Full Throttle. Merline Lovelace
Dave was still the odd man out. He’d remain out until he proved himself. Problem was, he’d long ago passed the point of either wanting or needing to prove anything. His record spoke for him.
“Yeah,” he answered the doc instead. “I’m sure.”
The talk turned to the machine then, the one that had brought them all to this corner of the desert. Dave said little, preferring to listen and add to his first impressions of the group.
There were definitely some personalities at work here, he decided after a few moments of lively discussion. Caroline Dunn, the Coast Guard officer, looked as if a stiff wind could blow her away, but her small form housed a sharp mind and an iron will. That became evident when Russ McIver made the mistake of suggesting some modifications to the sea trials. Dunn cut his feet right out from under him.
Then there was the site’s top cop, Army Major Jill Bradshaw. Out of uniform, she lost some of her cool, don’t-mess-with-me aura. Particularly around the doc, Dave noted with interest. Yep, those two most certainly had something cooking.
Which left Kissable Kate. Dave would be a long time getting to sleep tonight. The weather scientist did things to spandex that made a man ache to peel off every inch of the slick, rubbery fabric. Slowly. Inch by delicious inch.
So he didn’t exactly rush off when the small gathering broke up and the others drifted away, leaving him and Kate and a sky full of stars. Dave retained his comfortable slouch while she played with her diet-drink can and eyed him thoughtfully across the dented metal tabletop.
Light from the high-intensity spots mounted around the compound gave her hair a dark copper tint. She’d caught it back with a plastic clip, but enough loose tendrils escaped for Dave to weave an erotic fantasy or two before she shoved her drink can aside.
“Look, we may have gotten off to a wrong start this morning.”
“Can’t agree with you on that one,” he countered. “Scooping a beautiful woman into my arms ten seconds after laying eyes on her constitutes one heck of a good start in my mind.”
“That’s exactly what I mean. I don’t want you to make the mistake of thinking you’ll be scooping me up again.”
“Why not?”
The lazy amusement in his voice put an edge in hers.
“I made a few calls. Talked to some people who know you. Does the name Denise Hazleton strike a bell?”
“Should it?”
“No, I guess not. Denise said you never quite got around to last names and probably wouldn’t remember her first. She’s a lieutenant stationed at Luke Air Force Base, in Arizona. You were hitting on her girlfriend the night the two of you hooked up.”
“Hmm. Hooking up with one woman while hitting on another. Not good, huh?”
“Not in my book.”
Kate hadn’t really expected him to show remorse or guilt. She wouldn’t have believed him if he had. But neither was she prepared for the hopeful gleam that sprang into his eyes.
“Did I get lucky with either?”
Well, at least he was honest. The man didn’t make any attempt to disguise his nature. He was what he was. “Yes, you did,” she answered. “Which is why…”
“What else did she say?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Denise. What else did she tell you?”
A bunch! Interspersed with long, breathy sighs and a fervent hope that Captain Dave Scott would find his way back to Luke soon.
“Let’s just say you left her with a smile on her face.”
“We aim to please,” Scott said solemnly, even as the glint in his blue eyes deepened. Too late, Kate realized he’d been stringing her along.
“The point is,” she said firmly, “I was married to a man a lot like you. A helluva pilot, but too handsome for his own—or anyone else’s—good. It didn’t work for us and I want you to know right up-front I’ve sworn off the type.”
One sun-bleached eyebrow hooked. He studied Kate for long moments. “That flight I told you about? The one I took a year or so ago with the air force Hurricane Hunters out of Keesler?”
“Yes?”
“Your ex-husband was the pilot.”
Kate’s mouth twisted. Obviously she wasn’t the only one who got an earful. “You don’t have to tell me. I’ll just assume John implied I didn’t leave him with a smile on his face.”
“Something along those lines.”
She cocked her head, curious now about the workings of this man’s mind. “And that didn’t scare you off?”
His grin came back, swift and slashing and all male. “No, ma’am.”
“It should have. As I said, it didn’t work out between John and me. Just as it wouldn’t work between the two of us.”
“Well, I’m not looking for a deep, meaningful relationship, you understand….”
“Somehow I didn’t think you were,” Kate drawled.
“But that’s not to say we couldn’t test the waters.”
“No, thanks.”
She scooted off the end of the bench and rose. She’d said what needed saying. The conversation was finished.
Evidently Scott didn’t agree. Uncoiling his long frame from the opposite bench, he came around to her side of the table.
“You’re a scientist. You tote a Ph.D. after your name. I would think you’d want to conduct a series of empirical tests and collect some irrefutable data before you write us off.”
“I’ve collected all the data I need.”
“Denise might not agree.”
There it was again. That glint of wicked laughter.
“I’m sure she wouldn’t,” Kate agreed.
“Then I’d say you owe it to yourself to perform at least one definitive test.”
His hand came up, curled under her chin, tipped her face. Kate knew she could stop this with a single word. She hadn’t reached the rank of lieutenant commander in NOAA’s small commissioned-officer corps without learning how to handle herself in just about any situation.
She could only blame curiosity—and the determination to show Dave Scott she meant business—for the way she stood passive and allowed him to conduct the experiment.
Three
He knew how to kiss. Kate would give him that.
He didn’t swoop. Didn’t zero in hard and fast. He took things slow, easy, his mouth playing with hers, his breath a warm wash against her lips. Just tantalizing enough to stir small flickers of pleasure under her skin. Just teasing enough to make her want more.
Sternly, Kate resisted the urge to tilt her head and make her mouth more accessible. Not that Scott required her assistance. His thumb traced a slow circle on the underside of her chin and gently nudged it to a more convenient angle for his greater height. By the time the experiment ended, Kate was forced to admit the truth.
“That was nice.”
“Nice, huh?”
“Very nice,” she conceded. “But it didn’t light any fires.”
Not major ones, anyway. Just those irritating little flickers still zapping along her nerve endings.
“That was only an engine check.” His thumb made another lazy circle on the underside of her chin. “Next time, we’ll rev up to full