“Yes, sure,” she said, tying her coat closed.

The wind gusted around them as they headed down the steps, chilly but not freezing, though she was feeling pretty darn cold.

“I upset you,” Luke said as they turned right on the sidewalk.

She cast him a sideways look. “You were just being honest and I prefer honesty, even when it’s hard to swallow.”

They passed a vacant shop, and Luke pulled her into the nook, out of sight, and wrapped her in his powerful arms, the heat of his body seeping into hers.

“I’m sorry,” he said, brushing hair from her face. “I shouldn’t have said that about Gina so abruptly. I’m feeling protective. The Walker men seem to be genetically programmed to get that way with our women.”

“Your women?” she asked, surprised by the comment.

“Yeah,” he said, lowering his mouth, his lips all but brushing hers. “My woman.” He slanted his mouth over hers and claimed it with a hot kiss that stole her breath, before asking, “You got something to say about that?”

“Maybe,” she said.

“Maybe?”

She leaned back, hands on his chest. “This thing with Gina is bothering me, Luke. It’s...I honestly stay so detached at work that I focused on how good she is at her job, not personal likes or dislikes, which suddenly feels very shallow of me.” Just like so many of her clients.

He studied her a long moment. “If anyone understands what it’s like to lock your emotions away so that you get the job done, I do.”

But he’d been a soldier, in war. This wasn’t what a person’s job was supposed to make them. She didn’t recognize herself. She didn’t understand what was happening to her, and she wasn't sure she could with Luke in her life, not when he took it over as he did. Maybe he was even the reason she was such a mess.

“I’m not hungry. I need to get some work done.” She pushed away from him and to her surprise, he let her. Julie walked away from him, feeling alone. Alone was familiar, and she tried to embrace it. Alone meant standing on her own two feet, that she would take actions to protect herself, never getting caught off guard. Alone meant she never had to walk away and be so ridiculously conflicted that she wanted someone – Luke – to pull her back, only to be disappointed when it didn’t happen.

***

Gina ordered a sandwich at the nearby deli and waited patiently at the take out counter. It didn’t surprise her that Julie had backed out of lunch. People like Julie always thought they were above people like her. She didn’t know much about Julie’s past, since Julie didn’t talk to her about anything, but she imagined her boss must have been born with a silver spoon in her mouth. After all, she was extremely young to have achieved such success.

Gina hated her.

If things had been different it would have been her who had such success. The fake niceness Julie had handed out today sickened her. Damn good thing lunch had been cancelled. She wouldn’t want to be sick at the table, and eating with Julie might just have done that to her.

When her food was ready, she accepted her take-out bag. Thoughts of Julie’s demise made her strides towards the door a bit more energetic. Shoving it open, she stepped outside and quickly turned the corner. She came to an abrupt halt as she ran smack into a very hard something.

Her balance faltered and strong hands steadied her. “Easy now, bébé.”

Something about the French accent insinuated itself into her senses like a soft breeze, caressing her nerve endings into awareness. She looked up into sky blue eyes that were alive with interest.

“Sorry about that,” she said.

The man was tall, with brownish blond hair that was a little too long. His body was Adonis-like, his smile sexy as hell. “Perhaps is fate, no?”

She tilted her head. This guy made her heart go pitter patter with a whole new tune. And that accent… “Perhaps, yes.”

He reached his arm overhead flattening his palm on the wall to support his weight. His eyes grazed her lips and lingered before settling back on her eyes. “I am Marco.”

She wet her lips and then offered him her free hand. “I’m Gina.”

He brought her knuckles to his lips and kissed them. ”A pleasure, cherie. I think we should take advantage of this chance meeting. When can I see you again?”

Gina wanted this man. He absolutely made her burn. The gods above seemed to have presented her with her own special sex toy. “Dinner. Tonight. My place.”

He smiled, his eyes reflecting his approval. Her gaze traveled down his body, to his belt, and below. He was hard. She stared a moment, not afraid of the boldness it represented. Then she looked up at him, and smiled her favorite wicked smile. “Tonight indeed. Got a pen? I wouldn’t want you getting lost or anything.”

There was a glint of something she didn’t quite understand in his eyes as he reached forward and ran a finger down her cheek. “I never get lost, so, ma cherie, plan on being found. ” He keyed her address in his cell phone and she sighed as he sauntered away. Once he was out of sight, she headed to her apartment to take her long lunch and break out some sexy lingerie.

***

A half hour after Julie had left Luke on the corner, she sat at her desk, her stomach growling, thumbing through a case file and the silence was deafening to the point of creepy. The creek of the wooden floor in the lobby actually made her jump.

“Hello?”

Julie walked to the lobby to find one of the guys from the mail department who ran errands holding a bag of food. “Ms. Harrison?”