Sweet Surrender

"Uncle Sam lets you off for weddings now? Huh, guess you learn something new everyday," she unbuckled her seat belt and pulled a leg underneath her before sitting back down. "Where you stationed at?"

"Fort Polk, Louisiana."

"How long you been in?"

"20 years."

"Wow." She pulled her knee against her chest and wrapped her arms around it. "I'm not going to even ask if you like it. You wouldn't still be in if you didn't. So which one are you?"

"Huh?"

"You know," she replied, holding her fingers up as she counted, "separated, married but still living together because it's cheaper, or married but still together for the kids."

She was speaking, of course, of the many lies that servicemen had been known to tell the women around the bases. As much as he wanted to deny that it happened, he knew that some of his brothers and sister's in arms had used them before.

"None, I'm single." But in truth, now, he didn't know just what he was. He wanted her, that much was true but he wasn't sure if they had a chance in hell in making it. She was too prickly and he was still unsure what he wanted to do with his life. Sure, he thought it was time that he got out of the service but that didn't mean that he was actually going to take the chance.

Emily-Jane snorted. "Just 'cause you live in Baled, Iraq and she lives in Des Moines does not make you single. But hell, whatever gets you through the night, stud."

Luke leaned into her and leered. "Baby, you have no idea how much of a stud I am. You want to jump on, I'll give you the ride of your life."

She ogled him before bursting into laughter. "You are so full of shit, its amazing you can even breathe. Please. You wouldn't be able to handle ALL this," she said, using her hand to showcase her gorgeous body.

There were so many things that he wanted to show her to prove that he could handle all of her, but he simple told her to try him before moving back to their original conversation. "How do you know so much about the military anyway? Are you a barrack's brat?"

Emily-Jane leaned up against him, yawning. "No, I work for a financial institution that caters to you ass--amazing men and women. Believe me, you have no idea how many times a day I get ask out by the little boys in basic."

Luke couldn't keep himself from kissing the top of her head as she yawned once again. He had no problem believing that men found her attractive. She had a presence that called to a man. The only thing he couldn't figure out is why some other poor slob hadn't grabbed her up already. Oh, well, he thought, I guess I do have pretty good luck huh? "You sleepy, baby?"

She nodded and filled his nose with the scent of roses as her head smoothed against his shoulder. "I had to work today. That's why I'm not already in Jamaica. Everybody else left yesterday but I couldn't get off work. So I worked a full 8 hours and then jetted to the airport to board this damn death trap."

He slowly moved his arm from under her head and pulled her further into his arms. "Well, go to sleep. I promise if the plane crashes I'll put myself on the bottom and cushion your fall."

"Luke, my friend, you are a prince among men," she said, before closing her eyes and succumbing to sleep.

He couldn't keep himself from watching her as she slept. She looked so peaceful. He wasn't sure but he placed her age in her late 20s but when she was asleep she looked so much younger. There was a hardness that hung over her when she was awake but seeing her sleep as if safe made him feel as if that hardness hadn't fully taken over her.

He traced the slight curve of her nose down to the full lips resting beneath and couldn't stop himself from running a finger over the softest lips he'd ever seen. There were so many things that he couldn't wait to do to that mouth. He knew that kissing her would be a life changing experience and he really couldn't wait until he had to chance to finally get to taste that ruby red mouth. He knew that just thinking about her sucking his cock was enough to make him hard so he was almost afraid that when it did happen that he would blow his top just seconds from her kissing his tip.

She murmured in her sleep, the words unclear, before snuggling closer to him. Her left arm loosen and dropped into his lap right about his cock, his erect cock. The feel of her hand pressed against him was more that he could take. He couldn't control his hips from lurching upwards. He could just imagine her smile up at him as she slide her hand up and down the front of his jeans. He would warn her stop but her, being the brat that she was, wouldn't listen. She would simply grip his cock harder in her small hand before pumping him through the denim. Luke would lean in and whisper in her ear that he was going to spank her if they got caught. She would giggle and say that she wanted a spanking, so maybe she should make more noise.

