Warning: The following chapter is rated "M".

She'd come back to the Barefoot lounge barefoot, of course, for the last three days in the hopes on the off chance that he might return. She knows that his job is probably keeping him from coming back here but she always takes the opportunity to sit here between the hours of seven thirty and ten Just in case. Breakfast just seems bland without him with her.

Xx

He's at a crossroads and he knows that with the information he now holds this could be a major security breach for his ship and crew. He knows that his Captain would want to know firsthand what he found out but the fact that this information is not that reliable he decides to wait and hold back what he has learned. He will after a thorough investigation tell the Captain what he has learned. Until then, he needs to talk to someone who might be able to help. And that person stands about five foot eight with Brunette colored hair. He hasn't been off the ship since Saturday night because the captain had decided to visit his distant relatives in Kingston. He's been on the ship for three days straight. He knows that Tuesday morning will be the end of his watch. But what he doesn't hope is that the Captain will want to head straight out for patrol ops. He might be able to persuade him to stay in port for an additional twelve hours. This will hopefully give him enough time to catch up with Kate.

Xx

Seeing that it is close to ten o'clock she decides to cut the day short. As she passes Anne, she looks at her as it if she's lost her best friend. Just as she turns the corner to go to the elevators and back to her room, she slams head-on into a very familiar muscular chest. She slams into him so hard that he almost knocks her off her feet. If it wasn't for the fact that his hands were as fast as they were she would have ended up on the floor flat on her back.

"Kate, hi!" Rick said as he stops her from falling to the floor.

"I'm so sorry Rick! I'm such a klutz I never saw you because I was looking down."

Once Rick stood her back up and released her, she immediately felt the loss of his hands from around her waist and back. He looked her directly in the eye and asked,

"Kate, why were you looking down?"

"Well I thought you were not going to be here again today so I was a little upset. I was just trying to gather my thoughts that's all."

"Wait, again today? Have you been coming here hoping that I came back to see you?" Rick asks.

Kate could only nod her head looking down.

"Okay I'll make a deal with you, I will listen to what you were thinking about if you will listen to what I have to tell you. Deal?"

"Okay deal."

Kate is happy that Rick is back. They both make their way back to the table she was sitting at earlier so they can talk. Anne who saw Kate leave and now is coming back is looking a little perplexed. Kate sees the look on her face and explains.

"Anne, this is Rick. He's the one who saved me the other night at Taboo."

"Oh, he's the one you couldn't place." She says with a little smirk.

Pleasantries are exchanged and in a hurry and Kate takes Rick by the hand leading him back to her table not wanting to talk to Anne. As they sit down he takes her in. There's something about her today that he didn't notice the other night and at breakfast a couple of days ago. Now she seems more carefree and open now that they're in each other's company.

"So, Kate what were you thinking about? Or should I say who?"

The second he said who Kate's cheeks blushed to a light shade of red. She was quiet for longer than was acceptable. He decided to ask her again.

"Kate what…"

"You. Okay. It was you I was thinking about as I slammed into you just five minutes ago."

Rick couldn't hide the grin that appeared on his face. He had a feeling that she was thinking about him and she just confirmed it for him.

"Good thoughts I hope?"

"Absolutely sinful." She replies as she looks up once again.

Rick's eyes went wide and then as dark as she's ever seen them before they looked like midnight blue.

"Well, we might have to do something about that little problem."

All Kate did was give him a seductive look. Getting back on track she started to speak,

"Listen Rick there's something I need to tell you about the other day at breakfast. You are one of the first men that has actually held my attention long enough to have a decent conversation with. I'm not saying that this is one of the reasons why I'm attracted to you but I think it's a big factor. I need to have an equal partner in my life and I think that's you. As corny as this might sound Rick, I think that you make me a whole person. You are my missing piece, my soulmate."

"Kate, the feeling is mutual. But before we get into that conversation right now can we put this on hold for a minute or two? I promise we'll come back to it. I just need to talk to you about something."

"Sure. What did you want to talk about?"

"I need your help, well maybe not your help, but more of a sounding board, maybe more. What I am going to tell you is considered an act of treason by our government. This conversation we will have is going to delve into national security. So please don't say a word to a soul about this. "

"Alright go on I'm listening."

"I have information that could possibly expose certain people who are taking bribes in exchange for sensitive information aboard my ship."

"How sensitive?"

"It's very sensitive. This information that's leaking out gives away our patrol times and routes. What I was told from a concerned citizen is that this drug dealer Christopher Coke has his hands in most of the crew on my ship. He has been avoiding our routes from the information he has received and making a clear shot to the U.S. to deliver his drugs."

Kate turned white as a sheet as she remembers one of her first investigations as a newly promoted detective. Christopher Coke was a ruthless and vindictive drug kingpin who had a base of operations in New York City. He was someone who she did not want Rick tangling with. She had seen firsthand what his fury brought upon the men and women and their families who went up against him.

Eight years earlier...

