Chapter 22
After stopping at the ops center to retrieve a
stack of printouts on the areas in question,
Stepping back, the redhead appraised
Devon heard Mac chuckle, “This is
“Pleased to meet you,”
Sheri led them down the hallway to what appeared
to be a small conference room. “Help
yourselves to coffee. I’ll only be a
minute.” She flashed a provocative smile
at Mac before disappearing through the door again.
“So, how is it that you and someone from the CIA
worked on a project together? That’s not exactly SOP.”
Her grey eyes danced with amusement as she
watched the lieutenant shift in her chair and look away. When
“Just a fluke. They needed some data
and I just happened to be there,” she shrugged.
The door behind them opened and Mac looked up to
see Sheri coming back through the door.
Just behind her, an attractive woman with large deep set brown eyes
strode into the room. She wore a navy
suit which was tailored to fit her obviously trim but shapely figure. Her rich brown hair danced around her
shoulders and she brushed back a stray lock that fell across her face.
The woman’s stare fell on Mac, quickly assessing
her with sharp precision before moving to the blonde next to her as
As Devon turned in the direction of the woman, Mac
saw an electric smile light
Oh, this is no fluke, Mac laughed to
herself. She could feel the heat between
the two women shimmering in the air.
Alex spoke first, “What are you doing here?”
“Same as you, chasing bad guys,”
“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”
As soon as she asked, she felt ashamed,
realizing that she had never contacted Devon after the week they spent together
in D.C. True, it had only been a little over a month ago, but Devon would have
no way to get in touch unless she had called or written, which she hadn’t. She told herself that she had just been busy
with her new assignment, which was partly true, but she also had been afraid
that
And just how did she feel? Alex thought that their time together would
be enough to satisfy the longing that she had felt for
As if reading Alex’s thoughts, Devon said
quietly, “Did you think coming to
“Captain Erin McKinley, I would like you to meet
Special Agent Alexandra Sommers.”
The captain stood and extended her hand, “Mac.”
“Alex,” she returned the firm grip.
“Well, I guess we can let you two catch up a
bit,” Mac looked at Sheri, “Want to take a walk?” She whispered into her ear, “We should give
them a little privacy, I think,” Sheri nodded and smiled knowingly. As they left the room, Mac smiled back at
Once they were alone again, Alex hugged
“Hopefully, we’ll have time to catch up that
way soon, but right now we’re working, so I guess we should talk about that
before we get into trouble.” The
familiar beautiful smile lighting her face made Alex’s heart ache with desire.
“You’re right, of course,” She barely managed to
keep her voice from shaking.
Alex looked at
“Well, I see you have your spy face on,” Devon suddenly
felt like an unwanted guest. “What are you now, just like the rest of the
bureaucrats?”
Devon’s accusation stung and Alex recognized a
mixture of sadness and anger swirling in her eyes. It hurt Alex to see Devon look at her that
way. She covered Devon’s hand with her
own.
“I’m sorry, you’re not the enemy. It’s just different here, Dev. The intensity is incredible because we all
feel so much pressure to bring someone to justice for hitting us right here
where we live.”
Devon considered that. She couldn’t imagine how they must feel, so
she pushed her anger aside and squeezed Alex’s hand, “No, I’m sorry; I should
have realized how personal this is to your team.”
“It’s okay.”
“Listen, I just want to help, you know
that. My commander has given me the
green light to be creative,” she grinned. “I don’t want you to compromise
yourself, Alex, but I still think we can find a way to help each other.”
Alex looked doubtful. Devon continued, “C’mon,
you know we can find a missing piece of information if we compare notes.” She was grinning again and Alex’s defenses
fell.
Raising her hands in surrender, she laughed,
“Okay, okay. We can give it a try, but
don’t get mad at me if I can’t tell you some things…”
“Not a problem,” Devon shook her head, “I
appreciate your position.”
“Good,” Alex linked her fingers with Devon’s,
“so how about having dinner with me tonight?”
