Protecting Her Heart (Seals Security Book 3) (21 page)

“Watch me.”

“Luke, you can’t be serious? I know that there is something going on with you and Evie but this is getting out of hand. She left over whatever it is and you know it. I’m assuming that you’re sleeping with her and this is her way of ending it. It’s over. Just let it go. You know where she is now and that’s a nice apartment complex with decent security, even if we don’t provide it. We both know all you’re going to do is break her heart if you don’t let her go. You aren’t into commitment and she has that written all over her.” Eric was frowning as he stood beside the chair he’d risen from.

Luke felt the words echo inside him, rebounding off the walls of his mind like a ping pong ball. The words were similar to the ones that he’d been thinking for weeks each time he made love to Evie. Only suddenly hearing Eric say those words made him realize why he couldn’t let Evie go. 

Holy fuck! He was in love with Evie.

It hit him like a ton of bricks and he stood there dumbfounded. He couldn’t move for a moment, even as his mind screamed at him to run like mad. He wanted to deny the feelings inside himself but the rage he’d felt when he knew she had left was too raw for him to manage it. That blistering heat that had burned through him was more about the fact that she hadn’t even said goodbye than the fact that she quit. Evie had left because she felt the same way for him. He knew that was the reason because he remembered the look she’d given him in the elevator the other night after he’d kissed her senseless. He remembered the glistening sadness that had niggled at the back of his mind all weekend. It was part of the reason he’d been so nervous when she hadn’t shown up yesterday morning.

Damn, now he really needed to go get her.

“I’m not letting her go. It’s not
fucking
happening,” Luke muttered to Eric, his eyes meeting the other man’s. Luke was surprised by the sly smile that spread over his friend’s face.

“Damn, I thought you’d never realize you were in love with her. It’s part of why I was a little shocked that you didn’t try to make her stay in the first place. Go get our girl before someone else snaps her up.” Eric shook his head and grinned.

Luke glared back. “She’s not our girl. She’s
mine
and you better stay away from her.”

Eric chuckled. “Damn, dude, I don’t want her for anything other than to make your ass less grouchy and the reports. I can’t function without those because you can’t organize shit and it takes me an hour to figure them out when you do them.”

“You’re just a damned baby. Whiney bitches, both you and Craig,” Luke muttered. Having had enough of this conversation, he opened the door but turned back to bark an order at Eric. “And since my destroyed office is your fault, clean it up while I’m gone.”

“Now wait a damned minute, this isn’t—fuck, where are you going? Get back here,” Eric blurted, his voice following Luke out the door. He grinned at Eric’s stuttered reply and waved jauntily at Nancy, who watched him warily. Damn, he’d have to apologize to her later but at the moment his only thoughts were finding Evie and putting her over his knee to spank her sweet little ass for leaving him. A hard smile split across his face as that thought occurred to him.

Evie
almost jumped out of her skin when someone banged on the door to her apartment five minutes after Rory left. She must have forgotten her keys again and come back for them. Evie shook her head as she grabbed a towel to wrap around her head and headed to the door. She had just taken a shower to get ready to go turn in applications at a few of the firms she’d found openings at. She’d spent most of the morning looking at them and had found four she wanted to apply for.

Rory banged on the door again and Evie shook her head. She must be late again and that was why she was making such a loud ruckus. Why did she always wait till the last possible second to leave? If she’d just leave a few minutes earlier she wouldn’t be at the door having some sort of panic attack right now. Shaking her head, she unlocked the door and pulled it open.

“If you would leave on tim—Luke?” Evie was shocked as she stood frozen in the doorway. She’d expected Rory but what she got instead was Luke. Her palms began to sweat and she sucked in a quick breath, her lips parting. She stared at Luke, her eyes wide, and her brain screamed questions she had no answers for. What the heck was he doing here? Wait, how had he even known to come here? Her thoughts were jumbled and her heart was pounding in her ears as she took in the sexy man who stood before her with a slight frown on his face.

“You didn’t even check to see who was banging on the door, did you?” Luke demanded in a growly tone that she’d heard more than once when he was in a surly mood at work. It snapped her out of her stupor and she glared back at him, her eyes narrowing.

“What are you doing here, Luke?”

“Did you look to see who was banging on the door before you opened this door?” Luke snapped, anger dripping from his tone.

“No, it’s a secured building and I assumed it was Rory,” Evie growled back.

“You should still check to see who it is. Just because it’s a secured building doesn’t mean that whoever is at the door is safe, damn it.” Luke shifted then, moving forward, making Evie step back. Luke had the audacity to step into her apartment and shut the door behind him. Evie watched this is in a shocked sort of silence.

“Again, what are you even doing here? And how did you even find out where I live?” Evie asked, her hands landing on her hips as she glowered at him.

