The Protective Warrior (Navy SEAL Romances)
Page 15
Seconds later, she heard his bike approaching. Shoot. She increased her pace, but it was dumb to imagine a runner could outpace a bike. If she was going uphill then she might stand a chance, but this part of the trail was pretty level.
The biker stayed right behind her as she flew over the trail, ignoring him. Within a few minutes she was panting for air. She made a split decision and dodged off to the side of the trail, gestured for him to go past, and yelled, “Bike on through, oh high and mighty one!”
The man slammed on his brakes and pulled level with her. His helmet and sunglasses were back on so she couldn’t read his expression, but that attractive—scratch that, infuriating—smirk and dimple were in place. “High and mighty one?”
“All you bikers think you’re superior or something,” she huffed out. “I’ll have you know I’ve done both, and running is a million times more miserable. I mean, challenging.”
He took off the sunglasses, and she was happy to see those teal-colored eyes again. No, she was happy she could tell what he was thinking more easily. “I’d agree with miserable. Why don’t you bike, then?”
“None of your beeswax, dude. Move along.” She shooed him with her hands.
His smirk turned into an all-out grin. “I’m sorry, but I need to make sure you get home safe, seeing how I caused your injury and all.”
Summer planted her hands on her hips. She’d protected herself from handsome men in more countries than this yahoo knew decorated the world map. “Listen, buddy. I’ve got Mace and I am very proficient at using it.”
His eyebrows shot up again and he raised his hands. “Whoa. I’m not, no, I wouldn’t try to … do anything.”
“And I’m going to take the strange man’s word for that? I forgave you for knocking me down, but you try and follow me home, and you’ll see this tough woman kick your well-formed butt. Comprende?”
He laughed at her again, but quickly wiped the mirth off his face when she whipped her pepper spray out of her pocket. “Hey. Okay. I just wanted to make sure you’re all right. My mother taught me to be a gentleman.”
“Big claim, preppy boy.”
“Being a gentleman?”
“For sure. Every guy claims they’re a gentleman until they get a chance to take advantage when a woman’s alone and they think she’s defenseless.”
“Sheesh.” He clung to his handlebars. “Defensive much?”
“You have no idea.” She raised the spray. “Now are you moving, or am I leaving you in a cloud of this?”
He shook his head and stood his ground. Hmm. He was a brave one, she’d give him that. “You go,” he said. “I’ll follow at a safe distance to make sure you get safely out of the woods. I promise I won’t follow you home.”
Summer took a deep breath and nodded. She was being a tad bit overcautious. He hadn’t really given off any vibes that he would hurt her, but she’d wised up over the last couple of years. She used to trust and have fun kissing any handsome man that came along, but she’d learned a woman needed to be wary and always have ways to protect herself. Luckily, she’d been able to protect herself, find help, or escape when the need arose.
“Thanks,” she muttered. She pocketed her pepper spray and took off running again, keeping a decent pace, and trying to ignore the fact that he was behind her. Several uncomfortable miles later, she exited the trees and could see the town of Crested Butte and the beautiful valley spread out below her. She’d completely missed any amazing views she was supposed to see on the run. Dang that man’s good-looking face.
She went off the side of the trail and gestured him through again. The man stopped. What? Did he want her to thank him or something?
“Sorry about running you off the trail,” he said.
“It’s under the bridge,” she muttered.
He took off his sunglasses and his eyes swept over her face. She self-consciously touched one of the scratches that was stinging from her sweat. “You sure you’re okay?”
“I’m tougher than a few twigs,” she said.
“I can see that.” He smiled. “Could I … see you again sometime?”
Summer’s eyes widened. He was definitely hitting on her now. With his looks—and his money train, from the fact that his bike and gear were top-of-the-line—he could probably snag any woman he blessed with a second glance of those ocean-colored eyes. Unfortunately for him, she’d been through her share of handsome men and she was on a siesta. Her friends from Camp Wallakee would never believe it, but it was time. She needed to figure out how to be successful as Summer, not as some dude’s arm candy. Especially now that her own money train had been derailed.
“Um, no.” She smiled at him. “But thanks for asking. Try again later.” She tossed him another sassy look and ran off down the trail.
He pedaled up behind her. “How much later?” he asked to her back.
“You’re a tourist, I assume?” She loved pretending she was a local, having lived here all of two weeks.
“Maybe.”
“In town for a week?”
“Maybe.”
“Try again in two weeks, then.” She laughed to herself and took off running. If he wanted to stay behind her, that was his problem, not hers.
“I will,” he called to her back.
Summer shook her head and kept her pace up, even though she wanted to walk more than anything in the world. The trail went for another mile, and when it ended she turned onto the road that ran down past Mt. Crested Butte and into town. The guy kept a safe distance behind her on the trail, but when she hit the road he was gone. She glanced back and saw him stopped next to a Land Rover with another Yeti mountain bike already mounted on the back rack. Yep, the guy definitely had money. He turned her way and lifted a hand. She swung her eyes forward and raced down the road. It was tragic that she’d never see him again, but probably for the best. The new Summer wasn’t going to rely on anybody, especially not on a fine-looking rich dude. If only she knew how she was going to accomplish it.
