Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 45135 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45135 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
It was a long walk from the entrance down to her boat, but she didn’t care. Hands in her pockets, she picked her pace and got on her way. When she reached the road that would take her down to the gun range if she turned left, she found herself hesitating.
Why?
He’d not called her with any information, so perhaps he’d changed his mind. She couldn’t get over how often he’d popped into her mind since meeting him. Tall with lean muscles, she was impressed on how he carried himself. All squared away was this man, for sure. Chiseled and square features showed her a man who didn’t smile all that much, but she didn’t mind. Man didn’t have to smile to be the player in her fantasies as he was.
She still didn’t know what color his eyes were but in her mind, they were blue identical to the sky. Snorting at herself, she forced her legs to continue away from the range and on to her boat. She wasn’t a woman who would only date within her race, she liked men and if there was a connection, there was. End of story.
The smell changed the closer she got to the pier and she found her steps had picked up. She loved being on the sub, despite the small space, generally speaking. Being able to go out to sea in such a vessel and submerge below the water for months at a time if needed, just never failed to amaze her.
As she neared the gangplank, she locked down her emotions. No need to show excitement or even frustration that her time off had been cut short. She was there to do a job. And she wasn’t about to let any swinging dick derail her goal of being a success.
The COB met her as dropped beneath the hull.
“Lieutenant,” he said with a nod.
“COB.”
He cocked his head to the side. “What are you doing here? You’re not supposed to be back until tomorrow.”
“XO called me in.”
“Carry on.”
“Thank you, sir.” She walked away to find the XO and see what he required from her, understanding now even clearer the man was being a fucking asshole.
When she found him, she pasted a slight smile on her face and stepped onto the bridge. “Good evening, XO. Lieutenant Kirk, reporting as ordered.”
Even the CO seemed surprised she was there as did the others in the room, but no one said a word. While the XO appeared to have swallowed something foul.
Good, choke on it you fuck.
* * *
αβ
Davin flipped her card over in his hand. Repeatedly. Hell, he’d done so since she’d provided it to him after writing her cell number on the back. He couldn’t get her out of his head.
Or my dreams.
Those lips, curves, and skin. Fucking driving him to drink. More.
He’d posed the suggestion to the group and the women were all on board with that, even as they told him they hoped he wasn’t upset by that.
“What’d she say?” Tavin asked flopping down beside him on the couch, handing him a beer.
Outside a storm raged, taking away the lovely day they’d been having.
“Nothing.”
“Had to leave a message then? I’m sure she’ll get back to you when she can.”
Davin shifted on the couch and put the beer beside him without opening it.
“You haven’t called her yet, have you?” Silence. “Christ, Dav. What the fuck is going on with you? I know you’ve faced some scary shit in your day. What is it about this woman that is getting your head all fuckered?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I do not fucking know.”
“Better man up before they head back out to sea.”
God, even that didn’t sit well with him. Something was seriously wrong with him and he had to sort this out. Fast.
“How long have you been dicking around about calling her?”
“A week.”
Tavin belched and got up. “I don’t even know you man. Not anymore. This isn’t about you but the class you teach. Call her or did you want me to?”
Something seriously must be wrong with him because he was actually thinking of taking his brother up on calling her, so he didn’t have to sound like a bumbling idiot.
“I’m capable.”
A disbelieving snort.
“Prove it then. Pick up the phone and call her before you wear out that card you’ve been flipping nonstop.”
Never one to back down from a challenge, he shrugged and reached for his phone on the end table. Tavin crossed his arms and stared.
His gut clenched at the low sound of her voice as her message reached him. Tavin had always been perfectly in tune with him and vice versa so he knew his twin understood what was going on with him. Didn’t mean the man would go easy on him though. Far from it.
“Lieutenant Kirk, Commander Bly. Just touching base with you about the self-defense class. If you are able to do that two Saturdays from now, on the seventeenth, that would be perfect. It’s not all day, but it is from five to seven at night. Please give me a call and let me know.”