A.C. Arthur - One Unforgettable Kiss

“I don’t know,” he answered finally. “This wasn’t a planned trip, but I’ve got a lot of thinking to do about that stuff you sent me, so I’m going to take my time with that.”

“Is that okay with your commander?” Gray asked. “Gen and I have been talking about how hard you work and how you’re rising in the ranks. You sure you can be away now?”

Garrek paused and lifted his head to look at Gray, who was now standing on the other side of the island.

“Yeah, it’s cool. I just want to take care of a few things before accepting my next post.”

Gray stared at him for a few seconds before nodding. “Well, like I said, you’re welcome to stay here.”

When Garrek opened his mouth to reply, Gray held up both hands.

“But it’s cool if you don’t. I understand. It wasn’t easy for me when I first came back here, either. I do, however, want you to come over for Sunday dinners and to spend time with us. We’re family, Garrek. I know we haven’t acted like it in the last ten years, but I think it’s past time we started living up to what Mom always wanted.”

Olivia had been proud of Garrek when he’d decided to enroll in the Naval Academy. She’d visited him in Annapolis and beamed at him in his dress uniform. Garrek could still hear the last words she’d spoken to him that day at the airport.

You’re going to be a fine pilot and an extraordinary man, Garrek. I know it here in my heart.

The memory almost brought tears to his eyes as Garrek thought about the past few weeks and how the choices he’d made would have been such a letdown to his mother.

“Ah, I will,” Garrek said and cleared his throat. “I’m going to head back to the B&B now. I’ll catch up with you later.”

He moved quickly, afraid that if he had to stand in that charming kitchen staring at his brother, now a father and a husband, a moment longer, he would crack. He did not want to break down, and least of all in front of Gray. So Garrek moved quickly out of the house, so fast that he almost stepped off the curb before spotting the tractor-trailer speeding down the street.

He did, however, look up in enough time to see that Harper was carrying two huge bags of something over her shoulder in a way that blocked her view of the tractor-trailer and its fast trek toward her. Garrek ran into the street and pushed Harper out of the way. They landed on the other side of the street, the bags going one way, Harper flat on her back and Garrek on top of her.

Time seemed to stand still. Everything and everyone around them also disappeared. Or rather, Garrek tuned it all out as he looked down at her. Yes, her body was soft and his was definitely responding quickly to the new physical arrangement. But it was her eyes that reached out and grabbed him, holding every part of his body completely still. It was fear, stark and bold in the depths of her eyes. He couldn’t look away. Not from the orbs that resembled drops of root beer.

“I’m okay now,” she said in a breathy whisper.

She pushed at him, her palms moving between them to flatten on his chest. The blood that had been pooling in his groin heated, and his erection pressed painfully against the zipper of his jeans.

“Garrek,” she started once more.

He liked the sound of his name on her lips and dragged his gaze from her eyes to watch her lips move. Bare lips that were shaped like those of the heavily made-up women he saw in magazine ads. Her nose was long, straight and peppered with freckles. It wasn’t a usual feature he saw on women, but damn, on her it was more than a little arousing.

“What happened?” a male voice asked.

“Are you all right, Harper?” came another.

It was then that Garrek realized a few things. One, they were not alone, and two, he was still on top of her. And he was enjoying being on top of her, much more than he ever would have anticipated.

“I’m okay,” she said and pushed at him hard enough this time that he moved.

As he came to stand, Garrek took her by both hands and helped her up. When she was standing, she immediately pulled her hands from his grip.

“What the hell was that?” A tall guy dressed in cargo pants and a T-shirt came over to move between Garrek and Harper. “Are you all right?”

“I’m good,” Harper told him, but he didn’t seem convinced. “Really, Marlon, I’m okay.”

Garrek looked at the guy differently now. At first he’d been wondering if it were her boyfriend or something like that. But he remembered hearing her say the name before, and Morgan saying that Marlon and Craig were her cousins who worked for her. So he relaxed a little when he replied, “A tractor-trailer going way too fast in this residential area.”

Marlon turned to stare at him. He was a young guy, maybe midtwenties, with a bush of curly dark hair and a beard.

“And you are?” Marlon asked.

Garrek extended his hand and answered, “I’m Garrek Taylor.”

It wasn’t until he said Taylor that Marlon’s stance eased and he shook Garrek’s hand. Garrek could totally understand protective cousins.

“We need to get back to work,” Harper said, and the others who had gathered around them began to scatter.

Garrek didn’t move, and neither did Marlon.

“Thanks, Garrek,” she said as she looked over to him. “I should have been paying more attention.”

After that Harper walked away with Marlon following her. Garrek figured the guy still wasn’t a hundred percent certain about him. Perhaps because of the way he’d been lying comfortably—or at least pleasurably—on top of Harper. But Garrek wasn’t concerned with Marlon or his perception of him at the moment. He was mesmerized, once again, by the way Harper’s jeans fit her and how her long legs carried her gracefully across the street. When she squatted to pick up one of the bags she’d been carrying, Garrek continued to watch her, noting the strength in her arms and the independence in her spirit as she refused Marlon’s help.

He stared at her for much longer than was probably proper, and when he finally decided to turn away and started walking down the street, he was still thinking of her. With everything else he had going on in his life, the very last thing he needed was to have another woman on his mind. But she was there, her face apparently permanently etched in his mind, the feel of her beneath him emblazoned on his body. Even the air he breathed seemed to smell just like her—an earthy, floral mixture that was driving him crazy.

When he finally arrived at the B&B Garrek went straight to his room and dropped down into a chair. He ran his hands over his face and shook his head in an attempt to erase the current thoughts. Harper Presley was not what Garrek needed to be thinking about right now. He already had one woman wreaking havoc in his life. He definitely did not need another one.

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