Operation Dolphin Spirit

by Kimberli A. Bindschatel

  “Natalie will be busy all day with follow up from the stranding yesterday,” she said, shuffling papers around and clearing off the chair. “And after I stop by and check on a dog who’s got some kind of ear infection, I’ve got to make a report to the board. I’ll work on it at home so you can use the computer here. I’ve got a simple project for you to start with today, but we’ll get you out with the dolphins soon, in the water with them.”

  “No problem,” I said, but couldn’t help feeling disappointed. “So, tomorrow maybe?”

  “Yes. The weather is good. And the guide boat is going out. We don’t have our own research vessel. We team up with a local guide who takes snorkelers to swim with the dolphins. He runs SCUBA trips in the morning, then dolphin tours in the afternoon. It’s a good partnership because we get a ride and his customers like to have a researcher on board to ask questions.”

  I smiled. That meant I’d be on the same boat as Dalton. For the case, it was best to split up, glean as much information as possible by working separately. But, hey, if our roles happened to overlap, so be it.

  Being close to Dalton was a risk. I needed to make a decision. He was my partner and we’d gotten too close. Way too close. It had affected our performance and, in a couple situations, put us in danger. Not to mention, fraternization was forbidden in the agency. Especially among partners. I suppose that was why. Letting your guard down, even for a moment, in this job could get you killed. The answer was clear. I had to forget about him. He was simply off limits.

  But then again, really, what was the big deal? So we cared about each other… aren’t partners supposed to care about each other? We had a bond. Facing those dangerous situations together helped us build trust, a connection. It was natural.

  Dalton had made his opinion of the fraternization rule, and any other issues I brought up, very clear. To hell with them. But he wasn’t clear on how he felt about me, exactly.

  I still couldn’t decide if it was worth the risk. I’d been working toward this point in my career my whole life. And, for all I knew, this could be one of those relationship situations where you’re drawn together simply because your lives are in danger. That didn’t mean it was a real bond. Once we weren’t partners anymore, we probably wouldn’t even be compatible.

  But my god he was hot. And kind. And he seemed to really dig me.

  Maybe I should’ve taken my best friend Chris’s advice and gone ahead and had sex with Dalton. Get it over with. Break the sexual tension, let off all the steam, as he’d put it. It was probably all the teasing and flirting that was distracting me. Yeah, just go ahead. It would probably actually help the situation.

  No. Dalton was my partner. That was it. That was all it was going to be.

  But the way he kissed, and that body, wow, could he wear a pair of jeans, he and I would—

  “Are you with me?” Kerrie said.

  Visions of Dalton vanished. I nodded. I had a job to do.

  The project Kerrie assigned was to sort through hundreds of photographs taken of dorsal fins above water, categorize those that were out of focus or otherwise unrecognizable, then match the recognizable ones to dolphins that had already been identified. If not, put them in another folder for future identification.

  “I’m not sure what you mean by matching,” I said.

  “The dorsal fins are unique, kinda like a fingerprint. They have nicks and sometimes even shark bites. As you sort through, you start to recognize certain animals. You’ll see.”

  She moved to leave.

  “Did you say you’ve got to check on a dog?”

  “Yeah, on my way home.”

  “So you are a veterinarian?” Natalie had said she wasn’t. That’s why she’d called the network for help.

  “No. But I’m the best they’ve got on the island. I do basic stuff between the visits from the vet who comes from Nassau once or twice a year.”

  “Oh, I see.”

  “I’ve really got to go,” she said and swept out the door, assuring me we’d do something more fun tomorrow. Maybe she was trying to make up for her coolness toward me yesterday. I still didn’t trust her. Something was definitely up.

  Once she left, I sent a text to my team, letting them know we needed to meet tonight for an update.

  We met on Tom and Mike’s fishing boat, which was in the marina not far from my room, so we could talk inside the cabin, away from any onlookers.

  Though I’d been on the task force for a few months now, I was still getting to know Tom. On our first op together, in our undercover roles, we hadn’t crossed paths much, but he’d been a solid guy—polite, very professional. He might or might not have an inkling that Dalton and I had feelings for each other. I wasn’t sure what to do about that. So far, he’d been cool.

