An Officer and a Gentleman

by Rachel Lee

  “What did the fire marshal say?” she asked, hoping he wouldn’t notice her rising color.

  “The fire was definitely arson, Captain. Merle says it was started by a homemade electronic fire starter that was hidden behind the instrument panel in the cockpit. He also said that whoever built and hid the ignition device has a fairly sophisticated knowledge of electronics.”

  “You could say that about half the airmen on this base, Nick. This is the high tech Air Force, remember? Anything else?”

  Nick shook his head. “That’s the big development. Not real helpful.”

  “I’m beginning to think this is one case where we’ll have to make our own breaks.”

  “Ma’am?”

  Andrea waved her hand dismissingly. “Just thinking aloud, Nick. Never mind.”

  When Nick had gone, she found her thoughts straying away from business again and back to Dare and the warm glow he’d left her with. Maybe she was in love with him.

  The thought trickled into her mind almost casually, forming fully before it really registered. When it did, shock caused her heart to slam. Love? Why that, of all things? In all her planning and dreaming for her future, that was one contingency she’d never considered, one possibility she’d never reckoned on. She didn’t want to be in love, for crying out loud! But the more the word turned in her mind, the more realistic it sounded.

  If she was in love with Dare now, then she had certainly been in love with him even before Christmas. Maybe, she thought with a reluctant smile, ever since the moment he’d come marching up to her at gunpoint the night her cops had brought him in for loitering near the weapons depot. Maybe since the moment he’d told her that he would be grateful if she wouldn’t go around addressing people as “cowboy.” Certainly at least since he kissed her at Thanksgiving, because after that he’d begun to seriously preoccupy her thoughts.

  And what difference did it make exactly when it had happened? There was a deep certainty in her that it had, happened and for the worst possible person at the worst possible time. Her departure for Minot had been looming unpleasantly for some time, but now it yawned before her like a step into a black pit. She didn’t want to give up her career, and she wasn’t certain any longer that she could give up Dare.

  What now?

  Dare spent the day in a considerably more optimistic frame of mind. AAC might be breathing down his neck for a resolution to the problem, OSI might be crawling into every nook and cranny on the base, but his night with Andrea had persuaded him that he was winning on that front. She had finally confided her fears to him, a sign of trust he valued fully. She’d wept in his arms, slept in his arms, and played this morning with a blossoming confidence in her womanhood. What more could he ask?

  A commitment. The word nearly made him break into a cold sweat, and his confidence took a sharp dip. She’d certainly given him no indication that she no longer considered their relationship temporary. For all he knew, she was still planning to leave for Minot free as a bird and without a backward glance. How could he possibly persuade her that he was capable of giving her the freedom she needed for her career while nailing her down to permanence in a relationship?

  Because he wanted that kind of permanence. All his life long he’d wanted it, except for a brief spell after his first marriage. He could have had it a half-dozen times over, too, except that he was particular about things like companionship and friendship. And love? If the day ever came when he was sitting in a rocker and leaning on a cane, he wanted to be with someone he liked, not someone he tolerated. And, by God, he liked Andrea. There wasn’t a shadow of a doubt in his mind that she would still be zinging him when he was ninety.

  It was too soon, he decided with a sigh, to press for a commitment from her. For now he’d better stick with persuading her to let him visit her out in Minot on weekends. Then, when she saw he was willing to commute any distance to be with her, maybe she would consider more. Maybe all she needed to know was that they could make it work whatever the difficulties.

  With that thought, he felt a resurgence of optimism, and he was still feeling pretty good when he closed up his office and headed over to Security. It was the weekend at last.

  “Hi,” Andrea said with a shy smile when Dare appeared in her doorway.

  “Hi,” he replied, stepping inside and closing the door. “It’s Friday.” Why did she look so shy? he wondered. What had happened?

  “So it is,” she agreed. “What are your plans?”

  “Our plans,” he corrected gently. “How about options, instead? There are a number of places we can go.”

  She bit her lower lip, lifting her eyes hesitantly to his. “Would you—would you mind very much if we didn’t go anywhere?”

  Dare wouldn’t have believed he could plunge so far so fast. “What’s wrong?” His tone was sharper than he intended, and he regretted it instantly when he saw her head snap up and her chin thrust out.

  “Nothing’s wrong, sir,” she replied coolly.

  Dare started backpedaling immediately. “I didn’t mean to snap at you, Andrea. It’s been a long week. Has something come up?”

  Little by little her chin softened and the flare in her green eyes died. “I just don’t want to be out of touch this weekend. I need to be accessible if something happens.”

  Well, he thought, here’s your chance to prove you can let her career come first. It didn’t thrill him. “All right. Maybe we can squeeze in a little time together.”

  Andrea gnawed her lip and darted a couple of uncertain looks at him.

  “Andrea, is something wrong?”

  Only that he hadn’t even argued with her, she thought miserably. Her feelings were so new, so fragile and so frightening, that she needed the reassurance of knowing they were returned, at least a little.

