by Selena Kitt
Kurt eyed her over a forkful of coleslaw. "None of them live in San Diego, either?"
She shook her head. "Since we moved around so much, my brothers, sisters and I were all born in different states—Florida, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington State, and California, in that order. Maybe it's because we moved around so much growing up, but they all live in different parts of the United States. I'm the only one who stayed in San Diego after Dad retired."
Kurt regarded her thoughtfully. "Your family isn't very close now, I take it?"
"The distance makes it hard." She pushed her steamed vegetables around on the plate for a moment before spearing a carrot. "It's not just that, though. As a family, we had a hard time with Dad's career. None of us liked moving around every two years. It was difficult making friends, and my brothers got into trouble all the time. Mom and Dad fought a lot too, especially when he decided to stay beyond twenty years. Every one of my brothers and sisters bailed as soon as they had a chance. I mean, we still talk on birthdays and holidays, but we don't make an effort to see each other very much."
"That sounds rough." Kurt sighed. "Now I can understand now why you weren't thrilled with the idea of going out with a guy in the Navy."
Since she couldn't deny it, Melissa focused on scooping up some brown rice and barbecue chicken in the same forkful. "What about you? Are you from California?"
He took a swig of beer. "Born and raised in Oklahoma."
She blinked. "Seriously? I never would have pegged you for a guy from the Midwest."
He chuckled. "I lived on my family's ranch until I joined the Navy when I was nineteen."
Melissa tried to picture him in a cowboy hat. Yeah, she could definitely see it. "Brothers and sisters?"
"One of each. They both still live in Oklahoma. So do my folks."
"Do you see them often?"
"Every chance I get."
Wow. Oklahoma wasn't exactly on the other side of the world, but she was surprised—and maybe a little jealous—by how close he and his family were. She'd always wondered what that would be like.
"How the heck did a cowboy from Oklahoma end up going in the Navy?" She picked up her iced tea. "I mean, could you even swim before you joined?"
Kurt chuckled. "Yeah, I could swim. Oklahoma isn't a desert. We do have lakes out there, you know."
Actually, she'd never really thought about it. "Huh. Okay, maybe my knowledge of Oklahoma is lacking, I guess. But that still doesn't explain why you went Navy. Why not the Army or one of the other services?"
He shrugged, dunking a trio of French fries in ketchup. "I was in the middle of the country, landlocked and eager to see more of the world. When the Navy recruiter showed me photos of all these cool faraway places and ships out in the middle of an endless ocean, I couldn't sign up fast enough."
After giving him such a convenient opening, she figured Kurt would jump at the chance to talk about the Navy, but he didn't. While she would never admit it, there was a part of her that wanted to ask him why he'd become a SEAL. She'd never understood what made a man willingly volunteer to do such a dangerous job. But before she could open her mouth, Kurt steered the conversation toward lighter topics. That was okay. It was nice that he had no problem discussing stuff outside his job.
So they talked about things like what they each did for fun, movies they liked, favorite food, books, and dream vacation destinations. She wasn't surprised that he liked to hit the gym or go for a swim when he wasn't working. If she was right about how well-built he was under that uniform—and she was pretty sure she was—he probably spent hours exercising. She took in the occasional aerobics class at the health club she belonged to, but she'd much rather hang out on the beach in her free time. While he was into action flicks and cheesy sci-fi movies, she preferred romantic comedies.
Despite their differences, Melissa was having a ball with him. Clearly, there was something to that old saying about opposites attracting. She couldn't help it. Kurt was easy to talk to. Not to mention charming, fun, and engaging. She'd come into this thinking he was going to be an arrogant, conceited jerk because he was a Navy SEAL, but was embarrassed to realize she'd been seeing him as nothing more than a cliché.
Even though she kept telling herself that this was just a single date and there wasn't any future with a guy like Kurt, it was hard to keep that in mind when it felt like they'd known each other forever. It didn't hurt that Kurt was so easy on the eyes. Sitting across the table from him gazing into that ocean blue gaze was something a woman could easily get used to.
