Page 106 of Protective Heroes

She gulped and looked away from Ren, who must be memorizing her reactions to carry back to his buddy.

His determined buddy.

The one with the great eyes that looked right into her soul.

Shit. She was a goner. “Fine,” she bit off. “Now get out.”

He hopped off the bed. “You’ll meet him.”

“Yes. Leave.” She clipped, keeping it short and sweet.

He gave her a grin and a salute before vanishing through the curtains in a swish of hard male.

When she returned to the man Jessy was tending, she found him sitting up and sipping some sports drink. “Did you send him on to the neurologists?” Jessy asked.

“No, he was faking. I sent him back out into the field.”

Jessy’s eyes popped open wide. “Faking? Are you serious? He was so dazed and muttering gibberish that I was sure he was a wreck and just not displaying the symptoms.”

“It can happen at times. There’s always an anomaly, but not in this case.” She moved closer to her friend, needing to lean on someone and share the message from Lincoln.

She felt shaken and out of her element. She was meeting Lincoln, which was much bigger than agreeing to a drink with Ford. The prospect made her insides flip and little bubbles to float upward. She wanted Lincoln—bad. And he wanted her enough to keep trying.

She pulled Jessy off to the side and filled her in.

“Aren’t you one popular chick. So, what are you going to do?” her friend asked.

“I’m going.” She chewed her lip and then released it. “I’m stupid, aren’t I?”

Jessy shook her head. “Maybe more stupid if you don’t go. I mean, not everyone gets that spark, Allison. Not ever. You can’t just let it slip away without exploring it further.”

Spark was an understatement for what she felt for the man, but she only nodded. “You’re right. It’s exactly what I’m thinking. I just needed to hear it from someone else.”

Three hours later she was standing on the corner waiting for Lincoln. When she looked around and spotted him coming from several hundred yards away, she sucked in a gasp and felt a full body shudder work over her head to toe. Tall and proud, a true soldier. And he was carrying flowers.

Happiness filled her heart and spread through her veins. She’d made the right choice in meeting him, and now she wasn’t going to let anything spoil it. She’d forget about her past for one night and give Lincoln everything she had to give.

Six

When he’d chosen the flowers for Allison, he’d tried to pick a bouquet that matched her beauty. Now he knew that was impossible. What he held in his hand felt like a bunch of dead stems compared to her radiance.

She had her hair down, long and loose around her shoulders, swirling lightly in the breeze. Wearing a short sundress in a beautiful blue color that matched her eyes perfectly, she stunned the breath from him. His cock ready, hard and dripping for a taste of that pureness.

He increased his pace, but found she’d started walking toward him too.

His heart rocketed with happiness. His message had worked, and she was not only here but obviously eager to see him.

As soon as they could see each other’s eyes, they both grinned. The stretch of sidewalk between them seemed infinite, but he kicked it into gear and ran the last few steps to her.

He hovered over her, so close that he could pull her into his arms and kiss her right now. But he hesitated—she might be smiling, but this was also their first date.

“Hi, Allison, baby.” He held out the bouquet to her. Her eyes widened, and she gathered the bunch under her nose, inhaling.

“Thank you, Lincoln. They’re beautiful. You didn’t have to.”

“I know.” But he’d said he’d show her how different he was, and he meant it. He would bring her flowers every day simply trying to find some that matched her beauty. He wanted to shower her in gifts and love. “You don’t know how much I wanted to especially from the look in your eyes. A gift I’ll always treasure.” He stroked the back of his knuckles down her smooth creamy cheek.

Yeah, the tough soldier had finally fallen—hard. He smiled down at her, and she smiled up at him.

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