Page 35 of Her Delta Force Protector

“Depends on who’s doing the tonguing.”

She winked, then walked away, and he laughed as he followed like a puppy wanting her attention. “Come on.” He took her hand. “If you’re done here, let’s take a ride out to the lake for lunch.”

“Oh, what’s that?” She pulled him to the counter with aSpace Candy & Ice Creamsign on the wall behind it. “Two space ice creams and a bag of moon rock candy, please,” she told the woman behind the counter.

“You do know none of that is really from outer space, right?” he whispered into her ear.

She elbowed his stomach. “Hush. I know no such thing.”

They walked outside to eat their ice cream, green mint, which he didn’t care for, but pretended to for her. He was having fun, though, and more importantly, she was having a blast.

It was almost like they were on a date, something he did not do. Ever. Dating was risky. Take a woman out on dates and they started having feelings for you and talked about weddings and babies. That was not something he wanted, not being who and what he was...a man who left for days or weeks at a time with no notice, a man who might never return.

Could he see himself dating a woman like Harper and enjoying his time with her? Yeah, he could. Could he see himself with a wife and some kids? Not even. He was too solitary, needed to spend more time alone than would be fair to a family. He wasn’t husband material, never would be. He didn’t know how to be that kind of man. If he tried, he’d just fuck it up.

“You’re deep in thought there, Ace.”

“I’m wondering how Miss Mabel got this ice cream all the way from Mars without it melting.”

She’d been around his teammates enough to know Ace was his call name, yet his brothers hadn’t known that until recently. Just went to prove how secretive he was, and he didn’t know how to un-be a man who didn’t let himself need anyone.

So, bottom line. Despite how much he wanted Harper, and how much those soft looks she gave him had him wanting to be a man he never could be, he had to keep his mouth off hers and his pants zipped up tight. Today wasn’t a date. It was a day for her, an escape from the fear she’d been living with.

It was simply a friend day because a friend was all he could ever be for her. And if that hurt somewhere deep down in his chest, it was his hurt to bear. Quietly and alone.

“I had a great time today,” Harper said.

Kade was sure he’d had an even better time. “Good.” They were sitting on the back deck keeping an eye on Everly until Parker returned from the firehouse.

He’d purposely put an empty chair between him and Harper so he wouldn’t be tempted to touch her. Swear to God, having her body wrapped around his most of the day, her arms circling his waist, her fingers pressed against his stomach...yeah, torture of the best kind.

The ride to the lake had been beautiful. As they’d cruised along the country road, no other traffic in sight, and as the fall leaves floated around them, she’d leaned against his back and put her mouth next to his ear, and said, “I feel like we’re in a magical land.”

It pleased him that she got it. He loved taking rides on his bike on the country roads, losing himself in the feeling of freedom and the wind on his face. Bikers loved to say that it was the journey, not the destination. A cliché, all that about journeys and freedom, but it was true. He truly felt at peace when he was off by himself on his bike.

Until today, he would have said that he could only achieve that peace and rightness with the world alone, no passenger on the back. He had been wrong. At least where Harper was concerned. He couldn’t imagine enjoying it as much with another woman. And that was his problem.

He’d almost taken her to his lake cabin, his sanctuary from the world. That was how much he’d wanted to share something private that only his family knew about. Simply wanting to do that had surprised him, and not in a good way. He didn’t need to be wanting to make her happy. He couldn’t make her happy.

While Harper’s attention was on Everly and Duke playing in the yard, his eyes were on her. He liked the longer hair and highlights that were new. While in the Army, she’d kept the length even with the bottom of her ears. She’d always been pretty, but the new look added a sexiness to her that hadn’t been there before.

Was he seeing her in a new light? Yes. Did he want her? Hell yes! And because she’d made it clear that she was interested, he wouldn’t hesitate to go for it if it was anyone but her. Harper was his best friend for one, and the last thing he wanted to do was mess that up. For another, she was a girl you put a ring on her finger and gave her babies. He wasn’t pulling that out of the air. Over time, she’d talked about wanting a family. That future dream had included a dog, and Duke had been her first step in getting what she wanted.

Although he’d helped out with Everly, he’d only done so when he was on leave or had squeezed in a few days home here and there. He’d even learned to change her diapers, and he should have gotten a medal for that. But one of his own running around? He just couldn’t see it.

He didn’t plan on putting a ring on anyone’s finger, so to mess around with her was out. It wasn’t that he was against marriage. It was that he would make a shitty husband, and he wasn’t going to make any woman’s life miserable.

“It’s really lovely here,” she said.

You’re lovely. “Yeah. It’s a great place for Everly to grow up.”

“You told me once that your mother dropped you and your brothers here and never came back. Do you know why she did that?”

He shrugged. He’d stopped caring about his parents a long time ago. “Our mother liked to party, and three boys were apparently too much of a burden for a party girl. I was nine when she brought us to her sister’s house. Said she’d be back in a few days. That was the last anyone saw of her.”

“What about your father?”

“He split before Parker was born.” Were those tears in her eyes? “Don’t pity me or my brothers. We’ve done just fine without them.” Better probably. Did he wish they’d been lucky enough to have a mother who hadn’t abandoned them and a father who hadn’t walked away from his responsibilities without a thought to the consequences? Sure. What kid in those circumstances wouldn’t wish for parents who’d loved them enough to stick around? Another thing he’d stopped doing a long time ago...wishing for things that would never be.

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