“Grace, can you hear me?”

“Why are you whispering?” She laughs.

“I’m in the back seat of a cab. I don’t want the driver to hear me.” My hand covers the phone.

“Oh, you must have something good to tell me. How is that possible—you should have landed only a few minutes ago? Did you meet some beastly guy on the plane and screw his brains out in the bathroom? Score!” she yells.

“No, I did not screw his brains out…”

“But you did meet someone! Tell me everything. Don’t leave out a word.”

“There is nothing really to tell.” I let out a sigh. “I did meet someone, and I can’t explain it, but he…he…”

“Set your body on fire!” I can hear her dancing around the room.

“You have such a way with words. And, thanks for the book by the way,” I add sarcastically.

“Tell me what he’s like?” She finally calms down.

“He’s nothing like Luke.” I’m sure if I could see my eyes, they’d look dreamy.

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to do what I planned on doing in the first place. I’ll meet up with Luke, fall madly in love with him and forget all about Decklan.”

“Oh, he even has a sexy name.” Now I’m sure she’s dreamy-eyed.

“I only called to let you know I’ve landed. Will you let my mom know I’m okay?”

“Sure, sweetie. Are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine. Talk to you later.” I sit back and watch the beautiful scenery go by. I’m hoping Luke will have some downtime while I’m here and we can go exploring. He couldn’t pick me up today because he had to practice for the race tomorrow. There is no way I was getting in a vehicle with Decklan. The way I was feeling around him, I couldn’t be trusted and neither could he.

We finally pull up to the gate at the base. I give them my name, and the guard radios to locate Luke. I take my bags from the trunk of the cab and wait for him to show up.

A few minutes later, I see him running toward me. The guard lifts the arm of the gate so I can pass through.

“Hey, baby,” he says, lifting me off my feet and twirling me around. He’s all sweaty, and when he puts me down, my blouse is stuck to my body from his sweat. He kisses me real quick. “Sorry about that. How was your flight?”

“It was good. No problem at all.” He takes my luggage in one hand and my hand in his other and heads toward his barracks. He looks different than the last time I saw him. He’s put on more muscle, and his hair is shorter, but he’s still clean-shaven, even under all the sweat.

“I’m so glad you made it. I can’t wait for you to meet some of my buddies. Especially Captain Parker. He’s a bad ass, but we all really like him and respect him. Are you hungry?”

“Maybe a little.”

He opens the door to his tiny apartment. It’s a one-room studio that he shares with someone else. “I hope this is okay.” He puts my luggage on the two-seater table. “Let me grab a dry shirt, and we’ll go get some food. He rummages through a three-dresser drawer that doubles as a television stand. He tugs on a tight fitting black t-shirt. He walks back over to me he pulls me into him for a kiss. I explore his mouth like I did Decklan’s, but it doesn’t feel the same. I don’t get that same giddy, light my fire feeling from him.

He lets go and takes my hand. “I’m really glad you’re here.”

I meet some of his friends in the massive mess hall. I can’t help but glance around every now and then, hoping to see Decklan, but he’s not here.

“These guys are all on my team for the Ninja race tomorrow.”

“I didn’t think you played in teams.” I place my hand on his arm.

“There were so many of us who wanted to participate, so we formed teams. Each of us compete in different areas.”

“It sounds like a lot of fun. Do you think we’ll have time to go exploring? I’ve never been to Germany, and I’d love to see a few castles.”

“I’m sure we can make time for that.” He puts his hand on my leg. I keep waiting to feel something. I’m overthinking it. Just because it felt that way with Decklan doesn’t mean it has to feel the same.

He spends the rest of the day showing me around the base. I keep my eyes peeled for Decklan everywhere we go. By early evening I’m exhausted. The time difference is weighing on me. When we finally make it back to his studio, his roommate is sitting on the run-down couch in his underwear. He doesn’t bother to get up and get dressed because I’m there.

“I’m really tired. Do you think I could grab a quick shower?”

“Sure. It’s right through that door.” He points, and then he picks up a pillow and throws it at his roommate.

I pick up my suitcase, and I hear their whispered voices as I shut the door. I shower quickly and put on a long pair of pajamas. He had warned me that he had a roommate, but he was going to try to get him to stay somewhere else. No such luck, I guess.

The steam escapes into the studio when I open the door. I look around, and his underwear-wearing friend seems to be gone. I look over, and Luke is sprawled out naked on the bed.

“Come here.” He pats the bed beside him. Not quite as romantic as I pictured it. I slowly walk over and curl up beside him. I can’t help but drag my eyes down to his cock. It’s long and skinny. He leans in and starts kissing my neck. “I’ve waited to be with you for so long.”

“Me too,” I whisper, trying to concentrate on him. I rub my hands down his chest until my hand lands on his hard cock. I watch as I stroke him. His eyes roll back in his head with pleasure. Grace was right; I’m still a virgin, and I have no idea what I’m doing. I’ve watched plenty of porn to coach me through it. Why don’t I feel anything coming off him? I’m really trying to be in the mood with him, but I’m not feeling it. Nothing, zilch.

I stroke him like I’ve seen on Grace’s porn shows. A few minutes later he moans, and my hand grows wet.

“Baby, I’m sorry. It felt so good. I didn’t mean to come so soon.”

I look at my hand and then at him. “You can do it again, right?”

He laughs at my question. “I’ve been working out so hard that I probably shouldn’t have even done it once. I need to save my strength for the race tomorrow. I promise to make it up to you.” He kisses my cheek. I crawl out of bed and go wash my hands.

The bad thing is, I can’t really say I’m disappointed. When I close my eyes, I see Decklan’s hands on me, not Luke’s. I’ve got to get that man out of my head if I’m going to make this work. I repeat the words, make this work. Should it be this difficult?

“Baby, I have to go. We have workouts first thing in the morning.” Luke is standing at the bottom of the bed, shaking my foot. He laces up his shoes. “When you’re up and dressed, come find me out on the field.”

I take my time getting up. There is nothing in here to eat. There’s not even any coffee. I put on some workout clothes and tennis shoes. I might as well get some exercise in after breakfast. I saw a track on the other side of the base when he was showing me around yesterday.

I grab a bagel and a cup of coffee. I scarf it down and head over to the track. In the distance, I hear a deep voice giving commands. I cover my eyes with my hand so that I can see past the sun that’s beaming down brightly. There is a team of men running together and one leading them.

I decide to run their direction and see where they go. I fall in not far behind them and keep their pace. We run through a wooded area until they come to a climbing wall. One by one, I watch as they get over it. The man that’s been leading them is encouraging them to keep moving. He pulls his hat off to wipe his brow, and our eyes lock. It’s him. Decklan.

I stop running in place, and he walks over. His eyes are all over me. I can feel him appreciating my curves in my spandex shorts and sports bra. “Out for a run?” he says with a smirk. His tone is completely different than when he was barking at his men.

“Yeah, I didn’t think I would see you again.”

Luke comes running up from behind him. “I see you’ve met Captain Parker. This is my girlfriend, Kenna and soon-to-be fiancé I’ve been bragging about.”

I scowl at him. This is not something we’ve ever talked about.

“Kenna, huh?”

“It’s nice to meet you, Captain Parker,” I say, meeting his glare.

He looks really pissed when he tells Luke to fall back in line, and they take off running again.

I can’t believe of all the people in the world, Decklan is the “Captain Parker.” I have to find him later and explain.