by KaLyn Cooper
“No, day after. He’s got a flight to St. Thomas scheduled that he offered me second seat again.” She popped the cork and poured a generous amount. She sipped, pleased with the crisp taste that left her mouth wanting more. Maybe she’d finish that bottle.
Luke popped the beer open and took a long pull. “You going with him?”
“Thinking about it.” She took a drink and allowed the wine to fill every space in her mouth, replacing the salty taste of the ocean.
“You know, the private pilot gig is a good one.” He took another hit of beer before setting the bottle down and pulling out the chopping block. “I did it for about a month before Van convinced me I could make a living flying pampered execs and celebrities to local resorts. Then Jack suggested the cruise ship tours. Now I’m as busy as I want to be.”
He began working on supper. Without looking up at her, he confessed, “I cancelled my tours tomorrow so I can go with you.”
“You what?” Why the hell had he done that? She was fine with Jack, and Jillian would be there in the boat.
He peered up at her for a long minute before returning to cube tomatoes. “I only had three scheduled, and I want to be there with you. It’s two dives tomorrow. That’s exhausting, and when you’re tired, you make mistakes.”
She lit into him. “I’m only tired right now because someone kept me up last night.”
“No. You kept me up.” His smile promised a repeat performance. “And thank you for the way you took care of it.”
She felt a blush coming on and changed directions. “Are you encouraging me to fly for Van?”
He didn’t answer her question. “Do you like flying for the Navy?”
“I love it when I’m in my jet.” That was the truth. “And I like that I’m doing something to help my country.”
Luke took the cut tomatoes and set them beside the mountain of chopped parsley. He next reached for the purple onion. “That’s not what I asked, Caroline. Do you like flying for the Navy?”
She hid behind a sip of wine. She had to be honest, with herself and him. “No.”
He gifted her with a small smile then scraped the finely chopped onions to the side of the cutting board. Knife in hand, he rested it on the counter. “The jet jocks are still giving you a hard time.” His face was as serious as his tone.
That arrow hit home. He knew. Did everyone? Did they all know how much of an outsider she was? Did they feel sorry for her? Did he?
She gulped wine while fighting her emotions. “I don’t care about them.” She set the empty wine glass on the counter and stared at it.
“Caroline, look at me.”
She slowly raised her gaze to meet his.
“I don’t care about them either. I care about you.”
Short shallow breaths were all she could manage as a fist clenched her heart.
Luke set down the knife and came around the counter. He lifted her into his arms and just held her, rubbing the entire length of her back. “They can be such asses, especially when they gang up on someone. But it’s different in the real world.”
She leaned back. “The men this morning were so nice to me. They treated me not as a woman but as a pilot.”
Luke’s smile lit up her world and lifted the darkness of her off-duty encounters with the boys’ club. “All of Van’s crew are great guys, every one of them. Give them a beer and get comfortable. You’ll hear war stories from every continent and every battle that’s taken place in the last fifty years. Van likes U.S. Navy-trained pilots.” Luke chuckled. “He said it’s because we know how to handle ourselves when shit gets rough. Personally, I think it’s because we know how to shoot if someone tries to steal his plane.”
“That’s happened?” Caroline was shocked.
“Mexico is filled with tourists from all over the world…here in Cancun. But he flies into places where he’ll hand you a M1A1 machine gun before you leave and tell you to use it if you feel the least bit threatened. Gangs run this country, especially in the remote areas.”
He bounced her in his arms. “Don’t worry. Van wouldn’t let you go there alone.”
“I’d be fine with it.” Caroline’s parents had enrolled her in martial arts classes starting at age five, and her father had taught her to shoot at eight. Her blue marksmanship ribbon bore a silver capital E between the two green stripes for expert. The idea of actually using those skills pinged that adrenaline meter she thought she’d miss when leaving the Navy. Yeah. That could be fun.
Her stomach chose that moment to growl. “Excuse me.”
“Sounds like I need to feed you.” He released her and returned to his cooking. She poured another glass of wine and watched him cook. She could get used to this.
They ate at the countertop bar, side by side. Between bites, Luke told her about the family of tourists he’d flown that day. The father had constantly asked questions about flying, and the kids had buried their faces in phone games, completely missing the beauty of the area. Then he’d shuttled Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, better known as the famous singer Lady Gaga, to one of the exclusive resorts in Playa del Carmen.
“Do you get a lot of famous people in your helicopter?” She stuffed the last bite of her tabouli into her mouth. Damn, the man could cook.
“Quite a few.” He cocked his head, obviously in thought. “At least one or two a day.”
“Wow. That’s a lot.”
“Uh-huh.” He didn’t seem nearly as impressed as she was.
Finished, they cleared the dishes together. As she set the last pot in the sink to dry, she toweled her hands. There was something so domestic about the whole scene. It was nice.
Luke looked around the spotless kitchen and nodded. “How about dessert?”
“What do you have?”
He backed her against the granite countertop, trapping her with a hand on each side. Leaning in, he lowered his head to hers. At the last minute, he diverted his lips from hers and licked a line from her collarbone to her chin—right over the artery that pulsed rapidly with every heartbeat.
