Mike burst into the cafeteria, spotting Destiny easily with her signature messy bun and a cream-colored tank top. She sat at a table staring blankly at a cup of coffee. As if sensing he was there, she looked up at him like a homing beacon. Her face instantly transformed to happiness. Her whole body seemed to relax seeing him there.
“Mike.” He couldn’t hear her speak, but he saw her lips form the words.
He didn’t waste another second and marched toward her. Destiny met him in the middle and threw herself into his arms knowing he would catch her. Always. He held her close breathing in her citrusy lemon scent. His woman was hurting. Yes, she was his even if he never spoke the words. Even though she didn’t think of him in the same way he felt about her.
He never told her how he really felt. She was his to protect and shelter. He as hers to lean on for support.
“I told you, you didn’t have to come,” Destiny whispered against his neck, making him shudder. She fit perfectly against him. Like two puzzle pieces. Did she feel what he felt? He wanted this woman more than his next breath. Sometimes there was flicker in her gaze that she might feel more than friendship for him, but then it was gone. He chalked it up as misinterpretation.
He had texted her this morning after his routine run to see how she was. When she said in the hospital again, he hadn’t hesitated to leave. Mike had only hesitated long enough to go home and shower and change then race over. Carol wasn’t dying by any means. Every hospital visit was over stomach pain, but what if the next time it was something worse?
Destiny shouldn’t have to deal with it on her own. He liked that she leaned on him. What was the point of having such big shoulders if he couldn’t carry some of the brunt of her problems?
“There’s nowhere I’d rather be. I’ll always be here for you.” It was a vow. Even if she only ever saw him as a friend instead of more.
He hadn’t told anyone about Destiny yet. Not only because their schedules didn’t line up to introduce her, but because he didn’t want to just introduce her as his friend and his friends give him that pity look. He wanted to say she was his girlfriend. If only he could find the words and ask her out.
Chapter 2
Despite her protest of his being there, Destiny clung to Mike like a lifeline in a stormy sea. She was so tired of being in the hospital. So tired. The only upside was having Mike with her. She didn’t know how she would have gotten through the past two months without him. He was her saving grace through the whole thing. The only person who gave her hope that Grandma Carol would be okay. That this would be their last trip. Even if it was a false hope.
He was the only thing from keeping her from drowning in melancholy. Destiny could hardly focus on work most days. Every time she saw her grandmother, she looked worse. Paler, weaker. She was a far cry from the woman she was a few months ago when she first came here to live.
Her grandmother had been living in Los Angeles, still running her company, until a few months ago when she started to get fatigued. Grandma Carol suggested getting away from the noise and pollution.
Destiny owned a house close to the base, but it wasn’t large enough to accommodate the two of them and all of her grandma’s things.
Since Destiny’s schedule could be hectic, Grandma Carol bought a small condo a few towns away and brought her helper to ease the transition. Grandma was a city girl through and through, and Fort Irwin was definitely not a big city.
Sadly, she was getting sicker and sicker, and almost every week she was back in the hospital – taking up residence there more than in her own home. Doctors had done every test under the sun, but no one could find anything wrong with her.
After a few days in the hospital she would perk up and Destiny started to see glimpses of her beloved grandmother. Then all too soon she would fade again. Destiny wasn’t willing to give up yet though. Somehow, she would find a way to get her grandmother well again.
The bloodhounds at her company had been calling Destiny nonstop since her grandmother came here to find out what she was going to do with the company. Appoint a new CEO or sell. Honestly Destiny couldn’t care less what happened to it; she never wanted anything to do with it or her grandmother’s legacy. She was happy deciphering code, not worrying about a fortune 500 company.
Destiny turned her head to burrow into Mike’s neck and breathed in his dark musky scent. He always smelled good. It wasn’t a cologne, just all him and she loved it. She could breathe him in all day. He’d think she were crazy if she ever said that. Mike had been nothing but sweet since the moment she caught him spying on her two months ago.
Funny how one of the worst days of her life turned into the best. Mike always made every day they had together special. She didn’t know what she ever did in life to deserve him, but she wasn’t a fool to dispute destiny. Yep, she totally went there.
What could she say. She loved him. It had been lust at first sight when she saw him standing in the doorway like a guardian angel sent to help her. And he had. More than she could ever say. She had hoped he would feel the same way about her.
When they hung out at each other’s houses they never sat too close. He never once tried to hold her hand. The only time he touched her was when she was upset about Grandma Carol’s health and he was comforting her. It wasn’t exactly the sign of affection she was looking for.
She could look but not touch. It was time to get her head out of the clouds. Life wasn’t a fairytale. The knight that came to rescue her wasn’t going to end up with her. He would marry a real princess, not a workaholic that sometimes forgot to wash her hair when she was in a zone. Or even eat.
Mike checked on her regularly to make sure she ate, but he treated her more like a friend than someone who wanted in her pants. She thought she saw a glimmer of wanting in his eyes more than once. A sly glance at her breasts when he didn’t think she was looking, but other than that there was nothing. She was firmly on the shelf of friend. Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Story of her life.
Destiny pulled away and made sure to put a foot of space between them. She crossed her arms over her chest so he didn’t see her nipples poking out. She couldn’t meet his eyes, needing a moment to get her body back under control and not try and throw herself at him again.
“How is she?” Mike asked, his voice sounded dry and scratchy. She hadn’t noticed that a moment ago.
Destiny stole a glance at him. Was he as affected as she was, or was that her active imagination?
His hot intense gaze was laser focused on her and caused her brain to short-circuit. Mike was hands down the sexiest man she had ever seen. His hypnotic aqua-blue eyes reminded her of the Caribbean Sea when she went snorkeling there a few years ago. They weren’t just one color but an array of blues. Lighter toward his pupils and darker around the rim. She could get lost staring into them. Who was she kidding, she was lost now.
Her gaze dropped lower to pull her focus off of his eyes, but now she was focused on his lips. His plump, kissable lips.
“Destiny?” His features pinched looking at her with concern.
