Harrier's Healer (8 page)

bit of malice. His friends walked up onto the back porch and began to

set up the music.

“Guess you thought wrong,” the easy reply came.

Dark eyes narrowed as Jay began to puff out his chest and his at-

titude got colder. “I don’t want you here. Lex, don’t need you sniffin’

around, so just go back to wherever you’re from. Go get your jungle

love somewhere else.”

Storm clouds began to gather in the depths of those cornflower-

blue eyes. “Is that what you think I’m doing?” Although he didn’t like

the implication Jay was making, Scott was pleased that Lex had some-

one to protect her.
However, now that’s my job, kid, so back off!

“Why else would you be here?”

“Sit down.” Scott nodded at the table that was close to his.

“No, don’t wanna,” Jay snapped resentfully.

In a voice that scared all those hearing it by its lack of emotion,

Scott spoke again. “I said, sit down.” He never raised his voice; it just

grew colder than ice.

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43

Swallowing, Jay did as he had been told. He glared at the white

man sitting at his cousin’s table. “I’m sittin’. What you gonna say,

Casper?”

“First, what goes on between Alexis and me is none of your

business. I think it’s great you want to protect her. But

don’t…
don’t
…ever try to strong-arm me. Second, I know what you and

your friends did to me. You can give me the money back and we will

forget it happened.”

Jay started to protest, but a shake of the blond head kept him si-

lent. “If you lie to me, it will only make it worse. Just give it back to me

and no one will have to know. I don’t like being kicked when I am

down and I don’t like people lying to me. You play hard at being a man,

so act like one.” Scott leaned forward to rest thick forearms on his

thighs.

The young man nodded. “All right. But tell me why you are af-

ter my cousin.”

“I like your cousin and have since the day I met her in Norfolk.”

His eyes were direct as he spoke.

“I don’t want her hurt or in trouble. You dig me, Casper?”

“I have no intentions of hurting her and I would do nothing to

get her career in trouble,”
Scott answered.
I will just have to make sure we

aren’t in the same command.

“Not the trouble I was talkin’ ’bout. I’m talkin’ ’bout the one that

comes along about nine months after you go just a bit farther than you

were trying to in the kitchen today.”

A kid! What would our child look like?
“I don’t think either of us is

ready for children.”

“Well, just so you don’t want her money. She’s a doctor, but she

ain’t rich.”

“I don’t need her money. I have plenty.” He cocked an eyebrow.

“Anything else you have to say to me before she comes back out?”

“When are you leaving?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Good.” Jay walked off.

Scott sat alone, lost in a stare at the grill, and his thoughts re-

turned to the time he was in the Belizean jungle and he’d asked his

friend Tyson if he were ready to deal with an interracial relationship in

the States. Tyson had seemed so sure. Scott knew he was sure, but what

about Alexis? Was she?

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Aliyah Burke

“What’s the matter, Commander? You seem mighty pensive.

Come on, loosen up! The party is about to begin.” Alexis’s rich voice

broke into his memories.

With a smile his head turned to her and he froze.
Holy shit, look

at her!
“Wow,” he breathed as he rose fluidly to his full height. “You

look…incredible.”

Half of her mouth gave him a smile. “It’s just an old dress.”

“If that is old, then it is a good thing you are a doctor because

when I see you in a new one…I’m gonna need CPR.” He took her hand

and bowed low over it before kissing her knuckles as his eyes sent her

molten promises.

Alexis blushed. Scott held her hand and twirled her around for a

better look. Her dress was greenish-blue in color, falling to just below

her knees. It flowed about her with every step she took. The straps were

wide and offset on her smooth shoulders. It was low-cut in the back,

stopping right above her tailbone.

Her hair was gathered back from her face and cascaded down

her back in thick waves. Her skin was soft and supple and he could

smell the fresh heather as she twirled under his arm. On her feet she

wore flat sandals so she could walk on the grass with ease.

Before he could say anything else, around thirty people flowed

in through the gate. Within moments the place was blaring with music,

food was cooking on the grill, and people were talking and laughing.

Most of the time Scott was included; the guests went out of their way to

make him feel welcome, but the times he was off by himself his gaze

always found its way to Alexis.

Her sparkling personality shone. It was evident to all that she

loved them and was well-loved in return. Comparing this woman to the

professional one he knew from the Navy, the differences were astound-

ing. Here she was free, exuding life. He loved it. Or was it her that he

loved?

The music switched to something slower and Scott found him-

self looking directly at the woman he’d been observing all evening.

“Come on, dance with me?” her sultry voice asked as her hand reached

out to him.

Unable to resist her haunting eyes, Scott stood and walked with

her to where the others were dancing. Inhaling her gentle fragrance, he

fit her into his body as they barely moved on her lawn. Her head fell to

rest on his shoulder as slim arms slid, carefully to avoid the wound,

around to settle on his back, fingers splayed and gathering him in tight.

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45

“Thank you,” she whispered for his ears only. “Thank you for

dancing with me.”

C h a p t e r S e v e n

It was close to midnight when the party wound down. Jay and

his crew were the last to leave and as they went through the gate,

closing it behind them, Alexis surveyed her backyard beneath the

outdoor torches that still burned.

“Damn, I’m tired,” she moaned to the cool night air.

“That was one hell of a party.” Scott decided as he gathered

some discarded plates and threw them in the nearest garbage can.

“That little thing? Oh, this was not a big one, which is good. I’m

beat.” She sat down on the tabletop, hanging her legs over the edge to

dangle freely.

