Legal Action - Box Set (13 page)

              “Man, all over the coast from here to L.A.,” a young man with blonde dreadlocks and far too many piercings told her. “Depends on what kinda swells your looking for, there’s Black’s Beach, it’s my favorite, clothing optional, ya know, nude surfing, oh man, ya gotta love it!”

              “I don’t think so,” Charlotte said, and wondered how stoned he was.

              “Oh, okay. Well, shit, man, there’s a lot. Maybe Outlook, it’s great when the wind’s blowin’ the right way, a lotta sailors though, it’s by the naval base on Coronado.”

              She caught a cab and looked out at the battleships and aircraft carriers below as they crossed the bridge from San Diego to Coronado Island. Her mind raced, thinking, wondering, would he be there? She paid the driver and stepped out of her sandals as she walked toward the ocean. Surfers waxed their boards and laughed and shared giant wave stories as she threaded her way through them toward a deserted patch of sand. She stood watching a lone surfer riding a large swell in the distance and her heart began to hammer in her chest. He rode the wave perfectly, dipping and moving as one with the surf board, then, as he neared the shore he left the board floating behind him and swam toward her.

              He peeled down the top of his wetsuit as he stood up and moved fast, splashing through the powerful surf. Her face was wet with tears as she ran into the first crashing waves to meet him.

              He held her face away from his for a moment and looked into her eyes; the sapphire blue of them and her beloved face breaking his heart open all over again. “My love,” he whispered and although she couldn’t hear with the fury of the waves churning around them, she knew the sound of it by the movement of his glorious lips. He pulled her to him and they kissed through her raging tears, their hands on each other’s face to make sure it wasn’t a dream.

              Don’t cry my love, it’s alright now,” he said as he scooped her up and carried her onto the hot, dry sand and laid her down on the towel and pile of clothes he’d left there. He lay beside her, the sun warming them and he turned to her and kissed her mouth and eyes, ran his fingertips over the faint bruises that lingered on her face. “My love, you’re so thin, what’s he done to you? Charlotte, are you coming away with me? I knew you’d come here, I was certain we’d find each other.”

              He covered her mouth with his and they kissed deeply, and it was as hot and wet as the first kiss they shared, and Charlotte clung to him, her Finn, her safe place in the world. He eased away from her and pulled a backpack toward him, and when he spoke, his voice was low and serious.

              “Are you coming with me, my love, I need your answer now, is it me you want or him?”

              “Finn, I…”

              “Tell me, Charlotte, and quickly, I need to know this minute,” his hand moved inside the backpack and his eyes narrowed as he stared into the distance.

              “You,” she said, “I want you, but I have to think…”

              She saw the gun in his hand and heard a muffled ‘
whoosh
’ as he pointed and fired. She scrambled to her knees and was horrified to see West lying on the ground, deadly still.

              “West! Oh fuck, you killed him?”

              He gave her a crooked smile, stood over West’s body, then stooped and removed something from his neck. “Tranquilizer dart,” he said, holding the small dart up for her to see, “he’ll wake in a couple of hours with a bastard of a headache. I never could stand the arrogant prick, I was on a mission with him once, his work is sloppy and you can’t be sloppy with lives at stake.” He reached out a hand and pulled her to her feet, then buried his face in her hair for a moment. “Are you with me, my love? We’ve waited far too long.”

              He hauled West’s large, sleeping body, to his rented Jeep, and dumped him in the back seat. Then he and Charlotte drove to the yacht to face Bly.

              As Charlotte stepped onto the boat, Bly rushed to her and pressed her tightly to him, “Christ, Charlotte, where were you? I sent West to look for you and he hasn’t checked in. I was afraid something terrible happened, the police are at the psychiatrist’s office questioning him now.”

              At that moment shock registered on Bly’s handsome face, his usual look of complete control vanished when he saw Finn, and his mouth fell open when he realized he had West’s limp body thrown across his shoulder.

