"I've been to Delphi, little one." For a moment the eyes he turned on hers glowed with an ancient and frightening knowledge, but she told herself she had to have been seeing things just a second later when all she saw were his normal, riveting blue eyes. "Never doubt the word of the Oracle." His smile teased her into chuckling along with him. He really was an easy man to talk to and if her heart weren't already given, she might find him incredibly attractive.

He popped open the driver's side door and moved around the car quickly to open hers. He locked the vehicle and escorted her right to her apartment door, leaving her with a last lingering look and a gentle kiss on her hand.

She watched him disappear into the night. One minute he was walking down the sidewalk away from her complex, the next he was simply gone. She shook her head and marveled at the silent, almost ghost-like way these men moved. Hal moved the same way, and it never failed to amaze her.

CHAPTER FIVE.

The phone rang early the next morning, catching her in the middle of an exercise routine. Sweaty and out of breath, she picked it up on the third ring, simultaneously shutting off the DVD player and turning down the sound on the TV. Her greeting was more than a bit breathless, but she gave herself points for getting to the phone at all.

"Mmm, you make me think scandalous things when you answer the phone like that."

"Hal!" she gasped. Hearing his tempestuous purr on the other end of the line made it even harder to catch her breath. "How are you feeling?" "Much better. But I may have a coronary just listening to you. What were you doing? Am I interrupting something?" The edge of steel in his voice surprised her into a laugh. That and the relief in her heart at hearing him sound so normal-and healthy-made her almost giddy. She'd been so worried that she'd barely slept the night before.

"Yes, you are interrupting. I was doing step aerobics, and I'm only half way through the workout."

"So you're hot and sweaty. d.a.m.n, this just keeps getting better and better. What are you wearing?" Hisvoice dropped to a teasing, s.e.xy tone."Hal, you're a pervert." She had to laugh."Only with you, sweetheart. Only with you."She didn't know quite how to respond to that, so she changed the subject."When are you coming out again?" Coward, she mentally chastised herself.Hal paused as if deciding whether to let her get away with the diversion."Next weekend."She heaved an inward sigh of relief. She didn't want to face the change in their relationship out in the open just yet. She wanted to hug it to her and think about what it would mean a little longer. But she wanted to see him. She wanted to kiss him. h.e.l.l, she might as well admit it. She wanted to f.u.c.k him in the worst possible way.

"Will you stay with Mark?"

Again he paused. "I'd rather stay with you." The tone of his voice made her think he wasn't kidding this time and his next words confirmed it. "Do you think that would start World War Three?"

She caught her breath in excitement. "It could. Maybe you could come out late Friday night and then go

to Mark's on Sat.u.r.day." She couldn't believe she'd gotten up the nerve to suggest a secret rendezvous.

Apparently Hal couldn't quite believe it either, he was silent so long. She was afraid she'd misinterpreted him for one horrifying moment. She was about to backpedal big time when he spoke again.

"I'd love that." His voice had dropped deep and sultry. "Are you sure, sweetheart? I don't want to rush

you."

"How can you rush someone who's known you for almost twenty years?"

He chuckled. "Half that time you were just a kid, Casey. This-you and me as adults-is relatively new."

She took a deep breath for courage. "Not to me, Hal. I've been thinking of you the way an adult woman thinks of an adult man for years."

She heard his breath shudder on the other end of the line and hers was doing a fair imitation, still ragged from her only slightly lower pulse. Hal had a way of igniting her pulse, stealing her breath and raising her temperature. h.e.l.l, with him around, who needed aerobics?

"Me too, Cas. Me too."

Well, why didn't you ever say anything before? She wanted to scream in frustration, but she knew the timing had never been right.

"Then it's settled. Come to my apartment on Friday. I'll make dinner. Mark will never know."

"I don't like sneaking around, Cas."

"Neither do I, but it's just for now. Just until we see where this is going. I don't want to start trouble between either of us and my overprotective big brother."

"We'll have to tell him sooner or later."

Trust Hal to be the voice of her conscience. "I know. But let's make it later. I can't face him with this yet. Not until I'm sure..." She trailed off, not wanting to insult him or give voice to her doubts.

"You can be sure of me, Cas. I would never knowingly hurt you and I'm not just in this for a quick fling. I'm not playing around here. I want you in my life, long-term. You can be sure of that."

Her heart filled with hope, but she didn't quite trust it yet. For one thing, he was still in the Army and something very strange had happened to him in Iraq. The uncertainty surrounding his health and his future made her want to reach out and grab whatever time she could with him, but she dared not let her heart count on the future. It was still too uncertain.

"I'm not playing either, Hal."

Her voice was almost back to normal, but she found she couldn't speak above a whisper. Baring your heart had that kind of effect, she guessed.

"I'll see you Friday for dinner, sweetheart. I can't wait."

The week flew by and by the time Friday rolled around, Casey had everything set. Candles were already on the table, along with a new tablecloth and her famous chicken all ready to serve. All she needed now was the man.

At six sharp, the doorbell rang and Casey smoothed the skirt of her little black dress. She'd wanted to look good for her first real date with Hal. Sure, they both knew the date would more than likely end with them in bed together, but still, she wanted to look her best.

