Operation: Endurance (When the Mission Ends) (30 page)

She scrutinized him as they walked. “We have plans? It sounds like you’ve been keeping secrets.”

His stomach dropped. His eyes flew to hers but when he saw her teasing smile, he relaxed. Damn, he needed to stop keeping things from her. He needed to convince her they could be just as happy adopting, as long as they were together, but he needed time to work up to that.

When they got into the bathroom, he turned on the hot water and followed Julie and her luscious, tight body into the shower. She was so tiny. The top of her head met the bottom of his
chin. It made her the perfect height to play with the nipples on his pecs and she took immediate advantage of that fact by smoothing kisses across his chest. Ah, yeah, this had been a good idea. He closed his eyes at the eroticism of Julie’s wet breasts pushed up against his abs and her hot lips on his nipples.

She worked her way across his chest, her eyes full of desire. She reached down and caressed the full, long length of his cock. Scars were a part of him now and as she fingered the ones that ran across his balls, he groaned. To have her play and love that area which had been so horribly abused was incredibly erotic and arousing. Taking her time to play with the moisture leaking out of the slit, she swirled her hand around the ridge at the top. His breathing ratcheted up a notch and she smiled in response.

His cock hardened to pure steel. It was time to get this show on the road. He grabbed the shower gel and began to soap up his hands and then set to work on Julie’s body. She was moaning and very soapy by the time he was through with her front. One of her legs wrapped around his waist as he worked, and she rubbed against him. God, she was sexy like this.

He turned her around so that he could give an equal soaping to her backside, pausing to thoroughly clean her slit and apply a little teasing of his own.
Hmm, soap was a very good thing
he thought as a slippery nipple slid against his arm. He applied suds down the full length of her legs, paying particular attention to her ass. Suddenly he came face to face with her tattoo. He hadn’t gotten to examine it closely yet.

As he did so now, she suddenly tensed under his hands.

He wrapped his right hand around her waist and her silky folds fluttered against the edge of his cock while he explored the tattoo with his left hand. It was a gorgeous piece of ink. The outline and details had all been done in black, and the interior coloring had been done with variegated shades of purple. He traced the wings with his finger. The tattoo was large for even a normal tattoo. It started in the middle of her back and went all the way down to her waist. To know that quiet little Julie had gotten it was a puzzle.

Aware that she’d gone completely rigid in his arms, he traced his fingers up her spine to the nape of her neck hoping to help her relax, but continued to admire the butterfly. Then he saw it. At the base of the right wing, was the date, May 10. The day he died. His breath caught as shock shuddered through him. She hadn’t forgotten him. Oh God, this tattoo was a memorial to him.

Suddenly he needed to be inside her desperately. He turned her toward him. Her eyes were wary, but when he lifted her up to kiss her, she wrapped her legs and arms around him and clung like she’d never let him go again. Seemingly just as frantic, she reached between them and positioned his shaft so he was lined up perfectly with her entrance. She slid down his chest, impaling herself on his hard cock. They both groaned at the sensation.

Moving so that she was pressed up against the tile wall of the shower, he powered into her, shudders of desire traveling the length of his spine. Before he had time to even think about what they were doing, she began to shatter around him with screams and rasps of breath. The gush of hot moisture and the clenching of her womb were too much for his already fragile control. It shattered and his cock released into her with pulsing bursts of pleasure.

He leaned his forehead against the cold tile trying to find the energy to pull out of her and set her back down, but after that cataclysmic orgasm, it wasn’t going to happen yet. His breath sawed in and out in sharp pants. He nuzzled behind her ear. “I’m sorry,” he panted. “I didn’t mean to be so rough with you.”

“Oh, baby, you didn’t hear me complaining. That was incredible. I’ll shower with you any day. Feel free to wake me up again.”

He finally found the energy to lift up his head to look into her eyes and smile.

She lifted a hand to the side of his face and brushed at the moisture there.

Emotions quaked through him. He’d come so close to losing all this, to losing her. It was a miracle to be here, inside her.

Her eyes widened as his cock hardened within her. “Already?” she squeaked.

“What can I say? You inspire me to new heights, but how about we move to the bed this time?”

After their second go, Julie dozed back off. Chris knew they needed to get going, but she’d earned a catnap. He was happy just to lay here with her in his arms. As she settled further into sleep, she rolled over and he was able to look at the tattoo again.

But as he looked at the tattoo again, he realized something. The date of his death wasn’t the only date on there. There was another, April 6. What did that mean?

* * *

Julie eyed Chris suspiciously as he dragged her in front of his garage. He was being very secretive about their plans for the day, but his eyes were alight with joy. If it made him this happy, she could deal with a surprise.

