by S A Monk
To her dismay, the whistle drew Nick’s attention. He looked to his men, then followed their line of vision to the patio. Lance waved, and Corporal Vincent started over to his commanding officer. Hanna’s looming reunion with Nick had her clutching Lance’s hand in an unintentional vise grip.
Oh lord, she really couldn’t do this! What if her arrival angered Nick? Lance could be completely off base about his brother’s feelings. Was there anything worse than a woman chasing down a man who had said his goodbyes?
She almost retreated to the car when she heard Nick’s deep voice raised in angry censure as he chastised the younger group for their undisciplined behavior.
Corporal Vincent reached his side. He spoke to his commander, turned and pointed to Lance and Hanna, then listened to something Nick said, while another black suited diver came up to them. After dismissing the two teams of divers, Nick started toward them. Corporal Vincent and the second diver followed.
Hanna knew she was squeezing Lance’s hand so tightly he had to have lost all circulation in it. Her pulse sped up so that her heart felt like it was beating in double time, ready to fly right out of her chest. Oh good heavens! She had to get control of herself or she was going to have a full-blown anxiety attack! She took a deep breath, held it a few seconds, then slowly released it.
It had been over two months since she’d seen Nick, and yet it seemed like two years. He’d lost some weight, but it didn’t detract one bit from his magnificent stature. In the skin tight wet suit, every muscle was sharply defined. His handsome face was even more darkly tanned than when she’d last seen him. His black hair was wet and spiky, with a single dark strand dipping onto his forehead. He wasn’t wearing dark glasses, like his companion. His eyes were squinting against the bright sunlight, and Hanna couldn’t read his mood in them. But there was a hint of it in the grim, unsmiling line of his mouth.
Her heart sank. He didn’t appear happy to see her, and he didn’t look the least bit welcoming. The urge to turn and run was nearly overpowering. This was her worst nightmare. Lance was so wrong! Nick didn’t want her here. Damn it all! She was the world’s biggest fool!
Thank God, she had her transition glasses on. The dark lenses hid the tears that began to fill her eyes. The wind blew her cotton skirt up above her knees. With a silent curse, she pushed it down and dropped the sweater tucked under her arm in the process. Nick was suddenly in front of her as he bent down to pick it up. He handed it back to her without a word. His narrowed gray eyes simply passed over her from toe to head before they narrowed on his brother.
“Lance.” Nick’s smile was not really a smile, only a cynical twisting of his lips. “I hear congratulations are in order. I suppose you and Hanna have come down here to ask me to be your best man.”
It wasn’t even a question. Hanna drew in a sharp breath as she realized what Nick thought. Good heavens, no wonder he looked so grim! She glanced at Corporal Vincent. Apparently all that hand-holding had given him the wrong impression.
Lance laughed. “Bro, you always were clueless as hell when it came to Hanna! Unfrigging believable! I didn’t come down here to tell you that I was marrying her, you dumb ass!”
The men from both training teams were on their way to one of the buildings behind them, but stopped a few feet away, suddenly interested in what was going on. Their suspended expressions matched the shock on Corporal Vincent’s face. It was almost comical. Apparently, no one called their CO a “dumb ass”. The man standing next to Nick, though, found the brotherly rebuke downright funny, openly chuckling.
“Well, little brother,” Nick demanded angrily, emphasizing the last words and raising his voice for his audience’s benefit. “What the hell did you come down here for? And why did you bring her? I thought you just wanted to visit for the weekend.”
Lance hurled his brother’s anger right back at him. “Well, I hadn’t planned to tell you in front of an audience....” His gaze swung to Nick’s companions briefly. “But what the hell!” he concluded as he threw up one hand. “I came down here to repair the damage I caused.” Pausing, he hooked an arm around Hanna’s waist, which prevented her from stepping away. “Do you want to talk about it out here then?”
Hanna was mortified that this discussion was being conducted in front of strangers. And Nick’s anger had definitely fueled her own. The least he could do was look at her! And Lance! The rat had told her that his brother was expecting both of them!
