JAG 1. Chapter 1

**Jumping Bones**

Beth Hawkes chatted inconsequentially with Commander Loftness as slowly, in deference to her stiffening bruises, the two strolled along the hospital hallway toward Harm's room, until catching sight of their target leaning on a cane and hobbling painfully ahead of them.

Beth painfully quickened her pace and hailed him, "Commander!"

Harm halted and slowly turned towards the sound of her voice, smiling as he took in the sight of her in her crisp summer whites, "Hey. Wow, you're looking good, Skates!"

Beth fought hard to stop herself blushing; as much as she might wish otherwise she knew he hadn't meant it as a compliment, but as a reference to her fading bruises, "Back atcha, sir!"

Harm's face lost its smile, as he transferred his attention to Beth's companion, "Commander Loftness," he greeted him gravely.

"Rabb," the helo pilot nodded his response.

"Commander, I understand that you personally violated every safety minimum in the book while you were searching for us." Harm's voice was stern, but Beth heard the gratitude that underpinned his words.

"Love flying at zero/zero," Loftness replied, completely unabashed by the seeming reprimand in Harm's voice.

Harm relaxed, letting his pretended venture into officialdom drop, "We owe you our lives."

"Turns out the aircraft we gave you had a hard deck landing. Subsequent inspection uncovered no damage, looks like she was hiding her secrets from us. You ever wanna come back for a visit I'll find you a Tomcat that works."

"Well, how about today? I'm checking out of here in two hours."

Beth chuckled, Harm's reply was not unexpected to someone who knew him as well as his RIO, but the look she threw him contained a fair measure of exasperation as well as a mixture of wry amusement and pride in his spirit.

"We're in port."

"Damn."

"Good luck."

They shook hands and Harm asked "That's it?"

"Yup."

Pilot and RIO stood for a few moments as they watched the other officer walk away. His words having absolved them from any blame in the loss of the aircraft, although they both knew that they would shortly be summoned before an investigation panel.

Slowly, due to the cane, Harm turned to resume his previous walk. "So... I uh... I understand you jumped my bones in sickbay." he said wonderingly, his head turned towards her as he completed a 120 degree turn.

Beth returned him a stunned look, as her face paled, then seeing the imp of mischief in his laughing eyes, and realising that she couldn't hope to deny what had happened, in the face of the combined probable testimony of doctors, nurses and corpsmen, she could only put on a brave face and brazen it out. She grinned cheekily up at him and replied, "Rumour."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. Believe me Hammer; if you had to be told, it was definitely rumour. If I had jumped your bones, conscious or unconscious, you'd never forget it!"

As soon as the words were out of her mouth Beth cringed inwardly and waited for the blast. If ever she had said anything that deserved a stern 'Red Light, Lieutenant!' that was it. She silently begged him not to take this any further and waited for his response.

Harm looked at her in some surprise. Sure, he had been flirting with her, but in their usual light-hearted manner, and he certainly hadn't been expecting to hear anything like that from Skates, but such a provocative response from her could be allowed this time. He was certainly still high on survivors' euphoria, and considering how terrified she'd been at having to eject over the ocean, and how much more keenly she must be feeling her survival, he was more than just slightly inclined to cut her a lot of slack. But, still, best bring this topic to an end ASAP!

Beth risked a further glance at his face. He wasn't smiling now, but neither did he look as if he was about to verbally flay her. She began to hope that he wasn't going to take any heed of her words and was relieved when her reading of him proved accurate when he changed the subject.

"Well, that was a hell of a ride we took, huh?"

Beth still didn't trust herself to reply to him and walked on beside him in silence. Harm, puzzled by her lack of reaction and trying to restore their customary bantering conversation attempted to provoke a light answer from her and added, "At least you went out with a bang..."

Beth bit her lip, knowing that what she was about to say would, at the very least, surprise him, "I'm returning to the Fleet, Harm."

After the way Beth had previously confessed her fears to him and now especially after her recent ordeal Harm was not just surprised, he was almost stunned, "What happened to the idea of shore duty?"

"The experience actually re-awakened my love for ship-board flying. Made me realize the danger is one of the reasons I do it." Beth knew that her ostensible reason was just a load of lying garbage, but, ever since they'd brought Harm - a dying Harm - into the sick-bay and she had exposed so much of her inner self in keeping him with the living - with her, and even though it seemed that he had no memory of events, she was all too well aware of the dormant emotions that episode had stirred to wakefulness in her.

"Well... what's your fiancé have to say about this?

"He supports me. Guess that's why he's my fiancé" Just one more lie in the ever-continuing saga of her non-existent fiancé. She'd only invented him keep Harm at a distance, to be a smokescreen when she'd first realised her attraction to him; she'd never expected to have to keep up the story once she'd invented him. "What about you?"

"Well, I'm almost back to normal."

"H'mm, you think so?" it was her turn for surprise. How could he be so soon recovered after having so nearly died such a short time ago?

"Well, I certainly have recovered, at least to the satisfaction of the doctors."

"H'mm…"

"Anyway, they've put me on two weeks hospital leave, and then a review after that. But I don't expect to have problems after I've rested up a bit."

"Yeah, me too, though I don't feel as if I need it, but I suppose it'll help while the bruises fade. So what plans have you made for your leave, Harm? I suppose you and the director lady will be …"

Harm sighed, and ran his fingers through his hair, "There is no director lady, Skates. Renee got a job offer out in Hollywood, and split about three-four weeks, ago. So I may just stay around here for a week and catch up with some work on the apartment, and then maybe I'll head out to La Jolla, to my mom's for the second week.

"Uh-huh… about that, have they told you about the board, yet?"

"No… I've heard nothing…"

"Oh… here, you'd better read this, then, before you make any plans…" Beth slipped a hand into her purse, taking out a triple folded sheet of paper. "Your copy probably went to JAG, or it's still on the way here."

Harm took it from her, and unfolded the single sheet. An official letter from the Air Accident Investigation Panel, addressed to both Commander Harmon Rabb, Jr, and Lieutenant Elizabeth Hawkes, notifying them that their presence was required to answer for the loss of their airplane, at a board to be convened at Andrews JAF on… he raised his eyebrows in surprise the date was just 72 hours away! Well they weren't wasting any time, and this could be either very good, or very bad, but remembering Loftness' words about the condition of the aircraft, he felt reassured. "Yeah, well given what we've just been told, Skates, I reckon this is just a formality."

"You think so?"

"Yeah, I'm sure of it. There was nothing you, or I, could have done to keep that crate in the air another second. Once the controls went, we had no choice other than to punch out - and even then my seat malfunctioned."

"Yeah," Beth murmured, remembering the horror she had felt, even over her own fears, as she realised that she couldn't see any sign of Harm's 'chute that night.

But Harm hadn't finished reassuring her, "And anyway, you were the GIBS, it was my plane, my responsibility, and my decision as to whether or not or when we punched out. I distinctly remember hearing my voice, not yours, ordering 'eject! eject! eject!' so you've got nothing to worry about." he said, handing her back the letter, once again adopting a lighter tone as he again switched to a more cheerful subject, "If you're going to have to stick around for a few days before you go home, where are you staying?"

"Ummm… I'm not sure yet. I've put in a request for VOQ at Anacostia, and if that doesn't work out, then I guess I'll have to try Andrews."

"OK. Let me know where you are and maybe we can get together, for dinner, or something."

"Thank you, sir." Beth's switch back to formality came as a surprise, "But, I don't think that's a good idea…" she dropped her gaze, "My fiancé might not approve. After all he's only just across the river…"

"Oh… of course, I'm sorry, Beth, I wasn't thinking. But let me know where you are all the same, and I can give you a ride to Andrews for the inquiry!"

"Of, course, thanks Hammer… that is if your leg's up to it?.

"What this?" He exclaimed cheerfully brandishing his cane, "this is more for decoration that use!" but although he maintained a show of bravado, Beth saw the slight stagger and the flash of pain on his face as he took his weight off the cane.

x-x-x-x-x

Beth opened the door to the somewhat Spartan room in VOQ, stripping off her summer white blouse. Summer whites, she thought with irony as she looked at the piece of wet clothing in her hand, and then down at her skirt, which clung damply to her legs. It may have been summer officially, but it hadn't stopped raining for the last three days, and she noticed the goose bumps on her arms, the damp made everything seem cold as well. Unclipping her bra as she headed for the shower, she noticed that the skin on her arms wasn't the only part of her anatomy affected by the cold. She reached into the shower and turned on the faucet, adjusting the water temperature to about as high as she could stand, before stepping out of the remainder of her clothing and standing under the jet of water.

As the hot water tingled her skin she reflected that just as Harm had reckoned, this morning's panel had been more or less a formality - well at least as far as she was concerned. She had followed protocol, transmitted the Mayday call and had punched out when ordered to by her pilot. Harm had apparently some additional questions to answer about his own actions subsequent to his ejection, but at last they'd been formally acquitted of all negligence and wrong-doing, for which she suspected, they had the CAG to thank.

Now warmed up by her shower, Beth quickly shrugged into her Terry robe, and dumping her underwear and pantyhose into the wash basin, she picked up her skirt and going through to the bedroom, she hung it and her blouse to dry, before returning to the bathroom to hand-wash her more intimate items.

That task finished, she lay back on the bed glowering out of the window as the rain continued to sheet down. Now that she wasn't needed in DC she was free to go anywhere she wanted until her leave expired, and if the weather stayed like this, then she damn' sure was going to go somewhere where it was at least warmer and dryer than here. And… she knew just the place… But being on her own wasn't going to be much fun. But she knew who might just want to get some heat into his bones too. Oh, bones, now that was a loaded word after their conversation in the hospital the other day. Beth lay back against the pillows and closed her eyes as she pictured Harm, in swimming shorts, soaking up the sun at Firefly Cove, or if she could persuade him, even without the swim shorts…

Almost without conscious thought, one hand loosened the tie of her robe, as the other stole across to her breast, her thumb nail dragging a circle around her already stiffening nipple as she drifted into her fantasy, imagining Harm's mouth on her breast, his tongue teasing her nipple before switching to her other breast, and then his tongue blazing a trail of liquid fire down, over her stomach - her free hand, again without her thinking, followed that path - and then teasing the soft flesh of her thighs before it played with the neatly trimmed strip of curls on her mound and then finally her finger so gently but insistently stroking her lower lips before tasting the wetness at the centre of her being and then moving up to the little, sensitive, oh-so- sensitive bud nestling at the apex of her damp folds; teasing, tantalizing, torturing her, before he reared up over her and sank his length into her welcoming centre. Her two fingers now taking the place of his erect cock in her fantasy, working in and out as she reached her climax, her thighs clamping around her hand as she convulsed with the pleasure of release and bit into the pillow to prevent her moans being overheard through the thin walls of the room.

Panting for breath and shining with perspiration, Beth drew her robe closed and lay for a few moments regaining her composure while she considered her plan of action, and then decision made, she sat up and leaned over to her nightstand and then rummaging in her purse she dug out her cell phone…

"Merhaba, amca Elwas. Bu Elizabeth [Hello, Uncle Elwas. This is Elizabeth.] I need a favour. May I borrow the house at Firefly Cove for a couple of days? For me and a friend. And could you fly us down there, say from Leeseburg. Say, tomorrow, midday? And... can I call you back, later... just to confirm? Teşekkür ederiz, amca [Thank you, uncle]"

Beth returned to the shower, but this time she quickly finished washing her sweat and juices off and dried herself briskly before pulling on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt and hastily throwing a few necessaries along with a couple of changes of clothes into a sea-bag before pulling on her flight jacket and dashing through the downpour to the parking lot and jumping into the midsized Ford rental.

Harm sat sideways on his couch his injured leg stretched out along its length, alternately scowling through the window at the rain still pouring down and trying, without much success, to interest himself in re-reading Caesar's _de Bello Gallica._

The doctors at Bethesda had strictly forbidden him to drive, and if he were being quite honest with himself, he didn't think he could bend his knee enough to even get into the Corvette, let alone keep his foot on the gas, or alternatively to shift it quickly to the brake pedal if that should become necessary. So he was stuck at home. Even if the weather had been good, he wouldn't have fancied making himself a target, as an injured man limping on a cane would have been in this neighbourhood.

Mac was on her honeymoon with that ... that Australian, and with the two of them out, JAG was badly undermanned and those that remained were working all hours. Harriett had called a couple of times, bless her, promising that she and Bud would visit at the weekend, but until then... she was sorry, everything was so hectic and... The Admiral was yelling... she had to go. But here had been something in her voice that told him that all was not on top line in the office... but maybe that was just the stress caused by extra work... A sharp rapping on his apartment door broke his introspective spell and, wincing as his knee protested, he hauled himself to his feet, grabbed his can and hobbled to open the door.

He was met by the sight of a distinctly damp _Skates, who _grinned up at him and said, "Hey there, _Hammer_, ain't you going to invite me in?"

Harm limped backwards, opening the door fully, "Oh, sure... of course... come on right in... Uh, was I expecting you... Can I get you a drink?"

"Ummm... no, this is a kinda surprise visit, I guess. If you have a soda, or maybe juice, that would be great, thanks..."

Harm closed the door, and indicating the kitchen island, said, "Uh... Tonic water, OK? Take a pew."

"Fine thanks," Beth said, hopping up onto one of the stools, and waiting until Harm popped the caps off two bottle of tonic water and shaved two slices of lime into a pair of glasses before placing them on the island and hitching himself onto a stool opposite. Pouring the drinks, he asked, "And to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit, Beth?"

"Umm... well, it's the weather, really..."

"How so?"

"Well, I was figuring in heading out to Virginia Beach for a few days, and copping some rays, you know? But according to the forecast..."

"Yeah, well we know how accurate they can be!" Harm's tone and his smile were more than just tinged with irony.

"Yeah, but would you want to spend your leave dragging your six around the VOQ at Anacostia, waiting to see if they were wrong and that the sun _was_ going to shine?"

"Yeah, good point."

"Well, you know my family comes from Florida - from the Gulf Coast?"

"And...?"

"Well the weather down there is perfect at this time of the year, hot sun, cool ocean breezes, sandy beaches, clear blue water... so I thought I'd head on down there, and get really warm. I don't think I've felt warm since the helo pulled me out of the ocean..."

"And apart from tormenting me with those images of a tropical paradise, you're telling me all this because?"

"Well... it can't be much fun for you being stuck here, not being able to get about much, and in this miserable weather..." Beth took a deep breath and rolled her dice, "I thought you might appreciate getting warm too."

"What?"

To say that he was startled might just have qualified as the understatement of the decade, Harm reflected as he waited for Beth to reply. She was drawing imaginary circles on the island's surface, not meeting his gaze and... was that a blush gathering in her cheeks?

"Well... it's no fun being on vacation by yourself,_ Hammer,_ and I just thought that it might be good to relax for a couple of days. You know, catch some sun, bake some of that Atlantic chill out our bones..." Oh crap! That word again! That oh-so-loaded word! Of all the words in the language... Now she could feel the colour mount to her face as she waited for Harm to erupt.

"Yeah... It's an appealing idea," he said slowly, "but... what about your fiancé won't he have something to say about us skipping town?"

Oh double crap! She'd forgotten about that. Well, there was only one thing for it. "Ummm... the truth is Harm, is that, there... uh... isn't... uh... any fiancé."

Harm looked at her in dismay, "Oh, Beth I'm sorry...What happened? When... Who...?"

Beth gulped, she couldn't look him in the eyes, she'd lied to him for so long, but now..."No, Harm, it's not like that... there never was a fiancé "

"But... I... you told me... you told all of us... Beth, I don't understand?"

"It was a defence, Harm. It was a way I had of... of stopping guys hitting on me."

Harm nodded, he could understand that. And he considered his options. Beth was right, he could hardly get around. He had ten days' leave remaining, the weather was God-awful. Renee had gone, Mac had gone, he liked Beth, he enjoyed her company, how could it hurt spending a couple of days on a beach with her, and as she said, just soaking up some delicious heat. He was after all, still a California boy.

"OK," he said, astonishing her, "It's a deal, what's the nearest airport?" He limped across the kitchen area to pick up a cordless phone.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to get us a flight," he replied.

"Umm... No need for that Harm," her infectious grin almost split her face in two. "My uncle Elwas is flying down tomorrow, leaving from Leeseburg around noon. He'll give us a ride down to Naples and then I'll get a rental, and we're only an hour away from Firefly Cove, it's opposite Pine Island.

Harm put the phone down. "You have been giving this some thought, haven't you?" he said admiringly.

"Well, the house in Firefly Cove belongs to the family... and this early in the season it doesn't get much use. And as Uncle Elwas is flying down anyway..."

"Beth, did you just... just handle me?"

"Ummm..."

X-X-X-X-X

"Well, here we are Harm," Beth said somewhat unnecessarily as she applied the emergency brake on the rental GMC Yukon.

Harm looked appraisingly at the Hawkes family's beach house. It was a long, sprawling 'L'-shaped single floor building set at the top of a stretch of golden sand, and raised on stone pillars. The long arm of the house faced south west and that section of the roof was covered in solar panels.

"This is the beach house?" Harm asked incredulously.

"Yep! Great Granddaddy Bunyamin had it built, back in the late forties. It's been modernised since, and it sees plenty of use during the summer and early fall. If we'd been a week or so later, we could still have come here, but we'd probably have been swamped by my sisters, my cousins and their kids." She smiled at his look of confusion. "I'm the odd one out; mostly in our family we marry young and have big families! The last time I counted I had over thirty nephews, nieces and second cousins. But I think there may have been one or two additions since then!"

Harm swung out of the SUV and threw his sea-bag over his right shoulder, and with his cane in his left, he straggled up the crushed-shell path to the wide, shady porch that run all the way along the inter angle of the 'L' and up the three wooden steps to where Beth had unlocked the double doors and thrown them wide open. He followed her in through the doors to finds himself in an enormous open-plan room combining the functions of living area, dining area and kitchen that seemed to stretch the whole depth of the house and had but two other doors. At the far side of the room, past the kitchen island and breakfast counter one door gave access to the outside, the side of the house nearest the access road, while the other door to the right promised access to the rest of the house.

Beth flicked a switch just inside the door and the three large triple bladed fans suspended from the rafters started to turn silently and to move the air, which was in fact slightly musty, as Beth moved along the front wall throwing open the shutters and raising the sash windows to let in the fresh, warm, afternoon air.

Satisfied that she'd done all she could for the moment, Beth said, "Come on then, Harm, let's get settled in."

She led him through the side door into a long hallway that extended into the distance before making a right hand turn to follow the short leg of the 'L'. Both sides of the hallway were lined with wooden jalousie windows, allowing fresh air into the bedrooms while preserving privacy, while the left hand wall was pierce at intervals with doors.

Beth stopped almost as she walked into the hallway. "You take this room, Harm, and I," she pointed a few yards down the hallway, "will be next door."

She opened the door for him, and showed him the light and fan switches, explaining that both could also be operated from the comfort of the King-size bed. Harm noticed that a mosquito net hung on a light metal frame, and raised an inquiring eyebrow.

"Yeah, they're not a bad idea. It's a rare thing right here, it's a bit too breezy, but until you're acclimated, it's a sensible precaution at night. And talking of nights", she crossed the room, and opened a door in the right hand wall. "This here's the bathroom, I'll be sharing it with you, so if you're shy, I suggest you shoot the bolt on the door opposite, that leads straight into my room. But if you ever lock me out and then forget to unlock it when you leave, I'll... I'll, well I'll do something," she grinned mischievously at him. "And I," she continued "am going to unpack, shower and change. Now... do you want to eat out this evening, or hit the local mom and pop market and pick up something to cook?"

Harm was too tired after the journey to even think about shopping or cooking. "Do you recommend anywhere to eat?"

"Yeah, there's one of my favourite places about fifteen minutes away. It's... eighteen hundred now, so if we can be ready by nineteen hundred? I promise I won't use all the hot water!"

"Sounds like a plan," he agreed smiling,"is this place dressy?"

"No, pants and a long-sleeve shirt'll do fine - mosquitos" she replied cryptically and crossed the bathroom to her own bedroom.

x-x-x-x-x

Harm woke the next morning feeling exceptionally well rested. He realised that his feeling of well being was due in part to the successful, friendly evening he had spent with Beth. And yes, he was definitely thinking of her more and more as Beth, rather than _Skates_ or 'Lieutenant Hawkes', and she in turn had seemed to have no difficulty in addressing him as Harm instead of _Hammer_ or 'Sir', and she had certainly seemed much more relaxed than he had seen her in a long time. She had dressed in a pair of pale blue slacks, and a white button down shirt, and she had nodded approvingly at his own very similar attire, of grey pants and a pale blue shirt, and with her hair let down and brushed until it shone like a raven's wing, she looked very different to the somewhat severe-looking and business-like naval officer in flight suit or peanut butters. The restaurant was well known locally for its fresh caught sea-food and the two of them had shared an enormous bowl of shell-fish gumbo and crusty home baked bread, washed down with a couple of beers each before fatigue had set in and set them yawning homewards

Squinting at his watch he nodded approvingly, sixty forty. Time to get up. He swung his legs out of bed, momentarily forgetting the injury to his knee but was brought up short with a muffled obscenity as an incautious step forcibly reminded him of his state of health. Well, that put paid to his first thought of going for a run along the beach before breakfast, but... there was no reason he couldn't take a swim, the water would help support him and didn't physical therapists recommend swimming as good non-weight bearing exercise?

The decision made, he rummaged in his still mostly unpacked sea bag for his swim shorts and a towel and ruefully salvaging his hated cane, quietly made his way to the porch and then across the thirty or so yards of sand to the water line. He'd been in the water for about fifteen minutes swimming with a powerful breast stroke that drove him almost silently through the water, not to fast as the extra effort needed for that had an eye-watering effect on his right knee. As he paused to float idly on his back he saw Beth swimming in a stiff head-up style towards him. "How deep are you out there?" She called as she struggled to tread water.

Harm stood, showing that the water only came up his chest and saw a look of relief on her face as she continued to swim towards him.

"See," she told him with a shame faced grin, as she reached him and lowered her feet to the bottom, "I told you I don't swim well."

With a rush of understanding Harm perceived that if she was such a poor swimmer, although she must have passed her flooding tests, the thought of ejecting into an angry ocean at night must have been truly terrifying for her. He held his arms out to her and she stepped forward as he closed them about her and gave her a friendly hug.

"Well, we'll have to do something about the swimming and try and get you a little more confident," he told her.

"Yeah, I wish," she told him. "But I came out here to tell you that breakfast's nearly ready.

"Breakfast? I didn't think we had anything to eat in the house."

"Yeah, well, I went to the market, earlier, and stocked up. We've got enough now to last until Monday.

"Oh. Well, let me know how much my share is..."

"OK."