Read more or buy here.
Also Available by Cami Checketts
How to Love a Dog’s Best Friend
The Resilient One: Billionaire Bride Pact Romance
The Feisty One: Billionaire Bride Pact Romance
Shadows in the Curtain: Destination Billionaire Romance
Caribbean Rescue: Destination Billionaire Romance
Cozumel Escape: Destination Billionaire Romance
Rescued by Love: Park City Firefighter Romance
The Resilient One: Billionaire Bride Pact Romance
The Feisty One: Billionaire Bride Pact Romance
The Independent One: Billionaire Bride Pact Romance
The Protective One: Billionaire Bride Pact Romance
The Faithful One: Billionaire Bride Pact Romance
The Daring One: Billionaire Bride Pact Romance
Pass Interference: A Last Play Romance
Oh, Come On, Be Faithful
Shadows in the Curtain: Destination Billionaire Romance
Caribbean Rescue: Destination Billionaire Romance
Cozumel Escape: Destination Billionaire Romance
Protect This
Blog This
Redeem This
The Broken Path
Dead Running
Dying to Run
Full Court Devotion: Christmas in Snow Valley
A Touch of Love: Summer in Snow Valley
Running from the Cowboy: Spring in Snow Valley
Light in Your Eyes: Winter in Snow Valley
Christmas Makeover: Echo Ridge Romance
The Fourth of July
Poison Me
The Colony
Protect This
Blog This
Redeem This
The Broken Path
Dead Running
Dying to Run
Full Court Devotion: Christmas in Snow Valley
A Touch of Love: Summer in Snow Valley
Running from the Cowboy: Spring in Snow Vall
ey
The Fourth of July
Poison Me
The Colony
About the Author
Cami is a part-time author, part-time exercise consultant, part-time housekeeper, full-time wife, and overtime mother of four adorable boys. Sleep and relaxation are fond memories. She’s never been happier.
Sign up for Cami’s newsletter to receive a free ebook copy of The Resilient One: A Billionaire Bride Pact Romance and information about new releases, discounts, and promotions here.
If you enjoyed The Protective One, please consider posting a review on Amazon, Goodreads, or your personal blog. Thank you for helping to spread the word.
For more information
@camichecketts
CamiCheckettsAuthor
www.camichecketts.com
Excerpt from The Adventurous One: A Billionaire Bride Pact Romance by Jeanette Lewis
“What’s ahead for you?” Taylor asked as they sat on the restaurant patio with sandwiches and salads. They were at a small round table and had pulled their chairs so close they were almost touching. The sun was warm on their faces and a small breeze ruffled their hair. Taylor thought of the skydiving and wanted to go back.
Lane picked at his pasta salad with his fork. “I don’t know. Same old, same old I guess. Work. What about you?”
Her face fell. “I’m not sure. I mean, I submit my travel plans to my editor a year in advance, so I guess I’ll be picking up where I left off in my schedule when I leave here. I just ...” She trailed off, unsure how to phrase it.
“You’re wondering what’s ahead for us?” he asked softly.
Heart in her throat, she nodded. The differences between this day with Lane and the day on the boat with Brent were stark in her mind. No guilt, no harsh words, no second guessing, no nerves—except for the good kind. Just being with him, just looking at him, sent thrills shooting through her core and goosebumps parading up her arms. It was embarrassing, really, though if he’d noticed, he hadn’t commented.
Lane put his fork down and reached for her hand. His fingers closed around hers, warm and strong. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “I really like you. No, scratch that, I more than like you.”
Taylor gave up all pretense of playing it cool. “I more than like you too,” she whispered.
He flashed her a smile, then he was leaning toward her and she was leaning toward him. There was a moment, right before she closed her eyes, when she could see the flecks of gold in his hazel eyes, the fringe of lashes around them. He smelled clean and soapy and faintly like pine trees. Then her eyes fluttered closed and his lips brushed hers, warm and soft.
She didn’t remember dropping her fork, but suddenly her hands were free, sliding up the warm contours of his arms, over his muscular shoulders, and into the thick hair at the back of his head. Heat and longing exploded through her body as she wound her fingers into his hair as his mouth claimed hers. He tasted like cola and salad dressing, like spending a lazy summer day in a hammock, like swimming in a warm hot springs, like freedom and passion and love.
Lane’s arms were around her, one clamped at her waist, the other at the back of neck, guiding her head so their mouths moved in sync.
“Get a room!” Someone hollered, another diner on the patio, and they broke apart. For a moment they stared at each other, unsure whether to be embarrassed by so much PDA, but then Taylor giggled. She didn’t care.
Lane laughed. “Sorry about that,” he called to the person who yelled. “Can you blame me though?”
The man chuckled, shaking his head, and went back to his lunch.
“Wow,” Lane leaned forward, resting his forehead against Taylor’s. “Can we do that again?”
She couldn’t quite catch her breath. “Come with me,” she whispered, before she could think.
His eyes grew big. “What do you mean?”
