Having a woman laugh at him at a time like this should have been wilting, but her chuckles only made him desire her more. “It isn’t funny,” he said.
She pressed against his swollen flesh and smiled up at him. “You silly, silly man,” Ally said. “I know it isn’t funny. But there’s no medical reason we can’t make love. It won’t hurt the baby as long as we’re careful.”
“That might be hard—” Danny stopped at Ally’s sharp intake of breath. She pressed her head against his chest and laughed and laughed. “You know what I meant. Stop laughing like a hyena at my expense.” Still, the desire was there. If anything, it had grown.
“It’s just been so long since I’ve had the chance to make love to you that it will be…difficult to hold back,” he told her, trying to explain without tripping over any more double entendres.
Ally took the sides of his face in her small hands and looked deep into his eyes. “I love you, Danny. I trust you. You won’t hurt either me or the baby. Make love to me,” she said. Then she kissed him solidly on the lips, displaying all the passion she’d been denying.
Thanks to Ally’s sudden admission that she wanted him, Danny knew that the time had finally come. Besides, if he didn’t make love to Ally now, with the assignment to Tamahlyastan looming, he might never get another chance.
THE SUN WAS HIGH in the sky when Ally awoke for the second time that day. She reveled in the sensation of the morning after, enjoying feeling so warm, sated and alive. Lying beside the man she loved with every fiber of her being was sheer heaven. She already knew that if he were to propose again, she wouldn’t turn him down, no matter what she had to sacrifice. She leaned over to embrace the man who had made her feel cherished, adored.
“I’m so happy, Danny. I can never thank you enough,” she murmured as she pressed her face against his strong, broad back.
He seemed to tense, and Ally backed away. “Is something wrong? Are you still feeling the effects of yesterday?” She was reluctant to put the reason for his “illness” into words for fear he would think she was accusing him. She wanted him to know that she understood the reason for his temporary lapse.
“No, I’m fine,” Danny answered shortly.
“Good,” Ally said. What else could she say?
He pushed away from her and levered himself up out of the covers, giving Ally a wonderful view of his gloriously male, naked body. He lifted one edge of the sheet and peered beneath the covers.
“Where are my pants?”
Ally sat up and looked around. His clothing lay scattered about the room, discarded before they’d finally made love. “Here they are. I think your socks and shoes are out by the couch and your jacket is on the hook by the door. Why?”
“I gotta go,” he said.
“No, you don’t. I don’t mind if you stay all day.”
“If I stay, I’ll never keep my mind on what I’m here in town for,” he said, softening his tone a little. “I’ve got a test in Captain Haddad’s class tomorrow. I need to study, and I don’t need the distraction.”
Ally could understand that, but she was a little puzzled by Danny’s somber tone. He did not sound like a man who had just made love to a woman he’d been pursuing relentlessly. She leaned back against her pillows and watched as Danny dressed, covering up that magnificent body of his.
“I’ll see ya,” he said once he was dressed.
“Sure,” Ally responded. If she didn’t know better, she would think he was giving her the brush-off, not merely saying goodbye.
He’d been gone a full ten minutes before she remembered he’d come in a cab. Did the man actually plan to walk the five miles back out to the base?
Chapter Ten
The hike back to the VAQ base seemed like one of the longest Danny had ever made in his life, but he used the time to think, and the exercise helped clear his head. Embarking on this campaign to win Ally back had been so much easier when he didn’t know for sure that she still loved him. When he hadn’t been reminded just how wonderful it was to have her in his arms and to make sweet, tender love with her.
At the same time Nate’s death made him realize just how much they both stood to lose.
Danny drummed his fingers impatiently against his thigh as he waited for a light to change. He might be on foot, but he still had to obey all the traffic laws.
The light turned green and he sprinted across the busy road. He knew that Ally could take care of herself. He always had known. Maybe her independence had been a threat to him back then. At least to his male pride. It wasn’t really the issue of her working; he would have been fine with it if she’d been a grocery checker or a beautician. The fact that Ally had more education than he did and earned more had really rubbed at his ego when they’d first gone out. And he wasn’t sure it didn’t still, even if he was trying to see things from both sides now.
