3: Scars Remain Ch. 02

A moan escaped from her body as she nearly fainted. The kiss was pure passion. Even though there was a strong element of animal lust, it went well beyond that. All of his love poured into her through his one single kiss, his tongue dancing with hers. Luke pulled her into his chest, drawing her body closer to his.

"Oh my, Luke," she panted, placing her hands upon his chest. She tried to look into his eyes again, but her poise and self-assurance was gone. He made her melt completely, and she didn't know if she could hold him back. If he wanted more, she knew she'd be powerless to stop him from claiming whatever he desired. All games of making Luke resist were officially over; she just hoped he wouldn't do the same to her.

Kaylee prayed in her head over and over, please God let him stay, please God let him stay, please God let him stay...

Luke made eye contact with her again, but this time he was searching for something.

Kaylee took a deep breath, waiting for him to respond.

It looked like Luke was starting to stand up.

No no no no! Kaylee screamed inside her head, simultaneously holding her breath. When she realized he simply shifted his position on the bench, sliding one leg up against the wooden backstop and scooting back against the steel armrest, she exhaled with relief.

Luke held his arms out, beckoning Kaylee to sit in his lap.

The smile on Kaylee's face lit up the entire park. Without hesitation, she sat on his lap and wrapped her arms around him.

She'd won. Her kiss had worked. No, not her kiss... their kiss. Their love.

"That wasn't fair," Luke scolded her.

"Uh huh, was so," she said in her child-like voice, snuggling into his body.

Luke stifled a laugh and said, "Don't get cocky." That made her smile even more.

"Kaylee, do you remember when I had my car accident a few years back," Luke asked her.

"Don't remind me," she snickered. "Of course I remember. I didn't think things would ever get worse than that. That was before your deployment... the helicopter crash. Clearly I was wrong. Things did get worse. A lot worse."

Luke smiled bashfully, "Yeah, about that. I made you two promises that day. The first was that I'd never be in another vehicle accident. I should have said automobile accident. We both know how well that promise went."

Kaylee scowled at him, clearly finding no humor in that fact that he survived not just a car crash, but somehow survived being trapped inside a flaming metal tube falling out of the sky. As if he could read the expression on her face, he nodded and said, "You don't even have to say it; I know I'm almost out of my nine lives."

He continued, "The second promise was that I would hold you on my lap. It might have taken a couple of years to get there, but at least that promise I can keep."

A guilty feeling swept over Kaylee, recalling how she left Luke a really nasty voicemail, foolishly thinking he stood her up when in fact he was in a car accident. That night he promised to hold her in his lap, moments before he heard the horrible message on the phone.

Everything changed after that.

"I'm counting my blessings. Even though you were late, and even though it was probably my fault," she giggled, knowing full well it was entirely her fault, "I'm glad you could keep this promise. You're one for two I guess."

Luke laughed.

Both of them peacefully sat on the bench, simply enjoying each other's company without a single word needing to be said. They simply enjoyed the warm embrace and the mere presence of the other.

"Kaylee," Luke said.

"Yes, baby?"

"I... I love you more than anything. I should tell you that more often, because it's how I feel every second of every day. I'd be honored to have you by my side as I fight these demons."

She smiled, but her smile quickly went away when his tone became more serious and he continued talking.

"I want you to know, if anything goes wrong, or if you get hurt -- and I don't care if it's physically, emotionally, or mentally -- we're done. I promised you I'd always protect you the best way that I could. I've protected you from others. I've protected you from yourself. I've even protected you while I fought overseas. If I have to, Kaylee, I'll protect you from me."

Kaylee felt an uncomfortable chill run down her spine as he said that, goose bumps covering her entire body. "That's not going to happen," she whispered, nestling herself deeper into his lap, holding his arms around her body.

Luke responded by leaning down and kissing her forehead.

"I hope not, but it's a promise."