The Navy Seal's Promise (5 page)

Luke chuckled. “And then you came along?”

“Yeah, then I came along.” Saskia laughed, just like she always did when
she thought about the way she’d announced to her dad as a ten year old that she
was going to join the Army. “Don’t get me wrong, my dad is awesome, but I just
don’t think it had ever crossed his mind that his pink-loving little girl would
decide to follow in his footsteps. And when mom never managed to get pregnant
again, he probably thought his dream was over.”

Saskia played with the edge of her sweater, wishing she was with her
parents right now, sharing a loud, boisterous Christmas morning with them.

“So how did he take the news?” Luke asked.

“Honestly? I think he was probably expecting me to change my mind by the
time I grew up, but after a few years in college I went back to what I’d always
said I wanted to do. And that was to serve my country and make my daddy proud.”

She studied Luke’s face, watching for his reaction. A slow smile spread
across his face. “And what did he think when you did it? When you enlisted?”

The memory made her choke up a little. “He told me it was the happiest
day of his life.” And he’d meant it. She’d seen it shining in his eyes. “My mom
didn’t share his enthusiasm, but dad has been my number one supporter from the beginning.”

She stared out into the white, thinking about her dad. About how lucky
she was that her parents were caring for her son.

“And you’re definitely retiring from the Army after this tour?”

Luke’s voice coaxed her from her thoughts. “Yeah. I feel like I’ve done
my duty, and I need to be there for Jack. He’s everything to me, and he doesn’t
deserve to grow up without a dad and worried his mom might not make it home.”

“Sounds like you’ve worked out your priorities,” he said. “When he’s
older he’ll be proud of you, don’t you forget that.”

Saskia nodded. She hoped so. “And what about you? How did you end up
being a Navy SEAL?”

Luke drummed his fingers on the wheel, moving his head slightly from side
to side. “I guess I just wanted to do something different.”

“Fair enough.”

“I joined the Navy and loved it, then I kept on working towards the next
level, knowing I wanted to be the best.”

He paused as if trying to decide what else to share. Whether to keep
going or not. She knew he had more to say, but she didn’t want to ask.

“It’s a hard life when you have a family,” she said instead of
questioning him. “Before I had my son I never would have thought of retiring
until I had to, but now? It’s completely different. He’s changed everything.”

Luke was nodding. “It was the same when I met my wife,” he explained. “I
still loved what I did, but leaving her was so hard.”

Saskia watched him, the way he was clenching and unclenching his jaw. She
didn’t press and let the not-uncomfortable silence sit between them for a
moment.

“When I couldn’t get home in time to say goodbye to her I was so resentful,
but then once she was gone?” He shook his head. “What the hell would I have
done if I wasn’t a SEAL? It kept me busy, on the move, not giving a fuck about
the risks I took because I had no one to give a damn about me anyway.”

She grimaced at the thought of how alone he must have felt. Because even
when she’d been at her lowest point, when her husband had left, she’d had
someone
.
She’d never been alone, had always known that she was loved by her family, and
most importantly that she had to survive to get home for her little man.

“How about now?” she asked him.

Luke pushed his head back against the headrest and let out a long sigh.
“Now?”

She waited, wishing she could say something,
anything
, to make him
realize he wasn’t alone. But the truth was that she couldn’t, because maybe he
was right. Her problem was that she didn’t want it to be true, and she’d do
anything to wrap him up and bring him into her world, to change the way he
felt.

Because she liked him.
She liked the man because he was honest,
and because he gave a damn.

“Right now the most important thing in my life is getting you home to
your family. One mission at a time.”

“Someone does give a damn about you, Luke,” she told him quietly,
intently. Wanting him to believe it.

“You reckon?”

“Me,” she said, staring straight at him. “I give a damn because you’re
the only person who could have gotten me into this vehicle and on the road, and
that means I’ll give a damn about you for the rest of my life, regardless of
whether we ever actually make it to my place or not in this crappy weather.”

Luke laughed. He actually burst out laughing, and it made her smile.

