No Quarter Given (SSE 667) (25 page)

"I'll be damned," Maggie whispered, a grin working its way across her freckled features. "I'll be damned… That's
great,
Molly! What an opportunity!" She threw her arms around Molly. "Congratulations!"

"Wow!" Dana exclaimed, shaking her head. "That's fantastic, Molly."

With a slight laugh, Molly nodded. "I really thought they'd send me off to some dark corner of the world and forget about me for the next six years."

"Not with your grades," Maggie told her, grinning proudly over at her. "What a hell of an assignment!"

"Wow!" repeated Dana.

Molly laughed uncertainly at Dana. "You always say that when you're at a loss for words."

"I know. Just think of the opportunity you have, Molly."

"For all women," Maggie added seriously. "Do they have any women flight engineers in the Navy yet?"

Molly shook her head, gripping their hands. "No... not yet. I'm really kind of excited about it."

"Excited?" Maggie hooted. "I'd be floating ten feet off this deck! You'll do great there, Molly. I just know it!"

Dana saw the shadow of fear in Molly's eyes. "First you have to get past your family's reaction, right?"

"Right. I think what I'm going to do is drive up to New York City and see them. A phone call isn't going to do it. The Navy has given me thirty days' leave. I'll go home, then drive to Lexington Park, right outside the gates of Patuxent River, and find an apartment to move into."

"I admire your courage," Dana said, "meeting your family head-on." She ruffled Molly's fine blond hair. "Four years at Annapolis gave you a lot more backbone than you ever thought you'd own. You're standing on your own two feet now."

"One step at a time," Molly told them, beginning to walk with them once again. She gripped Dana's hand. "And you're doing great. I'm so proud of you. Lieutenant Tur-cotte has really turned around and helped you."

Griff
His name haunted her sweetly, stirring her heart as no other man ever had. One kiss—they'd shared only one heated, longing kiss. If Dana was honest with herself, she had to admit that she wanted to kiss him again; but she needed time to learn to trust him. Very shortly, their six weeks together would come to an end. Then she would learn further flight techniques from a pool of instructors. Thinking of that time, Dana missed Griff already, wanting these last few weeks to drag by so she could savor his company.

***

Dana walked back to the ready room with Griff. They'd shared their last flight together. Her initial six weeks were over. The evening sky was pale gold, lined with building white cottony cumulus clouds. The sun's last rays shot through the ragged line, flinging spokes of light into the pale blue sky above. Dana's heart felt heavy. Since his kiss three weeks ago, Griff had made no attempt to kiss her again, or even to suggest taking her out. The days had been instructive, showing her that
some
men could be taken at their word.

"I don't want this day to end," Dana admitted. She gave Griff a shy look. "The last three weeks have flown by."

He grinned. "Is that a pun? Never mind, I know what you mean," Griff reassured her, thinking how Dana's confidence had soared in the past three weeks. She had caught up in flight hours with the rest of her class, and was keeping a 2.3 average—good enough for her still to be considered for jet training.

Risking a great deal, Dana slowed her stride and halted outside the building. It was Friday evening, and very few people were still around. Chewing on her lower lip, she looked up into his expectant features. "Is it appropriate to celebrate surviving six weeks of flight school with your instructor?"

Grinning, Griff shrugged and placed his hands on his hips. "Normally, no. But this instructor doesn't mind celebrating it with you. What did you have in mind?"

She liked the way Griff's eyes crinkled, and she smiled, some of her nervousness dissolving. "How about an evening picnic at our favorite beach?"

"Is this a formal date?" he teased.

"Well... sort of...."

"Sounds great. How about if I bring the wine and you provide the food? The limit of my cooking ability is beans and wieners." Griff quelled his keen hunger for Dana. Keeping his hands to himself had made for the toughest three weeks of his life, but it had allowed her the room she needed to develop confidence in him. His patience was paying off. In a perverse sort of way, he'd enjoyed the waiting, and was learning to appreciate Dana on so many other levels.

Buoyed by his light manner regarding her invitation, Dana rallied, eager to spend personal time with Griff again. "You've got a deal. How about I meet you down there in an hour?"

"You've got it, sweetheart. See you then." Griff threw her a mock salute and turned away, heading toward the admin building.

