Forgive & Forget (Love in the Fleet) (7 page)

The merchant nodded. Rashid’s heart kicked into high gear. Five? He’d expected them to send one dhow to compromise the carrier. But, five? Holy shit, these fuckers were serious.

“Currently we plan to have five boats in al-Jubayl and five more further south, closer to Dubai. The dhows will be pre-staged, but the fishermen and explosives can be transported easily by truck. Our extensive tribal contacts will ensure that border crossings anywhere on the Arabian Peninsula will not be an issue.”

Rashid’s orange chicken and iced tea sat untouched. His blood hummed with excitement. This was going to be so fucking easy. The sadiqs were going to take care of everything— everything except for CDC. The Combat Direction Center on the ship was all his. He wasn’t going to let somebody else have all the fun. He would be personally involved in his cause. No way would he be a pussy like Timothy McVeigh had been in Oklahoma City.

Rashid was going down with
his
ship.

Chapter 8

Although Hallie and Philip had planned to set sail early Sunday morning, it was hard to stick to a schedule when neither of them had slept the night before. Both were still on physical and emotional tenterhooks. It was after noon before they cleared the marina. When Hallie parked herself on the bench seat and pulled out the bottle of sunscreen, Philip stopped unfurling the sails.

“Please don’t ask me to put that on your back.” A corner of his mouth lifted in a half smile. “I don’t think I could bear it today.”

“I’m sorry about last night, Philip. I just didn’t feel right about staying.”

Philip knelt down in front of her and took her face in his hands.

“No, Hallie, you call the shots. I don’t want to push you into anything you don’t want to do. I’m just…I don’t know… I’ve been out of my mind this past week around you. I haven’t been able to function, just thinking about you. And it’s not just, you know, kissing you. It’s you, Hallie.” He put his finger under her chin and tipped her face to his.

“I’m in a state of shock that I’ve met a woman who is smart and fun and cares about the world and doing the right things and…” He took the bottle from her. “And sunscreen.”

Warmth spread through Hallie’s chest, a flutter in her heart.

“You’re genuine, Hallie. And I want to be with you all the time.” He kissed her gently on the lips, just once. “And although my mind wants to treat you like the gentleman you deserve, I can’t seem to get my body to behave. So no, I won’t put sunscreen on your back. You’ll have to put on a shirt.”

Hallie burst out laughing and reached out to hug him, but he raised his hand to stop her. “And I’ll put a shirt on too, because there is no way you’re going to put me through what you did last Sunday with that lotion. I thought I was going to die. So come on, sailor.” He hoisted the mainsail. “Anchors aweigh.”

They sailed up Turtle Creek, an estuary of the St. Johns, enjoying the lush jungle on both sides, altering course for a manatee mother and baby. Surprisingly, there weren’t many boats on the creek so they had this paradise all to themselves. Hallie parked herself and handled the jib while Philip worked the mainsail and the tiller. Neither felt the need to talk.

But no matter how beautiful the day and how natural she felt in Philip’s presence, Hallie could not enjoy it. A clock ticked away inside her. A bomb that would eventually go off and destroy this delicious slice of heaven she had found.

Hallie McCabe had seriously fallen for Philip Johnston. She’d spent the past ten years fighting off guys with a stick; and somehow this thoughtful guy had slipped under her radar and stolen her heart. She’d liked him well enough until last night, but when he took her home without one word of argument, it was all over but the shouting.

As she worked the jib, Hallie thought about how angry he would be when she told him the truth later that night. No, worse. He’d be disappointed in her. She strongly doubted he’d bend any rules and agree to an illicit relationship off base. And definitely not, once they deployed. She’d have to agree with him there. That would be way too dangerous for both of them.

She’d even try reminding him that life was uncertain, nobody knew what tomorrow would bring, grab for the gusto, and all that crap. But she knew he wouldn’t fall for it. Because he lived and breathed integrity. And that’s what she liked about him. Maybe he’d come into her life simply to show her there
were
men out there like this. Men she could depend on. Feel safe with. Trust.

