~ Love On Deck ~

by

Rebecca Martinez

"You know, Sam, we could be good friends. If you get that job and I get mine, we would be working together, and we could help each other.... Why are you shaking your head?"

"I don’t believe in having female friends. It doesn’t work. Sooner or later they want more from you than friendship."

"I have lots of men friends. And I could be your little sister."

Again he was shaking his head. "At the moment that’s the farthest thing from my mind."

Her sharp inhalation was audible to them both.

"I like that look, by the way," he said.

She glanced up at him in surprise. "What look?"

"The questioning look, losing your composure. You don’t lose your cool very often, do you?"

"No, and I’m not losing it now," she lied. Because of her quick wit Amber usually could control most situations. This whole craziness with Sam was unlike anything she’d ever faced.

Sam pulled her closer to him. "Okay, enough. For now, let’s just dance."

Amber wasn’t certain when she realized she was beginning to feel more than warm inside. Sam’s masculine scent, the hard body against hers, one hand enfolding hers, the other gently rubbing her back--it all blended together to form a hot pool that gathered in the base of her lower regions and radiated out. They rocked together in an almost sensuous motion, as though he had control over her body.

As the song ended, Sam squeezed her tightly on the final note, and Amber trembled. Flames leaped inside her, higher than the fire that was now merely a soft glow. Every touch, every sensation existed in a hazy world of want and a fierce desire that was taking control of her body. As she pulled back, he caught her face in a large hand and dropped a quick soft kiss on her lips.

Amber trembled violently, as though something inside her erupted. She jerked away, feeling flustered, separating herself from Sam. She needed to get away from him. Looking frantically around, she searched for some means to escape. The strange sensations that swirled inside her troubled her. "I’m not going to sleep with you," she said, as though the words could overcome the way she felt inside.

He gave her a strangely gentle smile that sent another tremor through her. "Now who was asking? That’s as far as we’re going tonight."

She blinked as a ripple of shock ran through her. "Why? Do you have a date with one of those women?"

"What if I said yes?"

Anger replaced the surprise. "Why did you come back? To see little Amber got put safely to bed? Well, go ahead. Go out with her tonight. You do that all the time, don’t you? Go from one bed to the next. Whoever is available."

"If you’re asking, have I done things like that before--yes. But I’m not going out tonight. Actually I’m dead tired, and we’re going back tomorrow. I want some rest."

The phone rang, making them both jump guiltily apart as though someone was watching. Sam grabbed it first, issued a few remarks then hung up.

"That was Martha. I guess they’ve decided to stay over at the party. Neither one wants to drive, and they way they were drinking, that’s probably a good idea."

She shook her head. "Those two..."

"Why don’t you go on upstairs to bed since they’re not coming back? That’s probably safest for both of us."

That was best. She got her nightgown out of her suitcase and carried it upstairs, taking her blankets with her. After changing Amber climbed under her covers, but she couldn’t sleep. Was Sam asleep? What was he thinking?

The sound of rapid gunfire broke the stillness. It took Amber a minute, as she leaped up in the bed, to realize it was not gun shots, but fireworks. The flickering lights cascaded through the trees outside the window. In the distance, car horns blared. Belatedly she realized what the hoopla meant. She hopped out of bed and hurried downstairs.

"We missed the New Year," she cried.

Sam sat up groggily in his bed, which consisted of the mattresses put together on the floor. "What?"

"There’s champagne in the refrigerator. We bought it for tonight. We should at least have a glass, right?"

Before he could protest, Amber went into the kitchen and poured two glasses. In the living room, Sam hunched over the fireplace, poking at the embers. It began to show life, and he turned with a triumphant smile before tossing in another log. He looked more awake, though his dark hair was mussed. He wore a t-shirt and sweat pants.

Amber perched on the edge of the mattress, and he sat beside her. She handed him a flute and clinked her glass with his.

"Here’s to a New Year," she chirped.

"And what is it you want?" he asked.

"That job, of course. What about you?"

"I’ll take a job. But mainly I want to be happy."

"Me too." She sipped from her glass, aware of him watching her. "Are you happy, Sam?"

"I’ll be happy if I get the job."

"But overall?"

"I don’t like some of the things about my life," he admitted. "But I guess for the most part I’m happy."

She nodded. "This is going to be a very different year for me. Lots of changes. Even if I don’t get the job, Peter won’t be around. My mother says I take crazy chances with everything but my life. And that’s true, I guess. But I am taking a chance with this job. And maybe I need to experiment in other ways too. I’ve never been big on dating, but maybe I should be more active socially."

"Maybe," he said quietly.

She glanced at him. "You say that doubtfully."

"Is that what you want?"

"I want to be happy too," she said honestly and lifted her glass to his again.

Sam reached over and took it from her. He leaned toward her and kissed her quickly then again, a series of short quick kisses that made her head spin.

