Chapter Three
Zeus and Brutus loved the park.
Ninety pounds each of unadulterated German Shepherd love, Karia took them to the parks and dog parks often because her new house didn’t have a massive yard for them to run around in. They were brothers, because she couldn’t just buy one without buying the other, and they’d been her constant companions for the past four years. Her ex-boyfriend had loved the dogs and had even tried to get some kind of visitation arrangement when they broke up, but she had shut him down fast. These dogs were her children and they belonged only to her. She wasn’t going to let that asshole have any part of them.
It was just before nine in the morning at Spreckles Park, a very nice spread of grass near the center of Coronado Island. It had a quaint bandstand in the center of it and a sprinkling of trees throughout. She often brought the dogs here because they could nose around and roll in the grass without ten other dogs trying to hound them, which was what usually happened at the dog parks. She could let them run around a bit because they didn’t wander. They’d sniff, chase each other a bit, but they’d always come right back to her. They were both police trained but they’d never served as K9s. Big, lovey babies that they were, she didn’t think they would have done too well as service dogs.
Seated on a bench near the bandstand, Karia was dressed in jeans and a cute top, her long hair pulled back in a stylish ponytail. She was fully willing to admit she’d taken more time than usual on her appearance this morning, feeling the excitement of a first date when she shouldn’t have. It was just a meeting, maybe a chat, and nothing more. She really didn’t even know why she’d made the date with him other than it was an impulse she couldn’t resist. His bulky thighs had hypnotized her somehow because that was nearly the only thing she could remember.
She wondered how a guy with thighs like that would be in bed. Last night in the dark, as she’d lain awake in bed, it had certainly given her something to think about.
With her designer sunglasses on and a cup of coffee in her hand, Karia tried not to let the idea of muscular thighs fill her head again as she watched Zeus and Brutus sniff around a few feet away from her. Brutus was into scratching his back on the grass, so he rolled around happily while Zeus found a piece of wood to play with. Then Brutus wanted the wood so the dogs began to play tug of war with it. She was about to break up the tussle between her silly dogs when she heard a voice off to her left.
“Good morning!”
Karia looked over to see Kerk approaching from the north side of the park. Her heart did a little leap, happy that he’d actually shown up, and she stood up from the bench. The dogs, however, alerted that someone was coming close to their mistress, dropped the wood they were playing with and bolted in Kerk’s direction. Karia was about to call them off when Kerk came to a halt and held out his hand to them. It wasn’t in a friendly gesture, but more like a stop gesture. As if he was silently commanding them not to come any closer.
Karia almost laughed at him. Did he seriously think her dogs were going to stop? But much to her surprise, the dogs immediately came to a halt, sat down, and eventually laid down at his feet. It was the strangest thing Karia had ever seen. But Kerk smiled at the dogs and bent down to pet each one. Then, he continued on to Karia.
“Beautiful dogs,” he said. “How old?”
Karia was still a little stunned by the way he’d handled the dogs. “They’re four,” she said, distractedly. Then she peered at him. “What did you do to make them obey like that?”
He turned to look at the dogs, who were now sitting very politely, looking at him eagerly. “Do what?”
“Make them lie down like that. No one is supposed to know how to control them but me.”
He turned to her, grinning. “More magic.”
She stared at him a moment before chuckling. “No shit,” she said with some irony. “Kind of like swimming a half-mile in two minutes.”
“Just like that.” He looked her over, appreciatively. “Wow. Do you always look like this in the morning?”
“Like what?”
“So damn gorgeous?”
Karia smiled, embarrassed and flattered, and not really realizing that he was veering the subject away from his mad dog skills. She looked him up and down, too. He was in a white button-down shirt, jeans that were tight around those thighs, and his blonde hair was slicked back tightly against his skull and pulled into a neat man-bun. Normally she didn’t like that hairstyle on men, but on him, it totally worked. But she stopped short of complimenting him, too.
“Probably not,” she said after a moment. “It’s rare that I get to actually dress up like a girl.”
Kerk laughed softly. “Lucky me,” he said. Then, he pointed to the coffee in her hand. “I was going to suggest we get some coffee but I see you came prepared.”