He’d blown her away with that little chat about the sunscreen. Most guys would have welcomed the sunscreen action today and picked up where they left off last night. If she’d thought taking her home last night was the ultimate in gentlemanly behavior, his refusal to put lotion on her back this afternoon was the cherry on top. No way was she going to let him walk away. Not quite yet.

Suddenly Hallie knew it was time to act. What good was having a set of balls in her seabag if she didn’t take them out and use them once in a while? Looking around to ensure there weren’t any other boats in sight, she knew it was time to go on a treasure hunt.

And she knew exactly where to find the map.

Philip felt her sneak up behind him as he trimmed the sail. She put her arms around him and hugged his back.

“Hallie,” he cautioned.

She kissed his neck. “Thank you for a wonderful day. And thank you for being you.” He turned around to protest her hug, but didn’t get the chance. She removed his sunglasses, locked eyes with him, and said, “I want to make love with you. Right now. Right here.”

Heat slammed into him, along with stunned silence. Had he heard her right? His mouth didn’t work, except to fall open.

“I’m serious.” She flashed him a do-me smile while lifting his shirttail and running her finger from his navel down the line of hair to his shorts. “I’m dying to know what’s at the end of this happy trail.”

He grabbed her hand to stop her, his mouth frozen, his brain on fire. Mixed messages. The hell with mixed messages. Sails? Anchor? Damn the torpedoes. Full speed ahead.

Shit. No condom.

“You bring in the sails and I’ll make the bed,” Hallie cooed.

“But—”

She put her finger to his lips. “Shhh. Love now. Talk later.”

He was dying here. “No. We need to talk now. I wasn’t prepared for this. I mean, I’m not prepared for this. I don’t have a condom on board.”

He told Sky’s voice in his head to shut up before it even got started. No way was he expecting this in his wildest dreams. Not even if they’d already been intimate would he have thought of making love on the sailboat. Like where? There was just enough room in the well between the bench seats.

The cockpit.

Whole new meaning.

“It’s okay. I’m on birth control,” Hallie said.

“No, it’s not okay. I’m sorry, but that’s just how I do things.”

Damn it anyway.

“Did a paper on STDs once and got an A on it?” She challenged him with a smile.

“Something like that.” He grinned slyly and cleared his throat. “That’s not to say there aren’t other ways to pass the afternoon, if you’re still interested.”

Hallie pulled her T-shirt over her head, threw it on the deck, reached into her bikini top, and extracted a condom package. “What’s the matter? Flunk boy scouts?”

Philip was dumbstruck. She put her finger to his lips and repeated her command. “Love now. Talk later.” She pulled his shirt over his head. Then continued her exploration of his happy trail.

Her finger burned him. He grabbed her hand. “Don’t. Please.”

“Don’t or please?”

Philip couldn’t breathe. He knew if she did that again, there was no way he’d be able to bring in the sails or make it to the cockpit.

“I thought you said you had control over your destiny when you were out on the water.” She teased him with a sexy half smile.

And he gave one right back to her. “Not if you touch my happy trail again, I won’t.”

Her bikini top hit the deck. Philip filled his hands and mouth with her. He somehow managed to bring in the sails, when his hands weren’t on her breasts. He blindly found the anchor and threw it overboard. They somehow managed to slide the cushions down into the cockpit, along with a couple of life jackets for a mattress.

Their kiss was uninterrupted. A wicked gleam lit Hallie’s eyes as she again trailed her finger down his abdomen, but this time he let her reach for him through his shorts. Philip’s eyes glazed over as if in pain and he was certain his knees were going to give out. She unlaced his shorts and drew him out as she pulled him down onto the cushions.

He had no choice but to lie on top of her. That was all the room they had. His mouth returned to hers. Still slow, but deep. His tongue filling her mouth. Then to her breasts. Licking them, making her arch her back toward him. He taunted her with each of his slow, deliberate actions. And then went back to her mouth, while trying to shield her face from the sun as best as he could.

Philip slid his left hand into her bikini bottoms, finding her hot and wet and more than ready for him. He rolled right and braced himself with a hand and a foot, so he could peel down the bikini.

