Protecting the Future (SEAL of Protection Book 8) (22 page)

She smiled, but didn’t comment further. Rayne balanced his ID on her knee, took a picture of it with her cell phone, and then typed out a note to her friend on her phone.

Ghost knew the information she was transferring to her friend would never lead back to him. He was using one of his many aliases. Each team member had several they could use to make sure they could travel incognito to and from missions. Ghost felt a pang of regret for lying to Rayne, but he pushed it aside. She was obviously looking for a good time, just as he was.

She looked up at him. “John Benbrook? That’s your name?”

“Yeah, what’s wrong with it?”

“I don’t know.” Rayne wrinkled her nose adorably. “It just doesn’t seem…like you, I guess.”

“Call me Ghost,” he demanded. “I don’t use John that much anyway.” It wasn’t a lie.

“Okay…Ghost. Thanks for humoring me with your ID. And I still don’t think you look thirty-six.”

He smiled at her and put the plastic card back into his wallet. “So…how long have you been a stewardess?”

“Flight attendant.”

“What?”

“We’re not called stewardesses anymore. We’re flight attendants.”

Ghost smiled and apologized. “Sorry, my mistake. Flight attendant. How long have you been a flight attendant?”

“Around six years.”

“Six years? You started young.”

Hearing the question behind his words, Rayne explained. “Yeah, I majored in Education in college. I did the whole student-teaching thing, aced the certification tests for the state and the whole nine yards.”

“But…?”

“But one, I couldn’t find a job, at least not in the area I wanted, and two, turns out, I didn’t care much for the kids.”

Ghost burst out laughing and relaxed farther into his chair. “Seems like that might have been something you figured out before you got your degree.”

“Yeah, you’d think, right?” Rayne laughed. “I swear, I think the professors only have their students go to the well-behaved classes or something. I student-taught a few weeks and realized that teachers are really treated like crap. They aren’t paid very much, and don’t even get me started on the standardized tests and how the teacher is the one who gets punished if the kids don’t score high enough. And another thing…when the kids act up, somehow it’s always the teacher’s fault and not the parents’, or even the fault of the child him or herself.”

She sighed, a deep frustrated sound that seemed to come from her belly. “I know. It’s cliché, of course the teacher will blame the kids and parents, but seriously, I think if the US paid their teachers more, public schools would only get better and better.”

“So you decided to what? See the world?” Ghost asked.

“Sorta. So there I was, with a degree I had no desire to use and no idea what I was going to do with my life. I had a friend whose mother worked for the airlines and I was bitching about finding a job I enjoyed and she suggested the flight-attendant thing.” Rayne shrugged. “So yeah, I figured I could see the world while I decided what and where I wanted to work. And here I am, six years later, still seeing the world—or at least the airports of the world—and still trying to decide on what the perfect job is for me.”

“It doesn’t sound like a bad thing to do for a living,” Ghost observed, thinking to himself her reason for signing up to be a flight attendant was eerily a lot like why he’d joined the Army when he was in his late teens. He hadn’t been sure what he wanted to do with his life, and a friend in his graduating class was heading down to the recruiting station. He’d tagged along, and the rest was history. He’d climbed the ranks as an enlisted man, then set his sights on being a Delta Force soldier…and an officer.

“It’s not. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy what I’m doing, I wouldn’t be doing it otherwise, but it’s not what I want to do for the rest of my life. I really am a homebody. I might go out and try to see some of the cities that I have layovers in, but it’s not much fun to explore by myself and sometimes the cities don’t feel that safe.”

“If they aren’t safe, you shouldn’t be wandering around,” Ghost told her matter-of-factly.

“I understand that. But some of the places, I know I’ll never get the chance to see again.”

“That shouldn’t matter. You could get killed, or raped, or kidnapped in some of those places…so you might see them, but it’s not worth your life or your health.”

Rayne nodded in agreement. “You’re right. And just in case you’re feeling too smug that you can order me around, I’d already decided to be a bit more cautious when I’m overseas now that ISIS has gotten completely bat-shit crazy and has no moral compass whatsoever.”

