My gaze rests on each as they are introduced, and my attention is caught by one man, who stands at her side. He is tall and broad, has dark hair touch...d with gray, with arresting features and eyes that snap with intelligence and wry humour. There is a hint of arrogance around his mouth, which is full and sensual. As the conference coordinator introduces him, my pulse increases and my mouth goes dry. Why do I find this man so compelling? He doesn’t seem to notice my regard at all, but I can’t. I believe you. Pleased to meet you both. And call me Jean. You guys are a little shorter than I thought you’d be.”“The Marines are normally the ones with this duty. They’re the big ones. But we didn’t want to attract undue attention so they sent us instead.”“I guess your people saw all the Earth First signs up around here.”“That’s right.”I giggled. “I can’t believe I’m being recruited by the Confederacy. I’ll be all ready to go in a jiffy.”“You’re not being recruited by the Confederacy, Jean,”. Tommy sat on a coil of rope, leaning back against the mast his eye’s closed, Mac sat next to him, he opened his eye’s and watched Lexi walk over to the railing and lean her arms against it watching the sun come up, the golden rays of morning bathed Lexi in a warm glow, the salty breeze blew her hair around her face, Tommy saw Tibitron appear next to her, his hand reaching out and taking ahold of a lock of her hair, Mac put his hand on Tommy’s arm and shook his head as Tommy started to get up.. That evening, we sat around a campfire and roasted marshmallows. We talked. They asked me about the boys I was around. My uncle gave me a beer, and we had a conversation that made the whole day's drive worthwhile. We laughed and listened to old music.It had been weeks since a strange affair I had with my employer had begun. For some reason, the whole trip had made me feel better about myself. I felt independent with them. I felt free, like a woman coming into her own.Still, the thought of my.