"This isn’t why I came back down. I’m not going to have sex with you," she said breathlessly. The words did not sound convincing, or maybe she was trying to convince herself.

"I’m not asking," he whispered, and reached for her. This kiss lasted longer than the short kisses they had been exchanging, and it became bold and demanding. She responded willingly, savagely, her whole body re-awakening as he pulled her against him.

He rolled them over so that he hovered above her. His thigh pressed against her lower body as his mouth became more demanding on hers. He thrust his tongue into her mouth, and she moaned and responded, returning the kiss hungrily. An ache grew inside her until it became an all consuming painful need. She pushed her fingers into the arm of his t-shirt while the other hand slid up under it, touching his firm hard skin.

"Will you take this off?" she asked, breaking the kiss.

"You gonna take yours off?"

"No, but I want to see you..." Her voice sound breathless and unnatural.

He chuckled, but he raised himself up and peeled off his shirt. Amber stared at the thick muscular chest, covered with a thick mat of dark hair. Her breath caught then exhaled sharply, almost like a moan, and she lifted her face and rubbed it against the dark silky hair. He groaned and shuddered on top of her, his lower body jerking against her involuntarily. Amber liked the control she exerted over that huge body, and he lifted her face and kissed her again.

Amber knew it was crazy; she knew she had to stop him, but then it didn’t seem to matter. Every minute had grown unbearably exquisite, but as his fingers moved up under her gown and touched her hot skin, she caught his hand and broke the kiss.

"Wait minute."

"I’m sorry. Your skin is so soft."

"I should go to bed."

"I know. But just one minute. I like holding a woman when she’s all warm and quivering," he said. He drew a deep breath. "Damn, you are so sweet. Do you know how easy it would be to get hung up on you?"

Ignoring the soft words, she ran her hands along his arm. "Don’t lie to me, please?"

"What makes you think I’m lying?"

"Because it sounds like a line."

"Well, it isn’t. When I hold you like this, you’re intoxicating, addicting."

Amber drew a sharp breath. The words sounded sincere, but how could she be certain? "I should go," she said.

"One more kiss. I won’t go any farther, if that’s where you want to leave it, but I gotta have one more kiss. For New Year’s."

His low pleading voice made her shiver, and she let his big hand lift her face. He rubbed a rough cheek against her then turned her lips to him and caught them.

Amber knew it was a mistake as soon as he did it. His lips were warm searching, enticing. She returned it, groaning deep in her throat, and drawing the same response from him. He pulled back, shaking his head.

"Okay, okay, enough." He settled her close beside him. "Let’s talk. Maybe that will help.

"Talk? About what?" she asked. Her brain had shut down. Her body was on fire and that was all that mattered.

"Tell me more about you and Peter Arnold. You still trying to win him back?"

She drew in a deep breath leaning her head against his bare arm. She inhaled the warm male smell of him, and fought back the sudden awareness low in her body. Peter. She tried to focus on what he looked like. She didn’t even remember. "I learned my lesson. That was never going to work out."

"Were you in love with him?"

"No." It was easy to say now, though she didn’t even realize it until the past couple of weeks. "I think I was more in love with what he could offer."

"That’s the kind of man you want, isn’t it? Successful, confident, business-oriented."

She shrugged. "I suppose he appealed to the settled side of me."

"So what do you want now?"

"Besides that crazy job?" she asked sarcastically.

"What do you really want? Have you thought about it? Do you want to meet some new guy and settle down? Is that what you want? The happy home and family? Or do you see yourself on the road for the next ten years, traveling from city to city with players that get younger every year?"

"Where do you see yourself?" she countered. "Wife and children?"

"Been there, done that, no way," he said with a quick shake of his dark head. "Of course, if I met the right woman..." He left the rest unsaid.

"That’s a line you feed to women to make them think they stand a chance," she protested, elbowing him in the side.

His laugh was quick. "I can’t get anything by you, can I?"

Amber laughed sharply. "I won’t let you. Hit my way and I’ll catch it every time. A regular hot glove at the hot corner."

"And what is the hot corner?" he asked.

"Third base," she replied.

"You do know a little about the game," he teased. "I’ll give you that."

Amber let her gaze sneak up to the chiseled lines of his handsome face. She fought back the urge to touch his cheek. "Sam?" she began, "have you ever been in love?"

Dark eyes looked down at her, puzzled. "Why do you ask?"

"I’m curious."

"Once. And that was enough. It will never happen again."

"She gave you that cast iron heart?"

"And everything that goes with it." He smiled. "You’re thinking of doing some drilling aren’t you?"

"Any hope?"

He shook his head and his dark eyes went past her to the fire. "I try to be upfront. I know you think I’m some sort of a playboy but I warn the women I see. I’m not interested in more than company."