Once a Marine (17 page)

A quick nod and a flash of her eyes puzzled him. He took her face in his hands, stared intently into her eyes. Beautiful. That was it! He knew that was it! “That’s your name isn’t it, Bravo Delta. You’re Beautiful.”

She narrowed her eyes as a deep blush bathed her cheeks. She glanced down, avoiding his gaze. “Unfortunate name to be stuck with, isn’t it?”

He chuckled under his crushing hug. “For you it’s perfect. I love it. What’s the D for?”

“Oh no.” She shook her head. “I’m not ready to reveal that. Not yet. Don’t you dare tell anybody either.” Grasping his hand she led him to the living room where Enzo poured Jameson’s Irish whisky into three mismatched kitchen glasses.

Rafi raised his glass. “Here’s to you, Beautiful.”

Enzo tipped his head. “You like BD’s new haircut?”

Rafi ran his hand up and down her back, kissed her on top the head. “Yes, I like it.” He jerked ever so slightly when her hand drifted from his waist to caress his butt. “You like it, sweet cheeks?”

She grinned and nodded. Her cheeks rosy again, he suspected it was the swallow of whisky. “Yes, I do, flyboy. I like everything about it.”

On Enzo’s insistence, BD agreed to take a sick day the next morning. Fridays were usually quiet at Haven, and it was customary to close before four to give the employees a jump on rush-hour congestion.

Rafi lay on his back snoring quietly in the dim light of early morning.

BD stared at his face, smiled, and snuggled close. She slept again and didn’t wake until he got up to go to the bathroom. She pulled a pillow over her head, groaned with disappointment that he was up so early. She turned on her side and nearly drifted away again when he slid back into the bed and put his arm around her waist.

He pulled her tight against his chest. “You smell so good, Beautiful. What is that scent? Like they say in those old Victorian novels, ‘It stirs my loins.’” He sniffed her hair and neck.

She giggled and tipped her face toward his. “What do you know about old Victorian novels?”

“My sister reads them. Sometimes when she got to a real torrid passage she’d read it out loud to me, and we’d both sigh like lovesick teenagers. Of course at the time we
were
lovesick teenagers.”

“I didn’t know you had a sister. Where does she live?”

“Miami. Elena’s married and has four kids in high school.”

“Sounds like her Victorian dreams came true.”

“Yeah, she’s a happy lady. She’s two years older than me. I’ve got to get down to Florida soon. My parents also live there. You’d like my parents.”

From his expression, BD could almost see the light bulb click on inside his brain. “Hey, I’ve got my plane. Let’s take a quick trip down there.”

She turned on her back. “Tell me about your parents.”

Rafi stroked her cheek and ear. “My dad’s ex-military. He teaches flying. My mother just retired from upper management at a big cigar factory. She started rolling cigars when she was a teenager in Havana.”

“Your family is Cuban?”

“Cruz is about as Cuban as it gets. My dad stole a Cuban air force fighter jet, stuffed my mom and Elena inside, and defected to the United States. I was born at my uncle’s house in Miami a week later.”

BD raised herself on one elbow. “Gee whiz, Marine, that means you could be president one day.”

He sat up. “No thanks.”

She could learn a lot about Rafael Cruz if she met his family. There was a lot more she wanted to know. Why not take a trip to Miami and meet his parents? “When do you want to leave?”

“You’ll go?”

His happy face made her laugh. “Why not? I think I could recover from my
illness
and make it back to work by Monday. I’d like to get out of this town for a few days.”

He jumped up, pulled on his shorts, and headed out of the bedroom.

“Where are you going?”

“I need to file a flight plan and get my plane fueled. I’ll meet you in the shower.”

Water cascaded over them. They were clean, slick, and shiny. Nothing would have made him happier than to carry her out of the shower, toss her on the bed, and make love to her all day. But they had places to go and relatives to see.

She tipped her head back to rinse out shampoo, opened her eyes, and grinned. Leaning into his chest, she ran her hands down his body till she hit pay dirt.

“Don’t do that, Beautiful. We’ll never make our flight schedule.”

She puckered up, scowled and groaned. “Dammit.”

“Yeah, I know the feeling.”

He turned off the water and grabbed two towels hanging over the shower door. Gently, he shoved one in her face. “Dry off, but don’t remove all that wonderful smell from your skin. I like it. What is it?”