“Dinner…hmmm,” Devon rubbed her thumb across the
knuckles on Alex’s hand, her eyes narrowed as she spoke, “Should I save room
for desert?”
“Well, I wouldn’t want anyone to think you were
collaborating with the enemy,” Alex’s voice was low and suggestive.
“Is that what you are?” Devon brushed her leg
slowly along Alex’s beneath the table, watching her brown eyes darken to black.
Her voice was almost a whisper, “That’s the
thing about spies, it’s hard to tell who’s side they’re on.”
“Oh, but I have special interrogation
techniques.”
“Really?” Alex leaned forward slightly, her eyes
locked with Devon’s.
The door flew open and Mac walked briskly
in. “You two all caught up?” Her eyes
playfully bouncing between the two women seated at the table. She didn’t miss the way both women were
leaning toward each other and then jumped as they heard her enter.
Devon ran a hand through her hair, blushing,
“Not quite.”
“We better get back to our side of the world,”
Mac said lightly, “You ready?”
“Sure.” Devon stood to leave and Alex caught her
arm.
“I’ll be finished in an hour or so. Call me.” She placed a card into Devon’s hand
with a hand written number on the back.
“See you soon.” Devon smiled softly then walked
passed Mac out the door.
“Nice to meet you, Alex,” Mac called as she
hurried to follow Devon down the hall.
After walking to the jeep in silence, Mac
started the engine and swung a wide circular turnaround to exit the parking
lot. “Alex seems very nice,” she
ventured.
Devon could read nothing probing or negative in
her tone, only friendly conversation.
Still, she felt the need to keep the now familiar barriers in place when
discussing her personal life.
“Yes,” was all Devon could say. Looking back at Mac, she sensed a common bond
and saw compassion in her eyes, but she was afraid of revealing herself after
all that she had lost. She would not
endanger Alex.
Mac saw the uncertainty, mistrust and fear
warring in Devon’s eyes.
“I might know a thing or two about how you’re
feeling. It’s okay, though, I understand.
You don’t know me well enough to trust me.”
Devon said nothing. She wanted to talk to Mac. Inside she felt on some level that she could
trust her, but the pain of losing not just Jillian but most of her friends was
just too fresh. Instead, she stared out
at the planes in the distance as they crossed the far side of the airport,
wondering just when she lost her ability to trust.
Chapter 23
Devon tucked her beret into the side pocket of
her camouflage pants and softly knocked at the door at the end of the second
floor hall of the CIA personnel housing.
It was just after eight o’clock.
She had successfully put away the troubling thoughts of earlier after a
brief conversation with Mac at the hanger.
Mac assured her that she did not take offense to keeping her personal
life private, and Devon knew she genuinely meant it. Now, standing here at Alex’s door filled her
heart with happiness in a way that she couldn’t fully understand herself.
The door opened and Alex stood smiling at her
wearing jeans and a half length white t-shirt that showed off her ample breasts
and the flat planes of her stomach. She
watched Devon’s eyes fall to her chest and slowly slide down her torso like a
caress and felt heat flood into her thighs.
Quickly, she pulled Devon into the room, closing the door behind her and
immediately pinning her against the door with a thigh between her legs and a
hungry mouth capturing Devon’s.
The surprise of Alex’s leg pressing hard against
her crotch, driving the thick seam of her uniform pants against her clitoris
made Devon’s hips buck forward involuntarily.
She gasped at the sudden pleasure and returned her kiss with equal
intensity, the force bruising each other’s mouth. Devon pushed her hands up under Alex’s
t-shirt, claiming the already hardening nipples between her thumb and
forefingers. She pinched and teased the
tips rhythmically as Alex rocked against her until she felt her legs might give
out.
When they reached the end of the bed, Alex
grasped the front of Devon’s loose outer uniform shirt and pulled her down on
top of her. Devon jerked the outer shirt
off revealing the tighter fitting brown t-shirt beneath that did little to hide
her muscular form and her high full breasts. She shuddered as Alex pulled the
t-shirt free of her waistband and slid her palms across her abdomen then slowly
worked the shirt up towards her shoulders.