Had he somehow felt that because Ally didn’t need a man to provide her basic needs, she might leave him if times got tough?
Was that what their differences had really been about?
Times had changed! Now he was genuinely happy that Ally would be able to support herself and their child if he happened to be out of the picture.
But could he put her through it?
Maybe it was better to lie low until after his assignment in Tamahlyastan.
Danny approached the guard shack at the main gate and dug in his pocket for his identification. As he waited for the sentry to wave him in, he couldn’t help asking himself, Damn, why couldn’t this just be simple?
ALLY LAY BACK on her pillows and wondered what exactly had happened here. Danny had been chasing her hot and hungry one minute, then had practically run the next. Her red-haired hero had always possessed a mercurial temperament, but this was mood swing to the extreme!
Still, she felt that she’d made some progress with Danny this weekend. She had detected a definite softening in his insistence that he be the man of the house. Even if he hadn’t said it in so many words.
It was almost as if Nate’s death had shocked Danny to his senses. Ally swallowed and blinked back tears. She had barely been acquainted with Nate, and she’d never met his wife, but the loss of any young man was a tragedy. And she felt so sad for Lisa, having to raise her little boy alone.
No, Ally told herself, today was not the day for negative thoughts. She had to think happy. Danny was beginning to understand. Even if he didn’t quite know it yet. That was reason enough to cheer.
And since Danny had marched back into her life, she had suddenly become aware of some of her responsibilities as mother of this daughter she was carrying. Ally placed her hand on her belly and was rewarded with a strong, answering kick.
She smiled. “Yes, little girl. Your daddy may be a hardheaded man, but he’s a good one.” Ally sat up. “And we’re going to do everything we can to make him see our side.”
For now, Ally wasn’t going to worry about Danny’s odd mood when he left. After all, he did have to get through the class. Although she hated to view it that way, his life might depend on what he learned there.
Anyway, she didn’t have time to fret about Danny Murphey’s mood. She had some long-overdue nesting to do.
AT LEAST HE WOULDN’T be seeing Ally every day in class, Danny thought gratefully as he tucked his red beret into the thigh pocket of his battle-dress uniform and made his way into class on Monday morning. He still had some serious thinking to do, and until he could get a handle on what he wanted, he could do without the distraction of facing Ally.
He loved her. Of that he was sure. That had never changed, not even when he was so angry with her that he’d barely been able to function. He just didn’t know what he wanted to do about it, Danny acknowledged as he slid into his seat next to Jake Magnussen and waited for the class to begin.
Hell, yeah, he wanted to marry her right now and make sure their baby had his name. But still the question plagued him: would it be right to give himself completely to Ally when there was a good chan
ce that he might not be around for the future?
Jake nudged him with his elbow and hissed, “Get a grip, Murphey. Mr. Saloam asked you a question.”
Danny looked up, embarrassed and certain his face was as red as his hair. He had to pull himself together. The last thing he wanted was to insult this new instructor the first day he stepped into the man’s class. “I’m sorry, sir,” he said contritely. “I was thinking about something else.”
“It would behoove you, Sergeant Murphey, to pay attention. Is that clear?”
It was obvious that Mr. Saloam, the instructor, an immigrant from Tamahlya, wasn’t going to be as forgiving as Ally or Captain Haddad would have been.
“Yes, sir,” Danny replied. “Got that in one.”
Too bad he wasn’t as quick on the uptake with regard to Allison Carter.
NOT TO SEE DANNY in class every morning seemed strange, Ally thought as she worked through lesson plans for the next group of servicemen to come through the school. Though her material remained generally the same every session, she modified each lesson plan in accordance with the specific country the soldiers were going to.
