HeroAdrift_PRC (4 page)

"May I love you?" he whispered.

"Oh, yes," she replied.

His body reacted to the soft answer as if heavy chains had just loosed an anchor. Her underwear and his were torn away and he pulled her down on top of him as he knelt on the floor.

Although their foreplay had been short, it had been intense, and she was as rabid for him as he apparently was for her. He took long enough to dig a condom out of his pocket and put it on with brisk efficiency.

"Ah, I do so love a man who comes prepared," she said.

Her laugh at his smile quickly turned to a groan when put his hands under her buttocks and lifted her so her legs were spread wide and resting against his hipbones. She wrapped her arms around his neck and the result was that their bodies were perfectly aligned.

When he seated himself deep inside her wet pussy, Abby felt closer to him than she ever had to any other man. A rippling sigh escaped and she felt the give and take of her inner muscles as she adjusted to the wonderful size and heat of him.

It took only three thrusts until she found her release. His groan of satisfaction matched her cry as they plummeted over the edge of release together.

A long time later Oliver opened his eyes.

She was sitting on his lap and his knees were bent holding them up. He was still nestled in her warmth, even though he was only semi-hard now. He could see a light dusting of freckles across her face and was entranced by the way her eyelashes curled gently against the soft skin of her round cheek. Slowly, as his mind began to catch up with his body, he realized the floor underneath him, although covered in lush carpet, was still hard. However, he honestly didn't know if he had enough energy left to move.

As if she could read his mind, Abby sighed and stretched against his body. The friction of her soft skin against his was arousing and, though he would have thought seconds ago that there was no way he could go for round two, his body had other thoughts. But when she placed her hands on his chest and pushed, he allowed it, stretching out on his back on the floor. When she followed and stretched out on top of him, he thought that was dandy as well.

"God, you feel good," she purred, nibbling and licking her way across his chest. Then she worked her way down and across his rib cage as she moved and separated them. He had a moment's regret for that as his arms were suddenly empty. "And your taste, even right here. I think I could survive on it alone. I never knew a man of the water would taste like this. You're tart but not tangy, and salty but not briny."

Abby paused a few seconds to look up at him through her curtain of satiny hair. It fell in loose waves around her face and down to her shoulders. She looked like Circe luring sailors to take their chances against the rocks. She scooted even lower on his body and removed his spent condom. She touched his cock gently as if examining it were a sweet treat.

"You know, I did some research on the Coast Guard," Abby murmured.

Her words made a humming sound against the skin of his abdomen. His muscles quivered like he was doing a grueling round of crunches.

"I learned that your motto is
Semper Paratus
--Always Prepared."

If his brain had been anything more than mush at that moment, he might have found words to reply. All he could do was grab a fistful of her hair, whether to stop her or keep her in place forever, he couldn't tell.

"Are you truly always prepared, Petty Officer Robinson?"

Before he could do more than moan, her mouth swooped lower. She moved again and this time her head was at his groin and her hips were astride his chest. He could see her beautiful ass and, when she leaned forward and starting licking the underside of his cock, he could see her rosy, full vaginal lips. It was hard to concentrate as the wonderful sensations of her working his cock were quickly driving him insane, but he wanted to give her some pleasure as well. He began slowly, licking from front to back. As he worked, he reveled in the smell and taste of her. He nuzzled her bush and explored the depth beyond. She was very wet and her moans were matched only by his own moans as she pleasured him beyond belief.

When he finally reached her firm, round button of desire Abby raised her head and his cock fell free from her mouth. Although he was dying for his own release, he wanted to give her this first. With her back as tight as an archer's bow, he continued to suckle her clit and managed to insert first one finger, then two, into her pussy. Her muscles clenched and released and the shiver that began at the top of her neck resonated throughout her body as her climax poured through her and onto his tongue.

When her shivers finally stopped, she turned her head and looked back at him. "Wow, that was unbelievabe," she said. "Your turn."

