New Title 1 (16 page)

I wrapped my legs around him, locking my
ankles behind his waist and clenched inside, milking every last bit of him.

Then he let his arms gi
ve way, burying his face in my shoulder.

A slow minute passed, and gradually
, our breathing began to return to normal, and I felt his lips pressing lightly into my neck.

He lowered his hand to where we
were joined, making sure that the condom hadn’t gone missing in action, and pulled out of me carefully.

He rolled onto his back, and
peeled off the thin rubber, pulling a face as he tied a knot in the end of the condom before dropping it into the garbage can. Then he leaned up on one elbow to look at me, resting his free hand on my stomach.

“Are you ok
ay?” he said, tenderly planting a gentle kiss on the tip of my nose.

I wasn’t sure how to answer that question.

I
’d
promised
myself I’d never get involved with another man in the military; I’d been
determined
never again to be attracted to a younger man; I
knew
that revisiting the past was a bad, bad idea; and I sensed that Sebastian was a volatile mixture of intense emotions and unexamined anger at the past.

And yet, my
reckless body sang every time he touched me.

“Yes, I think so,” I replied, my voice carefully neutral.

I pushed his hand away and sat up, ignoring his confused expression.

“Where are you going?”

“Just to get some water,” I said, without looking at him.

I felt his eyes on me as I walked into the bathroom, brutally aware that my forty-year old body couldn
’t match the exquisite perfection of his.

I pulled on the
bathrobe and drank some water from the faucet. The bathroom mirror reflected my flushed face and tangled hair. I’d picked up my hairbrush to resolve one of the issues when I heard Sebastian, and turned to see him standing in the doorway behind me.

“Caro, what
’s the matter?”

“Nothing,” I said, too brightly. “I
’m fine.”

His eyes met mine in the mirror and I could see that he didn
’t believe me, but he didn’t challenge me either. Silently, he took the brush from my hands and slowly, carefully, brushed my hair until it hung in tidy waves down my back.

“You have beautiful hair, Caro. I
’m glad you kept it long.”

His tone was gentle, almost loving.

I shrugged.

“
Every now and then I decide to get it cut off; especially after I’ve been somewhere I haven’t been able to shower for a couple of weeks.”

“That would be a crime,” he said solemnly.

“You can talk!” I said, pointing my chin at the haze of golden hair that clung to his skull.

His lips twitched in a small smile.

“Believe me, babe, I’d grow it if I could. Maybe I should go to my CO and tell him my girlfriend wants me to…”

He stopped abruptly.

I sighed. “It’s okay: I keep forgetting which decade I’m in, too. It’s so strange.”

He nodded in relief.

“Yeah, this is so weird, I feel the same. It’s as if nothing’s changed but everything’s changed. It’s like being in some crazy time machine. I keep expecting your husband to be banging down the door.”

I winced.

“Fuck, sorry. I’m doing it again.”

I smiled, painfully.

“Oh well, I imagine you’ve had some experience with husbands banging on the door.”

“Don
’t, Caro.”

I stared at him for a fraction of a second
, then pushed past him, back into the bedroom.

I couldn
’t believe he’d mentioned my ex-husband. Didn’t we already have enough painful memories between us? Apparently not.

I heard the faucet
running, and he followed me, carrying a glass of water.

He handed it to me silently
, and I took a small sip before placing it on the cabinet next to the bed.

“Thank you.”

He sat back on the bed, covering his lower half with the sheet.

“Caro, I know this is fucking weird but it
’s good, too, isn’t it? I mean, not everyone gets a second chance.”

Is that what this was, a second chance? But a second chance at what? A second chance to rip ourselves apart again?

“Today was fun,” I said, trying to think it through, “and tonight was… good, but the reality is: I’m based in New York and spend between three and six months of the year away from home. You’re a Marine and go wherever they send you. Presumably this next tour of Afghanistan will be six months or maybe longer? And then where, because let’s face it, Sebastian, the chances of you getting posted to the Corps’ Division of Public Affairs in New York is slim to none – especially with your record. So I’m not sure what sort of ‘second chance’ you have in mind.”