By this time they had waded in towards the beach so that the water was only just knee deep, and Harm was almost brought to a standstill as he saw the flesh-coloured thong bikini that Beth was almost wearing. How come he had forgotten just what a fabulous figure she had? Admittedly it had been a few years since that beach liberty in Turkey, but still..."

Beth turned to see why he had stopped, and was quick enough to see the appreciative expression in his face as he watched her. Smiling secretly, she gave her butt just a little extra sway as she walked up the beach ahead of him. Stopping on the porch she picked up her towel from where she had laid it across the rail and took advantage of patting herself dry to model herself to her best advantage, exaggerating the flat tautness of her stomach and the curve and jut of her breasts, all the while using her peripheral vision to keep a watch on Harm's reactions, which were well within in the range of what she'd hoped for.

Finally dry to her satisfaction, she pulled on a silky blue thigh length robe and went on ahead into the kitchen.

Harm gulped, it was only by a tremendous exertion of will-power hat he prevented himself from growing an erection that would have been all too visible to Beth through his swim shorts. Silently vowing that he would maintain self-control he pulled on a T-shirt and followed her across to the kitchen, where she had butterfly fried two small smoked fish, sliced and buttered a plate of bread and prepared a compote of fresh fruit, and a jug of natural yoghurt.

Breakfast over, and the kitchen policed to their satisfaction, Harm declared his intention of showering to get rid of the salt and sand, and shaving before they decided how to spend the day.

Emerging from the bathroom Harm sat on one of the porch seats and waited for about twenty minutes for Beth to join him.

His position was that he didn't know the area at all and he was quite happy to fall in with any plans that she might have for the day. Beth looked at him measuringly, and said, "OK, let's spend the morning grabbing some rays, say until, noon, and then let's head inland for a walk around El Centro." Seeing his surprise, she explained, "there's still a very strong Spanish heritage around here, and most folks take a siesta for a couple of hours during the hottest part of the day. Believe me, in sheltered places like this, the noon sun can get unbearable, even this early in the year!"

"Whatever you say, Beth. As I said, this your turf, not mine."

Beth smiled and walked along to the end of the short arm of the 'L' where she unlocked a door to a storage space for beach furniture and dragged out two loungers, a folding table and a furled umbrella, and, over his protest, refusing Harm's assistance on the grounds that his knee wouldn't allow him to carry heavy or awkward loads she set them up about half-way between house and shoreline.

"There," she said, when all was set to her satisfaction, "I'll just go and get some cream and a couple of towels, and we're all set."

Harm sat on one of the loungers and waited for her return. Taking the towel she had brought him he placed it on the lounger and laid back to enjoy the warmth of the sun, which he admitted, did feel great. He watched as Beth shucked her robe and gasped when he saw that she also removed her bikini top, revealing her very shapely brown tipped breasts that stood proud of her rib cage and despite being fuller than he'd remembered from that long-ago day in Turkey showed no signs that they lost any of their former taut firmness.

"Beth," he gasped in shock, and a little excitement.

"What?" she grinned unrepentantly at him. "You've seen 'em before - or have you forgotten that day we all went to that beach in Turkey?"

"Uh... no, I haven't forgotten, in fact, I was thinking about it earlier... but this is different... the laws here..."

"Relax, Harm it's a private beach, no-one comes here except family, and if any of them did show up they wouldn't care. In fact, if it was my sister Anneke, she probably wouldn't bother wearing anything!"

Harm could only grin weakly and lay back and close his eyes. The woman was torturing him. But it was Beth, _Skates_, his friend, she can't have known the effect she was having on him. He couldn't reconcile it with himself to just lie and gawp at her like some teenager who'd never seen a pair of breasts before, but neither could he get up and walk away, that would be far too insulting. All he could do was stay where he was and try not to let his eyes drop lower than her face, but, God, she was beautiful and her evident trust in him was flattering. He opened his eyes and turned towards her, and his mouth went dry on the instant, she was sitting up and rubbing the sun screen over her... over her torso, over her breasts, and the action of her hands was causing her nipples to swell and stiffen, standing proud of her breasts. She was inadvertently killing him, and he was helpless to prevent his erection from pushing against the material of his swim shorts.

Beth pretended to be unconscious of his gaze as she continued applying the sun screen, but a couple of swift sidelong glances at his face and then at his groin showed her that she was having exactly the effect she'd wanted.

Sighing in contentment she relaxed back against the lounger and turned towards him, offering the bottle of sun screen "Here Harm, you might want to use some of this yourself."

"Uh... yeah, thanks." He sat up, grateful for any excuse that might prevent his arousal from becoming too evident, and leaning forward dribbled some of the bottle's contents on his legs and took his time, in the hope that his erection would subside, while he massaged the oily substance into his skin.

Beth watched the play of the muscles under the skin of his back as he leaned forwards. He was, as she'd expected, from seeing him in form-fitting T-shirts, magnificently proportioned and muscled. Not the exaggerated muscles of body builders and professional weight-lifters, but lean and hard, a testament of the effort he put into to maintain his fitness and strength as he came into his late thirties.

Harm breathed a sigh of relief as his erection faded and his prick became flaccid once more, and he sat back, rubbing more sun-screen into his arms and chest before lying back and closing his eyes.

Beth had been very well aware of his motives in moving as he had, and with a second small, secret smile also lay back. She'd allow him half an hour or so to regain his equilibrium before she launched the next phase of her campaign.

Harm half-dozed in the warm sunlight, painfully aware of the half, well almost totally, naked woman just out of arms reach beside him. How the hell was he to hint her away from her behaviour without sounding accusatory, disapproving or prudish? She would be mortified if she thought for even a second that she was having an erotic effect on him. The unselfconscious manner in which she had gone topless and talked about her family taking it, and even total nudity, all for granted just went to show that if he saw anything sexual in her actions then it was his own prurient mind at fault and not hers. But, dammit, it was so difficult not to look and to admire!

He had just gathered some shreds of his dignity when Beth said in matter of fact tones, "Harm, could you do my back for me, please?"

Beth had turned towards him, allowing his eyes full access to her breasts as she held out her hand for the sun screen. Harm swallowed hard, twice, before he said, "Uh... sure, and stood up before kneeling beside her as she turned on to her stomach. Harm dribbled some sun screen on to her back and then almost tentatively he started to rub it into her soft, smooth, olive-toned skin. Contact with Beth's skin was cause for further arousal, as was the nearness of her totally exposed buttocks, covered only by a single thin strip of material that rose from the crevice between them to the string-like ribbon that formed the waist band of her bikini bottoms. He started at her shoulders, and as he slowly worked his way down her back, Beth turned her head towards him and half-opened her eyes to stare at the growing bulge that now tented his swim shorts and was so near, yet still so far from her grasp, Becoming aware that he had stopped his ministrations at the small of her back, she craned her head around to look up at him and said, "Keep going, please Harm, I really don't want to suffer from a sunburned six for a four hour flight back up to Leeseburg."

Harm blinked the perspiration out of his eyes. This was worse than torture, this was cruel and unusual punishment, but she was right, it would be agony for her to get burned there, and the discomfort would last for days! Gritting his teeth he rubbed more sun screen onto his hands and then gingerly started to coat her buttocks. God, they were so firm and taut! He knew that Beth spent a lot of time on board in the gym, using the treadmills and cycling machines, but he'd never appreciated the effect that her exercise regime had worked on her body. The feel of those muscular hemispheres under his hands was adding to his arousal, which had now become extremely uncomfortable and demanded relief in some form or other. Rushing the oiling of her legs, he muttered, "It's getting a bit warm, I think I'll take a quick dip to cool off!" Limping as fast as he could across the sand he waded into the water and gasped with relief as the water cooled and reduced his erection. A five minute swim reassured him that everything had returned to a more normal state of affairs, and he was able to return to his lounger with a nonchalant grin, and shaking his head he managed to flick a scatter of cool water droplets onto Beth's warm skin, causing her to squeal in mock annoyance and turn onto her side to glare up at him. Her move caused her breasts to come into view again, and to his dismay Harm once more felt his prick beginning to stir.

Beth had watched him make his way down to the water's edge, her amusement threatening to burst out in full-throated laughter, and it was only by biting hard on her thumbnail that she had prevented herself from doing just that.

Her reaction to the shower that Harm had inflicted upon her had been no mere reflex but an instant response with the aim of deliberately exposing her breasts to him at even closer range than before.

Waiting until he had settled back on his lounger, Beth said, "You'll need to mind your back too, Harm. Shall I oil it for you?"

Turning on to his stomach Harm realised would be a perfect method of hiding his arousal until it had subsided, but an unprotected back in this sunlight would definitely burn, and although his six was covered, he still didn't relish the thought of reddened blistering skin. "Yeah, thanks Beth, that would be great."

Beth however, rather than kneeling by his side swung her leg over him and straddling him, knelt on the lounger, and sat on the small of his back, where he instantly became acutely conscious of her body weight pressing her mound, unprotected save for that tiny triangle of almost nonexistent cloth into the skin of his back.

She dribbled oil onto his shoulder blades and leaned forward using the weight of her upper body transmitted through her arms to massage the oil into his muscles, leaning forward as she did so that her nipples just barely grazed the skin of his back. The movements she made as she rubbed the sun screen in to his skin were so similar to those she made while riding a lover that she felt herself becoming aroused, and felt the heat and moisture gathering in her crotch and was sure that Harm too must feel them on the bare skin of his back.

Harm could feel the wet warmth and his arousal now knew no bounds, with a grunt he turned over, spilling Beth on to the sand and only by extending his arms did he prevent himself from crushing her with his weight. He looked down into her eyes and saw that they were as glazed with lust and desire as his own must be, and dropping his head he mashed his lips into hers, his tongue attacking her lips, probing, demanding entrance.

She parted her lips with a gasp and bucked her hips up to his, feeling his rigid prick through the two thin layers of cloth that prevented penetration. Their tongues duelled, each exploring the other's mouth, in a frenzy of desire.

"Beth!" Harm gasped as he disengaged his lips from hers.

"Oh, God, Harm! Yes!"

He lowered his mouth to her left breast, circling the nipple for an instant with his tongue before sucking as much of her into his mouth as he could, while gently pinching her other nipple until both had peaked into stiffened nubs, and then kneeling, he placed his hands on the waistband of her bikini bottoms, and as he pulled so she lifted her hips to allow them to slide down her legs. As her feet were freed she opened her legs and let her knees drop to the side, fully revealing her entrance and allowing Harm to lean forward and place his hands under her buttocks while he drove his tongue deep into her, savouring the sweet, salty taste of her before he raised his lips and tongue to her bud and licked and sucked at it, teasing until she writhed against him raising her hips to mash her moistness against his face as she squirmed and gasped her release. Once again Harm relinquished his possession of her and kneeling stripped off his swim shorts, revealing to her the full size and hardness of his prick. Her eyes smoky with lust and the desire to please him, she sat up and pushed him to the ground so that he lay flat on his back, and then she leaned forward and took his prick in her hand gently stroking him, using her thumb to smear the little drop of his clear pre-cum over his cock's head, before dropping her head to circle the tip of his prick with her tongue before opening her mouth and easing it down over over his length, and sucking gently while using her tongue to lick and swirl around his shaft, to tease and tantalise, and all the time smoothly moving her mouth up and down his shaft while continuously making a humming noise deep in her throat.

God, he tasted so good, and he felt even better, warm and cool at the same time, and he felt like solid wood, but covered in soft, smooth, silky velvet. Impossible as it might be, his prick seemed to be growing even and longer and thicker in her mouth, and she suppressed her gag reflex to take him even deeper into her throat. She felt him, not just his prick, but his whole body quiver, and the knowledge that she was the cause of his sensations brought about a renewed flood of moisture in her centre, sliding her free hand down her stomach, she moved it further down, cupping her mound and dipped two fingers into her core, wetting them and then gently rubbed the lips of her pussy, moistening them in anticipation.

The combination of licking, sucking, manipulation and the vibrations from Beth's humming were too much for Harm to be able to withstand for more than a few minutes. He gasped for air under her ministrations and then groaned, "Beth! I'm going to.." but she kept her mouth firmly in place as he orgasmed into her mouth, pumping his hips up once, twice, on each rise filling her mouth, as she swallowed his seed, clamping her lips firmly around his prick preventing any leakage so as not to lose a drop of his semen.

She collapsed on top of him, offering her mouth to him as he raised his face to hers, each of them tasting themselves on the other's lips

"Oh God Beth! that was too quick. I wanted to be inside you when I came..."

"I wanted you there too, Harm, but we still have plenty of time... Come." Then realising what she'd said she broke into a chuckle as she stood and taking his hand in hers, led him back to the house, to bed.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Harm let Beth lead by the hand back towards the house until just as they reached the steps, she let go of his hand and bounded ahead of him, pausing with one foot on the top step, the other raised on the porch deck and then slowly bent to pick up her bikini top from where she'd dropped it before she joined Harm on the loungers. As she bent she looked back over her shoulder well aware that her position left the moist folds of her pussy fully exposed to Harm's eyes.

Harm swallowed hard, this was incredible. Less than five minutes after Beth had drained his balls into her mouth this flagrant display was already causing his prick to swell. Beth straightened, looked meaningfully down at his groin, grinned wickedly and said throatily, "Oh, I do like a man with quick reactions."

Harm started up the steps towards as she backed away; catching up with her at the door he took her in his arms and pushed her into the cool shade of the interior, spinning her until he had her trapped between his body and the wall. His mouth plunged onto hers, his tongue demanding entrance; entrance which she gladly permitted, his hand rose from her hip to cup her breast, his thumb gently flicking her nipple making her moan softly into his mouth. The sound excited him even more, and his cock grew even harder, but as both his hands dropped to cup her buttocks and he tensed to lift her into position, she broke off the kiss and placing her hands flat against his chest, she pushed him gently away.

Seeing the look of confusion in his eyes, she smiled and said, "Patience is a virtue, Harm; try and be virtuous... for a few more minutes..." Extending her hands to him she took hold of his and backed away again, feeling the heat of his gaze as his eyes swept her body, her nipples growing harder and breasts beginning to ache slightly, and the moisture beginning to seep between her thighs. God, she needed him inside her, and soon! But today it had to be on her terms! Backing through the door into his bedroom she led him toward the bed and then once again stepped forward into his embrace, locking her hands on the side of his head to pull his face down towards her so that they might again kiss. Again open mouth met open mouth, tongues fenced with each other, both of them certain that they could still taste themselves on the other's lips.

Beth broke from his mouth, nipping his lower lip as she did so, and then hooking an ankle behind his for extra leverage she pushed him so that he lost his balance and fell back on the bed. As he landed Beth pounced, landing astride him, her knees pressed against the side of his hips and her wet, hot pussy grinding on his erection. Harm raised a hand for a second time to adjust their position, but again she stopped him, and leant forward to kiss again, this time her mouth demanding access to his. Again tongues met in a frantic dance. As in all their kisses so far there was no gentleness in this kiss, just an urgent, demanding, all consuming passion, that left them both panting and with bruised lips. Again Beth was the the first to break off the kiss, sitting up just so far that she was leant over Harm, her hands pressing his shoulders back against the bed, she spoke, her voice so husky it was a cross between a purr and growl, "Harm, do you trust me?"

Harm looked up at her his eyes glazed. Of course he trusted her, she was his GIBS, his RIO, his Skates, his Beth; every time they flew they trusted each other with their lives, "With my life," he gasped truthfully.

"Good!" Beth again leaned forward, but this time, instead of lowering her face to his. She moved her hands to his arms and then slowly pushed them until they were above his head, her breasts invitingly near his mouth. Straining his head upwards, he took one of her already erect nipples in his mouth rolling it between his lips , sucking on it and gently, so very gently, nibbling it, causing sparks of electricity to race straight from Beth's nipple to her clit, and causing her to groan deep in her throat as she reared up, dislodging her breast from his disappointed mouth before she suddenly wrapped the cords of her bikini top around his wrists and looped the other end around the rail of the old-fashioned cast-iron bedstead.

Looking down now into his startled eyes, she whispered, "Relax sailor, this is all for you." Still sitting with his erection trapped between her pussy and his belly, she gently and slowly worked her hips, gently massaging his cock with her moistness, and again bending forward she dropped little butterfly kisses of his forehead and then as he closed his eyes, on his eyelids, before turning her attention to his earlobes, nibbling them both in turn and following on with little nibbling kisses down his jaw-line, sucking his lower lip between hers before again nibbling gently on it.

She continued her journey down the length of his body, her erect nipples just grazing the hair on his chest, sending more shivers running through her as mouth continued on its planned route, down the column of his neck, pausing to bite gently where it joined his shoulder, and then on down over the flat planes of his chest, heading for his tiny flat nipple. She fastened her mouth over the nubbin of flesh, licking, sucking and nibbling on it the same way he had done to hers, her hand moving to his other nipple, where she used her thumbnail to drag a lazy circle around it before taking it between finger and thumb and pinching it just hard enough for Harm to react. The sensations she was causing making him buck and thrust his aching dick up at her, desperately seeking to penetrate her, seeking release.

"Oh, God, Beth... you're killing me!" he gasped in protest.

"Oh, no," she growled, with a wicked grin, but her eyes still darkened and clouded, "that is just so not in my plans for you, Harm. We're just going to take this nice and easy. And remember, sailor, this is all for you."

Bending again to her task she trailed a further line of butterfly kisses down his chest, moving her body downward she released his cock from its imprisonment and continued her kisses across his abdomen and carefully avoiding and circling around his throbbing, twitching prick, with the point of her tongue tracing a molten path down his right thigh, stopping only to raise her head with a devilish smile as she extended one finger and gently used the nail to graze the seam of his sac, Harm spasmed and nearly screamed at the sensation, and Beth smiled wickedly as she returned her attention to his leg, twisting his foot outwards to expose the back of his knee which she teased with her tongue causing further groans to escape between Harm's gritted teeth. Switching her attention to his other leg she plied her tongue to the back of that knee, again causing Harm to buck and rear his hips into the air. Beth waited until his writhing fell to a controllable squirm, before her tongue resumed its journey back up the sensitive skin of his inner thigh, leading inexorably to his sac, where to the accompaniment of yet more and even more intense groans she took each ball in turn into her mouth, kissing and sucking as Harm's gasps and moans rose in intensity. Stopping what she was doing, Beth raised her face to look in satisfaction at Harm's erect prick barely inches in front of her eyes, its tip almost purple and the whole length of it twitching as if it, independent of Harm, was blindly searching for release.

Leaning forward she extended her tongue, giving the engorged head a single swift lick, wringing a tortured "Christ! Beth! No!" from Harm's throat.

Beth fought to contain her own excitement, as she propped herself on one elbow and looked up the length of Harm's body. His face was contorted as he fought to control the sensations Beth was producing, and the veins on his neck stood out. He was more than capable of pulling free of the bikini strings she had loosely tied around his wrists. That he hadn't seemed to indicate that he hadn't thought of escaping, or, and her smile grew wider, he didn't want to escape. Reaching out a hand, she gently took hold of his cock, just below the head, between finger and thumb and squeezed gently but firmly and held her grip as to Harm's shocked disbelief his erection softened and failed, leaving his flaccid prick in her hand.

"Beth! I... I... can't believe you just did that to me!" he wailed, "Christ, Beth, my balls are about to burst!"

"Patience Harm, just be virtuous for just a moment more; I haven't finished yet." And leaning forward she slid her hands under his ass and cupped his butt cheeks, as she lowered her head to take his entire length into her mouth. Slowly swirling her tongue and gently sucking, she relished the taste of her own juices on his flesh, relished the feel of him swiftly growing back to his full length and girth, and again as she kept her nose pressed to his public hair, she was compelled to override her gag reflex and allow his cock entry into her throat. As he grew and stiffened in her mouth, she pulled one hand from underneath him and as she started gliding her mouth smoothly up and down his erection, she gently took the base of his prick in her hand and slowly moved her hand up and down. Harm gasped as her warm wet mouth consumed him and then gasped in shock as he felt a slim finger search for and find his anus, probing gently at the tight muscle. He jerked reflexively away from the intruding finger as a jolt ran through his entire body and protested, "God, Beth! Please...!"

Beth's free hand had turned its attention to her own body, her palm rubbing frantically over her pussy lips and her folded-in thumb exerting pressure on her clitoris. As Harm again begged her for release, she once more rose to her knees and straddled him, holding his cock steady only to be stopped by Harm's strangled, "Beth... wait... protection!"

"Got it covered - pill!" she replied hoarsely, as she finally sank down up him, taking his erection fully into her depths. Harm groaned in relief as her warmth surrounded him and he closed his eyes waiting for her to start the rhythmic movements that would grant relief and release to them both.

Beth still had other ideas. And Harm's eyes shot open in disbelief as instead of moving on him, she breathed deeply and alternately tensed her internal muscles and then released them, building up to a rhythm that still tormented Harm even while promising him relief. Beth could feel her own climax building as she tightened and loosened her muscles around Harm's dick. God, she'd seen him fully erect before she allowed herself to take him inside her, but she somehow had failed to realise just how much he would fill and stretch he, and just how good that felt. Biting her lips she leaned forward again this time to flick loose the bikini string on Harm's hands, before leaning back, right back her hands reaching behind her to grasp Harm's ankles, in the full knowledge that her landing strip wax would allow Harm full sight of her pussy rising and falling on his cock as she at last began to move up and down. As she rose and fell the angle of her body ensured that every time she sank down upon him the head of his prick rubbed against her G spot, driving her towards her climax. Her release was hastened as Harm took advantage of his freed hand to reach forward and rub the pad of his thumb at the very point of their joining. The dual stimulation of clitoris and G spot brought Beth to a wailing, shrieking release as Harm howled his own relief bucking his hips violently upward as he climaxed, shooting his sperm deep into her interior.

Beth fell to the side and they both lay for long moments immobilised by exhaustion soaked in their sweat and juices. Harm finally snaked an arm under Beth's waist and pulled her towards him, turning his head to kiss her softly. Beth smiled against his lips, a smile that Harm could feel, he pulled back from her and squinted down at her as she laid her head on his shoulder. "Why are you grinning like the cat that just ate the canary?" he queried.

Beth stretched luxuriously, "Meow," she murmured through her smile, and then said, "Do you remember, back in DC, when I told you that I'd sort of made arrangements to get down here, and you asked if I'd 'handled' you, manipulated you into agreeing to come down here?"

Harm looked closely at her, he had a feeling that a punch line was on its way, and that he was the probable target, "Yeah..." he replied cautiously.

"Well, I didn't exactly answer you... not because I didn't want to lie to you, but because at that instant," she said, dropping a hand to gently caress his cock, "what you had in mind by 'handling' and what I was thinking were two totally different things!"

Harm lay looking at her stunned for a moment into silence, and then Beth could feel it rising in his chest, until his chuckle broke out, rising to a shout of laughter. "Beth, you're so bad!"