“Salty. And sweet. I think I have dessert right here.”
Caroline tried to push him back, but he didn’t budge. “I need to take a shower.” She considered that for only a split second before she reciprocated and licked the closest thing to her. The outer rim of his ear tasted of the ocean and Luke.
He growled.
Quickly, he stripped her of her shirt and bathing suit top. He attacked her mouth with a frenzy of yearning. His large hands went to her naked breasts and weighed them, now heavy with need, pointed with desire. Never breaking the kiss, she slid off the stool and pressed into him. He skimmed his hands down her ribs then to her back before he cupped her ass, pulling her between his spread knees until her mound touched his throbbing cock.
“God, I love having you here.” He ran small, toothless bites down her neck, soothing them with his tongue.
“I like being”—she gasped when his bite included teeth on her nipple——“here with you.” She hoped he’d do it again, just as she hit the outer limits, ready to come.
“You don’t know how happy that makes me, Caroline.” Luke nipped his way farther down.
She pulled off his shirt, bringing his head up, even with hers. She clamped both palms over his cheeks and forced his lips to meet hers.
The raspy hair on his chest tickled her over-sensitive nipples. She liked it, so she rubbed them against him while pressing into his erection. “You’re wrong. I think I know exactly how the idea of me here in your place every night for a week makes you feel.”
Luke growled again and knelt to remove her shorts and bikini bottom. Lifting her to the counter, he spread her knees wide, opening her completely to him. He stared at the nearly black hair she kept neatly trimmed. Glancing down to join his gaze, she saw it dewy with her desire…no, need…for him.
Without taking his gaze off her, he shucked his board shorts. He sprang free, pointing like a divining rod, straight and full, seeking
her tight, wet channel.
He stepped between her outstretched knees.
For the second time that night, he captured her mouth and silently demanded it open for him. Thrusting into her with his tongue, he rocked his hips in the same rhythm, rubbing his cock the length of her wet slit. Each hard stroke across her engorged clit brought her closer to the flight ceiling.
When he guided the tip to her entrance, she scooted forward, anxious for that first thrust. Now she savored the soft feel. It was like nothing she’d ever experienced before. He was as wet as she. The skin on skin—
Oh shit.
Her eyes flew open. “Condom.”
They both stared down to where he disappeared into her body, several inches to go before he was buried completely into her.
“Damn.” Luke started to pull out.
Her hands flew to his muscled butt, fingers spread, holding him in place. “I’ve never…umm…without a condom before.” Caroline really liked the feeling of his bare cock inside her. She wanted more. All of it. All of him. “I’m clean. We’re always given a physical as soon as we get back to port…but you know that.”
“I had my annual flight physical last month.” Luke watched her like a fox, ready to pounce, willing to turn away. “You’re on the pill? Or patch or implants…something to protect you, right?”
She nodded. Every female pilot controlled her periods. Starting in the middle of a mission while pulling four G’s would be a mess. “Yes. Of course.”
They both looked down again, a few inches of him to go.
She trusted Luke to tell her the truth. She wanted to share this experience with him, something new to both of them. So intimate. Doing this…with Luke…felt oh so good. Only Luke.
Caroline shoved herself forward, taking him in completely.
“Oh, Christ, Caroline.” Luke wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. Unmoving. His ragged breaths matched hers. Both absorbing the moment, calculating the consequences.
His hands cupped her ass. “Not here. Not like this.” He guided her legs around his waist. “I want you in my bed.”
She felt the same unsaid meaning. This was special. “Take me there, Luke.”
Every step was torture and delight as she bounced and rocked. Unwilling to lose their connection, she clung to him as he bent to the mattress and they scooted to the middle of the bed.
Her clit rubbing against his pubic bone, the coarse hair titillating every nerve ending, she was so close as the pressure of his body came down on hers. He pulled out, leaving only the tip inside before he plunged back in. She arched up to meet him, stroke for stroke. Her entire body tightened in greeting.
“Please,” Luke begged from clenched teeth a minute later. “Tell me you’re close.”
“Yes.” It was all the warning he was going to get as she exploded through the atmosphere into the stars. He’d been right there with her, arching his back so she got every inch of him till the last.
He slumped to the bed and rolled slightly to the side. Never leaving her body, he held her close as they both floated contentedly in space.
As Caroline descended back to earth, and reality, Luke’s body draped over half of hers. He tucked her in even closer, aligning them head to toes.
Sated. And safe. Secure in his affection for her, she drifted off.
Yep. The best day of her life.
Ever.
All because of the man next to her. He had welcomed her into the life he’d made. Shown her a future she wanted more than she would even admit to herself. In return, he’d asked for nothing. She’d readily given him her body, and he had worshiped it as a gift.
He had torn down all the walls she’d carefully built around her heart.
With a heavy sigh, she landed back on earth.
No doubt about it. She was in love with Luke.
But she was leaving in ten days. She could never tell him the truth.
Chapter Twelve
Luke hoisted Caroline’s tank to her back and adjusted the straps for her final dive as a student. She’d passed everything with flying colors. He was so proud of her. Not a single misstep or wrong answer.
This was to be a fun dive. After Jack signed off, he and Caroline could dive together whenever they wanted.
