Whirl (5 page)

He laughs a gorgeous deep, sexy chuckle. I want to rip his helmet off and kiss him senseless.

“Want to see some real action?”

“
Show me what you can do Cobra boy, and don't hold anything back,” I say goading him into the challenge, while trying to hide my raging nerves which are jangling wildly at the prospect.
I hope I don't puke. I don't think my stomach is quite as strong as I thought it was.

We nose down sharply.
Oh fucking hell, me and my big mouth...

“
NOOOO!!” I squeal like a kid at the fairground, looking down at the ground rushing towards us through the cockpit directly in front of me.

“
A quick starboard about turn now.” He pulls up, banks hard right and rotates in a sharp circle.

“
OH... MY... GOD!!!!!” I scream. How can he sit there so calmly while all this is happening to his inside
s?

“
And a free-falling descent...” He brings the helicopter to a stop and hovers, and then drops and drops, losing altitude fast.

“
STOP IT!” My stomach is heaving.
Oh damn... I'm so gonna puke.
I breathe deeply in and out and thankfully the nausea starts to fade.

We turn 180 degrees on the spot. “We're going to the coast now, out to sea for a while and then a rapid return back to base. I'm putting her through her paces today. It's her third and final test run after the engine rebuild last week. A few tuning issues need to be rechecked.”

“Oh good...” I'm so glad he told me that. The word 'rebuild' is somewhat scary. The word "test" is even scarier. There's always the possibility it'll fail somehow. I sit back and try to keep calm, listening to his back and forth conversation with the ground crew regarding the health of the helicopter. I find it a little chilly up here. My feet are actually freezing in my flip flops, my toes are numb already. The rest of me isn't that toasty either.

I suddenly forget my cold feet. I'm lost in the sensual experience as soon as we hit the coastline. I am amazed by the beauty and the tranquillity of the sparkling blue ocean spreading out below us. It looks like a mass of blue crystal with the light twinkling off the gentle swells in all directions. We speed along fast, miles out to sea, flying low and then turn in a wide arc, climbing high and then descending again, heading back towards the coast. The large naval ships, anchored off the base, look so small from above, like cute little toys. We reduce speed rapidly and before I know it, way too soon, Alex is coming to a stop, hovering and landing us safely back at Camp Pendleton, next to Hangar 10.

I don't want it to end, this beautiful shared experience of ours. The high, wild, and scary, but thrilling sensations... But it has. It's like sex. That can't last forever either.

He turns off the rotor blades and shuts the helicopter down, flicking at a lot of switches and removes his helmet. I take off mine. He unbuckles and turns around in his seat.

“So, how do you feel?” He asks with a flash of his eyes and a delicious expression on his face.

“
I'm having a post flight moment just now.” I close my eyes and smile widely.

“
Enough thrills for you?” I love this subtle innuendo.

“
I'm thrilled in places I didn't know I could be. Thanks so much Alex, it was a great experience. I suppose I should be getting out now, and letting you get on with your busy schedule.”

“
There's no rush.”

“
Bren's waiting for me and it's his day off.”

“
No he's not. I sent him home.”

“
Oh you did, did you?”

“
I'll drive you back to Cardiff, and we'll have lunch there.” My heart leaps with excitement.

“
Are you asking me out on a date, Captain Jackson?”

“
No, just feeding you lunch.” My heart drops again with disappointment.

“
What if I don't want to be 'fed lunch'?” I say in a petulant tone.

“
That's up to you of course, but it's a helluva long walk home.” 

“
Well in that case, I'll have to say yes to your lunch offer, won't I?”

“
It's your call, sweetheart. I can ask Bren to come back for you. I'm sure he won't mind.”

“
I said yes, didn't I?” I admit reluctantly. I note the smug smile of satisfaction on his face at having made me say I wanted to go to lunch with him. This is one clever guy. I won't be able to outsmart him very often, if at all.

He looks at me silently with a long direct stare, his eyes burning into mine. I start to hyperventilate under his explicitly sexual gaze. I feel completely naked, blissfully invaded and so hot everywhere.

Things are really moving on now. And what an interesting little game of 'tit for tat' he's playing with me.

After that we get out, and I take a few photos with my phone, three of the helicopter and two of Alex, which he begrudgingly consents to. A head and shoulder shot and a full body. He then offers to take some of me.

After disposing of my highly unattractive flight suit, and Alex removing his, we gulp down a quick can of diet lemonade in the locker room and we head off for Cardiff and our lunch.

I sit next to him in his car feeling out of place, and a little awkward. We're not comfortable with each other. We seem to thrive on confrontational conversation. I try to make small talk, to find some common ground. I look at him for a moment, so sexy in his uniform.

“How long have you been in the Marines?”

“
Six years.” 
No more to add obviously...

“
Doing the same thing?”

“
Yep.”
God, is he hard work or what....? Come on....

“
It must be a fantastic job.”

“
I enjoy the flying side.”

“
What other side is there?”

“
The operational side.”

“
What does that entail?”

“
Tacticals. Live combat. Unpleasant stuff.”
I'm finally getting somewhere now.

“
Ummm.... You mean shooting at living things and blowing them up.”

