Free Darkness at Dawn by Elizabeth Jennings Page B

trying to imagine what it was for. Mike could see the exact moment she figured it out, because she turned rosy pink.
    Oh God. Just watching that slender, elegant hand turning it this way and that, full soft lips pursed . . . well, it made him think of sex. Sex right . . . now.
    This was payback for all that enforced abstinence. Almost a year in combat in the ’Stan and then the training mission in Alaska. In Afghanistan, more properly known as Nosexistan, and in the wild with his men, there hadn’t been one sexual stimulus. His dick had kept itself resolutely down between his legs.
    In Afghanistan, the women were covered up in blankets and would be stoned to death for a kiss. No way. And in Alaska—well let’s just say his men were strong and smart and tough, but sex was the last thing on his mind with them.
    That was probably why he was so susceptible to the luscious Lucy Merritt, with her soft skin and big blue eyes. Why he had swelled erect watching her pretty fingers turn the penis cap around and around. It had been so very very easy to imagine that slender hand holding him , squeezing and pulling on him . . .
    Down, boy .
    She looked at him and he shrugged, very glad that her father’s dressing gown was loose around the waist. “It’s an appendage, it freezes, too. Okay! ” He stood up and clapped his hands. His little retinue gaped up at him.
    Enough was enough. What was done was done. He was clean, his hair was cut, he was close-shaven, he’d had a goddamned manicure and pedicure. That was it, all he was willing to stand for. The rest was a waste of his time and Lucy’s. They’d have to be up at three the next morning to be ready for the 4 a.m. pickup, and they had a long flight and a dangerous mission at the other end.
    “Thanks for your work everyone, you can report back to Mr. Montgomery that you did your best to turn me into a civilized man.” He walked to the front door and opened it. “And now good night.”
    Inside of five minutes everyone had put away his or her tools and quietly walked out the door. Mike closed it behind him and leaned his back against it.
    Lucy smiled at him. Again, he was struck by how melancholy her smile was. “You must be exhausted.”
    He sat down on the couch and leaned his head back. It was a comfortable couch, incredibly so. Pure white, but now that he was squeaky clean he didn’t have to worry about getting it dirty.
    “I’m not exhausted,” he said in protest.
    Mike didn’t do exhaustion. He could go for as long as he had to. He could climb and hike and run until he passed out.
    Damn, but the couch was comfortable. He could actually feel himself sinking in.
    “Uh-huh.” Her voice was so soft, almost a whisper. “I’ll go get some sheets and blankets.”
    “You do that.” Why did his own voice sound so far away?
    He could hear her rummaging around in the hallway, and then a huge black cloud descended and he heard nothing more.

ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE NEXT MORNING
     
    There it was.
    Lucy swallowed heavily against the huge, heavy ball of bile rising up her throat. They were on the tarmac in an isolated part of the airfield, quickly approaching the lone Learjet stationed there, steps down, pilot waiting at the top of the stairs.
    The plane looked sleek and brand-new, a marvel of modern technology. Designed to glide through the air, invincible.
    Except when it didn’t—and plummeted through the sky to earth.
    Deep tremors shook her body, but she’d long since learned to hide those. She could hide more or less all signs of stress, something she’d learned very early in life. The only giveaway would be the color of her skin. She knew she was icy white. But she’d slapped on a slightly darker foundation, used a light blush and lipstick and just hoped to God that Captain Mike Shafer—no! Michael Harrington, investment banker—was one of those macho men who didn’t really notice women until he needed them for something.
    There were lots of those around.
    It