FOR HIS EYES ONLY Page 2

  "DCA, wait up!" He took the steps three at a time and caught up with her as she stabbed a key into the lock in one of the slim gray doors lined up on parade along the corridor.

  She shoved the door open and pointed inside the tiny rectangular cabin. "This is your stateroom for the duration of your stay. Enjoy." That last word did not mean what it was supposed to.

  Reese lifted a brow. "I thought you were going to show me around?"

  Her cheeks took on a hue that nearly matched her scarlet ball cap. Hell, she was just too darned easy to rile. It took the fun out of it—almost. Reese shoved his chuckle way down deep as she entered the room and stalked around the pea-green carpet.

  "Very well. If that's the way you want it." She pointed to the bunk. "This is your rack. This is your desk, your chair and your sink. Feel free to stow your toiletries behind the mirror." She popped it open with her index finger to reveal the metal shelves behind, then snapped it shut before turning to the modular wall unit. "These are your drawers, and this is your closet."

  She marched over to the open porthole and tapped the center of the cover hanging beneath it, a large D with a black Z spray-painted inside. "This symbol is referred to as a Dog Zebra. While underway, all doors, portholes and hatches bearing this symbol must be kept closed between sunset and sunrise—"

  "Why?"

  The look she gave him stopped him cold. It told him more than her words could ever say. She didn't want him here and she didn't want to change her mind.

  Maybe it was time he convinced her otherwise. It couldn't hurt. And if it worked, it would certainly make his job a lot easier. Especially if she planned on taking her baby-sitting duties seriously.

  He smiled.

  Oddly enough, that seemed to increase the chill emanating from her.

  He tried a different tactic. "I'm sorry."

  That didn't work, either.

  Now what?

  "Look, Macbeth. We both know you had to have pulled some pretty powerful strings to land this gig. We both also know I've got a couple stitched into me by that guy upstairs." She sighed deeply. "And even though I can't find the time to sit down to re-tie my own shoes, I'm supposed to make like the happy marionette. So why don't you just cut to the chase and tell me what you really want?"

  A dangerous question.

  Then again, he had a dangerous job ahead. Still, he didn't know whom he could trust, and as much as his gut screamed she wasn't involved, he'd yet to convince his head. Until then, she was a means to an end. And the sooner he was able to get to her, the sooner he'd be able to use her to that end.

  "Take off your cover."

  Her gaze narrowed and turned steel gray. His response seemed to be down among the last she'd expected. Good.

  "Why?"

  He shrugged. "Maybe I get off on pulling strings."

  She continued to glare up at him from underneath that dammed obscuring bill. He didn't think she was going to do it. But she did.

  She reached up and slowly peeled the cap back. It took every ounce of concentration he possessed not to suck in his breath as a light fringe of bangs fell forward, almost into her eyes.

  Black.

  Her hair was black.

  The precise bluish, luminescent shade he'd first noticed way back in the sixth grade. Just catching a glimpse of the color through the years was enough to get him hot. And right now—as he clenched his fingers into his palms to keep from digging them into that gloriously fat braid—he was positively smoking.

  Her chin came up, along with a defiant brow. "Like what you see?"

  "Yes."

  God, yes.

  He repeated his mantra over and over as her cool gaze slid down his body, searing his skin right through his T-shirt and jeans, leaving him piercingly alert. She was a means to an end—a means to an end—nothing more.

  She finally returned to his face. "So do I."

  Somehow, he managed not to groan.

  "Next question?"

  He was so dammed close to forgetting why he was here, it was frightening.

  "What's your name?" His voice bordered on hoarse.

  "Jade."

  He tried it out in his mind as he restrung his vocal cords. Jade. It suited her. It suited him.

  She moistened her lips in the silence.

  As the magnet snared and drew him in, he knew without a doubt it was time to end this round. Before it went all the way. He smiled. "Well, Jade, I suggest you let me unpack or we'll never make it to lunch with the Captain. You'll have to fill me in on the Zebra Dog later."

  She blinked, and in an instant the serious lieutenant returned.

