Chapter 14 - Proposal
Heavy rains fell across the lake and with it came the thunder and lightning that accompanied the change in weather. They'd made it back to the houseboat, nearly escaping the electrical storm as Harm navigated the inflatable boat across the turbulent waters. He tied the small craft to the cleats at the bow, wrapping the rope tightly in a figure 8 formation that would keep the vessel from drifting away. Harm then grabbed a railing on the houseboat, holding it still so that Mac could jump onto the covered platform and hurry through the sliding glass doors.
She was cold and although he held her while they traversed the lake, Harm knew that body heat wouldn't quite cut it when you were soaked to the bone. Once the boat was completely secure, he followed, imagining the woman was likely under the spray of a hot shower not standing half nude in the living area.
Wet clothes had been dropped right by the entrance and Harm had only just locked the door when her arms wrapped around him. Ardent kisses made the cold disappear as did the hands that stripped him free of his own clothing.
With a gentle push, Mac backed him onto the sofa straddling his thighs when Harm reached for her. The chill in the air was all but forgotten as lips met lips and skin met skin when Mac raised up and lowered herself over his length.
A little over an hour had passed and Mac was still sitting atop him, her head resting on his shoulder. She took a deep breath to steady her racing heart and smiled when his arms wrapped tightly around her. She yawned as that delicious warmth spread through her veins.
Outside the rain fell in sheets, the sound of it pelting the house boat offered a soundtrack that complimented their heavy breaths each time Harm held her hips and pushed harder into her. She knew he'd left a mark given how roughly his fingers had dug into her skin and the thought of being branded that way actually shot a sense of thrill through her.
"Damn, Mac you drive me crazy."
"I think it's a short trip."
"It is." He laughed and that gentle rumble from his chest made another feeling of warmth spread through her.
"I love you, Harm." Her voice was soft if not a little tired but it held her affections in a way that made his heart race. "I love you so much."
Harm was a breath away from returning the sentiment but again the words failed him. It seemed somewhat meaningless, forgettable and over used. He needed this thing between them to mean more and for Mac to understand the depth of his devotion than a simple confession of love. "I'm all in on us, you know."
"I know." She murmured into the crook of his neck.
"No, you really don't." Harm pushed her back slightly, just enough so that his hands could frame her face and his eyes could watch hers. Mac looked so lovely with her skin all flushed, her cheeks tinted red. Freshly kissed lips were plump and swollen and that sense of male pride stretched across his heart. "I need.. I mean, we need to make this.. us…permanent."
Mac realized what this permanence meant and for the umptheen time that night, he made a thrill rush through her that sped up the beating of her heart. "What's your idea of permanent?"
"Marry me, Sarah. Marry me."
She didn't readily agree and only kissed him. She kissed him like it was their first time with all the passion that poured from her like waves. She kissed him like his lips were the one thing in the universe to give her life. And then, she kissed him some more - sweet little pecks on his cheeks, his nose, his chin and even over the beard she disliked.
They were still locked in a lover's embrace, his body deep within her and responding by the second. It was gentler this time but just as passionate and when Mac came around him and the dizzying spell of orgasm waned, darkness that loomed made her sad.
"What is it, babe? What's wrong?"
On the heaviest of sighs, her forehead dropped onto his. "We can't, Harm. You know we can't…This-this isn't the time…And, I have secrets you don't know. The kind that will make you run far away."
He had his own secrets, his own darkness and a slew of classified assignments with questionable alliances. "I do too, Mac. And we don't have to say our vows today or tomorrow. We can be engaged forever if that's what you want but-"
Harm swallowed hard in effort to stop the sudden lump in his throat. He wasn't prepared for a proposal or the emotions he knew it would drag out of him but as their time together ticked down to a close, Harm wanted Mac to know his heart belonged to her. Only her. "No matter what happens, I'm committed to you…forever."