“You want to clean up in the morning, then?” he asked as he

dumped more things in the trash.

“No, I don’t want any animals to start sniffin’ around.” Her

head tipped backwards, exposing her elegant neck to his gaze.

She thought she heard him growl. “Well, then, don’t you think

you should help me instead of sitting there and tempting me?”

Oh, if only that were true, Commander Leighton, if only that were

true.
“Right,” she complained and started cleaning once more.

Under the muted light of the tiki torches and lanterns her back-

yard began to take shape. The air was cool with the faint breeze that

blew. It also kept the bugs away. Alexis rolled up the last tablecloth and

all the discarded cutlery and dishware she’d found and put on the

disposable tablecloth. “There is a trashcan right behind you,” Scott said,

as he tied off the bag in the one he was dealing with.

Cramming the bundle of paper and plastic into the overflowing

bin, Alexis put the top on and retreated to her now-clean tabletop for a

seat. . Slow, sensual jazz played faintly in the yard, loud enough for her

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47

to hear but not loud enough for the neighbors to complain. From

beneath narrowed lids, she watched the muscular man on the other side

of her yard. Even injured he moved with a panther-like grace that took

her breath away.

Her mouth going dry, she lay back to focus on something that

didn’t have blue eyes, a heart-stopping smile, or a body that could give

her an orgasm just by looking at her: The stars in the black night sky.

This was something Alexis loved about being on the ocean, the clear,

unimpeded view of the stars. If she were to do things again and

couldn’t for some reason be a doctor, she would have chosen a career

dealing with astronomy—maybe being an astronaut. Lost in her

thoughts, she just lay there, not knowing how beautiful she appeared to

the man in the yard with her.

Snapping the lid on the last garbage bin, Scott looked up and

nearly dropped his jaw. Lying on her back on top of the table was the

object of his dreams. Alexis’s legs, bare from mid-thigh down, hung

over the edge at her knees. Strong but slender arms were stretched out

over her head.

It was like she was just asking him to come over to her. That

sweet, succulent body of hers called to him and he didn’t want to ignore

the cry. Wiping his hands on his pant legs, he swallowed and tried to

get rid of the butterflies that were growing in his belly.

Moving slowly, he blew out all the torches and lanterns except

the one by the back door, causing her body to fall into the shadows. He

knew where she was, though. His body had a radar lock on her posi-

tion.

As silently as he had been trained to be, he moved in close to her

prone body. He watched as her eyes moved across the expanse of outer

space. On her face was a contented little smile.

Without speaking, he climbed up onto the table and stretched

out next to her. His arm eased its way under head so she was on his

shoulder. As if she had been doing it for years, her body curled into his.

One of her legs slid over his denim-covered one. A hand found its way

to rest upon his chest as his arms encircled her shoulders, totally

enclosing her body in his embrace.

Their scents intermingled with the fresh smell of a new day. As

he lay there holding her, Scott came to a realization; while he wanted to

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Aliyah Burke

join their bodies and make them one, he was extremely content to just

hold her too. His contentment was such that the noise of the city faded

into the background.

“Tired?” He broke the silence with his whisper.

“Very.” Her head snuggled in closer to his secure body. “I

thought vacations were supposed to be relaxing. I get less sleep on the

ship and don’t feel this exhausted.”

He laughed softly. “Don’t worry. I will make sure you get some

sleep. Of course, you will be too exhausted to do anything
but
sleep.”

His lips caressed the smooth skin on her forehead.

“We are getting separate rooms, wherever we are going,” the

hushed protest came.

Like hell we are.
“Oh, no, I can’t get to know you if you can lock a

door in my face.”

“Tell me again why I agreed to this?”

“Because,” he said in an intoxicating voice. “Despite what you

tell yourself, you want to come with me.”

“Is that so?”

“That and for this reason.” His fingers tipped up her chin to al-

low her lips to meet his descending ones.

This kiss, like the others, was a masterful one. His hand stayed

against the smooth expanse of her cheek as he deepened the kiss. Their

bodies began to roll towards each other, trying to get closer.

Scott pulled away. “I’ll be damned if I make love to you for the

first time on the top of a picnic table. Make up your mind, Alexis, if it is

going to be tonight or not,” he ordered with a raspy voice.

“I can’t. I’m sorry.” Ripping herself out of his arms, she tried to

run, but his incredible reflexes caught her before she got more than two

steps away from the table.

Pressing against her back, Scott made sure the table was in front

of her so she couldn’t go anywhere. “Don’t apologize, Alexis. I don’t

want you to feel forced into anything. I can wait. I’ve waited two years

for you. Another night isn’t going to kill me. Too much.” His mouth

nibbled along her exposed collarbone.

“This is going against everything that I have ever been taught,”

she moaned in despair. “I don’t know what to do.”

Blue eyes narrowed.
I don’t like the sound of this.
“What are you

talking about? This is more than just the fact that you are a chief and I

am a lieutenant commander in the Navy, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” fell her soft answer.

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49

He spun her around so her body was facing his. “Close your

eyes.”

They narrowed instead. “Why?”

“Please. Close your eyes.” His hands dropped from her shoul-

ders.

With a shrug she complied. “Now what?”

“Just feel.” His callused hands cupped her face. His touch and

his voice drowned out everything else around her.

He unpinned her hair, sending all of it tumbling around her

head and shoulders. Scott combed his fingers through the thick silkiness

of it. Eventually it was pushed away from her shoulders so it all cas-

caded down her back.

He skimmed her soft eyebrows with the pads of his thumbs.