Karia turned to the bench she had been sitting on, gesturing to the second coffee cup that was sitting on the ground next to it. “I brought you some, too, just in case,” she said. “I didn’t even know if you’d drink it, but it’s black.”
“That’s exactly how I drink it. Thanks.”
She bent over and handed him the cup and, together, they sat back down on the bench, both of them feeling a great deal of nervous anticipation. Would this conversation suck? Would it be wonderful? The dogs, meanwhile, had inched their way back over to them, seemingly very interested in Kerk. He sipped at his coffee, eyeing the dogs.
“I used to have dogs,” he said. “I miss having them around, but my schedule is so unpredictable, it’s just not fair to an animal.”
Karia sipped at her coffee, too, eyeing him while he was eyeing the dogs. There was just something about him that made her want to stare at him.
“What kind of dogs did you have?” she asked.
He shrugged. “I’ve had many dogs in my life, of all breeds,” he said. “My favorite dog was a big Irish wolfhound. You know those big shaggy things? Ugly dogs. But so smart and loyal.”
She smiled. “I know them,” she said. “Well, meet Zeus and Brutus. They’re brothers and they seem to be pretty enamored with you.”
He grinned. “Zeus and Brutus,” he repeated. “You’ve mixed up your ancient civilizations naming them.”
“You know something about that, huh?”
He nodded. “More than I care to admit.”
“Was that your major in college? History, I mean.”
Kerk thought on his answer, replying carefully. “You could say that,” he said casually. “Zeus was the king of the Greek gods, a man of profound wisdom and profound coldness. I thought I’d write a book about him someday.”
Karia was interested in this evidently educated man. “That’s cool,” she said. “Where did you go to school?”
He sat back and looked at her. “In the east,” he said vaguely, not wanting to get in to the location or the details. “But I’ve done college work out here since then where it pertains to my job.”
“So you didn’t go to the Naval Academy?”
He shook his head. “No, I’m enlisted.” He wanted off that subject. “What about you? By the way, I have to say that I hardly slept last night. In fact, I was at the park before sunrise, waiting for you. Sounds weird, but I just couldn’t get you out of my mind.”
Karia began to flush around the ears, once again flattered. “I shouldn’t have done what I did last night,” she said. “You know… giving you that note about meeting me here.”
“Why?”
She shrugged. “Because I was on duty when I did it. That could be construed as inappropriate.”
“I know. But you didn’t do anything appropriate. And I’m very flattered.”
She chuckled. “Don’t be,” she said, toying with him. “I’m just fascinated by a guy who swims as fast as a speedboat. One of these days, you’re going to have to show me how you did that.”
He smiled because she was. “Only when I get to know you better,” he teased. “It’s a classified technique.”
“I believe it.”
The conversation lagged a little bit after that but it wasn’t uncomfortable. Kerk found that he couldn’t take his eyes off of her, staring at her much the way she had been staring at him. “Enough about me,” he finally said. “I want to talk about you. Where do you and your two children live?”
He was pointing to the dogs. Karia laughed. “I just bought a house on the other side of Balboa Park.”
“Nice,” he said, sitting back and casually draping his arm on the back of the bench. “First house?”
She nodded. “Yes,” she said. “Up until then, I’d been renting a house from my parents, so it was time for me to venture out on my own. It’s a really cute house, a little bungalow that’s been fully renovated. The only thing it doesn’t have is a big yard, so I spend a lot of time in parks with these two.”
His gaze moved from her to the dogs and back again. “Sorry for prying, but I just have to clarify something.”
“What?”
“You said you didn’t have a boyfriend and you weren’t married. I’m having a hard time believing that.”
“Why?”
He lifted his eyebrows as if the answer was obvious. “Are you kidding? A woman with your looks? That just doesn’t make any sense to me.”
She shrugged, averting her gaze and sipping on her coffee. “No big mystery,” she said. “I was engaged to a guy until he decided a nineteen-year-old police clerk was a better choice in wives. That was a couple of years ago and I guess I’ve kept myself kind of closed off since then. There’s safety in being single.”
