Thanks for everyone who reviewed as well as the ones who added this to their alerts. I really appreciate that.
I don´t know how long this is going to be, but for now I can say, it just keeps writing itself. Therefore I´ll continue for a while.
Enjoy and let me know what you think.
2 months later...
"Hello sailor." I haven´t heard from him in a while but that wasn´t unusual. Our schedules were different, like night and day.
"Hi Cat." His voice was warm and I could heard the smile in his voice.
"Time for another favor?" I asked, expecting this call to be another request for a favor. At least that was how it usually worked, but his next words surprised me.
"No... I actually just wanted to hear your voice."
There was silence on both sides for a while. My heart was beating faster when the meaning of his words sunk in.
"Cat? You´re still there?" he asked.
"Yes... still here. I have to admit though that I´m surprised."
"Hey, I´m trying, okay?" There was the smile in his voice again and I felt myself grinning.
"Oh, I´m not complaining, not at all." I assured him.
"So, when will you return to Pearl?"
"Actually I´m already here. We arrived this morning but I haven´t had time to call." This day had been so busy, packed with debriefs and final meetings, that I didn´t even have time to eat. Let alone think about anything else.
"So, how about you cash in dinner?"
"Perfect! I can´t wait to get out of this uniform and have a steak!" I heard him chuckle.
"If you need help with the uniform, just let me know." I laughed and felt a sudden wave of joy. It was so good to hear his voice and I realized how much I had missed him. It was easy not to thing about it when you´re working long hours in the middle of a war zone. You had to focus on your work, the people relying on you.
"When should I be there?" I asked already making my way to my quarter to grab my bag. I was more than ready to leave this ship. In the next 30 days I´d be civilian and I planed on making the most of it.
"Seven hundred." You´ll never get the Navy out of a SEAL.
"I´ll be there, sailor." I promised, suddenly feeling like a teenager. I haven´t seen him for months now and hearing his voice reminded me of that.
I got out of my car, taking a deep breath and straightening my short dress. I slipped my shoes off and carried them with me to the back of his house. And there he was, tall, dark and sexy. He wore a jeans and a white button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He was focussing on the grill and my mouth watered at the sight of the two steaks.
"You spoil me, Lt. Commander." I said and made my way to the stairs. He looked up and when our eyes met, a huge smile appeared on his face.
"Hi Sunshine, welcome back." His arms pulled me against his chest and I took a deep breath, relishing in his scent. I dropped my shoes, embracing his waist and tiptoeing to kiss him. I closed my eyes and then I finally felt his lips on mine. I moaned when a sudden rush of warmth spread through me, from my head to my toes. And I was thankful for his embrace, without him I would probably melt into the ground.
His kiss was soft and caring, nothing more than a tease. But it was all I needed right now. When he lifted his head, I heard myself purr and opened my eyes again. He smiled down at me, gently tugging a strand of my dark hair behind my ear and sliding his fingertips down my neck.
"It´s good to have to here." he whispered and there was this gentle tone again.
"It´s good to be back again." I missed you, I added in my thoughts but wasn´t brave enough to actually say those words.
"How about a glass of your favorite Shiraz?" he asked and I nodded smiling. He knew my favorite wine and it was typical for him to have a bottle of it in his fridge when I returned. He was always thoughtful and these little gestures meant a lot to me.
When he went inside to get the wine I realized that for the first time since we knew each other, this didn´t feel like vacation. It wasn´t a visit, but it wasn´t a homecoming either. That would have been too much, too soon. Still it felt good and right to be here and his look when he first saw me told me that he felt it too. It was a mutual understanding.
"Here you go." he handed me a glass, toasting me. "Here´s to... " he started but I interrupted him.
"Here´s to us." I smiled at him and Steve´s nodded approvingly. "To us." We both tasted the fruity, soft wine, our eyes locked the whole time. I saw him swallow the wine, my eyes were drawn to his lips. They were gently curved, strong and full and I loved feeling them on mine... and on every part of my body.
Steve told me to sit down while he took care of the steaks, so I dropped on a near sofa, tugging my feet under and watched him.
"You look awfully satisfied, Steve." I said and chuckled when he threw me a cocky grin. God, this man was so sexy and I felt so good knowing that tonight, he was mine.
"It´s a wonderful, warm night, we have to 2 steaks on the grill and I have a beautiful woman with me. Why should I not be satisfied?" He took another sip and smiled genuinely at me.
"You do know that this is actually the first dinner ever?" I giggled.
"Ouch. Yeah, I guess you´re right." He sounded a tiny bit embarrassed, but I didn´t mind. He took his glass and came over, sitting next to me and pulling me closer. I felt his muscles move and the warmth of his body engulfing me.
"I´m glad you are here, Cat." he whispered and pressed his lips to mine in another gentle kiss. I felt my inside melt and my hand came up to caress his face. He tasted like wine and sun and Steve and I felt myself starving to have more of that. His tongue gently slipped between my lips and I heard his low growl when it touched mine. This was Heaven, pure pleasure. I felt dizzy and I wasn´t sure if it was the wine or his kiss.
When he slowly lifted his head, my hand stayed on his cheek. Our eyes met and we smiled at each other. I´ve never seen his eyes so gentle, so full of... something that I couldn´t quiet put my finger on. But I was sure that I had the same look in my eyes. It just felt right.
"Hungry?" he asked, his voice low and a little husky.
