Harrier's Healer (19 page)

couldn’t see anything beyond the indigo dress that caressed Alexis’s

body so perfectly. Yet when he’d approached her during a moment

when she’d finally been alone, she’d fled, firming his resolve to talk to

her.

“I don’t think so, my Nubian healer. I’m not about to let you get

away that easily.” Scott drained the rest of his drink in one gulp and

straightened his perfectly-creased uniform before walking back into the

building.

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Aliyah Burke

Walking down the stairs, Scott’s sharp gaze picked out the object

of his desire. Currently she stood with a few other officers, some he

knew and some he didn’t. It didn’t matter, though, for they were all

looking at her too lecherously.

One of the men flagged him down as he approached. “Com-

mander, you must come meet this woman.”

Bold blue eyes swept over her body as he walked up to the

group. “Gentleman,” Scott said smiling at them all. “Ma’am.”

“Alexis, this is Commander Leighton. Commander, this is—”

Reaching for her hand, he shook it as he interrupted, “Chief Ro-

gets. We’ve met. A pleasure to see you again.” His index finger trailed

along the inside of her wrist as he allowed her to take back possession

of her hand.

“Commander,” she said in her husky voice, nodding slightly.

“Good to see you again as well.” The tip of her tongue slipped out to

moisten her full lips, drawing his eyes to them. “Good to see you

gentlemen, also, but I think I need to go find my date. Excuse me.” Just

as earlier, she melted away, leaving Scott frustrated and horny.

Hell, no!
“Excuse me as well, gentlemen, there is a matter that I

must discuss with Chief Rogets.” He was gone before they could say

anything one way or the other.

“Chief Rogets, may I have a word?” Scott’s deep voice broke in-

to her conversation with another man she was talking to.

“Of course, Commander. Excuse me, Señor Padilla,” Alexis said

politely.

“Not a problem, we will talk again later, no?” He kissed the back

of her hand and walked away.

She turned those expressive eyes onto Scott asking, “What can I

do for you, Commander?”

“I think this is best done in private.” He gestured towards the

door and the labyrinth.

With all the bearing of royalty, she turned and walked ahead of

him. She waited in silence until he stopped her with a touch and

crowded her towards the corner where they were completely ob-

structed from view. For all intents and purposes they were alone; they

would hear anyone coming before they got there.

“What is it, Commander?” Alexis asked again, looking at him

politely.

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113

“This.” She was in his arms in a second, her mouth devoured by

a starving man. His tongue swept deep into her mouth, experiencing

again what he had already come to know and love.

Alexis purred contentedly as she arched into him. Her arms slid

up his hard chest until her right hand touched his medals. She tensed

immediately and drew away.

“Don’t do that again,” she hissed at him.

“Didn’t you miss me, my love?” he asked, ignoring her state-

ment and pulling her in closer until he was content with the miniscule

distance separating them.

“This isn’t your cabin; we can’t do this,” she protested, not giv-

ing him the answer he wanted to hear.

“We aren’t even in the States, my seductive little healer. Or on a

military installation.” His thumbs moved tenderly over her bottom lip.

“The rules don’t change just because we aren’t in the country.”

“No more talking.” He captured her mouth with a gentle kiss,

exploring her mouth like it was new and uncharted territory, his tongue

dancing a slow seductive tango with hers.

Their tastes became blended. No more individual flavor, they

were one. Two halves of the same whole.

Unable to resist, Alexis gave into his long, drugging kiss. Scott

hoped she’d dreamed about his touch since she had climbed in the taxi

and left him in front of his cabin the same way he’d dreamed of hers.

Needing her closer, Scott slid his arms around her waist and picked her

up off the ground.

“Stop, Commander!” she begged.

With a heavy sigh, he set her back on the ground, refrained from

kissing her, but refused to stop touching her body. “I’ve missed you,”

he blurted out as two fingers ran down a corkscrew curl that framed her

face.

“I’ve missed you too,” she admitted as one of her fingers ran

over the large swathe of decorations on his chest.

Those words lifted a huge weight off of his shoulders. “You still

owe me four days.”

She trembled at what that could entail. “I can’t take any more

time. We are leaving soon and this is a special chit request to come here

with Piers.”

Piers
. Blue eyes narrowed before a very controlled question

came. “Is he important to you?”

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Aliyah Burke

“Of course he is.” Alexis cocked her head to the side. “Why

wouldn’t he be?”

“And you make it a habit to go to the hotel rooms of men in

ports you visit?” His question was harsh and totally lacking in the care

that had been there before.

“No, of course not,” she exclaimed stunned. Her eyes narrowed

in the moonlight. “How did you know I went to his…?” Alexis trailed

off before her voice grew sharp and accusatory. “You bastard! What are

you doing, following me? And you think I am like that?”

“I saw you around a few times,” he tried, realizing that he had

grieved egregiously.

“Around a few times, huh?” Her body was rigid as she stepped

away fro him. “But you were close enough to me to hear my conversa-

tion with Piers?”

Shit, I stepped in it this time.
“I was on my way—”

“Forget it, Commander,” she snapped, slashing her hand

through the air. “I don’t owe you any explanations. Leave me alone!”

He reached for her but she eluded his grasp and moved away

from him, keeping a particular distance between them as they left the

labyrinth. Before she moved onto the lighted path, she stopped and

glared at him so harshly he could feel the daggers. “Not that it is any of

your concern, but Piers is my second-oldest brother.” Spinning around

in righteous anger, she stomped up the path and walked out of his life

again.

Her brother?
“When will I learn to keep my fucking mouth

shut?” he swore as he allowed her to escape, for he wasn’t about to do

anything to embarrass her at this gathering.