She grinned up at him unrepentantly, "Oh, Harm, you have no idea!"

After a few more minutes of silence, Beth sighed, "The one drawback of exercise like this in this weather is that it gets so sticky..."

Harm howled in derisory laughter and Beth, to his great surprise, blushed and buried her face in the hollow of his shoulder. "Oh... that is so not fair! You know exactly what I meant!" she protested in a muffled voice.

"Yeah, I know," Harm admitted. "You meant that we were hot, sticky and sweaty, and that we really need to take a shower. But considering what we'd just done, it sounded so dirty... and so funny!"

His answer forced a chuckle out of Beth, "Yeah, I guess... but, is that how you see it, Harm... dirty, I mean?"

"God, no! Never! Beth, that was one... no... that was the most fantastic, mind-blowing, best ever!"

"Memorable, unforgettable?" she asked with a teasing note to her voice.

"Oh, God, yeah! Totally so unforgettable and something I'll always remember if I live to be a hundred and ninety!"

"Ah, see, I guess I'm like you after all," Beth said with a satisfied smile as she idly drew circles through his chest hair with a finger.

"Ah?"

"Yeah. I don't make promises I don't intend to keep." she replied smugly.

"Huh? What promise?"

"It's like I told you," she said, rolling off his shoulder on to her stomach and propping herself on her elbows, and quoting herself "'If I had jumped your bones, conscious or unconscious, you'd never forget it!'"

Harm looked at her blankly, and burst into laughter again, as he remembered their bantering in the hallway at Bethesda, "I thought you were just talking the talk, I never dreamed, ever, that you'd actually walk the walk! And I was right... you are _so_ bad!" But then as his laugh faded into silence, he sobered, "Was that what this, today, was all about? Just making good on a promise, on a brag?" His tone showed that he didn't like that as her reason.

Beth's eyes dampened, and she leaned forward to place a soft kiss on his lips, "Good God, no, Harm, no! Never just that. I've wanted this ever since you pulled me back up on deck and saved me from going through the _Seahawk's_ screws!"

"So this was just gratitude, or some kind of hero-worship, then?" Harm frowned, not liking that idea at either.

"No! Definitely not!" Beth was angered by the implication, but fought down her at times touchy temper, she did, after all, owe Harm some form of... rationale, "Harm, I've been attracted to you almost from the very start, even when you were interviewing me on the _Seahawk_, before the ramp strike, but every time I wanted to take it further, when I was in the DC area, you were involved with someone else, and then dammit, we ended up in the same chain of command and we were off-limits to each other, or you were defending me at my court martial and you were still strictly off-limits. Serving in the same ship, and then flying as your RIO was in some ways almost hell for me. And then, after... after we went down last week, I realised that if either of us had... had... well. Christ dammit, Harm, when I couldn't see your 'chute, I thought... I thought you'd... you'd gone down with the bird! And then when they brought you into sick-bay and you were so cold, Harm, so very, very cold, and you were going, I could feel you were slipping away, but I called you, and reminded you of your promise not to leave me, and you came back... and it felt like you'd come back for me, to me. If you hadn't come back we would never have had what we shared today, and I'd be damned if I was going to be dumb enough to miss the next chance. So, this is a chance, to show you how much I care for you... how much..." Beth's eyes were brimming with tears as the sick fear she had felt that night resurfaced.

Harm interrupted her with a finger laid across her lips. "Beth, don't say it, don't say it unless you really mean it."

"It's alright Harm; you don't have to say it back to me." Beth made a massive effort to bring her emotions back under control and managed a watery smile, "So, what say we stop this conversation right now? Before we sour a fantastic day." Beth rolled to the side of the bed, looked around for something to put on and then giggled, "Oops, looks like you were right after all Harm... I _am_ bad! I'm going to take a shower before we decide what to do for the rest of the day." She looked at him sidelong, the mischief coming back into her eyes, "If you ask nicely, I'll let you come and wash my back... if you promise to behave like a gentleman."

Harm chuckled ruefully, "Beth, after the work out you just gave me, I doubt I'll be able to be anything other than a gentleman for the next week!"

"Oh... I hope not, sailor. I have definite plans for later!"

An hour later, shampooed and showered, and according to Beth, much sweeter smelling, they walked out to the rental for the short drive to Ell Centro. Beth who had obviously dispensed with the services of a bra wore a rolled up sleeve white shirt knotted beneath her breasts that left the shape and colour of her nipples almost visible through the cotton cloth and with a bare midriff above a vibrant scarlet calf length skirt patterned with yellow flowers in a style that Harm thought of as typically Mexican or maybe Gypsy, as he remembered how similar it was to the skirt that Mac had worn during their chase across Russia. At the thought of Mac he smiled to himself, although he hated the idea of her being married to Brumby, he hoped that she was happy and that she was enjoying her honeymoon as much as he was enjoying this weekend with Beth, although somehow, he doubted that.

Beth cast a sidelong look at arm as she manouevred the SUV along the trackway around the side of the house and on to the access road. His crisply ironed pale blue short-sleeved shirt although comfortably loose fitting hinted strongly at the physique it covered and allowed her appreciative eyes to take in the solidly muscled arms below the shirt sleeves. It was worn above a pair of lightweight tan - not peanut butter - slacks, that were also comfortably cool and loose, although she'd checked that they didn't completely hide the shape his butt

The drive to El Centro took a little over twelve minutes and Beth had timed their arrival so as to be able to snag a parking space on what would soon be the shady side of the plaza. The plaza, the heart of the little settlement, owed much to its Spanish heritage, dominated by a squat white-washed church with heavy wooden doors and the typical short, stubby bell tower housing a single bell to summon the faithful to Mass, while the remainder of the buildings were fronted by a colonnaded walk, allowing shoppers and strolling tourists to stay in the shade as they passed the varied _tiendas_ that made up most of the buildings that fronted the plaza.

Beth and Harm strolled along the sidewalk, and it was soon obvious to Harm that Beth was known to, and apparently well liked by, the locals, both store owners and shoppers, as she was greeted numerous times with smiling variations of, "Hola, Señorita Hawkes, que tal?"

After a casual stroll around the plaza, which had somehow without their volition led to them being hand in hand, and which Harm guessed had taken about forty minutes, Beth tugged him into the shade of a posada, where she led him to a corner table, covered by a gingham red and white checked cloth, where they were immediately approached by a broad hipped and full breasted woman in her forties, who greeted Beth with a cheerful smile, "Hola, Hola Señorita Isabel, ¿cómo estás hoy, y lo que le gusta?"

Beth smiled and replied, "Hola Mamacita, una selección de pescado y verduras con arroz, por favor… ah, y dos cervezas, muy frío, gracias" and turned quickly to Harm, "I ordered for both of us, I hope you don't mind?"

Harm's west coast Spanish was rusty but he'd managed to get the gist of what was said and smiled teasingly across the table, as he shook his head, "My God, woman, is there no end to your talents?"

Beth's impish return smile sparkled with mischief and a promise, "Sailor, you ain't seen nothing yet!"

Harm swallowed as incredibly the promise in Beth's voice caused his cock to stir. "I hope that's not a threat, young lady?"

"Well... it might be... but only if you're not up for the challenge!"

"Oh, God... you'll be the death of me!" he groaned in mock dread.

Beth reached out and picked up his hand from where it lay on the table and raised it quickly to her lips to drop a swift gentle kiss on it, "I told you earlier, that is not included in my plans for you this weekend!"

"Weekend?" Harm mock-protested in a frightened voice, "I thought you said today! I'm not sure if I could survive another two!"

"Well... you're stronger than you look... and I am feeding you up!" Beth pointed out as the proprietess returned to the table bearing a loaded tray on which were several dishes, cutlery and crockery as well as two tall, brown bottles, each with a collar of ice on the shoulders and beaded with moisture.

It wasn't surprising, Harm told himself that he was hungry, the workout that Beth had put them through had certainly sharpened his appetite, and the fish - God knew what species - served with the delicately saffron-flavoured rice was sweet-fleshed, while the platter of mixed vegetables had been steamed to perfection. And the beer - God and all his Saints above he'd nearly spluttered out loud as the first sip hit his mouth - he'd never tasted beer quite so cold. All in all it was a more than satisfactory meal. Replete, Harm sat back and pushed his plate away from him, and swallowed the last mouthful o his beer. Cocking an inquisitive eyebrow at Beth, he asked, "What's next on your personal agenda?"

"Well, after this little lot," she replied slowly and thoughtfully indicating the remnants of the meal, "we really ought to take a little exercise." Her eyes flashed up to his and he saw the laughter in them.

"Uh... what sort of exercise?" he queried cautiously.

"Oh, nothing too strenuous, just another circuit or two around the plaza," she suggested solemnly.

For a second Harm was thrown off balance, he had not expected that. Then he saw the grin that she was desperately trying not to let through. "Beth..." he warned her, "Remember what they say about payback..."

"Yeah, yeah, promises, promises," she scoffed.

"Yeah, promises," He paused and looked at her slyly, "And remember too, that I don't make promises I don't intend to keep."

Beth felt her heart jump. There was a serious note underlying his teasing manner and for a second she wondered if the crafty pilot turned lawyer opposite hadn't dreamed up some sort of appropriate retribution for the way she'd deliberately teased and goaded him into action on the beach, and then afterwards on his bed.

Their second stroll around the plaza found them hand in hand from the moment they left the posada, Beth surviving a second barrage of greetings, as they strolled. Drawing level with a leather goods shop, Beth tugged Harm into its cool interior, and inspected a couple of wide leather belts, trying one of them on over the waistband of her skirt and turned to Harm saying, "Well?"

Harm saw that she had cinched the belt as tight as she could comfortably bear it and was reminded again of the trimness and tautness of her body as he saw that her bare midriff betrayed no sign of constriction, and he smiled and said "Yeah... that is you. It definitely is!"

Beth was on the verge of accepting the compliment at face value when she heard the throatiness in his voice and turning towards him she raised one eloquent eyebrow in doubt but Harm's face was perfectly bland. Now even more suspicious Beth made the decision to try and knock him back off-balance. As far as she was concerned, he was getting far too confident, and for just a second another small secret smile bloomed on her lips;she had just the way to achieve her objective. Paying for her new belt, she led Harm back to the parked SUV, which even though it had been in the shade was still uncomfortably warm when they climbed into it. Staring up Beth headed back for the beach house, turning up the air conditioning to maximum. It wasn't more than a minute or two before she felt her nipples harden in the chill and out of the corner of her eye saw Harm's appreciative smile, as she nonchalantly tugged at the knot securing the opening of her shirt, allowing it fall open and expose most of her breasts, and apparently disregarding his watching her, drew her skirt up well over her thighs as if to let the cool air circulate there also. She drove on in silence for a minute before she stretched out her right hand and grasped Harm's left, turning to look at him for a moment with a smile before turning her attention back to the road, and then deliberately taking Harm's hand and placing it at the junction of her thighs.

As she led his hand towards the junction of her thighs Harm realised what Beth was about to do and schooled himself to remain impassive as he anticipated her placing his hand on her cotton covered mound, but when his hand met crisp curly hair and moist warm flesh he nearly exploded with shock and snatched his hand away as if he'd been burned and then burst out laughing.

"Christ, Beth! Goddammit! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" he demanded through his laughter, "When the hell did you slip those off?" Then the realisation struck him. She hadn't been out of his sight from the moment they'd left the beach house, which meant... "God Almighty, Beth! Have you been commando the whole time we've been out?"

The grin she turned on him was pure deviltry, "Yep! Sure have!"

Harm grinned in turn and shook his head in wonder.

Parking the SUV alongside the beach house, Beth opened up the doors windows and shutters once more, before casually stepping out of her skirt and shrugging her shirt of her shoulders, once again leaving herself magnificently nude. "Why don't you get rid of those rags and join me on the beach, Harm?" she suggested innocently.

Harm looked at suspiciously, "No tricks, this time?"

"Nope, none at all", she assured him, "Scout's honour!"

"H'mm, are you sure you were ever a scout?" he queried.

"Well... no... actually I wasn't. But I promise I won't jump your bones again this afternoon, and no tricks, no teasing."

"Sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," she grinned, "I want you fighting fit for tonight."

"Be careful what you wish for," he told her as he pulled his shirt off and dropped his pants and boxers, "you might just get it."

Although comfortable with being nude in front of Beth, and despite his knowledge that it was a private beach at the head of a secluded cove, Harm couldn't help feeling just a little self conscious and vulnerable as he walked down the beach alongside Beth.

Reaching the loungers, Beth was about to lie down, when she had a thought. "Fancy taking a quick swim now? Rather than getting all oiled up, then going for a swim and then having to oil up again?"

Harm considered her suggestion, and nodded, "Sounds like a plan," he agreed as he held out a hand to her.

The water seemed warmer than it had this morning. Beth explained that the entrance to the cove was guarded by a sandbar which although submerged at high tide, acted as a dam as the tide ebbed, trapping water in the comparatively shallow cove and allowing the sun to warm it. That, she said, according to family legend was one of the reasons why Great Granddaddy Bunyamin chose the site to build the beach house. Harm nodded his appreciation of her ancestor's acumen and relaxed back into the water.

"OK, did you just want to splash around, or did you want to try and work on your water confidence?" he asked her.

"Well... the thing is, Harm, I don't like putting my head under water. I know it's dumb, and we have to do it in the tank, but, it... it scares me. I've tried, but I'm just not comfortable. I know it's dumb and stupid and and silly and being a scaredy cat..."

"No, Beth, it's none of those. Come here," he held out his arms and she walked into them as he stood, letting her head droop into the hollow of his shoulder. If you don't want to do this, then guess what? Hey. That's cool. You are one of the bravest people I know. Despite being scared when we did that tailhook thing, and when I told you to punch us out, you did as you were ordered; you did what you were supposed to do. And now you tell me you want to go back on carrier ops after all you've been through. Hell, Beth, there's not many guys with balls that size!"

"Really?" She looked up at him.

"Oh, yes, really, he agreed bending his mouth to hers and kissing her gently, but still probing with his tongue. She opened to him and their tongues swept over each other. But this time there was no urgency to the kiss, but a companionable sharing and a feeling of warmth and comfort.

Beth backed off and said shakily, "Wow. And wow again, but if we don't stop this right now, I might not be able to keep my promise..."

"Yeah, you're right. The longer we wait to regain my stamina, the better I'm going to make it for you, this time."

The promise in his voice made her shiver in anticipation and she felt her nipples, already stiffened by contact with the water grow harder and tighter.

Reluctantly they left the water and made their way back to the loungers, where Harm kicked his nearer to Beth's so that as they laid down he could reach out and hold her hand once they had finish applying the sun cream to themselves. After a half hour so Beth said softly, "Harm?"

"H'mm?"

"Do my back please?"

"Beth..."

"No, it needs doing and so does yours. I promise to behave myself... if I can."

"And if I can't?"

"Well... we can either ignore it... or there's that squeeze..."

Harm winced in memory of 'that squeeze', he'd never heard of it or the effect it had. "Yeah, about that squeeze, thing... where did you learn about that? I'd never knew about it, and it _is_ my dick"

Beth turned her head and looked at him sleepily, "Cosmo."

Harm chuckled, "That damn magazine ought to be sold in a plain brown wrapper!"

"I didn't hear you complaining about the rest of the tips I picked up from it!" she grinned.

"And which ones were those, Beth?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out," she told him, barely managing not to burst out laughing at the suspicious pout on his face.

"Funny," he commented sourly

"I wasn't being funny; I was being cute," she defended herself.

"OK, cute works better for me. Now roll over and let me at that cute six of yours!"

"Hey! No funny stuff!" she retorted through her giggle.

Harm did have to bite his lip and concentrate to prevent his erection from rising again as he smoothed the sun cream into her butt, marvelling again and their muscular firmness. To his eyes they were perfect, rounded yet slim and merging with the muscles of her thighs without any interruption to their smooth flawless lines.

Beth had had turned her head to the side and looked back under her arm at him as he had worked on her ass and had seen his cock twitch more than once. So as he finished smoothing the last of the cream into her butt, she looked up at him and smiled, "Well done, Harm. Impressive control there."

He smiled sheepishly, "Well... yeah... it wasn't so hard."

"I noticed," she chuckled again

Harm's forehead wrinkled as he re-ran the last few seconds of conversation. And then the creases cleared as he flashed his mega-watt grin at her, "Oh, you are bad. And you are so going to pay for that crack!" he warned her.

"Yeah, yeah, prom..." and she stopped abruptly as the quality of his smile altered and his eyebrow arched, and the breath caught in her throat. Oh damn, he is so gorgeous, he could do anything he likes with me. "Just... just be gentle with me, OK?" she whispered in a tremulous voice.

"Beth," he said, leaning to drop a gentle kiss on her shoulder, "I would never, never hurt you."

Harm returned to his own lounger, and they lay holding hands until the sun started its rapid descent in the west. Beth sighed, "Come on Harm, time to go, time to cover up before the mosquitos eat us alive."

They rose and Beth picked up the towels, replying to his question, "Oh we can leave the loungers out here, they'll be plenty safe.

They strolled again hand in hand and still naked back up to the house, where Beth suggested that they both cover up against any flying intruders, and taking her home turf advice Harm pulled on a pair of slacks and a long sleeved shirt and waited in the main room for Beth to join him. They squabbled amicably over the choice of ingredients and the type of dressing as they jointly prepared a warm chicken salad which Beth served with plain, fresh home-made tortillas and a bottle of nicely chilled crisp Muscadet.

Dinner finished along with half the bottle, they stand together shoulder to shoulder as they wash the plates and dishes, and then as they dry their hands, Harm turned to Beth and cupping her chin in his hands he tilted her face up and kissed her gently, but as they had kissed standing waist deep in the sea-water, his tongue gently robed, asking for permission to enter. Beth moaned gently against his mouth and her lips opened to him. Once again their tongues engaged in a slow, sensual dance until the need for air broke them apart. Harm held out a hand, "It's my turn to lead you to bed, Beth."

He walked her into his, now their, bedroom and kissed her gently again, before turning his lips and teeth to her earlobe as he sucked and bit it gently, brining a gasp from her as her nerve ending tingled throughout her body, and then he brought his lips down to the pulse point at the base of her neck and sucked and again nibbled gently. Beth's breath stopped for a second and she felt her knees threaten to fold under her, "Oh... please, Harm..."

"Yes?" His voice was soft in the evening twilight.

"Please. Don't... please don't torture me..."

"Hush... hush, sweetheart... it'll be fine. OK?"

"M'mmm"

His fingers now busy with her buttons he opened the shirt and slid it back off her shoulders, allowing it to fall to the floor, before he bent his head and in turn gently kissed her darkened nipples feeling them grow harder and stiffer under the gently pressure of his tongue and lips.

Beth groaned softly and started on his shirt buttons, removing his hands from where they stroked and gently kneaded her breasts so that she could pull the sleeves of the garment free, and as it fell to the floor , her hand went to the button at the waist band of his slacks, where running her hand down his zipper she could already feel his rigid cock as it strained against the material, unzipping his pants so they collapsed down his legs and puddle at his ankles she found that he too had dispensed with his boxers and his dick sprang free; free for her to hold and stroke. To her disappointment he backed away, removing her hand and saying, "Not this time, Beth. This time it's all about you."

Stepping out of his slacks, he lifted her onto the bed, her hands going to the fastening of her slacks while his took hold of the waistband. Beth arched her hips clear of the bed as he tugged her slacks down over her legs, proudly exposing her moist centre to his hungry eyes. Her slacks thrown to the other side of the room, he lay down beside her, gently kissing her, keeping the pace of their love play slow; his hand covered her mound, as his mouth traced a path from her lips to her other ear lobe, and then again via the pulsed point in her neck to the V of her collar bones, his middle finger stroking her pussy lips, in a slow up and down motion coaxing her to more moisture, as his lips once again closed over a nipple, he allowed his finger to become more demanding seeking entrance to her depths, she shifted slightly, opening her thighs a fraction to let his probing finger even deeper inside her. As he turned his attention to her other breast, licking around the nipple with slow lazy stroke of his tongue, he slipped a second finger inside her to join the first, and then curling them up, he reproduced a 'come hither' motion each contraction of his fingers probing her G spot. Beth's breath came faster and faster and her hips started to squirm under the sensations the combined action of his tongues and fingers were having.

"Oh, shit! Harm! I'm coming! I want you! I want you!"

Harm increased the pace and pressure of his fingers inside her, "That's it Beth, come for me, come for me, that's right!"

As Beth cried out her climax, Harm continued his come hither action with his fingers and then used his thumb to circle and apply pressure to her bud, gently rubbing it up and down. Beth had hardly started to come down from her first climax when another shuddering orgasm had her crying his name over and over as she shuddered, her thighs clamping around and capturing his hand.

Harm withdrew his fingers from her pussy as he crawled to the foot of the bed and taking her ankles in his hands he spread her legs so that he could look up the length of them at the soaking lips of her core and of the moisture that glistened on her thighs. Starting at her knees, he licked her clean, savouring the taste of her juices on his tongue, and holding her hips in his strong hands to prevent her from throwing him off her as he neared his goal. Using the flat of his tongue, he raised her buttocks in his hand and licked her clean from the crack that sheltered her anus up over her lips and over the hood of skin that protected her sensitive clitoris, until the last vestige of her juices had been washed away, he then blew a stream of cold air over her saliva-moistened thighs and pussy causing her to shudder and whimper, before he gently parted her lips and worked his tongue into her depths, swirling it around to capture any last drops of her juices.

As she lay panting, he gently introduced his two fingers into her for a second time, smiling appreciatively as her inner muscles clenched around them, remembering how she had used them on his cock earlier that day, before he dipped his head and now with the point of his tongue concentrated on licking, kissing, teasing, sucking and nibbling her sensitive bud, and then as his lips closed over it, he recalled what she had done for him and started a deep humming noise in his throat, his lips transmitting those vibrations to her most sensitive organ. provoking Beth into a wordless wail as he drove her to her third orgasm,

"Oh... oh... Harm... now Harm, I want you inside me!"

"In a moment, sweetheart, in a moment," he promised her as he straddled her and shuffled up the bed towards her, poising his cock in front of her mouth, "Gently, easy does it," he cautioned her as she lay looking at him with lust-darkened eyes, "I want to come deep inside you, Beth, OK?"

Beth nodded and raised her head as he supported it with his hands and she took his dick into her straight into her mouth, licking and sucking it until he strained to prevent himself from flooding her mouth, and regretfully withdrew. Once again he blazed a trail of kisses down her body, over her breasts and nipples until he lay between her thighs. Their hands met on his prick as they both positioned him at her entrance, and then slowly he eased himself into her, feeling her walls yield to his size and then as they adjusted. He lays till for a moment as she began to flex and relax her internal muscles until he picked up her slow, steady rhythm, and taking his weight on his elbows, he used his hands to capture her head and hold her still, his mouth came down again on hers, again his tongue probing and requesting permission to enter. Permission she granted freely and again their tongues joined in a slow sensual dance, and again each tasted themselves on the other's tongue and lips.