  Mike, on the other hand, had a hot Italian temper and an unpredictable, loose-cannon style. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about seeing him again. He had been my partner on our first operation together and things hadn’t gone so well. The fact is, I’d learned a hard lesson about ambition and deceit. While I can’t call him a friend, I do have to work with him. I’ll never turn my back on him again, though.

  They’d commandeered a forty-eight foot fishing yacht in Miami from the government shipyard, one that had been repossessed, probably for drug smuggling or tax evasion or something nefarious, and driven the fifty-some miles, through the night, across the Gulf Stream.

  Maybe Tom was being influenced by Mike’s method-acting attitude because, not only did they take their undercover roles seriously and dressed for the part—Tom had on a button-down Guy Harvey shirt with tan Bermuda shorts and flip-flops, Mike wore a T-shirt with a marlin splashed with paint in red, green, and yellow, gray shorts and sandals—but they seemed so relaxed, I wondered if they’d notice if an aircraft carrier pulled into the harbor.

  Dalton and I sat next to each other, across from them, in the tiny dinette. Sitting so close to him made me feel nervous. How silly. We’d been partners now for over year. I trusted him with my life. There was nothing to be nervous about. Yet my heartbeat picked up and my mouth felt a little dry. He was just so…mmmm… Dalton smelled like the sea and soap and an indescribable masculinity that left me wanting to bury my nose in that spot where his neck meets his shoulder and maybe trail my lips up to his ear...

  Concentrate. “You two like the boat?” I asked.

  Tom shrugged.

  Mike swigged a beer. “Not the smell. It’s only a few years old, but still, somehow, it reeks of salt, mildew, and fish guts.”

  “Yes, but this boat so perfectly fits your cover as obnoxious fishermen,” I said.

  “How so?” Tom asked, all innocent.

  “Seriously? It’s called Droppin’ Skirts.”

  “What... Skirts are a kind of fishing lure…thing,” he grinned.

  “Oh, gimme a break,” I rolled my eyes.

  Mike said, “Our timing is right on. There’s a big wahoo fishing tournament this week.”

  “What’s a wahoo?”

  They both shrugged.

  Tom smiled wider. “Don’t worry, we’re studying.”

  “Well, you wouldn’t be the first men ever to buy a big fishing boat and not know which end of the pole to stick in the water.”

  Dalton ignored our banter. “I met the dive team today. Nice folks. Got the rundown on daily excursions. Nothing out of the ordinary. I asked about interaction with the dolphins. They seemed pretty strict about the rules for their protection.” He turned to me and I felt myself flush. “I got nothing else.”

  Stay on the task, McVie. “Well, I have some interesting info. I don’t know if you heard, but yesterday, when I arrived, we went straight to the north end of the island, because a dolphin had stranded on the beach.”

  Mike and Tom looked surprised.

  “No kidding?” said Tom.

  “What are the odds?” I said.

  “What’d the researcher say about it?” Dalton asked.

  “That’s just it. She
was hard to read. It was pretty stressful for her, which I’m sure is normal. But I got the feeling she didn’t want to share much. Her assistant started to say something, a couple times, and she cut her off. I got the impression that wasn’t her normal manner.”

  Tom leaned in. “Do you think she’s hiding something?”

  “I don’t know. She did seem…tight lipped. But I have a hard time imagining it’s because she’s up to something criminal.” I turned to Dalton. “I did find out that she doesn’t have a boat of her own. We’ll be going out on your dive boat with you.” I grinned.

  If he was happy about that, he revealed nothing. Typical Dalton. Not a flicker. That’s why he was so good undercover. “Yeah, I wondered about that,” he muttered, seeming to be pondering the implications.

  “I know it’s not ideal. But it’s the situation. And sometimes, in the same scenario, we might see different things.” I nodded, trying to assure my team it wouldn’t be a big deal.

