I shudder slightly at his tone, the underlying meaning: we need to talk. “Not now, Harm,” I whisper back and continue to stare across the table to the far wall. I won’t look at him. I can’t. If I do, I know what will happen. 

I’ll lose it. 

All the emotions I’ve repressed since his return to JAG will bubble up and I will either cry like a baby or throttle him like a punching bag. 

“Mac,” he tries again, “we haven’t been alone together since I got back…”

*** 

Dammit! Why doesn’t she understand? Can’t she see I came back for her? God, I’ve missed her! When I realized that flying was not what had kept me going for three years, I high-tailed it back so fast one would think <I> was able to fly at Mach speed. 

Hell, I already knew I loved her. But what I didn’t realize—couldn’t realize until I’d left—was how much I relied on her. And now here we sit in a lonely brig waiting to question to a witness. We are finally alone and I can’t find the words to make her look at me! 

*** 

If he keeps staring at me for much longer, I swear I’m going to scream! 

Don’t get me wrong, I <am> glad he’s back. But I think I’d feel better if I knew why. The only problem is, to find out why I would have to talk to him. <Really> talk to him. And that’s what scares the hell out of me. What if I’m not the reason he came back? Dear God, what if I <am>? 

My track record with men isn’t what anyone would call a sure bet. The fact that it’s Harm makes me even more worried. I <love> this man. I mean, I <really> love this man. If it didn’t work out… 

*** 

Well, if she’s not going to say anything, I guess it’s up to me. But how do I even begin to tell her that she makes my life what it is? Happy, complete. All I know is I’ve got to say <something>. This silence is killing me! And who knows how long it will take that lieutenant to scour a base filled with 300 sailors for one man. Come on, Squid. Tell her the truth. How hard can that be? 

*** 

“I love you, Mac,” he whispers, his tone a shy, but heartfelt promise. 

I blink suddenly. What did he just say? As the words wash over me, I feel the onslaught of emotions churn in my stomach. Fear. Love. Anger. But one dominates them all and I turn to him, my body taut. “What the hell are you talking about?” I yell. 

I can tell this <isn’t> the reaction he was hoping for. 

“Mac…I-I,” he stammers in confusion. 

A small part of myself can’t help but feel sorry for him that he has to face the wrath of my anger, but it is a very small part. The rest of me is coiled for attack. “Who the <hell> do you think you are?” I jump up from the table so fast that my chair goes flying. I stalk away from him, seething in my self-righteous rage. 

“You blithely waltz back into JAG four <months> after leaving with little more than a half-hearted goodbye, say ‘I love you’ and expect…what? That I would cry helplessly, fall into your arms and tell you ‘I love you, too?’” I turn around, needing to look him in the eye when I land my final blow. “Sorry, Harm, it doesn’t work that way! You can only play with my emotions for so long before I start to wise up and realize that it’s just that. Playing. God, you’ve got gall! Did you ever stop <once> and think about what I was going through four months ago?” I shake my head, knowing the answer already. “Of course you didn’t. All you could think about was getting back to your precious flying. 

“Well, maybe I’ve gotten on with my life, Harm! Did that ever occur to you? Maybe I didn’t <want> you to come back!” I take in a quick breath, readying myself for another attack when he jumps up from his chair and makes a sweeping gesture with his hand. 

*** 

“No, Mac, you’ve had your turn. Now, it’s mine. Listen carefully, I came back to JAG because I realized something almost as soon as I’d gotten to Pensacola. I <love> you! And I need you in my life. I know you think I abandoned you, but this was something that I had to figure out on my own.” I walk toward her, intent on getting through that tough Marine bravado that she hides behind whenever she’s hurting. 

She’s not listening. I have to find some other way to get through to her. 

*** 

I barely have time to think as his lips meld to mine, fitting perfectly as if we were two pieces of the same puzzle. Oh, he’s good at this. I forget I’m mad at him. I forget everything as his kiss drugs me with its sweet onslaught. His mouth is firm and warm as he takes my lower lip between his. His tongue sweeps over it just before his teeth close gently around it. He is nibbling and sucking and I think I will go up in flames on the spot. 

*** 

I love the sounds she makes. The low moan of pleasure that spills from her mouth heightens my senses and I want to devour her. But that can wait until later. Right now, I have to see her, to taste more of her. I’m a patient man, but when I finally realize I have something I’ve always wanted, my patience is at an end. 

I back her up to the table and hurriedly unbutton her jacket, taking care not to rip anything. Leaving her mouth, I ignore her mewl of protest and kiss my way down her neck. I suck gently on the throbbing vein and remarkably her pulse speeds up. But it’s not enough. I pull away and watch her eyes darken with arousal and the knowledge of what we are about to do. 

*** 

In the brig! The first time Harm and I will make love is in the brig of a naval air station, which is populated with 300-something personnel. Two of which are supposed to appear at any time for questioning. 

And I don’t care. 

I am in the arms of the man I love and know that he loves me. It’ll be a great story to tell the grandkids. 

Harm just pulled my jacket off and tossed it somewhere across the room. (He’ll get the dry cleaning bill for that.) He’s currently making fast work of the buttons on my blouse and I don’t think I can wait much longer. My blood is pounding through my veins, I breath in almost pant-like breaths and he is STUCK ON ONE OF MY BUTTONS? 

