Armed & Dangerous (Book 2 Soldiers Series)

6

Morgan sat in the lounge chair between Vivian and Pat on the first deck. They were sunbathing as the ship pulled out into open waters once more. “I want to know all about it,” Vivian said her arm behind her head. She had on her red bikini and thick starlet sunglasses. “Every little detail.”

“Come on start talking we are dying to know how things went.” Pat urged accepting a margarita from the server. She was stretched out on the lounge chair in her black and pink two-piece. She had joined them half an hour ago, having just returned from her date.

“Why don’t we talk about the date you had,” Morgan suggested shifting to get comfortable. She adjusted the straps of her purple bikini.

“Oh please, no one cares about my date. I date all the time. What we want to know is how your day with tall dark and handsome went.”

“Dish girl.” Vivian prompted.

She may as well; they weren’t going to leave her alone until they heard what they wanted. “We took a tour and saw the sights.”

“And?” Pat pushed the subject.

“And we did a little shopping.” They were still watching her intently. “We had a drink in a bar.” Still, they waited. They wanted more. “There was a scuffle in the bar, and we had to leave quickly.”

Vivian tisk-tisked. “Only you would start a fight on a date.”

“I didn’t start it he did.” She said bursting her friend’s bubble. “There was this guy that wouldn’t go away. Desman stepped in and made him regret he ever saw me.” She said with a smile. “It was badass.”

They laughed. “So, the hottie is a bad boy,” Pat said sipping her drink. “Are you going to see him again?”

“We are having dinner tonight… in his stateroom.” She had both their attention.

“Really? You know he’s going to try something.” Pat informed her like she was dense. Of course, she knew Desman would use this opportunity to work his way under her skirt. “Are you going to let him?”

She wasn’t sure. The idea had some appeal, but then there was the rational part of her mind that said she would be a fool to do so. “I don’t know. I guess we will find out when we get to that point.”

“You’re going to slug him, aren’t you?” Vivian snickered. “He’s never going to get past that iron wall you put up. You know that is why you can’t keep a relationship going.”

She was offended her friends thought her some man-hating lunatic. “I’ll have you know he likes the fight in me. We were sparring earlier this afternoon.”

Pat sat right up. “Sparring?” She sounded horrified. “What were you thinking? He’s going to figure out you’re a…” She lowered her voice like it was some dirty little secret… “a cop.”

Morgan sighed. “Would it be so bad if he knew the truth?”

“Seriously?” Pat snapped. “How do most people react when they find out you’re a walking volcano with a badge?”

She had a point. Even innocent civilians seemed to tense up around her. What was it about a badge that made perfectly good people feel guilty? She certainly didn’t want to complicate what was essentially supposed to be a carefree fling. “What do you want from me? I’m just being myself and like it or not being a cop is part of who I am.”

“I’m not asking you to change. I’m just asking you to tone it down for a week. If you weird out this guy, his friends will follow suit, and frankly, I’m having a good time so don’t screw this up for me.” Pat snapped.

Morgan got up furious with her friend’s selfishness. “I’m so sorry my personality is interfering with your s*x life.” She snarled and walked away.

***

Desman stood in the game room on the third deck watching Cedric line up his shot. They had managed to snag one of the pool tables and had been playing for an hour. The winner played the next guy. Desman stood against the wall while Cedric and Lamont played a rather even game. “I’m telling you, man, it was hot.” Desman said fondly remembering his sparring session with Morgan earlier that day.

“You’re the only guy I know that gets a woody from a chick kicking your ass.” Lamont teased waiting for his turn.

“She didn’t kick my ass. I won the fight.” He reminded them.

“Yeah, but you said it was hard. The girl is like five-six, and you’re six-four. You should have been able to take her down easily.” Lamont pointed out.

“The girl has some crazy skill. She’s trained in some martial arts. That’s designed to give the little guys an edge. I bet you wouldn’t find it so easy to wrestle her down either.” Desman defended his manhood.

“The only wrestling I’m doing is in bed with that brunette,” Lamont said lining up his shot.

“Can we quit talking about s*x?” Cedric grumbled.

“You’re just pissy because you can’t get any traction with the blonde.” Desman teased. “We have a date tonight. Dinner in my cabin.” He informed his friends.

“Really? Alone in your room? I’m impressed. The girl seems like a hard nut to crack.” Lamont said with some respect.

“Believe me I’m going to crack her if it kills me. I will be getting some of that booty before this trip is over.” He was determined to win the battle of wills.

“I don’t know why you waste your time. There are three hundred women on this ship you could easily bang any one of them. Why go after the frigid b***h?” Lamont asked yielding the table to Cedric.

“Because she is a challenge. If it was just s*x, I wanted I would bed any bimbo I came across. Morgan is a challenge and in there lays the fun. I relish the chase; the capture is so much sweeter when you have to work for it.”

“If you say so.”

He didn’t get it. Desman had his pick of any woman back home. It was tedious and dull. He found Morgan stimulating. She was a thrill he didn’t get back home — a woman that wasn’t from his twisted world. She was different in every way, and that was her appeal. Morgan was freaky, but there was still something good and wholesome about her.