“I work in security so finding you wasn’t hard. As for what I’m doing here, that’s a little more complicated.” Luke frowned and Evie didn’t know what he meant by it being complicated. She waited for him to explain but he just watched her for a long moment silently.

“What?” she finally asked, getting tired of the silent staring.

Luke took another step towards her and she moved back because she couldn’t allow him to touch her. If she did, she knew where they’d end up. It was likely that he was here to try and continue their sexual relationship and she wasn’t going to be able to handle that. She wrapped her arms around herself drinking in the sight of him. She knew she should kick him out, just tell him to leave and forget that he ever showed up here, but she had to know why he was here.

“Evie,” he whispered, his hand reaching out to cup her cheek. She should shove his hand away but she found herself leaning into the hard callused palm instead. Damn, she couldn’t believe how weak she was when it came to Luke. “I missed you.”

Evie closed her eyes tightly. Pulling in a heavy breath, she held it for a long second as his thumb rubbed over her skin. Luke’s lips brushed against hers before he pulled back. She opened her eyes to find him staring down at her intently, an unreadable expression on his face.

“Luke, why are you here?” Evie found herself murmuring as she waited for him to say something.

“You changed your hair,” he said, reaching out to curl a strand around his finger.

“I just went back to my natural color. I was tired of hiding,” Evie said, trying not to scream at his evasion of her question.

“I like it. It suits you but there was never a reason you should hide in the first place.” Luke let go of the strand of her hair and watched her for a long moment before he spoke again. “I didn’t allow you to leave without a word, you know. I didn’t even know you were leaving until you didn’t show up again today,” Luke told her, a frown curling his lips.

“How could you not know? I trained a replacement and you watched me do it,” Evie said, confusion making her brows raise. His finger rubbed along her cheek pressing against her lips and he looked sheepish.

“I thought she was going to help you with the workload. I’d told Laney to get you help if you needed it after I found out you were working late all the time so I assumed that was who you were training.” Luke grinned and Evie let out a little snort of laughter at his explanation. “You should have seen the look on her face a few hours ago when I demanded to know when you were arriving. She looked so confused.”

Evie grinned. She would imagine it had been confusing for Nancy because she thought he already knew about Evie quitting. Evie’s grin widened when she realized the woman must have thought he’d lost his mind or had early onset of Alzheimer’s. Shaking her head, Evie couldn’t contain the laughter that escaped her at the mental picture of a demanding Luke and a confused Nancy.

“I would imagine it was a bit of a shock considering everyone thought you knew I was quitting,” Evie finally managed to say between giggles.

“Ha, that was Eric’s fault,” Luke insisted.

“How is it Eric’s fault?”

“He was the one who put your resignation in the filing backlog on my desk,” Luke explained with a dark scowl on his face. Evie would bet that he’d been angry about that but it explained why he hadn’t asked her to stay, which soothed her pride a little. It had hurt her greatly that he’d ignored her leaving.

Evie snorted. “You mean that pile of files you never let me remove from your desk even when I asked repeatedly to file them for you? That stack of papers?”

“Yes, that stack. If you filed them I wouldn’t have them when I needed them. You know that they’re the files for our monthly contracts,” Luke defended.

“No, they were a stack of files you hardly ever need that you refuse to allow me to file,” Evie insisted. Luke glared down at her, his hand still cupping her cheek.

“No sassing. I came here to talk to you and it’s not my files I want to discuss.” Luke’s eyes darkened to that almost indigo color his eyes turned when he was serious about something. Evie attempted to move back but he followed her, not letting her put space between them.

“Luke, I don’t know what there is to discuss. I decided to find accounting work elsewhere. Deal with it. It’s a moot point now anyway, I’ve already quit and am in the process of finding another job. I don’t want to continue our fling either.” Evie backed up another step and Luke again followed, making her frown. His face was contorted into a darkly sensual look that made her tingle in all the right places even as she lectured her libido to behave.

“It was more than a fling and we both know it, Evie.”

“Luke—” Evie began but he cut her off.

“Wait, just listen, okay. I have some things I need to say.” He looked so intent that Evie found herself nodding.

“When you first showed up, I was obsessed. I couldn’t keep my mind off you and those button up shirts you wore, they made me insanely horny—”

“Luke,” Evie tried to interrupt but he talked over her.

“It was constant, the need I had to see you or to just be around you and I didn’t understand why. I’ve never had luck with relationships, they always end badly for me. It was a fact I’d come to accept which is why I didn’t realize what was happening.  I finally gave in when we were in Texas even as I told myself it was a bad idea, that it would end in disaster and very likely a lawsuit.” Luke paused and his hands cupped her shoulders as he gazed deeply into her eyes.