"Forever. That sounds wonderful but-"
"No but's. There's no more Navy. No Marine Corps or an Admiral standing in our way. I don't belong to anyone and the CI can go to hell if they think they can stop me."
He was impassioned, speaking like a madman and although Mac tried to stop her wayward thoughts, they still drifted to Webb. She's once asked how a man like Harm could turn and he'd suggested it was her doing. Love had a crazy way of manipulating the sanest of men and at the moment, she wondered if Harm was ready to defy his country for her.
"Harm, you're scaring me a little."
"I'm just tired, Mac. What happened isn't right and it isn't fair and I'm so damned sorry it hurt us. But, I mean it. I want to marry you." But, he wanted more than that. Harm wanted to settle down, have a normal life - a family. He wanted to give her the child he promised made by two people so insanely in love.
"I have a ring." He confessed excitedly and when Mac's eyes went wide he grinned at her expression.
"You do?"
"Not here, unfortunately. But, it's back home. In the safe inside my closet. I'll give you the combination… I want you to have it, I want you to wear it."
Oh, how she wanted to wear his ring and spend hours staring at the stone as it glimmered in the kight. Mic's had felt like a noose or a block of concrete that weighed her down from the gawdy stone. She liked simple and although Mac had never seen Harm's ring she imagined a small, princess cut. Simple, elegant and beautiful.
She looked at her finger - it was bare. Her Marine Corps ring sat in a jewelry box back home as a precaution should the symbolism draw unwanted attention. Mac could remeber each time she'd left it behind and before this, it was for a specific assignment.
The thought of her involvement made her frown as she never believed that helping Webb would bring her together with Harm and push him away all in one fail swoop. What's worse, he didn't know - he couldn't know why her presence in Paraguay was so needed. With a heavy sigh she dropped her hands to her chest, trying to hide some of her nakedness.
She felt exposed and the type of conversation they needed to have was one of such trepidation that he sensed her obvious change. "I need to tell you something."
But, he stopped her. With a finger on her mouth that he replaced with his lips, Harm put a hold on whatever she was about to say. "Nothing heavy, remember?"
"Right, nothing heavy." No serious conversation. Nothing that could lead to an argument or break their peace, they agreed. "You really want to marry me?"
"Yes."
"I think I may cry."
"Happy tears?" He inquired.
She shrugged, "Sorta."
Harm pulled her down so that he'd kiss her softly. "It'll be alright." He kissed her again and once he felt amac shift on his lap they broke apart.
"Take me to bed."
The sultry headiness of her voice made him tremble but despite the desire to make love to her again, his body protested a union so soon. He stared at her incredulously and blushed as he admitted what she already knew. "To sleep, right? Don't think my back can takr another marathon night of sex.". Blishes
"You're cute when you blush."
"And I like to make you blush all over."
She had already moved a certain way that had his cock rock hard and ready to bury itself inside her. Like a drunk man, he'd never get enough of this brand of addiction nor did he want to. "Okay, maybe one more time."
Mac reached between them, her small hand taking his hot, hard member and squeezing gently. I throbbed in her palm and as she began to pump her fist up and down his shaft Harm's harsh moans split through the sound of the storm.
She sheathed him again and the warm wetness of her body felt like heaven as it tightened around him. He'd never get enough of loving her and yes, he loved her. Harm loved her so much the stinging of tears made him shut his eyes tightly.
Mac deserved better than this, better than him but, he selfishly couldn't let her go. "Mac, I lo-"
"Yes, I'll marry you."
When she said those words, his tears finally fell.
It was close to one am when Mac woke to find the bed empty. She pressed a hand over his side, finding sheets that were cooling off from his body heat. Harm hadn't just left, he'd been gone a significant time and despite he better judgement, once again she gave chase.
Mac wrapped herself in a robe and quietly padded out of the room and down the hall where a familiar scene played out. Harm stood in the kitchen hunched over a laptop that he frantically typed commands into. Images of security footage along with the icon of a folder popped up on the desktop and although he couldn't be sure, the word 'classified" was emblazoned across a file he opened.
