"I might find some more of those." He held her at arm's length. "Really, I need to know who told you."
"Nobody told me anything, actually. I just happened to be talking with Don Stroh the other day — okay, yesterday — and I told him I was going to Los Angeles on business and wondered if this would be a good time to come down and see you."
"Stroh — I might have guessed."
"He only said that now, this week, would be an excellent time. Any later, and I might miss you. So he told me nothing secret, not even when or where you'll be going. If and when you go."
She kissed him seriously. "So, Mr. Secret Man, that was all I found out. I made reservations yesterday, and here I am, weary, flight-worn, but able to stand up… for a little while yet."
"Good, I'll take care of that problem, too. I'm glad that's all he told you. This one is really top of the shop. I bet not even dear old Dad finds out about it until we're done and back home."
"When?"
"We don't know. We need some more intel, then make out our flight sched. It won't be more than a few days, I've got a hunch."
She kissed him again, and they moved to the bed and sat down. The kiss came apart, and he reached for the buttons on her blouse.
"Did I tell you about-" He stopped. "Son of a bitch! I almost did what I accused Don of doing." He shook his head, and kissed both her cheeks and her nose, then a butterfly kiss on her mouth, barely touching her lips. Her eyes closed, and she sighed, and pulled him down with her on the bed.
"Ardith, you vixen. You should have been a spy during the Cold War. You could have charmed the pants off any diplomat on the other side. You could have seduced the secrets right out of Brezhnev himself."
She unbuttoned the fasteners on his shirt. "Thank you if that was a compliment. The only one I want to charm, and seduce, is you." She pulled his shirt out of his pants and reached for his belt. "How am I doing so far?"
An hour later they lay naked side by side on the king-sized bed. Her fingers toyed with the dark hair on his chest.
"Here you thought that three times was too many, and too fast. You sure fooled yourself."
"And happy to do so."
She turned on her side and propped up her head with her elbow. He enjoyed the way it made her full breasts move, bounce, and then sway.
"Oh, yes. A woman's breasts, her most perfect artistic delight."
"Sexist."
"Absolutely. I wouldn't have it any other way." He shut up then; from her expression he knew she was getting serious.
"Have you thought any more about… about some other kind of work for the Navy?"
"Haven't had time. We had to integrate three new men into our sixteen-man platoon. Not an easy or quick task. If they aren't right, or aren't trained right and blended in, the whole platoon could be in trouble on a live-fire mission."
She rolled over, and kissed him deeply, then eased back and lay half on top of him.
"You know how terrible I feel when you're off on a junket somewhere. Junket. Ha. I wish they all could be nice safe missions to countries where we at least have embassies."
"Maybe I'll pick up a million-dollar wound, and not be able to get back in the outfit. Do you know that we lose fourteen men washed out of the SEALs for medical reasons for every man who gets killed? So the odds are…"
She smothered his mouth with her own, and didn't move until they both had to breathe. "Now we talk about things more pleasant. I'd guess you'll be working tomorrow."
"Yes."
"Could you give me a guided tour of your office, your training area?"
"Oh, boy. We usually don't do that… I mean it's not secret or anything. I'd have to get a pass for you from the NAVSPECWAR headquarters. I have planned an all-day exercise for the platoon…"
"All right, I understand. Damnit, that's the trouble, I really do understand."
He kissed her.
"I'll be at your command after five tomorrow afternoon. We can have a picnic on the beach, take a hot air balloon ride, go play at Sea World, make crazy faces at the animals at the San Diego Zoo. Or we can cuddle up in my place while I fix dinner, and then we could have a long, relaxing evening before we have a long, sexy night."
She grinned, and tickled him under the chin. He pulled away from her.
"You remembered that."
"Lieutenant, I remember everything I know or read or discovered about you. Especially that little strange noise you make just before you explode when we're making love. It's delightful, and then I know what's coming, and-" She stopped, and they watched each other.
"Hey, I'd like to vote we go to my place tomorrow. When do you head back to Nutsville?"
"Day after tomorrow on the eight-fifteen A.M. American."
"Oh, damn."
"True.
"What time is it?" he asked.
"It's oh-one-hundred-fifteen, as you Navy types say."
"How about a late-night sandwich, and some champagne? I understand the kitchen is open all night here."
"Yeah, let's give it a try. I want a crab salad sandwich on toasted dill rye, with a pair of kosher dills."
"Crazy lady, you're on." The sandwiches were delicious. The champagne bubbling. The rest of the night a delight.
20
Guns Franklin and Joe Douglas pushed up another ridge in the middle of an unending series of hills that all worked upward toward the saddle mountain.
"How many more of the fucking hills are we going to have to climb to get there?" Franklin brayed.
The chogie straps dug deeply into their shoulders now as the strain of the sixty pounds of food, water, and ammunition bore down. Douglas went to his knees in the rocky soil a hundred yards from the top of the ridge, then sat down and lay back against the heavy pack.
"Oh, damn but that feels good," he shouted. "So fucking good I could shoot my wad right here."
"Strange what turns some guys on," Franklin said, doing the same drop, sit, and roll motion to get the weight of the pack off his shoulders.
"What day is this?" Franklin asked.
"How the hell should I know? What am I your fucking walking calendar?"
"You should be. I don't even remember when we dropped into this garden of plenty. I still say we'll get to the saddle before daylight."
"Hell no. You'll owe me that case of German beer when we get back to civilization."
"We're on the last ridge. When we get to the top of this, the next slant up will be the saddle mountain."
"That's what you told me the last two ridges, hotshot."
"You'll see, Guns. Let's move it."
They rolled over, lifting the packs off the ground and getting to their knees, then pushed upright with a pair of groans.
"I still say three hundred pounds is too much to expect even a SEAL to carry on his back," Franklin said.
They hiked upward.
The last few yards they had to use their hands on the steep slope to get to the top. Franklin made it to the ridgeline first. He stopped, and stared.
"I'll be fucked on Friday. There the big bastard is."
Douglas got there a moment later and he grinned. Even in the darkness, they could tell that there were no more ridges between them and Saddle Mountain. They could see only one peak, but this had to be it. The other half of the mountain was behind the one they could see.
They had a fifty-yard slope down the ridge, before the longer slant upward to the saddle mountain began.
"An hour to the top," Douglas said. "It's now oh-four-twenty. The sun shouldn't be up until about oh-six-hundred. Plenty of time for you to owe me that case of good American beer."
"If we make it, it'll be worth it."
Franklin shrugged, and began the slower move down the slope.