Eight
“I enjoyed my time with you today, Swan,” Flipper said, looking down at her.
They’d had brunch at Summer Moon before heading to the senior living complex where they spent the next four hours. She assisted the staff by reading to groups of people and even taking a few of the seniors for walks around the complex. Some, she’d explained, had family who rarely visited so she had become like their surrogate granddaughter.
On the flip side, considering what she’d missed out having in her life, he couldn’t help but wonder if they had become her surrogate grandparents.
From the moment she walked into the facility, everyone brightened up when they saw her. It was amazing to him. She knew just what to say to elicit a smile or to get them to engage in more conversation. The majority of the seniors knew her by name and he couldn’t help noticing a number of the women wearing what looked like necklaces she’d made.
When he inquired about the necklaces Swan confirmed they were her designs but she had taught the women to make them from stones she’d given them. It had taken longer than normal since a lot of the older women’s hands weren’t as nimble as they used to be.
After leaving the nursing home, they’d grabbed lunch at a sidewalk café before returning to her house where they’d spent the rest of the day on the beach. Later, after ordering takeout for dinner from Arness, they were back at her place.
No matter how tempting Swan was making it for him to stay longer at her place, he would leave when it got dark. The information about Rafe Duggers’s sealed records bothered him and he’d decided to poke around in the tattoo parlor later that night to see what he could find.
He glanced over at Swan as she sat across the table from him eating dinner. Earlier today, when he had returned to take her to breakfast, she had opened the door looking fresh and perky and dressed simply in a pair of shorts and a tank top. Seeing her dressed that way reminded him of just what a gorgeous pair of legs she had, as well as how those same legs had wrapped around him while they’d made love that morning and the night before.
When they had gone swimming, she’d worn one of the sexiest two-piece bathing suits he’d ever seen. He had totally and completely enjoyed his day with her. They would be attending the Memorial Day festivities together tomorrow in town, which included a parade.
Because he needed some investigative time, he’d come up with an excuse for why he couldn’t see her a couple of days this week. Time was moving quickly and he had yet to find anything to clear her of wrongdoing.
Because of Nick’s warning, Flipper hadn’t told Admiral Martin everything when he’d called him back yesterday. Namely, he’d left out the discrepancies between what Nick had found out and the actual reports from naval intelligence. Until Flipper discovered what was going on, he would follow Nick’s advice and keep that information to himself for now.
“Although I won’t be seeing you for a few days because of work, will you still be on the island?” Swan asked.
It was hard not to be totally truthful about why she wouldn’t be seeing him. She was the last person he wanted to be dishonest with but he had no choice. His goal had always been to prove her innocence and now that was doubly true. He would check out the tattoo shop tonight and look around in both Rafe’s and Jamila’s homes this week while they were here at work. Although it had been established that Jamila was Swan’s relative, as far as Flipper was concerned, she was still a suspect.
“Yes, I’ll still be on the island but I have to concentrate on this project I was sent here to do.” No need to tell her that the project involved her.
“I understand how things are when work calls.”
He reached up and caressed the side of her face. “We still have a date for the parade tomorrow, right?”
“Yes.”
“What about dinner on Friday evening?” he asked her.
Her smile touched something deep within him. “I’d love that, David.”
“Good. I’ll swing by your shop at closing time Friday and we can go to dinner directly from there. You pick the place.”
“All right.”
“What time do you want me to come get you for the parade tomorrow?”
“It starts at ten in the morning and we need to get there early to get a good spot. How about if I prepare pancakes for us in the morning around eight?”
“You sure? I wouldn’t want you to go to any trouble.”
She waved off his words. “No problem. I told you I enjoy cooking.”
After they finished dinner, he told her he needed to leave to read some reports for work, which wasn’t a lie. She walked him to the door. He leaned down to kiss her, intending for it to be a light touch of their lips.
But the moment his mouth touched hers and she released a breathless sigh, it seemed the most natural thing to slide his tongue inside her mouth and deepen the kiss. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her tight against him and knew the exact moment the kiss had changed to something more.