She hated to admit it, but she found it hard to keep her mind on the task at hand. No matter how she tried not to, she kept wandering down memory lane. Though she was still a little puzzled about Danny’s abrupt departure on Sunday morning, she smiled as she thought about waking up in his arms and what had subsequently transpired.
A woman could get used to that.
Ally glanced up at the sound of a tapping on her opened door.
“Well, it appears you’re definitely thinking about something other than lesson plans,” Colonel Palmore said from the doorway. “Whatever it is, it must be pretty sensational. “Do you want to go to lunch and give me all the glorious details? Or do you have a better offer?”
“No date,” Ally said, picking up the scattered papers on her desk in an attempt to appear efficient. “But I’m not sure I’m ready to share the details yet.”
Kathie arched an eyebrow. “Getting serious, is it?”
Ally sighed. “I hope so. At least, I think we’re working through some of the problems that caused us to break up in the first place.” She reached into her desk drawer and retrieved her purse, then pushed back her chair. “I could use a sounding board, if you don’t mind.”
Kathie nodded. “Always happy to help.” She glanced down at her smart blue uniform with the carefully creased slacks and sensible shoes. “I might dress like a guy, but I don’t mind engaging in a little girl-talk now and then.”
“Well, I’ve got plenty of that,” Ally said as she pulled a sweater on over one of her brand-new maternity smocks.
“Hey,” Kathie said. “I just noticed. You finally broke down and got some hatching jackets.”
“Hatching jacket?”
“You know, maternity clothes. That jumper looks nice. And long overdue. When I had my first, I started wearing maternity clothes at three months,” Kathie said as Ally joined her in the hall.
“You were married to her father and had planned the whole thing,” Ally reminded her, then quickly closed her mouth when she caught a glimpse of Jake Magnussen and Danny coming out of the adjoining classroom.
“Colonel Palmore, Ms. Carter,” Jake said, nodding in greeting.
“Sergeants,” Kathie said. “Heading for lunch?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Danny replied. “We’re gonna give the chow hall a try.”
“Ah, yes. I read in the daily bulletin that pork chops were on for today,” Kathie said, apparently providing Danny with an opening to invite them along.
“Too bad,” Ally said, sensing what Kathie was attempting. She pressed her hand against her tummy. “My stomach hasn’t been handling pork very well these days. Enjoy your lunch, guys.” She turned in the opposite direction from the men. “I think we’ll order off the menu at the club.”
As they walked away, Ally yearned to hear one word from Danny.
“Later, Ally,” he called after them.
That one phrase was enough to provide her with hope that she would indeed be seeing Danny later. Ally counted on that. After all, she’d gotten accustomed to finding him standing at her front door with some sort of surprise in his hands. Remembering how Danny had looked in his painter outfit and the thoughtful gift of the rocking chair made Ally grin.
“You’ll have to tell me what that was all about,” Kathie said as they set out for the Officer’s Club. The Indian-summer air was balmy.
“What? Danny’s cold shoulder?”
“No,” Kathie said. “That smile.”
“Danny painted the baby’s room for me last weekend. And he brought us the most beautiful rocking chair to put in it,” Ally explained. “The only things he didn’t get were curtains.”
“What’s the matter? Doesn’t the paragon do windows?”
Ally made a face.
“The situation is looking up, is it?”
“Maybe, Kathie,” Ally said, sighing. “One minute Danny is the eager father-to-be, the next he’s as skittish as…as I don’t know what exactly,”Ally confided. “And we still haven’t resolved the women-working issue, which originally broke us up.”
“He’s scared, Ally. You’ve had six months to adjust to the idea of the baby,” Kathie said. “He’s had only one week. He’s got a lot to process. He’s probably worried about his assignment to Tamahlyastan, too.” They stopped at the curb and waited for a car to pass, then crossed the street. “From what you’ve told me, he seems to be working through it just fine.”
“I thought so, too,” Ally agreed, recalling Danny’s persistence at showing up on her doorstep. “But now he’s drawn back a little.” And it hurt that it had happened after they had made love.
