“Well,” she said, “that’s honest, anyway.”
“It’s not your fault,” he muttered, “but this whole thing really goes against the grain.”
“Tell me about it,” Lilah said, shoving her hair back out of her face. “You think I enjoy being handed off from one Marine to another? I’m like a human hot potato!”
“So why do you put up with it?”
“Have you ever tried to say no to my father?”
“Can’t say that I have,” he said.
“I don’t recommend it.” Not that her father ever lost his temper or anything. But he just sort of steamrolled over a person’s objections. Especially, she told herself with just a touch of shame, when you didn’t speak up and be honest. Heck, she’d called Kevin Rogan a coward for not telling the truth. Yet she hadn’t either, when given a perfect opportunity. She pushed that thought aside for the moment. “Don’t get me wrong,” she added, “Dad’s terrific. He’s just…how do I say this?”
“A Marine?” he inquired wryly.
“Exactly,” she said.
Kevin stared at her. That smile of hers should be classified as a weapon. Top grade. It had the wattage of a nuclear bomb and probably had the same results on most men. Able to leave them flat and whimpering.
He, however, was a different story. Oh, he wasn’t blind. And since he was most definitely male, he could appreciate her package. Just like he’d appreciate a beautiful piece of art. That didn’t mean he wanted to take her home and hang her on his walls.
And he’d been down this route before, he reminded himself. He’d taken one look at a woman and seen everything he’d wanted to see and nothing he didn’t. He wouldn’t be making the same mistake again.
“I don’t really need a tour of the base anyway, you know,” she was saying and he told himself to pay attention. He had a feeling that not paying attention around Lilah Forrest could be a dangerous thing.
“Why’s that?” he asked. Not that he minded cutting the tour short.
“Because,” she said, shrugging, “all bases are pretty much the same.” Turning in a tight circle, she lifted one hand and pointed as she counted off, “Headquarters, Billeting, Provost Marshall, beyond that, the PX, Post Office, Commissary. And,” she said, turning back to him with another one of those smiles, “let’s not forget the theater, rec center and oh, yeah. There’re the clubs, enlisted, officers and Staff NCOs, and last but not least, the all important Recruit Receiving.”
When she was finished, she looked up at him and gave him another one of those smiles. “Same church, different pew.”
She was right, of course. Hell, she’d been raised on bases around the world. She probably knew her way around as well as he did. Which led him back to the one question that was flashing on and off in his brain like a broken neon light. Before he could stop himself, he asked, “So what are we doing here?”
“You’ve got me.”
A simple phrase. So why did it snake along his spine like a red-hot thread? Because having her implied all sorts of things that his body clearly approved of wholeheartedly. Unfortunately, though, there would be no having of any kind. Not only was she the Colonel’s daughter and Kevin’s responsibility for the next few weeks…but she wasn’t the one-night-stand kind of woman and he wasn’t the happily-ever-after kind of man.
So that left them square in the middle of “no touch” land.
Then she touched him. A simple touch, she leaned into him and laid one hand on his upper arm. Heat skittered through him, but he drew on every ounce of his formidable will and told himself to ignore it. It wasn’t getting any easier, though.
“It’s weird,” Lilah muttered more to herself than to her strong, silent type companion.
“What is?” he asked, but she had the feeling he didn’t really care.
“Being back on a base.”
“How long’s it been?”
Not long enough, she thought. But all she said was, “A year or so.”
“Why’s that?”
She slanted a look up—way up—at him. “Do you always talk like that?”
“Like what?”
Lilah sighed. “In short, three-to-four-word sentences. I mean you don’t say much and when you do, it’s almost over before you start.”
“You talk enough for both of us.”
She did tend to babble when she was nervous, she admitted silently. Which brought up the question of just why she was nervous. It wasn’t being on base. Or being around her father. Those things she was used to dealing with. She just plastered on a smile and went out of her way to point out her unsuitability herself to avoid having others do it for her.
An old trick, Lilah had been using it for years. Rather than wait for someone else to make fun of her, she poked fun at herself. Then everyone was laughing with her. Not at her.
So, if she wasn’t nervous about where she was…she must be nervous about who she was with.
Uh-oh.
“Hmm. Talk too much. Where have I heard that before?”
“From everyone you’ve ever met?” he asked, one corner of his mouth lifting.
“Wow.” Lilah stared up at him. It was truly amazing what that smile did to his face. No wonder he didn’t do it often. The bodies of women would be littering the parade deck. But she didn’t have to let him know that. “A smile. This is a real moment. Too bad I don’t have my journal with me, I could make a note of it.”
“Funny.”
“Thanks.” She laid one hand on his forearm and felt that jolt of heat again. Okay, she hadn’t counted on that. Instantly, she let her hand drop again and took a step back, just for good measure. Couldn’t hurt to keep a little distance between herself and the surprising Gunnery Sergeant.
“Well,” he asked, “if you don’t want the tour, what would you like to see?”
Before she could answer, someone shouted, “Gunny! Hey, Gunny!”
Kevin turned around and Lilah looked past him at the man hurrying up to them. Judging by his Smokey the Bear hat, he too was a Drill Instructor. He came to a stop in front of Kevin and spared her a quick glance.
“Excuse me, ma’am,” he said, “but I need to borrow the Gunny for a minute.”
“Sure,” she said.
Kevin frowned slightly. “Staff Sergeant Michaels, this is Lilah Forrest.”
The Marine’s gaze widened in surprise. “As in Colonel Forrest?”
Lilah nearly sighed. Happened every time she met one of her father’s troops. They looked at her, imagined him, and just couldn’t seem to put the two of them in the same family. But she’d long ago quit trying to be what everyone else expected her to be, so she just smiled at him. “He’s my father, yes.”
“Pleased to meet you, ma’am,” he said. His gaze swept over her and as he took note of the crystal around her neck and the silver chain around her waist and her boots, she could almost hear him feeling sorry for her father. A moment later though, he was all business, and turning his gaze on Kevin.
“I need your help tonight.”
“I’m off for the next couple of weeks,” Kevin told him and Lilah noticed for the first time how rough and gravelly his voice sounded. Must be from all the shouting the D.I.’s did at the recruits. But whatever