Clive Cussler: Fire Ice

"You're certainly an early riser." Austin turned to see Kaela Dorn coming down the stairs from the turret bedroom. She was wearing a silk pajama top and a smile.

"Hope I didn't wake you," Austin said.

She came over and inhaled the fragrance from the coffeepot. "I can't think of a nicer way to wake up." Her brow wrinkled as she traced some of the scars on Austin's tanned back with her fingers. "I didn't see these in the dark last night."

"You had your eyes closed."

"So did you. I must say we made up for all those dates we didn't have."

"Hope it was worth the wait." She kissed him lightly.

"Was it ever.”

The coffee was ready. He poured two steaming mugs, and they went out on the deck overlooking the shimmering river, The air was fresh and clear. Austin raised his mug in toast, "Here's to your new career with CNN."

"Thanks to you, it never would have happened without my exclusive on the Ataman plot, I'm going to miss Mickey and Dundee, though. I don't know how I can repay you," He gave her a Groucho Marx leer. "You already have."

"You mean to say that you gave me that exclusive just so you could get into in my pants?"

"Can you think of a better reason?"

She put her finger on her cheek and cocked her head. "No. Not really."

Austin had called Kaela before he left London to tell her he was coming home. They'd arranged to meet in Washington after he reported to NUMA. As promised, he gave her an exclusive on Razov's plot. He had to leave out some details, but she had enough leads to chase down on her own. The story ran for three nights on all the networks, and all at once Kaela was the hottest journalistic property in town – so much in demand that Austin was surprised when she called and suggested they get together for dinner at a quiet inn in the Virginia countryside. The reunion had then shifted to Austin's boathouse, and nature had taken its course.

Austin excused himself and went to the front door, which looked out on a rolling green lawn. He gave a whistle, and two white blurs shot out of a copse of trees and raced across the lawn. The excited wolfhounds followed him back onto the deck.

"What are you going to do with these characters?" Kaela said, scratching Sasha's bony head.

"They'll be my houseguests for the time being. I'll find a new home for them when I go on my next assignment. In the meantime, I'd like to take you on a boat ride."

She laughed lightly. "What kind of boat do you have?"

Austin said, "NUMA and I recently came into possession of a very large yacht."

She put her arms around him and gave him a long and lingering kiss. In a husky voice whose tone was unmistakable, she said, "Just make sure they have room service."

The End