Devon raised her arms grasping the back of the shirt and pulling it free
over her head while Alex quickly tugged the sport bra up, freeing her breasts
and seizing a ripe pink nipple with her mouth.
Devon slid her hand to the back of Alex’s neck
and into the silky brown hair, bringing her mouth more forcefully against her
breast as she felt Alex rocking against her right thigh. Gasping, Alex looked up into Devon’s face and
saw the need that mirrored her own.
“Clothes,” She breathed as she pulled her
t-shirt and jeans off.
Alex moved behind Devon to slowly caress her
back and kiss her neck just below the golden strands of curls. She laughed throatily when she heard Devon
growl in frustration as she fumbled with the laces on her desert boots.
“Have a heart, Alex,” she muttered, “My
coordination is a bit affected by your mouth on me.” Alex laughed softly in her ear.
Devon kicked off the boots and began unfastening
the tan belt around her waist. Alex
stopped her hands and turned her around to face the bed, where she was seated
now nude. She flipped open the brass
buckle and slid the belt from where it circled Devon’s thin waist, while she placed feather light kisses on the
muscles rippling just above the top edge
of the pants. Slowly, she worked each
button of the fly free. Devon stepped
out of the remainder of the clothing as it gathered at her ankles.
“I always knew you were beautiful,” Alex
whispered reverently, “But I never imagined…”
Devon pulled Alex to her, wrapping her in a
tight embrace. She kissed her deeply,
allowing all of the intimacy of their shared history to flow between them.
As the kisses became more urgent, Devon pulled
Alex down to the bed, guiding her hips until she was straddling Devon, her
center pressing on Devon’s torso. Alex
began a slow roll of her hips on Devon’s stomach, opening herself fully to feel
the enticing friction against her wet swollen tissues. She arched her back and moaned as Devon worked
her breasts with her mouth and hands sucking, kneading and every so often
nipping the tip of the nipple with a soft bite.
Her breathing became faster and her hips thrust erratically against
Devon.
Devon slid her hand between Alex’s thighs
seeking the source of her desire. She
circled the slick wet folds with her fingertips until she felt Alex tremble
with the first signs of her building orgasm.
She moved lower, lifting Alex’s hips toward her mouth and sucked the tip
of her clit into her mouth. Devon ran
the tip of her tongue through the hot wetness, savoring the taste and pulsing
sensations against her lips. When she
felt the first surge of muscle contractions, she pulled Alex more tightly
against her mouth and drove her tongue harder against the hypersensitive tip. She did not stop until Alex begged her for
mercy, still trembling in her arms.
Pulling herself up to lay along the length of
Alex’s body, they wrapped their arms around each other relishing the peace and
comfort between them, and Devon dozed.
She awakened a short while later, feeling a
tension in Alex’s body. Devon reached over to take Alex’s chin in her hand
tracing her thumb along her jaw and stroking her cheek lightly. She felt tears on Alex’s cheeks and pulled
away, startled.
“Al?” Devon tilted her head to look directly
into her eyes, searching the dark liquid pools.
“What is it?”
“It’s nothing,” Alex whispered. When Devon
raised her eyebrow and tilted her head in a questioning look, Alex forced a
smile through the tears, “Really, I’m just so happy.” I love you. I’ve always loved you.
Devon pulled Alex’s head back down to her chest
and rested her chin on the top of Alex’s head.
She ran her fingers slowly through her soft brown hair, thinking about
everything between them and aching at the thought of hurting Alex. It would be very easy to accept what they had
told each other in DC; that they were both adults and able to handle the
addition of a physical relationship between them with no strings, but Devon
knew that wasn’t true. It did change
things.
The love she felt for Alex was born of shared
experience, intellect, and friendship.
The deep bond between them had carried them through the struggles and
disappointments of those awkward years transitioning between teenagers and
adults. She did love Alex. True, it wasn’t the instant visceral reaction
and constant ache that she felt with Jillian, but look how wrong she was about
that love.