*

              They sat in the main salon, as Bly called it. Charlotte couldn’t keep the names of all the parts of the yacht straight, she called it the living room, and she didn’t know why she cared when Finn and Bly were yelling and ranting and practically at each other’s throats. Her mind was reeling, Finn was alive and she loved him, she’d never told Bly she would marry him, but he’d slipped an embarrassingly huge diamond on her finger. She loved Bly, but it was different, wasn’t it? Could she be in love with two men at the same time? No, she decided, she
did
love them both, but she was only
in love
with one.

              “Why didn’t you come looking for me?” she asked, suddenly, and both men stopped arguing and looked at her.

              “I did, my love, what are you talking about?” Finn asked.

              “Bly, why were you here on the boat when you sent West and the police out to find me? Why didn’t
you
look for me?”

              “Charlotte, what are you getting at? Someone had to wait on the boat in case you came back.” He said, walking toward her.

              “No,” she said, holding her hands up to stop him, “you said it yourself, this boat has a crew of thirteen people, I’m sure one of them would’ve let you know if I was here.”

              She told him not to try and talk her out of leaving; she was the lawyer who never lost a case, after all. Still he tried, and honestly, the look on his face when she pressed the engagement ring into his hand made her question her choice for a moment. When she drove away with Finn, she asked him to drop her off at the airport so she could catch a flight to anywhere and sort out her feelings, but he just smiled and traced her lips with his thumb as he kept driving.

              The Jeep pulled up to the gates of the Naval Base Coronado, she could see grey war ships in the distance. The soldier standing guard turned his face away from Finn and the gate opened. She’d only packed one small bag with jeans, a few shirts and zippered hoodies, running shoes and toiletries. She didn’t know where her life was headed, so she let go of her tightly clutched need for control and decided to just go with it. She felt a deep buzz of anticipation at the unknown, she was with Finn, and life and adventure stretched out before her like the hand of a beckoning lover.

*

              When they stepped out of the Jeep, Finn grabbed her small bag and her hand and led her toward a long concrete building. In the air was the sound of engines; ships, and helicopters, and jets. Soldiers marched by in formation, staring straight ahead, never wavering, their weapons held steadily against their shoulders.

              As they entered the building soldiers and officers passed by, never looking Finn in the face. He ushered her into a set of rooms and as soon as the door closed he pressed her back against it and his mouth was on hers. It was a kiss not unlike that which must have launched a thousand ships in search of Helen of Troy. A searing, life altering message of love, lust, and need, older than time.

              His lips caressed hers, their tongues twining softly on and on until; finally, they stopped for breath and leaned their foreheads together. They began undressing each other and laughed that the thought occurred to each of them at just the same moment. He lifted his arms as she peeled off his t-shirt and she caught her breath at his wide, hard muscled chest. It was covered with tattoos, which had never been her thing, but on him they were sexy beyond comprehension. She traced her fingers lightly over battle scars, some old and many new and tears formed in her eyes as she brushed the newly healing wounds with her lips. She knew he’d taken a terrible beating in Hong Kong, the bruises and stitched up cuts were still fresh on his body. He lifted her chin, brushed her tears with the tips of his fingers and said quietly, “the wounds don’t matter, you’re here now, that’s what matters.”

              He fumbled with the buttons on her linen blouse then simply ripped it open, his smoky gaze burning into her until her knees went weak. He lifted her long, dark hair and kissed her neck while she unfastened her bra and let it fall. His fingers stroked her breasts, then his mouth covered a hard, pink nipple, and she cried out as a stab of pleasure shot through her. They began urgently shedding their clothes and kicked off their shoes before he carried her to the small bedroom. He lowered her to the bed and lay with her, she wrapped her arms and legs around him and her hands moved over his finely carved muscles, reveling in the feel.

              He watched her face as his delicious mouth moved between her parted legs. She begged him not to, she wanted him in her right that moment but he simply trapped her hands on the bed and said, “not yet, my love.” He licked and taunted the silky folds as she writhed beneath him, he released her hands and moved his fingers to the tight, wet slit and worked a finger inside her. He was always astonished at how incredibly tight she was and even when she was burning with need, he had to go slowly and work to open her.