  He hated it.

  She briskly capped her hair and glanced at a chunky sports watch before nodding. "Fine. I'll meet you back here in twenty minutes." And then she was gone.

  Reese ignored the emptiness that assumed her place as he glanced at his own watch. Twenty minutes. That didn't leave much time.

  He turned to the modular wall unit and released the catch, flipping down the painted steel to form a temporary desk. There it was. Just like in all the staterooms.

  The safe.

  He pulled the small door open and retrieved the generic slip of paper listing the step-by-step instructions on how to reset the combination. After completing the task, he backed away and lowered himself onto the side of the bed Jade had called a rack, sinking deep into the mattress as he pulled off his boots.

  Yup, his bag had been clean, all right.

  Too bad he wasn't.

  Reese removed his gear from his boots and concealed it within the safe. Then he spun the dial to lock it before he picked up his bag and turned his attention to the mission ahead.

  * * *

  Chapter 2

  « ^ »

  Jade snapped the door to her stateroom shut and promptly collapsed back against it. She barely had time for a single breath before the tremors began. They started out small, then consumed her as she slid down against the door, not ebbing until she reached the bottom.

  And there she sat. Drained and devoid of everything, except the very reason they'd begun.

  Reese.

  Mack Reese.

  How was she ever going to make it through the next six weeks in that man's company? She'd barely made it through the last thirty minutes, and then the only thing that had saved her was her father. She could still hear him as if he were standing next to her instead of a thousand miles away.

  You let him get to you, Missy.

  "I tried not to, Dad."

  Do you want to be taken seriously or not?

  "You know I do."

  Then stick to the rules. Never let 'em see the woman. Keeps 'em on their toes. Lets 'em know you're a force to be reckoned with. An equal.

  She tipped her head back against the steel door. Dad was right. She'd violated the rules, and look where it had gotten her.

  In lust.

  She didn't bother trying to pretty it up—at least not here, not to herself. She was in lust.

  But oh, baby, what a man to be in lust with!

  She turned her head to the left and stared intently at the bulkhead, wishing she could see through it. Wishing she could get another steamy glimpse of that golden, muscular giant.

  The funny part was, she didn't even like blondes. Especially when they came attached to tanned, T-shirt-clad bodies that looked as if they'd stepped off the set of Baywatch. She probably wouldn't have even given Reese a second glance if he hadn't cocked that arrogant head down and stared into her eyes.

  Periwinkle.

  His eyes weren't blue, they were periwinkle.

  She'd never thought she'd actually see the color outside a jumbo box of crayons.

  But she had.

  And now she had to figure out how to keep that from becoming her downfall. Because if she wasn't careful, those eyes could make her notice a whole lot more.

  Like those firm, full lips. Like that cleft in his chin that deepened when he smiled. Like those long, thick lashes a model
would gain ten pounds to have. And those tiny laugh lines that seemed to be permanently etched around his eyes.

  Like that body.

  She jerked off her ball cap and twisted it between her hands as she tried to exorcise the memory. No, she could not afford to look into those eyes again. How she'd manage that while he was glued to her side for the next six weeks, she wasn't sure. But she'd figure it out. She'd have to. Before she was tempted to explore a fantasy she never thought she'd have and risk breaking the Navy's cardinal rule in the process.

  Absolutely no sex aboard a ship.

  Rap, rap, rap.

  Jade scrambled off the deck and stood panicking in the center of her room as she stared at the door.

  Reese.

  No, it couldn't be. She glanced down at her watch. She had over fifteen minutes left—besides, he didn't even know her stateroom was next door to his.

  But just in case, she jammed her cover back on her head before she reached for the door. There was no way he was talking her out of her ball cap again. Once was bad enough.

  Karin stood on the other side, tapping her foot. "Well?"

  "Well, what?"

  The boot increased its tempo. "Come on, Jade. Rumor Control posted the alert the second he stepped aboard. The entire ship knows he's here by now. What's he like?"