“So, I got a question. You think she’d still hang out with you if she knew the truth about who and what you are?” Lamont challenged.

He had a good point. He had the feeling she wouldn’t feel the same if she knew he was a Soldier. He wasn’t just some street punk playing gangster. Desman was a major player. He’d done time, and it wasn’t likely the last time. He did his father’s bidding, and his father had his fingers in everything from drugs to guns. He was a smuggler and dealer. Desman had broken six federal laws by the time he was fifteen.

“You going to tell her?”

“Hell no.”

Lamont then pointed at Desman’s chest. “What if she recognizes what that tat means?”

“Did Pat when she saw you naked?” He asked curiously.

“I don’t think she was looking too closely.” Lamont bragged.

“If I’m lucky Morgan won’t either.” Only Morgan struck him as observant. She was smarter than her friends; there was a good chance she would know what his tattoo meant. So how did he bed her without her figuring him out?

Desman headed for the entrance. “Where are you going?” Lamont asked.

“To get ready for my date.” He said leaving.

He headed back to his stateroom. Desman was grateful the maid had made up the room. He quickly selected his clothes for the night. He wanted to look good and respectable even if it was to sit around his room. They would have dinner out on the balcony. There was a small table, an intimate setting with the sun setting over the water. A light breeze, a gorgeous view, and a romantic meal; it would be perfect how could she resist him?

Desman laid his clothes out on the bed and headed into the washroom to take a shower. When he was clean, he stepped up to the sink and wiped the steam off the mirror to see his reflection. Looking back at him, he saw a man he never wanted to be. Stuck in the roll life had trusted upon him. Trapped by the expectations the world had for him. He was his father’s son; a thug… a scoundrel… a criminal. Growing up in the underworld, he never had a chance.

Desman got dressed and put the issue of who he was aside. There was no sense dwelling on something he could do nothing about. Picking up the phone, he placed his room service order. They brought up everything he needed. Candles, flowers, white wine, scallops for an appetizer, quail for dinner, and chocolate covered strawberries for dessert. The room attendant set everything up on the balcony for a tip. He had just left when there was a knock at his door.

Morgan had arrived. Desman quickly checked himself out in the mirror, took a breath to calm himself, and put on a smile.

***

Morgan nervously ran her hands over her belly trying to calm her nerves. She had a good idea what was going to happen tonight, and she wasn’t entirely sure she was going to be able to go through with it. She just wasn’t that kind of girl, but both her friends and father had told her not to think things to death. She had to follow her desire at some point. She just wasn’t used to going on emotion. She was an analytical sort of person.

She fussed with her hair which she had pinned up off her shoulders hoping it looked appealing. She had dressed in a strapless little black dress that came mid-thigh. Morgan lifted her hand to knock and paused thinking twice about doing what she was about to do.

She liked Desman very much, but as much as she liked him, she couldn’t fight the little voice inside her head saying this was foolish. She had to stop thinking. Morgan knocked on the door. She was determined to have a good time on this trip… even if it went against everything, she was.

Desman answered the door with cocky confidence. He stepped aside to allow her to enter. Morgan looked around the cabin. It looked exactly like her own only turned around. Desman placed his hand at the small of her back escorting her to the balcony where he had a small table set up with flowers and candlelight. It was cute, and he was smooth pulling her seat out for her.

It was a romantic setting with the intimate closeness and the setting sun — brilliant reds and oranges stretching across the cloudless sky. She could almost hear the hiss of the sun setting over the calm waters. So far it was the most romantic date she’d ever had which was sad.

Desman took the seat across from her on the table before her was a plate of beautiful scallops. On the other side of the balcony, a steel trolley with white linen and three covered trays which she assumed had the rest of their meal. Desman popped the cork of the wine bottle on the table and poured them both a glass. “I hope you like white wine.”

She preferred a good cold beer to wine, but she wasn’t going to say so. He went to some effort to impress her. “Everything looks wonderful.” She said taking the glass he had just filled.

“I can’t take all the credit mother nature provided the ambiance.” He relaxed back in his seat. “So, tell me more about you. You said you have a brother?”

“I do, he’s younger.”

“Any other siblings?”

“No just the two of us. I don’t think my mother could handle another one of us.” Evan was much like Morgan. He was both bright and gifted. Achieving whatever he put his mind too. Only he seemed more socially apt than she and their father. Though more people liked Evan, he too had a temper and a knack for picking fights. “Do you have any siblings?”

He shook his head. “Nope, it’s just me.”

“That must have been lonely?”

“I got friends, so I don’t think I missed out on too much. My parents provided a good home. I got a lot of what I wanted growing up.” He oddly looked depressed for a moment. “Though everything came with a very long unbreakable string.”

“What do you mean?” She was curious to know more about him.

“They had certain expectations of me. Actually, everybody did. Do you know what it feels like for everyone to expect something from you that your heart wasn’t really in to?”

She really didn’t. Though people had high expectations of her, she had always been free to follow her own goals. She couldn’t imagine how it felt to have one’s life planned out for them.

“So, this businessman you work for what does he do?”

