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“When are you going to ask Sandy to marry you?” the colonel asked.
The minute the words were out of his superior’s mouth, Daniel tensed. Was this a fishing expedition? Deeming his worthiness for promotion? It was the one question he dreaded. He knew well enough that in the military you were more likely to get promoted if you were married. The service viewed its airmen as more stable, mature and trustworthy if they had a wedding ring on their finger and a passel of kids to support.
He did not have that advantage going for him.
It wasn’t that Daniel didn’t want to get married or have children. He did. But becoming a doctor had taken all his focus in his younger years. Then later, once he’d completed his internship and residency and he’d met Sandy, well…
He’d thought about asking her to marry him. They’d been dating for four years. She was smart and pretty and safe and predictable. Her father was a career military man so she understood the life. In theory, she was perfect for him.
But she wasn’t Taylor.
The unwanted thought popped into his mind. What the hell was he doing thinking about Taylor Milton? He hadn’t seen or heard from her in thirteen years.
Still, that woman had excited him like no other, even though she’d been completely wrong for him. Sometimes, he wondered if she’d ruined him in regard to other women. But no one could measure up to her verve, her sheer enthusiasm, her exuberant life force.
It’s what Sandy had accused. He clenched his jaw, remembering their break up weeks earlier.
“Four years I’ve spent with you, Daniel. Four years of loving you and waiting for you to love me back.” Sandy had paused, taken a deep breath. “You were only with her for a few months and she put such a spell over you that you can’t forget her even after all this time. You’re in love with a woman who didn’t love you back. And I’ve been waiting with open arms, aching for you to love me.”
“You’re wrong. I’ m not still in love with Taylor. I haven’t even thought about her in years.”
“Maybe not consciously, Daniel, but sometimes you call out her name in your sleep.”
He’d blinked. “I do?”
Sandy had nodded, tears spilling from her eyes. “Not often, but you have.”
Daniel had felt as if he’d been poleaxed. Was it true? Did he still dream of Taylor? He didn’t remember that.
“The thing is, you’re holding on to the past, to the ghost of some long-lost love. You can’t let go of her and love the real flesh-and-blood woman standing in front of you.”
“I do love you, Sandy,” he’d said, but the words had sounded false. He did care about her, just not in the way she wanted and needed.
“Not in the way I deserve.”
“No,” he agreed.
“I know.” She’d exhaled audibly.
She’d been right. Damn him, he’d known she was right. “You’re breaking my heart here,” he’d said as she headed for the door, suitcase in hand.
She’d whirled on him, eyes flashing and dropped her suitcase. “No, Daniel, you’re breaking mine. Only love can break a heart and Taylor Milton broke yours years ago. You’re damaged goods.”
“I’m not,” he’d declared hotly. “I’ve long since moved on.”
“Maybe in your head you have.” She had stepped across the room toward him, hammered a small fist against the left side of his chest. “But not here, not where it counts, not in your heart.”
“Sandy…” Daniel had let his words trail off. What else had there been to say? It hurt to know that he was hurting her, but he couldn’t make himself love her, no matter how much he might want to. Was this how Taylor had felt toward him? Pity, guilt, embarrassment? “I’m so sorry for hurting you.”
“Physician, heal thyself,” Sandy had said, then turned and walked away.
“Well?” Colonel Grayson prompted bringing him back to the present.
“Sandy and I broke up,” he said.
“How come?”
“She was pressuring me to get married.”
“And you’re not ready for marriage?”
“I’m ready, sir,” he said, hating the thought that he might lose out on the promotion because he wasn’t yet hitched. “But I haven’t found the right woman.”
“So you’re free as a bird. Not dating anyone else?”
“That’s correct.”
“Hmm,” the colonel mused. Daniel had expected his boss to look disappointed, but he did not. “Interesting.”
Wariness settled over him. Something was up. “What’s this meeting about, sir?”
Grayson clasped his hands behind his back and paced like an agitated jungle cat. “A thorn in my side.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’ve got a thorn in my side and you’re the only one I trust to pull it out.”
Ah. The colonel had a problem and he perceived Daniel as the solution. That was good news. Solving his superior’s issue would go a long way toward proving his worthiness for the promotion.
“Sir.” Daniel stood at attention. “How may I be of service to you, sir?”
Grayson stopped pacing and looked over at him. “I like your gung-ho attitude, Corben. Exactly why you’re the man for this job.”
“What’s the assignment? I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and get started.”
“You say that now.” Grayson gave a rueful laugh. “Wait until you hear what it is.”
“Doesn’t matter, sir. I’m at your disposal.”
Grayson plunked down behind his desk and motioned for Daniel to sit. He did. The Colonel locked on him with a steady gaze. “General Charles Miller came to see me yesterday.”