A dull hum from outside of the vessel made her breath catch and her immediate thought was of Winters, the sergeant she didn't really trust. The hair stuck up at the back of her head when she saw Harm's eyes snap up and his hand palmed a small pistol sitting atop the bar.
He wore nothing but boxer briefs and as he hurried across the home and out the sliding doors at the bow, Mac held back the urge to be his back up. Instead, she moved into the kitchen and peered out over the black water, surprised to find a tiny boat circling them. It was barely visible, only the low hum of the smallest of motors alerted her to its presence.
She expected to hear yelling, gunfire or some sort of retaliation for its abrupt arrival but as quickly as it appeared, the boat sped off into the rainy night and soon after Harm appeared framing the doors.
The pistol was loosely held in one hand and before he noticed she was up, Mac hurried back to bed. He never joined her again.
It was morning when she woke again to a bed that was just as empty as the night before. She heard sounds from above, the kind that sounded like tinkering with some sort of mechanical equipment like the davit he had onboard. The feeling of trepidation was gone even as some of the unease lingered.
With a huff, she pushed off the mattress and headed to the shower which was where Harm found her. "Need to conserve water?"
She laughed at the obvious innuendo and lamented that the boat's head was so damned tiny. Even if he managed to squeeze in, sex would be impossible if not heavily accident prone and the last thibg she needed was for marine patrol to rescue them from the clutches of a failed sexual interlude. "You won't fit."
Harm popped the door open and fully clothed tried to squeeze in. He only made it halfway which was enough for him to pin her to the plastic walls as his lips claimed hers. "I miss my shower."
"I do too." It was huge and its space allowed them to move. He'd made love to her against those cool walls once, claiming a fantasy of his involving droplets of water and a tiny, blue towel, needed to come to fruition. Mac smiled at the memory and when he pulled away she sighed heavily. "You might as well get in here, you're soaked now."
Indeed the hot spray from the shower had wet his t-shirt and his shorts were now partially moist as well. Unfortunately a clap of thunder reminded him of the task that needed to be completed. "Another storm is coming and I need to bring the dinghy aboard. One of the lines snapped last night."
Ah, that's why he never returned to bed. "Need help?"
"Nah. I have a davit up top that'll raise her up in no time." He kissed her once more. "Enjoy your shower, beautiful."
Mac dressed and stepped out to the porch at the bow. She held a fresh cup of coffee in one hand and enjoyed how the scent of a good brew meshed with that of the morning dew. The sun had yet to push past the clouds and only small rivulets of sunlight peeked through. She glanced at the circular stairs and placed one foot on a step when Harm's voice stopped her.
"Don't you fucking understand? I don't want her to know." He was speaking in a whisper or at least attempting to and when she dared take a few more steps, she found Harm on the phone.
He paced the top deck and whomever was on the opposite line was obviously making him angry. "Fuck you. I've done everything you told me. Everything…I know she'll find out but I don't want her to- what? When? One am, fuck. Yeah, yeah…It's okay. Bye."
Thought Mac only heard his side of the conversation, she knew he'd been talking about her. That made a knot settle in the pif of her stomach as it was clear he was keeping a secret - a huge one. Or maybe he knew about hers?
She trodden up the steps this time, determined to get answers until she saw Harm sat on a seat against the top railing, his head in his hands. "Harm?"
"Hey."
"You okay?"
"No."
And from the tone of his voice he wasn't ready to discuss anything. "Nothing heavy, right?"
"Nothing heavy." He spotted her mug and stood, the phone call that made him melancholy suddenly forgotten. "I want to make you pancakes."
"You don't have to, I'm fine."
"I want to." Making breakfast would keep him busy and keep his mind off of nefarious things. "Blueberry or chocolate?"
"Surprise me."