Terms of Surrender (10 page)

Danny swallowed hard, took a few deep, steadying breaths, then slipped all the way into the room, remaining near the door. He didn’t want to distract her, and he sensed he would be a distraction. Probably an unwelcome one, considering she had to think he was an asshole for not calling. Hopefully, though, she’d hear him out and let him take her to lunch to apologize.

“Now,” he heard her say, “are there any questions?”

Hands immediately shot up. Not surprisingly, the first few midshipmen made suggestive or flirtatious comments. Dr. Marshall shot them down carefully, not being cruel but brooking no nonsense, either. But it wasn’t until one came out and asked her if she was single that she sighed in visible annoyance.

Staring at the back of the student’s head, Danny cleared his throat. The young man glanced around, saw him in the crowd, and all the color fell out of his ruddy cheeks.

Mari didn’t seem to notice. “Not that it’s your business,” she said, her hard gaze traveling over the room, “but yes, I’m single. And no, I’m not interested, even if you weren’t way too young for me, which all of you are.”

The young man lowered his head, not replying, either because he’d been shot down or because he knew Danny, one of his regular teachers, was staring at him from ten feet away.

“Maybe you haven’t been listening to what I’ve said for the past hour,” Mari added, “so let me repeat myself. Maintaining a relationship with someone in the military is
hard.
A lot of people simply aren’t interested.”

A voice called, “I bet one of us could change your mind!”

“Oh, right, because you’re such Prince Charmings,” she said with an exaggerated shrug that managed to look more amused than annoyed. “Believe me, I have two younger brothers, I’m wise to you all. I’ve noticed every note, every text, every piece of paper thrown and every smirk today.”

The young men laughed good-naturedly, obviously already liking her. She had developed a rapport with them. Their comments were flirtatious, but there was an underlying respect. Nobody was crossing the line. And as long as they didn’t cross it, she seemed willing to talk to them on their terms, on their level.

“Now, back to the question. You think some girl—leaving me totally out of this conversation—is going to just rush out to get involved with a sailor?”

“Hell, yeah!” someone called.

She walked to the edge of the floor, looking from face to face. “Sorry to break it to you, but not a lot of women will line up to be with an adrenaline junkie who risks his life every single day for a government worker’s salary.”

The young men in the room stilled.

“One who sees some pretty awful stuff and might have a hard time leaving his job at the office when it’s time to come home to her at night.”

A few glances were exchanged.

“One who will be gone for months or years at a time. Who will drag her and their kids all over the world, leaving her lonely, cut off and eventually resentful. Why do you think divorce rates in the military skyrocketed in the last decade?”

The students were listening carefully, he could see that in the expressions of those closest to him.

“It’s a rough life and a lot of women just don’t want it. They see a man in uniform and turn and walk the other way.”

Wow. Danny couldn’t help hearing the simple honesty in her voice. Remembering what she’d said about her own family, he knew she meant every word she’d said.

But she couldn’t be
too
serious about it. After all, she’d gone home with him, spent the night in his arms. So perhaps she was just emphasizing the downsides to the students to make sure they got the message.

“So what are we supposed to do?” asked one young man, a quiet one who was in Danny’s class. A good kid, deep thinker, but one who just hadn’t mastered the discipline. It made sense that he’d be one of the first to realize this sexy lecturer had some really valuable information to impart.

“That’s what I’m here to talk to you about, and the point I’ve been trying to make to you. I want to help you see those problems coming at you and take steps to avoid them.”

“Meaning, get used to being single!” a voice called.

She laughed gently and shook her head. “Not necessarily. You need to learn to talk openly with someone you care about, to make sure you’re both on the same page about what you want and your long-term plans. How to keep the lines of communication open during long separations.”

“Yeah, making sure she doesn’t cheat while you’re gone!” someone said.

She shrugged, not denying the possibility. “Or making sure
you
don’t cheat when you’re lonely and far from home.”

Wow, that one had to have hit home with her. She hadn’t talked much about her parents situation, beyond admitting infidelity had been the catalyst that had driven her mother out. But he knew the subject had to be a sensitive one.

But everything she said was dead-on, Danny knew that from watching his buddies over the years. They worried about their girls back home. Then they got lonely and accepted a welcoming embrace from one of the nameless women who always hovered around military hangouts.

If these lectures really could help some of these kids go into this knowing what they’d be dealing with, he considered that a very good thing.

“There’s also the matter of respecting women,” she added. “Since you’re all male, I’d like to talk about that, too. We all know there have been some scandals in the past regarding sexual discrimination.”

Oh, boy, had there. These young men had had that message hammered home since day one. The navy had never forgetten the Tailhook scandal, which had brought down dozens of officers accused of sexual harassment of their female colleagues.

Mari’s voice lowered as she added, “You’re taught to be officers and gentlemen, and you really need to respect that code. Be as respectful to women in the outside world as you are to those in the military. Be honest and direct, leave the bad-boy-player games for the civilians. Rise above the urge to take what you want and never call, and maybe those character lessons will help you deal with your relationships later in your careers.”

