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1200 HOURS - Friday
Admiral Chegwidden's Cabin
McLean, Virginia
She was breathtaking.
Sarah MacKenzie drifted down the "aisle" on the arm of her best
friend, Harmon Rabb to join the love of her life, Admiral AJ Chegwidden.
The day was vibrant with the sights and sounds of summer as the guests took their
places in the wooded glade behind AJ's cabin, deep in the sylvan forest-land
of McLean, Virginia.
Dress whites were the uniform of the day among the tiny gathering, as
everyone turned to watch the bride leave the seclusion of her fiancι's cabin,
and glide gracefully across a carpet of wildflowers into the arms of her
beloved.
Sarah had chosen an antique, ankle-length gown of ivory eyelet lace, with a
princess neckline and ivory seed pearls accentuating the bodice. She had
accessorized her gown with matching vintage high-button shoes and a tiny cap
made of ivory tea roses and pearls... coordinated with the bouquet she
clutched between her diminutive hands.
To the haunting guitar strains of Jim Croce's "Time in a Bottle",
the loving couple stood before the Naval Chaplin and exchanged the vows that
would bind them together until the end of time.
The abbreviated reception, held within the warmly appointed living room of
AJ's cabin was, of necessity, brief... and the couple stayed only long enough
to change clothing and accept the profuse well-wishes of their friends before
hopping into Sarah's Tracker and heading for the Virginia Coastal Reserve of
Parramore Island for their secluded two-day honeymoon.
"I don't get it." Bud said to his wife, shaking his head.
"There's nothing ON Parramore Island...no town...no roads...no people.
The only way in is by private boat...and there isn't even a dock! You have to
land on the Beach! Why would they want to go there?"
"Oh, Bud...Have we been married THAT long?" Harriet sighed. "I
think it's SO romantic," she cried, sobbing into her handkerchief.
Bud had been staring at the wedding cake for a few moments, when finally the
dawn of comprehension crept over his features. "Oh...I get it! You
mean...?"
"When we get home, Honey, I'll explain it all to you in detail."
Harriet promised.
Harm smiled. They were made for each other. So were AJ and Mac. Maybe some
day he'd be as lucky...
1500 HOURS
The Public Dock
Quinby, Virginia
AJ had brought his "day runner", a small sloop fashioned after the
ones used to train sailors at Annapolis, to the dock the weekend before.
Ready and waiting for their arrival, the "Admiral's Lady" was
loaded and prepared for the short sail to the Naval Wave Research cottage on
the northernmost beach of the uninhabited nature reserve.
Dressed lightly in swimwear and windbreakers, the newlyweds set sail toward
the north for half of an hour, then adopted an easterly tack around the tip
of the island toward the area known as "Little Beach".
AJ was an excellent sailor, Sarah thought, as she watched his strong hands
maneuver the reefable mainsail. It was hard to recognize the seaman in him,
sitting behind the protocol of his position at JAG, but he existed
nonetheless. Here, AJ seemed to be in his element, plying the tiller,
shifting the boom... the firm muscles of his thighs bracing against the
gunnels as he leaned into the wind...
Sarah caught her first glimpse of the cottage as they cleared intercoastal
waters and approached the seaward side of the island. Set in a grove of
loblolly pines, it stood by itself, overlooking a pristine beach of fine,
white sand and sea oats, unmarked by the touch of human passage.
It was an Eden, a paradise set apart...and it was to be theirs alone for two
magical days and nights. Their honeymoon would be brief, but it would indeed
be memorable.
AJ headed the sloop at right angles to the shoreline, and planted its shallow
draft a few yards from the beach. Then, kicking off his deck shoes, and
throwing his windbreaker on the deck, he jumped from the side of the boat and
landed waist-deep in the surf.
As Sarah watched, he grabbed the towline, and made his way toward landfall.
There, amid the profusion of shells and driftwood, he began to draw the small
craft ever nearer to the shore.
AJ was a powerful man, she realized. It was something that those who met him
frequently overlooked. Though his frame was more on the athletic side, he was
solid muscle, and deceptively strong.
She felt the stirrings of passion once more as she watched the play of his
body working the prow of the small craft up onto the dry sand, his biceps wet
and rippling in the glow of the afternoon sun.
Swinging her legs over the side, Sarah dropped, catlike, to the sand, and
began to lift their small cache of luggage and supplies from the sailboat.
"Let me do that, Darlin." he said, making an obvious concession to
her maternity status as he approached her from behind, slipping his arms
around her waist... caressing the minute fullness that was their child.
"I know you're barely three months along, but lifting heavy gear isn't a
great idea. Why don't I grab the food and our packs, and you get the bedding?