He rocked gently back and forth in time with her contractions until she began to whimper again under him and her hips began to squirm and writhe. Breaking their kiss he raised his upper body to arms length and began to increase the speed and depth of his stroke until as she began to buck under him he gritted his teeth and gave an inarticulate yell as his dam burst and he shot his semen deep into her as Beth clamped her thighs around his hips and joined in his wordless cry.

He collapsed to one side, both of them breathing heavily. As he recovered his breath Beth's face loomed over his and she kissed him gently, her eyes brimming with tears. "Oh God, Beth, I'm sorry, I didn't hurt you did?"I he asked as a flash of guilt ran across his face and he reach up to cup her cheek.

"No, no, Harm. I'm fine. Exhausted, but fine. I'm crying because I'm so happy."

He chuckled and drew her down to rest with her head on his shoulder. "Let's just lie still for a while and then we can get cleaned up."

"M'mm," she smiled as she squirmed into the most comfortable position she could find, "OK".

He figured they had been lying quietly for about half an hour when, "OK, sweetheart, let's hit the shower," he told her, but received no reply. Looking down he tilted her head just enough to see that her eyes were closed and breathing was soft and gentle. Oh, well, he thought, as he pulled a lightweight blanket over them if they'd showered tonight, they'd have had to change the bedding before they could sleep. Besides showering together in the morning when they were both rested could have its rewards


	3. Chapter 3

**Part 3**

Harm woke in the morning to the accompaniment of a feeling of warm, wet pressure on his cock and the dawning realisation that once again Beth had taken him in her mouth and was giving him a thorough but gentle blow job, her tongue swirled around his the length of his cock, and was then dragged over the head as she raised her head, occasionally quitting his prick while she slowly licked it from root to head before once again lowering her mouth over the tip to take in his whole length, all the whole barely grazing the seam of his sac with a finger nail.

Beth kept her eyes down concentrating on what she was doing, taking her time, loving the taste of him and the silken soft feel of his cock's head against her tongue, taking his whole length into her mouth and her throat, dabbing the point of her tongue at the tiny opening at the very tip of his cock relishing the faint taste of salt as the drops of pre-cum beaded, and then withdrawing it from her mouth, gazing lovingly at his prick as she teased it with fingers and thumb, and dropping her head to suck his balls. But although her whole attention was fixed on the iron-hard prick in her hands and mouth she knew the instant that Harm awoke.

Once again letting her mouth slide up his prick she let it go and raised her head an inch until the tip of his cock rested at the lower edge of her bottom lip, "Good morning, sailor," she said dreamily.

"G...g... good morning," he half-moaned, "Oh, Jesus, Beth... you're... killing me!"

"Mm'mm-m'mm," she murmured, his prick in her mouth again, as she shook her head. Her movements sent a new wave of sensations rocketing through Harm's nervous system.

"Shit!" he screamed, his hips arching upwards and his hands clenching the sheet into his fists. Beth barely had time to repress her gag reflex before the head of his cock seemed to be buried deep in her throat. She drew her mouth off his soaking, throbbing prick and smiled mischievously, "Hey, sailor, if you wanted me to deep throat you, you only had to ask."

"Christ, Beth," he panted, "I don't think I can..."

"Good!" she said emphatically and lowering her head she took his prick back into her mouth and returned to her smooth up and down movements, sucking and licking, while again her hand stole beneath his buttocks, her slim finger worming its way deep into his crevice and probing his anus.

The nervous jolt that Beth's prodding finger caused was the final straw, with a strangled, inarticulate cry Harm climaxed in a convulsion that thrust his prick once more deep into Beth's mouth his semen flooding into her throat as she clamped her lips around his cock, swallowing furiously, determined not to let a single drop of his juices escape.

"Oh... God...Christ Jesus..." he moaned as the last tremors of his climax died away, "What are you trying to do to me...?"

"Just taking the edge off, to get you ready for what's coming," Beth smiled up at him from where her head rested on his thigh, her dark eyes alight with laughter.

"Beth," he groaned, "I don't think I can stand much more just yet."

"Oh, that's a shame... I thought you were going to be good for another round or two, at least," she teased him. "Or do you need a helping hand?" and lazily dragged a ginger nail the length of his prick, watching twitch as it lay inches in front of her face. Then raising to her hands and knees she crawled up the bed to kneel on all fours over him as she lowered her head to kiss him, her tongue slipping into his mouth, before she sucked gently on his , drawing it into her own mouth where he could taste himself.

They lay entwined, their kisses soft gentle and slow, as he cupped her breasts and drew slow circles around her nipples with the ball of his thumb until they became as hard and as firm as pebbles. Meanwhile her hand curled around and softly stroked his dick, occasionally releasing her gentle grip to repeat her finger nail graze along its length, or to rub her thumb over its head, as it started slowly to swell and firm in her grasp. "There!" Beth smiled with satisfaction, "You're stronger than you think you are!" as she squirmed her way down the bed to take his prick into her mouth once more.

It was with disbelief that Harm felt his erection rise. He had never before ever managed two full hard-ons so quickly one after the other, but despite Berth's evident pleasure in taking him in her mouth, and as much as he loved the sensations caused by her skills, he wanted now to come in her body, "Beth! No! I... I... I want..."

"Ssh, Harm... I want the same thing," Beth told him, lifting her mouth from his cock, "that's why I made you come earlier. This is going to be a long, slow, ride. So, just sit back and enjoy it, cowboy." She grinned at him as placing her hands on his hips she raised herself up and swung her leg over him so that she straddled him in a kneeling position, both her hands now gently pumping his prick as she raised herself and then sank down on him, biting her lip as her pussy stretched to take him inside her until the whole length of his shaft was housed in her moist warmth.

As she had the previous day, Beth refrained from riding up and down on his prick, and contented herself for the time being with alternately flexing and relaxing her inner muscle, squeezing them around his shaft, and gasping slightly at the feelings she evoked in herself.

Her gasps were echoed by Harm who felt that the silky smooth walls of her pussy were milking him, threatening to draw his whole being up and out through his cock until all that he was was swallowed up in Beth's innermost depths. As she continued to sit and milk him, he felt his orgasm approaching and his breath started to quicken and his hips began to raise and lower as he sought relief.

His movements were the signal for Beth to stop clenching and unclenching her muscle and to sit perfectly still, grabbing his wrists as he reached for her hips to physically raise and lower him on his cock. "No," she said softly, gripping his forearms, "don't move, don't do anything. Leave this all to me, I'm going to make this last as long as we can, OK?"

Harm gazed up at her eyes unfocussed and tried to speak, finding that he had to swallow twice before he could find his voice. "Beth, this is... agony... I'm not sure..."

"Agony?" she queried with a mock-frown.

"God, yes! But it's fantastic agony!"

"Well, then, she smiled as she began contracting her muscles again, "shall we continue?"

Four times she brought them to the brink of climax before Harm saw the colour mount on the upper slopes of her breasts and rise to her face, and it was only then that she leaned back, again grasping his ankles as she started to rise and fall on his cock. Again Harm was treated to the unimpeded sight of her pussy lips sliding up and down his shaft as she rode him, deliberately seeking to bring the head of his prick into contact with her G-spot each time she lowered herself on to him. As her excitement increased she quickened the pace of her movement, further exciting Harm, whose hips were now plunging to meet her rise and fall; judging that his climax was nearing fast, he brought his thumb to where they joined, dipping it into her moisture before he rubbed it against her clitoris' hood. Only a few seconds of his thumb's friction was sufficient to send Beth into a gasping, moaning and weeping climax, as Harm for the second time that morning shot his semen into her, his orgasm signalled with a howl of triumph and release.

Beth collapsed forward onto his chest, her head falling naturally into the hollow of his shoulder. The two of them lay spent, Beth's arm stretched across his chest, her hand on his shoulder, while Harm gently rubbed his hand in circles on her sweat covered back. Slowly his hand ceased its movement as fatigue over came them and they fell back into sleep.

Harm was the first to wake, conscious of the weight of Beth's arm draped across his chest and of her head nestled into the hollow of his shoulder. He smiled wryly. What an idiot he had been. All the years of tip-toeing around, waiting for Mac to come to him as a lover, instead of just as a friend and as a shoulder to cry on as her relationships crashed around her ears. All the years of accepting fallback girls, of substitutes, when all the time he had been oblivious to the wonderful, warm and totally giving woman he now held in his arms. The woman who just yesterday had been about to say 'I love you', to him, until he had stopped her. Why had he stopped her, though? He knew he had difficulty in saying those words, but this was the first time he'd had to consider that he might have difficulty in hearing them. What had he been afraid of? He considered his, their, position, their circumstances. He and Beth were close, very close. The time they had spent together as aircrew meant that apart from sleeping in the same cabin they had spent virtually all their time together. In the six months they'd been pilot and RIO they had probably seen more of each other than most married couples saw in two years. Each knew what the other liked to eat, what movies they enjoyed, what music they each preferred, how they liked their coffee, what books they read. They each knew when - if not always why - the other was troubled or unhappy. They sensed, without having to look up, when the other entered or left the room. Laughed at the same things - usually - they knew each other's repertoire of jokes and funny and embarrassing stories. They enjoyed playing and or watching the same sports, although they might not support the same teams. When it came to football for instance, Harm was a dyed in the wool Chargers supporter, while Beth, for some inexplicable (to him) reason was a rabid fan of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Alright, he didn't actually despise the Buccs, but he couldn't help feeling sorry for them. And... he paused for a moment... yes, he did love Beth, but he wasn't quite clear yet on the nature of that love and until he was, he couldn't say those three little words, and he didn't want to hear Beth say them to him until and unless he could repeat them back to her, or better yet say them first.

He was still wrestling with his thoughts when he became aware that Beth had awoken and was now looking up at him her dark, dark eyes filled with tenderness. He smiled down at er, and rolling over so that he was above her, he lightly kissed her forehead before he moved to the tip of her nose and then down to her lips which opened to meet his. Their kiss was gentle, tongues gliding over each other, seeking and giving companionship and not ravaging each other in a fury of passion.

Somehow he maintained that low level as he kissed his way down her throat, lingering to nip her gently where her neck rose out of her smooth shoulder, and then on trailing butterfly kisses down and along her collar bone , stopping again to place an open mouth kiss on her throat, dampening the skin with his tongue as she shivered in response. Down then to her breasts, each nipple in turn lovingly and gently tongued, kissed and nibbled, causing Beth to shudder again, and then on further down, butterfly kisses down to her stomach where the tip of his tongue circled her navel before dipping in to that delicate little hollow, tasting her sweat that had gathered there.

Beth lay quietly shivering at each kiss and each lick as he slowly, oh so very slowly made his way down her body, the intervals between his kisses growing long, or so it seemed to her a she waited with trembling flesh for the next time his lips and tongue touched her skin. She gasped quietly and bit back a moan as his tongue dipped into her navel a second time. If she had tormented him with her mouth earlier, he was making her pay for that teasing now. She could have wept with frustration when he abandoned her body to grasp her ankles and spread her legs apart, at the same time pushing her feet towards her body so that her knees bent, leaving her pussy, still glistening with their combined juices, fully exposed to his eyes, mouth hands and cock, but to her frustrated disappointment, he dropped his first kiss on the sensitive flesh of her inner thigh, and just as she was tensing to receive him at her centre, he kissed his way down her thigh, and then raising her leg lovingly kissed and licked the even more sensitive skin behind her knee, leaving her whimpering her need before he repeated the same procedure on her other leg, and slowly worked his way back up her thigh dropping little kisses, licks and sucks every inch or so as he made his way to her apex, but his kisses stopped short of her folds now soaking with a fresh rush of her juices, diverting his mouth to bestow yet more gentle kisses on her mound just avoiding her moist and tender core. Beth groaned in an agony of impatience and her right hand moved to her mound, her fingers searching for her lips and her clitoris, screaming "Christ Jesus, Harm! No! No!" as he reached up and seized her wrist gently preventing her hand from giving her the relief she craved so desperately.

"Oh, yes, yes," he told her just before he took pity on her and gently ran his tongue up along the lips that guarded her core.

"Oh! Shit! What the...!" Beth wailed, as he licked her thighs and belly clean, and then gasped as she realised exactly what he was doing, "Harm... there... there's still a lot of you..."

Harm smiled and shook his head to show his disregard and gently using his thumbs, he opened her to his tongue, licking and sucking, working his way up to her clitoris, kissing sucking and nibbling it, before closing his lips around it and starting his deep throated humming again. On top of the teasing to which she had already been subjected it took only a very short time for Beth to scream and sob her climax as she writhed uncontrollably under his mouth. Her orgasm was the trigger for Harm to rear up over her, his prick having grown and stiffened to bone-hardness with his excitement as he'd kissed his way down Beth's body. Poising himself at her entrance he looked down at her, the question in his eyes. Still panting and quivering from the intensity of her climax Beth gasped, "Yes! Yes! Take me! Fill me!"

Harm filled her pussy with a single push, causing her to sob and gasp, arching her back to meet his thrust as she sobbed her willing acceptance of him. After the time and patience he had used to bring her to this pitch, he too was losing control and plunged and withdrew unrestrainedly time after time, Beth meeting each plunge with an upward thrust of her own, welcoming him, working her body to encourage his orgasm, until with a cry he sent another stream of his semen up and into her very centre, before collapsing totally spent on the bed next to her, still joined by his rapidly shrinking as he lay on his chest staring into her eyes, as lust glazed as his own at a range of no more than two or three inches, their panting breaths mingling in the confined space between their mouths. A space that disappeared as they recovered their breath and their lips met in a soft, passionless kiss.

"Well, Mr Rabb, I really think we ought to get off these sheets," Beth told him with a wicked look in her eye, "before we stick to them permanently. And, what's more, I don't know about me, but you could definitely use a shower!"

"Trust me Miss Hawkes, you definitely do need a shower! Or..." he paused reflectively and Beth cocked an inquisitive eyebrow at him, "We could just stroll down the beach for a bath, and then come back and just shower the salt away."

"Do tell... Yeah... it sounds like a great idea, but..."

"But?"

"Yeah, but. Before we spend any time on entertaining ourselves, our bodies aren't the only things that need cleaning."

"My mind is perfectly clean," he teased her, knowing full well that the state of their minds was not what she had meant.

"Oh, I doubt that" Beth sighed, "but what I meant was that I need to get these sheets into the washer, and then make the bed, so..."

"So we'll have somewhere fresh and clean to make dirty later?" he suggested.

"Well... that might be a possibility I suppose... No, I was going to say, so if we do it now, then we'll have the rest of the day free to do whatever we want..." Beth took a glance at his prick which still lay flaccid.

"Oh, Beth." He followed the direction of her gaze before he looked back up into her eyes, leaned in and kissed her softly, allowing just the tip of his tongue to flick once over hers. "If you think I'm going to be able to rise to the occasion anytime real soon, then I'm flattered, but you've grossly overestimated my powers of recovery."

"Is that a challenge to my feminine wiles and resources, Harm?" she grinned at him

"No, it's not," he answered regretfully, just managing to catch her hand before she took hold of his cock. "It is, unfortunately, a plain statement of fact. For now." He added meaningfully.

Beth sighed and teasingly said, "So much for promises..." as she slid out of bed. Standing she turned and tugged at the sheets. "Come on, sailor, rise and shine, show a leg. Harm! Come on, I really want to throw these into the washer!"

Mock grumbling, Harm rolled out of bed and said, "OK, division of labour: Show me where the extra bedding is, and I'll make the bed, while you take care of the laundry? Fair deal? And then we can go for a swim, but before I do anything else, I want to get rid of my morning breath and make a heads call!"

"Yeah, you're right. I think I'll join you!"

"Beth!"

"Oh, just in getting rid of the morning breath, Harm." She assured him with a wide-eyed and innocent look, before collapsing into giggles, "Harmon Rabb, you are such a prude!"

Harm flushed, it was not the first time he'd been accused of being such. "Am not, either!" he protested.

"Are too!" she shot back at him.

Casting a glowering look at look at her and gathering as much dignity around him as his nakedness allowed, harm stalked into the bathroom. Beth gave him a couple of minutes grace before she joined him at the washbasin where nudging him to one side with her hip she reached for her toothbrush. Then standing side by side and trying not to burst out laughing, they stood in front of the mirror watching themselves and each other clean their teeth.

The sheets bestowed in the washing machine and the bed freshly made with crisp, white linen sheets, Beth and Harm, still naked, having decided that clothing was unnecessary by this time and in this place, made their way down the beach, Harm still limping, although not as badly as before, and still using his cane especially on the soft, dry sand.

Beth took a calculating look at the water's edge and said, "It's only just high tide, Harm. This is going to be considerably cooler than it was yesterday afternoon!"

His first step into the water only served to reinforce the truth of Beth's observation. Gritting his teeth harm plunged forward in a shallow dive, and as his head broke the surface he gasped as the chill of the water struck him. For one frightening second he felt the added chill of fear as the memory of awful cold of his prolonged ordeal in the North Atlantic surfaced in his mind, but with a major effort of will he pushed the fear back down into the darkest recesses of his mind and turned to make sure that the cold water hadn't had the same effect on Beth. Beth had slowly bent her knees until her shoulders were submerged and then pushed off from the bottom, and exactly as she had done yesterday she swam stiffly, in an awkward breaststroke, her head held clear of the water and her eyes screwed nearly completely shut.

Harm looked at her worriedly. The way she was swimming now, she would never, could never complete her water survival tests, her 'dunkings' in the tank, and it was inconceivable that she would have done so in the past. It was becoming obvious to him that she _was_ still dealing with the fallout of that terrible night.

Concerned he stood up, the water no more than chest deep on him and walked shorewards towards her as she swam towards him. Catching her hands in his he waited to be sure that she could touch bottom with her feet before he said anything. "This isn't good, Beth," he said gravely.

"Wh... what do you mean ?"she asked.

"This... the way you are _not_ swimming..."

"I'm fine... it's nothing," she denied, but he noticed that she wasn't looking him in the eye as she spoke.

"No, Beth, no it's not fine, not really, is it?"

Beth tried to pull her hands free of his grasp, "I've told you, Harm; I'm fine, I'm OK. It's like I said, I just don't swim too good!"

For a moment Harm debated within himself, whether to accept her patently false assurance, or whether to push it. Drawing a deep breath he decided on the latter path.

"Beth, what's the most important thing in your life, right now?"

Beth flushed, "Well... uh... I guess that... you..."

"No, Beth, not who - what? What makes you get out of bed in the morning, glad that you are up and doing what you love to do?"

"Uh... flying."

"Yeah. Beth, how long do you think you can keep on flying?"

"Ummm... until I get too old, or I maybe fall out of love with it. But that's not going to happen any time soon... Like I told you, I've asked to be re-assigned back to a carrier."

"Or... until you fail a mandatory physical, psych or survival test..."

Beth gasped, "Why would I suddenly fail anything that I've always succeeded at before?"

"Because the way you're struggling in the water now tells me that a water survival test for you, if you took it today would be too much. Beth, right now, not only do I think that you wouldn't pass the test, I'm worried that you wouldn't even survive it."

"And what makes you think that? What makes you think you know anything about me, about the way I feel, about...?" Beth finally raised her flashing eyes to his. She was angry now, on the defensive, and she'd let her anger flare to cover her fear.

"Because, when I just dived into the water, and I felt the cold, I had to fight my own fear, and Beth, I've never been worried about the water before. So if it shook me, I had to ask myself how it was affecting you, and I was going to ask, but then I saw you in the water, and it looked to me like you were struggling."

The concern in his voice, as well as his admission of his own fear, broke through Beth's anger, and she allowed him to pull her close folding her own arms around his waist and letting her head drop on to his chest. "Shit, Harm, what am I going to do, I was a crap swimmer in the first place, and now, the water terrifies me. I haven't dared go out of my depth, just in case something goes wrong and I..."

Harm dropped a kiss on the crown of her head and rocked her gently to and fro, "I'm not sure, sweetheart, maybe you need to talk to someone..."

Beth lifted her head to look at him, he called me sweetheart, was her overriding thought, just now, while we're stood talking, not while we're making love, just while we were talking...

"Beth? Hello, Beth? Hey! Skates?"

"Uh?"

"What do you think?"

"About what?"

Harm realised that Beth wasn't exactly on the same frequency as he was, "Uh... Beth, I was saying that maybe you need to talk to someone, about the water thing?"

"Talk to someone?" she looked puzzled.

"Yeah... get some help... a therapist..."

"Harm, you know that if I go to a therapist, that'll put a stop on my career. Hell, they'll probably yank

my flight status..."

"Yeah..." Harm thought for a second, then a slow grin spread over his face... "Not if you went off the books..."

"You mean, go private? Harm, I can't afford that!"

"You may not need to; I might just know someone who might be willing to help..."

"Really?"

"Yeah... It'll have to wait until we get back to DC. But I've an idea that might help too... Beth, how much do you trust me?"

"More than I've ever trusted anybody else, before, why?"

Harm slipped an arm around her waist and guided her back towards the shore, stopping once the water was shallow enough to just reach Beth's waist, and then stepping behind her, but keeping contact with his hands just lightly touch her hips, he asked "Do you know the old total confidence in your partner demo, that used on us at flight school?"

"Yeah, where we took turns just to fall back and trust the guy that had our back would catch us?"

"'cause what I want you to do, is fall back so that you're floating on your back, and I'll be here to make sure you don't go under, OK?"

"OK, Harm."

"You ready?" seeing her nod, he used a catch phrase that he hoped would trigger the RIO's response, "Are you with me, Skates?"

"To hell and back, Hammer!"

"Good, girl, now let go!"

Beth drew a deep breath and hesitated for a moment, not because she didn't trust Harm, but simply because of the water. Then biting her lip nervously she let herself fall backward, reassured by the feel of Harm's hands as he let them slide up her ribs then under her arms to her shoulders, and then, as she felt the chill of the water penetrate her hair to her scalp, the comfort of feeling them support her head.

Harm watched carefully as Beth obeyed his instructions to tilt her head back, making sure that she didn't tilt so far as to cause the water to rise over her face. Despite his instructions to her to relax, he could feel, hell, he could see the tension in her neck muscle, but as her head tilted back far enough for her to be able to look up into his face, she tried a wavering smile through which he could see the fear in her eyes.

Keeping up a soothing sing-song of "relax, Beth, take it easy, nice and slowly, that's it, good girl," he backed slowly through the water very slowly towing her, watching carefully, a couple of times he misjudged his step and a wavelet broke over her forehead and ran down her face. The first time she coughed and spluttered and started to let her feet drop, but Harm's soothing voice asking her to focus and reassuring her that she was in no danger, that he wasn't going to let anything happen to her was enough to let tilt her head back once more, automatically bringing her feet back up to the surface.