“Yes, sir.”
“The general has political aspirations. He’s planning on running for public office when he retires at the end of next year. He’s eyeing the White House. Sees himself as the next Colin Powell.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You can drop the ‘sir’ business, Daniel, it’s just you and me in here.”
Now Grayson was getting chummy. The thorn in his side must really be throbbing. His curiosity piqued, Daniel leaned forward. “Is this thorn medically related?”
Grayson made a face. “Not exactly.”
“Are we dealing under the table here?” Daniel bristled. He’d do anything for his superior as long as it wasn’t unethical or against regulations. He was strictly by the book, one of the reasons why he and Taylor had made for such a bad match. She’d been all about breaking the rules.
“No, not really, bending a few rules maybe, but nothing that crosses the line.”
“Tell me,” Daniel said bluntly.
“Let me just say up front that if you successfully pull off this assignment your promotion is practically a done deal. You’ll have my full recommendation to the committee.”
“And if I don’t?”
Grayson shrugged. “Only twenty-five percent of military officers ever achieve the rank of colonel.”
Daniel knew this. He also understood the implication. “I did two tours of duty in a field hospital in the Middle East. I earned a silver star in Afghanistan—”
“And that is the reason why you’ve made it up the ranks as quickly as you have.”
“What do I have to do to make colonel?”
Grayson leaned back in his chair and propped his booted feet on his desk. “One of General Miller’s wealthy VIPs has pledged big contribution money if he’ll grant a favor.”
“Which gets passed down to me.”
Grayson nodded. “That’s the thorn you’ll be pulling out of my side, doctor.”
“Lay it on me.”
“The general’s generous donor wants a backstage pass to our behind-the-scenes action for the next launch of the space shuttle,” he said.
“Meaning?”
“She’s doing research for—”
“She?”
“That’s why I asked you about Sandy. According to the general, his benefactor is young, single, attractive and very rich.”
“Ah.”
“Anyway, she runs some kind of sex fantasy resort thing and she’s in the research stages of planning a new one.”
“Like fantasy baseball camp?”
Grayson cleared his throat. “Something like that, except it’s for adults. She wants details on test pilots, flight surgeons and astronauts. I don’t know the full parameters, I’m sure she’ll fill you in.”
An ugly tug pulled at the pit of his stomach. “You gotta be kidding me.”
His superior officer shrugged, gave him an apologetic look. “I wish I was.”
Daniel got to his feet again. “Let me get this straight. You want me to babysit some pampered rich woman who’s running around using our high-tech military space program to fuel her little X-rated sexual fantasies?”
“Believe me, Corben. I’m no happier about it than you are. But if we pull this off to her satisfaction, then she’ll bankroll Miller’s run for the senate. I’ll make brigadier general and my job will be open for you to step in.”
“How long will she be here?”
“Two weeks.”
“Two weeks!”
“A minor inconvenience.” Grayson waved a hand, dismissing his objections as if batting away a fly. “The main thing is to keep her out of trouble.”
“Trouble?”
His superior officer shifted, looked uncomfortable. “She’s got a flamboyant reputation.”
Daniel glowered. “How so?”
Grayson shrugged. “General Miller said something about media controversy involving her last project. Again, I don’t know the details. But we need to keep a tight lid on her visit.”
Daniel blew out his breath, shook his head. “I wish I could help you, sir, but if you recall I’ll be in Moron, Spain, next week on launch day running the TAL disaster drill.”
“I know. That’s the main reason I need you and not anyone else,” Grayson said, smiling for the first time since Daniel had come into the room. “First of all, you’re discreet. Second, it’s the perfect solution. Get her out of the country while seeming to give her what she wants.”
“She’s going to want to be at the Cape for the Atlantis launch, sir, not at some TAL site.”
“Then it’s up to you to convince her it’s better to be at Moron during the launch than here.”
“How am I supposed to do that?”
“You’re smart and you can be charming. You figure it out.”
“I don’t like this,” Daniel grumbled.
“But you’ll do it?” Grayson’s eyes drilled into him.
“Do I have a choice?”
“Depends on how badly you want my job.”
Daniel glared. “I’ve worked damned hard for this promotion. This isn’t fair.”
“No,” Grayson said glibly. “This is the Air Force.”
TAYLOR MILTON couldn’t stop grinning as she drove her rented silver convertible 911 Turbo Porsche toward Cape Canaveral. General Charles Miller, her late father’s best friend since high school, had come through for her in a big way.
Just thinking about how she was going to have access to top-gun pilots, shuttle astronauts and sexy Air Force flight surgeons sent a shiver of delight down her spine. This in-depth research was bound to make her planned fourth fantasy resort—Out of this World Lovemaking—a smashing success.