It's the most crucial part of the weekend, anyway." he smiled wickedly,
his lips nuzzling her throat, his hands stoking the embers which he'd ignited
within her.
"AJ, if you keep doing that, it'll be time to leave before I ever hit
the high water mark." she breathed, her hands cupping his, pressing them
into her flesh.
"Then I guess we'd better hurry." he whispered sensuously against
the warm fragrance of her skin. "I wouldn't want you to miss
anything..."
The cottage proved to be a delight. Purchased at the time the Reserve had
been established, it had once belonged to a painter who had lived his life at
one with the sea he loved. Now, almost fifty years later, it still sat,
preserved, on the unpopulated strip of sand, waiting for their touch to bring
it back to life.
New England in style, the cottage was of white clapboard with sea-blue shutters
and a full wraparound porch. It was used only briefly each spring by the
Naval Wave Research group, who kept it meticulously maintained for their few
weeks of residence each year.
The inside was paneled in native red cedar, assailing the senses with its
heady aroma. But the "piece de resistance" of the small three-room
building was a massive fieldstone fireplace, which dominated the intimate
living area.
As AJ went out back to "fire up" the generator, and prime the pump,
Sarah began to make up the large four-poster that commanded the main bedroom.
A low rumble filled the air, then settled pleasantly into an innocuous drone
as the generator came to life.
Smiling, Sarah stretched a flat king-sized sheet across the soft down of the
featherbed, tucking the edges beneath it, hoping the sheet would "stay
put".
Then, pleased with the results, she rolled onto her back and followed the
pattern of the tongue-and-groove ceiling boards, as their swirls and islands
illustrated a story that only nature herself could translate.
She became aware, suddenly, that she was no longer alone. Turning her head,
she found AJ staring silently from the doorway.
"You're watching me again, AJ. Aren't you tired of that yet?"
"Darlin', that's not possible." he answered, his voice hushed with
emotion. "Every time I look at you, it's like you're a new woman...you
just get better and better. The only thing I can't understand is how you ever
decided to hitch your wagon to an aging 'seadog' like me."
Sarah looked at him, perpetually amazed at the modesty of this strong and
dynamic man.
"Why don't you come a little closer," she suggested, "and
we'll see if we can figure it out together?"
AJ grinned, an expression he reserved for her eyes only. "Darlin', I was
hoping you'd say that..."
Softly, he lay down beside her, pressing his lips against hers, drawing her
sweet breath deeply into his body as his hand explored beneath her
windbreaker.
Tilting her head back, she sighed, a low moan rumbling against his lips.
"You have incredible hands, my Love." she whispered as he removed
her jacket and slide the straps of her one-piece suit across her breasts and
down the length of her body. "I had to marry you...you've spoiled me for
anyone else."
"No bikini this time, Darlin'?' he questioned, softly.
"Oh, AJ...you don't want to see me in a bikini at this point." she
warned, alluding to the changes pregnancy had begun to make in her still
voluptuous figure.
"Darlin'," he said, his eyes caressing the fullness of her breasts
and the almost indiscernible swell of her abdomen. "You got me there.
I'd much rather see you out of it."
Sarah blushed, his words adding impetus to the growing need within her. It
always amazed her...just a word from this incredible man, the hint of a
touch, and she became consumed with wanting more...wanting it all...wanting
him.
AJ stood and began to remove his trunks, his prodigious erection pressing
heavily against the fabric, fighting for release.
"Let me." she said softly, sliding to her knees between his feet.
Slowly she grasped the waistband, and began to peel the offending restraint
from his firm, taut body... her hands stroking his heated flesh as the sound
of his breathing quickened and his muscles tensed.
Sarah closed her eyes. She wanted him there...now...in wild abandon on the
rough, braided rug. But the sight of his burgeoning manhood called
irresistibly to her, and she felt her hands sliding upward, across the backs
of his rock-hard thighs, to clasp the firmness of his buttocks.
Softly, she ran her tongue across the silken smoothness of his engorged sex,
feeling it begin to pulse with impatience, tasting the maleness of him on her
lips.
"Oh, Darlin'...what you do to me..." he breathed, as she took him
fully into the warm wetness of her mouth...touching...teasing...tormenting.
He stood it, until he could stand it no longer, then, overcome, he sank to
the carpet before her, imprisoning her between the firmness of his thighs.
AJ held her closely, his lips claiming hers, his tongue exploring the sweet
recesses of her mouth. She felt his pulsing erection pressing urgently
against her belly as he gently lowered her to the floor and covered her body
with his.
"Darlin'," he rasped, fighting for control. "You make me
crazy...you make it so hard for me to wait..."
"Then don't..." she pleaded, her legs twining around his hips.