Harm's rich voice, soothing, comforting, protective, slowly lulled her into a more relaxed frame of mind and apart from a splutter and spitting out a mouthful of water, and a slight re-tensing of her neck muscles which Harm again soothed away with his litany, she bore the mishap with much more equanimity than the first time. Harm had been on the verge of calling a halt, but rather than end the exercise on a down note, he continued to tow her slowly through the water for a further few minutes before saying, "OK, Beth, that's enough for now, sweetheart, feet down, and let's head back for breakfast."

Wading out of the still-cool water, Beth reached out and took his hand, smiling shyly up at him, "I guess you must think I'm some kind of goofball, huh?"

"No, not a goofball, Beth, just someone who's been through an experience she wishes she hadn't."

"Oh, I don't know," she grinned, her spirits recovering quickly, "at least I got a dry-run on jumping your bones, while you were out of it... and unable to distract me."

Harm stopped, turned and placed his hands on her hips, drawing him to he and then said softly, "Beth, you are incredible."

Beth looked up to ask him exactly what he meant just in time to have her mouth stopped with his. Sighing into his open mouth, she wrapped her hands around the back of his neck and returned his slow, sensual, kiss.

Breaking off for air, she glanced curiously down at his prick which was flying at half-mast. "Do you want to take that somewhere, or do you want a rain check?" she chuckled.

Looking down, he smiled ruefully. "Beth, this one of the times when the old saying is one hundred percent correct, 'the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak'. What say we get cleaned up, have breakfast and then decide what we want to do. But don't hold out any hope for storm clouds for a few hours yet."

Beth looked up at the clear, blue sky and then back at him quizzically, what on earth...? "Storm clouds?" she queried.

"Yeah, storm clouds," he answered straight-faced, "can't have any rain without storm clouds, and can't have a rain check without..."

"Clown!" she burst out laughing, and his smile spread across his face as her eyes lost the last of their shadows.

His slow smile was matched by her own broad grin as her laughter died, her eyes crinkling in amusement again, and taking his hand, they slowly walked back up the beach to the house.

They walked straight into the shower together and adjusted the water temperature to a comfortable level and once they were both wetted down from head to toe, Harm took Beth by the shoulders and turned her so that her back was to him and grabbed the bottle of shampoo, squirting a generous amount into his hand before starting to massage it gently into her soft hair. Intellectually he had known that her hair was long enough to need tying up into a bun when she was in uniform, but he had never really appreciated how long, luxurious and fine it was until this weekend. Harm continued to work the shampoo into her hair for a good few minutes while Beth stood still luxuriating in the feel of his fingers in her hair and on her scalp, unable to prevent little frissons of pleasure run through her body, and she was grateful for the stream of water from the shower head that ran over her breasts for providing a second, plausible reason as to why her nipples had puckered again, fortunately the tingling she felt in her lower belly didn't give itself away by any visible means, well not so far, but if that feeling spread any lower, she had serious doubts as to whether her knees would continue to hold her up.

Harm reach up and adjusted the shower head so that the stream of water now fell on her head, and still slowly massaging her scalp rinsed the shampoo residue out of her hair, making sure that none of the lather ran down her face and then as he was reaching for the shower gel, she interrupted him, "Uh-uh, conditioner."

Harm picked up the plastic bottle of conditioner and read the directions, simple enough it seemed. He readjusted the water flow so that once more it fell clear of Beth's head, squirted a glob of the slippery goo into his hand and once again massaged the substance into Beth's hair. "Make sure it's all the way through, please," she cautioned him.

"Yes, ma'am," he replied as he continued his massage, running his now conditioner-coated fingers, through her hair, but as he looked at the wispy bird's nest her hair now resembled he wondered how he was going to straighten it out for her, Then inspiration struck; dropping a swift, light kiss on to the pulse point at the base of her throat he grinned and murmured, "hold that thought" as she let out a soft moan, and slipped out of the shower and to the nightstand by his bed. Returning to the shower he took his comb and gently teased the tangles out of her hair, aided by the lubricating properties of the conditioner. By the time her hair fell in a silky smooth fall he was satisfied that it was tangle free the conditioner had been evenly distributed. Continuing the use of his comb he directed the water stream back on to her head rinsing the conditioner away until her hair in his hand felt squeaky clean.

Satisfied, he again reached for her vanilla scented shower gel and sponge, starting at her shoulders he worked the gel into a lather rubbing the sponge in circles down her back until he reach her butt, and then gently turned her around to lather her shoulders down to her collar bones before applying the sponge in long smooth unhurried strokes down her arms to her finger-tips, while Beth held her breath and quivered in anticipation, her nipples visibly tightening even more than they already had. The sight of her incipient arousal awoke a devil in Harm, and he smiled as he locked his eyes on hers, holding her gaze as he brought the sponge back to her body, rubbing it in circles around her ribs and across her abdomen and then up and down the valley between her breasts, ignoring both her whimpers of frustration and the pleading look in her eyes, until after a while he took pity on her state and he brought the sponge back up and slowly massaged the lather into her sensitised breasts.

Beth gasped, and her eyes rolled back as a wave of intense pleasure crushed her. Her knees buckled and she was forced to grab hold of Harm's muscular arms in order to stay on her feet. She couldn't believe what had just happened, this devil-man had just coaxed her to orgasm by massaging her scalp and then by the merest caressing of her breasts. Never, never before had any man, or even herself managed to produce such a sensation without even touching her pussy or clitoris.

Harm stood supporting her weight until her legs functioned again, and she leant back against the shower wall, "Oh, God, that was... unbelievable... how... did you know... how to do that?"

"I didn't," he smiled, pleased that Beth had come to a climax and happy that he was the one who had brought her to it. "I just went with what felt right... and from the look of things, I wasn't wrong"

"No..." she replied weakly, "you weren't... but I've never come from just that before..."

"So, do I get a good fitrep this year, ma'am?" he asked in pretended anxiety.

"Oh, outstanding, I'd say," she smiled, and reaching up pulled his head down to hers for another slow, sensual kiss, "But what about the rest of me?" she pouted when she finally let him go.

"I'll see to it right away, ma'am! If you'll be so good as to stand up again?"

Beth shot a mischievous glance downwards at him, "H'mm, maybe I should direct the same request towards..." she grinned mischievously, leaving her sentence unfinished, but her meaning abundantly clear.

"All in good time, ma'am," he assured her adding fresh shower gel to the sponge. He tried kneeling in front of her, but within seconds realised that the tiled shower floor was too hard to be comfortable, particularly on his injured right knee, so he quickly adopted a sitting position and spreading his legs, with his hands on her hips, he brought Beth to stand immediately in front of him, her mound just a little higher than his face. Taking the sponge he reached around her, bring her pussy almost in contact with his face and reached around her to rub the lathered sponge over her butt and then down the back of her thighs taking care that as he brought it to the very top of her thighs to stop his movement just before the sponge made contact with that tiny patch of soft and very sensitive skin between her pussy lips and her anus. Beth started shivering again, the teasing movements of the sponge so near but so carefully not touching her pussy set her juices flowing once more, her knees feeling weak again she leaned forward and placed her hands on the wall for support, looking down at Harm's face as he continued to soap each of her thighs in turn. His expression totally bland, it seemed to her as if he thought what he was doing was the most natural thing in the world when his touch was sending waves of pleasure and pain straight to her soul.

Abruptly abandoning the back of her thighs, almost as if he knew when she was about to scream with the agony of suspense, he brought the sponge around to the front of her left thigh, still moving it in rhythmic circles from her knee right up to her hip, and then swapping hands repeated the same movements on her right thigh, before turning his attention to the softer skin of the inside of her thigh. Now very gently rubbing the sponge in the tiniest circles imaginable, he once again brought it up from her knee to within an inch of her pussy, which now glistened with more than just water from the shower, before he brought it back down again this time all the way down to her ankle as he lifted her foot and propped it on his raised knee, opening her fully to his eyes, and oh please, she prayed, to his hands and his wonderful, wonderful mouth. Beth nearly screamed in frustration as he slowly brought the sponge back to within an inch of her centre before he gently replaced her foot on the floor before lifting her other foot in a similar matter and again meticulously sponged her leg down to the ankle and then with agonising slowness brought it back up, with those same tiny circles to the very junction of her legs, before dropping the sponge to the floor and grabbing her by her hips brought her pussy down on to his mouth, he tongue delving deep within her folds to lick and suck up her juice, before a mere half dozen flickering stabs of his tongue-tip on her clit sent her crashing over the top as she screamed her climax, her legs collapsing under her as his hands, still on her hips, supported her weight to allow her to sink bonelessly down, her legs astride his thighs, her arms going around his neck as she buried her face against his shoulder and sobbed and gasped with the release of tension.

Harm let her rest until her breathing had steadied, and then kissing her shoulder he murmured, "You gonna sit there all day, sweetheart, or are you gonna get up and let me make us some breakfast?"

Beth raised her still somewhat glazed eyes to his face and said softly, "Oh, you bastard. How... how the hell could you do that to me... how the hell did you do that to me?"

Harm softly passed his lips over hers and gave her a smile, "I dunno, really, it just seemed like a good idea at the time."

"Uh-huh. Well, now it's my turn. "

She dropped her hand to his cock, but Harm stopped her saying, "Not this time Beth. If I couldn't raise it for you while I was doing what I was doing, it's a sign from above that you've worn me out - temporarily. So any plans you might have for revenge, are just going to have to wait for that rain-check!"

Beth pushed herself to her feet, "Sonofabitch," she smiled taking the sting out of the insult, "Now I've gotta clean up again, he grinned and picked the sponge and raised an inquiring eyebrow. "Oh, no!" Beth said emphatically with a wry grin. "This time it's going to be strictly do it myself!" and then blushed, realising just how much Harm could read it to her innocently meant declaration; "Go on! Get outta here!" she commanded in an effort to hide her confusion.

Harm smiled, and although he had a variety of instant come-backs on the tip of his tongue he stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around his waist as he stepped up the washbasin and prepared his shaving tackle. As he lathered his face he again contrasted the difference he felt between his dealings with Mac and with Beth. With Mac it seemed that everything was a competition, not just in the court-room, but in their social and personal lives. It seemed that neither of them would, or could, allow the other to have the last word, whereas with Beth, it was different... there didn't seem to be any hidden agenda in her quips and jokes, he could relax around her and not try to analyse everything she said, worrying that it might be another attempt on her part to gain the upper, if not dominant hand, in their relationship.

Beth leaned back against the shower wall, letting the warm water run down over her face and body, how the hell did Harm manage to find and push so many of her buttons in just forty-eight hours. She had promised him that he would never forget it if she jumped his bones, but the question she now faced was, would she ever forget him jumping hers? Beth smiled wonderingly to herself as she lathered up the sponge, quickly cleaning the last traces of her climax from her thighs, before she stepped out of the shower and placing a towel on the bathroom chair, turned and sat to watch Harm carefully scrape the lather from his face, taking it with it his twenty four hour growth of beard. There was she thought, something incredibly intimate in watching a man shave. Strangely even more intimate than making love with him.

As Harm finished shaving she stood and folded her towel over the heater rail and held her hand out for his. By now totally unselfconscious about being naked around the house, Harm unwrapped the towel and made his way to the breakfast bar, wrapping an apron around himself for protection, as he placed a couple of part-baked mini-baguettes in the oven and started scrambling eggs, while Beth placed an assortment of fresh fruit on a platter, poured out two glasses of fruit juice and started the coffee maker.

Breakfast finished it took only a few minutes to police the kitchen area before Harm turned to her and said, "Well, young lady, any plans for the day?"

Beth looked at him solemnly, "First off, I owe you big time for the shower - and I'm not sure yet whether that's a good thing or not!" Harm's eyebrow flew to the top of his forehead. "And it's no good looking at me like that," she scolded him, "I don't know whether I love you or hate you for teasing me like that... although," she ended thoughtfully, "the finish _was_ pretty damn good!"

"Pretty good? Is that all? Damn it Beth! I'll have to try harder!"

She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his head down for her kiss, "I don't know..." she told him between kisses, "If I could...stand it... if you ever... tried any harder. And speaking of harder," she continued as her hand reached down to curl around his cock, "What's not happening here? have you gone off me, all of a sudden?"

"Definitely not," he replied kissing her back, "But like I told you earlier, you've temporarily exceeded my limits. Now, are you going to be a good girl, and let me rest? Or do you want to do something - other than that!" he admonished her as she started to giggle.

Beth leaned back against the support of his hands on her hips, "No... let's just go and grab some cosmic rays until it gets too hot... and then we maybe should follow local custom and have us a siesta."

"H'mm... well, just as long as there no tricks or teasing while we're out there."

"Why not?" she asked him lightly, stepping out of his embrace but extending a hand for him to take as she headed for the door "after all there's no-one there to see us - pity really"

"Beth!" he exploded in laughing protest as, despite her mournful pout, he saw the laughter in her eyes. but allowed her to lead him, still leaning on his cane, down to the loungers. Beth stooped and picked up the bottle of sun cream, from where it had lain on her lounger and squirting a dollop of the cream into her hand she briskly rubbed it over her arms and the front of her body and legs. Harm watched appreciatively as she did so, loving the way her nipples popped into firmness as her hands brushed over them, and then twisting she she worked more of the cream into each buttock in turn and then the backs of her thighs. It was while he watched this sight that he realised Beth was being far less sexual and sensual than she had been yesterday, and then the penny dropped, yesterday's sun-cream performance had been specifically for his benefit, for the purpose of getting him aroused.

"Minx!" he growled at her, causing her to stop what she was doing, and raise an eyebrow in question.

"That, he grumbled, indicating her butt, "you were quite capable of doing that for yourself yesterday, instead of torturing me..."

Beth stopped, and seemed to be thinking what to say... or was she just prolonging the agony? "Yes, I could have done it for myself, but I was lying down, the sun was warm and I was feeling... lazy." She excused herself, "Besides, it was sooo much more fun watching you squirm!"

Harm laughed, "Oh turn around, girl, and I'll do the bits that you cannot - as opposed to will not -reach!"

Harm stood behind her and took the bottle from her slippery hands and brushing her hair forward over her shoulder he squeezed a dollop of cream on to the nape of her neck and started to work into her skin. As his hands massaged her shoulders and back, Beth gave herself over to the soothing sensations and allowed herself to relax and luxuriate in the touch of his hands. What was it about this man that could alter her state so quickly, and just by touching her? She didn't know the answer to that, but she did know that standing here, naked on the beach she had never felt so safe, so secure, so cherished in all her life. A light pat on her butt and his murmured "OK, we're done her." was her signal to turn and raising herself on her toes she reached up to press a soft kiss on his lips.

"Thank you," she said simply and sincerely, and sitting on her lounger, she swung her legs up and lying on her side watched as he applied the sun cream to himself. "Let me know when you need you back doing," she told him.

Harm looked at her cautiously, the scepticism apparent in his eyes, "I'll be good, Harm, I promise." He nodded in acknowledgment and finished his task before lying down on his lounger. Beth turned onto her stomach and held a hand towards him. Harm turned his head to look at her and smiled, accepting her hand in his own. The pair lay hand in hand in perfect silence letting the heat of the sun bake the last of the Atlantic chill out of their bones.

As noon approached the sun grew fiercer and Beth became uneasily aware of sweat beading on her skin and trickling down over her ribs onto the towel covering the lounger. Sighing with the necessity of moving she murmured, "Hey, come on sailor, time to hit the shade."

At her not unwelcome words, Harm released her hand and swung his legs on to the sand before standing at offering his support to Beth as she stood. Side by side they made their way back to the house, where Beth led them straight to the bedroom, "Siesta first; we had a late breakfast, so we can probably skip lunch and have an early dinner instead," she suggested as she turned on the over head fan and closed the shutters against both the heat and the light.

"And whose fault was that?" Harm inquired with an air of wide-eyed innocence.

"Uh... that would be your fault, sailor," she told him, folding the lightweight comforter down to the foot of the bed. Lying down on her back on the cool sheets, she closed her eyes, relishing the fresh feel of the cooler air now circulating through the room and expecting to feel the mattress respond to the weight of Harm's body. When that didn't happen she opened her eyes to see him staring down at her with an unfathomable expression on his face. Worriedly she asked, "Is there something wrong, Harm?"

"No, nothing's wrong, sweetheart, I was just thinking how incredibly beautiful you are."

"Oh," and Beth's heart skipped a beat.


	4. Chapter 4

**Part 4**

When Harm awoke in the cool air of the fan's draught he was curled up on his side, with Beth, still sleeping, tightly spooned against him, his arm lay over her rib-cage with his forearm pressed against her upper breast and his fingers barely in contact with her lower breast. He could feel his erection pressing against the crack between her butt-cheeks, but was content just lie there, enjoying the close contact, the scent of her, the lingering vanilla of her shower gel mixing with the coco-nut of the sun-cream. He kissed her shoulder gently, and equally gently closed his hand over her breast. Still asleep, Beth squirmed slightly, pushing her breast into firmer contact with his hand and her butt even further back against his groin, now trapping his erection firmly between her butt-cheeks. Harm lay still fighting to resist the temptation of moving just a couple of inches to gain access to her core, he wanted her, oh, so badly, but they would be leaving this paradise tomorrow and he wanted to make their last night here something that neither of them would ever forget, and even considering the incredible effect this woman had on him, he wanted save all his energy for later.

Smiling he dropped a kiss on to the back of her neck and felt her shudder, before he slid out of bed padded to the bathroom, where he turned the shower on and grasping his cock between thumb and forefinger squeezed firmly, as Beth had done, until his erection subsided. Quickly showering, he dried off before padding out through the bedroom where Beth was still curled up, and as far as he could tell, was still asleep.

Moving on through to the kitchen he set about preparing dinner, trying to keep any noise to a minimum as he used the last of the mushrooms and tomatoes in the fridge together with an onion and a drop of olive oil and chopped garlic and herbs to make a basic sauce for the pasta standing ready to be plunged into a pan of boiling water. A jar of bread-sticks already sat on the table together with a bottle of rich, red wine.

As he went about the business of preparing the meal he had the curious sensation of being watched and turning he saw a still nude and sleepy-eyed Beth leaning against the door frame watching him, a soft half-smile on her lips. Putting down the mortar and pestle he crossed the room to her and taking her face between his hands, he murmured "Hi, sleepy-head" before he tilted it up towards him and kissed her, his tongue passing swiftly over her lips as she sighed contentedly and molded her body to his, feeling his swift reaction as his rapidly rising cock pressed through the cloth of his apron against her belly. Harm was all too well aware his body's response to Beth's nearness and the taste of her mouth, but he was still planning on making this last night something special, so with a groan, he broke free of her, and through gritted teeth said, "Oh God, Beth... but not now, not yet..."

Beth stepped back her eyes clouded, "Harm... what's wrong... you haven't touched me, or let me touch you since this morning?"

"Oh, sweetheart, nothing's wrong. It's... it's just this is our last night here, and I want it to be perfect for us... So although it's been killing me too, I've been trying to save myself for later. I... when I woke up earlier, and you were still asleep, I had the urge to start to make love to you right there and then, but I didn't... I..." he faltered to a stop, feeling the blood rush to his cheeks.

"Harmon Rabb! Are you... you are! You're blushing! C'mon give," Beth urged him stepping back into his arms and putting her arms around his waist, "You what?"

"I... uh... I used that squeeze thing that you did... the one you got from that Cosmo magazine..."

Beth stepped back again, looking at him in astonishment, and then her broad grin spread across her face as her eyes lit up, her shoulders started to shake as she brought her hands up to cover her mouth and then she giggled.

Harm looked at her in baffled indignation, "Beth! It's not that funny!" he complained.

Harm's protest had only the effect of increasing Beth's amusement and her giggles became stifled laughter as she crammed her fist into her mouth to prevent herself from laughing out loud, as the tears spilled from her dancing eyes, compelling her to use her free hand to swipe them away.

Harm could feel his temper rising, in his opinion it had been a necessary evil, not a dirty joke to snigger at... but there was something infectious in Beth's laughter, and no matter how reluctantly, he felt himself begin to grin, "Beth Hawkes," he scolded her gently, "I've said it before, and I'll say it again: you are so bad!"

"And like I told you before, Harmon Rabb," A completely unabashed Beth replied, "You have no idea!"

"G'wan," he grinned at her, "go and get freshened up before dinner!"

"Oh... don't you want to scrub my back for me, again...?" She pouted prettily, her voice dropping at least an octave into her half purr, half growl.

Harm put his hands on her shoulders, "Beth, you have no idea just how much I'd like that... but," he sighed, "if I were to follow you into the shower right now, we'd never get anything to eat tonight before sheer exhaustion took us out!"

"Are you bragging or complaining?" she teased him as she turned away, giving her butt just that little extra swing that she knew would draw his eyes like magnets.

"Neither," he growled, as he grasped her shoulders from behind and dropping his head bit her gently on the throat pulse point, grinning as he felt her shiver under his hands and looking down, saw her nipples tighten. He playfully tapped her butt, just hard enough for her to squeal and jerk away from him, "G'wan, get!" he told her.

Beth rubbed her butt, and glared back at him, "Alright, alright, already, I'm a-gettin'. But don't you go thinking you're getting off easy. You are so going to pay for that swat - later!"

"Yeah, yeah, promises," he scoffed.

"Oh, yeah, you'd better believe it buster!" She grinned back at him and skipped smartly out of his reach and back down the hallway to the bedroom.

Once Beth had returned from the shower, "Squeaky clean - although I haven't done _anything_ to get dirty today" she grumbled, they sat to eat the meal that Harm had meticulously prepared. They talked quietly about packing for the morning, what time they needed to get out of bed to get everything squared away before they left, and what time they should leave the house to head for Naples airport, but despite the domestic tone of the conversation they could both feel the level of tension rise as they dawdled over the meal, intervals between statements, questions and responses becoming longer and more meaningful.

Policing the dining and kitchen areas was accomplished in a tense silence, broken only when they accidentally brushed elbows at the sink, when Beth moaned a stifled "Oh!" and Harm groaned more or less silently.

They were still silent as they doused the lights and walked back to the bedroom, where Beth sat on the side of the bed waiting for Harm to join her. He kept her waiting for no more than a few seconds before he sat beside her and taking her chin in his hand he turned her face towards him and kissed her open mouth gently, just letting his tongue explore the inside of her lips and then gently nibbling her bottom lip as he pressed her back against the sheets, before reaching to grasp her legs and swing them up on to the bed.

Harm leant over her and kissed her again, his tongue once more probing her waiting mouth, their tongues twirling around each other, taking it turns to nibble on the other's lips. Beth took hold of Harm's hand bringing it up to rest on her breast, and squirming slightly to rub her nipple against his palm. Harm broke the kiss and said softly, "Easy, Beth, easy, darling girl, we want to make this last, don't we?"

