A/N: Please insert Bryan Adams' song "I Wanna Be Your Underwear" into your head, as you read this chapter... many thanks, as always to everyone!

CHAPTER 21

She'd taken the entire day for herself.

No meetings. No conference lectures. No nothing.

Just Sharon Raydor.

It felt damn good.

After an uninterrupted night's sleep, Sharon rose early to greet the sunrise from her room's balcony, and soon after, took a morning swim in the ocean and then joined in on a beach side yoga class.

While eating a light breakfast at the hotel's pool bar, Sharon received a text from Rusty saying he'd met up with Kat for a bit of volunteering at one of Castillo's house projects.

The thought of Martin Castillo made her smile.

She imagined his hands on her body as she got a massage at the hotel's spa.

Not to mention his reaction to seeing her in the new dress she'd purchased at one of the local boutiques on Ocean Drive.

Sharon had seen the sexy slip of ombre silk in shades of teal and midnight blue, earlier in the week, but had passed on buying it until finally deciding to do so on a whim after her massage.

If fit her perfectly, emphasized her gorgeous legs, and was just right for the night's dinner and awards ceremony.

A matching wrap scarf for her arms, to guard against the coolness of the convention center's frigid a/c, completed the look of the stunning dress.

Sharon was debating whether to wear her hair up or down for the event, when Rusty knocked on the door separating their rooms.

"Come in, Honey. I'm totally decent," she called as she exited her room's bathroom. Small diamond studded hoop earrings glittered at her lobes, and competed with the look of happiness she wore on her face.

Rusty whistled as he entered. "Mom, you look amazing!"

Sharon offered a quick curtsy, then admired her youngest son's own fashion choices. Dressed in a proper black suit, and a brightly colored dress shirt with a contrasting tie, he looked more than all grown up.

The sight made the mother smile, and she couldn't help but snap a picture of him with he phone's camera.

"Thank you, Sir. You look mighty nice yourself."

Rusty blushed. He carried a small package in a brown paper bag. "Thanks. Amy went shopping with me before we left L.A. She's got a good eye," he said with a swallow.

Sharon noted her son's unease and grew a bit worried herself. "Did you get us a ride-share," she asked, hoping to distract them both.

He shifted himself from one leg to the other. "Yeah. Our driver should be here soon." Nervously he withdrew a small package in a brown paper bag from his pants pocket, and handed it to Sharon. "This is for you," he said of the object that was marked with the logo of a nearby drug store.

Sharon smiled cautiously before taking the package and opening it.

Inside were two boxes of Trojans.

"Rusty–"

"I wasn't sure what size to get," the young man explained quickly to his very pale mother. "Marty's an old guy, but he looks like he'd be big. His hands are huge, so I bought Large and Extra-Large."

Sharon closed the bag quickly and set it on the dresser as carefully as if it were a live grenade.

"You bought me condoms," she stated needlessly.

"Well, yeah," Rusty replied with rolled eyes, "I mean, the captain's a really great guy, but you never can be too safe. And I want you safe, Mom."

Sharon fought back tears, and hugged her son. "Don't ever change," she whispered in his ear.

"Okay."

Rusty pushed back just enough to admire his beautiful mom. Martin Castillo would be a lucky to have her for a wife, or at least as a girlfriend, and Rusty found himself praying that things worked out for the best between the two captains. He'd never had two loving parents before, and in his mind, Sharon and Martin were just about as perfect as perfect got.

# # #

Minutes later, the mother and son stepped off the elevator, into the hotel lobby, and made their way to the port-cochere to pick up their ride to the convention center. Sharon had chosen to wear her hair down, and Rusty saw that she was wearing her sexiest pair of heels from her extensive closet of shoes from back home.

He was in immense awe of her strength and beauty, and felt very proud to be at her side.

"Provenza texted that he and Amy are running a little late, so they're getting their own ride to the convention center," Rusty explained. "Apparently the humidity is wreaking havoc with the glue on Amy's false eyelashes, and Provenza is actually trying to help her stick them on."

"Really?" Sharon nearly choked at the image.

"Really."

"Louie's a changed man since Patrice came into his life," Sharon said warmly of her lieutenant and his lady, "God bless her." To Rusty she asked, "So what kind of vehicle are we looking for?"

"Um, that one," Rusty replied with a pointed finger.

A shining black BMW Alpina B6 waited at the curb, along with its driver.

Standing in almost military attention, with his hands clasped together in front of him, Martin Castillo awaited them both. He was clad in the full dress uniform of the Miami-Dade PD, and looked unbelievably dashing. Every piece of Martin's clothing was perfectly pressed, and his silver and black hair shone in the late-afternoon light, begging to be played with. The expression he wore behind his glasses was almost a glare, but when he saw Rusty, and especially Sharon, his mask cracked and a subtle smile swiftly betrayed him.

Rusty quietly saluted the man and made his way to the back seat of the car.

Sharon stopped with an audible hum. "Captain."

Castillo's smile spread to his eyes. "Madam Captain."

"You look spiffy."

"Thank you. You look..." Castillo took in the sight of Sharon standing before him, and once again his words were lost when it came to her.

Sharon admired the very handsome man before her, and couldn't help but think of the boxes of condoms that waited upstairs in her room.

"We should go," she said quickly.

"Yes," he replied in hoarse agreement.

#TO BE CONTINUED#