It had been fun, and he'd saved me the hassle of sneaking out when he was in the shower. When my ass finally stopped hurting, I’d forget all about Commander John Langdon.
Escape plan averted.
Until the Commander showed up in Portland five months later with a secret that would change our lives forever.
CHAPTER 1
COMMANDER JOHN LANGDON
As I waitedfor my flight to finish boarding, I got comfortable in my first-class seat and took one last look out the window. The cloudless blue sky and mild temperatures of Southern California were a bonus when I agreed to take over the command of one of the SEAL Teams at Coronado five years ago. The other was the opportunity to be closer to my nineteen-year-old daughter. But my last deployment had been the catalyst I needed to retire from the Navy. That and memories of what happened in Vegas.
Now here I was, leaving again, but not back to Virginia. I was headed to Portland to explore a job offer from my friend and former SEAL Jesse “GQ” Evans. He needed someone to train his new hires that hadn’t come from the military, and that was right in my wheelhouse.
And there was someone I wanted to see. Someone who had rocked my world in Las Vegas and happened to be one of GQ’s best friends.
“Good morning. I’m Christine. Can I get you anything, sir? I have fresh coffee brewing.”
I looked up into the light eyes of the flight attendant as she smiled down at me. “Yes, that would be great. Thank you, ma’am.”
Before she could ask the next question, she leaned closer as several passengers slipped by, toting all their shit with them to shove into the overhead compartments. When the smell of her perfume invaded my personal space, I turned my head back toward the window and leaned further away.
“Would you like cream and sugar?” she asked when the walkway was clear.
“No thank you. Just black.”
“Okay. One black coffee coming up.”
I returned half a smile as she headed toward the galley, dodging the last few passengers as they proceeded toward the back of the plane.
There was a time when I might have engaged in some mild flirting with her. Christine was attractive and at one time just my type. As pretty as she may be, she held no interest for me.
Every time I closed my eyes, all I saw were Brent’s warm brown ones and that shit-eating grin that made me smile. We’d met a few years ago when both of our teams were called up for a joint mission. So when I saw him that night in Vegas, it was as if the stars had aligned to bring us back together. We’d had a hell of a night partying and fucking around, and just thinking about it made my pants a little tighter.
I’d never experienced such magnetic attraction and chemistry with someone, and when he let me know the feeling was mutual, it was all I could do to get us someplace private. That’s how we ended up being more than a hookup that night. Both of us drunk on each other and feeling an intense connection.
“Here you go,” she said, breaking me out of my daydream about Brent as she handed me my coffee.
She must have noticed the situation in my lap because her demeanor changed completely. Tucking her red hair behind her ear, she tilted her head and met my gaze.
“Can I get you anything else? Breakfast pastry? We also have egg bites if you prefer the protein option.”
Looking up at her, she handed me a napkin.
“No. I’m good. Thank you, ma’am.”
Thank god the pilot announced we were ready to pull away from the gate, sending Christine off for her preflight duty. I was sure she’d check on me a hundred more times in the two and a half hours it would take to get to PDX in Portland. But I’d consume myself with my phone, reading the book I’d started a couple of days ago.
When the plane landed at PDX, I grabbed my bag, avoiding eye contact with Christine. I’d stuffed the napkin with her phone number into my coffee cup and deposited it in the trash right before we landed.
Taking out my phone, I dialed up GQ as I walked out of the plane. Lowering my head, he answered at just the right time.
“Hey, old man. Where are you?”
“Walking off the gateway, asshole. Where do you want me to meet you?”
“Outside baggage claim. Black Suburban.”
I smiled as I looked around for the sign to lead me to where I needed to be. “Of course, you have a Suburban. All security dads drive those kinds of cars.”