“I wanted to surprise you,” Lance said at last when Nick didn’t respond.
Hanna finally found her voice. “It appears Lance failed to tell you that I was coming, or why we were coming.” Pausing, she sent Nick’s brother a look of reproach. “I’m sorry that my arrival was a surprise. He wanted to clear up a few things, and he thought that we needed to talk.” Yanking off her sunglasses, she glared hotly at Nick, which was no small thing since now he was just a fuzzy image. “But I’m not sure I want to talk to you now. You could have at least said hello and been pleasant.”
The man standing next to Nick chuckled. “Pleasant? Hell, he hasn’t been even remotely pleasant for the past two months!”
Nick’s mouth curled into sneer. “Hanna, this is Lieutenant Commander Ty Sharp. He used to be a friend. Ty, this is Doctor Hanna Wallace. You already know my mouthy brother.”
“Screw you, too, bro. See when I do you a favor next.”
Lt. Commander Sharp extended a hand to Hanna. “Nice to meet you, finally.”
She smiled and shook his hand, bemused. “Finally?”
He explained how he knew about her. “Nick and I have been friends since our days at the Naval Academy. I’m with the SEALs, but we’ve served together frequently over the years. I know you’re the lady friend from home he writes to all the time.” Tanned, tall, and fine looking, Nick’s friend grinned and gave her a wink. “I hear you saved his sorry butt two months ago. I also heard you almost lost your life doing it.”
Hanna blushed crimson. Luckily, the sun probably hid the profusion of color. “He told me that his life was never really in danger, though, and that my taking a couple of bullets for him was unnecessary.”
“Ungrateful bastard,” Ty chuckled. “He never thinks he’s in danger.” The wet-suited naval officer gave his friend a good-natured slap on the back. “Must be that super hero cap he wears.”
Nick shook his head and finally gave vent to a smile. “Why don’t I go change, then we’ll go somewhere more private to talk?” He was looking at her at last, and the look in his eyes had finally changed from anger to warmth.
“You don’t really need me there for that,” Lance advised. “Maybe Corporal Vincent could take me to a hotel somewhere close to the airport.”
“Let me get into some civvies, and I’ll be happy to show you around,” Ty Sharp offered. “Corporal Vincent says he’s given you the Chamber of Commerce tour of San Diego. The R rated tour is a hell of a lot more interesting!” Laughing, he motioned to Nick’s aide. “You can come, too, Corporal. We’ll educate you on the finer points of sightseeing tonight.” On his way to the long building behind them, the one closest to the piers, he looked back over his shoulder at Nick. “Don’t expect little brother back before the end of the weekend. I’ll make sure he’s rewarded for being such a good brother.” Then he gave Hanna a wink before looking once again at Nick. “I expect to see you a lot happier on Monday, Colonel.”
“How long are you staying?” The question was directed at his brother, but Nick was looking at Hanna.
“We have reservations for a red-eye flight back late Sunday night,” Lance answered.
Nick nodded at his brother. “Be sure to check in, at least by phone— so Hanna won’t worry.” To her unexpected pleasure, he leaned down and spoke softly into her ear. “Guess you’re mine tonight.” His wink and insinuating grin left her thoroughly unsettled. “I’ll go shower and change as fast as I can. Corporal Vincent can wait with you. Get her something to drink, will you, Vincent. Lance, come with me.”
> “Corporal Vincent has devoted enough time to us today. He’d probably like to change into civilian clothes, too. I’ll be fine here on the patio.” Besides, she really wanted a few minutes alone to collect herself.
“I won’t be long, then.”
Nick’s trademark smile made her as light-headed as his “Guess you’re mine tonight”.
After the men disappeared, Hanna walked back to the patio table she’d sat at before. Under the shade of the overhead umbrella, she rested her elbows on the metal tabletop and her head in her hands. In the space of a half hour, she’d gone from terrified to deeply wounded to furious to bewildered to expectant. She felt like she was on an emotional roller coaster. When Nick returned, what would he finally say to her? What would she say to him? She was on her own now, apparently. Lance had other plans, and he was probably making his confession to his brother right now. What was the old expression? Your ears burned when someone was talking about you? Yeah, that was what she felt for sure, right along with scared and anxious and hopeful.