  “Actually,” she said after a moment, then cleared her suddenly dry throat, “actually, I thought maybe—if it wouldn’t be too much trouble—that I could—that is—”

  Dare couldn’t stand it another minute. His hopes for the weekend were dashed, and now Andrea was acting like she was afraid of him. Damning the consequences, he rounded her desk, pulled her up from her chair, and kissed her soundly. When he lifted his head, her green eyes looked glazed.

  “Spit it out, Andrea,” he coaxed. “If what isn’t too much trouble?”

  “Can I stay with you this weekend?” The words came out in a breathless sigh.

  He couldn’t help it. He kissed her again, then tucked her head against his shoulder. “You can stay with me any weekend, every weekend and every night in between if you want, honey. You don’t even have to ask. But someone might find out. I thought that bothered you.”

  “Nobody will know.” She lifted her head and looked up at him with eyes so soft that Dare felt his heart turn into instant mush. “I just have to be reachable by radio.”

  “Done.” He brushed a stray tendril of strawberry blond hair back from her forehead. “Do you want to come with me now?”

  “I need to pack an overnight bag first. I’ll walk over later.”

  “Andrea, sweetheart, it’s twenty-three below outside.”

  A smile rose from her lips to touch her eyes. “That’s okay. I’ve got the gear for it. Besides, nobody will ever recognize me all bundled up like an Eskimo.”

  Dare shook his head. “Uh-uh. I’ll pick you up in front of the base library at seven. You’re not going to walk more than half a block in this.”

  She tilted her head. “If you’re going to come out anyway, then you might as well pick me up in front of the BOQ.”

  “Aren’t you worried there might be gossip?”

  Andrea shrugged. “Let ’em talk. I’m leaving in just over a week.”

  A cold fist clenched Dare’s heart. She sounded so damn cool that it hurt. “Yeah,” was the only reply he could manage. “Yeah.”

  Chapter 13

  Dare’s romantic streak showed that evening. While a polar air mass moved in, sending the temperature ever lower and obs
curing the world with blowing snow, he and Andrea ate by candlelight in his dining room. Afterward he put on some music, and the sadly haunting strains of “The Tennessee Waltz” filled the room.

  “Dance with me, Andrea.”

  “I can’t dance,” she protested, feeling shy again.

  “It doesn’t matter,” he coaxed, his blue eyes as warm as the candle flames. “Just lean on me.”

  She ought to be wearing some beautiful gauzy creation, Andrea thought, not jeans and a sweater, but it ceased to matter the instant she stepped into his arms. She felt as if she were floating, and as she relaxed it became easier to follow Dare’s slow movements. Before long they were waltzing slowly around the room.

  With a deep sigh, Andrea rested her head on his chest and gave herself up to all the good feelings. Through the soft wool beneath her cheek she could hear the steady beat of his heart, and she was surrounded by the soapy, musky scent that was particularly his. He felt so strong and solid against her, made her feel so secure and cherished when he held her. It was going to hurt badly when she left next week. She sighed again.

  “That sounded sad.” Dare’s voice rumbled deep in his chest.

  “I guess it was, a little.”

  “Anything I can do to help?”

  Tell me it won’t be all over in twelve days, Andrea thought. “Not really,” she said.

  Bending, he pressed his face to the top of her head. “Just let it all go, Andrea,” he murmured. “Don’t think, don’t worry. Just be.”

  It was a tempting invitation, and Andrea tilted her head back, seeking his mouth with hers. Finding it, she kissed him with every bit of longing in her heart, pressing closer to him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.

  Dare felt her desperation and wondered at it. Her kiss, however, was evoking thunder in his blood, and he didn’t feel like thinking right now. Reaching down, he cupped her delightful derriere and drew her snugly up against him. Slipping his leg between hers, he pressed against her and felt her thighs tighten around him.

  Andrea leaned back a little and smiled hazily at him. “You always manage to teach me something new.”

  He flexed his thigh again and smiled when she drew a deep breath. “I like dancing with you, Captain.”

  “Is that what this is? Dancing?”

  Dare tightened his grip on her, rocking her suggestively against his leg. “Maybe it’s flying,” he said. “It sure feels every bit as good.”

  Andrea buried her face against his sweater. “Maybe we should go fly in the bedroom, Colonel.”

  “Not yet.” He drew his leg from between hers and began again to move in time to the music. “Right now, Captain, I just want to enjoy holding you and dancing with you. We’ve got all weekend.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I don’t get to hold you enough, Andrea. I don’t get to be with you enough.”

  He expected her to stiffen, to withdraw in that subtle way she had when she was uncomfortable. Instead she seemed to soften even more against him, and Dare began to really relax.

  “I remember you at Mather,” he told her. “I used to see you in chapel. You had a pink dress with flounces and ruffles all over it.”

  Andrea groaned. “I hated that dress. I hoped there wasn’t a living soul who noticed me in it.”

  “Why’d you wear it?”

  “My father made me. He told my mother to get me something feminine to wear to chapel so I wouldn’t embarrass him. My mother had terrible taste.”

  “Maybe she just knew what your father considered feminine.”

  “That’s entirely possible. It used to drive me crazy, the way she always buckled under and let him dictate everything.”

  “You’re certainly not the type to let anyone do that.”