Desman thought about his answer which Morgan found odd. Wouldn’t he know what his employer did for a living? “You could say he’s in shipping.” He said choosing his words carefully.

There was something suspicious about the way he answered. Maybe it was the cop in her, but she smelled a lie. “What does he ship?”

“All sorts of things. You know how shipping companies work. You never ask or care what’s in the container so long as you’re paid in full.” There was something shady about it.

“And what do you do for him?”

“Whatever needs doing.”

“Why did you get into this business?”

“It’s the family business. You could say my Grandfather is the CEO and my parents are both on the board. They expect me to be also. They are grooming me for success.” Now that sounded like the truth. He answered her questions, but a lot of it sounded like BS. He didn’t want her to know the truth about him, but since she too was lying about who she was, she decided to let the lie slide by unchallenged.

“Enough about my dull life, tell me what a woman with a doctorate is doing working at the DMV?” That was a good question, and she didn’t have a good answer. “Shouldn’t you be working some high paid University job or working at NASA building the next rocket?” She could probably do both, but neither had ever appealed to her. Maybe when she was too old to work effectively as a cop, she may consider a University teaching job, but for now, she was happy with what she was doing.

“Intelligence is a burden when you’re smart there is too much pressure to use it. I just wanted to do something different.”

“How do your parents feel about that?”

“Well my father’s not so keen on it, but my mother supports me fully.”

“What do your folks do?” He asked taking a bite of his appetizer.

“My mother is a housewife. My father… he is a… computer annalist.” It was better than hacker. The look in his eyes told her he could sense she was also lying but he didn’t call her on it. “So how did you and your friends meet?” She changed the subject.

“We work together, and your friends?”

“I dated Vivian’s brother and I met Pat at a bar where her boyfriend was being a creep.”

“Pat and Lamont are sure hitting it off.”

Morgan giggled as she started into her appetizer. “Pat hits it off with everyone. She is a people person if you know what I mean.”

Desman laughed. “Lamont ain’t any different.”

“Like you don’t chase women.” She grinned knowingly. Looking the way he did, she was willing to bet he had no trouble with the fairer s*x.

“I’m a little more scrupulous with my amusements.” It was good to know he wasn’t a complete hound dog.

The evening went on with ease. They made idle chit-chat, each doing their best to answer the other’s questions the best they could without actually telling the other anything. The meal was fantastic, and the view was beautiful. As the moon came out, it shimmered over the waters like floating diamonds. The stars in the sky were bright like fireflies. They couldn’t have asked for a better night.

They polished off the wine bottle, and the candle had burnt down to a nub. It was getting late. What surprised Morgan was that all night Desman had yet to make a move on her. She was relieved and a little insulted. Why had he tried nothing? She thought the night had been going well yet he didn’t try to kiss her or even touch her.

Desman came to his feet and blew out the candle. “What do you say we take this inside and raid the mini-bar?” He suggested gesturing for her to go back into his cabin. It sounded like a fine idea she could use another drink.

Inside Morgan sat down on the foot of the bed watching as Desman took down two glasses from the cupboard above the mini-bar. He reached inside the bar for two small bottles of vodka. He mixed it with some sprite and handed her one of the glasses as he took a seat next to her on the bed.

They finished their drink quietly, and Desman accepted the glass back and placed both on the desk across from him. He then looked over at Morgan his eyes burning with desire. She could see he wanted to kiss her, but was she going to let him? A part of her was excited at the prospect of another kiss, but a larger part of her was screaming this was a bad idea.

What was wrong with her that she would even consider this? She hardly knew Desman and would never see him again after the week’s end. She couldn’t sleep with him. It just wasn’t in her to be so frivolous and cavalier with her affections. This whole night had been a mistake. What had she been thinking?

Morgan rose to her feet. It was time to leave. “It’s getting late. I’m going to leave.”

Desman’s hand came up and encircled her wrist. “Don’t run off.” He pleaded softly. Desman rose to his feet and stood indecently close. His cologne flooded her senses, and her eyes fluttered shut. She could feel his breath on her lips then his mouth was against her own. His tongue slid past her lips, his arms wrapped around her, his hands flat against her back pulling her firmly against his body.

Heat spread through her body from his. Morgan melted into his embrace surrendering to the desire he invoked; drawing from her an animal of pure desire she had never known she could be.

Desman eased Morgan back on the bed, laying her out against the mattress side to side crawling on top of her. His mouth moved from her lips down her neck; his hand cupped her breast through her dress. She could feel his arousal growing against her belly, and it was exciting. His hand glided down her body, over her belly, and bunched up the hem of her skirt.

She sighed when she felt his fingers graze against her womanhood through the sheer fabric of her panties. It was sinfully delicious — a brazen touch that made her head spin and her pulse quicken.

She shouldn’t be doing this; it wasn’t like her. Morgan pushed Desman off her scrambling off the bed. “I can’t do this.” She said backing up to the door to make her escape. “It’s not you; it’s me. This isn’t me. I can’t be this careless. I’m not spontaneous; I’m calculated and grounded.” She paused having felt terrible about leading him on. “I’m sorry, but this thing between us is over.” She then opened the door and went back to her cabin.