Read Online Semper Fidelis by Morticia Knight Kendall McKenna Sara York LE Franks Devon Rhodes T.A. Chase S.A. McAuley - Free Book Online
Tags: Erotic Romance Fiction
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Most members of the Coast Guard didn’t think of themselves as heroes, but there wasn’t a crabber in Alaska who wouldn’t buy one of them a drink if they ran into a Coastie at a bar. Phil had run into his share of arrogant rescue swimmers who thought they could conquer the Bering Sea. All of them had come to learn the harsh truth about that area of water.
As Phil listened to Dean breathe, he thought about the only female he would ever love. To most, she was simply a body of water, separating North America from Russia. But to those who lived along her shores and made their living upon her water, she was a glorious female with all the nurturing aspects of a mother and the capriciousness of a tease.
The Bering Sea was a raging bitch, and no man could predict what she was going to do day-to-day, much less minute-by-minute. Phil had grown up on a crab boat, and had spent most of his life out on the sea. He’d seen the sun rise over water as smooth as a piece of blue glass, and that same sun would set on a hurricane with winds pushing the ice against hulls as if to crumble the steel like paper.
Boats were overturned during storms like that, and the Coast Guard were the only people around to fly into the howling winds to find the men left floating in the freezing water. Sometimes when Dean jumped into that soul-chilling liquid, he got there in time and they would hoist the survivor up to the helicopter in a harness.
Other times, they were too late to save anyone. Sometimes, the men who went into the water from their boats never climbed out of it. Their bodies never returned to their families, and those were the ones that haunted Dean while he slept. Phil knew that only because of one night they’d spent together in Juneau.
They’d fallen asleep after some mind-blowing sex, then Phil had been awakened by Dean’s mumbling and thrashing around the bed. He’d reached out to shake Dean awake, but then he’d heard Dean whisper, “I couldn’t save him.”
A cod fishing boat had sunk off the coast a few days before they’d met up in Juneau, and Dean had gone on that mission. The word had gone through the fleets of crabbers and fishermen that three men had been lost. The Coast Guard had saved the other two, but the three men hadn’t had time to put on their immersion suits before hitting the water. And even during the summer, it was cold enough that going into it was a death sentence if not rescued soon enough.
Dean’s comment said while he was still asleep made Phil understand that each man lost haunted Dean. His lover rarely celebrated the ones he saved. Phil asked him once how many successful rescues he had. Dean had shaken his head and said he only counted the ones lost.
That knowledge was another step on the road of Phil falling deeper in love with Dean. Now he couldn’t see himself with anyone else, even though their jobs and where they lived kept them apart. He tried to do his best to keep them together, going out of his way to meet Dean wherever Dean wanted.
He thought about his family, especially his gruff father who had been a captain of his own crab boat by the time he was thirty. Phil had never said a word about being gay to his parents. He had no real idea how they’d react if they ever found out, yet Phil realized he didn’t have much longer to keep it a secret. At some point in the near future, he was going to have to speak up or risk losing Dean forever.
“You’re thinking too hard,” Dean muttered, then yawned as he rolled over onto his back.
“Sorry if I woke you, though I’m not sure how that would be possible.” Phil ran his hand over Dean’s chest, playing with the hair covering most of it.
Dean grunted. “You tensed up, and I must have felt it, even in my dreams. What were you thinking about?”
He really didn’t want to have this conversation. Not when they only had two days together before they both had to get back to their jobs. When is there a good time? Phil sighed
Most members of the Coast Guard didn’t think of themselves as heroes, but there wasn’t a crabber in Alaska who wouldn’t buy one of them a drink if they ran into a Coastie at a bar. Phil had run into his share of arrogant rescue swimmers who thought they could conquer the Bering Sea. All of them had come to learn the harsh truth about that area of water.
As Phil listened to Dean breathe, he thought about the only female he would ever love. To most, she was simply a body of water, separating North America from Russia. But to those who lived along her shores and made their living upon her water, she was a glorious female with all the nurturing aspects of a mother and the capriciousness of a tease.
The Bering Sea was a raging bitch, and no man could predict what she was going to do day-to-day, much less minute-by-minute. Phil had grown up on a crab boat, and had spent most of his life out on the sea. He’d seen the sun rise over water as smooth as a piece of blue glass, and that same sun would set on a hurricane with winds pushing the ice against hulls as if to crumble the steel like paper.
Boats were overturned during storms like that, and the Coast Guard were the only people around to fly into the howling winds to find the men left floating in the freezing water. Sometimes when Dean jumped into that soul-chilling liquid, he got there in time and they would hoist the survivor up to the helicopter in a harness.
Other times, they were too late to save anyone. Sometimes, the men who went into the water from their boats never climbed out of it. Their bodies never returned to their families, and those were the ones that haunted Dean while he slept. Phil knew that only because of one night they’d spent together in Juneau.
They’d fallen asleep after some mind-blowing sex, then Phil had been awakened by Dean’s mumbling and thrashing around the bed. He’d reached out to shake Dean awake, but then he’d heard Dean whisper, “I couldn’t save him.”
A cod fishing boat had sunk off the coast a few days before they’d met up in Juneau, and Dean had gone on that mission. The word had gone through the fleets of crabbers and fishermen that three men had been lost. The Coast Guard had saved the other two, but the three men hadn’t had time to put on their immersion suits before hitting the water. And even during the summer, it was cold enough that going into it was a death sentence if not rescued soon enough.
Dean’s comment said while he was still asleep made Phil understand that each man lost haunted Dean. His lover rarely celebrated the ones he saved. Phil asked him once how many successful rescues he had. Dean had shaken his head and said he only counted the ones lost.
That knowledge was another step on the road of Phil falling deeper in love with Dean. Now he couldn’t see himself with anyone else, even though their jobs and where they lived kept them apart. He tried to do his best to keep them together, going out of his way to meet Dean wherever Dean wanted.
He thought about his family, especially his gruff father who had been a captain of his own crab boat by the time he was thirty. Phil had never said a word about being gay to his parents. He had no real idea how they’d react if they ever found out, yet Phil realized he didn’t have much longer to keep it a secret. At some point in the near future, he was going to have to speak up or risk losing Dean forever.
“You’re thinking too hard,” Dean muttered, then yawned as he rolled over onto his back.
“Sorry if I woke you, though I’m not sure how that would be possible.” Phil ran his hand over Dean’s chest, playing with the hair covering most of it.
Dean grunted. “You tensed up, and I must have felt it, even in my dreams. What were you thinking about?”
He really didn’t want to have this conversation. Not when they only had two days together before they both had to get back to their jobs. When is there a good time? Phil sighed
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