I shove his hands aside and rip the remaining buttons away. (I’ll take care of this bill.) Pulling the sleeves off of my wrists, I return the favor and quickly divest him of his white jacket. It is gone in a matter of seconds and he jerks off the white undershirt he’s now left with. And then, there is nothing but his muscular, hairy chest staring me in the face. I lick my lips slightly and glance up at him before all but attacking him. He groans and his hands find their way to my back and flick open my bra. 

*** 

I have died and gone to heaven. Finally, after so many erotic nights dreaming, I find out that imagination has nothing on reality. Mac is sucking on my nipple, her teeth just barely grazing it from time to time as she opens and closes over it. I quickly toss her bra in the direction of her jacket (no doubt she’s going to make me pay for her dry cleaning). I push her away slightly and her mouth leaves my chest with a wet ‘pop!’ She looks up at me, curious, and I flash her my best flyboy grin before descending on her breast and returning the favor. 

*** 

I lean back, bracing myself against the table as Harm closes his perfect mouth over my breast. I can’t look. I want to. Oh, how I want to. But I know if I do, it’ll all be over. I wonder if it’s just because it’s him or because I haven’t had sex in a while. As he pulls away enough to suckle only my nipple I realize it’s just because it’s him. I have never felt such a raging firestorm. I am engulfed in his heat and he just keeps taking me higher, stoking the flame, urging it flare out of control. Unable to take much more of his sweet torment, I push him away and tug at his zipper. I reach in and free him, desperate for more. He is beautiful. Red and throbbing and oh-so very male. I want to taste him, to know what he truly smells like, but there’s no time. I am burning like a wildfire. 

*** 

I thank God she chose today to wear the skirt instead of her pants. I bunch the material up around her hips and roughly caress her through her nylons. She is dripping already. Yanking her pantyhose down to her knees, I lift her legs with one hand and strip them away, pausing only to smell them. My eyes meet hers over the scratchy fabric and I see a flare of satisfaction in the dark pools. She is glad I bring her to this point, just like she does me. My penis throbs frantically in the air, desperately seeking the warm, moist heat it knows it will find soon. 

With a slight nod, Mac pulls her skirt up around her hips and hops up onto the table. Leaning back onto her forearms, she wraps her legs around my waist and draws me nearer. As if I need any encouragement. 

I seal her mouth to mine and slide my tongue past her lips just as I bury myself in her body. We moan together, tasting and savoring each other’s sounds and she clamps her legs around me harder, pressing me against her. 

Trisha Rabb didn’t raise no stupid children. I pull out quickly then, ram back into her, jack hammering like a beast run wild. 

*** 

Oh my…oh my… “Harm!” I cry just as the most intense orgasm rips across my belly. I am falling. No, I’m flying. No, I’m…I don’t care what I am all I know is I feel free. I vaguely feel his hot breath as it brands the skin of my breast. He has clamped an open mouth down on my collar bone and I feel his body clench. 

*** 

Holy shit! “Ma...” I almost finish the word as my seed rockets out of me seeking the warm recesses of my lover. I can’t blame them. If I could I think I would curl up inside her and never come out again. My pulse is pounding and my breath is ragged and all I can do is collapse on top of her. 

She doesn’t seem to mind too much as her hands caress my shoulders in soothing motions. After a few minutes, the hitching in her slight form causes me to pull away with concern. I didn’t hurt her, did I? 

But when I look into her beautiful face, it isn’t pain I see. Instead, she is grinning from ear to ear and trying to hold back her laughter. “What’s so funny?” I ask, my ego slightly bruised for some unknown reason. 

She shakes her head, which only increases her giggles. She gets control of herself long enough to reply, “You. Me. Us.” 

*** 

I see the awareness dawn in his eyes and he joins me in my laughter, shaking so hard that his now flaccid member slips out of me and I realize just where we are. I sit up quickly and almost shove him off the table in my haste. 

“Harm,” I state seriously, staring directly into his mirth-filled eyes. “We’re in a brig.” He continues to laugh and I have to shake him, before he finally gets my point. Even after he realizes the seriousness of our situation, he still can’t keep last vestiges of humor from his face. 

I roll my eyes at him, wishing for all the world that I hadn’t let him in on my joke, and hop off the table. Our combined releases have now cooled between my legs, but I relish in the feeling rather than cringe. It has taken us too long to get to this point. 

The muffled sound of voices filters through the brig and I snap my head toward the source. It’s the lieutenant. It has to be. Harm’s eyes widen slightly and he tosses my jacket to me even as he ineffectually dabs his handkerchief at his dampened zipper. (I refuse to pay for that one. It’s not my fault he didn’t take them off all the way!) 

*** 

The lieutenant’s return was, to say the least, a shock to me. Having forgotten all about the real reason we were here, I was perfectly content to lie on top of Mac for the rest of the day. But as the reality of our situation sinks in, I know we have to return to some semblance of decorum, if only for the honor of our respective branches. As I walk around the room to gather up our clothes, I realize that the front of my pants are not only damp, they are soaked. I pull out my hanky and try to wipe away some of the evidence of our previous occupation, but end up thanking whatever inclination told me to wear my whites today. 

The brig’s door opens right when we get settled back into our chairs and the lieutenant, a blonde man who looks to be in his mid-twenties, escorts the witness in. I am about to rise to greet the pair when I notice something out of the corner of my eye: Mac’s nylons. They are lying almost in plain sight. If the two men come any closer, I know they’ll see them. Thinking quickly, I remain seated and inch my chair toward the edge of the table. I heave a sigh of relief as I feel my foot cover the delicate material and drag them quickly under the table. 

After sharing a heated look with my partner, we ready ourselves to interrogate. A team once again. But this time, the rules have changed.