"Well, like Perry said earlier. I'm one tough lady to kill," she answered just before sagging in Max's arms.
He scooped her up, turning toward the path. They had a long road ahead of them in more ways than one. But none of that mattered anymore. He'd been willing to do anything to keep this incredible woman alive. Now he knew he would do anything to keep her in his arms, as well.
Darcy leaned back in Max's arms and gazed out over the ocean from Lovers' Leap. How much difference a day made in perspective. Standing on the edge, she basked in the noonday sun gleaming off the breakers. The windswept cliff stirred none of the fears she'd felt over the past weeks whenever she"d considered climbing the path. The past had eased its grip.
Thanks to Max.
Wind twined around them in their bathing suits, bound them. Sea-scented air whispered memories of yesterday, softened by the hope for all her tomorrows.
Max's arms locked around her, maybe a bit too tight, but understandable. She recognized the protectiveness for what it was. Love. Fear of losing her. More love.
She liked that "more" best of all.
She didn't intend to pull away, but rather savor this moment with him. There wouldn't be much time for them to talk in person in the coming weeks with Max tying up his investigation. And he planned to fly out to talk to Perry's family.
Max had already made it clear to his superiors that Perry's wife and children never needed to know the details of his traitorous activities. Let them take comfort in believing he had died in the line of duty.
Kat Lowry had finally contacted a JAG. No way would she walk, but she might escape execution for handing over operatives by trading evidence for her life.
Darcy let the wind carry away tension as she watched the tide ripple, Max's dolphins riding those waves into the open sea. He'd set them free hours earlier. Alone. Max would never be a chatty guy, but he was perfect for her.
And of course then he'd invited her to join him now.
So many goodbyes for both of them today. Now if they could just figure out how to hold on to each other.
Max rested his chin on her head. "You know I'm not going to walk away from you when we leave here."
The man's ability to sense her thoughts was getting downright spooky. And wonderful. "I know. We're going to make this relationship work."
He nodded against her.
She squeezed his hands, clasped together over her stomach. "I don't even want to think about going home yet. I miss you already. But I can use leave-time to fly out to California. I'll try to wrangle TDYs to wherever you are." She stared down at their linked hands. Keeping that bond was worth fighting for. "I'll also look into cross-training to another plane with a base closer to you."
Max lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to the inside of her wrist. She tipped her head to glance back and share a smile. She saw the appreciation in his eyes, could also see he understood what it cost her to offer.
Saying goodbye to him forever would cost her too much more.
He dropped their linked hands back to her stomach. "Hold that thought for a while. I've been doing some thinking myself."
Darcy absorbed the heat of his chest through her back. Please, please, please don't offer to go the professor route, a tempting proposition for her. But so very wrong for him.
"I'm going to talk with some people I know in the OSI."
She turned in his arms to face him. "Run that by me again?" She couldn't envision Max in a uniform any more than in the classroom.
He hooked his arms around her back, low. "The switch from CIA to civilian employee in the Air Force OSI wouldn't be a problem."
Like Vinnie.
She let the image shift in her mind. Slowly, it took shape into the man she'd seen standing down Perry just a day earlier. "How would it work?"
"I'd most likely go straight in as a GS 12. My cover as Doc Keagan is shot to hell anyway for CIA ops." His eyes gravitated back out toward the seascape below. "No doubt, the OSI will make use of my diving skills when possible. But I learned something these past weeks thanks to you. It's the investigation that drives me."
The image shifted one last time before settling with total rightness. She could see it, the way he'd blended all the parts of his present, his past, even reconciling baggage with his military father enough to be a part of his world.
Best of all, she also saw her future with this wild, unconventional man who stole her breath and her heart with his moody smiles and tender touch. She could learn a lot from him. Being with Max would keep her horizons broad, her regimented world so very colorful. Only Max could have figured a way to blend their lifestyles.
Max, as an OSI secret-agent dude bringing all that unconventional vision and those colors to the Air Force world.