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hair and gently tipped her head backward, cradling it in his hand. The first swipe of his tongue took her breath away. She returned the caresses. Slow. And deep. His mouth was firm, his lips soft. Urgency shot through her when be backed her against the wall. He pressed his soaking wet body to hers, but did not move  further, even though the treasure at the end of his happy trail had apparently voted to take things to the next level.
    Philip broke the kiss and rested his forehead on hers. “I’m sorry. But as somebody so eloquently put it, I’ve wanted to do that all afternoon.”
    “Me too,” she whispered before reigniting the kiss. Philip complied willingly. Her hands dug into his hair pulling him closer. Glad her back was to the wall, Hallie felt as if her knees might buckle.
    A low moan slipped past her lips. What was she doing? She had no business kissing this man. But then his tongue delved into her mouth, sweeping away all the rules. His stubble scoured her chin, but Hallie didn’t care. Nothing in the world mattered except this kiss.
    Lightning flashed and they jumped apart. The thunder that immediately followed shook the deck and vibrated the air around them. Philip grabbed her hand and pulled her around the corner into the building. A pulse throbbed in his neck as he fought to catch his breath. “Is it my imagination or did the earth just shake with that kiss?”
    Hallie willed her heart to stop racing and answered with a good-natured smile. “Not bad for Bill Gates.”
    Chapter 4

      
    “ When Does Friendship Become a Crime in the Navy ? Over two hundred years of seagoing experience have demonstrated that seniors must maintain a thoroughly professional relationship with juniors at all times . Personal relationships between officer and enlisted members that are unduly familiar and that do not respect differences in rank and grade are prohibited, and violate longstanding customs and traditions of the naval service . Personal relationships including dating, cohabitation, and any sexual relationship between commissioned officers and personnel of the enlisted ranks are strictly forbidden .”
     
    “Shit,” Hallie mumbled under her breath.
    Chief Bernard interrupted Hallie’s Google search of the UCMJ—the Uniform Code of Military Justice—the Armed Forces Bible on rules and regulations. “Hey, McCabe, hurricane season started last week. I thought I asked one of you to pull a checklist together and write a piece to go with it. I need to run it tomorrow. Whoever writes it gets the byline.”
    “Can you get Marini to do it?”
    “I thought you’d want the byline.”
    “Not today. Gina, you want a byline?” Hallie called across the Blanchard ’s Public Affairs office.
    “I don’t care who does it. Somebody get it done. Need a rough by noon.” The chief dropped some notes on her desk and walked away.
    The face of Gina Marini, Hallie’s other bunkmate and fellow journalist, appeared over the top of Hallie’s laptop. “Since when don’t you want a byline? I thought everything you published went into your resume.”
    “I don’t want my name on anything on this ship right now.” Hallie racked her brain wondering if there were still any newsletters floating around with her byline on them.
    Gina’s eyes lit up. “Because you don’t want somebody to see it?”
    Hallie tried to smother her smile, but she couldn’t contain it. “Gina. I met the most amazing guy this weekend.”
    “Wait. From the ship? You got the hots for somebody on the Blanchard ? What happened to the policy only you seem to follow? Come on. Dish, girl.”
    “Okay, tell you what. If you’ll take this assignment, I’ll give you the dirt.”
    “You got it.” Gina grabbed the chief’s notes and walked to her desk.
    Whereas Trixie slept above Hallie, Gina slept below her in their three-tiered rack in female berthing, when she stayed on board. Since Gina was quietly living off base with her boyfriend, a chief hospital