“Why would you say that?”
“Because you can’t get hurt.”
He understood. Last night, he had thought she’d had a veil of self-protection over her. He’d been right and now he knew why. “If you go through life like that, then you’ll be safe, all right. I guess I understand that.”
She looked at him, them. “Ever been married yourself?”
He shook his head. “Never.”
“Never find the right woman?”
He drew in a thoughtful breath. “Sounds weird, but not really. Every guy I know in my profession has been married at least twice, and a lot of them are divorced and plan to stay that way. What I do is so difficult for the spouses. Most women just can’t handle it.”
Karia thought he seemed rather resigned to that. “It’s hard enough doing what I do and keeping a marriage solid,” she said. “I can’t even imagine how hard it is for you guys. You said you’ve been doing this for fifteen years?”
He nodded. “Fifteen years,” he confirmed. “But fifteen of the best years of my life, so don’t feel sorry for me. I do things that you can’t even imagine, serving my country and serving Mankind. It’s what I was born to do.”
She smiled faintly at his passionate declaration. “I don’t feel sorry for you,” she said. “But it seems lonely.”
“It is. But, like you said, there is safety in being single.”
Karia found herself staring into his sea-colored eyes, feeling a strange pull. It was more than an attraction; it was something tangible, a connection she could very nearly see. Odd how she felt so comfortable with him after only a few minutes of conversation. She wasn’t usually a bad judge of character, nor did she fall easily for anyone, so the comfort level she felt was unusual.
“I don’t intend to be alone forever,” she said, her gaze moving to her dogs. “But right now, I think it’s been good for me. Plus, I’ve got my two children to keep me busy and a ton of friends who won’t leave me alone. God, you can’t even imagine the dates some people have tried to set me up on.”
He was grinning broadly. “I’ve had my share of those,” he said. “Tell me your worst one and I’ll tell you mine.”
Karia rose to the challenge. “That’s not hard,” she said. “A chiropractor that a friend of mine set me up with. He seemed so nice and normal until we went back to his place and he showed me his sex room. I mean, this place was set up with everything – chains, swings, you name it. Then he proceeds to tell me he’d worn women’s lacy underwear under his jeans all evening and he wanted to give them to me as a gift. He wanted me to take them home and then text him a picture of me wearing them. So I took the underwear, threw them in the trash on my way out to my car, and avoided his calls until he just stopped calling.”
Kerk was laughing, his hand over his mouth to stifle the sounds. “Oh, man,” he said, shaking his head. “That’s pretty bad. My worst was a cousin of a guy on my team. This woman was a professional, a dentist I think, and he showed me a picture of her. She wasn’t bad but I found out that picture was about thirty years old. She showed up for our date dressed in clothing that a thirteen-year-old girl would wear and she had this really big purse. So, we had dinner but I found out she brought her little dog with her in her purse and as we had our meal, she’s feeding the dog off her plate. Then the dog barfed on my shoe. But I manned it out to the end of the date, thanked her politely, and ran for the hills.”
Karia was laughing softly. “Oh, my God,” she gasped. “That’s terrible!”
Kerk was laughing because she was. “You know, we probably shouldn’t be talking about this kind of thing,” he said. “Every dating site in the world would probably tell us talking about past dates isn’t healthy to someone you just met. Does it make us sound like losers?”
Karia shook her head. “No,” she said firmly. “It makes us sound like normal people who just haven’t found the right partner yet.”
He eyed her. “I don’t want you to think I’m looking for you to fill that role, you know. But I will admit that I wouldn’t mind taking you out to dinner once or twice. Maybe more unless you’re going to bring your dogs with you and let them puke on my shoes.”
Karia burst out laughing. “They do not come out to dinner with me,” she said. “Just do me a favor, though.”
“Anything.”
“Promise me you’re not wearing women’s underwear right now.”
He held up his hand as if to swear an oath. “I swear on my mother’s grave. Do you want me to prove it?”
She covered her eyes and turned away. “No! I believe you!”