There was no rush; they had time to figure out
where their relationship was going. For the moment, they could keep things as
they were. They both understood that
their situation had to be handled carefully.
She closed her eyes and breathed in the sweet scent of shampoo in Alex’s
hair, knowing she didn’t fully understand her own feelings. She only knew that right now she was
powerless to let her go.
Chapter 24
October 15, 1984
“This has to be the group responsible,” Devon
sat in the ops center reviewing the weekly intercepts and transcripts from her
team. Mac was leaning on the edge of the
table next to her examining the pin map which clearly showed the concentration
of activity in the two areas that she and Devon had been surveying for the past
few weeks.
“I agree, and the command center is definitely
in this area of the high ground,” she pointed to the mountainous area on the
map. “So what do you say we get with the
major and put together an ops plan for a strike?”
“Everything seems to fit,” Devon agreed, “Especially
since we intercepted this last transmission just before Ramadan.” She lifted a transcript that Jeff had
translated three weeks ago, just before the beginning of the Muslim Holy
month. The speaker had praised the brave
martyrs of the spring and promised to continue their jihad against the
infidels.
“He has to be referring to the Embassy
bombing. And the promise to continue
means that we can’t afford to wait much longer.
We are in the middle of Ramadan now, which is probably why things have
been relatively quiet.”
“You think something is going to happen soon?”
Mac asked warily.
“Well, Eid-Ul-Fitr—that’s
the celebration at the end of Ramadan’s month long fasting—is coming up soon. So some kind of action to show their
continued commitment to the Jihad would make sense then.”
She checked the calendar, noting the date for
the Muslim holiday would be October 23 and frowned, “That’s next week.”
Devon walked to the secure phone on the wall and
punched the number to Alex’s office, hoping to get an idea of where their
investigation was heading. She didn’t
want to inadvertently have two missions being planned for the same time that
would ultimately ruin both. Mac watched
Devon from across the room. After a few
minutes, she heard the lieutenant curse softly and drop the receiver back on
the cradle. She leaned against the
counter, her back to the room for a bit longer before shaking her head and
straightening. She returned to where Mac
sat.
“Let’s take a walk.”
Mac followed her out the door and across the
parking lot. Whatever Alex said had angered
Devon. She would never reveal that in
front of the team, however. Just like she
would never reveal who it was she was speaking with to the rest of the
team. It was tricky business navigating
the mistrust and animosity that existed between the military and the CIA. Devon and Alex were walking a tightrope,
regardless of the rightness of what they were trying to do. To the bureaucrats, it always came down to
turf and who got the credit for success or the blame for failure.
In the past month, Devon had begun to reveal
some of the details of her professional relationship with Alexandra Sommers. Mac was glad that the team would benefit from
the additional information that Devon was able to get through their careful
collaboration. She was also pleased that
she and Devon had begun to develop a friendship and a growing trust was evident
between them. Still, although she
guessed there was far more than a professional relationship between Devon and
Alex, she would never ask. If Devon
wanted her to know, she would tell her.
They walked for a few minutes in silence. The daily sound of automatic weapons fire
coming from the hills in the distance made both women visually scan the horizon
as they walked. Devon shoved her hands
deep into her pants pockets thinking about the conversation with Alex. She respected Alex’s position, but she also
had a responsibility to her own team.
Both women had jobs to do; right now, however that was putting them at
odds and the feeling unsettled Devon.
She pushed away her anger, instead focusing on her mission.
Mac walked silently along side, knowing that
Devon would explain as soon as she sorted through her thoughts. When they reached the edge of the tarmac in
front of the helicopter bay, Devon stopped and regarded Mac seriously, weighing
just what she wanted to reveal. Alex
broke from protocol to even tell her that they were planning a strike on the
terrorist compound in the next few days, and Devon knew that she had only told
her because Devon wanted to send in a Delta Force Team.
The tense conversation played through her mind
again.