It was no longer a goodbye and I’ll see you later kiss. Instead it was one of those I need to have you before I go kind. And Swan seemed to be reciprocating those feelings as she returned the kiss with equal fervor.
The next thing Flipper knew, he was sweeping her off her feet and moving quickly toward her bedroom. When he placed her on the bed, they began stripping off their clothes.
For him, she’d become an itch he couldn’t scratch and a craving that wouldn’t go away. There was something about making love to her that made every part of his body ache with need. She had imprinted herself on his soul and in every bone in his body and there was nothing he could do about it but savor what they had for as long as he could.
When she was completely naked, his pulse kicked up a notch and his breathing was forced from his lungs when he looked at her. She was beautiful and perfectly made.
He pulled a condom from his wallet in the shorts she’d helped him remove and toss aside. Knowing she was watching his every move, he rolled it over his aroused manhood.
“I want to do that for you the next time.”
He looked at Swan. “All right.” So she was letting him know she intended there to be a next time for them. He was glad because he wanted a next time, too.
There was a big chance when she found out the truth about why he was here on the island that she wouldn’t want to have anything to do with him again. But he forced the thought from his mind.
“You don’t have all evening, you know,” she teased.
She was right, he didn’t and it was a good thing she didn’t know why. He moved toward her. “Impatient?”
She smiled up at him. “Yes, you could say that.”
“In that case, I can help you with that problem.” He leaned in. “I’ve got to taste you again,” was all he said just seconds before his mouth came down on hers.
Swan automatically lifted her arms around his neck the moment his lips touched hers.
* * *
Capturing her tongue, David drew it into his mouth. Blood rushed fast and furious to Swan’s head, making her feel both light-headed and dazed as his tongue began mating with hers. His technique was rousing her passion to a level that electrified every part of her. Insistent need rushed up her spine, spinning her senses and mesmerizing her with his delectable taste.
He suddenly broke off the kiss and they both panted furiously, drawing deep gulps of air into their lungs.
She rested her head against his chest and inhaled his scent as she continued to catch her breath. She knew she was losing herself to passion again when she felt the hardness of his erection brushing against her thigh, energizing the area between her legs.
Then she heard him whispering erotic details of what he wanted to do to her. His words spread fire through her body and when he gently cupped the area between her legs, she moaned.
“You’re torturing me, David,” she said, before twisting to push him down on his back so she could straddle him. Before he could react, she lowered her head between his masculine thighs and eased his erection into her mouth.
“Ah, Swan,” he growled huskily, gripping her hair. She was fully aware of him expanding and felt a sense of triumph in her ability to get him even more aroused than he already was. The feel of his hands locked in her hair sparked even more passion within her and motivated her to use her mouth in ways she’d never done before.
“Swan!”
She felt his thighs flex beneath her hands before he bucked forward. She wasn’t prepared when he quickly switched their positions so that she was the one on her back. The blue eyes staring down at her flared with a passion that sent tremors through her.
Before she could whisper his name, he slid inside her. He kept going deeper and deeper, stretching her in ways she didn’t know she could be spread, inch by inch.
“Wrap your legs around me, baby,” he whispered in a throaty voice.
When she did as he asked, he began thrusting hard. It was as if his total concentration was on her, intent on giving her pleasure. She felt every inch of him as he rode her hard, not letting up.
“David!”
She screamed his name as he continued to make love to her, throwing her into a euphoric state that seemed endless. He was using her legs to keep their bodies locked while relentlessly pounding into her. Her world was spinning and she couldn’t control the need to moan, moan and moan some more.
She was unable to hold anything back when her body erupted into an orgasm so powerful it propelled her toward utter completeness. She screamed his name once again as a deep feeling of ecstasy ripped through her entire body.
* * *
Flipper eased off Swan to lie beside her. Pulling her into his arms, his nostrils flared as he inhaled the scent of sex. The scent of woman, this woman. A woman he still desired even now.
He was not new to lust. Been there, done that and he figured he would be doing it some more. A lot more. With Swan lying in in his arms, snuggled close to him, close to his heart, he knew something had changed between them.
Bottom line, Swan Jamison was not only intoxicating, she was addictive.