For the rest of the night Lieutenant Commander Leighton min-

gled with the dignitaries and did his job. But always in his sights moved

a beautiful dark-skinned doctor dressed, in his mind, mouthwateringly

in an indigo dress. She managed to avoid him for the rest of the night

without appearing to do so.

C h a p t e r S e v e n t e e n

Sitting at the table, Alexis just pushed her food around on her

plate. She hadn’t had much of an appetite since she saw Commander

Leighton at the pagoda in Hong Kong. Her feelings for him were still

just as strong as they had always been. To be fair to him, it was possible

that he didn’t know the names of all her siblings; she didn’t know all of

his.

“Lex,” the voice intruded. She looked up to see Katie waving her

hand at her. “You okay, girl?”

Alexis smiled. “Fine, just not really hungry. I’m gonna go catch

up on some reading.” She stood and carried her tray to the conveyor

belt leading to the kitchens. Waving over her shoulder, Alexis left the

mess, and walked to her small area that held her meager possessions on

the ship. Just as she lay down on her rack with a book, it happened.

“Chief Rogets report to medical! Chief Rogets report to medi-

cal!” The order came blaring over the loudspeaker.

Without hesitation, she rolled out of her small bed and swiftly

navigated the narrow passageways to sick bay where she saw two men

on examination tables. “What is going on here?” she demanded as she

closed the door behind her.

“They fell down the ladders,” the corpsman said with a shake of

his head.

She attended the two men with lightheartedness and good hu-

mor. Finally she was done and decided once she returned to her quar-

ters she’d sleep; it was too late for reading. Alexis was slipping back

through the halls when she saw the captain and some others walking in

her direction. Pressing herself against the wall to give them the right of

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Aliyah Burke

way, she immediately recognized the scent of the man who brushed up

against her.

“Sorry,” that deep voice crooned as a hand reached out to touch

her arm in apology.

“No problem, Commander,” she said, refusing to look him in

the eyes. His fingers stayed almost too long on her arm, but he dropped

them before anyone could become suspicious. “Sirs,” Alexis acknowl-

edged before slipping off down the passageway, willing the beating of

her heart not to give her away.

It wasn’t a fulfilling sleep that claimed Alexis. Her dreams were

nothing but Scott accusing her of being a whore. She awoke with a start

to see Katie standing over her. “Lex,” she said, extremely concerned.

“Are you okay?”

Climbing carefully out of her rack, Alexis nodded. “Just a

nightmare.” she tried for a grin. “Thanks for waking me.”

“Girl, you had me worried.” Her dark expressive eyes moved

over the unusually pale and drawn face of her good friend. “Oh, by the

way, Touchette sent me to get you. He asked where you were and I

said in your rack sleeping. He said that once you were awake to go to

the officers’ mess.”

Squinting at the onset of a headache, Alexis nodded again.

“When was that? How long ago?”

“About an hour or so. He said he knew you had just been on for

twelve so if he wasn’t in the mess, he would be in his room,” Katie said,

handing over a bottled water.

All Alexis could think about was Scott being on board the
Eve-

rett
.
Why wouldn’t he be on the Endeavor? Because he wants to see you, Lex,

ol’ girl!
Taking a healthy gulp of water, she sighed. “Well, since I’m up I

guess I should go.” Alexis quickly braided her hair into a French braid

and put her cap on.

With one quick look to make sure her uniform was acceptable,

she sat down, tied on her boots, and looked up at Katie, who was

waiting for her with a bemused expression on her face. “What?” she

asked in Spanish as her eyes moved up to meet her friend’s.

“Just thinking about those handsome SEALs we took onboard. It

should be a
very
nice trip back with them around,” Katie answered, also

speaking Spanish.

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117

A nice trip to hell!
“They’re just men, Katie. Wipe your mouth;

you are drooling all over the floor,” Alexis said semi-playfully, pleased

that her voice was as it usually would be.

With one last sigh, Alexis rose and the women walked together,

conversing in Spanish as they navigated the passageways. She knew

they passed Scott because she felt that funny tremble inside her belly

that he never failed to cause. Refusing to meet his gaze, she continued

straight to find the captain who was waiting for her.

It had been five days since he and his Team had boarded the

Everett
,
and Scott couldn’t believe how well Alexis was managing to

avoid him. On a carrier, her evasive maneuvers would be one thing, but

this ship was much smaller than that. With a last look around, he swore

as he left the flight deck and headed towards the officers’ mess to fill his

belly.

Walking behind two seamen, he overheard them talking about

how nice HMC Rogets was. The deep, yearning urge to see her almost

buckled his knees. It was time to go get some medical attention.

Ignoring the rumbling in his stomach, Scott turned and made his

way to the private office for the doctor on duty. He knocked on the

door, not exactly sure what to say. Scott didn’t even know if she was on

right now or not.

Knock
.
Knock
.
Knock
.

“Come on in,” Alexis called loudly through the door. Scott en-

tered to see her back toward him, working on the computer. At the

sound of the door closing, she still hadn’t turned. “Just a moment and

I’ll be right with you. Have a seat.”

He followed her directive, his blue eyes never leaving her form.

He watched as Alexis logged off and spun around to talk to whomever

needed her attention with a smile on her face. “What can I do for—” She

faltered when she finally laid eyes on him.

“Chief,” came the respectful tone even though his eyes removed

every stitch of clothing he could see on her.
I can’t lose you, Lex. I won’t

lose you!

“Commander.”
She straightened her shoulders. “What can I do

for you?”

“I need some medical advice,” he said, leaning back in the chair