“Alex, I know that you
have training, but did it include close combat, extractions under fire,
rappelling from helicopters? How do you
think you’re team is going to get in there?”
“Devon,” Alex’s tone was
frigid, “Do not presume to know my teams or my capabilities.”
“Okay, then tell
me. Are you trained to drop out of a
helicopter into a hot zone?”
“I’m not having this
conversation with you,” Alex had said, her voice icy. “I have to go.” Before Devon could protest, the connection
was severed.
Replaying the conversation now made Devon’s
blood boil again. She drew a deep breath
and ran a hand through her thick blond hair leaning on the edge of a helicopter
skid, as Mac waited patiently.
“You look pretty strung out,” Mac said quietly.
Devon shook her head and heaved a long sigh.
“Just a bit frustrated.” She stared off across the compound in the direction of
the Embassy Building and CIA Headquarters.
“Anything you can share?” Mac followed her gaze,
knowing that there were professional and personal dilemmas warring inside her
friend. Mac was careful not to push too
hard for information that she knew the lieutenant couldn’t or wouldn’t
divulge. She watched Devon come to a decision.
“Alex’s team has come to the same conclusion as
we have regarding the fighters up in the hills.”
“But that’s not a good thing?”
“No, they of course want to run their own
show—without us.” Devon’s gaze now turned toward the hills. “I know that they
have capable personnel, but it just seems to me that hitting those bastards
with a Delta Force team is the best response. Those guys train for that kind of
thing every day. But Alex wasn’t having
any of that.”
The last statement was nearly a growl and she
grabbed onto the metal of the skid so hard that her knuckles were white. Staring down at the ground, she finished
almost inaudibly, “That woman can be so frustrating.”
“Most of them are,” Mac grinned and clapped her
on the back. Devon blushed slightly
realizing she had spoken her last thought aloud. When she saw the playful acknowledgement in
the other woman’s eyes, she laughed as well.
“So, frustrating females aside, what do you want
to do?”
“How mad do you think she’ll get if we get the
boys ready to hit the place ahead of them?” She knew the answer, plenty mad,
but if doing this was going to keep Alex from going on a suicide mission, then
so be it.
Mac whistled softly, “Well, I wouldn’t want to
be in your shoes when she finds out you outflanked her.” She winced at Devon. “But I agree, it should be a full scale
military assault. Anything else is too
risky.”
“Well, let’s go see the major and get this
operation set in motion.”
#
After briefing the major, Devon and Mac sat at a
table in the far corner of the mess tent each with a cup of coffee in front of
them. They had already discussed the
upcoming operation and Mac had answered some extra questions that Devon had
because this was her first insertion mission with the Delta Force team. Mac could still feel uneasiness in Devon.
“Care to share what’s still eatin’ at you?”
“I’m just a little bit intimidated by the fact
that this mission’s success depends upon my teams Intel. My first real test as the team leader.”
“Hey, don’t worry, kid,” Mac assured her, “I’ve
seen your work, the Intel is solid. That
camp is the right place; they are responsible for the car bombing. We drop the team in, they execute the plan,
and we lift ‘em out. Piece of
cake.” Her eyes twinkled.
“I know we’re right, just a bit of jitters, I
guess.”
“I’d be more worried if you didn’t have any,”
Mac said seriously, “Give yourself a break, this is your first time in a live
combat deployment with probable enemy resistance. That’s reason to be a bit jittery.”
“Yeah,” Devon said absently, staring at her cup.
Mac watched her friend for a few minutes knowing
that her thoughts were not only of the upcoming mission. She knew worries about Alex’s reaction were
weighing heavily on Devon’s mind. She
also knew that the lieutenant needed to put any distracting thoughts out of her
mind, at least the day of the deployment.
Distractions would get someone killed.
“Let’s go.” Mac stood and led Devon out of the
tent.
“Where are we going?”
“You look like you could use a drink, and I
definitely need one,” The captain smiled.