"Don't wait...make love to me...now."
Slowly, carefully, he parted her thighs and pressed his straining sex against
the moist opening within, feeling her body rise to meet him, the firm grip of
her hands pulling him tightly against her. But he had more in mind for
her...much more.
Demandingly, he deepened his kiss once again, then lowered his attention to
her distended nipples, drawing first one, and then the other between his
lips, feeling them grow and harden at his touch.
Again she wrapped her legs around him, seeking the release that only he could
give, grinding against his rigid manhood, pleading for completion. But still
he hesitated, denying her the union she clamored to achieve.
Then slowly, maddeningly, AJ began to trail his tongue down the rounded
contours of her body, tasting her flesh, lowering his lips to the wet, heated
juncture of her thighs.
Silently, he pressed his fingers between her moist folds, opening her,
exposing her to the assault of his tongue, massaging away the last vestiges
of her control.
Intimately, he began to tease the hardened nucleus of her desire as he probed
mercilessly with his tongue, performing a mad parody of the act she so
desired, feeling her body tense uncontrollably beneath him.
"AJ!" she screamed as her climax stripped her bare before his
plundering lips, inundating her dark curls with the uncontrollable flood of
her passion "Please! Now!"
Beyond containment, AJ positioned himself between her trembling thighs and
plunged deeply within her, thrusting repeatedly into the moist, hot core of
her body, listening to her passionate cries rend the stillness of the room.
Together they climbed the highest peaks, over and over again, until finally,
at one with the wilderness around them, Sarah gave one last shuddering cry
and propelled them both over the edge into a blessed cataclysm of release.
Afterward, they lay limply together, drained of the ability to move or
function...complete in each other's arms.
"AJ..." Sarah began.
"What, Darlin'?" he asked, his breath warm against her throat.
"You're the best thing that ever happened to me..."
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Evening came all too soon, bringing with it the realization that tomorrow
they would have to return to the mainland...to the lives they'd left behind,
and leave "Paradise" to the bright-eyed plovers who inhabited it.
Together in the dwindling twilight, Sarah and AJ lay on a blanket at the
water's edge, watching as the tide crept stealthily along the shore,
listening to the beat of their hearts as they lay in a lover's embrace, far
from the din of civilization.
Softly, gently, AJ stroked the graceful line of her unfettered breast through
the thin gauze of her poet's blouse, marveling again at the beauty and
passion that was so much a part of her.
"Let's go inside." she whispered, feeling the chill of the evening
stealing over her.
"I like that idea." he agreed, pressing his hardened contours
against her body. "Why don't you go on ahead. I need to make sure the
boat's secure before we head in for the night."
Silently, he watched her cross the brief expanse of beach until he saw the
light flicker on in the cottage, chasing away the darkness.
AJ set to work making sure their craft was "shipshape" for their
return in the morning. By the time he had finished putting the sloop "to
bed", the lights in the cabin had gone out, plunging the area once again
into inky blackness. It wasn't until he was almost through the door that he
noticed the brief flicker within, and realized that there was a warm,
welcoming blaze burning in the fireplace.
But that wasn't all.
Stunned, AJ paused in the doorway to scan the scene before him. There before
the fireplace lay the large featherbed mattress, blanket and all, looking
just as it had in the bedroom beyond. The room was filled with softly
flickering emergency candles placed in coffee mugs, saucers, and anything
else that would hold them. It was a whole other world.
But, Sarah was no where to be seen.
"Darlin'?" he called from among the flickering shadows of the room.
"Where are you?"
"I'm in the bedroom, AJ...but don't come in! Make yourself
comfortable...I'll be right out."
Smiling, AJ went into the kitchen, pulled off his shirt, and began to wash
up.
Whatever Sarah had in mind, it was intriguing.
Finishing his ablutions, AJ grabbed two bottles of flavored mineral water
from the 'fridge and headed back into the living room. There he sat on the
sofa, staring into the flames until he felt her enter the room.
"Sarah?" he murmured. "Darlin', you take my breath
away..."
Silently, she crossed the room toward him, and knelt on the featherbed in
front of the flickering blaze.
She was wearing a champagne-colored negligee made of satin and lace, with a
low, draped bodice held up by the thinnest of spaghetti straps.
AJ approached her almost reverently, watching the warm glow from the
fireplace play across her skin as he dropped to his knees, his thighs
embracing hers, his fingers tracing the flimsy straps of her gown.
Then, cradling her chin in his palm he raised her face to meet him, his mouth
descending upon her own, his tongue probing hungrily between her lips.
"Oh, Darlin'," he whispered desperately into the sweet scent of her
hair. "Let me touch you...all of you..."