"Very much." I replied, knowing that we were not talking about the steaks. But for once I planned on having dinner with him. We´d have enough time later.
We sat down at the table and when he put one of the steaks on my plate, my stomach grumbled. I blushed and he chuckled. We toasted again and started to eat. It was delicious and I closed my eyes more than once, enjoying the tender meat.
"You know, I missed real food." I admitted.
"THAT is the only thing I don´t miss about being active duty. The food." Steve laughed and I agreed.
We kept the conversation light during dinner. He didn´t ask, because he knew I couldn´t say anything. There was the unspoken rule that we both sticked to. But there were plenty of other things to talk about. It was a comfortable atmosphere and I felt myself relax further. After we finished, he poured us another glass of wine and smiled at me, when he silently lifted his glass to his lips.
He began to tell me about his team, about being the leader of the Hawaii 5-0 task force. It wasn´t easy, he had to get used to being a cop, sort of.
"Being a SEAL or military in general is easier. You get orders and you follow orders. No one questions those orders. Being a cop is different and I am sometimes not sure that this is what I want to do. Surely, this will get me where I want to be, getting my dad´s murderer. And I have a great team. It´s just... " he sighed and I saw the small shadow crossing his face. "Sometimes I think that I´ll never get along in the civil world. I´m not good at that." He looked at me and I saw the little sad smile. I reached over the table, putting my hand over his.
"It will take a while, you´ve been active duty for a long time. But maybe this is also a chance to get a different view on things. And this will also give you the chance to get closer to your sister. It´s not the SEALs, but you´re team seems to be just as strong and capable." I smiled at him, trying to reassure him. I hadn´t realized how hard this was on him.
"They are great. There was a time when I thought that they were the only good thing about being back. But I came to the conclusion that – even though it´s not the military – it´s still having an impact. I change things here, Cat. I´m doing good and … I care about my team. I never thought that this would happen actually, but we´re ohana." He turned his hand under mine and began to draw circles with this thumb on my skin. I ignored the feelings this caused inside me, I wasn´t going to ruin him opening up to me.
"Chin and Kono are a great addition, they are cousins and know almost everyone or know someone who knows someone. And Danny..., " he chuckled and than groaned. "Danny is something else. He´s constantly ranting and bitching and making fun of me, but I know that he always has my back." his voice trailed off and I knew he was thinking about his team. He sighed again.
"You´re right. Danny would probably drag my ass back to base, if he ever founds out I was thinking this way." His tone told me how much his partner meant to him, even though they´ve just been working together for a little more than 2 months. I knew that Dannys rants and his bickering was something that Steve learned to rely on. No matter how much the Detective was getting on his nerves sometimes, he liked the guy. And more importantly he trusted him.
"I won´t tell him." I giggled. Our eyes met and he lifted my hand to his lips, kissing the sensitive spot between thumb and forefinger gently.
"I am really lucky to have you here." he whispered again. And suddenly, out of nowhere, I felt overwhelming tenderness for this strong, tough man. I knew what kept him going and it broke my heart when he called to tell me that his father was killed. He cared about his team, about every single one of them, and he´d do everything in his power to keep them safe. He always put others first, rarely thinking about the consequences.
I didn´t know what to say. Didn´t know how to put the feelings inside me into words. So I got up, walked over to him and sat down in his lap. My hands framed his face and I leaned closer, kissing his lips tenderly.
"You have a great team, Lt. Commander. It´s not wrong to allow weakness, because you know your team has your back. Just as you got theirs. They won´t let you down." I whispered. Steve wrapped his arms around my waist and leaned his forehead against mine. Our breath mingled and I felt really close to him at that moment.
I knew that this was a special moment, Steve wouldn´t usually open up to someone. But I think it was easier with me because I knew what he was talking about. I knew the drawback of being in the military.
I don´t know how long we stayed in this position and I didn´t mind. I wished that this moment would never end. I allowed myself to feel his warmth and the connection we shared. When he lifted his head I swallowed a disapproving moan.
"Let´s get this cleaned up and have a walk, okay?" he asked. I looked at him, brushing my thumb over his lips. I´ll admit that I was afraid of this "Now what?" But there was only tenderness in his eyes and I sighed inaudibly. He wouldn´t close me out again. Not yet.
We cleaned everything and then took our glasses to the beach behind his house. It was a warm night, the waves rolled onto the sand gently and the full moon was high above us. I felt so content, so at ease, when my feet felt the warm sand and I curled my toes. Steve held my hand, entwined our fingers. This was a perfect moment.
"How long are you gonna stay this time?" he asked softly.
"30 days leave." I said.
"Gives us plenty of time." he purred, pulling me closer and placing a kiss on the side of my mouth.
"I bet you already have in mind how to use it, hm?" I whispered, leaning against him.
"Positive..." His lips found mine and this time his kiss wasn´t teasing. His tongue slipped between my lips, touching mine. I felt my knees go weak and I leaned against him further, wrapping my free arm around his neck while his arm came around my waist and held me up, pressed against him. God, this man was driving me crazy! I felt like every bone in my body melted and all I could do was hold onto him.
When we finally parted, we were both breathing hard.
"As I said earlier, sailor, you´re spoiling me." My voice was husky.
"Trust me Sunshine, I haven´t even started yet." And with that, he dropped his glass, taking mine and dropped it as well. Then he wrapped both arms around my waist, pulling me close and crashed his lips onto mine in a demanding and hungry kiss that made every reasonable thought impossible.