Melene blinked at him. She wanted to ease around this table, plop herself onto his lap, run her fingers through his short hair, and kiss him until lunchtime.
“We’d better clean up breakfast,” he said brightly, jumping to his feet and stacking plates onto the tray.
Melene stood as well. Instead of helping, she stared at him. “What are you scared of?”
Aiden froze with a plate in one hand and a cup in the other. He stared down at her and shook his head. “Excuse me?”
She should be the one scared of opening this can of worms, but Aiden was so irresistible. She wanted to be closer to him. She wanted to develop something with him. It was dumb of her, and she had no clue how a relationship could ever work for her with her lifestyle and especially a relationship with someone like Aiden who was as committed and felt “called” to his busy and demanding life and career just like she was.
She eased closer to him. Aiden released the plate and cup with a clatter and backed away from her. She’d said earlier that he was in her power and, wow, did she feel that now. She backed this tough man right up against the glass wall and she pressed her palms flat against his incredible chest.
“What are you afraid of?” she asked softly.
Aiden stared down at her. His blue eyes were soft and vulnerable. She didn’t know if he was going to tease her, tell her the truth, run away, or take her in his arms and give her the kiss she was craving.
“Melene,” he said just as softly. “You are an amazing woman.”
Her breath caught and she bit at her lip, thrilled that the kiss was coming.
His gaze traveled over her face, but instead of pulling her close, he took her hands from his chest and held them in his. “Sadly, we both know this situation is only temporary and with our individual callings in life being all-encompassing … you and I could never work.” He said the words kindly, but they pierced her clear through.
“Ouch,” she managed.
“I’m sorry,” was all he offered. He wasn’t going to take the words back, and he meant them.
Melene felt a dart of pain go through her like an arrow, swift and aimed at her heart. He was right. She was being silly and short-sighted. They could never work, and he was only here to protect her. He was being smart, and she needed to follow his lead. These very logical thoughts didn’t stop the hurt, and she felt the sting of emotion like last night in her closet. Only this emotion wasn’t gratitude. It was as if she was a teenager being ditched by the most impressive and appealing guy at the school, before they even went on a date.
She stepped back, schooled her features, and pulled her hands free. He watched her as if she would crumble in front of him.
“You’re right, and I’m the one who is sorry.” She forced a smile and focused on her gratitude for him. “You’re amazing too, Aiden, and I really appreciate you rescuing me, taking care of me on all those miserable ships, and being here to protect me and keep things fun now. I’ll keep my temporary desires in check and not make this any harder than it has to be for either of us.”
He nodded. His blue gaze showed he didn’t like this any more than she did.
“I wish it could be different for us,” he admitted.
“Me too.” She couldn’t keep the longing from her voice.
But it couldn’t be different. Even if one of them backed out of their callings in life, what would that solve? She couldn’t follow him around like a SEAL’s puppy. No, that wasn’t right. She honored and respected military wives and husbands, thought they were as strong and brave as their spouses, but she knew it wasn’t her path.
She guessed he could follow her around and help her with her missions, but was that what he wanted, what he was trained for and excelled at? No. Not even close. He was so impressive, and the world needed men like him.
She drew in a breath and turned away, walking back to the table. They stacked dishes and carried everything to the front door. Aiden set it outside for room service to pick it up. She felt guilty for the food that was wasted and for not washing the dishes first, but Aiden reassured her that was what they were supposed to do.
As they finished, Aiden closed and locked the front door. He set that alarm and turned to her. He folded his arms across his chest and she was awed by the strength there. Strength that would protect her, not hold and comfort her. That was how it had to be. She had to push away the memory of how tender and patient he’d been when she was sick, how fun and appealing he was now, and how his every touch or look seemed to light a fire inside her. It didn’t matter and it couldn’t go anywhere. No matter how that stunk, she couldn’t change it.
Now how to burn through the time until they could safely return to their own lives? Hopefully it was only a day or two or she might go insane trapped with this incredible and beautiful man who was out of reach. They’d both admitted nothing could happen between them, but it stung deeply that he’d said it first. That he could be so rational and in control, not just fling the future worries in the ocean and kiss their time away. Maybe that just meant he wasn’t as drawn to her as she was to him.
“So …” He gave her a grin that made her knees feel weak. “What do you want to do for fun today?”
She shrugged, frustrated at herself for being so susceptible to his every grin and look. But dang those blue eyes of his … “Do we have many options? We’re kind of stuck here, right?”
He nodded. “True. We can go swim in the ocean, though. I can stay armed and monitor my phone in the water. I was thinking I could have room service drop off snorkeling masks and maybe even some scuba gear. Have you ever done an open water dive?”
“No. I’ve never done any kind of dive, I’ve hardly even snorkeled.” A lot of her missions were in warm places and some by the ocean, but she didn’t have a lot of free time or equipment. She did love to swim in the ocean and did that as often as she could.
His grin was irresistible. “Well then, we definitely need to remedy that. They’d probably bring us paddle boards and kayaks too.”
“So we’ll play in the ocean all day?”