Inside her room, Mac pulled two shot glasses and
a bottle of Maker’s Mark whiskey out of a small wooden cabinet in the corner of
the room next to the small desk. She
poured two shots and extracted two Maccabee beers from the small
refrigerator. Handing a beer to Devon,
she grinned, “You’re from Pittsburgh, so a shot and a beer, right?”
“Yep,” Devon laughed, and then studied the beer
bottle a moment. “Israeli beer, huh?”
“Wait ‘till you try it.”
They raised their shot glasses to each other and
downed the smooth whiskey, followed by long drinks from their beer.
Resting the bottle on her knee, Devon said
appreciatively, “Wow, that’s good.”
The two women sat a few minutes in easy silence,
sipping their beer. Finally, Mac spoke,
“So, have you talked to Alex?”
Devon took a long pull from her beer, nearly
finishing the bottle before her eyes met Mac’s.
“No, I’m afraid she’ll ask me about our plans and I can’t lie to her.”
Mac nodded, “It’s hard when it’s so personal, I
know.”
She watched pain flicker in the blue eyes, but
Devon said nothing. So stoic, she
thought. What happened to make you so
wary of everyone? Mac remembered her
first lover when she was in flight school, and how everything had changed so
drastically at the first hint of investigations of suspected gays at the
school. She suspected something similar
had happened to Devon or someone she knew.
Mac also knew that the stress of their combat role was more than enough
to handle; she didn’t need to carry around the added worry about her personal
life alone.
“You can tell me I’m out of line,” she began, her
eyes never leaving Devon’s, “But it’s obvious that you two care a great deal
about each other. She may be mad about
this, but if you give her time, I’m sure she will see that you made your
decision partly out of your love for her.”
Devon looked evenly back at Mac wondering for
the hundredth time whether she should talk to her about anything personal. It was a lonely feeling to never be certain
who to trust and to always keep your feelings hidden from view. She was suddenly grateful beyond measure to
have someone to be able to talk to. She
hadn’t even written to Leigh about anything out of fear that her mail might be
censored.
“Yes, she is very special to me,” she said
finally.
Mac smiled broadly, “Well, I knew that the
second she walked into the conference room that first day. Talk about sparks flying, I was afraid the
entire room was gonna go up in flames.”
Devon blushed and looked down again at her now
empty beer bottle. Mac rose and
retrieved two more from the refrigerator, handing one to her young friend.
“I’m no shrink, but I sense that something is
bothering you—besides the operation.” She shrugged, “But, like I said, you can
tell me I’m out of line.”
Exhaling sharply, Devon ran a hand through her
hair, shaking her head. She closed her eyes and tried to sort through her
rampant thoughts of trust, betrayal, friendship, love, integrity, honor…truth.
Looking into Mac’s eyes, she saw nothing resembling anything but
sincerity and compassion. She decided to
trust her instincts.
“Alex and I have known each other a long
time. We were friends in college;
actually she was my closest friend. When
I got to NSA, I looked her up and we started working on the Intel project
together. Then…we became lovers. Now, we’re both here, and I’m afraid that my
feelings are affecting my decision making.”
Her voice dropped to nearly a whisper, “The thought of her dropping into
that terrorist camp made me nearly lose my mind.”
Mac moved her chair directly in front of where
Devon sat, leaning forward to look directly into her eyes. Softly, she said, “I’m sure she feels the
same about you being on point for the rangers and in the line of fire.”
“That’s not the same.” Devon protested.
“Doesn’t matter.
Risk is still involved. It’s very
difficult to love someone who does the kinds of things we all do, Devon. It’s scary.”
Mac paused, and her eyes drifted, recalling some pain from the
past. “Our situation makes it that much
more difficult because we have to pretend that we don’t even care.” As she
finished a tear slid down Mac’s right cheek.
“Gosh, I’m sorry,” Devon put her hand lightly on
Mac’s knee, suddenly concerned for her friend.
“I didn’t mean to bring up any bad memories for you. You okay?”
Mac shook her head and smiled sadly, “You didn’t
do anything, Dev.”