“
Unfortunately, yes. I spent some time in Afghanistan… You know, search and recon missions, tactical air support for ground operations, that kind of thing. It was a tough tour but we're Marines. We're trained very well for the missions and nothing is more important than supporting our guys when they come under fire. Brendan was there. He knows all about the sacrifices we made for our fellow Marines and for the Afghan people.” This is rather heavy for a pre lunch conversation. I need to change the subject.

“
Hopefully you won't ever have to do that kind of tour again Alex. So, where are we going, for our lunch?”

“
Are you fussy?”

“
Not at all. I like burgers and chicken, and anything else you care to mention. McD or KFC is fine with me.”

“
I was planning to go a little more upmarket than that, and I do know a great place for burgers.”

“
That would make my day, they're better than sex.”

That get's his attention. A smile and a gentle shake of his head.

“You're one strange and unusual woman, Alexandra Kirby.”

“
Thanks a lot.”

“
Cute, though.”

“
You're not so bad yourself.”

“
For an ugly guy, you mean.”

“
Oh come on! I didn't mean that and you know it. Can't you take a joke?”

“
It caught me off guard, that's all. I admit I overreacted.”

“
I like to surprise people, hit them with the unexpected.”

“
Your singing was a real surprise.”

“
A good or bad one?”
As if I don't know...

“
I was more than impressed.”

“
That's very nice of you Alex.”

“
I can be extremely nice at times.”

“
So can I.”

“
Shall we start over Lex?”

“
Do we need to?” I feel the remaining ice has melted clean away.

“
I think we do.”

“
Okay, let's start over then....”
Well, this is interesting.

“
Hi there.” I smile widely at his first line.
We really are starting over then.

No joking this time. I'll just hit him with the truth. He knows he's a looker anyway.

“Well hello Mr Hot and Handsome.” His enthusiastic smile tells me I've rubbed his ego in exactly the right place.

“
You're pretty gorgeous yourself.” 
Mmmm, I like this Alex much better.

“
Why thank you, Prince Charming.” He turns his head towards me briefly and I give him my best sweet and seductive look from under my eyelashes to spur him on.

“
You're welcome, beautiful.”  My self esteem has been lifted way up high, to the blue skies above me and higher.
He thinks I'm gorgeous and beautiful...

“
Lovely deep voice you have there Mister.”

“
And your cute accent's a real turn on.”
This is turning into a compliment fest and don't I love it!

“
Oh really?”

“
Really. You know, I'm glad we started over. It's cleared the air.”

“
It has at that.”
Mmmm, and turned up the heat...

We sit in comfortable silence for a few minutes until we arrive at the restaurant. After being seated we order and face each other properly for the first time today. I've sat behind him and next to him. This is the best view I've had so far.

The man is edible. Woman food. Hot man on toast. I'm seriously into him. I get more than a subtle feeling that it's mutual. I want my quick fling to start pretty damn quickly so I can fit in a lot of flings with him. I'm looking forward to the intense stage so much my insides hurt. I stare seductively at his mouth, willing it to come closer.

“
Dating anyone back home in England?”

“
Nope. I'm too much to handle, apparently,” I laugh at my stupid quip.

“
Why's that?” He smiles in amusement at the notion.

“
I can't say... it could be my insatiable sexual appetite, or my kinky preference for two men threesomes... who knows?”

“
Now I know you're joking.” His eyes flash and his mouth twitches with humour.

“
Maybe I am, maybe I'm not,” I smile widely, letting him know I really am joking.

“
There's nothing about you that I couldn't handle, I'm pretty sure of that.” He leans forward and places his finger under my chin looking directly into my eyes. A wave of heat rushes through me.
Heaven help me... he's too much man...
I'm soaked down there.

“
Want to prove yourself right later?” I'm going to have to get direct with him because if he doesn't kiss me soon, I'm going to die.

“
I'm already seeing someone.”

“
So? I'm only here for a few weeks.” I don't like where I'm going. I'm starting to sound desperate.

“
I'm a one woman man.” Although that's a good thing to hear, in that he has an honest and faithful side to him, my stomach drops in acute disappointment.

“
Oh well. I'll go home and cry about our missed opportunity.”
Way too desperate, Lex...

“
Please don't do that.”

“
I'm disappointed Alex.”

“
So am I, and I really shouldn't be... Look, give me a few days, okay?”
What is he saying exactly?

“
Don't take too long deciding, I might have moved on by then. Life's too short. Sam's very keen on me and I love tall blond men with a passion...” I'm aware this may be a somewhat provocative thing to say.

“
That's so not funny.” He draws his mouth into an un-amused hard line.

“
It wasn't meant to be.” I rile him up again. His eyes are so angry. Blazingly angry.

“
Shut up, will you.” Before I have a chance to tell him to shut up too, he pulls me towards him roughly, across the table, his hand behind my head. He presses his hot soft mouth to mine, sandpapering me with his stubbly skin and kissing me with a raw passion. I melt into him, giving myself completely. A wave of desire shoots up and down the whole length of me and my heartbeat accelerates so fast I feel breathless. He forces his tongue deep inside my mouth, probing me fast and hard. Our tongues lick madly around each other's, as if we just can't get enough.