She was called out to a case by dispatch where a homicide of two victims was committed in her jurisdiction. Being newly promoted to detective third class she made sure she had everything she needed to get the job done. She passed the uniformed officer at the lobby entrance and he waved her up to the crime scene by pointing up. No less than stepping two feet into the scene she was pulled from it before she even stepped any further into the crime scene. As she arrived on the scene the lead narcotics detective told her to simply turn around and leave his crime scene. She refused and he pulled her into two areas of the apartment. The first area was the living room. He made her look at the thirty-something African American male tied to a chair and his throat was cut so deep that his spinal cord was the only thing holding his head in place. Then he brought her into the kitchen where a mid-thirties female was lying on the kitchen table. She only saw it for a split second but the image she did see was burned into her mind and will stay with her until the day she dies. Her body was stripped away of any clothing. The narcotics detective told her that she was probably sodomized and raped while the husband who was still alive at the time and tied to the chair made to watch her being raped multiple times and by a gang of men. But what happened next was the sight she'll never forget. Carved in the flesh of her abdomen were the words "No One Talks" If that was not bad enough, she was shot from under her chin with a large caliber weapon. The round went through her brain and exited out her skull taking most of her skull with the round ending up splattered against the wall above the stove, then her throat was slit like her husbands after she was shot. The detective told her that this was Coke's signature calling card. Then she was escorted out of the apartment and her captain was advised that she was not to return... ever.

Xx

"Rick you need to back off! This guy plays for keeps." Kate practically screamed as she remembers the scene in the apartment.

"Whoa there Kate, what's going on here?"

"I've seen what this man is capable of Rick. Please don't go after him." Kate pleaded.

"Kate I need to do this. He is poisoning our country with what he moves into Miami, Houston, New Orleans, Gulfport, and Panama City. He has to be stopped. And on top of that, he has compromised my crew."

God, she had only barely met him and she could tell he was just as stubborn as she was. There was only one thing she wanted to do with him. Before she lost her nerve her hand shot across the table and she pulled him up from the chair he was sitting in. Without any forewarning, she pulled him out of the lounge and into the hallway towards the elevators never saying a word to him. Before she could talk herself out of this she hit the call button for the elevator, turned his back towards the wall, and shoved him hard against it. Before she knew it she was leaning into him meeting his lips with hers.

Xx

She was a strong one he'd give her that. She had yanked him out of his chair and out of the lounge and into the hallway before he could do anything to stop her. By the time she got him to the elevators, he gave in just a little. But when he was pushed against the wall between the elevators he thought she had lost her mind. Then he felt it. Her lips softly caressing his to the point where he forgot about everything but her and what she was doing to him. It wasn't long before her tongue demanded entrance and he granted it. He was not giving this up anytime soon he thought as his arms wrapped around her waist.

The sound of the elevators chiming bell announcing its arrival stopped any forward progress and they separated for air. Her smile was what had him entering the elevator after her. Reaching her floor and entering her room he was amazed by the sight from her balcony. She let him see what the view offered and when that was done she pulled him towards the bed. She had him just about naked by the time they reached her bed. Her dress fell to the floor with one quick pull of the zipper exposing her slim, taught, tanned body. Under it, she was as naked as the day she was born.

Once again she shoved him. Only this time he landed on the bed. His boxers were the only barrier keeping him decent. Kate grabbed the inseams of his boxers and pulled hard and they were off in a flash. Her eyes went wide when she caught the size of his cock. Even while it was flaccid it was on the large side. She wondered what it would be like filing her.

Knowing that she wanted him now she took his cock in her hand she started to stroke him. He responded with a moan she'd never heard a man make. When she looked up she could see that he was loving every move she made. His eyes were shut so tight that she thought she noticed tears falling down his temples. Bending her head over she slid her mouth over the tip of his cock and swirled her tongue around its head. By the time he was hard enough for her she pulled away and just watched his cock throb back and forth looking for release. Knowing he was ready she swung her leg over his thigh and hovered her clit over the tip of his cock. Then she lowered herself onto him easing his cock into her. Before she could even complete her impalement, she let out a gasp as he thrust upward surprising her but she loved the surprise because he filled her to where no man had ever done before.

They soon found a rhythm that worked for each of them. Rick was an exceptional lover and when they came down from their high she'd tell him so. He was pounding her so hard that he hit her G spot numerous times. She could not hold back any longer. On his next upstroke, she exploded. All she could see when she closed her eyes was a bright white light as if she watched a flash bang go off right in front of her. Then she literally passed out and fell on top of him.

He thought if she wanted to be made love to he'd give her a little surprise. He watched as she carefully lined up her shaved clit with his cock. The second she slid over his cockhead he could tell that she was soaking wet. She would be able to handle what he was going to do to her next. Without any warning, he slammed up into her catching her totally off guard. The look on her face was priceless. He could tell that she was enjoying every second of what they were doing. They found an easy rhythm and he started to pick up the pace. When he did he could feel her inner muscles tightening around his cock. A while later he felt her release and he followed her soon after. Then he felt her inner muscles milking his cock for all of his cum. What really surprised him was the fact that she was finished she collapsed on top of him passed out.

He laid there with her draped over his chest. She was beautiful it's the only thing he can see as he looks down her naked form lying on top of his. Twenty minutes pass and she just now starts to wake up. Not one to pass up a good ribbing he can't resist what he tells her next.

