Next To Die

by Marliss Melton

  In the same breath, she berated herself for her continuing obsession with him. And he should not have kissed her the other night—not if he didn’t mean it. She hadn’t been able to think straight since then. Her body ached for more. This business of caressing him, inhaling his unique scent, listening for his groans of pleasure was just slow torture.

  “How’s—ah—how’s the turnover period going?” she asked him in a desperate bid to get her brain functioning at a higher level.

  He grunted, betraying reluctance to talk. “It’s good. I decided to meet the men at the top of the wall, sort of catch ’em off guard during their PT time.”

  “The wall?”

  “It’s part of the obstacle course.”

  “Oh.” His low, sleepy voice sounded so sensual. It made her want to touch him in other, quite specific, places. Last night, as she’d lain in bed, that had been her fantasy—touching Joe’s body with her lips, tasting him with her tongue. Her imagination had fast-forwarded, and he’d flipped her over and done the same for her. Lost in the yearnings evoked by her fantasy, she’d had to sate her body’s needs, her climax so ferocious that she shed a tear, crying out, “Oh, Joe!”

  The memory made her palms hot now, made her breathing quicken. She hoped he didn’t notice.

  “You want to come to my change-of-command ceremony?” he asked, oblivious to her heightened state.

  “Sure, when is it?” Was this like a date? Was he inviting her in the place of a spouse?

  “This Friday,” he murmured. “Please don’t stop.”

  The sensual plea made her pulse speed up.

  “That’s an awfully quick turnover,” she commented.

  “Mmmm. The outgoing commander has cancer. He can’t work right now.”

  She paused. “Oh, that’s awful.”

  “He’ll beat it,” said Joe with conviction. “I’m having a party Friday night, too, if you can come. Remember, I said I’d introduce you to some friends.”

  He might as well have slapped her hands off his back. Penny stopped what she was doing. “I’ll try to come,” she said, bringing their session to an abrupt end. “The muscles in your back have healed, Joe. As long as you keep up the stretching exercises and limit heavy lifting, you’ll be fine from now on. If you feel any spasms, alternate with hot and cold compresses.”

  She stepped down off her stool.

  Joe lay there motionless. “If I paid you, would you still give me massages?” he asked with unguarded longing.

  A pang went through Penny’s heart. “I don’t think so,” she said, hurt by his offer to pay.

  He lifted his head and looked at her. “I didn’t mean that like it sounded,” he told her gently.

  She drew a deep breath, fighting back the impulse to burst into tears. “I know.”

  A rapping at the door saved her from the emotional roller coaster. “Yes?” Penny called out.

  The receptionist peered through the cracked door. “You have an urgent call on line three from an Officer Slidel,” she told Penny.

  The walls in the small space did a slow turn. “I’ll take it in my office,” Penny said, hurrying from the room.

  She was gripping the receiver in consternation when Joe sidled up to her office door. “What’s wrong?” he demanded.

  Tears pressured her eyes. “Lia’s missing,” she admitted. “She disappeared out of a boutique on Atlantic Avenue.” She fumbled the receiver as she replaced it.

  Joe stepped into the office wearing the battle dress cammies he’d worn to work. “Don’t jump to conclusions, Pen,” he soothed, shortening her name for the first time. “Check your messages. She might have pulled a fast one on her watchdogs.”

  “You’re right,” she agreed, grateful for his level head. It was just like Ophelia to give the cops a slip. She snatched up the phone again, entered her password, and listened to her voice mail. The second message was from Ophelia. “Hey, sis, it’s me. Listen don’t worry about me, okay? I just need a break from these clowns who’re getting on my nerves. I’ll be with Vinny. He’s a SEAL, remember. You know he can take care of me. Oh, and by the way, I got the job! Wahoo, time to celebrate, huh? I’ll be out of your hair in no time.”

  Penny slumped with relief and put the phone down. “She’s fine,” she said to Joe, who’d probably overheard every last word of Lia’s exuberant message.