Ghost smiled at her cheekiness. “Good. How long before you think—”

His words were interrupted by the automated voice over the intercom.

W
e regret
to inform you that Flight 823 has now been canceled. Please see an airline representative to reschedule your flight. Heathrow Airport apologizes for any inconvenience.

G
host stood
up and held his hand out to Rayne. “So, since it’s not safe to wander around by yourself…want to explore London with me?”

C
hapter
Two

R
ayne sat
in the taxi next to John Benbrook, otherwise known as “Ghost”, and wondered what the hell she was doing. This wasn’t like her. She didn’t pick up random men in airports. She’d seen a lot of good-looking men throughout her travels, and had been hit on by a lot of them as well. But there was something different about this one.

He hadn’t come on to her, not really. They’ been flirting, but he’d been polite and even a little bit distant. But the first time he’d smiled at her, Rayne’s insides had twisted. He was good looking, rugged and scruffy, and somehow she knew underneath his tattered and slightly dirty T-shirt he was one hundred percent muscle. She wanted nothing more than to sit and talk to him…okay, she wanted more than that, but she’d take what she could get.

Now they were on their way downtown. It was still raining, and Ghost had made a phone call and gotten them a reservation at one of the restaurants in Park Plaza, a nice hotel near Westminster Abbey and the London Eye. He said they could cancel it if they decided to go somewhere else, but he’d rather they had a back-up plan, just in case. It was still early in the afternoon, so Rayne assumed they’d have a late lunch or early dinner then do…

She wasn’t sure
what
they were going to do. She supposed she’d play it by ear.

There were a ton of things she’d like to see in London, but having someone else with her made her feel like she should see what
he
wanted to do, rather than doing only what
she
wanted.

Rayne felt better after having sent John Benbrook’s information to her friend, Mary, back home. Of course, if Ghost raped and killed her, who knew if her body would ever be found, but at least Mary would know who she’d been out with and could alert the local authorities.

Rayne hadn’t lied to Ghost. She was a homebody. She enjoyed her job as a flight attendant, and she met a lot of very interesting people, but in her down time, she was content to stay at home and do things most people would consider boring. Reading, grocery shopping, watching movies with Mary, even knitting.

But for now, she was living on the edge. Rayne had never had a one-night stand in her life. She’d always dated respectable, even boring men. She’d go out with them for a while, making sure it felt “right” before deciding to go to bed with them. But there was something about Ghost that made her want to strip off all her clothes and tackle him.

She shifted in her seat, embarrassed about not being able to take her mind off of what he might look like, naked and over her, as he propped himself up while he thrust—

“So…you do this often?” she asked nervously, cutting off her own thoughts to try to bring herself under control.

“Do what?”

“Pick up women in airports and take them out?”

Ghost chuckled. “Nope. You’re my first.”

Rayne raised her eyebrows and looked at him incredulously and with blatant disbelief.

He obviously was fluent in eyebrow language because his next words tried to reassure her. “Seriously. I don’t pick women up.”

Rayne looked at the handsome man sitting next to her. The combat boots and tight brown T-shirt he was wearing were rugged as anything she’d seen anyone wear before.
He
was rugged and manly. His hair was scruffy, and a bit too long to be considered fashionable. He was carrying only a small duffle bag. His cargo pants strained against the muscles in his thighs. He had a five o’clock shadow and his brown eyes were currently focused completely on her. She didn’t want to be attracted to him, but she was. There was something about how he looked completely capable of looking after himself, and anyone around him, that drew her to him like a moth to a flame. It frustrated her though, because she knew she was probably one of an extremely long line of women who would bend over backward to make him happy, in bed and out.

“Yeah, I bet you don’t. They throw themselves at you, don’t they?” Rayne retorted gently, letting him know she wasn’t buying his bullshit, but teasing him all the same.

He laughed under his breath and shook his head. “Doesn’t matter how much they might throw themselves at me, Rayne, I only catch those I’m interested in.”

Rayne thought about that for a beat. “I didn’t throw myself at you.”

“Nope,” he agreed easily.

“What are we doing then?”