Evie felt her heart rate pick up from the look he was giving her. She couldn’t understand what he wanted to tell her but she felt somewhere deep inside herself that it was important she let him finish. Even as her brain cried out not to allow him the chance to speak, she pushed aside those protests and waited for him to continue.

“When I woke the next morning I panicked. I was sure you were going to flip out. Only when you finally came out of your room when the car arrived you didn’t even speak to me. At the airport you asked if you had time to grab something to eat and I said yes, still expecting some type of reaction from you. All I got was a nod and you disappeared into the coffee shop. I was dumbfounded. I couldn’t understand what the hell was going on. I kept asking myself if I’d dreamed our night together but the next morning you took the words I have tossed at countless women and threw them back at me. I was beyond angry over that little speech you gave me and suddenly determined to have you in my bed again.” Luke now had a wicked grin on his face and Evie couldn’t help the way she leaned towards him. Luke pulled her closer and she wanted to protest but she couldn’t speak around the lump in her throat.

“When that asshole insulted you in my office, I was beyond furious. I had a visceral need to protect you that I didn’t understand at the time. It was stronger than anything I had ever felt and it almost scared me to death. Once we had sex again I couldn’t let you go. You were in my blood and I couldn’t get enough no matter how much I touched you. Still can’t.” Luke stopped again, pausing so long that Evie couldn’t take the suspense.  She could tell there was more he wanted to say and she just wanted him to spit it out while she was still strong enough to kick him out. She needed to do that in order to keep her heart intact.

“Luke, what are you saying? Just spit it out already,” she finally commanded, her nerves getting the best of her.

“Don’t you already know, Evie?” Luke asked, making her frown because she really didn’t know what he was saying. Evie shook her head.

“No, I really don’t. I get that you wanted me and likely still do but I just can’t continue a sexual relationship with you. I’m not built for that sort of thing, Luke. I’m not the type to be able to handle a purely sexual relationship with a man.”

“Oh, Evie, sweetheart. I can’t believe you don’t see it. That you don’t know,” Luke said leaning closer, his lips hovering just above hers. “I’m in love with you, baby. I have been since almost the day I met you, I just couldn’t admit it to myself because I’d been hurt in the past. I wanted this to be a fling because then I didn’t have to risk anything.”

“You—you love me?” Evie asked, her heart bursting with joy at the words he’d just uttered. Tears were silently falling from her eyes as she looked up at his face hovering inches from hers.

“Of course I do. Was there ever any doubt?” Luke asked before his lips crashed onto hers and he was suddenly devouring her before she could even say that she loved him back.

Her heart was pumping so hard she felt faint and her hands clung to his shoulders as she attempted to contain her excitement. All she could think as his tongue thrust into her mouth tangling with hers was the fact that
Luke loved her back
. He continued his assault on her and she moaned, her body becoming liquid as she pressed into him. Evie almost felt as if she were in a daze because Luke being in love with her was like a dream come true. Luke kissed his way across her face to her neck nipping at her skin gently as he went. He shoved her robe aside a little kissing across her collarbone.

“Do you forgive me?” Luke asked and Evie couldn’t manage to think clearly enough to figure out what he meant by that question.

“For what?”

“For being an idiot and almost letting you get away from me,” Luke said with a little chuckle. His hands cupped her hips as he pressed his hardened cock against her belly.

Evie stared into his blue-green eyes for a long moment before her brain kicked in and she managed to reply, “Only if you promise not to be an idiot again.”

Luke threw his head back and guffawed before shaking his head and leaning towards her pressing his forehead into hers.

“Oh Evie, what am I going to do with you? You’re going to keep me on my toes, aren’t you?” Luke smiled and Evie let one curl her lips too because she suddenly felt all the agonizing worry slip away and the knots that had been in her stomach despite her new-found confidence uncurled.

“Of course. Someone has too.”

Luke laughed again before his mouth took hers again and he was kissing her passionately. Evie let out a little moan and her hands rose to hold onto his shoulders pulling him to her. Luke untied her robe and she felt him slide it off her shoulders, hearing the light thump it made when it hit the floor. He lifted her up into his arms in a fireman’s carry and she let out a startled shriek, clinging to his neck.

“So which room is yours?” he asked as he carried her into the hall headed to the bedrooms.

“I don’t know that I said it was okay for you to have your way with me so why should I tell you?” Evie teased, a lighthearted grin on her face as she looked up at him.

“Hmm, then I’ll just take you to the first room I find and convince you,” Luke growled back, stopping in front of Rory’s door. He juggled her a little reaching for the door handle and she realized he was serious.

“Wait, it’s the next one.”

“Ha, I knew that would work,” Luke said with a little chuckle and headed to her room.