Luke took a deep breath and tried to control his pulse as he returned back to the real world. She was still sleeping, thank god, none the wiser of his dirty intention. His grinding into her hand had caused her sleeve to be pushed up slightly. This gave him a view of the words tattooed in black on the inside of her wrist.

Unable at first to read the small print, he grasped her wrist lightly, pulling it up to eye level.

Upon her wrist, written in a stylized lettering were the words, "I'm NOT fine, I'm NOT sorry, and I DO care."

As the plane continued its smooth sailing toward their destination, he pondered those words. Obviously those words were a mantra for her, but why would it be so important that she would have them imprinted onto her? Those words didn't match the view of who she was, or at least in the small amount of time that he had spent with her. He didn't get the feeling that she would willingly apologize unless she was the one fully at fault. And even then, she would have to have the words pulled from her lips like a root canal.

He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the seat after pressing his lips softly against those words. Whatever had shaped her into the spunky woman beside him had obviously been a trail by fire. Luke's heart ached for the pain he knew just HAD to have been caused for her to be so abrasive. He had a feeling that she was like that with everyone, not just newcomers.

He had a feeling she pulled a face over the real her so people wouldn't waste time on her. However, that wasn't going to work on him. Luke wanted this woman and she nor anyone else was going to keep him from his target. He hadn't spent the last 10 years of the service in recon for nothing. She, with those beautiful green eyes and knee-buckling lips, wouldn't know what hit her. She was HIS, goddamn it. Now he just had to convince her of that.

Emily-Jane slowly awoke, wondering why it was so damn hot and why the smell of spice filled her nostril. At first she thought perhaps she was dead and had ended up in Hades. But no, the last time--

Just then an intercom clicked on and a man's voice said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, please fasten your seat belts. We are now cleared to land at Norman Marley International Airport. The weather is a balmy 85 degrees and there's not a cloud in the sky. Thanks for being a great flight and once again thanks for flying Delta Airlines."

And just like that the last few moments were clear to her. She was on a plane flying to Jamaica to watch her asinine sister ruin her life by getting married again. And that was how she had been given the chance to meet the He-Man she now used as a pillow. A very hard, warm pillow that smelt A-MAZING.

She smiled slightly as she remembered the banter they had shared before she had drifted off to sleep. He hadn't seem to mind in the least that she had given him hell. In fact, he seemed to actually think she was flirting with him or some nonsense like that. Most men would have traded seats with someone else in a matter of seconds bur he'd held out. She winced as she remembered how she had almost insulted him and his profession. He hadn't even batted an eyelash . He had in fact gone out of his way to make her feel more comfortable aboard this damn bag of bolts.

Emily-Jane mentally shrugged. It was true that those in the armed forces were prepared to nice to almost anyone. Apparently, that includes a bitchy woman like me, she thought.

He was handsome, though, she thought as she felt his chest expand with every breath he took. She had unfortunately noticed that as soon as she started walking toward him on the plane. In fact, she had said a little prayer that God didn't put her next to him on the airplane for fear that she would say or do something that would fully embarrass herself. However, God had stopped listening to her prayers a while ago as evident by the fact that she ended up squished in beside him.

She had known almost as soon as she saw him that he was military. He practically screamed that he knew how to kill a man with just the tip of his fingernail. He was every one of her fantasies rolled into one: tall, built like brick shithouse and if she wasn't mistaken, he appeared to be Native American in descent. He was enough to make a lesbian swoon. Plus, did she mention the fact that he was packing a battalion's worth of guns? But was way out of her league. And she was off men for the next...oh, decade if possible. She was thinking seriously about taking a chance with chicks. They had to be easier, that or she was just gonna start relying on the plastic persuasion for all her pleasure needs.

"You gonna play possum all day or get up and start the day?" his voice grumbled, the sleep obvious in his voice. It appeared that she wasn't the only one who had succumbed to exhaustion.

"I was hoping that if I didn't open my eyes, I would be home in my bed and all this shit would be a huge nightmare." She creaked an eye open to see him peeking down at her in amused. Yep, she thought, still handsome as all get out.

To throw him off though, she snarled at him, "Please don't tell me you're chipper first thing after you wake up or else I'm going to kill you just for the principal of it."

