He tilted his head, gave her a wry, bemused smile, and went into the bathroom. She heard the water come on as if it was filling a basin.
He reached out his hand, and Sienna rose into his embrace. The feeling of his hard-muscled body naked against her and luxurious.
He carried her into the bathroom to the sunken tub and immersed her in the water. Climbing in with her, he proceeded to soap her, his hands running over every curve of her.
Soon, they were both panting from the sensual play and A.J. pushed her back and began to descend. Sienna caught his head. “What are you doing?”
“Going down.”
“Under the water?”
“At BUD/S they had a nickname for me, too.”
“What was that?”
“Shamu. I can hold my breath for a long time.”
“You can?”
“A very long time.”
When his head descended and she felt the unique touch of his mouth intimately against her, she closed her eyes and let the world fade away.
* * *
Later, they sat together on one of the two sofas in the cavernous living room, the glow of the fireplace reflecting off the polished mahogany beams of the ceiling.
“Thanks for stopping me. You were right. It would have been a waste of resources and energy.”
The quiet way he spoke set off sensations in her midriff that made her pulse skip and falter. He held her gaze, a bleak look in his eyes, and then he gently reached out and grabbed a thick strand of her hair, absently rubbing it between his fingers. He tugged gently.
“I’ve never cracked under battle conditions. It seems I get calmer. But today…”
“Was different. David’s not a guy you serve with. He’s your brother. The normal rules don’t apply.”
“I feel that, somehow, I’ve let him down. I’ve been gone so much and so long that I wonder if he needed me, and I wasn’t there.”
“A.J., beating yourself up isn’t going to help.”
“Gibson told me that David needed the money. He had large gambling debts. Why didn’t he go to my father?”
“Maybe he was too ashamed?”
“Maybe.”
“Are you going to let your parents know what’s going on?”
“No, this is not the kind of information you tell them over the phone.”
“How long have your parents been married?”
“Twenty years. My mother worked for his campaign when he was a delegate. It was true love at first sight.”
“What happened to your father?”
“He was a merchant marine. I guess the ocean is in my blood. He split when I was a baby. Then it was just my mom and me.”
“How old were you when they married?”