              His mouth and fingers worked their magic and she cried out then, as an orgasm tore through her and he pressed two fingers into her quickly and with force. Her sweet, little pussy clinched and held his fingers as she shuddered and moaned as he moved above her.

              Her face was wet with tears and as he kissed them away, then drew his fingers out slowly, stopping so they held her open for his cock to enter. She raised her knees to open herself fully, but still, he was so engorged and aching for her, he didn’t want to plunge forward and hurt her. She began to struggle and thrust her hips against him, her hands on his beautiful, hard ass, forcing his cock into her. He concentrated, trying not to rush as his body wanted; to let her get used to his size, and it was torture to hold back and not take what he’d craved for so long. He pulled out a bit and she was so wet his cock was slick and moved back in more easily. Her hands gripped his hair as he nipped first one erect nipple then the other. The feel of his mouth sent shock after shock to her pussy and as she drenched his massive cock they began to move together. He felt her begin to quake as he went deeper and deeper, she arched against him crying, “Finn, Finn, Finn!” and they exploded together.

              Much later, after they had wedged themselves in the tiny shower and nearly flooded the entire bathroom washing each other and laughing like fools, they lay naked, curled as close as humanly possible. There was a single knock at the door and Finn opened it and collected a tray of food and placed it on the bed between them.

              Charlotte sat up and lifted the metal cover and was shocked to see plates with filets and fresh steamed vegetables, yeast rolls with herbed butter and chocolate soufflés. “Wow, no wonder the government is going broke, what’s up with the gourmet food? I didn’t think they fed soldiers this well, although they certainly should.”

              “I’m not a soldier, my love, I’m a ghost, no one is to acknowledge me, I don’t exist. This food is from the Commanding officer’s private dining room, and these rooms are covert officer’s quarters, there are certain perks to my former job.” He opened a small refrigerator next to the bed and she felt a blast of cold air as he removed a bottle of Grey Goose from the freezer compartment. “To perks!” he said, raising the bottle then pouring two glasses half full.

              They toasted and drank, she coughed as it burned its way down her throat, “did you say former job?” she asked, cutting and taking a bite of the tender steak.

              “You always said we could be together when I was finished doing… my job, so I quit and I’m done with that life now. Truly, my love, you can’t imagine the things I’ve seen and I wouldn’t want you to. I’ve looked into men’s eyes as they died, they were always so horribly surprised, that’s not something you ever get used to. I was the best at what I did, I’m not bragging, it’s simply a fact. It came as naturally to me as being brilliant and brave and beautiful is for you. The men I killed were murders on a global scale and they deserved to die, their deaths meant countless innocents would live, that’s how I justified it. When I saw that Jamey Huang had beaten you I was determined to survive so I could destroy every insane, corrupt, power-mad, war monger I could get my hands on. The need was so strong I wanted to use my bare hands, guns and knives wouldn’t get me close enough to a kill any longer. I knew then I’d crossed a line in my head and if I gave in to it I’d be nothing more than a monster. But always, your face was a constant image in my mind and you were the only piece left of my heart, you were my humanity, the need for you was stronger than the beast that threatened to consume me.”

              When they left for the airport the next morning she was sore from Finn’s love of her body, and certain of her love for Finn, and she never wanted to be without him again.

CHAPTER TWO

              England was like a gift to them, they’d suffered silently as they kept their love hidden; now they could let it shine. First they’d hidden their passion from JP, then from the world as they made love in secret for almost four years, until Charlotte ended it. It nearly ruined them both, the constant need for each other, but Charlotte refused to continue as long as he came home bruised and stitched up and covered with battle scars. If he were a soldier called to duty she could accept it, but he
chose
to put himself in harm’s way, and only the most dangerous missions satisfied him. So she closed that door in her heart and because he wasn’t able to, he suffered and longed for her, but still he hunted and killed.