Melting Ice(15)

Such an insatiable, inexhaustible, and creative lover.

There were brief instances when she would catch an odd gleam of emotion in his eyes. Quick flashes in time when she would have sworn he felt more for her than simple lust. Then he’d blink and his eyes would clear, leaving her uncertain if she’d seen anything at all.

She chalked it up to wishful thinking on her part. She wanted to be more to Ice than a convenient way to blow off steam during downtimes. Conceivably, he could have women all over the world he called upon during breaks, but that ship didn’t float for her. She knew of Navy men who had a woman in every port. Not Master Chief Westervelt. He had too much integrity and preferred anonymity. He wouldn’t tolerate the lifestyle of a player.

He pulled up to the dock where a seaman awaited their arrival, tying off the lines while Ice shut down the engine. As he handed over the keys, Ice growled at the poor grunt, intimidating the hell of out of him. “No joyrides. Take it straight back to the house after you fill up the tank.”

“You got it, Master Chief.” The young man—barely out of his teen years—gave the appropriate response with a disappointed look in his eyes.

Ice lifted her off the boat, and she walked over to the seamen, placing her hand on his arm and leaning in to whisper, “Straight to the house doesn’t mean you can’t take her there at full throttle.” She gave him a conspiratorial wink.

“Ma’am.” He nodded in acknowledgement, his eyes sparkling with the idea of putting the fine vessel through her paces. His new happiness died just as quick as it appeared, and he shrunk back a little.

She turned to find Ice scowling at the poor kid. “Stand down, Westervelt.” Her implacable tone had his icy gaze locking in on her, as intended. “Aren’t you supposed to be in a rush?”

The seaman tossed a set of keys that Ice snatched out of the air without glancing away from her. “Let’s go, babe.” He put emphasis on the endearment. Yeah, as if anyone could miss the big Neanderthal’s claim on her. It went soul deep.

She was so screwed and not in a good, fun way either. Each sudden departure was harder than the last. With each absence, the aching hole in her chest expanded, along with her worry. He’d been on dozens of missions without taking major injuries like Jonesin’ had. How long could his luck possibly hold. Sooner or later, some bad guy would succeed in killing him.

Her butt barely settled on the seat before he threw the Jeep in gear and raced toward the runway. Syn closed the door on her negative thoughts. Ice was too tough to go down. Period. End of story.

The Jeep came to an abrupt stop alongside the runway with a sharp squealing of tires. The pilot had rotored up the big grey Apache already. Zeus, Coyote, Dagger, Ghost, Trip, and Jagger waited near the open cabin door, turning in unison as Ice jumped out of the vehicle and held up a finger to indicate that he needed a minute.

Taking a deep breath, Syn blinked back the tears forming at the corners of her eyes and went to him. Immediately, she was enfolded in his strong arms and crushed against the wide expanse of his hard chest. With his tight grip, she could hardly draw a breath, not that she’d complain. In his arms was her favorite place to be.

He pulled back slightly and stared down at her. Something odd in his expression made her heart seize up in her chest.

Be strong, Syn admonished herself.

“I can’t do this anymore,” she blurted out.

“Wait…Syn.”

They’d both started talking at once, but she couldn’t hear what he said.

“What?” Ice hollered. At least that’s what she thought he said.

“This is ridiculous,” she shouted back. “I can’t keep doing this. It’s killing me.”

Ice glanced over his shoulder at the team. The guys were all antsy, yelling for him to get his ass on the chopper. God, she hated the loud whoosh of the blades slicing through the air and the whine of the rotors, sounds that meant being alone once again.

“Need you…for me. Only…months.”

She caught a few words. Not enough to understand what he suddenly seemed frantic to say.

“I can’t hear you,” she yelled. “Dammit, Ice. This is goodbye. I’m done.”

He shook his head. Next thing she knew, Zeus and Jagger were there, trying to drag him toward the waiting aircraft. Ice fought them hard. She might not be able to hear the words he yelled, but she knew he cursed them.

When the two men were unable to make any headway with the stubborn SEAL, Trip, Ghost, Dagger and Coyote joined in the ruckus, forcing him into a seat and strapping him down tight. Trip yelled out what she figured to be an apology. She didn’t bother to respond. They wouldn’t hear her. Feeling numb, Syn watched it all through blurry eyes filled with tears.