She made a choked sound somewhere between laughter and agony. She had gathered her courage and stood before Nick, and here she was, waiting yet again, still uncertain about what he wanted. Nothing in his brooding sexy gray eyes had told her what he felt about her being down here.
She was such an ordinary woman, and he was such an extraordinary man. How could she truly believe a man like that would want to put aside his freedom and his lifestyle to marry her? In her starkest moments of honesty, she’d never really believed Nick could love her enough to want her permanently in his life, in his world. Nice dreams. Unrealistic fantasies.
Long distance friendship and convenient sex when he was home on leave were probably all she could really hope for. It seemed to her that if he wanted to marry her, like Lance had informed her, he would have been happier to see her. She was determined not to get her hopes up too much. Whatever came of this meeting, she was going to retain some remnant of her pride and self-respect.
What would she say to him first? I love you. I’ve been miserable without you. You made me cry too damn much. To hell with you. I’m going home! Guess it depended on what he said and did. She wanted desperately to tell him that she loved him, but she was also prepared to walk away and fly home without him; to put away her longing for him once and for all.
THAT WAS HOW NICK FOUND HER, her forehead resting on her fingers, so deep in thought that she didn’t hear him approach. He stopped a few feet away and just stared at her.
Even before Corporal Vincent told him he thought Lance and Hanna had come down to tell him that they were getting married, he’d thought that himself. He’d been gone long enough for his little brother to have snatched up Hanna.
The likelihood that the two of them had come to see him to tell him that they were getting married had torn a hole in his heart as sure as if he’d been shot there. His mood had been so foul by the time he had walked up to them, he was ashamed now of how he had greeted them.
He had been short-tempered with Lance for the past two months, and he’d hated the resentment he’d felt for him— the jealousy and the anger. He loved his brother. He didn’t want things to be that way between them. But he’d been afraid Hanna would turn to Lance.
Good God! He could have ended up being his brother’s best man, forced to watch the woman he loved marry his brother. He could have become her brother-in-law! The possibility had been twisting like a knife in his gut for weeks. It had nearly killed him when he’d thought that was what Lance had flown down to tell him.
And Hanna had looked so beautiful standing there beside Lance, holding his hand like a lifeline, damn it— her skirt billowing above her knees in the wind, her honey blonde hair glinting in the sunlight. All he’d wanted to do was sweep her off her high heels and wrap her in his arms. He’d been absolutely miserable these past weeks without her.
He’d driven his teams and himself twelve hours a day, six days a week in a futile attempt to dispel her from his thoughts. But it hadn’t come close to working. The love he felt for her had resisted all his efforts to bury it under a mountain of reasons she wouldn’t be happy married to him. Finally, he had even talked to his commander about retiring! He wanted her in his life and had been willing, at last, to do whatever it took to get her there. His vow to walk away and not look back had become a joke. Hell, he’d called home so often just to hear how she was, they were ready to take away his SAT phone privileges.
So now she was here. She wasn’t marrying his brother, although he knew if he failed to keep her this time, Lance would show no further mercy where she was concerned. His brother had told him all about his talk with their mother, and how he had come to understand his error in interfering. He’d also told Nick that he had brought Hanna to San Diego in an attempt to fix the damage he’d caused. Lance wasn’t sure what Hanna’s response might be, but he advised Nick to ask her to marry him straight away. Nick himself wasn’t at all sure what her response would be, either. He did know, though, that he had hurt her pretty badly by leaving so abruptly, with no explanations or even a decent goodbye. Maybe he should just plunge right in and fearlessly tell her what was in his heart; ask her to marry him right off the bat, like his brother had advised.
