Page 68 of Keeping Laryn
Laryn smiled at that. “I think I’m in a berth with twenty-three other women.”
Casper frowned. “You should have more privacy than that.”
“No, I shouldn’t. First, I’m not an officer. Second, I’m only here temporarily. I would never want to take a room away from someone who lives onboard for months or years at a time. It’s fine, Tate.”
“Maybe you can sneak up to my berth and sleep in my rack with me.”
She flat-out laughed at that. “You do remember how big these racks are, right?” she asked. “They’re tiny. Barely enough for me to roll over and not touch the bed above me. You might have more room since you’re a hotshot pilot, but I’m guessing notthatmuch more.”
She was right. Damn it.
“I still don’t like it.”
Laryn stopped and looked both ways in the corridor. The other pilots had peeled off to head to the floor where they were bunking down. Seeing no one, she stepped into Casper and put her hands on his chest and went up on her tiptoes. She kissed him hard and fast before stepping back.
Casper’s hands shot out and gripped her hips, but he didn’t haul her back into him like he wanted to. There was no telling when someone would come down the corridor. He didn’t want any rumors to start about him and his mechanic. Not because he cared, but because he’d never do anything that might hurt her career or cause people to gossip about her.
“What was that for?” he asked.
“For everything. For letting me eat with you. I usually find an empty table or one without many people. For wanting me to have a private room, even if it’s never going to happen. For wanting to be with me.”
“When we have more time before a deployment, I’ll see what I can do about getting you in a berth closer to me and the guys. And maybe we can plan time to eat in the mornings and at lunch, so you don’t have to eat by yourself.”
“I’d like that.”
Casper wished he had his phone on him so he could take a snapshot of the shy smile Laryn was giving him. He wanted to be able to see it whenever he needed a pick-me-up. It was almost scary how fast this woman had gotten under his skin and into his heart.
“Come on, let’s go find where I’m staying so I can make sure my stuff was delivered,” Laryn said
Casper’s fingers brushed the small of her back and he wished he could keep them there, but he dropped his hand and followed closely behind Laryn as she made her way down the corridors to her berth. When they arrived, he waited while she entered, and she reappeared thirty seconds later.
“All good?” he asked.
“All good. My stuff is there and my rack is on the bottom, which I prefer.”
“I’m glad.”
“Me too. So…what time for breakfast?”
Thinking about his schedule for tomorrow’s morning flight, Casper said, “It’s going to have to be early. Maybe meeting up tomorrow wasn’t the best idea.”
“It’s okay. I need to get up and get to the helo hangar anyway, you know that. If you’re up, I’m up.”
“True. Okay, oh-five-hundred?”
“Perfect.”
They stood there for a moment, simply staring at each other.
“I want to kiss you,” Casper said softly.
“I want that too. But…probably not a good idea.”
She was right, but that didn’t mean Casper liked it. “If you need anything—I mean,anything—come up to my berth. You won’t disturb me or anyone else. Okay?”
Laryn nodded. “It’s dumb but…this is hard. I know it was only two nights, but I got used to having you around.”
“Same,” Casper said, amazed that he knew exactly how she was feeling.