Jack grabbed Jillian and kissed her as though no one else was on their speedboat.
“Be safe.” With her hand on his cheek, Jillian rose to her tiptoes for one last peck.
“Me,” Addison demanded in her little girl voice. “Kiss, Daddy. Kiss.”
Jack picked up the three-year-old and met her puckered lips with his own, followed by a loud smacking sound.
“Love you, Daddy.”
“Love you too, princess.” With Addie clinging to his neck, he said to Jillian, “I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of hearing that.”
Jillian smiled. “I’ll remind you then when she’s a teenager and those words are followed by ‘can you take me to the mall?’ or ‘can I borrow the car?’ or, better yet, ‘meet Juan; he’s my new boyfriend.’ Can’t wait for that one.”
Jack scowled. “No dating until she’s thirty.”
“Princess is a man killer,” Luke noted. “She’s already got you wound around her little personality and ready to kill any male who dares not to give in to her every wish.”
“Says the man who brings her toys each time he visits.” Jack pointed to the tiny pink mask and fins on the deck.
Caroline interjected, “Actually, I bought those for her.”
“They’re adorable.” Jillian plucked Addison from her fiancé’s arms. “Go dive so we can get home before the storm hits and celebrate the newest certified diver.” She gave Caroline a big smile. “We’ll do a women-only dive later in the week with Lisa before all of you leave Cancun,” she promised.
“That would be great.”
Luke slung his arm around Caroline. “She’s staying on an extra week so she can get in some more diving.”
Jack slapped Luke’s shoulder. “Not unless she gets certified.” He looked at the clear horizon and cloudless sky then at the huge face on his dive watch. “Weather report says storm will be here in three hours, but with the tide moving in, currents could get dicey. Let’s get a move on.”
Jack and Luke followed Caroline as she slid over the stern to the dive platform. With a final equipment check, the three submerged into another world.
The surge of moving water filled Luke’s ears with the now familiar sound of the ocean. Bubbles from his breath joined those of Jack’s and Caroline’s, rising toward release at the surface.
After a picnic lunch at their first location on the windward side of Isla Mujeres, Jack had decided to move to the more protected leeward side of the island facing Cancun. Luke knew from experience that depending on several weather factors the area acted like a funnel for tidal current. But it would still be gentler than the ocean side, which was stiff during the morning dive.
They quickly reached the thirty-five-foot deep reef. They’d have to acclimate at fifteen feet during a rest stop, but he was sure Jack had calculated that into the dive time. Luke had.
Caroline and Jack hovered over a brain coral the size of his kitchen table. She pointed to an orange and yellow fish the size of a paper clip that swam its maze of waves and curls. Then she moved closer. He knew the instant she discovered their food source, creatures no bigger than a pinhead buried within the lime green coral.
Watching Caroline discover the wonders of sea life—a world he loved—filled him with satisfaction. He couldn’t wait to take her to the less popular reefs. Just the two of them.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught movement close to the white sand at the bottom of a rock outcrop. He swam closer to Jack and Caroline, pointing to a moray eel bigger than his arm. They were far enough away to be out of danger as they watched it snatch a juvenile yellowtail when a school passed its hidey-hole.
Jack signaled for them to follow to a forest of elkhorn. On the way, he pointed out thre
e sea urchins, balls with long black spines. Their underbellies were tasty if properly cooked, and Jack’s great aunt, Kuk’s grandmother, knew how to prepare them. Luke considered snatching a few for a seafood feast later but passed on the idea when he saw Caroline and Jack stop while a large school of young amberjack totally enveloped them then passed. They did the same to him a second later. He could feel the disturbance in the current, which seemed to grow stronger every minute.
Luke checked his air and their bottom time. They were already halfway through their planned dive. He swam next to Caroline, who was enthralled by a parrotfish that ran a slalom course through the tree-trunk bases of the elkhorn.
A transitory current threw Caroline into him. He caught her by the shoulders and held his position. He’d expected the tidal currents, but some hit you harder due to the particular bottom contours of this reef. She would now know too.
Jack signaled and indicated they had ten more minutes below before they needed to ascend. With an okay, Caroline headed to the reef wall. She was watching a conical shell wobble up the vertical rock when two lionfish took notice.
Luke pointed them out, and both Caroline and Jack acknowledged their presence. The rule of thumb was to leave them alone, and they’d leave you to share their space. The same was true with most dangerous sea life.
They flared their spines. The translucent red stripes on display made them appear three times their body size. They were beautiful.
Luke wished he’d brought his camera but had decided to concentrate on diving with his…girlfriend? Lover? What exactly was she? It didn’t matter what name or title was assigned to their relationship. Caroline belonged with him. Always. Forever. She had let down her defenses a little more each day, and he had made head roads into her heart. He could feel it because his was already lost to her.
Perhaps it had been back in flight school, but he hadn’t been mature enough to know when he had love in his life, in his bed. Years later, he could now admit to himself that he’d never felt for any woman the way he had for her…back then and now. As if he’d lost that part of him that could love, he had searched for it in too many other women. Then she’d reappeared in his life, and he was now complete. Whole again.