Her words were muffled as she rubbed her hair. “Me, soap, and water.”

“It’s gotta be more than that.”

“Nope, that’s it, soap and water. I don’t use any scents. I got out of the habit of using them. Shari is very sensitive to perfume and cigarette smoke. Even the shampoo is unscented.” She peeked under the edge of the towel and pressed her nose and lips to his chest. “You’re the one who smells good.” She slid the towel off her head. Holding one end in each hand, she dried her back and added a couple of seductive hip swings for his enjoyment. “I like how you smell, flyboy. That’s one of the first things I noticed about you.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Is that right? What do I smell like?”

“A big”—hip swing—“bad”—hip swing—“sexy”—hip swing—“shameless hunk of eye candy.”

“Seriously, do I need to soap up again?”

She planted a kiss in the middle of his chest. “Don’t you dare.”

He flashed a gleaming grin. “So…let me get this straight. Shari is bitchy, no good at relationships, can’t stand cigarette smoke or cologne, and she’s terrified of escalators.”

BD nodded. “And those are her good qualities.”

“How’d you ever end up working for her?”

“The head hunter sent me. Three others before me had already quit. I decided for that kind of money, there wasn’t anything she could say or do to drive me off. Although she came close a few times.”

“How can you put up with her bullshit?”

“She’s not so bad now. We have an understanding of sorts.”

He dragged a T-shirt over his head and pushed his fingers through his damp locks. That was all the combing it would get.

It took BD all of two minutes to dry her short hair. She tugged a pair of skinny jeans over her blue lace panties, held her breath, and buttoned the waist.

He grabbed her and nipped her breast before she could get the bra fastened.

She laughed and shoved him away. “We’re in a hurry, remember?” Her flight bag stood open on the bed. She tossed in a clean shirt and a change of underwear and then dropped a small cosmetic bag on top. “I’m ready. What’s taking you so long? And quit drooling.” She pulled on a cotton sweater and zipped up her bag.

“I can’t get enough of staring at you, Beautiful.” He picked up his duffle. “Let’s go. We’ll get coffee and donuts to eat on our way. OK?”

How many times had he thanked his good luck for that charter to Hawaii? When she scampered ahead of him down the hallway and out the terrace doors of Shari’s house in LA and pointed to the spot where he was to place the potted palms, he fantasized about her sweet and shapely little can.

When he returned to the villa the morning after their arrival in Honolulu, he began to believe in destiny. Why else had he found her lying half-naked on that chaise by the pool? Her pink bikini was the good luck talisman that got him out of that shit hole on Basilan Island. She was meant for him.

They stepped outside the building. The first thing they saw was Nick leaning against the wrought-iron fence a couple of doors down.

“Goddamn it! I’m going to kick the crap out of that son of a bitch.”

She grabbed his sleeve. “No. Don’t. He’ll leave when we don’t come back. He’ll get tired of hanging around here if I’m gone.”

The doorman had a cab waiting for them.

Rafi handed him a twenty. “If that jackass doesn’t leave soon, call the police. They can pick him up for vagrancy or loitering.”

The doorman tipped his hat. “I’ll do that, sir.”

BD turned to look through the back window of the taxi as it pulled away from the curb. Her stomach churned with trepidation and worry. She didn’t want Nick to get hurt. She wanted him to go away. What was he doing? It made no sense to her. She hadn’t heard from him in over six months. They were finished. He said so when she and Jack picked up her things. Cool and controlled that day, except for an ugly sneer, he’d barely acknowledged her. When she walked out his door for the last time he’d said, “Don’t think of coming back.”

She hadn’t thought of going back to him. From the moment Rafi sauntered into her life she never gave Nick another thought, except to compare the two men. Now she couldn’t imagine not having Rafi in her life. They hadn’t really talked yet. He still had a lot of explaining to do, but somehow that wasn’t such an urgent need when he was with her.

Rafi put his arm around her, pulled her tight against his side. She dropped her head on his shoulder and marveled at how safe and secure she felt with him. He was a rock. Her rock. He was taking her to meet his parents. She was
his girl.
They might have a future together.