"Oh fuck it, Harm! I don't care, I just want you. I want you so much..."

Harm slid a hand down Beth's ribs and over her hip, before drawing it up across her thigh. Beth opened her legs to give him access to her pussy, and he gently stroked his hand from the little puckered rosebud up the full length of her pussy lips, and gently over the little hood of flesh that guarded her clit. Beth moaned in anticipation as Harm discovering her delicious juices on his hand licked his fingers clean before moving between her thighs and guiding the head of his throbbing dick to her entrance he gently eased his full length inside her.

Beth groaned as her muscles stretched to accommodate his length and girth as he lay still for a couple of minutes as she started to clench and relax those muscles that held his dick so tightly. Harm gently withdrew to the very entrance to her lips before easing himself back into her depths with an upwards as well as a forwards movement, bringing his pubic bone against her sensitive bud, a motion he repeated time after time in a slow steady rhythm that had Beth biting her lips and crooning a continuous wailing moan as each stroke stimulated both the sensitive opening to her pussy and her hooded clit.

Beth revelled in the feel of his slow, steady thrusts and withdrawals, but a fire was building in her belly, she needed release, she wanted release, now! "Harm, harder, harder, fuck me harder... please!" she whimpered, as she writhed beneath him.

Harm looked down at her, recognising the pre-orgasmic flush that was climbing from her breasts to her face, "Not, yet, sweetheart, bear with it just a minute longer..."

"Oh! Fuck! Harm! Please!" Beth tried to meet his thrusts with a counterpoint rhythm of her own, but her body was incapable of anything more than spasmodic jerks and twitches.

"Hush sweetheart," Harm dropped his face to hers silencing her complaints with his mouth, "Just a moment or two more..."

Beth raked her nails down Harms back to his ass and gripped his buttocks as she tried with all her strength to pull him in even closer at the same time she locked her legs around his thighs.

"Easy, sweetheart, easy, darling girl," Harm crooned to her as her face contorted under the spur of the sensations that had spread from her belly to her whole body. Then just as she was certain she could bear it no more her climax erupted. "Aaagh! Oh! Fuck! Shit! Christ Jesus" she howled as waves of pleasure pounded her body, as temporarily exhausted and gasping for breath she let her arms and legs flop on to the sweat-soaked sheet beneath her.

Weeping with the release of her pent-up feelings she looked up at through blurred eyes at Harm, "Oh... God... Harm... I... I..."

"Hush, sweetheart, hush," Harm murmured as he withdrew his still stiff cock from her wet depths, "It's alright, I know... I know..." Harm again kissed her gently, thankful that Beth had climaxed when she did, he had been gritting his teeth for the last few minutes, determined not come yet; he wanted to give her still more pleasure before he sought his own release.

Rolling to one side, he pulled her in close to his body, his hands caressing her back from the nape of her neck to her buttocks in long, slow, soothing strokes as Beth's breathing came back to normal.

As Beth recovered her breath and senses she snuggled close into Harm's embrace, peppering his chest and shoulders, all of him that her mouth could reach, with tiny little butterfly kisses until she became aware of his rock solid dick pressing against her thigh. "Harm?"

"H'mm?"

"Did, did you come?"

"Not yet, my love,"

"Oh..." Beth tried to wriggle free of his arms.

"Where are you going, then?"

"I want... I need to take care of you... I can't let..."

"Huh, now, hush," he murmured, "this, here and now, is about you. There's plenty of time for me later..."

"But Harm..."

He silenced her protests with another slow, lazy, but deep-probing kiss, pouring his soul into her, just as she had done to him and for him during that terrible night in the _Patrick Henry's_ sick bay.

At last the need to breathe forced them apart. "Oh..." Beth sighed; resting her head on his chest and dropping her hand on to his shoulder, as Harm's hands resumed their slow soothing caresses.

Beth lay in his arms content to let his hands work their soothing magic and was on the verge of dropping off to sleep when she felt his hands becoming more demanding as he cupped her ass in his hand, his fingers working lower until they brushed the very bottom of her pussy lips, still damp and sticky from her orgasm. Remorselessly, he worked his fingers into her delicate folds, re-awakening her desire as she panted and moaned, working her hips back against his invading fingers as he reached forward and up, searching for and knowing that he had found her special spot with his fingers as she moaned and whimpered to a fresh climax, still sensitised after her first orgasm.

Beth collapsed gasping on the bed, and this time allowing her no respite, Harm started his voyage of butterfly kisses down her collarbone, trailing his tongue over her skin between kisses, relishing the salty taste of her sweat and leaving a trail of molten heat in his wake as he came to her breasts, taking a nipple into his mouth, sucking, licking and kissing it, finally capturing it between his lips and pulling it taut while humming in his throat, transmitting the vibrations to her sensitive breast, while use his hand to tease and tantalise her other nipple, dragging his finger slowly around it and teasing it with feather-light touches.

Beth was already squirming under his attentions, her back arching as she strove to make firmer contact with his hands and his magic mouth, moaning a meaningless litany as her body once again surrendered to the sensations he was creating, "Oh, shit! Harm...please, I can't... I want... Oh, Harm! God! Please, stop! No... Don't stop, Oh God! Fuck! You're killing me! Harm!"

Harm's own breath was now coming in panting gasps as his own body strained against his will to give way to the urges that were eating him alive. He fought down the need to plunge his aching cock into Beth's pussy as he slowly worked his way down her body, intending to repeat his shower room tactics of working his way down her legs before kissing his way back up her thighs to her centre, but Beth had other ideas. She reached out her hands and took his head in a surprisingly strong grasp, "No! Not that! Harm... for God's sake! Please... just... please!"

Harm responded to the desperate need in her voice and laying between her spread legs, he gently opened her pussy lips with his thumbs and starting at her thighs, gently using the flat of his tongue, he licked her clean of her juices while she fretted in an agony of impatience, as he inserted first one and then two fingers into her wetness, smoothly pistoning them in and out, curling them up on each stroke to once more press against that sensitive spot inside her. Beth was working her hips against his fingers, pushing her mound up and forwards in a blind attempt to find his mouth as his tongue worked ever closer to her pussy lips, breaking into more whimpering moans and cries as his tongue worked ever nearer, until he used the fingers and thumb of his spare hand to part her lips and probed the smooth dampness of her pussy with his tongue, lapping up her juices, as he buried his face in her very centre, removing the traces of her orgasms as he slowly worked his way of to her now-engorged clitoris, delicately circling it with just the tip of his tongue, before licking it quickly up and down with short, rapid, stabbing strokes, forcing the air from her lungs in a wordless, meaningless cry, and then taking it between his lips, sucking it softly as he recommenced his low pitched humming noise. Beth's body thrashed almost uncontrollably, as Harm had to use his hands on her hips to steady them so he could retain contact, as the action of his mouth drove her into yet another raging climax, as she shrieked her release. "Oh God! Oh... Oh... Oh... Harm!" as he continued to kiss and lick her bud until the massive convulsion died away into a series of diminishing after-shocks and once again as she quieted, Beth lay moaning and spent, her arms and legs splayed across the bed.

Once again Harm moved up alongside her, gathering her into his arms as he spooned against her back, gently licking more of her sweat off her shoulders, and stroking her hair as she calmed. "Oh, Harm... I want to take care of you too," she murmured, still just conscious of his stiffly erect prick rubbing against her ass cheeks, "But... but..."

"Shush, Beth, it's alright, there's time and to spare to worry about me..."

"No..." she reached behind her feeling for his cock, "No... now..." she squirmed her ass back against him, directing the head of his cock forward between her thighs and lodging it at her entrance, "Now, gently, fill me... please..." she urged him.

Beth could feel Harm's smile against the back of her neck as, at her urging he slowly slid his length into her. Once again she gasped as she felt his cock stretching her inner muscles and once she could feel the rasp of his pubic hair against her ass, she reached back and laid a restraining hand on his hip to ask him to stay still for a moment while she agaim adjusted to his size. Comfortable now, she started rhythmic contractions of her inner muscles, squeezing his cock and then relaxing as he began a slow, shallow gliding motion, determined again that Beth should receive the maximum pleasure before he sought his own release.

Beth was lost in a world where all feeling was concentrated deep inside her, the rhythmic movements of Harm's prick butting its head against her sensitive spot making her quiver and gasp with each in-stroke, the tension once again mounting in her belly as apparently tireless he slid effortlessly in and out of her. Beth's breath was beginning to come in short gasps again, as Harm reached around her hip and wetting two fingers in her juices, he brought them up to stroke and squeeze her clit, Beth moved her hips forward to encourage greater pressure from his fingers and moved in counterpoint to his still slow even strokes, moving against his fingers as he withdrew, and pushing her ass back against hips as he slid into her depths.

Harm could feel his own long-delayed climax building, and desperately increased the speed with which his fingers worked against Beth's clit, wanting her to come with him, and feeling her shudder along the whole length of her body as she gave vent to a long "Ohhhh..." Her release was his own signal to let go and with a long drawn out groan of "Beth!" he emptied his balls into her pussy and buried his face in the junction of her neck and shoulder...

Both lay still basking in the after-glow of orgasm, recovering their breath as their racing hearts slowed down to a normal rate. Harm reached down for the comforter and drew it up over them so that their sweat coated bodies shouldn't take a chill. Fighting to keep his eyes open he murmured, "Beth?"

"H'mm?" An equally, if not more so, fatigued Beth answered

"I love you"

"M'mm"

Beth woke lying on her left side, Harm's solid forearm was draped over her waist and her head was pillowed on his other arm as he lay snuggled in, spoon fashion, behind her, his groin pressed against her ass and his breath faintly stirring the soft, downy hairs on the back of her neck. As she took in her situation she smiled softly, last night had been fantastic... no other lover ... not that there had been all that many... had been so generous, making sure that she received as much if not more pleasure than they, and then slept all night with her in their arms, and had told her, so quietly and so sincerely, with so much truth in their voice that they loved her. With that memory her eyes shot open. Harm had told her that he loved her! Harmon Rabb? Harmon 'Mr can't express my feelings' Rabb? Had she said it back? If not, God, what had she done? Or... crap! If _so_, what had she done?

Lifting his arm from her waist she turned over in bed to look at him. He was still asleep and his face was peaceful, contented, and the image he presented gave birth to her soft smile as she gently kissed his lips.

As gentle as her kiss was it woke him, and for a moment his blue eyes were unfocussed as he found his bearings, and then looking deep into her dark eyes, he smiled and murmured, "'Morning, you."

"Back atcha," she grinned, her hand sliding down the length of his chest towards his hip.

"Oh, God, Beth, I wish we could, but..."

"But what? And who cares?"

"But we've overslept by nearly an hour and a half," he said cocking an eyebrow at the clock on her nightstand, "And sadly, we both _need_ to care!"

Beth twisted frantically to verify the display on the travelling alarm clock, "Oh! Shit!" She exclaimed leaping out of bed, "Up! Up! C'mon, I've got to get those sheets into the washer!"

"Oh well," Harm grumbled as he swung his feet onto the floor, "There goes our swim!"

It was just over two hours later and now only fifteen minutes behind schedule that Harm, in tan slacks and a pale blue shirt, threw their sea-bags into the back of the SUV as Beth, once more in her white tie-front shirt and gypsy skirt secured the house windows, doors and shutters.

x-x-x-x-x

Airborne at last with Beth's Uncle Elwas at the controls the Gulfstream headed northwards back to Leesburg.

Harm was never really comfortable as a passenger, but he figured that with Beth sitting beside him he could put up with it for once, especially as once they'd reached cruising altitude, and they'd unfastened their seat-belts she had leaned over towards him and started nibbling his ear lobe and planting her own series of butterfly kisses along his jaw line and as much of his neck as she could reach.

"Beth, don't..." he groaned in protest," don't... you don't what you're doing to me..."

Beth chuckled and picked up one his hands, placing it on her breast where despite the bra she was wearing, he could feel her nipple thrusting against his palm as she drew her hand up along his thigh to where she could feel - and see- his erection bulging against the cloth of his pants, "Oh, I've a got a pretty damn' good idea of what I'm doing," she teased him slipping out of her seat and kneeling between his legs as her hand went to his belt buckle.

"Beth! Your uncle..."

"My uncle is fully occupied piloting this machine..." she twinkled in reply, " and as we are the only other two on board, we're not likely to be interrupted are we?" as her hand delved into his boxers and brought his erect cock out into the open. "Oh, my, my... What have we got here?" she grinned before sliding her mouth over the head of his prick, sucking gently, and swirling her tongue over and around its head, tasting the first drops of his pre-cum.

"For God's sake... Beth..."

She slid her mouth back off his prick, "Oh... did you want me to stop...?"

"Christ Jesus, no...!"

"Oh, that's too bad... I just didn't get the encouragement I wanted, so..." she stood up abandoning his cock, now wet with her saliva, before she grinned teasingly and moved forward to straddle his leg before raising her skirt to her hips, allowing him to see that once again she had chosen not to wear panties, before she sat on his lap and guided his prick into her moist folds. Once settled on his lap, she bent her head and kissed him as she began her rhythmic muscle tensing and flexing, before beginning to rise and fall, meeting his reciprocal thrusts, concentrating on giving him all the pleasure she could before he groaned his release and soaked her interior with his semen.

Harm collapsed back in his seat, as Beth dropped back to her knees and lovingly licked him clean, pausing in her self-appointed task to grin up at him, "Welcome to the Mile High Club!"

He smiled back down at her, "Minx! How do you know whether or not I'm already a member?"

"Oh, just call it women's intuition!"

x-x-x-x-x

"I won't welcome you to my humble abode, Beth, 'cos you've been here before." Harm told her as they dumped their sea-bags just inside his apartment door. "The bedroom and bathroom are just up those steps, but if you want to freshen up, you'll have to wait half an hour or so until the water heats up." he said, crossing to the furnace controls and flicking the water heater switch to the 'on' position. "In the meantime, I'll put some coffee on, and then..." he stopped and stared at his telephone, the "Message Tape Full" light was flashing insistently.

Beth looked to see what had disrupted his thoughts and following his gaze said, "Go ahead, some of those might be important." Harm nodded and pressed the 'play' button. And listened as the tinny voice told him:

"_You have twenty three new messages..."_

Harm's eyebrows shot to the top of his forehead and he cast a bemused look at Beth, who smiled as she spooned coffee grounds into the filter paper, "Well, who's Mr Popularity, then?"

"_Message One: Harm, it's Mac, call me back when you get this, please."_

"_Message Two: Hi, Harm, I don't know if you got my last message or not; it's Mac, I need to speak with you..."_

Of the twenty three messages no less than seventeen of them were from Mac, each sounding more demanding... more desperate from the previous one, until the last message sounded as if she was almost in tears. One of the remaining messages was from Bud Roberts, and seeing the dismay on Beth's face as she'd listened to the refrain of Mac's messages, Harm decided that the least damage would be done by calling Bud. Checking the time, he figured that the younger man would be home by now, and dialled the number for the house in Alexandria.

_Roberts' residence_

"Hi Harriett, it's Harm, I got..."

_Commander! Thank God! We've all been so worried..._

"Whoa! Slow down Harriett. I've been away for a couple of days... I'm on leave, remember?"

_Of course, but your phone goes straight to answer-phone and your mobile goes straight to voice mail... Bud called at the apartment and there was no sign of you and..._

"Harriett, I'm fine. I went down to Florida for the weekend, trying to get warm again after my unscheduled swim, that's all."

_Oh... well, as long as you're OK, sir?_

"Yeah, I'm fine... but... listen, Harriett, I haven't checked my voicemails yet, but I've got about thirty eleven messages on my answer phone from Mac, telling me to call her. But she hasn't left a number I can reach her on..."

_Oh, she's on her normal mobile... or at this time of day I expect she's at home._

"At home? I thought she'd be on her honeymoon... she had leave booked, didn't she?"

_Ummm... yeah, but it... got cancelled..._

"Her honeymoon got cancelled?"

_Her wedding, sir._

"She cancelled her wedding?" Harm's voice rose in surprise, causing Beth to turn her head sharply to look at him.

_No, sir. Commander, I mean Mr Brumby did that..._

"Why in hell's name did he...?

When Harriett didn't reply. Harm tried again... "Harriett, why did Bugme cancel?"

_You'll have to ask the Colonel about that, sir..._

"I see. Thank you, Harriett. Do you know why Bud was trying to get hold of me?"

_Oh, just to see if you were OK, sir, nothing other than that_

"OK, Harriett, give my love to little AJ; I'll call you during the week, OK?"

_OK, sir, 'bye_

Harm slowly put the phone down, a troubled frown on his face.

Beth had been listening to the conversation, "So, I take it, not everything went according to plan?" she asked evenly, but with a sinking feeling in her heart.

Harm grinned weakly, "It seems not. That was Harriett, Lieutenant Sims, on the phone. She told me that Mac's fiancé cancelled the wedding."

"I thought that was scheduled for the day we crashed?"

"It was, but Mac put a hold on it until they found out that we were OK and that we were going to make it, and I figured it would have taken place while we were in hospital. I mean, after the first few days, nobody mentioned it, and Mac didn't visit so I..."

"So you assumed it had gone ahead, and they were on their honeymoon?"

"Yeah..."

"And is that the reason you fucked me? Mac was no longer available, so you made do with me?"

"No! Beth! How can you think that!" Harm crossed the living room to her in two strides, wincing as his still recovering knee reminded him of its existence. He took her face between his hands, and gazed deep into her eyes, trying to keep his own face open for her to read. "Beth, I've loved you for a long time, but circumstances... the UCMJ... Chains of Command... they all got in the way, and I ran scared, I took the easy way out, I convinced myself that I loved you as a friend, as a sister, even. And I can only thank God that you had the courage to lure me down to Firefly Cove and... jump my bones the way you did!" He smiled at her, desperate to reassure her, desperate not to let this chance slip.

Beth gave him a watery smile, "Actually, if I recall the exact sequence of events, Harm, it was _you_ that jumped _my_ bones!"

"When?"

"When I was quite innocently rubbing sun-cream into your back, when you just suddenly dumped me into the sand and pounced on me!"

"Yeah, like you hadn't been provoking me all morning!"

Beth took hold of his wrists and pulled his hands away from her face. "But that's not the point, though, is it Harm? Mac's free again, and you've loved her longer than you have me. And don't tell me that you loved her like a sister, because I won't believe you."

Harm studied her; despite the brave face she'd put on, and despite her brave words there was not only a tremor in her voice, but a note of hopelessness.

"No, Beth, I won't try to claim that I loved Mac like a sister. But I will say that I love her as a very dear friend; up until this weekend she was my best friend. But, I never said those three words to her that I said to you last night."

Beth gasped and went pale, "Oh... you remember?"

"Of course I do," he said taking both her hands in his, "I have only ever said 'I love you' to three women. First to my mom, second to Diane, and the third, and I really hope the last, to you. I said them to you last night, and I want to go on saying them to you every day, Elizabeth Hawkes, I love you."

Beth stood and gazed at him, for once in her life the chirpy RIO was silenced, her eyes were swimming with tears and when she tried to speak, she found she couldn't, having to swallow twice before she found her voice. "Harm... like, you know I love you, you stopped me from saying it... why?"

"Because I wasn't quite ready to hear you say it, because although I knew I loved you, I wasn't quite sure just how, but mostly because I wanted to say it to you first."

"Was... was that so important...?"

"Yeah, it was. I needed to say it first because I didn't ever want you to think, not for a single second, that I'd only said it as an answer to you saying it, or that I'd only said it to avoid hurting your feelings. So, I'll say it again. Elizabeth Hawkes, I love you."

Beth still wore her watery smile, "That's three times you've said it now... I guess that makes it true..."

"Yeah," he smiled back at her, "Third time's the charm, so they say..." And raising her face to his he kissed her very softly, barley brushing his lips against hers, as he wrapped his arms around her, and let her bury her face in his shoulder.

They stood for a long minute just holding each other before Beth pulled back and looked up at him. With an audible sniff, she said, "I think the coffee's done."

"Yeah, I'll go grab us a cup each. And by the time we've drunk it, the water should be hot enough to shower."

"You just want to ... uh... scrub my back for me," she teased, as he brought the coffee to where she sat on the couch.

"Well... that's one use for a shower, certainly," he grinned at her, "but there are other things that we could do..."

"Yeah? Like what?" she challenged.

"Well, there was this one time, I was in the shower with a young lady, and she seemed to find that having her legs sponged down wasn't an entirely inappropriate use of the facility."

Beth felt a shiver of anticipation run through her. "That sort of seems to come with the territory of having your back scrubbed, though," she said thoughtfully and then pouted.

"Oh... I don't know," he pointed out, "Isn't there a difference between having, say... the back of your thighs sponged, and the front, to the insides of them done?" He cocked a teasing eyebrow as he said so.

"H'mmm... No... Not really," Beth replied, pretending to give his question serious consideration, "they're all just as commonplace as each other!"

"Commonplace! I'll give you commonplace, woman!" Harm retorted in pretended indignation, as he lunged for her.

"Harm! Careful! You'll send the coffee... flying..." she finished, looking at her mug rolling on its side in the middle of a spreading pool of hot liquid.

Harm slumped back against the couch, the victim of helpless laughter, as Beth fell sideways against him, her head once more resting on his shoulder as she joined in with his amusement.

A couple of minutes of laughter was succeeded by a silence broken only by the drip, drip, drip of the spilled coffee as it ran off the table onto the floor. Harm, sighed, and reluctantly peeled Beth off him as he pushed himself to his feet and headed for the kitchen area, returning with a roll of absorbent paper towels. Tearing off a half-dozen sheets, he started to mop up what was left on the table while Beth, also grabbing a handful started sponging up the spillage on the floor. At one point they were on hands and knees at opposite ends of the coffee table and both looked up at the same time and each catching the rueful smile on the other's face, they couldn't prevent themselves from breaking out in more laughter.

With the mess finally cleared up Beth, with a grand gesture handed him her wad of soaked kitchen roll and said imperiously, "There, my good fellow, you may dispose of this. I am going to refresh myself in your bathroom. Once you have disposed of the garbage, you are of course free to join me!"

"I shall endeavour to do so, m'lady," Harm replied in an affected nasal tone.

"Very well,Parker!"

"Thunderbirds! Freaking Thunderbirds?" Harm gasped in amazed chagrin, "I was trying for that English butler guy on Magnum!"

"Damn' straight it was Parker, you missed the Magnum thing by a good country mile!"

Harm put his hands on his hips and gave her a flat stare, "Huh, now everyone's a damn critic!"

Beth walked up to him, stood on tiptoes and kissed him gently on the lips, "Only when they're right!" And before he could respond in any fashion, she whisked away to the bathroom, leaving him with a fond grin on his face.