Melissa chided herself as she sipped her iced tea. She had to stop thinking like that. Kurt might be her dream guy, but he was a SEAL. If she asked him point blank what life in the Navy was like, he'd almost certainly tell her that he was out fighting wars way more often than he was home. The worst part was that it would probably be like that for a long time. She wasn't naïve. She knew their country needed people like Kurt. Hell, they probably needed more of them, especially since the world was still reeling from Desert Storm. But that didn't mean she wanted to be involved with a man like that. She wasn't one of those women who could give her boyfriend or husband a kiss and tell him to be careful, then send him off to war. She wanted the man she fell in love with to spend more time with her than he did at his job. She wanted to fall asleep in his arms every night and wake up in them every morning.
It might be selfish, but after seeing what had happened with her parents and all the heartache the Navy had inflicted on their marriage, she knew what she was looking for in a relationship, and what she wasn't. Getting involved with a SEAL wasn't something she could ever do—no matter how sinfully handsome he was.
Chapter Three
Kurt had been attracted to Melissa from the moment he'd set eyes on her that morning in her classroom. It was why he'd asked her out. But when she'd opened the door of her apartment, blushing and flustered because she knew he'd overheard what her friend Veronica had said, he'd been completely mesmerized by her.
Her midnight hair wasn't in a bun like earlier, but instead fell around her shoulders and down her back in loose waves, framing her beautiful face and giving her the look of a wild woman. Her make-up was different, too. Tonight she was all smoky-eyes and sultry lips.
Then there was the dress she had on. He'd thought the flowing skirt she'd worn today had been sexy, but that was nothing compared to the dress she had on now. It was short enough to show off her shapely legs, and came with a slit up one side that showed off a little more. The simple off-the-shoulder top revealed an exotic expanse of skin that was just begging to be nibbled on. He'd never known he was a neck man, but apparently he was. It was all he could do not to get up and go around the table to press his lips to that creamy skin.
Kurt took a long swig of beer, concentrating on the cold liquid as it slid down his throat and hoping it would help cool down his sex drive at least a little, because he was in serious danger of overheating right now. And all they'd done so far was eat dinner. If he ever kissed Melissa, he'd probably burst into flames.
He stifled a groan and picked up his fork again as his cock stirred against the front of his pants. The food here was always good, but he could have been eating sawdust and probably enjoyed it because Melissa was so mesmerizing. She was funny, never at a loss for words, and when she smiled at him, his heart practically skipped a beat. She was sexy as hell, and he doubted she even realized it.
Despite how fantastic the date was going, Kurt's gut told him this thing with Melissa probably wasn't going to work out. While she hadn't said it in so many words, she'd clearly hated growing up as a Navy brat. Between the constant moving from school to school and seeing her mom deal with the stress of raising a family pretty much on her own, her brothers and sisters had taken off for parts unknown as soon as they were old enough to leave. In her experience, the Navy was the worst thing ever, so why would she want to get involved with him?
That realization was like a kick in the balls.
But
he was a SEAL and SEALs didn't give up that easily.
So he forced himself to forget about Melissa's hang-ups about where his paycheck came from and focused on having fun with her. Who knew? If he was charming enough, maybe she'd forget he wore a uniform to work and did a dangerous job for a living.
They were still laughing when they left the restaurant two hours later. Considering they'd just about shut the place down, Kurt wasn't surprised the parking lot was nearly empty.
He was so focused on Melissa that he almost missed the three guys who came around the black SUV parked near his truck. Shorter and stockier than Kurt, they didn't necessarily look like they were up to no good, but he'd spent years in combat trusting his gut, and right now his gut told him that something was about to go down.
Without a word, he took Melissa's hand and gently pushed her behind him. She seemed confused for a moment, but when she saw the way he was eyeing the three men, fear flashed in her eyes.