“I don’t think I’ll be able to move again, David.”
A smile touched the corners of his lips. He definitely knew how she felt, but he knew he had to move. He had somewhere to be tonight and as sexually drained as he was, he intended to be there.
“Then don’t move. Just lie there. I’ll let myself out,” he said, reluctant to go, although he knew he must.
“You sure?” she asked in a lethargic voice.
“Positive. I’ll be back in the morning for the parade and then we have a date on Friday.”
“Yes. I’m going to need it. I’ll be working late Wednesday doing inventory. I probably won’t leave work until around ten.”
“With your worker’s help?”
“No. The cruise ship comes in Wednesday.”
He released her to ease out of bed and put on his clothes. “What does a cruise ship have to do with anything?” He could feel her gaze on his body. He couldn’t disguise the impact of knowing she was watching him. He was getting aroused all over again.
“Jamila dates a guy who works on the cruise ship and they only see each other whenever the ship comes to port. She always requests the day off to spend with him. I guess they made up.”
He had planned to check out Jamila’s house when he’d assumed she would be at work. Good thing he now knew otherwise.
“Made up?” he asked, pulling his shirt over his head.
“Yes. I got the impression they weren’t on good terms last week. Not sure what happened but it’s all good now since they’ve apparently kissed and made up.”
He nodded. “How long have they been together?”
“About six months now.”
Flipper didn’t say anything as he continued dressing. There hadn’t been any mention of a boyfriend for Jamila Fairchild in the report he’d read. Another discrepancy. There were too many inconsistencies for his liking and he was determined to find out why. One thing was certain, he didn’t like the idea of Swan being at her shop alone late at night.
He moved back to the bed, leaned down and brushed a kiss across her lips. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Looking forward to it.”
He smiled down at her and then turned and left.
* * *
Later that night, Flipper, dressed all in black, moved in the shadows, careful to avoid streetlights and security cameras. He had scoped out the area and was familiar with where the cameras were located. More than once, he’d had to dart behind a shrub when people were out for a late-night stroll.
He reached the area where Swan’s shop was located and when he heard voices, he darted behind a building to hide in the shadows.
Two men stood not far away. One of them was Rafe. Neither of the men saw Flipper. The other guy was a little taller and appeared to be a foreigner. Their conversation sounded like an argument and was in a language Flipper wasn’t familiar with and he spoke four. Most SEALs spoke at least that many, except for Coop, who had mastered seven.
When the men lapsed into English, they lowered their voices and could barely be heard. Flipper did make out the words ink and roses. Was someone getting a tattoo of roses painted on their body? If so, did it mean anything?
Flipper was glad when the men finally moved on. More than ever, he was determined to check out the tattoo parlor. He waited a half hour to make sure the men didn’t return. When he was certain they had gone, he went to work bypassing the security alarms and cameras.
Using a sort of skeleton key, he opened the back door and walked inside the tattoo parlor. Using night goggles, he glanced around.
The place looked like a typical tattoo parlor. He should know since he and his brothers had frequented a number of them. He was proud of the images on his body. Luckily, Swan hadn’t asked him about them. He was glad because the last thing he wanted to do was lie about why he was into dolphins.
Pulling off the camera attached to his utility belt, he replaced the night goggles with a high-tech camera, which was his own creation. This particular piece of equipment detected objects underground and under water. Looking through the lens, he scanned the room. It wasn’t long before the camera light began blinking.
He moved toward the area and aimed the camera lower, toward the floor, and the blinking increased. Evidently something was buried beneath the wooden floor, a portion covered by a rug. The architectural report he’d been given of Swan’s shop had not exposed any secret rooms or closets.
Putting the camera aside, he moved the rug and felt around to find a latch. He opened the trapdoor to find a small compartment beneath the floor. He saw more containers of ink. Why? There was a supply case full of ink on the opposite side of the room. Why was this ink hidden?
The first thing he noticed was the difference in the labeling. Was there something different about this particular ink? There was only one way to find out, he thought, taking one out of the cubby. He would overnight one of the containers to Nick instead of naval intelligence.
At this stage of the game, he wasn’t taking any chances about who could be trusted.