He laughed. “Good,” he said, watching her uncover her eyes and flash that smile at him. God, she had an amazing smile. If he didn’t know better, he would have thought the past few minutes had seen him grow quite smitten with this woman. “So, when can I take you out to dinner?”
She cocked her head thoughtfully. “I’ve actually got stuff going on this weekend and into the week,” she said. “I’ve got some continuing education I need to take and my parents are having this family get-together I told them I’d attend. I’m booked for the next several days.”
His face fell a little. “Oh,” he said. “We can tentatively plan for the end of the week if you’re free, although I don’t know what my work schedule will be.”
“Live for the moment, eh?”
“Exactly.”
“Then how about lunch?”
He was back to being happy again. “You name the place and time and I’ll be there.”
“How about today? Are you free?”
Kerk was overjoyed. “I am,” he said. “Where and when?”
Karia considered his question carefully. It had been a very long time since her day had started off like this. She didn’t want it to end. She’d never really let herself think about how lonely she really was until Kerk Lesander had charmed his way into her morning. Now, she found herself wanting to continue the conversation with the guy for as long as they could find subjects to toss around.
“I have an idea,” she said after a moment.
“Lay it on me.”
She gestured to the dogs. “You can go with me to take the dogs home,” she said, “and then there are a couple of places in my neighborhood where we could get a late breakfast or an early lunch.”
He smiled at her, his eyes sparking warmth at her. “That sounds like the best offer I’ve had in a really long time. Do you want me to follow you in my car?”
Karia pointed out to the street. “I’m parked over there,” she said. “You can just come with me unless you’d rather drive your car.”
He shook his head before she even had the words out of his mouth. “I’m more than happy to ride with you.”
Karia smiled, a gesture that suggested she was happy about it, too. “Good,” she said, “but try anything funny and Zeus and Brutus will rip your throat out.”
Kerk tried not to laugh. “I’ll be on my best behavior, I promise.”
With a side glance, one that had the potential to be quite flirty, Karia stood up from the bench and called to the dogs, who stood up and prepared to move out when she walked by. Although Kerk was right behind her, it took her until she reached the car to realize that the dogs hadn’t followed her at all.
They had followed Kerk.
The late breakfast/early lunch that Karia had suggested turned into four hours of non-stop talking.
Kerk, she discovered, was a very funny guy. Without revealing any top-secret details, he told Karia several stories of missions he’d been on, of the deployments he’d faced, and had painted a picture of the SEAL Teams that Karia had really never heard before.
Shoved into a corner of a bistro about a mile from her house, Karia was enthralled by Kerk and the stories of his men and his missions. She came to discover that he looked at his squad, all of them, like little brothers, men he wasn’t afraid to slap on the side of the head but men in the same breath he was more than willing to take a bullet for. According to him, he’d done that once or twice. As the hours passed, she became more and more impressed with this man and his humble heroics.
She’d never met anyone like him.
There was something different about the man, something she’d noticed from the first, not the least of which was the way he spoke. He had a hint of an accent although he assured her that he was, indeed, American. His heritage was Greek and he was very much in touch with his roots, but she swore he had a hint of a foreign accent at times. Certain words or phrases brought it forth. But it really didn’t matter because he was as American as they came, a full-fledged super-hero from the stories he’d told her. The more he talked, the more enamored she became.
Karia talked a little, too, mostly about her family and her police career. She was an only child so she envied Kerk when he spoke of his squad being like brothers to him. She never knew camaraderie like that even though she had a wealth of friends. Having real brothers or sisters; well, that was different. Kerk mentioned that he had blood brothers as well, and that they were also in the military, but he didn’t much elaborate on his “real” brothers. He seemed to mostly speak of his squad and men he considered his real family.
With the SEALs, it was all about family – each other.
By early afternoon, they’d ordered another round of food and dessert because they were hungry again, and the bistro brought forth salads, lemon cake, and Bloody Marys. Karia spoke of her father, a retired police captain, and her mother, who had been a school teacher, and how her parents liked to travel in their retirement. Before she realized it, the food was gone and so was her third Bloody Mary. On the walk back to her house, she felt as if she were weaving a little bit, so Kerk held her elbow to help her walk a straight line.
