The White Vixen by David Tindell

know. I could issue an order for compliance.”
    “That presents some interesting possibilities,” she said. “Maybe next time we’re in uniform.” She turned and walked toward the bedroom and the adjoining bath with its shower. Halfway there, she slipped her panties off and tossed them backward over her shoulder. She heard the very slight sound of the cloth striking flesh as Ian caught them in mid-air, and she sensed his approach, dialing down her instinctive response just in time. He swept her neatly off her feet and carried her to the bed.
     
    ***
     
     
    “That leaning-back thing you did in there…”
    She laughed. “Okay, but hold onto my hips,” she said. “Don’t break the rhythm.”
    It was a bit more difficult this time, with her legs tucked under her hips and Ian deep inside her, and the two of them rocking together besides, but she leaned back, supporting herself with her arms, and arched her back. To her surprise, this produced an extremely pleasant sensation, which Ian accentuated with deeper thrusts. She felt her orgasm building quickly, much more quickly than the night before, and before she could help herself she began moaning, then he shouted and heaved upward just as she reached her own zenith. She actually felt his essence erupt inside her, and they held the delicious pose for a few seconds before he slowly lowered his buttocks back onto the damp sheets, his powerful hands still clamped on her hips, and he released them as she leaned forward and lay forward on top of him. Their panting gradually slowed.
    “You really must go?” he said at last.
    “Yes,” she said reluctantly, and the finality of it began to take on real meaning to her. Two weeks since the mission, one week since their first dinner together, and now they had just made love for the, what, fourth time? Fifth? Ian had gotten forty-eight hours’ liberty, they’d spend that first night together and that was the first time, the next morning the second, and then last night after one final day together exploring Hong Kong. “I was lucky to get my leave extended, actually.”
    “I rather think I’m the lucky one,” he said, kissing her. She met his tongue with hers, and inside her, she felt the stirrings of desire again, but deeper this time, and that voice she’d dreaded hearing: Be careful. Remember the pain . She pushed the voice aside and surrendered to the desire.
    Three hours later, they were at the airport. Her flight would be on time, and she looked forward to the comfort of the commercial jet. In Tokyo she’d catch an Air Force cargo plane to Hawaii, another to Los Angeles, and yet another for the final leg to Hurlburt Field, Florida. The free passage on the military birds would almost make up for the Spartan conditions she’d have to tolerate. That would make the jet lag even more difficult, to say the least. Well, she’d done it before.
    “I said, ‘A penny for your thoughts?’”
    She turned to Ian. “Sorry. Just thinking about the time changes and so forth.”
    They were walking down the broad aisle of the terminal toward her departure gate. She had one bag slung over her shoulder, with Ian pulling her suitcase. Back at the hotel, she’d fretted somewhat over her outfit, finally choosing the same black pin-striped pants-suit she’d worn on the flight to Singapore, only this time she wore a white tee shirt underneath. A single Chinese ideogram, which could roughly be translated as “strength”, was printed in red on the chest.
    Ian laughed. “You know, you’re really quite remarkable.”
    “How do you mean?” she asked.
    “Well, a few hours ago you were practicing the most elaborate yoga poses I’ve ever seen, with exquisite discipline. Then, of course, in bed you are, shall we say—”
    “A bit less rigid?” she filled in with a grin.
    “I wouldn’t really call it that, because it implies you’re rigid otherwise. No, I meant you’re not quite like you are at other times. Like now, for