  He squeezed her shoulder. “Told you. Lia’s tougher than you think she is. No one’s going to catch her by surprise.” He started for the door.

  “What do you know about this Vinny?” Penny asked. “Isn’t he on your team?”

  “You have nothing to worry about,” he reassured her, pausing at the door. “The kid’s squared away.”

  “The kid? How old is he?”

  “Like twenty.”

  “What? Lia’s never gone out with a younger man.”

  “There’s a first time for everything,” Joe replied. His gaze dropped toward the front of her blouse.

  Penny’s nipples peaked as if he’d physically caressed them. “I guess so,” she said, wondering what he meant by that.

  “As soon as I know more, I’ll get you the details about the change-of-command ceremony.”

  “Okay,” she said with a genuine smile. “I look forward to that.”

  “You know, I’m going to miss coming here,” he admitted, glancing at her tidy desktop. “I get jealous thinking of all those soldiers getting your attention.” His dark eyes were inscrutable as they looked back at her.

  He actually felt jealous? Penny’s cheeks heated at the admission.

  She was scrounging for the courage to offer her services—free of charge—when he grimaced and patted the door frame. “Well, see you.”

  “’Bye.”

  And then it was too late. She sat alone in her office, more empty and unfulfilled than ever. “First time for what?” she wondered out loud.

  Chapter Thirteen

  By the time Vinny pointed the Harley toward the waterfront, they were miles up shore, following the curve of the beach toward his townhouse. The chill breeze billowing up Lia’s skirt couldn’t cool her simmering anticipation.

  Body heat radiated through his black leather jacket, keeping her warm in the crisp November air. Her hands, locked around his waist, strayed downward, and Lia grinned. Those jeans couldn’t get much tighter at the moment.

  But then he drove right past his townhouse.

  She gaped over her shoulder at it, her expectations taking a free fall. “Where are we going?” she shouted.

  “Somewhere private,” he called back. He turned onto a pocked street, flanked by motley beach houses. It dead-ended at a gate, complete with chain-link fence and guards toting M15 rifles.

  As Vinny flashed his military ID, Lia read the plaque pegged to the guardhouse: “Fort Story.” Wasn’t this an Army-run facility, site of the two Cape Henry lighthouses, the old and the new?

  Oh, Lord, he wasn’t going to take her sightseeing, was he? After their bowling date last weekend, she didn’t know what to expect.

  As they proceeded through the gate, moving more sedately, she was relieved to see that the base was indeed private. They were surrounded by gnarled bayberry trees and grass-covered sand dunes. The two lighthouses jutting up beyond them looked like something off a postcard.

  Vinny took them past the newer lighthouse with its white and black checkered design to the older structure, less than a hundred feet high and made of brick. “It’s just been closed to the public,” he divulged.

  Sure enough, a chain had been drawn across the entrance. But Vinny drove around it, onto the soft shoulder. The rear tire fishtailed, and Lia’s adrenaline raced. Whoa, hey, we could get into trouble for this.

  He drove past the concrete steps that led up from the parking lot. Up a narrow footpath they bumped, forcing Lia to hang on tight. He nosed the bike into a grove and killed the engine. “Shhh,” he said, turning profile to whisper to her. “Listen.”

  She listened, but all she cou
ld hear was the roar of the surf, the sound of the wind whistling around the lighthouse, and the call of seagulls wheeling overhead.

  “All clear,” he decided. Getting off the bike, he helped her to dismount, his chocolate-brown eyes alight with mischief.

  “What are we doing here?” she asked him.

  “You’ll see.” He glanced down at her spiked heels. “I think I’d better carry you, though.”

  That was all the warning she got before he hefted her in his arms, so high that she flopped over him like a rucksack.

  “Hush,” he said as she voiced her concerns.

  “Put me down.”

  “I will.” But he didn’t. He ran out from the cover of the dunes with her bouncing on his shoulder, jogged up several steps, and put her down before a wooden door with a padlock on it. She watched in amazement as he pulled a pin from his pocket and worked the lock open.

  “Awesome,” Lia breathed, casting a worried glance around them. But they were still alone.