Dumping the sodden wad in the garbage, Harm made his way through to the bedroom and quickly stripped, slipping his bathrobe on for comfort, it was definitely not as warm in DC as it was in Florida, although by Navy reckoning summer had been here for weeks.

He was just about to cross into the bathroom when he stopped and listened. Yes, that was definitely a knock at the door. Checking to make sure his bathrobe tie was pulled tight and that he was decently covered, he crossed to the apartment door, and peered through the peep-hole. Mac. Dammit! Harriett must have told her he'd called and that he was back in DC.

He sighed and opened the door, one day, one of them would manage to turn up on the other's doorstep at a convenient time, it was that just now wasn't the said time. "Mac, " he greeted her.

"Well, are you going to let me in? Or are we going to spend all night talking in your doorway?" she asked acerbically.

Harm swallowed helplessly, and stood back indicating with a sweep of his arm that she should come in.

Mac almost swept by him, and plumped down in one of the armchairs. "I take it that at some stage you were going to answer all the messages I left for you to call me ?"

"I would if I'd known where you were, Mac. Besides, we...," he winced, "I've only just got back, from a long weekend away." He hoped that she hadn't picked up on his slip, but her expression was anything but encouraging.

"Maybe," she replied flatly, "but you found time to call Harriett, didn't you!" She wasn't asking a question, she was accusing him.

"I called Bud, but Harriett answered, because of all the messages that were left for me, the only person I could guarantee to find was Bud. I didn't find time to call Harriett. I 'found time' as you put it to return the one call that I knew I could.

"You could have called me!"

"Where? As far as I knew you were on your honeymoon, and the last time that subject came up for discussion, even you didn't know where you were going! And you gave no location where I could reach you!"

"If I gave no new number, I'd have thought that it was obvious where I was!"

All at once he began to get angry. Why was he suddenly the bad guy here? The woman sitting opposite him was supposed to be married, and on two week's leave. What the hell was she doing in his apartment hauling him over the coals?

With an effort he fought down his temper. "Mac, as far as I knew," he started again in a calmer voice, "You and Brumby had put your wedding on a temporary hold. No-one, not even you, told me any different. And when you stopped visiting me in hospital... well, I just assumed that now you knew I was going to be OK, you'd gone ahead and with a rearranged ceremony."

"Unbelievable! After I'd told you how important it was to me for you to be there, you decide that suddenly I changed my mind, and went ahead and got married without having you there!"

"And as I told you, that if you couldn't get married without me being there, then maybe you were getting married to the wrong man in the first place!" Mac's eyes filled with tears, and Harm mentally kicked himself, he hadn't meant to rake up old scores, but somehow this woman just pushed all his buttons at the wrong time.

"Mac, I'm sorry... I didn't... I didn't mean that. I didn't mean it when I said it, and I don't mean it now. We've done it again, haven't we, jarhead? We try to talk and end up yelling at each other. I'm sorry. Truce?"

Mac fought back the tears, sniffed and nodded. She cleared her throat and was about to respond when a movement caught the corner of her eye. She swung her head to her right and went pale with rage. Beth, wrapped in a bath sheet and her hair soaking wet emerged from the bathroom, one hand holding the towel around her body and the other engaged in working the snarls out of her hair. Mac stared at her for an instant and then levelled her eyes on Harm, taking in the state of undress of both them, and the penny dropped.

There was a quality about the silence that greeted her appearance that made Beth stop and look up. Seeing Mac sat in the lounge area with a look of absolute disgust and scorn on her face, Beth's mouth dropped in a soundless 'Oh' of surprise and confusion.

Mac almost leapt to her feet. "This... this is what's kept you too busy to return my calls? You didn't think that I wasn't married, because you weren't thinking with your head - you were thinking about her - with your dick!"

Harm moved towards her to try and get her to sit long enough to explain, and he reached out a hand to her.

Mac recoiled as if he'd offered her a poisonous snake. "Don't touch me!" she yelled, and whirling away wrenched open the apartment door, leaving Harm and Beth listening to the sound of her footsteps hurtling down the hallway to the stairwell door.

Harm looked in the direction she had gone, a peculiar strained look on his face, while Beth looked at him with an expressionless face, but with her heart breaking silently inside her.

Harm turned towards her, "Beth..."

"Don't, Harm. Just don't."

"Don't what, Beth."

"Don't lie to us anymore, Harm. She's free now, so you can go after her. I'll throw my things back into my bag, and I'll be out of here by the time you get back."

"No! No, you will not! You won't be anywhere by the time I get back, because I'm not going anywhere. Look. It looks like Mac has screwed up her life with Brumby, but I'm double-damned if I'm going to let her screw me up any more than she already has. And I'm triple damned if I'm going to let her screw up what you and I have. OK, she's hurting, and I'll have to deal with her at some stage, but I am not going to do it tonight, and I am not going to let her get between us!"

"Oh, Harm, can't you see?" Beth walked up to him and placed the fingertips of one hand on his chest, "She already has."

"No, Beth, I don't see that. Not from where I'm standing. I told you earlier that I loved her as a dear friend, as my best friend. But the woman I'm in love with is standing right here, right now, in front of me!" He placed his hands on her hips and drew her towards him as she wound her arms around his neck and stood on her toes to allow her lips to reach his mouth. His hand went to the fold in the towel she was had wrapped around herself and tugged it free allowing the towel to slide to the floor and leaving Beth naked in his embrace. His response was immediate, his cock swelling and standing erect.

Beth dropped a hand to stroke his prick and then giggled.

"What?" he demanded somewhat affronted.

"Ummm... if we're going to take this any further, cowboy, you might just want to shut the door..." she indicated past his shoulder to where Mac's abrupt departure had left the apartment door standing wide open.

Feeling slightly ridiculous as his erection poked out through the skirt of his bathrobe, Harm took three quick strides to the door, quickly closing it and locking it, before turning back to Beth. "Now, where were we?" he growled as he loosened his robe's tie.

"Just about here," Beth said as he approached and as he took her in his arms again and lowered his head to kiss her, she curled her hand around his cock, once more stroking it and feeling with her thumb for his pre-cum to spread it over the purple swollen head of his erection. Then breaking the kiss, she slowly dropped to her knees, teasing with her hands amd trailing her tongue down his chest and stomach until her mouth closed over the head of his cock and her tongue passed around its girth.

Harm groaned in pleasure as she took his prick deep into her mouth and into her throat as she gently sucked and then moved her mouth up and down the length of his shaft, holding his prick in place with one finger and thumb lightly grasping it at the base, while with the other hand she cradled and massaged his balls, once again using her thumb nail to graze the seam of his sac, while she started that vibration-rich deep throated humming that Harm found to be exquisite torture. Harm fought down the urge to grip and immobilise her head while he fucked her mouth, and instead with gritted teeth, stood still with fists clenched and muscle straining as he screwed his eyes shut and threw his head back, allowing Beth to use all the artistry of her magic mouth and slender fingers.

Beth kept up an even stroke, refusing to increase her rhythm, despite the spasmodic muscular twitches that told her Harm was on the edge of his climax. His dick in her mouth seemed to swell to even thicker and longer proportions until it seemed that it wouldn't fit in her mouth any longer, and then with a roar of agonised relief Harm came, spurt after spurt of his semen flooding her mouth and obliging her to swallow again and again as she drew every last drop from his cock, and then using her tongue, licked him clean once more.

Harm reached down for her as the final tremors of his orgasm left him weak-kneed and gasping. He just about managed to raise her to her feet before he was forced to lie back on the couch, taking her with him and kissing her, his tongue welcomed by her mouth, where once again he could taste that indefinable tang that was the mixture of him and her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Part 5**

They lay in each other's arms for a while until the comparative chill of the Washington evening settled on them. Harm made what felt like a major effort and stirred, "Dinner?" he asked

"M'mm... No, the hell with it," Beth replied sleepily, "I'm too comfortable right here."

"H'mm, yeah…" Harm answered her, just as drowsily, "But we can't stay here… we'll freeze… Come on, up you get…"

"Nooo, don' wanna," Beth groaned, snuggling in closer to him.

"OK, if Mohammed won't go to the mountain… I guess I'll have to carry her there…" Harm scooped his arms under Beth's knees and around her back as he spoke and stood, and then wincing under the extra strain of his knee, he carried her towards the bedroom. Reaching the bed, he sat on the side of it, thankful to take the weight off his leg, gently laid her on the sheet before arranging himself behind her, her butt tucked into his groin and his hand on her hip, before drawing the comforter over them both.

It was still pitch black in the bedroom when Beth awoke, the heavy drapes completely blocking out the light from the street outside, but although she could barely see her hand in front of her face she could feel. And the most noticeable thing she could feel was Harm's huge erection pressing against her butt. The knowledge that just by sleeping against her could create such a reaction was enough to start her juices flowing, and she felt an almost overwhelming desire to have him in her at that very minute.

Stealthily her hand slipped down to her pussy and she gently rubbed her lips with a finger, dipping it inside her just enough to moisten it, to transfer that moisture to her lips, then reaching behind her, she grasped Harm's cock and manouevred it until its head was at her entrance and then pushing back until she felt it slip inside her. She lay still and quiet for a moment, holding her breath so that she could hear if Harm's breathing had changed at all, but his breath still came in the deep, slow rhythm of sleep. Beth started to clench and relax her inner muscles, alternately gripping and releasing Harm's dick as it lay within her, while still gently rubbing her clit, unconsciously beginning to move her hips as her body responded to its imperatives.

She wasn't quite sure at what stage she realised that Harm had awoken, she just became aware that he was beginning to move in counterpoint to her own backward thrusts against him, and that he had begun to kiss and nibble at the top of her shoulder where it joined her neck, sending shudders of pleasure throughout her body, and that his hand had come up to her breast, his finger and thumb pinching and rolling her nipple, then drawing lazy circles around it, sending shivers from her breast to her clitoris, and increasing her excitement as with each stroke that Harm made the head of his cock rubbed up against her G-spot. Neither of them felt any urgency, both content to lie there and luxuriate in the feelings and sensations their slow, gentle lovemaking evoked. Beth felt her tension building, and rather than fight it down she let the tremor of a gentle climax shiver her body. The feeling of Beth letting go was all the extra stimulus Harm needed. His own body tensed and his cock seemed to suddenly swell as he came, making his own contribution to Beth's wetness. Both lay still, content to neither speak nor move until sleep overtook them again.

Much later at breakfast, Beth pushed her empty plate to one side and added another spoonful of sugar to her coffee. Catching Harm's amused look she blushed and said defensively, "Yeah, I know, it's too strong, too black and too sweet, but what can I say? It's the way I like my breakfast coffee. Get over it, sailor."

"Oh… I'll get over it… but will you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You… uh… brewed the coffee, right?"

"Yeah…"

"And you used the coffee from that tin," he pointed to the blue tin on the island, "right?"

Beth looked at him suspiciously, feeling that something wasn't, despite Harm's use of the word, quite right after all, "Yeah…?"

"You… uh… didn't use the coffee from the red tin… right?"

"Right…"

"Uh-huh."

"Why? What?" Beth's inner alarm bells were now sounding General Quarters.

"Oh… nothing…"

"Bullshit, nothing!" Beth started to look around for some sort of non-lethal weapon, and her eyes lit on the dish-towel.

Harm followed her gaze, and seemingly casually, he picked up just before she reached for it. "Well… it's just that the coffee in the blue tin is the decaf I drink in the evenings…"

Beth looked from him to her cup to the blue tin in stunned disbelief. "You… you… you have decaf!" she almost howled. "You… you…" and then his look of assumed innocence got to her. "You are so bad! Which is it, truthfully now, which tin has the decaf?"

"Relax, Beth. You've got the real stuff, there." Harm's deep throated chuckle broke out as he could no longer keep the joke to himself.

"You are so going to pay for that, sailor!" Beth glowered at him.

"Oh yeah? And just how do you intend to do that?"

"I'm going to make you go without sex for six months!"

Harm sobered instantly, "Yeah, we are, aren't we?"

"Yeah…" Beth's voice broke and her eyes flooded with tears. "Harm, I made a decision to go back to sea-duty, before we started this but after I'd already applied for a shore based job… I can't go back to my detailer and ask to be allowed to change my mind again. I guess I really fucked up didn't I?"

"No… You were just acting on the best intel you had. Look I wish you weren't going to deploy again. Not only am I going to miss you like hell, but I'm going to be kinda worried too."

"Harm, I'll be fine… don't worry."

"How can I help worrying, when my favourite RIO, not to mention the woman I love, is off in the wide blue yonder with some wanna-be hotshot jet jock, when she hasn't got me watching her six."

"Look, I've been deployed before, hell, I've even flown missions before, without having you watch my six; I'll be fine Harm."

He walked around the island to her and grabbing the seat of her stool, he swiveled her around to face him and wrapped her in his arms. "I know, you've flown without me, scores - hundreds of times - but I didn't know you then, I now, I not only know you, I love you, so if it is alright with you, Beth, then I will worry, OK?"

Beth drew a deep breath and let herself slide forward so that her face was buried against the hollow of his shoulder, "Will it make you any happier to worry about me?"

"It won't make me happier, Beth, but it will make me feel a bit better…"

"Oh… OK, then… If it makes you feel better, then I guess it's OK for you to worry - but just a little bit!"

"Aw, gee, thanks…" Harm grinned, trying to lighten the mood.

Recognising his ploy, and grateful to him for his attempt, Beth pushed herself away from him and gave him a mock scowl. "Just a little bit, OK, sailor? And just to make sure that you don't worry too much, we can set up an internet account, so we can talk to each other, OK?"

Harm looked at her doubtfully, "I'm not that good with computers, Beth…"

"Oh, for God's sake Harm, it's the twenty-first century! You fly Tomcats, and you're scared of a home-computer!"

"Uh… yeah…" Harm grinned sheepishly, "that's exactly why just I fly 'em, and leave all the computer stuff to the really smart guys and girls in the back-seat."

Beth glared at him suspiciously, searching his expression for any sign that the look of wide-eyed innocence that was plastered across his face was assumed, or exaggerated. As the incident over the coffee had just shown, Harm was in no way above winding her up, but on this occasion his sincerity seemed genuine enough. Relaxing, she thought for a moment or two. "OK, power up that thing," she said, using her chin to indicate his PC where it stood on its desk at the far end of the living area.

Ten minutes later Beth turned to him. OK, that's almost all the preliminaries done to set up an account for me, all I need now is a user-name."

"A what?"

"A user name. It's like a cover name, or better, a pen-name so that if anyone else sees it, they won't know who's actually talking."

"Talking?"

"Harm, you cannot possibly be this dense! When you use the IM - Immediate Message program - you are said to be talking."

"But… we won't be talking - we'll be typing."

"Hey, listen up. We've got aviator-speak, right? So people who use PCs a lot have got Geek speak."

"Geek speak? I'm not sure I like the sound of that!"

"Harm, just get over it. It's the way things are, OK?"

"OK… but I don't have to like it…"

"Fine! But as I was saying we need user-names."

"How do we get them?"

"We choose a name, submit it - to the program." She added as she saw him about to ask a question, "and then the program lets us know whether or not the name's already been taken. If it is, we have to use a different one, if not, then it belongs to whoever submits it."

Harm nodded, not so much in understanding of what Beth was saying, but more to indicate that he acknowledged her words. Seeing the confusion on his face Beth had an idea, "Why don't we choose each other's user-name?" she suggested, "that way, it'd be really special…"

"What like, something special to us, something that meant something?"

"Yeah…" although Beth hadn't quite meant that, she realised that she liked - no she loved - that idea. "Go ahead, as this is my account, choose a name for me. Mind, it can't be anything rude!" she grinned.

"No… I wasn't thinking of anything rude…" Harm fell silent as he ran several names through his mind.

"Harm?" Beth questioned after what seemed to be a long couple of minutes.

"How about… 'Firefly Girl' - No! 'Firefly Lady', after the Cove?" Harm proposed.

Beth's eyes suddenly stung with unexpected tears. Swiveling the chair around, she jumped to her feet and grabbed Harm's face in her hands, kissing him fiercely, "Yes! Firefly Lady! I love it! Thank you!" Quickly re-seating herself, she typed the user-name into the program and they waited for the few seconds it took for the response. "Yes!" Beth squealed. "I am now, officially 'Firefly Lady'! Now, all we need to do is set up your account…" Beth returned her attention to the keyboard and screen.

A few minutes later she stopped typing and looked up at Harm, "Now for your user-name." Beth looked at him long and hard. After he had come up with such a wonderful name for her, she wouldn't, she couldn't consider anything humorous, she needed a name that meant something to both of them, and that would reflect the man behind the name. Eventually, as Harm began to shift uncomfortably under her scrutiny, Beth drew a breath, licked her lips and said, "Uh… how does 'Jagwing' sound to you?"

"'Jagwing'?" Harm tried the name for sound.

"Yeah, it sort of wraps up both sides of you, you know? The lawyer and the flier?"

"Yeah… I like that…" he looked at Beth's slightly worried expression, "Really Beth, I think it's great."

"OK… let's submit it… Yes! There it is! Harm you are now officially 'Jagwing'!" Beth grinned and continued typing for a few seconds, and then closed the window. "Look, she told him. "I've created a short-cut - right there." She indicated the icon on the screen, "so all you have to do is move the cursor and double click it and then we'll be able to talk to each other on line." She demonstrated as she spoke and the program leapt onto the screen.

"Beth, you are a genius!" he exclaimed, dropping a kiss to the top of her head. "So, I can use this anywhere? Right? I mean… I could use my office computer?"

"Well, not for this program, but through the net sure. We both have official e-mail addresses and you could get Bud to help you get set up on that - right?"

"Yeah…"

"We'd just have to be a little careful of what we say to each other on that net. Anything really personal we should probably keep to use over this program. But by using both, we can talk at any hour of the day or night."

"Like I said, you're a genius!"

"Yeah, I know." Beth grinned up at him.

"Right. Harm moved back towards the kitchen island. "You want another cup of coffee?"

Beth stayed in the living area as he returned with two fresh mugs and sat on the couch next to her. Beth picked up her coffee and shooting a mischievous glance across its rim, she said in severe tones, "Now, no tickling, or we'll end up mopping up spilled coffee again!"

"No… I wasn't going to attack you… yet. I was going to suggest that we go across to Anacostia and get the rest of your stuff from the VOQ and then I could give Inez a call, and see if she's willing to help you off the books."

Beth was happy with the first part of this project, but still had doubts about talking with a therapist, worried that if word got out it could adversely affect her career. It took all of Harm's not inconsiderable powers of persuasion to get her to agree, and then only because she could see plainly that he was worried for her.

x-x-x-x-x

After her first session that evening with Inez, in the comfort of Harm's apartment, while he 'went to the store', Beth became more comfortable with the idea and agreed to meet with Inez for an hour each late afternoon up until Friday. Payment for the sessions Inez insisted would be dinner, but she couldn't do the Saturday, she protested with a laugh, as she had her own love-life to consider, and had a hot date scheduled for that evening.

As part of the therapy prescribed by Inez, Harm took Beth to the Army and Navy Country Club swimming pool open sessions, where they started out with simple exercises to increase Beth's water-confidence. The first exercise was simply for Harm to stand in front of her, holding her hands while Beth bent from the waist until her face was in the water. The eventual aim was for her to be able to hold that position for thirty seconds. Her first attempt lasted for less than three seconds, and she jerked back upright with her eyes screwed shut and gasping for breath. Harm placed his hands on her shoulder, wishing desperately that he could take her in his arms, but the presence of other officers and their families prevented him from offering her that very real comfort, and he had to content himself with, "hey, hey, easy now, easy. You're doing great Beth, really. I am so proud of you just for trying this. I'm here and I'm not going to let anything bad happen, OK?"

Beth just nodded; her now open eyes huge in her face drained of its usual colour.

Harm cupped her face in his hands, and gently brushed her cheeks with his thumbs. "I won't let anything bad happen; you know that, don't you, Beth?"

"P.. promise?" she faltered.

"I promise." He told her gravely.

Her eyes searched his face, but she knew there was no need to seek further reassurance, he had promised. And he never made promises that he didn't intend to keep.

Beth drew a shuddering breath and wavered "OK, then. Let's do this". And keeping her eyes on his face as long as possible and gripping his hands with desperation she slowly lowered her face into the water. This time she managed to keep it there while Harm made a slow count to seven. Before she jerked upright, gasping and once again with her eyes tightly shut.

Harm's heart swelled within his chest, and he could feel the tears pricking his eyes; he was so proud of her and humbled too at the same time. Beth was terrified by what she was doing, her staring eyes and white face were proof of that, yet she was persisting in the exercise because he had promised her he wouldn't let anything hurt her.

x-x-x-x-x

That night while they were lying quietly in bed, Harm again stroked her cheek with his thumb. "You know, sweetheart, I was so proud of you this morning, I nearly wept."

"H'mm…?" she replied, capturing his hand against her face.

"Yeah, in the swimming pool. I could tell you really didn't want to be there, but you kept going. Three times you tried that exercise, and the third time you held the position for thirteen seconds."

"Oh, Harm, it wasn't that I just didn't want to be there, I was terrified. I've never liked having my face under water, and then after…"

"Yeah… I know, sweetheart, I know," he whispered. He lay quiet for a few seconds more as Beth's breathing which had become shallower and quickened as she remembered her feelings while in the water returned to normal. As she calmed own, he tried again.

"But you're ready to try again in the morning, right?"

Beth swallowed convulsively, "Yeah, I s'pose…"

Harm grinned, "Good, 'cos that little black swimsuit is real cute on you."

Beth giggled as he continued, "Mind, now, it's not as hot as that almost non-existent 'fuck me' bikini from Firefly cove."

"God, no! I couldn't wear that bikini at the club - can you imagine all those three star generals and admirals having heart attacks - not to mention that their wives would probably kill me! And anyway it's not a 'fuck me' bikini!"

Harm's eyebrows rose, "It's not?"

"Nope, it's a 'fuck me, now, please!' bikini. And ya know; I might just wear it for you the next time we go to Virginia Beach.

"Beth you couldn't wear that bikini anywhere on a public beach this side of Europe without causing a riot!"

"H'mm, you liked me in that bikini didn't you…?"

"Yeah… but ya know? I liked you even better out of it…"

"Well, I'm not wearing it now, in fact, I'm not wearing anything at all right now and you aren't doing anything about it …."

"You're not? Well, let's see.. H'mm I do believe you're right," he said as he lifted the comforter to one side and cupped a breast in his hand, rubbing his thumb over her nipple, making her gasp at the contact. With a smile, he lowered his face to hers and kissed her, nibbling gently on her bottom lip before running his tongue along the seal of her lips. Beth moaned, the act of opening her lips to allow his tongue entry was copied by the relaxing of her thighs to allow his hands, his mouth or his cock access to her innermost depth whenever he should reach them.