Hallie’s hungry eyes invited him in, as she raised her hips. This was really going to happen. He deftly used a big toe to hook her bikini bottoms and slide them off. How he removed his shorts he had no idea. All he knew was he was naked with this incredible, equally naked woman who had just said, “I want to make love with you. Right now. Right here.”

And Philip Johnston had always been one to comply.

After tearing the condom package with his teeth, he put it in her hand and closed her fingers around it. Hallie reached for him and slid along his length, slowly driving him almost to the brink, before covering him.

Inch by painful inch.

He wasn’t sure he’d make it inside her.

Philip broke the kiss. Bracing himself on his elbows, he took her face in his hands, and while looking deeply into her eyes, he slid home. Just like his kisses. Slow and deep. Filling her.

Hallie moved first and he matched her stroke for magnificent stroke. In perfect rhythm. Gazes locked in sizzling intimacy.

She pulled his head down, begging him to kiss her as she arched her hips up to meet him. Their pace quickened, until they were grinding and pounding, rocking the boat. Despite the intensity, they fought to keep their eyes open, lost in each other’s ecstasy.

She grabbed hold of his hips and rocketed from side to side.

Her eyes slid shut and she cried out her release as wave upon wave of pleasure ripped through her. And the combination of her orgasm pulsing around him and hearing his name being screamed to the heavens above, took him right over the edge to join her in oblivion.

Their eyes closed briefly as they enjoyed each other’s aftershocks. The waves rocked them gently, cradling them in the cockpit. They couldn’t move, except to take little nips and give baby kisses to each other’s faces, cheeks, and shoulders. Still loving. Not talking. There was no need to say anything.

Slowly coming back to the world of the living, Philip squinted against the sunlight and reached for his hat to shield their faces. He kissed Hallie’s mouth, her neck, her hair. His eyes returned to hers between each kiss. Was it possible for Hallie to be more beautiful than she’d been before lovemaking? But now bathed in a satisfied afterglow, her face was angelic. An extremely sexy angel, but an angel nonetheless.

Hallie broke the silence first. “Well, no wonder you don’t talk much, Cowboy. You don’t need to.” She giggled. “I’m sorry I screamed like that, I’ve never—”

“Sorry?”

“It wasn’t very ladylike of me.”

“Men don’t want a lady in the bedroom. Or in the cockpit.” He kissed her again. “I’m guessing you don’t know that having a woman scream during sex is like the highest compliment a man could ever receive?”

And somebody owed him a beer, but no way in hell would he ever tell Sky that.

“It is?”

“Well, why did you scream?” He nuzzled her neck.

“I totally lost control. God, you were amazing.”

“I rest my case.” He knew that scream would echo in his head for the rest of his life, reminding him of a sultry June afternoon, lying naked with this woman on a sailboat in the middle of nowhere. A woman who he hoped would be around for a long, long time. “Let’s just be glad there weren’t any other boats around, because somebody might have called in the Coast Guard.”

Philip pulled her tight and rolled them onto their sides. Seeing her fully naked, tracing the path of her bathing suit tan lines with a forefinger, had him practically ready for another round. He cursed himself for not having a condom, but he vowed never to be unprepared again. Not with Little Miss Full of Surprises.

“I have a question,” he said.

She smiled. “Do I always carry a condom in my bathing suit?”

“No, that would be question number two. Why did you stop things last night when we could have made love in my perfectly comfortable bed, and then seduce me on the sailboat today? Not that I’m complaining.”

She turned serious. “Because you took me home last night.”

“I like your reward system.”

“Because you refused to put sunscreen on me today instead of trying to pick up where you left off last night. I am so charmed by you. Your standards, and the way you have a condom policy.”

He laughed. “A condom policy? Never heard it put like that before.”

“And you actually tried to turn me down when you didn’t have one. I mean that really turned me on. I take care of my own birth control, but I always carry a condom, because I don’t take chances with STDs. You’re such a good person, Philip. You make me feel safe. Do you know the moment I fell in love with you?”