She was rewarded for the extra care she'd taken in dressing when Hal just stared at her for a good long minute after she opened the door. Casey was looking him over, too. He looked as healthy, whole and wholly edible as he always had. Not a sign that he'd been so sick after saving her life the weekend before. He had gorgeous flowers for her too-stargazer lilies, which were her favorite-and an expensive bottle of wine to go with dinner. But the appreciative look in his eyes as he watched her meant more than anything else.

He stepped into her apartment, dropping the flowers and wine onto the couch before sweeping her into his arms for a long, hot kiss. His lips were brutal at first, then gentled as he tasted her, sipping at her mouth and groaning in satisfaction as her shy tongue came out to play with his. His hands roamed over her shoulders, under the thin straps of the dress and then over the silky material, down to her waist and lower. He pulled her against him, shocking her with the blatant hardness at the juncture of his thighs as he pulled away for just a moment to look into her eyes.

"You're beautiful, Cas, and so s.e.xy."

She smiled up at him. He was in dark slacks and a black knit shirt that hugged his bulging muscles. "You're not too shabby yourself, Captain Haliwell. Is that a rocket in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?"

"A little of both, sweetheart." He laughed with her and let her go. "But we'll call a ceasefire while we eat dinner, okay?"

"Just like a man, thinking of your stomach first." She made to take the flowers and wine into the small kitchen, but he stopped her with a hand on her arm.

"Actually, I'm thinking of you, Cas. I want you to know that this doesn't have to be anything more than dinner. If you want, I'll sleep on your couch tonight. No pressure. Okay?" His eyes were so serious, his look so earnest, she smiled and moved back into his arms, placing a light kiss on his cheek.

"I know you well enough to tell you off if I feel uncomfortable. But thanks for being so sweet. I made your favorite-mom's old recipe for chicken and rice."

He let her go, rubbing his washboard stomach with a grin of appreciation. "Oh man, I've died and gone to Heaven. I've got a smart, beautiful, s.e.xy woman to keep me company and my favorite food in the whole world."

She turned to him as she set the wine in a cooler of ice and put the flowers in a vase. "Flattery will get you everywhere, Captain."

"A man can only hope." The twinkle in his eyes as he sat at her small table set a little fire in her tummy.

They ate together, as they had many times before, but this time it was just the two of them. No family was around to interject or interfere with their conversation. They talked about all kinds of things until she finally broached the subject she'd been thinking about all week.

"I had a very interesting talk with your friend Jeff," she began hesitantly.

"Oh yeah? What did the little pipsqueak have to say?"

She chuckled at the idea of Jeff Penworthy being a pipsqueak. Like Hal and the other men of his unit she'd met, Jeff was built. Muscles on muscles, but sleek and fast. Jeff might be a little more compact than Hal, and slightly shorter, but no less solid. These were men with a capital Mmm.

"He told me about your unit and the specialties you all have, and he told me something happened in Iraq to change you all."

Hal looked up from his dinner, suddenly serious as he watched her. "That's cla.s.sified information, Cas.

He knows better than to go around saying anything about our time there."

"He thought you needed someone to confide in. He said that because you're the unit leader, you've been there for all the men, but no one's really been able to be there for you."

"And he thinks you can do that?" Hal stood from the table, suddenly upset. "d.a.m.n him! What gives him

the right to involve you in this?"

She looked down at her plate. "I think you probably gave him the idea, Hal. He said he'd seen the way you reacted to my letters and cards. He probably also saw the way you kissed me at the heliport and put

two and two together. I mean, it's pretty obvious I care about you and I think you have some feelings for me."

"Feelings? Dammit, Casey, I love you! I've loved you for years, though I've tried to stay away. I don't

want to subject you to my life-especially now with what's happened. But I don't seem to be able to help

myself."

She went from the heights of happiness to the depths of despair and back again in a single sentence. He loved her? She hadn't dared dream. But there was darkness in his eyes as well. Some new darkness that hadn't been there before he'd gone to Iraq.

She stood on shaky legs and moved to stand in front of him. "First and foremost, I'm your friend. I have been for almost twenty years, whether you want to admit it or not." She moved closer to him. "I care what happens to you and I want to help you if I can."

He pulled her into his arms as if unable to stop himself. "You help me just by breathing, sweetheart. Just

by being you."

He kissed her deeply, using his hands to inch up the skirt of her little black dress, quickly getting carried away. His mouth devoured hers, bruising her tender lips and exciting her breathing. His own breath was coming in ragged pants when the doorbell chimed, breaking them apart.

"s.h.i.t."

"You can say that again." She smiled to break the tension when the doorbell sounded again.

"Can we pretend you're not home?"

"Not with the lights on and music playing. Whoever it is can hear it in the hall, I'm sure."

He rested his forehead against hers for a quick moment. "Okay, better go see who it is."

She sighed, pulling out of his arms and pulling down her skirt as she moved to the door. She pulled it

open just as the doorbell sounded a third, impatient time, and her mouth dropped open in shock.

"What the h.e.l.l is going on here?"

Her brother Mark looked from her swollen, bruised lips to the man who'd come to stand behind her.

Hal put his hand on her shoulder in support as he faced down an irate Mark. He'd known they'd have to

face the music sooner or later, but neither of them had planned on telling Mark quite this way. "You might as well come in." Casey stood back to let her brother enter, closing the door behind him. "Hal and I were having dinner."

"That wasn't all he was having, was it?"

Hal stepped forward, ready to defend her honor if need be. "Watch your mouth, Mark."

"How could you do this? She's my little sister!" Mark sounded angry and appalled at the thought of his