Something inside her plummeted at his words.
“Not here.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “Not where someone could have seen us.”
She bit the inside of her lower lip in relief, and frustration. He was right, but…
“Don’t look at me like that, Amelia. I want you too much. At the moment I want to carry you off to the closest bunk and our careers be damned if it means I can have you.”
“Oh.” Was that pleasure curling in her belly? Why did his admission make her feel so…desirable? Wan ton? Sexy?
“Yes, ‘Oh,’” he mimicked, and gave her a look so intense she had to take a steadying breath. A look so full of desire and passion and pure unadulterated lust that she could only stare at him in wonder. “You’re safe for now but, come port call, you’re mine. No more games, no more pretenses, you are mine.”
CHAPTER NINE
A TOTAL of three months had passed since Cole’s arriva
l aboard the USS Benjamin Franklin. Currently, the aircraft carrier was docked at the Changi naval base in Singapore. Cole had spent the morning working with one of the ship’s chaplains in humanitarian efforts in the city. He suspected Amelia had, too, but he hadn’t seen her. Probably intentionally.
Since their kiss, she’d become wary, watching, studying him. The looks she’d stolen weren’t hostile, more resigned. As if she’d accepted that eventually the sparks between them would ignite and burn them both.
You are mine. Where had that he-man statement come from? He wasn’t the knock-them-out-drag-them-by-their-hair kind of man. Never had been. Then again, no woman had ever affected him the way Amelia did.
She really did make him a little crazy. Very crazy.
But all of that would change. Soon. Tonight?
Several of the crew had planned to meet up at a bar that was a regular hangout of military personnel in Singapore. The bar was just a few streets from the port and one of many that catered to the thousands of soldiers that made port call at the only Asian port deep channeled enough to accommodate an aircraft carrier. Cole and a couple of the other medical crew who’d volunteered with the chaplain walked together at the end of their charity stint.
The streets were crowded, filled with exotic noises and smells. Fish markets, delicacies from street vendors, and Chinese, Malaysian and various ethnic restaurants tempted his nostrils. Modern skyscrapers gleamed high above the streets, glistening against the setting sun and providing a spectacular high-tech backdrop that spoke well of Singapore’s prosperous world-class port.
Even without the upbeat rhythm of the city, an excitement filled the air. Physical excitement. Cole and Peyton had signed out as liberty buddies that morning and were checked into a hotel the ship had arranged. In separate rooms.
Inland, physical release was fair game and happened in excess. Thousands of young soldiers with money burning holes in their pockets and a few days to drink, party and be merry before returning to their life aboard ship.
With sexual relations forbidden on ship, port call often served as a sexual smorgasbord either between crew members or with locals.
Cole had never indulged in that particular aspect of port call. Drinking to excess and deafening his pals with poorly sung karaoke renditions, yes. Meaningless sex just didn’t do it for him. Even before his assignment aboard the USS Benjamin Franklin, a long, long time had passed since he’d last been with a woman.
He’d been okay with that. Then. Now he could honestly say he was more sexually wound up than at any point during his life. But he had no plans to pick up a strange woman in a bar. Meaningless sex still didn’t appeal. He planned to find Amelia and finally make good on his promise.
You are mine.
Amelia was going to be his.
If she wasn’t at the bar, he wouldn’t stay long, would go in search of her and he’d find her. She was checked into the same hotel as he was. All the medical staff were. Suzie was her liberty buddy and had no qualms in letting Cole know that their room was on the same floor as his, only a few doors down.
His sole purpose for the next two days was to spend as much time with Amelia as possible. Preferably in his bed.
When he and the group he was with entered the low-lit bar, Cole skimmed the crowd, taking in soldiers mixed in with locals. He recognized numerous USS Benjamin Franklin crew and nodded acknowledgment to several who called out to him, but he declined their offers to join them. He was on a mission.
“Who are you looking for?” Peyton asked, casting a sly glance Cole’s way. “A particular female doctor perhaps?”
Cole didn’t answer his colleague.
“It’s no secret you’ve got the hots for her. You planning a little port call party for two?”
He scowled at his liberty buddy. “Watch what you say.”
Peyton held up his hands. “No offense meant, man. I just figured she was who you were looking for. It’s obvious there’s something between the two of you.”