“Ah, but from where I’m kneeling, there’s so much of you that could burn in the next half hour.”
“Hmm, you have a point. You are a wise man whom I respect. Use your own judgment.”
And he did. Slowly, he worked his way up first one leg to the knee, then the other. Then he passed above the knee and was soon in those sweet spots on her thigh that sent shivers all up Kris’s spine and drew reactions from parts of her that good girls weren’t supposed to feel.
She moaned.
“I’ll take that to mean I’m doing this right.”
“Very right.”
As he got to her buttocks, he again untied her strings, folded them and the bit of cloth up so it seemed perched right on the space between each cheek, and kissed her thoroughly before massaging her muscles.
Kris weakly melted onto the blanket.
Then he covered her with sunscreen.
“All done,” he said.
“Thank you,” Kris managed to mutter.
“I figure you’re good for about a half hour. Then I’ll do your front.”
Kris wondered how fast a half hour could go.
They listened to the lapping of the waves and enjoyed the feel of the sun, the salty tang of the sea air. They were subdued, as befitted low tide. Some seabirds flew lazily around them, as if waiting for them to offer tidbits. Next to the TOTAL NUDITY NOT ALLOWED sign had been one that said, PLEASE DON’T FEED THE BIRDS.
Kris suspected neither sign was paid all that much at-tention.
Sun-caressed, Kris began to fear she’d fall asleep before her half hour was up. Almost, she asked Nelly what time it was, but she’d sworn that Nelly was only for nightly reports or an emergency recall from Captain Drago, and she would not let that little voyeur into these moments.
“Jack, I have a question.”
“If I have an answer, it’s yours,” he said.
“Back in the lodge, once Penny left with Grampa Trouble and the colonel, we couldn’t wait to get out of our clothes and . . . you know.”
“Yes, I have a very fond memory of . . . you know.”
“Then, when we arrived here, I sat on the bed, and you headed for the beach. After supper, I was in bed, and you slept above the covers. Is something wrong?”
“After the rubdown I just gave you, you need to ask?”
“Can a girl say she’s confused?”
Jack seemed to give a lot of thought to that, then he reached for her hand and began running his fingers around her palm.
If it was possible, Kris melted even more.
“I was desperate for you when I first saw you on Wardhaven,” he said.
“So was I,” Kris admitted.
“And when we finally got to make love, there was desperation all over it. People wanted to rip us apart again. We were about to storm Longknife Towers and maybe get killed. We desperately needed each other.”
“I agree,” Kris said. “There was a lot of desperation to go around.”
“I want love to be the first and last thought you have of me, not desperation. Nor exhaustion, as was our main companion yesterday.”
“I can’t argue with you there. Restful nights’ sleeps have been few and far between.”
“How was last night?”
“Deliciously restful and relaxing.”
“Then I rest my case. Next time we make love, I want love to be first, middle, and last on your mind, and speaking of time, I think you should be done on that side,” Jack said.
“I think maybe I am,” Kris said, and rolled over . . . and totally out of her modesty. Strings fell where they would.
Jack grinned. “My. Where to start?”
From the bulge in his tiny swimsuit, Kris suspected she knew where he’d like to start. Come to think of it, that was where she’d like to start.
He bent to kiss her lips, then slowly worked his way down to her throat. Kris was melting, but she found the strength to reach for him, hold him, stroke his back.
“Hold it, girl. I’ve got a job to do. I must protect you from the sun. No distracting your chief of security.”
“I’m sorry, sir,” Kris pouted, not at all contrite. “I’m just a poor lonely Sailor trying to have a good time.”
“I’ll show you a good time, but don’t rush it. We have all the time in the world.”
Or until Captain Drago sounds recall. But Kris didn’t say that.
Now, while his fingers covered her throat with sunscreen, Jack’s lips had found her breasts. For something so small, there was nothing small about the pleasure his kisses filled her with. Maybe tiny breasts weren’t all that important.
At least not when Jack was around.
Jack spent a long time there. Kris might almost think he was enjoying the taste of her little sunny-side ups as much as she was delighting in his tasting.
With no thought, she found that she was trying to wrap her legs around Jack.
Ever so gently, he pushed them back on the blanket and somehow managed to have a finger stray between them. A shiver went up her spine, and she did a lot more than moan.
“Would you please hurry? I don’t know how much more of this I can stand.”
“I’ve got to protect all of you from the sun,” Jack said, and once again, switched to her feet. Thank God, he moved quickly from feet to knee, then above.
And then between.
Kris trembled. Kris moaned. Kris enjoyed, and Kris so much wanted more.
“Now a good security chief always keeps his primary covered.” And suddenly Jack was above her, blocking out the sun. He was atop her and sliding slowly inside her, and Kris wrapped herself around him.
He protected her from the sun vigilantly. And vigorously. Then the sun exploded in her, and she drifted off in space and time.
13
Sated and exhausted and pleased, Jack lay beside Kris. She turned into his arms, kissed him once more, yawned, and fell asleep.
Apparently they both did, because Kris came awake much later when the cold water of the ocean started tickling her toes.
She nudged Jack. “Hey, security chief, your primary is in danger of drowning.”
Jack came awake with a yawn, glanced down, and raised an eyebrow. “Why yes, I do believe you are in danger of drowning. Tell me, Commander Longknife, how are you going to get yourself out of this mess?”
“A mess you got me into.”
“I thought I was the one that got into you.”
Kris had no answer for that, so she stood, collected all the strings that had wandered off, threw the towel over her shoulder, and headed up the beach. The shade from a stand of trees past the high water mark looked inviting.
Jack collected his towel and bit of nothing and followed.
Once in the shade, Kris spread her towel and sprawled out faceup. Jack spread his towel beside her and settled, faceup, hands behind his head, a very satisfied look on his face.
“Now it’s my turn,” Kris said.
“We’re not in the sun. I don’t need more sunscreen.”
“I’m a Longknife. I don’t need an excuse to do nasty things to people.”
“Oh, please, Commander, don’t do nasty things to me,” didn’t have any beg in it at all.
“As my wise and not at all prudish great-grandmother has pointed out, you are not in my chain of command, so you are fair game for anything I want to do to you.”
“Well, in that case, please do.”
Kris took exactly as long to cover Jack with kisses and stroke every inch of his skin as he had taken with her. It turned out that Jack had resorted to Sal to keep time, so, of course, Nelly knew all the delightful details and was only too glad to help Kris match minute for minute.
Nelly was also wise enough to keep her computer mouth shut about what she thought of human mating rituals.
In the end, Kris showed Jack that she could be just as good at shading him as he had been to her. Even if they were already in the shade.
Once again, they fell asleep in each other’s arms.
It was the dinner bell that woke them.