Ghost leaned forward. “You didn’t throw yourself at me, and I knew you wouldn’t. Maybe it’s because you’re so delightful.” He shrugged. “Whatever the reason, I took our flight being canceled as a sign that I should do something about my attraction to you. It was actually nice to be the one asking instead of the one being asked or having to fend off unwanted attention. As to what we’re doing? We’re touring the city together…taking advantage of our canceled flight.”

Rayne gulped but didn’t say anything.

“But I have to warn you, Rayne. I don’t do relationships. So today can go one of two ways. We can spend the day together, see some sights, laugh and have a good time, then go our separate ways.”

“And the other way?”

“We can spend the day together, see some sights, laugh and have a good time, then see where this attraction between us goes. Then
tomorrow
, we’ll go our separate ways.”

She took a feel breath and tried to be brave. “So, you’re saying if we sleep together, that’s all it’ll be.”

“That’s all it
can
be.”

Rayne knew there was more that Ghost wasn’t saying. She wasn’t stupid. The man wouldn’t have the nickname of “Ghost” if he led a normal life. She wasn’t the kind of woman to hop into bed with a man knowing there would be no relationship—but she wanted him. Mary would be proud as could be that she was doing something outside of the box.

Rayne could feel her nipples tighten just looking at Ghost. It was lust, but it was a lust she hadn’t felt since she’d been in college and had seen a beautiful swimmer at a private party she’d attended one night. She couldn’t remember the man’s name now, but he was tall and slender, and had extremely broad shoulders. She’d imagined him taking one look at her and falling madly in love, but apparently it wasn’t to be. He’d gotten completely drunk and had to be helped home by some of his teammates after puking in the bushes.

Even all these years later, she still felt a bit of regret she never had a chance to explore her feelings toward that swimmer, so Rayne decided she’d have to be okay with one night with Ghost.

She couldn’t help but let her mind wander. How would it feel to be skin to skin with him? Would his chest be covered in hair or smooth?

“I—” she began, not really knowing what she wanted to say, but feeling the press of the silence between them like a heavy blanket.

Ghost cut her off by putting a finger to her lips.

“Shhhh, don’t decide right now. Let’s play it by ear. No pressure. We’ll spend the rest of the day together, see what we can see, then we’ll go from there. Okay?”

Suddenly feeling as if she’d just made a date to have sex like a whore on the streets, she blurted, “You won’t be pissed if I don’t want to—”

“Absolutely not,” Ghost immediately reassured her. “Disappointed? Maybe, but upset with you? No. It’s your choice. I’ve never forced a woman to do anything she didn’t want to do in my life and I’m not about to start now.”

“Okay.”

“Good. You should also know, however, that I’m going to do what I can to convince you to spend the night with me. I’m attracted to you, Rayne with a y and an e, and I’ve already been imagining what you look like under that prim and proper skirt and shirt. That probably makes me a dog, but I’m just trying to be honest with you here. So whatever might go through your head today while we’re out enjoying London…wondering if I’ve changed my mind or if I really want you, shouldn’t be one of those thoughts.”

Ghost didn’t take his eyes off of Rayne’s lips. She’d taken her bottom lip between her teeth again as he’d been speaking.

He brought his hand up and palmed the side of her face, brushing his thumb across her lips. “Don’t bite your lip, Rayne.”

When her teeth let go of her lip, he leaned in, moving his hand to the back of her neck. Ignoring the taxi driver, Ghost got close enough that Rayne could feel the whisper of air from his words against her mouth.

“God, your lips were made for kissing. They’re full and pink…and I can just imagine how soft they’ll be against my own.” He put a bit of pressure against her neck but didn’t pull her all the way to himself. It was obvious he was waiting for her to make the decision on whether or not to kiss him.

Wanting this man’s lips on her own more than she wanted to breathe, Rayne leaned forward the inch it took to close the gap between them, as if his lips were magnets and she couldn’t resist the pull.

Their lips met and Rayne swore she felt something click between them the second they touched. She didn’t have time to analyze the odd feeling because his tongue swiped across her lips and she immediately opened to him, letting him take whatever he wanted.