Taking a shaky breath, Dana hurried toward the ready room, anxious to change into civilian clothes and get home. What would Maggie think of her brazen invitation to Griff?

Maggie sat at the kitchen table making a salad. It was her turn to cook tonight.

"You can't have it both ways, Dana," she said. "You tell the guy this relationship has to come about on your time and terms. And then you get nervous because you've asked him out on a date. He couldn't ask you out, because you set the rules. So why are you nervous?"

Dana shrugged, hurrying to put the final touches on the impromptu picnic. "You're right, and he's been wonderful about not stalking or chasing me."

"Griff has treated you fairly on your flights, too," Maggie reminded her. She got up and moved to the stove to dish baked chicken onto a plate. "I think he's been great about it, frankly. Most of those jet jocks wouldn't hold still two minutes for what you've asked of Griff, Dana. Russian hands and Roman fingers—you know the type."

Maggie was right about jocks thinking they could stake a claim on any woman. "He is different," she admitted, putting the lid down on the small wicker basket.

Maggie giggled. "Dana, you kill me. You're so cautious!"

"It's my nature."

"I know, I know. Griff's demonstrated that he respects your needs. I think it's about time you two had an official date, don't you?"

"It's not a date," Dana protested quickly. "Just a picnic."

"Go and enjoy yourself, Dana. Griff makes you happy, and vice versa. Explore what you have on whatever level makes you comfortable." Maggie looked pointedly at the watch on her left wrist. "And I won't wait up for you. Believe me, if Molly was here, she'd be up waiting like a mother hen."

Molly had been gone two weeks, and they missed her terribly. Blushing, Dana picked up the basket. "You're right," she said, and then laughed with Maggie. In Molly's eyes, the world was idealistic. Maggie was much more pragmatic. So, where was Dana? Frightened as never before. Leaving the apartment, Dana plunged into deep thought. Griff was forcing her to look at issues she'd never had to confront before. Perhaps she could discuss some of them with him. Perhaps...

***

Griff sat on the pale blue beach blanket, the opened picnic basket between him and Dana. They had watched the sun set as they ate dinner. The roast-beef sandwiches laced with creamy horseradish had been delicious. Thoughtful little touches such as sweet pickles and black olives rounded out the tasty meal. The company, however, was even better in his opinion. At first Dana had been nervous. Now she sat cross-legged opposite him, the tension gone from around her mouth. He liked the gauzy lavender blouse she wore, and the white slacks and sandals. Taking the bottle of wine, he poured a little more into the plastic cups Dana had provided.

"This was a great idea," Griff congratulated her, and lifted his cup in a toast to Dana.

"Thanks, Griff." Lulled by the lap of water against the beach, she sipped the light, dry wine. "There's something I wanted to talk about."

Venturing a smile, Griff knew he'd been right to believe that something was on Dana's mind. "Sure. What is it?"

Licking her lower lip and tasting the wine on it, Dana said, "I'm going to miss you teaching me. No... It's more than that," she went on in a whisper, and stared down at the cup in her hands. "This is so hard. I've never done this before, Griff." Taking a deep breath, Dana dived on. "You're the first man who's been good to his word. You didn't chase me or make me feel pursued. I've relaxed and gotten used to you." Lifting her eyes, she held his dove-gray gaze. "I like what we have, Griff. I—I've never had a man who was a friend, before."

"The only kind of man you knew was Lombard's type," he said quietly. Dana's eyes were huge, mirroring her array of emotions. Griff stopped himself from reaching over to pull her into his arms and kiss her. Something far more important was happening, and he tabled his desires.

"Yes..."

"I've liked becoming your friend, too."

"You have?"

"I've never had a friend who was a woman." With a shrug, Griff stretched out and propped himself on one elbow. In the dusk, Dana's features remained delicate and beautiful. "I always saw women as potential bed partners." When Dana wrinkled her nose with distaste, he laughed. "Now I'm being honest, and you wanted that above everything else."

She smiled with him. "You're right."

"Well, as I was saying, women were great to make love with, but little else. Carol came along, and I discovered I wanted to settle down. I thought I had the right woman." Softly, he continued. "I didn't have, but it was as much my fault our marriage collapsed as it was hers. I projected what I wanted onto Carol, and she didn't have it to give."