She turned back and began again to lick and fondle his cock and balls. He was so close it didn't take much, but when she tongued her way across his slit and took about three-quarters of him deep into her mouth, he felt his balls surge close to his body and cried, "I'm coming," to give her fair warning.

Instead of pulling away as he expected, she continued to work him, increasing his pleasure and sense of intimacy to the point his vision blurred.

They were lying in her bed together much later when she spoke. He was interested in everything she had to say, but he didn't know how much longer he was going to be awake. It had been a long week and it had ended with a strenuous rescue. It had been his first time back in action since the accident. That, coupled with the intense action he'd enjoyed with Abby the last few hours, and he was whipped.

"I never dreamed having my own real life hero could be so stimulating," she said.

He stiffened. "I'm no hero."

Her eyes, which had been starting to close, indicating she was just as tired as he was, opened. "Sure you are. You've been trained for it and you're very good at it. From the scar on your shoulder, I'd say you recently risked everything for someone else. That's a hero."

"No. That's hype. I'm just working for a paycheck like any other guy. I don't want to be a hero. I'm not cut out for it."

Abby was silent for a few moments. "Nobody who is just working for a living jumps into freezing water to rescue people. Nobody jumps from a helicopter into a stormy sea just for a paycheck. You are a hero."

"No, believe me, I'm not a hero. Heroes don't get other people shot. Heroes don't let their crew down in the clutch." He got up out of bed and started looking for his clothes. The fact they were strewn all over her apartment was a minor irritation. When he picked up her slinky red top, he turned off the feeling of desire rising in him as he remembered how much fun he'd had removing it from her.

She smiled gently at him. "Oh, Oliver Robinson, you're a hero. Perhaps, at the moment, you're a wounded hero. But there's no doubt about it. Look how you rescued Billy. Look how you saved me. I thought I could save Billy, but the truth is I was already losing strength. If you hadn't been there, we'd have both drowned."

Oliver could feel the panic rising up from deep inside him. It built like a tidal wave starting in the pit of his stomach and rising until it was nearly choking the breath from him. He had to stop this. This minute.

"I'm not a hero. Heroes don't get busted from Lieutenant down to Petty Officer. Heroes don't get kicked out of the top rescue station in the Guard and sent to the wading pool." He dropped his clothes and strode over to where she stood. He gripped her arms and pulled her closer to him. "I'm a has-been, baby, so if you're looking for a little hero worship, you've got the wrong guy. I'm not your hero. I'm nobody's hero."

"Oliver, Oliver, please, you're hurting me," she said.

It was then he realized he had picked her up and was holding her by her arms. It was then he saw the fear in her eyes behind the tears streaming down her face. Now he'd done it. He'd reached a place he'd never thought he'd be. A place he'd been fearing he would fall into, but had hoped he'd have the control needed to keep anyone else from suffering from his anger. But like everything else since the moment ten miles south of Miami on a late February night, he'd screwed this up as well.

He set Abby back on the floor. The marks on her arms were already mocking him, letting him know just what a worthless brute he truly was.

"I'm sorry," he said. He turned, picked up his clothes and left.

Abby felt tears dripping out of her eyes and onto her cheeks. She'd been crying ever since Oliver had stormed out of her apartment. Not for herself, but for him. He was so hurt, so bruised that she wondered what she could ever do to help him heal. And healing was obviously what he needed. Not only from the physical wounds of whatever had happened to him, but emotional healing as well.

If he wouldn't let her in, what could she do? She smiled.
A lot.
She rose and went to shower.

She was a teacher and a teacher taught. She could teach him how to let her in.

"Petty Officer Oliver Robinson reporting as ordered, sir." Oliver stood in front of his Group commander and waited for his response.

"Stand easy, Robinson." The commander paused for a few seconds and continued looking over the papers in front of him.

Oliver didn't have to have ESP to know the commander was reviewing his file.

"So, you've decided not to ship over, huh? Why?"