“Oh, Lord,” she said as they headed up a slight hill into a residential area with her house less than a mile ahead. “I never drink. I don’t know what possessed me to drink Bloody Marys like that.”
Kerk chuckled at her, holding tightly to her arm as they walked home on a beautiful spring day. “I had a couple but they don’t really affect me much.”
“Well, aren’t you studly.”
She said it rather dramatically and he continued to chuckle, glad for the excuse to hold on to her. “Thank you for noticing,” he said.
Karia looked at him. “Seriously? How could I not notice? You’re built like that toy that kids used to play with when I was younger – Stretch Armstrong. Do you remember that thing? My cousin had one of those. Big muscles, blonde hair – you look like an action figure.”
Kerk eyed her. “I don’t know if I should be insulted or flattered,” he said. “Stretch Armstrong wore a black Speedo. I don’t do that. I need something bigger to contain my Stretch Armstrong balls.”
Karia began to giggle uncontrollably, nearly walking out into the street until he grabbed her and pulled her back onto the sidewalk. That uptight, serious cop he’d met last night had a silly side to her and Kerk was glad to see it. In fact, he was thrilled.
Truthfully, he hadn’t felt this way in years. Not just years, but centuries. He felt as if his heart had bloomed somehow, like a bud bursting forth into full color, living something it had been denied for more years than Kerk cared to count because every time he’d reached this point with a woman, which had been several times over the years, he always cut it short. He’d been afraid to go any further, afraid he’d lose himself, quite literally. Losing one’s heart to most people wasn’t something final, but to him, it would be the end of everything. Finality of everything he’d lived and dreamed and accomplished over the eons of time that he’d been alive and been entrusted with his mission for Mankind.
He would lose his immortality.
That was the true curse of being a son of a god. Love was his kryptonite and he and his kind avoided it at all costs. But there was one catch, one loophole that would save his immortality and everything he held dear – if the woman he fell in love with returned that love, and it was stronger than his love for her, it was possible that his immortality could be saved. But she had to declare her love first. She had to be the one to give the gift of love to him before he could wholeheartedly accept it. Only if the love was pure and without reservation could his immortality remain intact, for only the purest of intent was worthy of immortality.
Kerk had lived a very long time and, in all of those years, he’d never come close to experiencing that kind of love. He couldn’t even hope to believe that he’d find it with a cop he’d known less than a day.
But stranger things had happened.
Still, he wouldn’t get his hopes up. He didn’t want to fall in love only to not have it returned.
“Come along, Corporal Bayne,” he said as he practically carried her up the sidewalk. “Let’s get you home where you can sit down. I’m afraid you’re going to crash into something the way you’re going.”
Karia came to a stop. “Hold on,” she said, taking his hand off of her elbow. “It looks like you’re helping an old lady across the street the way you’re holding me. Let’s do it another way and leave me some dignity.”
She bent his big left arm in half and gripped his elbow with both hands, holding on to him to steady herself. Kerk grinned.
“Better?” he asked.
“Better.”
“Then let’s go.”
Karia held tightly to him as they finished the walk back to her house. At one point, they had to pass over a bridge spanning a small canyon, one of many canyons that dotted San Diego in general, and Kerk held on to her to make sure she didn’t pitch herself over the side of the bridge. But as he walked, he couldn’t ever remember feeling so whole or happy or content as he did right at this moment with Karia on his arm. Lovely, smart, and slightly drunk, Karia made him feel prouder than he ever had in his life. By the time they reached her house, Kerk knew he was in serious trouble. He could easily fall for her.
He didn’t want to.
“Home again, home again,” he said, sing-song, as he hit the combination on the lock that opened her front gate. The house was surrounded by a beautiful stucco wall with an equally beautiful gate in it, so he pulled the gate open for her and helped her up the stairs to her front door. It was the original Craftsman door, heavy and refinished, and he took her key from her, politely, and opened her door. Once the door swung open, Zeus and Brutus were sitting right in front of it, patiently waiting.