"At least you don't blame Carol for all the problems."

"No, I wouldn't do that. Men aren't perfect. I'm certainly not, Dana. But," Griff added, holding her somber look, "I've learned a lot from it. I don't think I'll make the same mistakes again." He flashed her a grin. "Just new ones."

"What did you learn from your marriage?"

"Plenty. When I met Carol, I rushed her into marriage. We'd known each other just two weeks. I fell head over heels in love with her—or so I thought. She had—still has—some emotional problems that were brought into the marriage. In our last year, after I asked her for a divorce, she tried to commit suicide. The doctors told me her attempt wasn't serious. Carol was asking for help." Pain moved through him, his voice lowering even more. "She clung to me. I was her crutch, not her husband. I had a lot of guilt to work through after the divorce. I felt like I was abandoning her, but her therapist reassured me. Carol's doing better now. I stay in touch with her from time to time, just to see how she's doing. The suicide attempt brought things to a head, and she got help."

He managed a slight smile, holding Dana's compassionate eyes. "She's doing better now. Looking back on it, Dana, I was old enough to know I shouldn't have jumped into a marriage so fast. The raw chemistry was too much to combat, and I lost my normal ability to reason. I've learned to take my time with the woman who interests me. I want to know her for a long period and enjoy discovering her in all kinds of ways and situations. My marriage taught me that I need a friend in the woman I live with, not just a sex partner." His eyes crinkled when he looked at her. "Think I've learned some valuable lessons out of the mistakes I made?"

"I think so. I guess love does make you blind, sometimes," she ventured, moved by his ability to share his private life with her.

"So, what did you learn from your relationship with Lombard?" Griff probed gently. When he saw her grow uncomfortable, Griff added, "When you were unconscious in the hospital and your mother called, we were both shaken up. She was crying, and I was close to doing the same thing. Somehow, Lombard's name came up, and I let her talk about what he'd done to you, because she needed to."

"Oh." Dana set the basket to one side. Following her desire to be closer to Griff, she settled next to him. Resting her hands across her knees, she said quietly, "I learned that if a man chases you, he wants something from you. It might be sex, or it might be something else." With a shrug, Dana whispered, "Lombard had made a bet with his friends back at the academy that he could lay me. He even took me to his parents' home over the Christmas holiday to get me to believe he was interested in me as a person. I fell for it—all of it."

Reaching out, Griff captured her hand and squeezed it gently. Her dark eyes were filled with hurt. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. The bastard ought to be strung up for what he did to you."

His hand was warm and dry on hers, and it felt good. "Looking back on it, I was ripe for it, Griff."

"Why?"

"I was so afraid of men because of my father that I never dated through high school. I thought they'd all be like him. When I got to the academy, it really reminded me of him: all the yelling and screaming the upperclassmen do to a plebe. So, I hid in my books, the way I always had. It was safe there."

Stroking the back of her hand with his thumb, Griff held on to very real anger toward her father. "That's why you achieved a 4.0?"

"Sure." Dana managed a halfhearted laugh. "It's easy when you allow your world to revolve only around studies and block everything else out, Griff."

"Except that Lombard got inside your carefully constructed world."

"Brother, did he!" Dana placed her hand on top of Griff's, unconsciously running her fingers across its hairy expanse. "I guess I was a lot more lonely for companionship than I ever believed." Her hand stilled on his. "At the academy, they had a nickname for me."

The pain in Dana's voice brought Griff to a sitting position. Everything was happening naturally between them. Dana's reaching out to touch him had been an exquisite gift, sending such a protective feeling through Griff that he obeyed his next impulse. He settled his arms around her shoulders and caressed her back, to try to take away some of the pain she carried.

"What did they call you?"

Compressing her lips, Dana allowed his protectiveness to ease the tension gathered in her shoulders. "Ice Queen."

"Damn them," Griff muttered harshly. He leaned down and kissed her temple, feeling the silkiness of her hair beneath his mouth. Dana raised her chin, her lips bare inches away. Bringing his hands forward and cupping her face, Griff inhaled her feminine fragrance. "They were afraid of you, that's why. But they didn't see or understand your fear of them. You were withdrawn and cool because of your past experience with men."