a bit awkward as she slowly redressed herself. She still had her running shoes on, she realized, as she struggled to get her shorts and underwear on over them.
Laz didn’t do anything but lean against the door and watch her and she did take a certain comfort from that. No matter that she wasn’t Angelina Jolie. When Lazarus looked at her, he saw a woman who was beautiful.
She finally had her clothes to rights and went over to where he was. She put her head against his chest and stole a little strength from him, because Laz had already proven that he wasn’t the kind of man who could be intimidated or scared and she wanted that. She hoped that their lovemaking had meant something to him. It had to her. It was another stage in her metamorphosis from half-living to fully alive.
“I’ve got to get back to the bridge,” Laz said.
Daphne straightened away from him. “Bob and I are going to try to radio our families. Our cell phones aren’t working very well. Is that okay?”
“Why do you need to radio them?”
What could she say? That she suspected him of being in league with the pirates who plagued the sea here? No, of course not. Besides she didn’t know what she thought about Laz anymore. She just knew that she needed to talk to her boys.
“I miss my sons,” she said.
“How many do you have?” he asked.
“Two. They aren’t babies but still I am used to checking in with them every day. And I want to make sure they are okay.”
Laz rubbed his hand over his chest right where her head had been resting a minute ago. “I guess I can’t say no to that. You have my permission.”
“Thanks, Captain.”
“You’re welcome.”
He opened the door and she watched him walk down the hallway. She wondered if this was the last time they’d be alone. This was a big tanker and he had a lot of responsibilities on the ship.
She wanted his mind on the safety of the ship. Did that mean she trusted him?
Given her track record with men, trusting Laz was a pretty big deal. She had no idea if she could trust him or not, but she did know that she was no longer uneasy about what he was doing last night. Still she had questions.
And she knew she’d get answers from him soon enough.
“Daphne, there you are,” Bob said, coming up behind her. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, why do you ask?”
“You look like you have a rash on your neck. I have some special soap that should help. “
She flushed even more deeply, realizing that the marks on her neck had to have been left by Laz. “Thanks, but I’m fine. When I run my skin gets splotchy. It should be back to normal soon.”
“Glad to hear it. Are you ready for the radio room or do you want to clean up first?”
Considering she could still smell Laz on herself, she opted for a shower, telling Bob she’d meet him in a few minutes in the galley. It was where their team had taken to hanging out. Being up on the deck of a tanker was different than being up on a cruise ship’s deck.
Daphne took her time in the shower and then dressed slowly. She stared at herself in the mirror as she finger combed her thick curly hair. Brushes and combs just made her look like Medusa, according to her kids.
She didn’t know what she was searching for in the mirror. It was still her face. She looked the same. Not like a woman who was on the cusp of a huge change.
Changing was something she thought she was past. For the longest time she’d looked in the mirror and saw a woman who had it all. A successful career in a growing practice. Two children who were on the honor roll at school and the stars of their respective sports teams. A husband…that was the one that had changed her, she thought.
She’d always wanted to be a wife and mother and now she was an ex-wife and a mother and those words just didn’t sit right with her. No matter how she tried to change them in her head she’d been feeling like she was living someone else’s life. That this life wasn’t the one that she’d written for herself.
And now she knew she was right. Because of the encounter—that raw sex—she’d had with Laz in the infirmary she knew that her life had changed. The change she’d been seeking was a new direction for her dreams.
She wasn’t just a wife and mother anymore; she had feared without those labels she’d be nothing. Today she realized that she was still someone. In fact she was probably getting closer to her real self than she’d ever been before. Because she’d had her kids when she was young she’d never had a chance to figure out who the real Daphne Bennett was but in Laz’s arms she’d had a glimpse.
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