He leaned into her personal space and then of all things, KISSED her on her nose. She jerked her head back so fast her forehead connected with his chin causing his teeth to click together but not before feeling how silky his lips were.

They both veered back into their seats and he hissed at her. "Damn it woman, what the hell did you go and do that for?"

Emily-Jane thought he might be speaking hypothetically but she answered anyway. "What the fuck were doing you, idiot?"

"Kissing you. What did you think I was doing, checking you for ticks?" he growled at her, his heavy brows lowered giving him a slight Neanderthal look. She almost couldn't keep the laugh from emerging. He made her laugh, and with her track record, that was NOT a good thing. But once she stepped off this place, she would never had to see him again, she reminded herself. For some reason, instead of making her extremely happy, it left her feeling empty.

"Do you just go around kissing random woman because I gotta say, it that's true, its creepy as well as gross. You don't have any idea where my lips have been."

He smirked at her, which brought her attention to his lips. They were perfect. He had a larger bottom lips that brought mind hours and hours kissing him with no interruptions from the outside world.

Emily-Jane could find nothing about him that was unbecoming which made her instantly suspicious. Anyone who looked like him and who was flirting with someone who looked like a before picture on the Biggest Loser had to be up to something.

He broke her from her thoughts saying, "I've got an idea where I'd like them to be.

Emily-Jane's ire rose and she saw red. "Listen, Sergeant Stupid, I don't have any money."

"What?" he asked in confusion. He was really having the hardest time following a conversation with this woman. She had the amazing ability to bounce from one conversation to another without even changing speeds.

"I. DO. NOT. HAVE. ANY. MONEY." Emily-Jane said, pantomiming fake sign language. "I work for a bank, numb nuts. I can barely cover my bills and still afford groceries."

Luke glared at her before slowly releasing his breath loudly. "I have no freaking idea what the hell you are blathering on about but you have one more time to call me a name and that's it, squirt. You won't like what I do to you if you say something mean to me again."

She simply rolled her eyes. She had a good idea he was trying to scam her out of her fortune. One problem with that was that she didn't have a fortune to be scammed out of, so it appeared he was just SOL. Her money situation was like many other single people out there. She lived paycheck to paycheck and prayed that all the bills got paid that month. Extras weren't in the budget. That's why this damn wedding was so fucking aggravating. Not only had she had to pay for the butt-ugliest dress she was expected to wear, she was also going to have to pay for any spending she incurred in Jamaica. Thank God her future brother-in-law was loaded and was paying for the rooms and food on this tour to her own private hell.

"Ok, let's get one thing straight. I am not looking for a gigolo. In fact, I'm not even into guys right now. I think I am going to be gay for a while. So I guess what I'm saying is that it's not you, it's me. I'm just not interested in dating at the moment."

He gawked at her for several moments, unsure if he'd heard her correctly. She thought he was interested in her for money? Did this woman not have any idea just what she did to men around her? He could tell just from looking at her face that she was serious and that she did in fact have no idea that she was beautiful to him. I am really going to have my hands full with this one, he thought. That didn't keep him from muttering "psycho" under his breath but loud enough for her to hear.

Instead of being insulted, Emily-Jane wanted to smile. He really was too cute for his own good. The bad thing was he knew it. She had not doubt that he was a pimp when it came to women and while she couldn't deny that he was attractive, she didn't need the distraction. She was just getting her life moderately back on track. She knew if she got tangled up with him she wouldn't just limp away like she did before. He would leave her breathless and broken into little pieces.

The plane jerked her from her thoughts, surging her forward into the seatbelt tightened around her waist. She snapped back against the seat before muttering "fuck". She, however, couldn't help seeing him grin at her distress. Just another reason to give him up. He's a gigantic jerk, she thought while sending him the evil eye.

The plane stopped rolling , the doors were opened and the stairs rolled up to the opening. "Thank you, baby Jesus," she heard him mutter before he climbed to his feet and she was left gasping. Dayam, that boy was TALL. He'd told her was 6'5 but until she'd actually seen him standing up, she hadn't been quite prepared for it. He was, as a friend of hers said, a panty-dropper. He could walk by a woman and her panties would simply fall off. Emily-Jane had no doubt that everything about the man was proportioned just right. And you had to go and show him just how much of a deranged idiot you really are, she thought.