He walked over to the table. When she at last lifted her head and turned to look at him, neither one of them said a thing. They just stared at one another. Finally, Nick reached down and took her hand, pulling her to her feet to stand in front of him.
Hanna was close enough to breathe in his delicious scent. It was a heady mixture. He’d obviously just taken a shower, then splashed on some exotic aftershave.
He was dressed in jeans and a lemon yellow knit polo shirt. His nearly black hair was still wet and touched his collar at the back of his neck. She looked down at the hand that enfolded hers. Not for the first time, she noticed how broad his knuckles were, and how long and finely shaped his fingers were. Their clean blunt nailed tips rubbed little circles over the back of her hand. He had such nice big hands; capable hands; hands that moved over her body so very, very well.
“Hanna....” His baritone voice caressed her name, the gentleness in it making her anxiety recede slightly. “How are you feeling?” He reached for and captured her second hand. She knew he must surely feel how clammy both were. “I know it’s been over two months since you got out of the hospital, but you look....”
“I’m fine,” she reassured him before he told her she looked less than she wanted to look for him. “I’m just a little light headed at the moment. I haven’t eaten anything since early this morning.” As if on cue, her stomach chose that moment to growl.
He sent her one of his lazy half grins. “That’s easy to fix. I’m hungry, too. Let’s go get some dinner. But first....”
Without forewarning, he hauled her into his arms. His head descended to hers. In her four inch heels, his mouth didn’t have far to go. His lips settled over hers, moving against hers tenderly, waiting for her response. She did not deny it.
The instant her mouth opened to him, he claimed her with an exultant growl and a fiercely hungry kiss. His hands rose to her bare shoulders, then slowly stroked downward to slide around her fitted waistline, holding her tightly against his length.
He kissed her long and hard and thoroughly. His tongue greedily explored every sweet inch of her mouth, stroking and coaxing her tongue until she melted completely in his arms. He heard her little moan of surrender and felt the thrill of it all the way to the soles of his boots.
She wanted him. He could feel it in her reaction. She’d missed him as much as he had missed her. It was intoxicating. The sheer joy of her response made him grin with relief and pleasure when he finally ended the kiss and took a step away from her.
“Maybe I’m not that hungry,” she laughed breathlessly. “A candy bar might do.”
He laughed in response as he lifted his hand and stroked her incredibly soft cheek with his knuckles.
His teams were beginning to come out of th
e locker room. Nick didn’t want them intruding. He took Hanna by the hand and followed Lance, Ty, and Corporal Vincent to the dark green military sedan. “Guess we better get your bags.”
“I only have one.” He slanted her a look. “I only took the weekend off,” Hanna stopped to explain while they were still alone. “I wasn’t sure whether you’d want me to stay longer.”
A smile of lament played at the corners of his mouth. “I did leave you with that impression, didn’t I?”
“The card on your roses did,” she answered, unable to hide the pain he had caused her. “Unless I misread it. Get well and Live well sound like a final goodbye to me.”
He winced. “We do need to talk.”
“Yes, we do.” She lifted her hand and reached up to brush a wayward strand of black hair off his wrinkled brow.
He slipped two fingers under the halter strap of her sundress. “You look so fine in this, I’d rather take you to my quarters to slip it off of you. But I need to feed you, then talk to you,” he told her resolutely.
“Hey, bro, what are you still hanging around for?” his brother asked him as they came up to the car. The trunk was open and Lance took out Hanna’s shoulder bag.
Nick took the bag only to put it back in the trunk. “Corporal Vincent, before you take off with my brother and Ty, take Doctor Wallace’s luggage to my quarters. We’re going over to the Officer’s Club for dinner.” He turned to Hanna for a quick inquiry. “Unless you’d rather go into town.”
“The Officer’s Club is fine. Are your quarters far from there?”
Lance and Ty Sharp laughed. Nick scowled at them. “They’re within walking distance.”
“Last chance, bro,” Lance advised with a grin as opened the back door of the staff car. Corporal Vincent meanwhile got into the driver’s seat, intent on driving again. “Don’t be a fool and blow it.”