Devon looked doubtfully at her as Mac went on. “Just promise me that you will talk to Alex
before the operation. Don’t leave any of
your feelings left unsaid, okay? We move
in just a couple of days. I don’t want either of you to have any regrets.”
#
An hour later, Devon walked restlessly across
the compound. She knew she should be
tired at 2330, but she wasn’t. She
couldn’t stop thinking about Alex and where their relationship was going. Did she even dare think of a future with Alex
after the disastrous relationship with Jillian?
Now, there was even more at stake than just hiding their relationship.
This place was truly dangerous. A loud
explosion sounded in the distance as if to make her point.
Still, Devon couldn’t deny that she longed for
Alex’s touch. Alex touched her in so
many ways. She loved the way she could debate politics and world events with
her. She craved the stimulation,
mentally and now physically that was uniquely Alex. It seemed as though Alex was the one right
thing in this crazy world. So, what was
missing? Had the experience with Jillian
scarred her so much that she could never feel that deeply about someone
again?
Soon, she found herself climbing into a jeep and
exiting the fenced section of the military portion of the airport compound. She
stared toward the city and the separate cluster of buildings housing the CIA
personnel, her passion and reason struggling within her. Unable to stop herself, she continued the
short trip to the CIA building and entered the housing unit.
Devon nodded to the guard at the front entrance
and made her way to the stairwell and the second floor, following the hallway
to the last room at the east end.
Remembering the last time she entered Alex’s room, she shuddered
slightly. Drawing a deep breath, not
knowing what the response this time would be to her presence, she knocked and
waited.
A moment later, Alex opened the door just a
crack, peering out. The room behind her
was dark. “Dev? Is that you?”
“Yeah.” Devon stood perfectly still waiting for
her response.
The door opened wider and Alex reached out to
grasp Devon by the hand, pulling her inside the darkened room. Alex guided Devon toward the bed and reached
over to turn on the bedside lamp. She sat
cross-legged next to Devon, her knees touching Devon’s thigh.
“I’m sorry to show up so late,” Devon said. Alex studied the face she knew so well,
seeing a kaleidoscope of emotions swimming in the blue eyes.
“Something wrong?”
“No, well…I just wanted to see you.”
Devon was uncertain what to say. She needed Alex to understand what she was
feeling, but she knew that her feelings about what should be done would be the
opposite of Alex’s as far as taking out the terrorists were concerned. What she was much less certain of was trying
to explain to Alex how she felt personally, hell she didn’t even understand
herself.
“Al—” she was interrupted by Alex’s hand
reaching into her uniform shirt, pulling on the t-shirt beneath to slide warm
fingers along her abdomen. Devon gasped
softly at the sensation of her lovers knowing touch immediately sending her
blood racing through her veins. Alex leaned in to place soft kisses along her
neck, destroying her ability to form coherent sentences. She shifted slightly away, trying to regain
her thoughts.
“Alex, listen…please.” Her hand stopped the advance of Alex’s
fingers toward her breasts.
Alex shifted so that she could look directly
into Devon’s eyes. “I know you are going
to do what you think the Army should do.
I’m going to do what the CIA does.
We cannot change that, so there’s no point in wasting our energy on
things we can’t control.”
Her hand resumed its exploration of Devon’s
torso, sliding up to capture a nipple between her fingers. She squeezed tightly, to accentuate her next
statement, “I am only interested in what I can control,” Sliding her tongue up
until it found a soft earlobe, she pulled it into her mouth.
Alex’s hot breath was directly in Devon’s ear,
“You and I together. That’s all that
matters to me.”
Suddenly, the only reality was Alex’s body
pressed into her. Alex’s lips firing her
blood with every point of contact on her skin.
Vaguely, Devon’s brain registered the sound of automatic weapons fire
and mortars exploding in the distance as she pulled Alex down on top of her on
the bed. The reality of their lives and
responsibilities would be there in the morning.
Tonight there was only the two of them, lost in the passion of one
another. The rest of the world would
have to wait.