Before Kurt could ask what the trio wanted, two of the men yanked cheap revolvers out from behind their backs and pointed them at him and Melissa.
"Don't be a hero, dude," the third guy warned. "Just fork over the keys to the truck."
Kurt didn't have to be a genius to figure out that this guy was the leader of this little group of losers, since he was doing the talking while his buddies stood there trying to look menacing. Kurt had seen menacing before and these lowlifes didn't cut it. The term dumbass punks was the description he was leaning toward instead. But then he quickly quashed that thought. It didn't take a rocket scientist to pull a trigger.
One of the armed men—the largest of the three guys—moved closer, putting his snub nose .38 in Kurt's face. "He told you to give him the fucking keys!"
The guy probably figured he could cow him into submission by shouting and getting up close and personal like he was doing. It didn't work. Kurt had been more worried in Melissa's classroom this morning than he was right now. If the situation had been different, he would have immediately launched himself at the jerk who'd been stupid enough to get close to him. But he couldn't risk it, not with Melissa here. He couldn't take the chance she might get hurt.
Kurt held up his hands in a show of surrender. "Okay, just chill out."
Keeping his eyes on the men, he slowly reached in his pocket and pulled out his keys. Unfortunately, his apartment keys were on the same ring as the one for his truck, along with a handful of work keys. There was also all kinds of stuff in his truck he wasn't thrilled about these assholes getting their hands on, but it was all replaceable—even if it burned like hell to let them have it.
He calmly tossed his keys to the unarmed man. The guy leaped to catch them, barely keeping them off the ground.
The two guys with the guns began backing away, clearly ready to get out of there, but their leader didn't follow. Instead, he moved closer to Kurt and Melissa, twirling the keys on his finger.
Behind him, Kurt felt Melissa tremble.
"You got what you wanted," Kurt said. "If I were you, I'd quit while I were ahead."
"But you ain't me." The man smirked. "And that fancy truck of yours isn't all I want."
Kurt's gut clenched. He already knew where this was going—and it wasn't anyplace good. "Take the truck and call it a night. That's all you're getting."
The guy threw a quick glance at his buddies. "Looks like someone wants to impress his cute little girlfriend. Make her think he's all tough and shit. How about we take your girl with us? Show her what it's like to be with some real men."
That caught his friends' attention. Their eyes locked on Melissa, hungry expressions on their faces as they walked back over to join Big Mouth. As one, they spread out to circle around Kurt and Melissa.
Kurt had had about enough of this shit. Everything in him demanded he put all three men down, but he forced himself to wait until they were in perfect position.
Big Mouth must have taken his silence for acquiescence because he snickered. "Don't worry. We'll get her back to you in one piece—for the most part. Hell, she might like it so much, she won't want to go back to you at all."
The bigger of the two armed guys suddenly shoved his gun in his waistband and caught Melissa's arm, pulling her toward him. She threw a panicked look at Kurt. He'd been in a lot of fights with men trying to kill him, but seeing Melissa this terrified made him want to stomp on this asswipe's balls until they turned to potted meat.
Kurt grabbed the man's wrist with his right hand, then slammed the heel of his left into the underside of the man's elbow. There was a crunch as the joint bent in the direction opposite to the one it was designed to go.
The man immediately howled in pain and started going down. But that wasn't the same thing as being down. Kurt couldn't risk leaving a guy this big behind when he went after the other two. So he kicked out with his foot, connecting with the outside of the man's knee. There was another crunch, and this time the would-be-carjacker-slash-rapist dropped like a rock.
Ignoring the wail he let out, Kurt ripped the weapon out of the guy's waistband and tossed it aside, then grabbed Melissa's hand and pulled her away from the action. Once she was safe, he turned and closed on the other guy with the gun.
The moron looked at him in confusion for a moment, as if he'd only just realized that the night's fun had gone terribly wrong. He lifted his revolver, but it was too late. Kurt was already on him. He grabbed the man's shooting hand, keeping it pointed down as he slammed the heel of his hand repeatedly into the guy's face. As soon as the guy's knees started going wobbly, Kurt reversed his grip on the man's hand, twisting the weapon out of his grip as he tossed him over his hip and put him on the ground.
