Chapter 42
Elana was no longer a suspect in a murder investigation. I couldn't think of a good reason not to take her up on her offer.
Jack was still on Operation Disposal. We had the room to ourselves. I pulled Elana into me. She felt good and warm. I was sure she’d have no problem elevating my core body temperature.
I kissed her full lips, and the spark of desire ignited.
My hands traced the supple curves of her form. It didn't take long before we peeled out of our clothes. Even under the sterile LED lighting of the habitat, she looked good.
The bunk wasn't exactly spacious, but it would get the job done.
Skin to skin, she radiated heat, and I felt reinvigorated.
Our tongues danced, and my hands grabbed copious handfuls of pert peaks and toned cheeks.
Our hips collided, and we tried to keep the noise to a minimum, though I don't think we did a good job of that.
The bunk wasn't big enough to tumble around in, and it certainly wasn't built for two, but we made it work.
While the storm raged topside, we whipped up a tempest of our own. Pulse pounding, slick and sweaty, it was incendiary. Just what I needed.
Our passion crescendoed, and we collapsed in the tiny bunk, snuggling close.
"We should have done that sooner," she said.
"Certain circumstances got in the way. But I'm more than willing to do it again."
"Good to know.” Then she added in an innocently naughty voice, “You know we are going to have four days in the decompression chamber with not much else to do.”
I couldn't think of a better way to spend four days in deco.
In the morning, I felt like a new man. We ate breakfast, then made contact with the DSV via AquaLink. The connection was slow and laggy, but it was a connection. The video feed was worse than dial-up at only a few frames a second.
It didn’t take long to get Tristan and the CIA officers on the line.
“Mission accomplished,” I said.
They all smiled.
“Fantastic,” Conroy said.
“There were complications.”
“This line is not secure. We’ll do a full debrief when you return to shore.”
“Copy that.”
“We’re en route to you now,” Tristan said. “What’s the status of the crew?”
I told him.
A solemn frown tightened his mouth. “I can’t believe I misjudged those two,” he said, speaking of Trask and Wong. “Thank God everyone else is safe. Sadly, it’s time to pull the plug on this mission.”
“I think that’s the smart move.”
Within a few hours, the DSV arrived on-site and lowered the diving bell. We transferred aboard with the others and began the long journey to the surface.