Emily-Jane mourned the loss of all that but realized that even is she hadn't made a damn fool of herself, she would never have seen him again anyway. They were two ships...er planes, passing in the night or late afternoon, whatever the case may actually be.

"Are you coming, wife," his voice broke into her thoughts, stressing the word, "or are we gonna stay on the plane all night?"

"Yeah, lady," a slurred voice piped in from behind him, "you're delaying my par-tay. So how about move that big ass somewhere else?"

Emily-Jane peered at the college kid behind Luke and almost laughed. He appeared to have already started his par-tay if the way he was swaying in the isle was any clue. She knew his type, had in fact, par-taied with those like him in college. However Luke didn't seem to share her sense of humor. He glowered at the boy so hard, she thought that is looks could have killed, frat boy would have been packed on ice and shipped home in a casket.

"What did you just say to her, shit-head?"

Emily-Jane thought that this might be a good time to step in before Luke ended up in the federal pen for starting a disturbance on an airplane.

"Ok, that's enough Sir Galahad, let's get you off the plane before you kill the little boy. I'm sure his mommy and daddy would hate to have to buy a casket for him. Plus you might lose your job and then what would happen? I'm too young and pretty to end up in debtor's prison. Please, oh please, don't let me be poor," she said, the sarcasm heavy in her sweet southern voice.

Luke couldn't stop the smile that tugged at his lips. He controlled it, however, before turning to the frat boy and saying, "You better be glad she stepped in boy, with her "big ass". And wouldn't you know it, he actually made the quotation marks with his fingers. Bless his heart.

"Dude, you seriously need to chill. I like the big, thick chicks myself. In fact, Mama," little genius boy said, "when you get tired of Mr. Marine here, why not come give this a test drive," he said, motioning to his crotch.

Emily-Jane did laugh them and as she stepped into the isle she pinched his cheek. "Sweetheart, I would break you in two, but thanks. I haven't laughed like that in a very long time."

She turned and sashayed down the aisle and out into the late evening sun. The beauty of the island took her breath away. Even the airport was awesome. The place was so green. Growing up in the south, Emily-Jane had an unnatural attachment to green spaces. She'd grown up doing guy things with her daddy so anywhere there's trees and lots of green grass, she felt an affinity for. Jamaica, if the rest of it looked like the airport, was going to be wonderful.

"So I guess you're going to just walk off and leave me hanging, huh?"

She turned and looked up at him with a deadpan expression. "You were expecting flowers, a ring, and a proposal? 'Cause I gotta say, that just not gonna happen, my friend."

Without waiting for a reply, she turned, leaving him to watch her walk from his life without so much as by your leave.

Emily-Jane tried to keep her eyes facing forward as she marched across the tarmac away from the most charismatic man she had met in a long while. She had to keep reminding herself over and over that she wasn't ready for a relationship, much less with someone who had the power to leave her breathless with a single look. She needed to heal, to put her life back on track before even thinking about jumping back into the relationship game.

She walked into the terminal and noticed her nephew first. He craned over the crowd. At 17, he was 6'3 and he still didn't seem to have reached his true height as of yet. He was so handsome, she couldn't help thinking, which he most definitely get from our side of the family. He was her baby, though, at times making it hard to imagine that sweet little boy she'd babysat for so many years all grown up.

Beside Dillon on the tarmac stood her brother-in-law to be, Blaine. She still couldn't contain a snort every time she heard his name. What kind of name is Blaine? Especially for an old dude like him. He looked more like a Bob than anything. He was extremely skinny and tall. His bald head glistened in the late evening sun and made Emily-Jane almost wince as it blinded her. His way of dress screamed, ol' white man with no fashion sense goes on vacation. He had on a white wife beater with the brightest Hawaiian shirt she had ever seen in her life. It was lime green with PINK palm trees. And to make matters worse, he was wearing black knee socks with Birkenstocks.