He obligingly filled in with his field handle. “Chain. Short for Chainsaw.”
She quirked an eyebrow. “Hmm. An evocative handle.”
“In BUDS, my trainers accused me of having the subtlety of a chainsaw. The name stuck.”
“Well, at least it didn’t have anything to do with your massacre weapon of choice.”
He grinned. “Can I take one of those bags for you?”
“No, thanks. I’ve got them. I didn’t know this place had a boat dock.”
“It’s left over from a smuggling operation that ran out of these caves briefly a few years back. It’s at the other end of the facility, though. Bit of a hike. Sure you don’t want me to get one of those?”
“I’ve carried these bags to hell and back. I’ll be all right.”
“Maverick said you’re a Special Forces type. Did you do the dreaded eighty-mile march, too?”
She rolled her eyes in recollection of the Special Forces training rite of passage. “Ugh. Did you have to remind me of that?” Normally, she wouldn’t be even remotely this talkative with a stranger, but the guy was trying so hard to make up to her that she felt obliged to throw him the bone.
“Yup, that was a bitch-” He broke off abruptly and started to stammer an apology.
She replied gently, “Unlike Maverick, I’m not going to bite your head off for using the B-word in front of me. I’ve been known to use it myself, and I’m sure I qualify to have it applied to me now and then. Captain Steiger seems to have a rather old-fashioned view of how women should be treated. But we Medusas aren’t tense about such things, particularly around our colleagues.”
From her, that was quite a speech. But the guy seemed sincerely sorry and also seemed badly in need of a little reassurance that he and she were square.
Chain glanced over at her curiously. “Is there really a whole team of you women operators?”
“Yes.”
“I gotta say, I’d like to see you all in action sometime.”
“Who knows? Maybe you will. We haven’t done much training in this part of the world. We may head down this way someday.”
“That’d be cool. As long as I didn’t have to spar with you. You moved like lightning in that gym.”
She suppressed a smile. She’d actually jumped Jeff pretty casually in the gym. Her move-now-or-die speed was quite a bit faster than that. They walked the rest of the way to the dock in silence. Chainsaw seemed satisfied that peace was restored between them, and indeed, in her mind, it was.
The Medusas had learned to have thick hides when it came to initial skepticism from their male counterparts. They’d also learned long ago to let their actions speak for them and not to rise to verbal baiting. The only thing perplexing to her about the whole “chick” incident was why Jeff had reacted so violently.
They arrived at the dock, and a burst of heat flooded her at the sight of Jeff waiting beside a sleek powerboat. Lord, he was good-looking. Head-turning handsome. Her hands itched with the memory of that muscular chest and washboard waist sliding beneath her palms. Conversing casually with the boat’s driver, he oozed confidence. Charisma. Ease with command.
When he saw her coming, he climbed aboard the vessel and reached out to take her bags from her. Their gazes met, and his gleamed hotly with inappropriate thoughts…no doubt the same inappropriate thoughts streaking through her head. She looked away hastily.
She started to climb aboard and wasn’t surprised when he held a hand out to help her. Normally, she’d ignore such offers. After all, her balance was superb. But she took Jeff’s proffered hand anyway. Of course, it had nothing to do with her ongoing craving to touch him, to feel his energy flowing through her, yin to yang, chi to chi.
His fingers were warm and strong and steady and sent a rush of something feminine fluttering through her. And then an awful thought struck her. He was her
“Buckle in,” Jeff murmured. “This baby can fly.”
The driver nodded over his shoulder at both of them and the vessel leaped forward, skimming across the black, glassy surface of the Caribbean, circling around Timbalo Island in mere minutes and pulling up at a wooden pier. She followed Jeff to shore, where a helicopter waited for them. With the ease of long experience with the birds, she stepped under the rotors and passed her bags to Jeff inside the sleek Eurocopter EC 155 with its distinctive built-in tail rotor.
She climbed inside and wasn’t surprised when Jeff took the seat directly across from her. The helicopter lifted off and she asked him, “How long to Barbados?”
“An hour and change at top speed.”
She nodded. Paused. Nope, she couldn’t resist. “Mind if I ask you a question?”
He flashed her those killer dimples of his. “Anything, darlin’. My life is an open book to you.”
“Why’d you get so mad at Chainsaw for calling me a chick? Believe me, I’ve been called a lot worse and I’m still in one piece.”
His eyes went a turbulent shade of sapphire. “Commander Hathaway asked me the same thing.”
“What’d you tell him?”
“I told him I expect my men to act like gentlemen and didn’t appreciate Chain calling you that. I mentioned the need for my guys to accept the reality of female Special Forces operatives, too, I think.”
“In other words, you didn’t tell him the truth. Did he buy your answer?”
Jeff’s dimples flashed. “Not for a second. But he didn’t press me on it.”
“Why
He gave her a reproachful look. “Do you really have to ask? Even Commander Hathaway knows the answer to that one without having to hear me say it.”
An urge to gulp nearly overcame her. While it was flattering in the extreme to have a guy this charming and handsome and sexy laying claim to her like this, she wasn’t at all sure how it was going to impact their mission.
“What’s wrong?” he murmured.
Her frown deepened. She wasn’t even sure she could put it into words. “What have you done to me?”
The corner of his mouth tipped up. “I kissed you. And given how flummoxed you seem, I’d say I made quite an impression on you.”
“You don’t have to look so satisfied with yourself.” She grumbled.
His smile broadened, but he wisely made no reply.
“You don’t understand-” she started.
“Then explain it to me. What’s got your feathers so ruffled?”
She exhaled hard. “I’m…a warrior.” She paused, searching for words.
“So am I. And your point?”
She glanced up, relieved to see he wasn’t laughing at her. In fact, he seemed to be concentrating intently on her. Which was perhaps more unnerving. “My life is devoted to a principle. To discipline. To duty. To…honor.”
He nodded encouragingly, apparently still waiting for the big reveal.
“That’s it,” she huffed. “That’s the problem. I don’t have time for…other pursuits.”
“Why ever not? My life is about honor and discipline and duty, but I still have time for a personal life.”
“I don’t see you with a wife and two kids and a minivan.”
He shrugged. “I hadn’t met you yet.”
“But don’t you see? I’m not about having two kids and a minivan!”
He stretched his legs out until his ankles tangled with hers. “That is going to present us with some logistical issues, isn’t it? I understand your desire for a career. Hell, I’m not ready to hang up the old rifle yet. I guess we can wait until we’re both done with the Special Forces to start a family.”
Exasperation shot through her. “Will you quit talking like I’ve already agreed to marry you? I’m not even sure I want to date you!”
“But you want to kiss me again, don’t you?”
An urge to scream bubbled up in her throat. Damn if he wasn’t exactly right. She took a deep breath, held it for a count of ten and then released it very slowly. Familiar calm flowed over her, washing away the foreign emotions cluttering her thoughts.
She would face this problem head on. Calmly. Rationally. Honestly. “Yes, I do want to kiss you again. I want to do a lot more than that with you.”