Harm was in no hurry, he lavished those little butterfly kisses, which Beth loved so much, on her face, starting at her forehead, he kissed her eyelids, and, eliciting a little giggle, the tip of her nose, pausing at her mouth to dip his tongue between her lips, to explore the now familiar cavern of her mouth, to slide his tongue over and under hers, causing her to gasp again as the tip of his tongue slithered against her soft palate, before resuming his journey, along her jaw line, to nibble and suck on her earlobe, before he tickled that sensitive spot behind her ear with his tongue. He continued kissing down the smooth column of her neck, brushing her loosened hair away from the soft skin, until he reached the pulse point on her throat, when he opened his mouth and sucked on her skin, bringing the blood to the surface before licking the now reddened area and blowing his cool breath onto the dampened surface. As he did so, Beth whimpered and unconsciously raised her hips, her already pebbled nipple held between his finger and thumb becoming harder and larger, reminding him that her breasts too deserved his attentions. He extended the tip of his tongue and starting at one shoulder, followed the line of her collarbone across her body until he'd reached her other shoulder before dipping his head to trail his tongue down the valley between her breasts, and then using the flat of his tongue to lick along the underside of a breast where it rose from her chest, before repeating the same experiment with her other breast, both long slow, wet licks causing Beth to groan with pleasure and to lock her hands in his hair.

With her hands still entangled in his hair he slowly licked up the curve of her breast to her nipple. Taking it between his lips, he sucked on it, first gently and then with increasing force, drawing the nub of flesh deep into his mouth and swirling his tongue over it and as much the breast as he could manage, his hand in the meantime pinching her other nipple just hard enough to make Beth squirm, rolling it between his thumb and finger. Swiftly changing breasts, he alternated the treatment between the two and then with half a dozen fierce little stabs of his tongue he quit the one nipple to repeat his treatment on the other switching back and forth so quickly that it seemed to Beth that he was somehow mouthing both breasts simultaneously.

Already she could feel the fire building in her belly and could feel the perspiration gathering on her skin, with a heave that took him by surprise, she twisted and reversed their positions so that now she had Harm pinned by her bodyweight against the sheet beneath him.

Beth kissed him hard, forcing his lips open with her tongue, and then sucking his tongue into her mouth, sliding hers over and around it before she let it slip back into his mouth and then narrowing her own tongue she slid it rapidly in and out of his mouth, causing his already impressive erection, which she could feel pressing against her thigh, swell and twitch. Smiling at the reaction she had caused she dropped her head to his chest, taking one of his tiny nipples in her mouth and sucking on it before flicking her tongue against it and finally nibbling on it hard. This time it was Harm whose hips bucked upwards pushing his cock against her warm flesh, reminding her, if she needed any reminder, of its existence. The smile still on her face, she kissed her way across to his other nipple, repeating her treatment of its partner, before slithering down his body her tongue in contact with his chest and stomach and her hardened nipples grazing the skin of this thighs until she arrive between his legs, his purple-headed dick twitching inches from her face.

Reaching for it with both hands, she grasped it firmly by the base with one, while she encircled the head with her other hand, using her thumb to smear his pre-cum across and around the head, and then raising herself so that he could see her lick his taste off of that thumb.

She dipped her head and extended her tongue, licking the seam of his balls from where the sac joined his body, up the seam to the base of his cock, continuing to lick her way right up to the head, where she dabbed her tongue against the tiny opening, licking up more of his essence, before she swirled her tongue around the head and took his cock deep into her mouth, sucking on it, wrapping her tongue around it, and taking it back into her throat where her humming sent exquisite sensations coursing through Harm's body while with one hand she gently scratched the seam of his sac and then probed his anus with a slim finger, making him jerk his hips upwards, driving his dick deeper into Beth's throat and flooding both her mouth and throat with his semen, accompanied by his frenzied scream of "Beeeeth!"

Beth slid back up his body to rest her head on his chest as it heaved under her while Harm fought to bring his body back under control, as nervous tremors made the muscles in his stomach and legs spasm. She waited for a few minutes until his breathing had settled before she took his hand and brought it to her mound, where below her already moist curls he could feel the heat and wet of her arousal, cupping it in one hand he softly stroked his index finger up and down her folds, spreading her juices evenly and then slipped one finger inside her, smiling with pleasure as she moaned and her muscles clamped around it, encasing it in the silky flesh of her inner walls. As he smoothly pushed into and pulled out her pussy she rolled over onto her back and let her thighs flop open, giving him increased access to her inner core. His second finger joined the first and now, knowing exactly where she was most sensitive, on each stroke, he crooked his fingers up and back towards him, working her sensitive G-spot without pause to the sound of her rising excitement until with a flood of juices that inundated his hand she yelped inarticulately and arched her back, pushing her hips upwards onto his hand and turning her head, she bit his shoulder in her excitement. Not giving her even a moment's respite, other than to take his hand away and bring it to his mouth to lick her juices off it, he returned his attention to her mound, this time, drawing circles around her aroused clitoris, making her give vent to more whimpers and groans of pleasure that was verging on pain. Harm kissed her forcefully, bruising her lips as she had bruised his earlier, and plundering her mouth with his tongue. Moving down he bit sharply on her nipples making her moan even louder, while all the time he kept up a relentless titillation of her clitoris and pussy lips and then trailing his tongue down her abdomen he by-passed her pussy until he reached her thighs where with broad wet licks of his tongue he licked her clean and then, blowing a cool breath on her wet, sensitive flesh, making her shiver and momentarily clamp her thighs around her head, he finally brought his tongue to her entrance, and lovingly parting her lips he let his tongue roam around her entrance, licking and sucking all the product of her orgasms, before raising his head so that his nose nudged her clit in time with the strokes of his tongue as he swept it up and down her folds.

Beth writhed, squirmed and whimpered under him, forcing him to hold tightly onto her hips in an effort not to be dislodged by her movements, her hands now grasped his hair trying to drag his head up the last inch or two so that his mouth could reach her clit, still being tormented by his thumb not quite touching it. Harm ceased his ministrations for a minute, looking up from between Beth's legs, up along her stomach and the valley between her breasts where her nipples stood like thimbles. Her eyes were closed and her flushed face was sweating, and her mouth worked as she sought for air between her gasps, cries and moans. Finally taking pity on her, Harm slid his two fingers back into her wetness, making her hips buck again as he carried on with his fingers' piston-like movement, stroking her G-spot, and then at last he raised his head, clamping his lips around her clitoris, sucking on it and flicking it with his tongue, using short butterfly-light licks as he hummed, the tiny vibrations coaxing her screaming into another release. His caresses and the effect they'd had on her had brought his dick back to life and now fully erect it seemed to throbbing with his pulse rate, and he knew that he would have to find his own orgasm soon, so withdrawing his fingers, Harm gently used his tongue to first clean her thighs again and then to bring her back up towards another orgasm, going straight for her clitoris with lips and tongue in preparation for penetrating her. Beth once again grasped his head in her hands, but this time she held him off her, "No Harm! Not that way, not again, not yet! I want you in me! Now!"

Harm lifted himself above her and poised his cock at her entrance before gliding his full length into her core. Beth howled his name once and then lifted her legs allowing him even deeper before crossing her ankles behind his butt, pulling him closer and closer.

Harm gritted his teeth as he started a slow careful in and out motion, knowing that it wouldn't take much for him to reach his own climax, and wanting to take Beth there with him. As he rocked slowly in and out he twisted slightly to one side, worming a hand in between their bodies so that his thumb, once well wetted with her juices could reach and stroke her clitoris. The touch of his thumb was sufficient to spur Beth into her climax, and her orgasm was the signal to Harm to let himself go. Both convulsed with the force of their release and then collapsed, exhausted on the sheet, Harm remembering just in time to twist to the side so not to crush Beth with his weight.

Both took their time in recovering, lying on their backs and gasping for air as the after tremors of their orgasms faded. At length Beth turned her head to the side to find Harm's eyes staring into hers. He grinned at her shakily and just about managed a quiet, "wow!"

Beth rolled to her side and laid her head on the hollow of his shoulder, letting a lazy finger circle one of his nipples, she smiled up at him, "yeah, wow!"

Harm drew the comforter up over them both and they lay in each other's arms as sleep claimed them

x-x-x-x-x

Harm would never forget the rest of that week. Early morning swim sessions were followed by a leisurely breakfast, and any chores that needed doing. Lunch was taken as and when convenient and usually followed by a long, slow session in the bedroom, or the shower, or the on the couch, and even on the living room floor. After one such session on the rug, where Beth had urged Harm to take her from behind while she was on hands and knees, they had both giggled and thanked God that they didn't have to wear shorts. As Beth remarked two matched pairs of carpet-burned knees would be bound to raise questioning eyebrows. Then there was the session where they had miscalculated the time, and Harm was forced to stuff his erect cock back into his pants as a knock on the door announced Inez' arrival.

But as the week wore on a pall fell over their lives and love-making as the Sunday of Beth's departure grew nearer.

x-x-x-x-x

On Saturday evening Beth zipped up her sea-bag and with a brave attempt at a smile turned to Harm and said,"Well, that's it, Jagwing. Except for the overnight stuff and what I'm wearing, I'm all packed and a-raring to go."

"Beth… don't…"

"Harm, if I don't try and fool myself, I'm going to cry… and I don't want to spoil our last evening together…"

"It's not our last evening, Beth; it's only our last evening until you get back from this deployment."

"Yeah, that's true," Beth agreed and with an attempt at recovering her usually sunny disposition, she continued, "And it's only six months, and when I get back this time, I'm going to ask for a shore-job, and when I get it, I'm going to stick to it like a burr! Honest."

Harm crossed the few feet of the bedroom that separated them and placed his hands on her hips to draw her close into him; Beth put her hands on his shoulders and raised her face to his. Harm's lips found hers and he placed a soft kiss on her mouth, her lips opened almost automatically and they stood for a long minute lip-locked, taking in each other's breath.

With no Inez to feed, Harm had booked a table at the Seacatch on Canal Square in Georgetown. So with Beth once more in her white shirt (soberly buttoned up this time) and her Gypsy skirt and Harm in pale blue shirt and tan pants, they drove over to Georgetown and allowing themselves plenty of time to find a parking spot, they arrived early at the restaurant.

The dinner was good, both of them choosing a shell-fish mélange salad as a starter and steamed John Dory as a main course. They ended up with a dish of ice cream with chocolate covered strawberries and two spoons, feeding each other. But the evening was tinged with sadness. Tonight was their last night together before Beth had to report to Andrews JAF at oh eight hundred hours. So when at the end of the meal Harm asked, "Do you want to go dancing?"

Beth smiled, and reaching across the table, she laid her hand on his and whispered throatily, "No… just take me home Harm, and take me to bed…"

Harm felt his erection rise almost immediately and groaned, and despite the tears already gathering in her eyes, Beth smiled wickedly, and murmured "I told you, you have no idea how bad I am…"

"No… but I'm learning real fast," Harm replied huskily.

"Oh, God. Let's get out of here!" Beth whispered.

The drive home was accomplished in silence, but as they climbed out of the Lexus, Harm held his hand out to Beth and together they stood side by side, still holding hands, but neither looking at the other as the elevator ground its way up to the second floor.

Still unspeaking they made their way to the bedroom where one at each side of the bed they looked across its width at each other as they undressed themselves and then almost simultaneously they pulled the comforter down to the foot of the bed and lay down on it, each immediately turning on to the side so that they faced each other.

Beth scooted across the gap that separated them and hooked her upper leg over Harm's as she wound her arms around his back and buried her face in his shoulder. Harm held her close, his heart full of a sense of loss. The sensation of moisture on his shoulder, however, diverted his mind from his feelings, and he hooked a finger under Beth's chin, gently raising her face so that he could see it.

"Hey, sweetheart," he crooned, "Don't cry, my love, my darling, please Beth, please don't cry…"

"Oh, Harm, she sniffled, "six months… six whole months…"

"I know, I know…" Harm rocked her gently, trying to console her, but with the weight of their separation laying over him too, he found it hard to sound convincing.

Beth raised her face to his again and stretching her neck kissed him, this time her tongue probed very softly at the seam of his lips, and with a sigh he opened his lips, letting her tongue slip into his mouth and gently play with his. At the same time her hand slipped down to his groin stroking and caressing his already rising dick, even as his finger sought her folds, already moist from anticipation. Taking advantage of her position Beth rose over him and taking his dick in her hand positioned him at her entrance and sank slowly down, impaling herself on it, once again bringing in to play her inner muscles that she tensed and relaxed around his shaft. She bent forward her breasts hanging above Harm's face, allowing him to suck softly on each nipple in turn until her rising excitement made her lean right back, reaching behind her to grasp his ankles in her hands, and again exposing to his eyes the sight of her pussy sliding up and down his dick. As it had always done in the past the sight of their union as well as the intense physical sensations it created, together with the sounds and the heavy smell of sex roused Harm to almost bursting point. Knowing that his climax wasn't too far away, he reached down to their joining and soaking his thumb in Beth's juices, rubbed it over and around her clit. Within minutes Beth threw back her head and wailed her release even as Harm grunted and arched his back, thrusting his cock deeper into her core as he flooded her pussy with his spending.

Beth collapsed, sobbing, onto Harm's chest breathing heavily as his now flaccid cock slid out of her, and laid her head on his shoulder. With the utmost gentleness, harm slid her to one side and held her in his arms for long, long minutes until he roused her from her doze by kissing the bare flesh of her shoulder, and softly calling. "Beth?"

"H'mm?"

"Beth, wake up sweetheart…"

"Nnnooo… need to rest. Later... Harm…"

Harm smiled as he rolled away from her and reached for the drawer of his nightstand. Beth groaned her discontent as the cool air replaced the warmth of his chest against her back, and reached blindly behind her to try and pull him back into contact. As he rolled back towards her, she sighed in contentment and sleepily squirmed backwards against him, wriggling her butt back into his groin.

"Beth… wake up Beth, please... I need to talk with you."

There was something in his voice, a note of urgency perhaps, a note of pleading certainly that penetrated Beth's sleep inclined mind. With a groan of disappointment, she disengaged herself from his arm that was lying over her waist and twisted around to face him, "H'mm?" she murmured.

"Elizabeth Anne Hawkes, I've told you three times - at least - that I love you…"

"Yes, and I love you," she whispered to him.

"So, would you," and he brought out from under the cover of the pillow where he had just placed it a small, red velvet-covered box, "please, make me the happiest man in the world and tell me that you'll marry me?"

His eyes reflected all the love he felt for her and Beth's vision blurred as tears filled her eyes, "Harm this last ten days has been tremendous. Better than anything I ever imagined. You're sweet, generous, kind, giving and a fantastic lover. But, it's time to wake up and smell the coffee. I know how I feel about you, and I want you so much it hurts, but I'm not certain you're still completely over the Hollywood princess and I'm certain you're still conflicted over Mac. I love you so much it hurts, but until you've confronted your demons, then I'm sorry. No. I won't agree to marry you."

"But... Beth..."

"No, Harm. Oh, I hate hurting you. But this isn't a final no... it's a," and her memory of one of their conversations about Mac came to her aid, "It's a 'not yet'. If you still want to marry me when I get back from the Patrick Henry, ask me again."

"Beth... I'm certain... I love you..."

"I know, my love, I know... but get your feelings squared away before you ask me again, if you want to ask me again. In the meantime, Jagwing, don't you dare keep me waiting for our first chat on the 'net. And before I go... kiss me again..."

x-x-x-x-x

Harm woke to an empty bed and an empty apartment. He had known that Beth would have to leave early but had hoped to be able to say goodbye to her, but on top of her turning down his proposal her quiet departure was devastating. He lay still in bed, full of misery until the demands of his bladder drove him to the bathroom. Flushing the toilet, he was about to close the lid, something that Beth had drilled into him, when he realised that in her absence he no longer needed to, his smile was bittersweet, as he closed the lid anyway and turned to the washbasin.

A message in her vibrant red lipstick was scrawled across the mirror, '_Harm, I do love you! Read this_!' and was followed by an arrow that pointed down. There on the glass shelf that now held only his razor and toothbrush was a once-folded single sheet of paper. Harm opened it and read it through, his eyes filling with tears as he reached the end,

_How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.  
>I love thee to the depth and breadth and height<br>My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight  
>For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.<br>I love thee to the level of everyday's  
>Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.<br>I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;  
>I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.<br>I love thee with a passion put to use  
>In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.<br>I love thee with a love I seemed to lose  
>With my lost saints, - I love thee with the breath,<br>Smiles, tears, of all my life! - and, if God choose,  
>I shall but love thee better after death.<em>

_Harm, my love,_

_I wish I had the talent to make a verse like this, but I don't. I cribbed this from Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Please forgive me for slipping away like a thief in the night, but I couldn't stand a long-drawn-out dawn goodbye. I shall miss you every second of every minute of every day that I am gone, even in my sleep I shall love you and miss you. Take care of yourself, and try not to be too angry at me. _

_With all my love, yours for ever, _

_Beth_

x-x-x-x-x_  
><em>

Harm shivered in the chill of a dank December morning as he stood in the parking lot at Norfolk Air Station, next to the Lexus and watching the skies to the east for the first glimpse of the incoming aircraft. He wore his old leather, fur-collared flying jacket and a pair of heavy twill slacks. His nose and ears were crimson from the cold.

In his pocket he carried that last note that Beth had left him and that he had read and re-read so many times that it was now in danger of falling apart at its folds. And keeping it company was the little red-velvet covered box.

The last six months had been a form of hell. When he'd returned to Jag he'd gone to try and sort out his entangled relationship with Mac only to find that she had asked for and been granted a six-month TAD as MEF JAG on board the Guadalcanal. Although in some ways frustrating, in that he hadn't been able to sit down with her and talk through the recent upheavals in their partnership, it had allowed him to devote his time and energy to his work, although he ruefully acknowledged that having Bud as an investigative partner wasn't as much fun as working with Mac, and Carolyn Imes made him feel slightly uneasy, although there was nothing he could put his finger on.

Strangely enough the biggest obstacle in his way in of a smooth return to work had been the attitude of Harriett Sims, although punctiliously respectful in her treatment of him, she had turned a very cold shoulder to him for the first couple of months, and eventually he'd had to turn to Bud and ask him what the hell was going on with his wife. He didn't know what Bud had said to Harriett but after their talk she had shown a slight but definite thaw in her attitude towards him.

But the thing that had kept him going was the string of e-mails and IMs that he and Beth exchanged. Even on that Black Sunday, as he'd named it, she had sent him the first of hundreds of messages. It had said little other than the squadron she had joined was the _Cougars_ and that he knew a couple of the crews, _Painter_, _Tuna_ and _Boomer_ were all there, so she wasn't exactly cast adrift among strangers, and they all said 'hi' to him, "_Oh ,and by the way, Harm, I love you_"

Those six months had been filled with little messages, some of them no more than the three little words that brought a glow to his heart, others were multi-page missives filled with tid-bits of news and shipboards scuttlebutt. And then there had been the news of the loss of one of the Patrick Henry's aircraft, followed by the routine forty-eight hour clamp down on ship to shore communications so that the families of the missing aircrew could be informed officially. Those two days had been the hardest two days that Harm had ever experienced, and it took not only a an IM from Beth the second the embargo was lifted, but a precious five minute 'phone call when he was almost undone by the sound of her voice assuring him that she was OK, it hadn't been her 'plane, it hadn't even been a Tomcat but an F/A-18E belonging to the_ Razorbacks_ squadron that had gone down over Afghanistan, and no… there hadn't been any 'chutes… and no word from either the pilot or navigator.

x-x-x-x-x

That evening Harm had picked up the 'phone… "Hi mom,"

Trish Burnett had immediately picked up the subdued note in his voice, "Harm, darling, what's wrong?"

The concern in her voice had tipped him over the edge and he had wept almost silently, his throat closed.

Trish had kept silent, letting her normally stoic son unburden himself in this most uncharacteristic manner, but her heart grew heavy within her breast, dreading the coming conversation.

Finally as his tears dried, Harm was able to find his voice, "Mom, do you remember me telling you about Beth?"

"Beth…? No, darling, I don't think so…"

"Or maybe, Skates?"

"Oh of course! Skates, yes, the girl who flew with you."

"Yeah, that's right. Well after our little swim this year, she went back to carrier Ops, and she's on the Patrick Henry. Well, they lost an airplane a couple of days ago…"

"Oh, Harm, no… please, tell me it wasn't her?"

"No, no mom, it was from a different squadron, but the thing is, there was a news and comms blackout for two days until the families had been told, and for those two days, mom, I've been in hell, I guess I know now what you must have felt like all those years ago when dad went down."

"Oh, Harm… I'm so sorry... yes… it is the most painful… Oh, wait a minute… Harmon, is there something you're not telling me, darling?"

"Uh… yeah, I guess there is… before she deployed I asked Beth to marry me…"

"Oh, Harmon! Why didn't you say anything…"

"Because, mom, she said 'not yet'. But when they get back, I'm going to ask her again, and this time, mom, I think… I'm pretty sure she'll say yes. And when she does, I'll bring her to California to meet you and Frank. The only thing is, it's likely to be Christmas. Is that alright?"

"Of course it is darling!"

x-x-x-x-x

Even over the sound of the wind over the waves Harm's trained ear caught the distant sound of aero-engines and straining his eyes through the murk he quickly picked them up four flights of four F-14s in echelon formation approaching the base. As they approached they turned in pairs into the holding pattern and came in to land two at a time, at precisely calculated intervals, their wheels and flaps all coming down at the same spot on their approach, a bit of showmanship that delighted Harm's heart and was appreciated by more than one of the other spectators, family members who had also gathered to meet their loved ones.

The half-hour between the last two airplanes landing and the emergence from de-briefing of the peanut butter-clad crews seemed to last for half the day, but there eventually was Beth, laughing and joking with her squadron mates until her eyes picked up Harm's tall figure. Quickening her pace she left her broadly grinning friends behind as she dropped her go-bag and hurried towards him. She almost threw herself the last few feet into his embrace, locking her arms behind his neck and dragging his face down to hers so she could cover it in kisses. After what seemed an age lips found lips and careless of their surroundings, tongues engaged in their age old dance, ignoring the cheers and ironic shouts of "Get a Room" and "Hey, no face sucking in public, there!"

Eventually sheer lack of breath forced them apart and heedless of the cheering and wisecracking pilots and RIOs around them Harm took hold of Beth's left hand, and dipping his hand into his jacket pocket, he fished out the ring he bought six months previously. Poising it in front of her ring finger, he asked "Are you with me _Skates_?"

Beth looked up at him, her eyes shining with unshed tears, "To hell and back, _Hammer_, to hell and back!"

Harm slid the ring onto her finger, his heart too full for words, which weren't needed anyway.

**The End**


End file.