  Something thumped softly in the stateroom next door, causing Jade's stomach to plunge to her toes. She snaked out a hand and tugged Karin inside as she hissed, "Keep your voice down!"

  "Why?" Her blue eyes grew round. "He's next door, isn't he?"

  "Yes!"

  "Yippee!"

  Jade glared at her.

  Karin ignored her as she rubbed her hands together. "So, come on, dish. What's he like? Is he as sexy in person as he is on the screen?"

  A filthy, traitorous heat snuck up her neck and consumed her face.

  "Oh, my God. You're blushing!"

  She shot off another glare. "I am not!"

  Karin grinned slyly. "That good, huh?"

  Jade sighed and plopped into the chair at her desk, her gaze slinking down to the carpet. "You want me to say it? Okay, I'll say it. He's gorgeous. He's sexy. He sizzles. Hell, he's so hot, I'll probably have to call in a hose team to spray him down every now and then so he doesn't ignite the ship."

  "Damn."

  Jade looked up. "Yeah."

  "That settles it. We're changing jobs for the next couple of months. You get to slice people open and I get to stitch myself to Mack Reese."

  "Reese."

  "Huh?"

  "It's just Reese. Don't ask me why, but he likes to be called by his last name."

  Karin perched herself up on the desk. "My, my, my. We've gotten awfully close to Mr. Macbeth awfully quickly, haven't we?"

  Jade stuck her out her tongue.

  "I think you'd better save that for Reese. He may find a use for it."

  "Karin!"

  She laughed. "Hey, blame it on the Navy. You try explaining safe sex and demonstrating how to don a condom to a crew of dirty-minded sailors and see how pristine your mouth stays." She leaned close and coughed gently. "Speaking of condoms, need any?"

  "No!"

  She shook her head, smiling as she pulled back. "Don't be too sure about that. If Reese is half as turned on as you, I'll probably be a crate short by sunrise."

  Jade glanced away and studied the pillow on her rack. This conversation was getting way out control. She still hadn't even recovered from her inspection of Reese.

  Heck, she wasn't even sure how she'd found the nerve to carry it off. Especially when she followed the fire in his eyes all the way down to the heat rising off his jeans. Button-fly jeans. The blush she'd managed to hold at bay in his stateroom snapped back with a vengeance.

  "Okay, I'll lay off—for now."

  "Thank you."

  "Then again—" she tapped her chin "—maybe…"

  "Don't even say it."

  Karin ignored her, nodding as she warmed to the idea. "Why not? What's the harm in a little fling—as long as you do it on the beach and protect yourself."

  "I said, no."

  "Well, at least think about it. You said yourself the man is gorgeous—and you can't get much better than an actor. They have affairs all the time, no strings attached. Heck, you won't even have to worry about running into him again, because he'll be long gone by the time it's over."

  "Absolutely not."

  The last time she'd let her guard down, it had nearly destroyed her. She was not making the same mistake again. She was not.

  Karin sighed. "When are you going to realize Jeff was the exception, not the rule? Not every man dreams of keeping his wife barefoot and pregnant."

  Jade grimaced. "Don't forget the kitchen part."

  Karin reached out and squeezed her hand. "I'm serious, honey. At least you wouldn't worry about bumping into your replacement." She brightened. "As if he could replace you."

  Oh, he could, all right.

  And probably would.

  History did have a tendency to repeat itself, after all. But that didn't mean she had to suffer through another humiliating lesson.

  "Jade—"

  A series of high-pitched musical whistles and trills filled the stateroom as a Boatswain mate piped "chow" over the 1MC, cutting off the rest of Karin's argument.

  Thank God.

  Jade glanced at her watch, then tugged her cover securely to her eyes as she stood. "Well, Doc, gotta go. Macbeth and I have a command performance at the Captain's table."

  Karin wrinkled her nose as she stood. "Ick. I'm not sure even sitting with Reese would be worth putting up with that."

  Jade was certain it wasn't—for several reasons. But duty called and that was enough for her.

  It had to be.

  * * *

  "Just one more chance, DCA. That's all I ask."

