Free Wait Until Dark (The Night Stalkers) by M. L. Buchman Page B

gently he held her hand. And then, as if moving on its own, his thumb slipped gently over her knuckles leaving a clear heat signature in its path.
    His eyes. Dark, dark eyes, pulled her in.
    Without thinking, without considering, she leaned in and kissed him lightly in thanks for sitting with her and holding her and, most of all, for not just walking away.
    Even as she shifted back on her heels, the impact of the brush of their lips slammed into her.
    “Interesting.” She said out loud the only thought that came to mind. But her body had other thoughts.
    Without intending to, she leaned back in. This time his hand clamped tightly on hers. When she tilted her head back, the kiss deepened with a long, slow luxury. His lips were soft and tasted of winter and wood, his mouth gentle and downright luscious.
    This time when she rocked back on her heels, she retrieved her hand as well. A bare breath of air separated them. John’s eyes inspected her like… She didn’t know. As if he’d stepped off a short helicopter flight to find himself on another planet.
    All she could think about her own reaction was, “Really interesting.”
    How lame was that?
    But that made up the totality of what she could think before turning back toward the hangar.
    Well, her body had ideas even if her brain didn’t. She could feel the smile making her cheeks hurt.

Chapter 15
    Connie knew she’d been avoiding John. Even when they were standing only five feet apart, conferring closely with the technicians on the ADAS calibration requirement on the Vengeance , she still was avoiding him. Moving so that a vendor’s tech or a tool cart always ended up between them.
    Once, when the space got too tight, she made an excuse to go over to Viper and check how they were dealing with a similar issue.
    She wasn’t very good at being subtle, but she needed the distance and was doing her best. She could see that John wasn’t stupid and knew what she was doing. And bless the man, he wasn’t pushing her.
    While staring at the readouts on the latest image overlap alignment test, Connie worked to unravel why she was avoiding John. First and foremost, Army Command Policy Regulation 600-20, especially Section 4-14 regarding fraternization. While the regulations didn’t technically prohibit any relationship between two enlisted, he was a staff sergeant, a rank above her and therefore her superior, even if not an officer per Army regulations.
    Which was a total dodge. She was avoiding John because when she kissed him, her mind had blanked. She normally had a dozen streams running simultaneously. Regs, flight conditions, audible and tactile feedback on a helicopter’s condition, and a half-dozen others. She had learned that keeping complex music in the background of her mind helped her focus on other tasks.
    Since “the kiss,” her mind had gone very, very one track. The feelings, especially tactile, of John’s gentle kiss and the desperate heat of her sudden desire for him had clearly shocked them both.
    Yes, distance was far and away the best policy. As he crossed to Viper to check something with Tim, she headed back toward Vengeance .
    “Sergeant Davis. Big John.” Major Beale called out to them just as they passed each other midway between the birds.
    They snapped to attention in front of her, a little farther apart than standard rank and file. Connie felt stupid for doing that. This wasn’t goddamn grade school, but she hadn’t been able to stop herself.
    “Follow me!” As the Major turned to lead them out of the hangar, Connie glanced at John. Had they been caught kissing at the fence? But that was three days ago. He just shrugged, clearly with no idea of what else they’d done wrong.
    Once they were out in the cold sunlight, Major Beale eased her stride until they walked on either side of her.
    “You two in a mood to scare the shit out of some newbies?”
    “Sir?” Big John rumbled.
    One step. Two. Three. And suddenly Connie got it. She felt her