"Sir, I think I've done my turn. It's time to do something else."

"Hhhm, after ten years you're giving it up? This doesn't have anything to do with the incident in Miami, does it?"

Oliver swallowed back the bile of revulsion that rose in his throat. He'd been in turmoil ever since he'd walked out on Abby nearly a week ago. "Sir, I won't lie and say no. But Miami isn't the only factor involved."

The commander was silent for a few more moments. "Son--I hope you don't mind me calling you son. Even though you're not as young as most of my men, you're still a lot younger than me."

"Sir," Oliver acknowledged. He could insist on formality, but he didn't want to give the CO any grief. It was a small thing and he seemed to be a pretty good guy.

"You were completely cleared by the review board. The accident in Miami was not your fault." The commander held up his hand, warding off Oliver's instinctive reply. "I know that isn't always enough. I wasn't always a commander, you know."

"I didn't think you had always been, sir. I know how the Guard works," Oliver said.

"I know you do. I also know losing your crew and your boat, in addition to nearly bleeding to death while waiting to be rescued isn't something a man forgets. But, son, you need to put it behind you. You've had a good and stellar career in the Guard. What do you think you're going to find when you're no longer in it?"

Oliver started to come up with the standard response he'd given to everyone from the regional command to the shrinks on the hospital ship. But he looked in the amazingly kind, knowing eyes of his new commander and knew that answer wouldn't fly.

"I don't know what I expect, sir. I just know I can't go on being what the Guard wants," Oliver said. "The Guard needs heroes. I'm not that guy any more."

His commander sighed and all Oliver could hear for a few minutes was the sound of the large clock on the wall ticking.

"Okay. But you still owe the Coast Guard six more weeks. I won't allow you any easy duty. You'll pull boat detail and make inspections just like everyone else on this crew. Is that clear?"

Oliver straightened to attention. Personal time was over. "Aye, aye, sir."

"Part of our mission here is education. With that in mind, I want you to go over and talk to a group of people from one of the schools who were on the tour boat last week."

"Me, sir? Wouldn't one of the married guys be better? How about Danheiser? I think he's got a couple of kids." Oliver felt panic rise.

He didn't want to be talking to civilians. What if one of them were Abby? He felt his muscles tense at the thought of seeing her. He'd managed to keep from going over to her apartment on the rest of his weekend off, even though it had taken every bit of his resolve. He'd actually breathed easier when his three days were over and he'd headed back to the duty station.

"Nope. You're the one. Besides, Danheiser's fresh out of the academy. He doesn't have any field experience, except the short time he's been here. I want someone who can talk to these folks, not only about boating safety, but about the Coast Guard and what we do. By the way, I also want you to present a certificate to that young teacher who jumped into the water after the boy. That took a lot of guts, don't you think?"

"Yes, sir," Oliver replied. "As it so happens, she leaves in the same apartment building as I do. I only met her after the rescue, though."

The commander looked at Oliver for a moment, then laughed. "Damn, Robinson. I know you had a reputation as a lady's man in Miami, but this is quick, even for you."

Oliver shook his head. "It isn't like..."
What?
He couldn't very well tell his commander he'd had the most amazing sex of his life, then had pretty much fucked and run, could he?

"Whatever," the commander said. "I may be old, but I'm not dead. The ladies do love the uniform, don't they? I met my wife my first week at the station nearly twenty years ago, so I do remember.

"At any rate, during the ceremony this afternoon, give the lady a certificate. Not many people would've done that. From what the doctors said, she probably kept the kid from going into respiratory arrest. They're expecting you this afternoon at three."

Before Oliver could protest more, the commander ended the meeting with a simple, "Dismissed."

Oliver saluted, turned and left. This was one thing he wouldn't miss when he got out of the Guard. No more going where he was told without any say in the matter. Why him?
Didn't anyone understand he wasn't the one to be talking about the Guard?
Couldn't anyone just let him do his job and stay below the radar?
Damn it!