“Look at my babies,” she cooed. “They’re such good dogs. And they really like you. You have their seal of approval. Ha! I made a joke. Seal of approval… you’re a SEAL…?”
Kerk laughed softly, petting Zeus on the head. “You’re a riot when you get a couple of drinks in you,” he said. “I’ll have to remember that.”
Karia shook her head as she practically fell down onto her stylish new couch, an off-white with purple pillows. “Please don’t,” she said. “I don’t hold my liquor very well. I’m going to have to go to sleep now.”
He sat down next to her, throwing her off balance so she fell right into him. He put an arm around her to keep her from falling into his lap. “Had I known three Bloody Marys would prematurely end my date with you, I would have made you pace yourself,” he said. “But it’s okay. Sleep it off and I’ll see you later, hopefully.”
Pressed up against his muscular torso, Karia’s face was very close to his and Kerk found himself gazing into those brick-dust eyes. Suddenly, the mood between them turned from flirty and warm to something with a little more heat. Dirty, even. He found himself fighting the urge to lick her all over because she was just that delicious. Although he knew it probably wasn’t good for him to be this close to her, he didn’t care. He was hoping to sneak a kiss before leaving.
“You’re really hot, you know that?” Karia said. “Like, seriously hot.”
He smiled faintly. “So are you.”
“What do two hot people do together?”
He cocked his head thoughtfully. “I don’t know,” he said. “Go to the park and play with the dogs? Go to brunch? Make out?”
Karia took his last statement as an invitation because he’d barely gotten the words out of his mouth when she was on him, her lips slanting over his, softly and gently but with unmistakable need. But the kiss wasn’t gentle at all after the first few moments; like a drug, the smell and taste of him overwhelmed her senses and she climbed onto his lap, her hands on his head, as she very nearly kissed the life out of him.
Kerk had to admit, he was shocked at first. She came on aggressively. But given her profession and what he’d seen of her personality, his shock turned into delight. Before he realized it, she was straddling him, seated on his lap as his big arms went around her. But if she thought she was going to be the aggressor in this kiss, then she was sadly mistaken. This woman was hella-sexy and he was going to have his fill of her.
Mouths opened and tongues invaded, plundered. She tasted like her cherry lip balm, which Kerk thought was rather appropriate. Sweet. She tasted sweet. He was certain the alcohol had loosened her inhibitions so rather than resist her, which would have been the gentlemanly thing to do, he rolled with it because he couldn’t resist her. He didn’t want to resist her.
Besides… he’d been hoping to sneak in a kiss before leaving.
But the kiss quickly turned into something far more than a simple gesture. Karia wrapped her arm around his neck and held him close, her mouth leaving his to nibble on his jaw before moving to suckle his earlobe. That drove him wild and he flipped her over onto the couch so that he was in the dominate position, his hands in her hair and messing up her ponytail as he became the aggressor. Karia’s answer was to pull his shirt out of his pants and snake her hands beneath the fabric, her warm fingers on his bare chest.
Kerk was very quickly spiraling out of control. So much for any semblance of restraint he might have; he’d never been more attracted to a woman in his life and he began to unbutton her blouse just as she was fumbling with his shirt. Her blouse came open about the same time his shirt did. She was full-breasted and he immediately left her lips to suckle on her cleavage, his heated mouth branding her tender skin. Karia bucked and groaned, yanking up her bra so he could get to her nipples. He didn’t disappoint; he suckled hard.
The pants were the next target. Karia fumbled with his jeans as he deftly unzipped hers. He sat up, briefly, to throw her shoes off and then yank her jeans down to her ankles in one swift motion. Karia finished the job for him, kicking them off and pulling her underwear off as well. Shirt open, bra up around her neck, and naked from the waist down, she wrapped herself up around Kerk as his mouth slanted over hers once again.
Hot.
God, it was so hot. Kerk’s jeans were unbuttoned and the fly was down, and his bulging manhood strained against his boxer briefs. He had a split second of hesitation at what they were about to do but that ended when she started suckling on his earlobe again. Fuck, he could hardly stand it. The woman and her hot little body were wrapped up all around him and he had absolutely no sense of self-control. He wanted her as badly as she wanted him. Lowering his jeans and briefs, he grasped her buttocks with one big hand as he drove himself into her hot, quivering body.