  Vinny pulled her into the cool, dank stairwell. “Having fun yet?” he asked, shutting the door.

  She giggled uncertainly. “I think so.”

  “Good. Start climbing.”

  A hint of sensual intent in his voice quickened her pulse.

  “There’d better be a reason for this,” she huffed. Narrow windows illumined the steel steps that wound up and up, seeming never to end.

  “Just don’t twist an ankle,” Vinny cautioned. He was right behind her to catch her if she fell.

  They climbed for what seemed like half an hour but was more like five minutes. By the time she arrived at the top, Lia was perspiring in her woolen suit. Vinny didn’t look the least bit winded.

  The view startled an exclamation from her. The top of the tower was enclosed by a cylinder of glass, offering a panoramic vista of the cape. The new lighthouse loomed nearby, with a cluster of outbuildings at its base.

  “Have a seat.” Vinny drew her over to one side and patted the cement ledge.

  Lia collapsed. Contrary to how modest the structure appeared from below, she felt like she was miles up in the air. The ocean cast a blanket as far as the eye could see, moving through a spectrum of blues and grays as it mingled with the waters of the Chesapeake Bay. “So beautiful,” she sighed, leaning her cheek against the glass to take it in.

  Vinny sat beside her, his cheek close to hers as he peered straight down.

  Her gaze slid to his powerful neck and the sensual curve of his lower lip, and she forgot about the view.

  He caught her staring, and in the next instant, he was kissing her.

  Oh, yes. Lia moaned. Desire rolled through her like the waves pounding the shoreline below. But every time she reached for his zipper, he restrained her questing fingers.

  This was happening his way, but that was fine by her. What a thrill to make love at the top of a lighthouse!

  He released the buttons of her jacket, easing it off her shoulders to reveal the corset-style bustier beneath it. “No wonder you got the job,” he stated with a leer.

  She tried to cuff him, but he caught her wrist, holding it captive as he tugged the satin bow that kept her tightly bound. The two halves of the garment parted, exposing her full, pale breasts.

  “You are so fuckin’ sexy,” Vinny exclaimed, his dialect especially thick.

  She hooked a heel over the smooth edge of concrete, exposing her cream-colored garters. You think that’s sexy, try this on for size. The heat in Vinny’s eyes sent a delicious thrill through her.

  “You dress like this every day?” he asked hoarsely.

  “A girl never gives away her secrets.”

  With flared nostrils and a taut jaw, Vinny went down on his knees. He nudged her legs apart and leaned between them to nuzzle the edges of her bustier.

  Lia caught his head in her hands, humming her encouragement as his warm mouth sought and teased the sensitive tips of her breasts. His hands, meanwhile, moved possessively up her silk-clad thighs.

  He could have taken her right then; she was more than ready. Instead, he nibbled, licked, and sucked until she wanted to scream.

  She fisted his T-shirt, dragging it upward on a quest for bare skin. His was impossibly silky and stretched taut over rock-hard muscles. She furrowed her fingers in his chest hair, felt his heart race beneath her palm. “Please,” she urged, trembling with the desire to be overcome.

  His slow-moving fingers were tracing the straps of her garters. Oh, please. She quivered with anticipation. Finally, finally, he eased a thumb beneath her thong and caressed her in slow, maddening circles. Oh, my God. Lia’s head fell back as she surrendered to his touch.

  At last he shifted, and she nearly sobbed with relief. But instead of unzipping his jeans, he pulled her hips closer, lowered his head, and put his mouth where his hands had been.

  Lia couldn’t slow herself. She climaxed the instant his tongue touched her. Before her pleasure even ebbed, he pushed two fingers inside her and stroked her from within. “Do it again,” he ordered gruffly.

  His tongue resumed its dance, and unbelievably, in just seconds, she did.

  She cried out her amazement, then collapsed like she’d run a marathon.

  The first thing she saw when she blinked her eyes open was Vinny’s small, triumphant smile.

  With chagrin, she realized how slutty she looked—legs splayed, her skirt hiked to her waist, breasts exposed. She started to cover herself.

