s name and date of birth. Under the rose he has her baby footprints. It’s clear each piece of art has meaning to him, besides covering up the scarred canvas.

Every now and then he brings my palm to his lips and trails soft kisses all over it. Luckily the drive to Ocala flies by. We meet Dave at the ranch, and Luke and Dave help me unload the horses. We get them situated in the stalls with fresh food and water. Once we are done, we hop back into the truck and head back home for the second load of horses.

This time on the ride back, Luke is a little quieter. When I ask about it, he shares he hasn’t slept much, that I’ve been occupying his mind at night. Unsure how to respond, I turn my radio to my country station and we listen to the music. Luke holds my hand, and I drive us out of Ocala. Lee Brice’s song
I Drive Your Truck
comes on and I sing along to it. I’ve heard this song a hundred times. A quarter of the way through the song Luke releases my hand. Looking over, I see his fist clench and his jaw tighten
. FUCK!!
I hit the power to the radio and pull off the country road. Not thinking about the trailer I’m towing, the truck swerves at the sudden change in direction.

Once the truck is off the rural road, I put the truck in park and turn towards Luke. “Luke, I’m a fucking moron. I’m so sorry. I wasn’t thinking.” I’m a complete space cadet. I can’t believe I just belted out the words to a song about how a guy copes with his brother’s death from war. I stare at him. His head is leaning against the window, eyes closed, and his breathing is getting more labored. “Luke, please look at me,” whispering to him, I place my hand on his fist. He recoils from my touch.