Sebastian
’s body went rigid with sudden, suppressed rage, and then he leapt off the bed, glaring down at me, gloriously naked – and very angry.

“Christ, it
’s like listening to an old record, Caro! You
always
try to think of reasons why we can’t be together!”

“What do you mean
‘always’? I haven’t seen you for ten years!”

“That
’s the whole fucking point, Caro! You used to say this shit to me when I was 17, and you’re still doing it now. We wasted
ten years
and you’re worried about a few thousand miles? Hell, we’ve got airplanes, we’ve got email, they’ve invented fucking cellphones. Jesus, if it comes down to it, I’ll even write you a fucking letter!”

I bit back a rather
hysterical giggle that began to bubble up.

“You write letters?”

His shoulders relaxed slightly, but his eyes were still tight with emotion.

“I
’ll write you on both sides of the fucking paper, Caro.”

“How can I refuse such an astonishing offer?”

“Are you laughing at me?”

“Are you shouting at me?”

“Yes!”

“Then,
‘yes’ to you, too.” I sighed. “Look, today, tonight – it’s been fun. But like I said to you before, I’m really not looking to get tied down again. I work
a lot
and I love what I do. I’m still mad at you for screwing up my travel papers. I won’t get paid until I’ve filed a story, and I won’t be able to do
that
until I get to Leatherneck. All this time, I’m not earning – and I have a
very
expensive mortgage to finance.”

He rested his hands on his hips
, and looked me in the eye.

“I
’m sorry about the money, Caro, and I’m sorry that I made you mad at me again, but I’m not sorry about what I did. I hoped I’d get a chance to spend some time with you, but I would have done it just to keep you safe.”

I sighed.
“This is getting us nowhere.”

He sat down on the edge of the bed with his back to me, and rested his elbows on his knees.

I had the opportunity to study his finely muscled back, sculpted shoulders and glowing, gold skin – my golden boy.

“
Caro, I’ve got 17 days before I ship out. I’d like to spend them with you. That’s all. If you don’t want to see me after that… well, I guess that’s it.”

He turned to look at me over his shoulder.

“What do you say?”

Chapter 5

When he put it like that, what did I have to lose? I could see Italy with him or spend a pointless two weeks kicking around Geneva on my own. And, despite what I
’d said to him about the sex having been ‘fun’, ‘spectacular’ and ‘mind-blowing’ would have been more appropriate adjectives. Plus, it was the most orgasms I’d had in one evening for a decade.

“I
’m going to need a cushion to sit on if you expect me to ride on that motorcycle of yours all the way to Salerno.”

His expression lifted at once.

“Really? You’re sure?”

“Well, to paraphrase you,
‘what the hell’.” I paused. “But I reserve the right to fly back if you’re being too much of an ass.”

“Huh, well, you
’d better give me a sliding scale of assaholic behavior, just so I know.”

I raised an eyebrow. “That could be quite a long list.”

“Try me.”

“
Okay,” I said, sitting up straight, and diving straight to my mental list of his most assifying and irritating moments since we’d met up again. “First, no getting drunk and passing out in my bed; second, no more interference in my career
of any kind
– that’s a deal breaker; third, no territorial displays of adolescent jealousy; fourth, …”

But I didn
’t get to finish my list – he jumped on me, pinning me to the mattress, and kissed me hard.

I was breathless and aroused when he let me go, and I could also feel his renewed erection poking my hip through the
bathrobe.

Of course – fast reloader
. I’d forgotten.

“What was that all about?” I said, pushing him off me.

He shrugged.

“It sounded like a very long list; I thought I
’d try to distract you.”

“Diversionary tactics?”

“Yeah, we’re schooled on that in the Marines,” he smirked.

“I bet you
are! And by the way,” I said, pointing to his fully erect dick, “you can put that away – I’m exhausted. Somebody dragged me all over Switzerland and half of France today.”