Ouch. Direct hit. Danny shifted a little, wanting to see her face, and the tight frown he saw told him he was right. She was speaking from personal experience.

And judging by the tension of her pose, and the deepening frown, she was pissed.

He took a sideways step, approaching the door, figuring he’d better get out of here before she saw him. A private conversation was definitely in order.

But fate and a jumpy sophomore trying to get a better look conspired against him. The kid lurched right just as Danny stepped left. Something—maybe his dress whites—drew the attention of the instructor, and kept it.

Their stares met and locked. He noted the paleness of her cheeks, the faint, dark smudges under her eyes that probably went unnoticed by everyone else in the room, but spoke to him of sleepless nights. God, he hoped he wasn’t responsible for them.

Nothing could take away from the prettiness of her face, though. It felt so good to look directly at her after their separation and his fear that he’d never see her again, he couldn’t prevent a smile from widening his lips.

She didn’t return it. “What the…?” she mumbled.

Her eyes flared, then slowly narrowed as she gazed at him in silence. Then she raked a thorough stare over him, head to toe. Even from here, he noticed the way her hands shook as she saw him in full uniform for the first time.

As if the sight truly shocked her, Mari’s mouth dropped open so hard it might have hurt. Obviously she meant it when she’d said she didn’t like men in uniform. It was a damn shame he had to visibly remind her that she didn’t like soldiers or sailors before he’d gotten her to forgive him for not contacting her. He wished he’d changed before coming to find her. But he couldn’t have wasted even the few minutes that would have taken.

Unable to take the staring contest anymore, Danny lifted a hand in a small wave, his expression hopefully saying what he couldn’t say out loud. That he was very glad to see her, and had sought her out so they could talk.

She didn’t wave in return. Or smile. She merely continued to stare. Her mouth was open, her shoulders rising as she sucked in deep breaths. As if she’d become light-headed, she reached back to put a steadying palm on the lectern.

“You okay, Doc?” a voice asked.

A brief hesitation, then she stiffened, remembering her audience. “I’m fine, thanks.” Jerking herself into a ramrod straight posture, she dropped her hand to her side and her gaze went back to her students.

He had no doubt, however—none at all—that every bit of her mental focus was entirely on him.

And those weren’t happy thoughts she was thinking.

MARISSA DIDN’T KNOW WHICH infuriated her more: That Danny had shown up here, or that he was…was…damn it, what was he?

A navy officer.

Yeah. He had to be. Halloween was a long way off, and no way would he be walking around the USNA wearing that uniform unless he was entitled to it. Which meant her heroic Midas man wasn’t a mechanic at all. He wasn’t a simple, supersexy, blue collar guy, the kind on her “safe” list.

Not that he was safe, under any circumstances. Not for her mental health. Not for her physical health, either. She’d been walking around for two weeks with a headache and a huge knot in her stomach.

And he definitely wasn’t good for her heart. Because, whether he’d known all along that he had no intention of calling her, or he’d just changed his mind after she left that morning, the organ in the center of her chest had taken a major hit. It still ached. Throbbed, actually, now that she was seeing him in the flesh.

No. Not in the flesh. In the uniform.

Damn him. For not calling, for hurting her, for giving her an amazing night that she’d never forget, knowing it would never be repeated.

Damn him for looking so incredibly good in those pristine clothes. The tailor-made uniform emphasized those broad shoulders and lean hips, the whole ensemble making him look like the ultimate hero.

Damn him most of all for lying about who he was. She didn’t care how attractive she’d found him that first day. If she’d had any idea he was a military man, she would never have asked him to lunch. And she definitely would never have gone back to his boat with him. His uniform made him look like an officer and a gentleman—in reality, he was a womanizer and a liar. She should know. She’d been his woman…and she’d been lied to.

“So, Doc, what do you do when you meet the hottest girl you’ve ever seen, but she has a thing against sailors?” a young voice asked.

Marissa couldn’t prevent an instinctive reply. “You don’t deceive her, that’s for sure.”

“What do you mean?” the student asked.

She tore her thoughts away from Danny and addressed the earnest-looking young man in the second row. “Don’t ever hide who you really are. I can’t tell you what will work, but I can tell you what
won’t.
”

“What’s that?”

“Pretending to be something else, to try to manipulate her into liking you before you admit you’re in the service. She’ll be doubly angry when she finds out—and the two strikes that uniform might have cost you when you went up to bat become three with that lie. It will put you out of the game altogether.”

She couldn’t prevent a quick, sideways glance at Danny, wondering if he felt the heat of her stare through her half-lowered lids.

He flinched.

Yeah. He felt it.

“But how do you get her to even get to know you if she shoots you down as soon as she finds out what you do?”

“Maybe you don’t,” Marissa said, being blunt, both because she was still angry at Danny, and because these kids really needed to know the truth. “Maybe you just move on to somebody else. Because getting involved with someone under false pretenses is a surefire way to doom any relationship.”

A deep throat clearing brought her attention back to the tall, incredibly handsome man in white, who was walking through the crowd toward the front of the room. The students melted around him, clearing a path. She saw several grins, and heads coming together in whispers, indicating Danny was well-liked.

Well, goody for him.