Read Online Night Flight by Lindsay McKenna - Free Book Online

Sandy Yale, the wife of your boss, Colonel Bob Yale, was there. I made sure I sat with her.”
    “I’ll bet you out-aced all the rest of the captains’ wives who wanted to sit with her, too.”
    “Of course. I’m not a banker’s daughter for nothing, sweetheart,” Melody laughed.
    “Add to that a master’s degree in psychology,” Jack added, proud of her accomplishments. “Between the two, honey, you maneuver very well.”
    “In and out of bed,” she reminded him, laughing.
    Jack slid his hand over hers, giving it a squeeze. He liked her maneuvers in bed. Never had he met a woman who matched his sexual appetite like Melody did. “So, what new gossip did you pick up today? Anything?”
    Melody consulted her notes she always kept on a steno pad. She carried it in her briefcase wherever she went on base. At luncheons, club meetings, or dinners, she would memorize names with places and gossip, later writing it down in the car where she wouldn’t be seen.
    “Well, Becky Merrill was supposed to be there, and wasn’t. It’s not like her not to be present. You know how Merrill pushes her on us. That Arkansas hillbilly will never make it as an Air Force wife.”
    “True,” Stang returned, thoughtful. “She wasn’t there?”
    “No.”
    “I wonder why?”
    “I asked Scotty if Patty was in school with him, and he said yes. So, it couldn’t be because Patty was ill and Becky had to stay home and take care of her today.”
    “Hmmm. Unusual.”
    “Yes, but we don’t have anything concrete to make a pro or con assessment on it.”
    “I think I’ll hit Merrill with it tomorrow morning and see how he reacts.”
    “Good idea. As my corporate father would say, keep the enemy off balance—attack.”
    “That’s another reason why I love you—your very successful family.”
    “Rich and successful family,” Melody corrected.
    “That doesn’t hurt, either.”
    “Yours is just as well off as mine.”
    “True. You can’t say that for the rest of these guys, though.”
    “No, they’re not as astute or business-oriented as we are,” Melody pointed out. “Or, they don’t cultivate those skills.”
    “Good thing they don’t,” Jack muttered, “or it would make my goal to become a major the first time around, harder.” Very few officers made their next rank the first time around when they came up for promotion. Usually, it was on the second, third, or even fourth try, that they managed to get the next rank. To make it the first time was spectacular, alerting everyone that the officer had a hell of a powerful sponsor behind him. Jack prayed that if he had a sponsor, he’d come through for him this February, when he was up for major the first time around.
    “You’ve got a sponsor,” Melody said, “so don’t worry. As long as you remain number one in the testing phase, no one will deny you your major’s leaves in February, darling.” She reached out and placed an inviting kiss on the grim line of his mouth. In moments, his mouth softened, became hungry, and she languished in the fire that always simmered so close to the surface of his needs.
    Reluctantly, Jack eased from her delicious, welcoming lips. He held her dark green eyes that mirrored longing that matched his own. Smiling, he tunneled his long fingers through her thick ebony hair. “You’re a very beautiful woman, in a very beautiful body.”
    “And you love me that way,” she added huskily.
    “We’ve got one more thing to discuss, and then we can get to pleasure,” Jack told her, and withdrew his hand from her hair. He could taste the lingering sweetness of her on his mouth.
    Disappointed, but understanding, Melody straightened. “It has to be about Holt.”
    “Yes.” Jack tipped back in the chair and stared up at the light blue ceiling. They lived on base like just almost everyone else did. With their combined incomes, they were able to afford a sumptuous house in Lancaster, but decided against it because he wanted to be close to