  Jade bit down on the inside of her cheek as she stared across her desk. She'd give anything to be able to look away from Benson's tortured gaze. But as his division officer, she couldn't. She owed it to him to look him in the eye while she delivered the blow.

  "I'm sorry, Benson. You're going to Captain's mast on Monday."

  "Please, DCA. Please, don't do it. I'll lose a stripe for sure."

  "Maybe you should have thought about that before you were late for General Quarters."

  She bit down harder as his eyes took on a glassy appearance.

  Oh, please, God, don't let him cry. You know I can't handle that.

  He didn't, but his voice broke, slicing into her just the same. "P-please, DCA. I-I need the money. Shelly hasn't gone back to work yet."

  Her teeth drew blood as she tried to get the picture of his sweet, adorable infant out of her mind. She reminded herself again that this was for the best—for the baby as well as the father. She drew a deep breath. "My decision is final. Save your arguments for the Captain."

  Benson jerked back from her desk, bitterness permeating his voice as well as his stance. "Why bother? We both know he'll take your recommendation."

  Jade nodded, not bothering to deny it. Reaching across her blotter, she scratched out a number and handed the scrap of paper across the desk. "Here's the number for Navy Relief. They'll help you out with the money if you need it."

  Benson stared down at the paper as if it was a python. It was a full thirty seconds before he snatched it up and stuffed it into the side pocket of his coveralls. "Thanks a lot, ma'am."

  Jade ignored the deliberate slur as he turned and stalked out of her office, concentrating instead on the fact that he'd actually taken the number. It was a start.

  She tipped the bill of her cover up so it wouldn't hit the desk and dropped her face down into her arms.

  "Don't you think you came down a little hard on the guy?"

  She bolted straight up in her chair, scowling as she yanked the bill back in place. "How long have you been standing in the passageway, Macbeth?"

  "Long enough."

  Jade grabbed on to her ange
r with both hands, using it to shield herself from the shock of seeing Reese in her office, looking thoroughly at home and too damn masculine in a pair of dark blue Navy coveralls and a Baddager ball cap—red.

  Why did her chief have to give him a red one? "Well, next time you get the urge to eavesdrop, take a page from Miss Manners and announce yourself."

  "Thought about it. But I didn't think the man would appreciate knowing he had a witness to his groveling."

  Great. Another meddling he-man who thought he knew it all and didn't approve. It shouldn't have gotten to her. It shouldn't have stung.

  But it did.

  Until now, she had to admit, she'd harbored hopes that Reese was different from Jeff. Obviously he wasn't. "You know, I don't recall the Captain telling me I had to let you run my division."

  "Maybe he should have. Maybe then Benson could get a little slack."

  The accusation didn't sit well in her craw—and neither did the injustice of it. "Trust me, slack is the one thing Benson doesn't need."

  "Why? Are you afraid if you sympathize with the guy, word will get out that you're soft?"

  The accuracy behind that arrow really stung. Reese was foolish enough to try and drive it in further as he loomed over her desk.

  "You know, when I stepped on this ship yesterday, I didn't have you pegged for a cold one—uptight, maybe, but not cold. It was a drill, Jade. A lousy drill. Did you have to punish him in the wallet? The man has a wife and kids."

  Uptight? Cold? She'd give him cold.

  Jade came to her feet with the power of an aircraft carrier and steamed around the desk at ahead full. "Yes, he has a family. But he also has a drinking problem, not that it's any business of yours. The reason he missed General Quarters is because he was out so late carousing the night before, he was still stinking drunk the next morning. It took two sailors and a chief to pull him out of a rack that was filled with vomit. Sailors I could ill afford to lose had that been the real thing and not a drill."

  Reese knew he'd blown it. He'd realized that as soon as the words left his mouth, but it was already too late. Hell, he wasn't even sure why he'd done it.

  Okay, so he was sure. But he wasn't proud of it. Too many old memories had come slapping back at once. He probably could have handled them if he wasn't still smarting over the Captain's lunch—and the treatment that had followed.