  “Don’t. I like looking at you.”

  She blurted the first thought to enter her head. “Is there something wrong with you?” She darted a meaningful glance downward.

  He sent her a pained smile. “No.”

  “Then, why didn’t you . . .” She trailed off, heat rising like a geyser from her neck to her hairline.

  “I didn’t bring a condom,” he said, standing up.

  Oh. “You should have told me,” she lamented. “I would have brought one with me.”

  Vinny just looked at her, and she felt a little trashy letting him know that she was all about self-protection while having her fun.

  “I can . . . return the favor if you want,” she suggested, flicking another glance downward. If she couldn’t get the horse out of the gate, how was she ever going to get him to the races?

  “That’s okay.”

  She smoothed her skirt down, confused, not understanding. Didn’t he want her? Why refuse the release she offered him?

  “When you’re ready to share your life with me, your heart, your head, everything, cara mia,” he said, reaching out to caress her cheek and the tops of her breasts, “then I’ll be ready to give you what you really need. You can start by explaining why you had to meet me in an alley earlier.”

  Lia gasped at the ultimatum. “You think you’re going to coerce me into having a relationship with you?” She sat up straighter, jerking the edges of her bodice together.

  “Think of it as encouragement, not coercion. No one’s forcing you to have sex,” he pointed out mildly.

  She was furious. “This is ridiculous,” she snapped. “I don’t want to ‘go out’ with you like we’re in middle school or something. I just want to have some fun and a little sex and go our separate ways. That’s how it’s going to end up anyway.”

  “You think?” he said quietly, but she could tell by his sudden stillness that his own temper was igniting.

  “Oh, grow up!” She snatched her jacket off the sill and jammed her arms into the sleeves. “What do you think is going to happen after we date for a while? You’re going to get tired of me, or I’m going to get tired of you. Neither one of us is ready for a long-term commitment, so why complicate things?”

  He leaned over her with a hand braced on either side of the ledge, arm muscles straining to support his weight, and Lia was reminded of his deadly training. “It’s already complicated,” he told her in a soft but intense voice. “I don’t want to just fuck you, Ophelia.”

  He let the crude word hang between them for a sizzli
ng moment. “I want to live inside your head, in your heart. I want to taste what you taste and feel what you feel. And I won’t settle for anything less.”

  In the midst of his ultimatum, Lia forgot how to breathe. She felt submerged within herself, clawing for the surface, desperate for oxygen. “I can’t,” she choked, suffocated by the fear of loss.

  The light in Vinny’s eyes slowly dimmed. “You can’t,” he repeated.

  “No,” she said, but she wasn’t so sure this time. She could feel him retreating, taking his warmth and passion with him.

  He pushed himself upright and looked down his nose at her. The grooves that edged his mouth made him look older than his twenty years. “It’s time to go,” he said quietly.

  Lia felt chilled. She stood up slowly and buttoned her jacket all the way up. Her heart sat in her throat like a pill she couldn’t swallow.

  She felt cheap now, cheap and mean for using him. But what did he expect? She wasn’t naively romantic like he was. She didn’t believe in young love’s ability to endure.

  With the reminder that she was older and therefore called the shots, Lia headed for the stairs. She’d gotten what she wanted—well, not really. Her traitorous body clamored for the real deal, but she’d never tell Vinny that.

  “Wait,” he said, squeezing past her. “Put your other hand on my shoulder.”

  She wanted to refuse him, but the steps were way too treacherous to descend in heels.

  Touching him, even lightly, filled her with remorse.

  Forget him, she commanded herself. Anything more than a fling with the young SEAL was asking for heartache. She’d suffered enough heartache in her short life never to want to feel that way again.

  * * *

  “Well, hello.”

  Penny glanced up from the program she’d been reading to find Hannah Lindstrom towering over her in a violet pantsuit. “Oh, hi,” she countered, pleased to see a familiar face at Joe’s change-of-command ceremony. Ophelia’d had to work and couldn’t come.