“Gone to his cave,” Kathie said. “That’s what men do when they have to think. We women talk. They brood. It used to drive me crazy when Rob did it. Now I’d give anything to have him around, cave or not,” Kathie added, looking wistful. She shook her head. “But going to the cave is a good thing for you, Ally. It means Danny’s really thinking, not just reacting.”
Ally sighed. “I suppose. I just wish I understood men better.”
“Don’t we all, Ally. Don’t we all.”
DANNY WATCHED ALLY as she and the colonel strolled off. He would have liked to talk with Ally, but on the other hand, what had to be said should be said in private. And he really wasn’t ready to talk yet, anyway. Until he’d completely worked everything out, maybe keeping his distance was best.
But he could still look, he thought as he stared hungrily after her retreating figure.
“What’s the deal with you and Ms. Carter?” Jake asked, bringing Danny’s gaze back to him. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you had the hots for her.” Jake hadn’t been assigned to the unit at Hurl-burt when Danny and Allison had been together, so he wasn’t aware of their past relationship.
Danny was in no mood to discuss it now, but he figured he had to say something. “Just a little history between us,” he muttered.
Jake glanced back over his shoulder at the retreating figures. “Must have been way in the past,” he said. “Looks like she’s got somebody else’s bun in her oven.”
Without taking time to explain, Danny hauled off and slugged Jake hard enough to send him careening into a light post between the sidewalk and the street.
“Hey, what the hell’d you do that for?” he yelled, balling up his hands, ready to reciprocate.
“Knock it off, you two.”
Both men snapped to attention and saluted a major in service dress blues, whom they hadn’t seen approaching. “Yes, sir,” they responded in unison.
The major returned the salute. “At ease, Sergeants,” he said, trying to conceal a twitch of a smile. “In the future, though, save your fighting for the real enemy, not each other.”
“Yes, sir,” they again replied.
The major continued down the sidewalk.
“That’s all we need,”
Jake said.
Danny’s attention was on Ally and Colonel Palmore as they crossed the street a couple of blocks behind them. “What?”
“To be called on the carpet for fighting,” Jake said. “What’s with you, man? You were the biggest player at Hurby. Hell, you dated every single woman between eighteen and eighty. Why are you so hung up on this one?”
“Let’s just leave it,” Danny said, hoping he conveyed to Jake that he really did not want to discuss the matter with him. Now or ever.
Jake shrugged. “Whatever. It isn’t like we’re gonna be around here long enough to see the kid.”
The remark smacked Danny right in the heart. Jake might not be privy to the full story, but was right. No matter what Danny did, he wouldn’t be there when the baby—his baby—was born.
ALLY ARRIVED at her little brick house after work, realizing suddenly that she felt less tired, less burdened than she had all last week. as she drove her car into the garage she wondered why.
Then it came to her. She hadn’t had to tiptoe around Danny all day! Well, except for that brief meeting with him on the way to lunch.
Had the stress of having Danny in her classroom every day really been that fatiguing? Or had it been the evenings, later than she was accustomed to recently, when Danny had appeared at her doorstep and kept her up to all hours? Ally smiled just remembering Danny in that silly painter’s outfit, covered with splatters.
That was certainly a side of Danny she’d never seen before. But then, she and Danny had never been expecting a baby together before.
Together. She liked the sound of that. Of course, the only thing she and Danny were truly together about these days was the baby. They still seemed of different minds about pretty much everything else.
She unlocked the door and entered the kitchen, fragrant with cooking smells. Well, she thought, they were sexually compatible, anyway. Once again, Ally noted that sex had never been their problem. She dropped her briefcase beside the door and went to check the contents of the slow cooker she’d filled that morning.
As she lifted the lid and inhaled the aroma of stew, she had to smile. She guessed she and Danny were sort of like that stew. As a bunch of separate and raw ingredients, they weren’t much, but mix them up, add a little slow heat, and they were something.
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