“Thanks,” he said.

“For what?”

“If you hadn’t fallen asleep on me on the plane, I’d have been glaring at
every sign of Christmas like the Grinch.”

“And now?” she asked, swallowing what felt like a stone in her throat.

“Now I’m almost warming to the idea of seeing your family’s Christmas
tree.”

Saskia was struggling to keep her eyes off Luke. Or stop thinking about
him. Or wondering how the hell she’d ended up with him escorting her home.

She bit down on her lip, pain resurfacing when she thought about what
home
meant. Because she knew how excited Jack had been about her coming home – he’d been
marking the days off his calendar, just like she had. And all that talk earlier
about why she’d joined the military in the first place, of leaving her son, was
still bothering her.

“You doing okay there?”

Luke’s deep voice made her look up. He was glancing over at her, eyes
darting between her face and the road.

“Yeah,” she said, but even pretending was an effort.

“Thinking about your son?” he asked.

“How did you guess?”

He just smiled. “Would you mind passing me some water? I have a bottle in
my bag.”

She unzipped his overnight bag and pulled out the bottle, unscrewing the
top before passing it to him.

“You know, I spoke to him just before I boarded the plane,” Saskia told
Luke, watching as he guzzled the water, Adam’s apple bobbing, lips parted. She
tried to look away and couldn’t. “He said he was more excited about me coming
home than Santa coming down the chimney.”

Luke passed the water back to her and she resealed it and sipped from her
own.  

“Sounds like that kid already knows how to work his mama.”

“Yeah,” she said, laughing back at him. “Yeah, maybe he does.”

“And his dad?” Luke asked. “You said he isn’t around anymore.”

“Jack is the most incredible kid, and not a day goes by that I don’t
wonder why his dad can’t see that.” She sighed. “He left a couple of years ago,
moved to California for a new job, and he’s better known for sending birthday
cards than he is for ever showing up to see his son.”

Luke touched her thigh lightly, reaching over, and she could feel the
warmth right through her jeans. “You know you deserve way better than that, don’t
you?” he asked.

Saskia’s heart was beating so loud it was echoing in her head. “He’d like
me to think otherwise.”

She tried not to frown as Luke withdrew his hand, because there was
something about him touching her that made her think all sorts of things that
she was out of practice at thinking about.

“Well, know so. If you say Jack’s a great kid, then I’ll put money on it
that he is. And you?” Their eyes met before he looked back at the road, hands
visibly gripping the wheel tighter than before. “You deserve a man who’d never
even think of walking out on you, let alone do it.”

The air between them had changed, like it had gone from a settled sunny
afternoon to a storm brewing low in the sky.

“Luke?”

He raised his eyebrows but didn’t look at her again, the snowflakes
suddenly falling with more insistence on the windshield, making it hard for him
to see.

“Shit, hold on.”

She did as she was told, obeying Luke’s command. “How the hell can you
see through that?” she asked.

He grimaced, she could see the tightness in his face that hadn’t been
there before.

“I can’t, but I need to find somewhere safe to pull over.”

Her heart dropped. They weren’t even half way there and the storm was
coming in so bad she was starting to think they could be snowed in for the rest
of the day. Or worse.

Luke had slowed the vehicle to a crawl, but now they came to a dead stop.
He opened his door and jumped out before she could protest, disappearing into
the whiteout without a jacket on. She sat and waited until he eventually leaped
back in the truck and slammed the door.

“Luke you must be frozen.” She unbuckled herself and reached out to him,
hand hovering before closing over his arm as he blew on his fingers.

Luke stayed still, his body no longer shivering like it had been when
he’d stepped back in. She hesitated, stayed still, wondering if she’d done
something wrong.

“I don’t think we’ll be going anywhere for a while,” Luke told her, his
voice husky and low, turning away only to flick the hazard lights on.

Saskia swallowed then nodded. “Okay.”

They both stayed still, staring at one another. Until Luke reached out a
hand, broke the silence and stillness and reached for her, his palm cupping her
cheek. “I will get you home, Saskia. No matter what happens, I promise.”