"Kate, I'm not one to complain, and what we did was so beautiful, satisfying, and mind-blowing, but now I only need to ask why you dragged me to your room and had your way with me?"

If Kate thought she was embarrassed before they made love, now she was totally embarrassed. Her cheeks, as well as chest, and neck started to turn red with embarrassment. Rick noticed this and put a stop to it immediately thinking that she didn't understand what he meant.

"Kate you misunderstood me. What I want to know is why you thought we had to have sex now instead of maybe later." He asks wagging his eyebrows.

"Rick I don't usually do things like this. I am not a one-night stand kind of woman but this was just something that I had to do. I did it for one reason and one reason only. If you were to somehow to become a victim of Christopher Coke's rage, I wanted to know what it felt like when I was made love to by a man who knew what he was doing. I can't explain it Rick but there's something that set you apart from most other men. You are kind, passionate, and you know how to use what God gave you. You could say I just lost all of my inhibition."

"Kate, let's take a step back for a second. I have no intention of becoming another victim of Christopher Coke. I will, however, see that his drug empire is brought to a swift end."

"You can't know that Rick! He has ways of eliminating anyone who gets in his way. Please listen to me."

Rick caresses Kate's hip and leg trying to calm her down "Kate I'm not anyone. I will take him down. But I need to confront the men on my ship first. They need to be dealt with before I try to stop anything further."

Kate realizes that Rick is right. He needs to clean up his own house before he can go up against Coke.

"I'm going to help you. There has to be something that I can do for you. I have connections in the city and maybe we can work on this together."

"Kate, you're on vacation. I am not going to make you work while you are supposed to be relaxing." Then it hit him like a ton of bricks. In his own mind, he knew why she wanted to sleep with him.

"Kate don't take this the wrong way but have you just come off a bad break up?" Rick asks feeling a little hurt.

The second he asks the question she can see the joy and happiness of what they just did diminish from his eyes. What replaces it is something she never wants to see in his beautiful eyes again.

"Rick I did recently break up with a guy but he was more concerned with his career than me. So, no you are not that guy, the rebound guy. I would like to see if we could make something work between us."

"Are you sure that you're over him?"

"In so many ways Rick, so many."

She takes him into her arms and plants a passionate kiss on his lips telling him that she meant what she said. He is the one to initiate round two.

After round four they spend the rest of the night holding each other. When she wakes the next morning and she wonders if this has only been a very erotic dream. Her arm moves to where he was last night and the sheets are cold so it could have been a dream. When she goes to get out of bed she realizes that there is no mistake about it being a dream, her body aches in places that she hasn't used in quite some time. Her muscles in her thighs hurt in the best kind of way and she's happy they do. She opens her eyes and takes a look around the suite and doesn't see him anywhere. His clothes are gone and so is he. She's not going to get upset but she doesn't know the whole story about why she didn't wake up next to him. She gets up slips on a robe and heads to the kitchenette. When she gets there she sees the note that's on the counter.

"Kate,

I went to get us something to eat from downstairs. I'll be back soon with coffee and something to bring your strength back.

Rick

She folds the note up and puts it in her purse. She'll have this forever as a reminder of their night together. She's thinking about exactly what they did last night when there is a quiet knock on the front door of her suite. She doesn't want to seem too eager so she takes her time heading to the front door. When she opens the door she sees him in his uniform and damn does he looks good.

"Rick, why didn't you wake me up? If you had we could have gone to breakfast together."

"Kate please forgive me but you looked so very comfortable and content sleeping in I wouldn't dare wake you up. But I do have something for you to eat and caffeine. I know how much you need that."

He has spent less than twelve hours with her and he knows her pretty well already.

"How did you know I needed coffee to start my day?"

"Come on Kate, you're a cop. Long hours, cases that never seem to end, it's not hard to figure out that caffeine is how you start your day."

God, she already loves this man. But she won't let him know that right now.

She walks back to the table and he places the breakfast there for her to see. He has two very tall grande coffee's and what looks like omelets under a Styrofoam container. She sits down and he serves her.

"Kate I do apologize for how cold this might be," Rick says as he opens the top to the take-out container as he places it on the table.

What she sees is steam rising from the container indicating how hot it actually still is. She looks up at him and sees his smile.

"You're kidding right?" Kate says.

"Hey, I'm trying to keep you fed for what could happen later," Rick tells her.

"Oh? What might happen later?" She asks.

"Well for starters we need to finish our earlier conversation about you and I. then I'm pretty sure we need to take a shower when we're finished with breakfast." Rick quickly extended his hand to the corner of her mouth and with his finger, he scoops up some jelly from her toast that was on her lip.

"See, you can't even make it into your mouth!'

She gently swats him on the arm and finishes her omelet and closes the lid to the container. Taking her coffee in one hand with the other she takes his hand in hers and nods towards the bathroom. Rick knows that if he goes with her he'll never leave.

"Kate I really need to get back to the ship. I only have until noon to get back." Rick lamely protests.

"Come on Rick, I need help washing my back..."

Damn, he's a goner…