Three Weeks Last Spring Read Online Free PDF Page A

his hand now and again and watching his face intently. She ha d memorized each line, each expression, the way one eyebrow raised at a question, and the way his face lit up when he smiled, his hazel eyes crinkling at the corners.
     
    Michael had reserv ed a suite in one of the large hotels near the naval base. That way he would be close to the ship should he be required onboard. His gaze had never left hers as he told her that as much as he wanted to lie with her in his arms, he also didn't want her to feel under any pressure. How, if it didn't feel right for her, he would understand and book her into another room. Skye had blushed at his hesitant words, and had reached across the table to take both his hands in hers. With faltering words, she softly said that she wanted nothing more than to be completely loved by him.
     
    They left the restaurant arm in arm, and walked back to the car to join the queue for the ferry. While most passengers left their vehicles on the car deck and climb ed the stairs to the lounge, Michael and Skye had sat in the circle of each other's arms, neither of them really able to believe that finally being together could feel so good, so right.
     
    That first night, Michael made love to her with such tenderness that Skye thought her heart would burst. He'd whispered his thoughts to her, igniting the fire inside her. With one smo u ldering look Michael could make her body ache for the touch of his.
     
    The first two weeks passed in a blur. They spent the days exploring the Kitsap Peninsula and the nights making love. Once or twice, Michael was recalled to the ship, leaving Skye to explore on her own. On those occasions, she caught the ferry to Seattle or Port Orchard and visited the usual tourist venues—Pioneer Square, Pike Place Market, and the Space Needle. While she'd hoped these where places they would have explored together, she understood that the Navy had first call on his time.
     
    Michael also showed her around the ‘mothballed fleet’, the resting ground of some of the US Navy's most famous battleships and destroyers. He painstakingly explained the names of the various parts of the ship and how a sailor's bunk was called a ‘rack.’ Skye found it hard to comprehend how five thousand men and women could cram together on an aircraft carrier and call it ‘home’ for six months. Her admiration for Michael, and what he did for his country, grew by the hour. Although he never introduced her to his fellow officers, Skye hadn't thought it particularly strange, at least not at the time. It was only much later, when the sorry category of events finally unfolded, that she understood why.
     
    Skye awoke from the dream with a start. The cabin was completely dark save for the glow of the embers from the dying fire. Brushing her hair from her face, she felt tears. Crying again. Would she never learn to forget him? Would Michael always be in her thoughts, her dreams?
     
    Blindly, she searched for the switch for the lamp on the table behind the sofa. She turned it on, and blinked frantically as the room was suddenly bathed in light. Looking around the unfamiliar room, she couldn't see anything that would have wakened her, other than the final log disinteg rating into ashes in the grate.
     
    One window was slightly ajar, but not enough to cause anything to fall. She crossed the room and closed it, then reached to draw the drapes. She had the strange feeling that she was being watched. Don't be stupid and paranoid , y ou're a country girl at heart, remember? It's probably just the breeze in the trees, or maybe a neighborhood cat out on a nightly prowl. She walked over to the fire and placed the safety guard in front of it, making it safe for the night.
     
    ***
     
    From his hiding place deep within the wood, Walker heard the sound of an engine backfiring. By the time he reached the track, the vehicle responsible for the noise had vanished into the black of the night. The woman in the cabin had