  She looked up at him, a teasing glint in her eye. “And here I thought I was the model of an obedient subordinate officer.”

  “You’ve never been insubordinate, Captain. You have other methods.”

  She dropped one of her hands from his neck and slipped it up under his sweater, finding the soft mat of hair on his chest. There was no way, she realized, that she would ever get her fill of touching him.

  “Are you into my chest hair again, Captain Burke?”

  “Yes, sir.” She curled her fingers, giving it a playful tug. “I don’t suppose I can persuade the Colonel to ditch his sweater?”

  “What’s wrong with my sweater?”

  “It’s in my way.”

  So he ditched it, and while he was at it, he ditched hers, as well. And he discovered that Andrea could still blush when he looked at her.

  “Save the blushes for when I remove your bra, Captain.”

  She looked at him from beneath lowered lashes. “And when are you going to get around to that, sir?”

  “Soon, Captain. Very soon.”

  But he continued to dance with her, holding her close and stroking her back from neck to hip. Andrea pressed her cheek to his chest and closed her eyes.

  “Tell me about where you grew up,” she said.

  “My dad has a ranch near Kalispell, Montana. A few years back I bought some acreage farther west, closer to the mountains. When I retire, I hope I can spend more time there.”

  “You want to ranch?”

  “No.” He kissed her temple and cuddled her ever closer. “I just want to spend a little more time enjoying life. I see it more as a vacation place.”

  “What’ll you do with the rest of your time?”

  That’ll depend on you, he thought. “There’s always a market for retired generals,” he said. “I’ll see what develops.”

  Andrea looked up at him, the devil light in her eyes. “You’re pretty sure of that promotion.”

  “I’m positive about it.”

  “Nothing like a pilot’s ego, I always say. Has something to do with the ‘right stuff,’ I guess. Maybe it adds lift to the plane.”

  Chuckling, he stole a kiss. “Actually,” he said, when she was suitably breathless, “I got the word this morning. I pin on my stars April first.”

  “Dare! That’s wonderful!” Her green eyes shone as she looked up at him.

  “I guess that means I’ll outrank you for at least a couple more years.”

  But Andrea was in no mood to joke about it. Her joy for him seemed to swell until she felt she could barely contain it.

  “I’m so pleased for you,” she said softly.

  That softness got him every time. Forgetting his determination to drag out every moment of this evening, he scooped Andrea up into his arms and carried her to his bedroom.

  “Celebrate with me, Andrea,” he said as he lowered her to his bed.

  “I’ve never made love with a general before,” she whispered, drawing him down with her.

  “Big deal. You’d never made love with a colonel before, either.”

  The soft smile lingered on her lips and in her eyes as he hovered over her.

  “I’d never made love before,” she answered.

  “Me, either,” he murmured as he released the clasp of her bra.

  Before she could wonder at his meaning, he closed his lips and teeth over her swollen nipple and sent shock waves of pleasure radiating outward to join with the ache that had been building all evening.

  He had one intention and one intention only: to love Andrea so well, so perfectly, that if she never again allowed him to give her anything, he would already have given her the best he had in him. In seemingly no time at all, she reached a fever pitch, but he refused to give in to her pleas and tugs. Instead he trailed his mouth in lazy, tormenting spirals lower, across the sensitive skin of her stomach. Millimeter by millimeter, he drew down the zipper of her jeans, teasing her with hesitations. And finally he sent his hand foraging where she wanted his mouth, then his mouth where she wanted him.

  All he wanted, all he needed, all he sought, was her pleasure. Only when he at last could please her no other way did he join himself to her and give her the gift of his own pleasure.
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  Sunday afternoon came all too swiftly. Andrea sat between Dare’s legs on the floor of the living room, her back resting against his chest. They’d been sitting in companionable silence for some time, and she found herself thinking how nice it was to be able to share a comfortable silence with someone else.

  She also found herself thinking about the swift passage of time. She was racing against it neck-and-neck now. One more weekend. Nine more days. The more she dreaded her departure, the faster it bore down on her.

  Looking back over the past two years, she had the uneasy realization that time had been racing past her all along but she had been too busy to notice it. Hadn’t she promised herself when she arrived here that she would make the terrible climate tolerable by taking the time to go cross-country skiing? Not once in two years had she taken her skis out of the closet. Instead she’d put her nose to the grindstone, determined to make her squadron the best in AAC.

  And what had that gotten her? A slightly bigger squadron in the same execrable climate. Two years had passed in the blink of an eye, and the next two years would probably pass even faster, and maybe she would garner a somewhat bigger command with all its attendant extra headaches. By then she would surely have made major, and she would immediately set her sights on light colonel.

  Some morning, inevitably, she would wake to discover that twenty years had flown by in the blink of an eye. Would she look back at those twenty years and think that the only time she’d ever really lived was during her last few weeks here, on these too-short weekends with Dare?

  As for Dare, Andrea was no fool. She knew very well that men like him didn’t grow on trees. He was strong enough to be gentle and secure enough not to be threatened by her. In her experience, that was a very rare combination.

  “Something wrong?” he asked when she stirred restlessly against him.