  “Yeah, no. I’ve been thinking.” Dalton turned to the guys. “Are you two comfortable with this boat? It’s kinda big. I mean, maybe, Tom, I know you’re SCUBA certified. Maybe you’d prefer to move over to the divemaster job? I can captain for Mike.”

  The wind left my sails. What was he doing? Didn’t he want to work with me?

  Tom shrugged. “Whatever you want. I’m not sure that—”

  Oh no. No way. “They just drove it over from Miami,” I said. “Across the Gulf Stream, no less. I’m sure they know what they’re doing. What is this about?”

  Dalton held my gaze for a moment too long. “Nothing. I don’t know. I just thought—I get to dive all day. It seems too good to be true.” He smirked. “Just trying to share the love.”

  Chapter Three

  It was dark when we left the boat and Dalton moved to walk me to my room.

  “You don’t have to do that,” I said. I needed some space to sort out why he’d reacted the way he did, why he didn’t want to work with me on the dolphin boat everyday.

  “I know. But I want to,” he said. “Besides, it’s not safe.”

  “Not safe? This is Bimini. And I can take care of myself anyway.” I was a trained federal agent, after all. And an expert street fighter, besides.

  “I know. I just…”

  “You just what?”

  “I just want you to be able to relax, enjoy being here. You’ve been under a lot of stress lately and—”

  “And you haven’t?”

  He took me by the hand. “Let’s walk along the beach.”

  I pulled my hand away. “What if someone sees us?”

  “What if they do?” He took my hand in his again and held it tightly. “There’s no reason anyone seeing us together can’t think we’re lovers on this op.”

  “What?” I spun on him, met his eyes. “A few minutes ago, you didn’t want to be near me.”

  He shifted backward on his heels, leaning away from me, a look of surprise on his face. “What are you talking about?”

  “What am I talking about?” What the hell? “You were trying to switch roles with Tom so you don’t have to be on the boat with me.”

  “Well, yeah. That’s what you keep telling me, that we can’t work together. Isn’t it?”

  I stared at him. It was true. I had said that…but—“Well, yeah, but—”

  “But nothing.” He crossed his arms. “You’ve been really clear on the matter.”

  “Yes, but—”

  “You can’t have it both ways.”

  God, he was so infuriating.

  He looked at me with those heart-melting eyes. “I can handle it though. Can you?”

  He was challenging me. Were we denying our feelings? Or was he saying he could handle being in a relationship with me and work together? Maybe he thinks it’s worth the risk.

  How the hell do I ask that?

  “You know I can handle anything that gets thrown at me,” I said. “I can roll with it. I’m the queen of rolling with it.”

  He was grinning at me. A wicked grin.

  “What?”

  “Nothing.”

  “What?”

  “You don’t know what you want, do you?”

  I know I want you. “I know when things are complicated. And you should, too.”

  “Okay,” he said and started walking again, taking me by the hand and tugging me along after him.

  Once we were on the beach—the same spot I’d stood earlier—where the waves now caressed the sand in slow, rhythmic pulses, he turned, took my other hand in his, and faced me.

  “Listen,” he said. “I’m here. Right here. One way or the other. Whatever you decide. But I do wish you’d decide.”

  Did he mean… I took a deep breath, steadying myself. I was in control. “Well, you know it’s complicated and—”

  “I don’t care. I can handle complicated. Especially for something I want.” His eyes held mine.

  “You want?” The sand below my feet began to shift.

  He didn’t blink, didn’t look away.

  “Well, I—”

  “Unless you’ve got some other argument. Perhaps some new information for me to ponder.” He was teasing me now.

  “Ponder? You?” I teased back.

  “If you ask me, I think you’ve been doing too much pondering.” He wrapped his hands around my waist, setting my nerves buzzing. “Too much thinking. Over thinking.” He pulled me to him. My heartbeat picked up. I was in his arms, pressed against him. Breathe. “Not enough feeling.” His lips were inches from mine. “Kiss me,” he said, his voice low.

  My breath caught in my throat. “What? I really think—”

  “Shut up and kiss me.”