She gulped again, not able to break their gaze, staring into the depths
of Luke’s dark chocolate eyes like a spider trapped in its own web. Saskia
didn’t answer him, just slowly nodded. He still hadn’t moved his hand, and it
was no longer cool, warming up from its connection with her skin.

It seemed like she wasn’t breathing, like she couldn’t have breathed if
she tried, as if there wasn’t enough oxygen to even make it possible. Until
Luke moved closer to her, his mouth hovering over hers, and suddenly all she
could do was suck back short bursts of air.  

“Saskia…” As he murmured she leaned closer, couldn’t help herself.

But it was Luke who kissed
her
. His lips grazed hers so gently, so
carefully, that she thought she’d imagined it. She reached her hands up, cupped
his face with one, mirroring his action, and clutched at his shoulder with the
other. A shiver licked its way down her spine, made her lean closer into him,
and Luke didn’t need any further encouragement.

“Hey,” he suddenly said, pulling back slightly and looking down at her.

“Hey,” she whispered back a little shyly.

They stared at one another again, like they had before. Not saying a
word, but Saskia’s mind was racing. Was she actually doing this? Making out
with a guy she’d known for less than 24 hours, and ready to rip her clothes off
if it meant staying close to him?

“We might be stuck here for awhile,” he said, voice low as he glanced out
the window. They were surrounded by white. “Maybe quite a while.”

Luke cleared his throat, but Saskia didn’t miss the silent message he was
sending her. His eyes flickered past her, only for a second, but not fast
enough for her not to keep up.

She glanced over her shoulder, made certain there was nothing else there,
that he was
actually
thinking what she was. That he was trying his best
not to look at her for the very same reason – because if they did… Saskia
gulped.  

Luke’s eyes said it all. They were inquisitive, mesmerizing…
hungry
.
And her fingers were itching to touch his face again, her lips tingling, ready
to be covered by his.

She was having that problem with not getting enough air again.
Because
she wasn’t this kind of girl. She’d never had a one-night stand, never done
anything reckless with a man before, never done anything risqué in her personal
life. Not
ever.

Screw it
.

Saskia flicked her tongue over her lips, nervously moistening them,
before closing the distance between Luke’s body and hers. She leaned in closer,
kissed him full on the mouth, and pushed back his shoulders as she landed in
his lap, straddling him.

She’d flown halfway across the world for a 48 hour trip home, and she was
damned if she was going to waste it. She might not be able to make it to where
she was supposed to be going, but she sure as hell could make getting stuck in
the snow an experience she’d never forget.

Luke didn’t know whether to grab hold of Saskia and take what he wanted
or push her back gently to her seat with regret. It wasn’t like he hadn’t been
thinking about doing bad, bad things to her, but… he didn’t want to take
advantage of her either.

Fuck it
. He ignored the voice of reason in his mind and went with
what his body wanted. What he
wanted
was to throw her in the back and
enjoy the whiteout with her in his arms, preferably with no clothes on. And if
she was game, so he was he.

They were consenting adults
. And that meant he wasn’t taking
advantage of her if she wanted it too. She’d been the one to climb into his
lap, after all.
And who was he to ignore the request of a woman?

Saskia moaned as he caught her bottom lip between his teeth, drawing her
in deeper for another kiss, and then another. It was as if she’d heard his
thoughts, was telling him it was okay. His hands fell into place on her hips,
held her there, palms pushed against the curve of her body. He skimmed them
down over her butt, down the curve of her thigh that he could reach, and then
back up to her hips again.
Damn
.

Luke snaked his hands up to her waist and then to her stomach, pushed at
her top, desperate to feel her skin, to get rid of the fabric keeping them
apart. She gasped, pulling back from him, eyes staring straight into his, all
remnants of her blushing cheeks long gone.

Now, her hair was falling out from her ponytail, her lips were plump,
pillowy, and her eyes had a wildness to them that made him tug her forward.