Kurt kept the gun this time, aiming first at the guys on the ground, just to make sure they stayed there. Once he'd confirmed neither of them were getting up, he spun and advanced on Big Mouth.
The urge to shoot the jackass who'd been going to take Melissa from him was stronger than anything he'd ever felt in his life, but Kurt resisted. While shooting this asshole might feel good as hell, it wasn't the smart thing to do. Or necessary. Instead, he kneed the guy in the balls as hard as he could, then did the same to the son of a bitch's ugly mug when the guy fell forward.
Kurt spun around before the man even hit the ground, checking to make sure his buddies still hadn't gotten up. One was still rolling around in pain. The other was out cold.
Carefully setting the revolver on the ground, he finally turned to Melissa. She was standing in the exact same place he'd left her, shaking, scared, and on the verge of freaking out.
Kurt's first instinct was to run to her and wrap her in his arms, but he forced himself to move slowly. Not only had Melissa been held at gunpoint by three lowlifes who'd intended to rape her, she'd also just seen him take them down with what was almost certainly more violence than she'd ever experienced in her life. It was going to take her a while to process all that.
So instead, he walked over to her slowly, his arms open wide. She ran into them, burying her face in his chest as he wrapped them around her. Then she began to cry softly, like she didn't want him to hear. But he did, and the sound tore at his heart like nothing he'd ever felt. He hated to hear a woman cry, especially Melissa.
He gently ran a hand over her hair. "Shh. It's okay. You're safe now."
Kurt knew he should probably call the cops, but he didn't want to let Melissa go long enough to do it. Not yet.
It turned out he didn't have to. Just then, four men came running out of the restaurant, one armed with a baseball bat, and the others with big kitchen knives. They skidded to a stop when they saw Kurt and Melissa and the three guys lying broken at their feet.
"They tried to jump us," Kurt said. "Can one of you call the police?"
The man with the baseball bat didn't take his eyes off the men. "We already did. You and the lady okay?"
Kurt nodded. "Yeah. We're fine."
He was still holding Melissa when two patrol cars pulled into the parking lots, ligh
ts flashing and sirens blaring. He wasn't looking forward to what came next. There'd be lots of questions, followed by lots of phone calls, maybe even an arrest. He might have been defending Melissa and himself when he took down those assholes, but that didn't mean the police wouldn't haul him in anyway, simply so the district attorney could figure out how to handle everything.
Not exactly the best way to end a first date.
Chapter Four
Things hadn't gone as smoothly with the police as Kurt would have liked. They had a hard time believing an unarmed Navy guy could take down three men, two of whom had weapons. Some of that might have been Kurt's fault. He deliberately left out the part about him being a SEAL. If that tidbit of information showed up on the police plotters, the media would be on the story in a flash. That wasn't good for the Navy or SEAL Team 5. Luckily, the people who worked in the restaurant had seen enough of what had happened to support his and Melissa's stories.
On the downside, they'd spent more than two hours giving their statements to four different cops—both together and separately. Melissa hadn't said a word since.
Kurt hoped that was because she was simply exhausted, but part of him worried it was because she was in shock.
He pulled the truck into the parking lot of her apartment complex and found a space, then cut the engine.
Beside him, Melissa didn't move.
"We're here," Kurt said softly.
She gave a little start, blinking as she looked around. "Oh."
Kurt jumped out and hurried around to her side of the truck to open the door. She let him help her out, but released his hand the moment her feet touched the ground. For some reason, that stung way more than it should have.
They walked upstairs in silence, then down the hallway to her apartment. When they got there, she opened her purse to dig around for her keys, but it slipped out of her hand. Melissa mumbled something and moved to pick everything up, but Kurt got there first. He scooped up her lipstick, brush, wallet, and keys, shoving them back in her purse.