Silently, he lowered the straps of her negligee, baring the golden flesh of
her shoulders, covering her, inch by inch, with the seductive demands of his
lips.
Sarah arched her neck, laying her head back, exposing the softness of her
throat to his tender assault.
She felt his warm breath caress her skin as he drew her tightly against his
body, greedily claiming the hollows of her throat, the flames of the fire
reflected in his eyes.
Then he released her and lowered the bodice of her gown to her waist,
exposing her hard, dusky nipples to the ravages of his lips.
She gasped as he claimed first one and then the other, drawing them deeply
between his lips, eliciting a warm, wet response between her thighs. His
hands stroked the graceful line of her bared back, then dipped below the
satin gown to caress the firm swell of her buttocks, pulling her tightly
against the hardened thrust of his burgeoning manhood.
Then, gently, he lay her body back against the softness of the featherbed,
his eyes dark with passion, the flickering light accentuating the play of his
Adam's apple as he caressed her flesh with his heated gaze.
Quickly, AJ rose and rid himself of the last vestiges of his clothing,
standing above her in the warm liquid glow of the flames, the light playing
sensuously against the rigid surface of his proud erection like the touch of
a hungry lover.
Then, gently, he parted her ankles and lowered himself between them.
Sarah forgot to breath.
Slowly her lover began to raise the silken hem of her gown, his hands
sensuously stroking her firm calves. Her pulse throbbed loudly, erratically,
in her ears... and an invisible cord began to twine and tighten within her body.
Inching the champagne silk ever higher, his hands explored the heated flesh
which lay hidden beneath it, his lips playing softly against the insides of
her knees, his tongue worshipping the silken expanse of her inner thighs.
Her breath came in jagged gasps, a low, wordless moan emanating from her
lips, enflaming his senses, urging him to the brink.
She was wet...incredibly wet, as he pressed his thumbs between her folds and
opened her fully to the invasion of his tongue...probing, demanding...conquering.
She squirmed beneath him as she felt her climax build within her, her throat
arched in a wordless cry, her body quivering beneath the relentless assault
of his tongue.
Suddenly, blessedly, the world came crashing down around her, whirling her
mindlessly like a leaf in a storm, sweeping her helplessly into the vortex of
his touch.
And then he entered her, thrusting powerfully between her thighs, plunging
deeply into her core with the steely length of his engorged sex.
Wordlessly, a primeval scream of passion rent the stillness of the night, an
alien voice crying in the wilderness...could it be hers?
And then she felt the hot flood of his release rush within her, filling
her... sating her...completing her as they soared aloft together, flying blindingly
into the sun.
Drained and quivering, they lay side by side in the aftermath of their love,
each stunned at the intensity of their passion, as they lay, touched and
touching, in the afterglow.
Silently, Sarah looked into her lover's eyes, as her heartbeat began to slow,
and her voice found its strength once again.
"Will it always be like this, my Love?" she asked, "I mean
after the baby's born?"
He paused, considering her question, the answer forming on his lips.
"Darlin', I don't see how it can. Everyday I love you more...want you
more...need you more. How can it stay the same? You've given me everything I
ever wanted in a world that I never knew existed, and still it keeps getting
better. You complete me, my love...nothing could ever be the same."
AJ gazed into the luminous pools of her eyes, tasting the tiny tear that
trickled down the side of her cheek as she began to speak.
"I love you, AJ." she said seriously. "I never knew I had the
capacity to love anyone this much. I couldn't live without you...I wouldn't
want to. Never leave me, my Love,,,promise me?"
Gently he stroked the child growing within her...his child...their child.
"That's the easiest promise I ever made," he whispered into the
softness of her hair, "and the easiest one to keep."
Sunday Morning
Little Beach Cottage
Parramore Island, Virginia
Silently, and with great regret, they began to load the "Admiral's
Lady" for the trip home.
Their time in Paradise was over...it was time to return to the everyday world
of their lives, and the obligations they'd escaped for two magical days in
each other's arms.
He'd said that they could return again, someday, and lose themselves once
again in the rapture of Little Beach, but she knew that it could never match
the image she cherished within her. So, rather than sully the perfect memory
of their time together, she chose to close this chapter of her life and
preserve it pristinely within her heart.
Silently, she reached down and picked a tiny cowry shell from the sand at her
feet, placing it in her pocket as she boarded the small sloop for the return
trip home.
Then, with great reluctance, AJ set the sails and the wind began to carry
them away to the waiting world. Poignantly, Sarah gazed back at Paradise
lost...etching it in her memory as the tide washed their footprints from the
sand.
It would always be theirs, she smiled...because it existed now in her
heart...perfect and unspoiled until the end of time.
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