  His lips met mine, warm and intoxicating. My lips parted and the touch of his tongue on mine sent an electric sizzle down my spine. He kissed me slowly at first, then with more intensity, hungering for more. My whole body flushed with warmth. Somehow, he knew just how to kiss me, how to get my insides to melt.

  “We shouldn’t…” I whispered between kisses.

  He pressed his lips to my ear. His breath, hot on my skin— “Oh, we definitely should. We’re here. In the tropics. Practically on vacation.” He nuzzled my ear.

  My fingers were in his hair, tugging at the base of his neck. He smelled so good. And the feel of his skin. The waves lapped on the shore. And the ocean air felt like heaven.

  Maybe Chris was right. If we’d just get it over with, let off a little steam… Why not? What was the big deal anyway? It was nobody’s business who I slept with. Not my mom’s. Not my boss’s. And this was Dalton.

  He ran his hand down my back side and drew me tighter to him, pulling me up against his hard body. Yes, let off a little steam. I kissed him with new vigor. I wanted so badly to let go. To enjoy it.

  I was standing on the edge of a cliff, dizzy with the urge to jump.

  My nerves started to buzz again.

  It’s just sex. Don’t read so much into it. Have a good time.

  But that would be too impulsive. Irresponsible. Too…

  Oh hell. Screw that.

  I pressed against him and he responded with a passion I hadn’t felt from him before. It was as if he couldn’t get enough. His hand came around to my breast. I drew in a quick breath.

  “Oh, Poppy,” he moaned as his hands moved lower.

  “Maybe we should take this back to my room,” I said.

  He pulled away, looked me in the eyes. “Are you sure?”

  I nodded. Yes. I decided. And suddenly I felt free. Gloriously free. And certain. It wasn’t reckless abandon, but knowing exactly what I wanted and going after it.

  He took my hand, spun me around, and tugged me toward the hotel like the beach was on fire. Nothing was going to keep him from getting us there. He was a force of nature and the vortex of his passion drew me after him.

  At my door, I fumbled with the key. Dalton had the good sense not to help me with it.

  Once inside, we didn’t even turn on a light. I
n an instant, we resumed the position we’d been in on the beach, my body tight against his, my hands in his hair, his hands moving all over my body.

  “You drive me out of my mind,” he said, passion in his voice.

  “Yeah?” I said, pulling back a little. I pulled my top over my head, then unclipped my bra and flung it across the room. “How about now?”

  With a guttural moan, he gathered me in his arms and gently placed me on the bed. He stared at me in the dim, orange light from the streetlight outside my window as he took his time unbuttoning his shirt.

  “Hurry up,” I said, worried I sounded like I was afraid I’d change my mind. Or he would.

  “Oh no. I’m going to enjoy every delicious moment.”

  I bit my lip. He stood before me, unzipping his shorts, his eyes locked onto mine, a look on his face that confirmed his words—he wanted to savor the moment.

  He dropped his shorts to the floor, stepped out of them, and lowered himself onto the bed next to me.

  I couldn’t take it. We’d put this off for too long. I rolled over on top of him, straddling him at the waist.

  “I’m on top,” I said.

  “Of course,” he whispered. “But what’s your hurry?”

  “Are you kidding? You broke a land speed record on the way here from the beach.”

  “Yeah. I wanted to get your clothes off before you changed your mind. But now that I have…” His eyes traveled down my body, then back up. He reached up, took a strand of my hair and ran it through his fingers. “We’ve got all night.”

  His hands splayed across my shoulder and slowly ran down the side of my arms.

  Sparks shot through me. Furious and erratic. “I told you yes,” I said as I ran my fingers across his muscular chest. His chest hair was damp with sweat. I leaned forward, letting my hair graze his skin as I slowly bent over him, hoping it would drive him crazy. “Don’t make me wait any longer,” I breathed into his ear.

  He resisted, only a moment, to whisper. “You’re sure?”

  I nodded.

  He kissed me softly, gently, as his hands moved to encircled me. Then, in an instant, he had me fully enveloped in his arms as he rolled us over and ended up on top of me.