It was pure impulse, brought on by desire and raging hormones, but more than that, the knowledge that this was what she’d wanted from the moment she’d seen him again. She wanted to explore the world with this man at her side. “No expectations,” she added quickly, seeing the confusion in his eyes. “We’d get separate rooms, like when Summer and I travel with her boyfriends. I just ... I think it would be really fun to have you along, and I think you’d like it. It could be the way it was, at the outdoor club, the two of us, together. I want you to come, need you to come ... need you,” she finished shakily.
He ran one hand down the curve of her cheek and sat back. “What’s your next trip?” He asked.
“I cut my trip to Mexico short to come help with Grandma, so I have a couple more weeks free, but then in August, I start the Appalachian Trail.” The thought of having Lane along turned it from an exciting hike into a magical adventure.
“The Appalachian Trail is over two thousand miles long,” Lane said. “You’re hiking all of it?”
“Not the whole thing,” she said. “I haven’t finalized my route yet, but I’m planning to be in New England by autumn to see the leaves. Depending on how much longer Grandma needs me, I might start there and work my way south. What do you think?”
She’d thought it would be exactly like the kind of thing Lane would love. But his face fell and he stared past her at their reflection in the restaurant windows. “Yeah, sounds great,” he said slowly. “If I could walk more than a mile without needing to rest. Or if I could even get up an incline as steep as a dopey bridge in a city park.”
“So that’s where my friend comes in,” Taylor urged. “She can help you get the equipment you need so you can do that kind of stuff, don’t you see?” Her palms were clammy—please let him say yes. Please let him see this was possible.
But Lane shook his head and poked at his salad again with his fork. “I can’t,” he muttered. “I can’t take charity.”
Taylor groaned in frustration. “Will you shelve your silly pride for a few minutes,” she urged.
It was the wrong thing to say. Lane’s head shot up and his eyes turned cold. “My pride is what got me through,” he said quietly. “It’s about the only thing I have left.”
“But it doesn’t have to be that way,” she said, on a roll now that she couldn’t stop, didn’t want to stop. “You don’t have to just accept this is the way your life is now, there are still lots of things you could be doing, lots of adventures you could be having, if you’ll let yourself.”
“I’ll get there, Taylor,” he said firmly. “But on my own terms.”
She shook her head, tears brimming in her eyes. “No you won’t. You’ll go on working in your stupid little office and struggling along and never doing anything you’ve dreamed about because you’re too stubborn to realize someone tried to give you exactly what you needed and you refused.”
His hand clenched around his fork. “You have no idea what it’s like,” he grated.
“You’re right, I don’t. What you’ve been through is beyond imagining and I have no frame of reference for it. But I do know what it’s like to be hurt ... so devastated that you think you’re beyond repair. I’ve been there, and it took a long time, but I learned you can’t let one terrible thing define you for the rest of your life.”
“It’s not the same,” he insisted. “You didn’t lose a third of your body.”
“That’s true,” Taylor said carefully, sensing dangerous territory. “Something horrendous happened to you, more awful than I can even imagine. But you’re more than your legs, you’re more than one day, one decision, one tragic accident. You have all kinds of things about you that have nothing to do with any of that, but you’re ignoring all the good things to focus only on this one bad thing.” She put her hand on his arm, trying to soften the words. “You can pay her back if that’s what you’re worried about, but don’t waste these best years of your life. Once they’re gone, they’re gone. Money is a renewable commodity, but time isn’t.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard, looking as if he was on the verge of tears, just a
s she was.
“Please?” she whispered.
He shook his head. “I can’t.”
Read more or buy The Adventurous One here.
Excerpt from The Resilient Bride by Lucy McConnell
Liam Bernhard took a large bite of bienenstich and savored the vanilla flavor as the sweet pastry melted into his taste buds. “There’s enough cream in this to choke a cow.”
“You keep eating like this, and you will be a cow,” countered his older brother, David.
Liam pointed at David’s plate covered with large zwetschgenkuchen. “You’re older than me. Your metabolism is slower.”
David grunted. “I work out.”
Liam grunted back. “Life’s too short to live in a gym.”
The zwetschgenkuchen went to the table and stayed on the square napkin like a forlorn and forgotten friend. Liam didn’t mean to bring up his impending doom, but he just couldn’t see the point of ignoring it like David wanted to. David, Liam’s best friend and partner in crime, had been in a perpetual bad mood, and Liam was tired of living with Eeyore.
The last six months of revelry and dream-making darkened like the German sky above them. They’d skied, golfed, surfed, swum, biked, viewed priceless artwork, toured ancient ruins, dug for buried treasure, and even sailed the high seas. His more recent exploits had taken a domestic turn, and they’d sampled foods across the globe. Even now they occupied two chairs in a small German bakery with a full selection of the baker’s wares spread before them. What did Liam care if he took one bite of everything?
“I’ve been thinking …” Liam trailed off, taking another large bite and chomping away like a kid at scout camp.
“Yeah?” David folded his arms.
“What this adventure needs is a woman’s touch.” Liam had David’s full attention. “I’d like a warm body around once in a while.”