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He strode over to me.

“Christ, I know that, Caro, and it kills me to know that you’ll be out there, too. Please, baby, please, go home while you still can. I’m fucking begging you, Caro!”

He held me tight against his chest
, and I could feel his heart hammering as he buried his head in my hair.

“Please, baby. I need to know you
’re safe. If anything happened to you now…”

My arms crept around his neck
, and I pulled his face down to kiss him softly.

“I have a job to do, Sebastian, you
know that. So do you; and I will worry about you every day. I pray to God that you’ll come home to me. Please, tesoro, promise you’ll look after yourself – no unnecessary risks?”

He sighed. “I promise, Caro.”

“Then come back to bed with me,” I said, tugging his hand.

Time was slipping away too fast.

He lay on his back and I snuggled into his arms, one hand on his waist, and my head resting just above his heart, listening to its firm, even rhythm.

I didn
’t want our last night together to be filled with such sadness.

My fingers drifted over his
muscular chest, across his ribs and down to his flat stomach. I pushed the sheet down, exposing his hair and the tip of something even more desirable and arousing.

“Sebastian, if that
’s what I have to imagine every time you look at me, I’m not going to get any work done.”

He smiled and kissed my
hand.

“Let
’s go back to Signora Carello’s place for our honeymoon, Caro. We could fuck for days without getting out of bed.”

I could tell that he was trying to lighten the mood, too; I was happy to play along with the
fantasy.

“What, you think she could just push food under the door so you can keep your strength up, because I have to say, Sebastian, you were getting a bit out of breath just
now. I really thought the US Marines had higher standards of fitness: I might have to write about that in my next article. Of course, the research is incomplete: I’ve only documented one Marine’s fitness levels in detail…”

“And it
’s going to stay that way,” he said, firmly.

I
laughed. “Feeling threatened? Me alone with all those horny Marines, I’m quoting, of course.”

“Not funny,” he grumbled.

“Okay, I won’t tease you. Yes, we could go back to Signora Carello’s, but there are lots of other places I’d like to see in Italy. Florence, the open air opera in Rome – I’d love to do that. But you know, I really like the idea of taking your old motorcycle and seeing upstate New York. What do
you
want to do?”

“Other than have a lot of sex?”

“My God! That’s exactly the same answer you gave me ten years ago when you were a horny teenager!”

“
So? I’m consistent: I thought women liked that in men?”

He had a point.

Lazily, he ran one hand between my breasts, toying with the chain that held my engagement ring.

“You have the most fantastic breasts, Caro. I can
’t stand those fake ones, they just feel so…”

He
realized what he’d said, or nearly said, and stopped abruptly.

“
Hmm, I was thinking, Chief, maybe you should be one of those men who are strong and silent. You know, nice to look at, not so good at the talking.”

He playfully bit my shoulder and twisted around, pushing me into the mattress.

“Is that right?”

“Yes. Hearing you talk about your
conquests
when I’m in a state of post-coital bliss isn’t going to earn you round two.”

“Huh, so I can
’t
earn
round two – does that mean I can pay for it instead?”

I slapped his ass
, hard. “You couldn’t afford me.”

“You sure about that, baby?
What’s your price?”

“What have you got to offer, Sebastian?”

He used his hips to pin me down, his chest hovering over mine. “An orgasm?”

“That
’s just quid pro quo.”

“
Fuck, I love it when you talk dirty. What about two orgasms?”

“
Two? Beginning to sound interesting, but do you think you’re up to the job?”

One thing about Sebastian: he was always up for a challenge.
Up and up.

Over an hour later, we
were collapsed on the bathroom floor, flushed and breathless.

“I
’d forgotten you had a thing for bathrooms,” I gasped.

He kissed the back of my neck.
“I like the mirrors.”

“You know, that
’s a bit kinky, Sebastian.”

“
You think? I’d like to get kinky with you, Caro,” he said, tugging on my earlobe with his teeth and running his fingers over my hipbone.