Chapter Thirteen

Dread gripped BD as Rafi put her in the co-pilot seat and then taxied down the runway. “Rafi, I’m scared. I’m afraid to sit here.” Her knuckles went white from gripping her seat belt.

He chuckled and reached over to pat her on the arm. “There’s nothing to be scared of. The takeoff will be quick. Once we’re airborne and level, you’ll enjoy the ride. Don’t touch anything. Just sit back and relax.”

She gritted her teeth. “That’ll happen.” Her heart lurched as the small jet leaped off the runway in a steep climb. She squeezed her eyes shut and swallowed.

“Just like a ride at the amusement park, Beautiful. Piece o’cake.”

She cast a skeptical look his way. His big smile and extreme confidence didn’t help much, but she made a determined effort to relax. There was nothing ahead but sky and clouds. He banked, and she saw New York and the Atlantic Ocean spread out before her. “Oh, wow. Look at that. This is a lot different than sitting in the passenger cabin of a commercial jet.”

“Yeah, great, isn’t it?” He put up a finger to interrupt her response while he talked to the control tower to get his cruising altitude and heading. He turned the plane south, and they swooped over the ocean. Land receded in the distance on her right.

They ascended above the cloud cover and the ride smoothed. She took a few deep breaths and leaned toward the side window for a better look. She grinned at Rafi.

He mirrored her smile. “My sister is going to pick us up. They offered the use of one of their cars, but I told her we didn’t have time to do any sightseeing. We’ll fly back on Sunday evening. That leaves one full day for visiting. My mom won’t let us out of her sight once we show up at their place anyhow.”

“That’s fine with me.” She looked ahead and pointed with excitement. “Oh, look, a rainbow. It’s a full circle, it’s breathtaking.”

He nodded, changed the subject, “Have you ever had Cuban food?”

“Is it like Mexican?”

Rafi sucked his lips against his teeth and shook his head. “Not really. We have beans, rice, and tamales, but Cuban is more a combination of Spanish, African, and Chinese flavors. My mom and sister are great cooks. I bet they started up the stove the minute I called. You’re in for a treat.”

BD poked him in the shoulder. “Do they always make such a fuss over you?”

“It’s not for me, sweet cheeks. It’s for you. When I told my dad I was bringing my girl to meet them, they went nuts. I won’t be surprised if they invite half the old neighborhood.”

Shocked, she turned to face him. “You told them I was your girl?” She flashed Rafi a big-eyed look.

He laughed. “Well, you are, aren’t you?”

Happy warmth grew in her chest. Rafi took them seriously enough to tell his family about her.

So there
was
more between them, in his mind, than casual sex and mutual fun. She needed to rearrange her thinking around this window into Rafi’s mind.

She blew him a kiss. “Yes. I’m your girl.” Her breath caught as a flash of unwelcome insecurity intruded. He wanted to be with her, but for how long?

Basking in the glow of his remarks, she relaxed and allowed herself to enjoy the flight. She cast an occasional glance in Rafi’s direction. When he caught her at it, she blushed.

“You like what you see, sunshine?”

“Please! Not that again.” She turned her face toward the side window and giggled. Rafi had a healthy ego, but he didn’t use it as a weapon against her. She liked that about him.

Nick, big stuff in his own eyes, used his ego to diminish her. He enjoyed talking down to her, as if she were a child. Rafi was masculine, confident, and comfortable in his skin. He loved it when BD teased him and brandished her spirit. She wasn’t in competition with Rafi, fighting to hold her own. He had a way of equalizing them. Respect—that’s what it was.

Now if she could only figure out how to get him to talk, to let her in on what secrets he was holding back.

The bottom fell out from under her like a hole in the sky. She squeaked with fright. “What just happened? What was that?” She clutched at her seat belt.

“Take it easy, Beautiful. A little air pocket, that’s all. We’re descending. I’ll be taking her in for a landing in half an hour.”

“Already? That was fast.”

“Yeah, it’ll be a little bumpy going down through the clouds. Sorry I didn’t have time to give you the safety features of the aircraft and the emergency procedures speech.”

“And I didn’t serve drinks yet either!”

“Speaking of drinks, is there any coffee left in that thermos?” He tipped his head toward the small box on the floor.”

She reached down and retrieved it. “I’ll have a look.” She took the top off and sniffed. “Ugh. I think it’s cold and bitter by now.”