Karia yelped, in both pleasure and perhaps a bit of pain, because Kerk had the loins of his father – he was well-endowed, thick and uncircumcised, and he used the power of that heated rod as he drove into her wet folds again and again. Karia threw her arms up, bracing herself against the arm of the couch as Kerk thrust into her repeatedly, his mouth on hers, kissing her passionately as he made love to her.
Was it smart? Hell, no. But, damn, he needed it. He needed her. It was like she was made for him, her body melding with his so incredibly. He made the mistake of looking down at her, to the junction where their bodies joined, and it was the most lustful sight he’d ever seen. Her legs were parted for him, welcoming him into her body, and slick moisture glistened off of them both. He’d done this kind of thing countless times over the eons, but not like this. Never like this.
This was different.
Thrusting deep into her, he ground his pelvis up against hers, stimulating her pink folds with a circular motion. He could feel Karia when she orgasmed around him, a reaction to his expert touch, and the panting that escaped her lips was enough to throw him over the edge. He should have pulled out; he knew he should have. That was a normal procedure for him. But something wouldn’t let him, some primal need that forced him to stay embedded in her body, to spill out his seed someplace safe and warm.
As he released himself deep, he caught a glimpse of the birthmark of his father, a symbol that had developed on his upper thigh near his groin at puberty. A trident. It was the mark that all of the sons of Poseidon had, that inherent branding that his father had bestowed upon him to signify that he was the son of a god. As the symbol caught his eye, he couldn’t help but notice that it was right up against her pelvis, his skin to hers.
Is if that trident had hit its mark.
Karia.
Kerk found himself looking down at her as she bit off her cries of passion on her upper arm. Her head was turned sideways, her arms still over her head as she gripped the couch. She was so perfect, so beautiful, and he dipped his head down, kissing her collarbone, neck, and her cheek. The kisses were soft, warm, and reverent.
Karia finally turned her head in his direction, responding to his kisses gently and warmly, and Kerk wrapped her up in his big arms, simply holding her as their passion faded. She felt incredibly good against him, better than anyone else he had ever experienced. He buried his face in the side of her messy head, smelling her hair, inhaling deeply. He’d never known anything so precious.
And then she began to snore.
With a chuckle, Kerk pulled his face from her hair to see that she had quite literally passed out in his arms. Too much booze and great sex had turned her into jelly. But she looked so beautiful sleeping that he just stared at her for a while, drinking in his fill of her. But as he looked at her, those familiar doubts returned and he found himself thinking about what, exactly, he felt for her.
Shit, he hadn’t even known the woman an entire day and, already, he was in serious jeopardy. He was wildly attracted to her, so much so that he’d thrown caution to the wind and slept with the woman far sooner than he should have. He wondered if she would wake up with a big case of The Regrets and then they’d have to awkwardly discuss what they may or may not be feeling for each other.
Well, he didn’t want to do that. He didn’t want to put her in that position and, frankly, he wasn’t sure what he was feeling. All he knew was that she terrified him and attracted him at the same time. The attraction was stronger than the terror.
Very carefully, he disengaged himself and left her sleeping on the couch while the dogs slept a few feet away, having witnessed their mistress’ drunken sex antics. Kerk zipped up his pants, buttoned his shirt, and went on the hunt for a blanket to cover Karia up with because she was still quite nude from the chest down.
She had two bedrooms in her very cute house and he found a blanket folded up on one of the beds, so he brought it back into the living room and gently tucked her in. Then, he went back into the kitchen and found a pen next to the landline phone. Pulling out his business card, he wrote on the back of it.
When you’re ready.
No pressure.
Leaving the card on the kitchen counter, he petted both dogs before silently leaving the house, fleeing from a most unexpected situation. Truth was, he needed time to think, too, but he never got the chance. Two hours later, he was in the briefing room listening to what would become his next mission.