The thought was intriguing.

“What did you have in mind?”

I felt him shrug. “You could tie me up again: that was hot.”

“Hmm, well, I could talk to one of the MPs at Leatherneck – maybe I’ll see if I can borrow a pair of handcuffs, Sebastian.”

He didn
’t answer, so I nudged him in the ribs.

“Yeah, if you like, Caro.”

“If
I
like? What do
you
like?”

He hesitated.
“There’s some stuff we could try.”

“Such as?”

There was a soft tap at the door and I heard Liz’s voice.

“Oh, hell. You
’d better get dressed, Sebastian, unless a three-way with Liz was one of your fantasies?”

He shuddered. “Fuck, Caro! I
’m going to have that image in my head now.”

I grinned at him. “
Better get your pants on then, Chief.”

I pulled on a baggy T-shirt and some pajama bott
oms, checked Sebastian was halfway decent, and opened the door.

“Lee, I… oh, is he still here?”

“He’s just leaving, Liz.”

Sebastian was sitting on my bed, tying his shoelaces when
Liz marched into the room.

“The
re’s a curfew on, Hunter,” she said, crossing her arms across her substantial chest.

“Thanks,” he said,
shortly.

“You must have heard the car bomb: three dead, multiple injured. Bastards packed the bomb with nails.”

“So evil,” I murmured.

Liz
nodded silently, and Sebastian pressed his lips together without speaking.

He stood up, pulled on his jacket and fastened the buckle
on his white web belt.

He ignored
Liz’s chilly gaze and pulled me into a tight hug, leaning his forehead against mine.

“Remember what I said, Sebastian.”

“I’ll try, baby. And you remember what
I
said, what I’m thinking about when I look at you.”

He rested his lips gently on mine.

“Never take my ring off, Caro,” he whispered.

“Ti amo tanto, Sebastian.”

He smiled softly. “Sempre e per sempre.”

He glanced briefly at
Liz, and then quietly left.

Liz
closed the door behind him, and looked at me sternly.

“Bloody hell, Lee. You
’ve fallen for him, haven’t you? The priapic bastard has lured you into his lair to be one of his foreign territories. How can you be so damn stupid?”

Her words stung
, but, to be fair, I could see exactly how it looked from her point of view.

I had two choices:
I could say nothing, and leave her with the view that I’d been naïve and duped by a man who was a Casanova in a US Marine uniform, a total player; or I could tell her the truth.

“It
’s not like that, Liz,” I said, rubbing my eyes tiredly.

“Don
’t give me that bullshit, Lee; you’re lucky I’m the only one who knows what’s going on. Otherwise, you’d be on the first plane home, and Chief Hunter... well, I don’t know what they’d do to him. Not that he’d care, but it would be your career down the drain. Is that what you want?”

“No, of course not,” I snapped.

“Then would you please tell me what the hell is going on, because I’ve never known you to behave like this – and it’s not like you haven’t had offers. Why him, Lee? Of all people – he’s shagged half the female staff at the UN. Is that what you wanted – just a young stud? What if he tells someone? Bragging about his Kabul conquest?”

She was really building up a head of steam: I had to head her off.

“We’re going to get married, Liz; as soon as his tour is over.”

Silence.

I waited.

More silence.

“Have you lost your mind, Lee!” she bellowed suddenly, making me jump. “Is this some kind of hormonal surge or midlife crisis? You’ve let him shag you a few times and you’re imagining he’ll marry you? You barely know him!”

“I know him better than anyone,
Liz. I’ve known him since he was eight years old.”

She gaped at me.

“I think you’d better tell me the whole bloody story, Lee, because otherwise I’ll have to assume that one of us is barking mad, and right now my money is on you.”

I sighed. I
’d never told anyone the full story before – not even my closest friends: guilt, sadness, and a wish to move on with my life had kept me silent.