He reached down for the handle of the garage door, but then paused, looking nervous. “Yesterday while you were at your doctor’s appointment, I bought a new toy. I thought it might be something fun we could do together, but if you aren’t feeling up to it, that’s okay. It can wait.”

“Chris, I’m fine, but the suspense is killing me. Open it already.”

The smile he flashed her was so full of joy, she imagined that was how he’d have looked as a little boy, his eyes full of mischief and happiness, his mop of golden hair messy from play, and freckles across the bridge of his nose. She’d heard so many stories about him and the troubles he got into as a kid with Jake and Cassie.

She smiled at the thought, but it was replaced with a vision of what his son would look like. A sudden wave of sadness overcame her. She wouldn’t be able to give him that son, but she pushed it aside. Today was about happiness.

He tugged the garage door up to reveal a brand new Harley-Davidson motorcycle. She looked toward him in surprise. “You bought a motorcycle?”

His grin spread from ear to ear. “I did. I thought you might like to go out riding.”

That was the one part of flamboyant purple-haired Julie that she hadn’t been able to let go of. She really loved the freedom of riding her motorcycle.

She ran her hand down the length of the new blacked-out V-rod, Night Rod Special. It was so sexy. “Wow, this is really gorgeous. You’re going to look incredibly hot riding it.” She wrapped one hand around his neck to pull him down for a kiss. The fingers of the other hand threaded through the belt loop of his jeans to pull his hips up against hers.

After the kiss ended, his eyes sparked with desire and anticipation. “So does that mean you’re okay with going out for a ride today?”

“Oh, hell yeah. Just let me go get my leathers on.”

He snagged her by the waist and pulled her back toward him, his sapphire eyes navy with desire. “Did you just say you have leathers?” His voice cracked.

“You’ll never find out if you don’t let me go,” she teased, although judging from the bulge in the front of his jeans, it probably wasn’t necessary. He was already pretty worked up. Just imagine what he’d be like after the vibration of riding. She licked her lips and then licked his before dashing back into the house to change, leaving Chris with his mouth hanging open.

She smiled as she ran to her room, setting a new record for how quickly she could change, adding in a sexy new purple polka dotted thong and bra she hadn’t gotten to wear yet.

A small throw blanket resting on the back of the couch snagged her attention as she ran through the living room. Backtracking, she grabbed it. It would be perfect if they found a place for a picnic or something else while they were out riding. It was always good to be prepared.

They headed east out of Lubbock and stopped when they came to an abandoned old stone restaurant on the side of the road. Chris pulled off into the gravel parking lot.

It was a beautiful building with the cut stonework that had been so popular in Texas centuries before. It had obviously been abandoned for a long time. The windows were mostly broken and gone, the brush around the place overgrown, but with the dry climate the painted ‘Restaurant’ was still visible on the sign. Chris got off his motorcycle and drew off his helmet, so Julie did the same.

“I’ve noticed the photography in your house. A lot of it looks like this place. Do you have your camera?”

She looked at him curiously. She’d never told anyone that any of those photos were hers. It was a private hobby. Anyone who’d ever visited just assumed she’d bought them herself, but most of them were her photos. “How did you know?”

He ducked his head. “I didn’t for sure, but I’ve seen some of your equipment around your house, so I guessed.”

She reached into her saddlebag. “Well, it just so happens that I do have my camera and I’m going to take advantage of this. Thanks, Chris.”

After spending about twenty minutes taking various shots of the property, the motorcycles, and even sneaking in a few shots of Chris, she was through. She slid the camera back into the saddlebag and then grabbed the blanket out of the other. Chris had watched her work. He had a black leather jacket on, but underneath it, the muscles of his chest strained against the thin fabric of his t-shirt. His worn jeans cupped his thighs. His legs crossed at his boots where he leaned up against his motorcycle looking incredibly sexy. A shiver of arousal and awareness snaked through her belly. She was ready to do something about that.

When he saw the blanket, he raised his eyebrows. “Hmm, I do like a girl who comes prepared.”

“Oh, I promise, you’re definitely going to like this. Come on. I’m pretty sure there’s a stream running behind this place.” They strolled slowly through the overgrown brush behind the restaurant. But it quickly became obvious that Julie had been correct as the sound of gurgling water began to get louder.

Along the creek, the cottonwood trees were huge. They had to be a couple of hundred years old. The tufts of cotton flew off them and filtered through the air just like they had when she’d seen Aaron and Nalia. Her breath caught and she became mesmerized by the beauty of them in the air. It was a sign. She’d never be able to see cottonwood tufts again without thinking about their little girl.

Suddenly Chris was at her side, wiping the tears off her face. She’d been crying? She gave him a watery smile. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

He frowned as he glanced up into the air and then back to her, obviously concerned about why she cried. She rose up on tip toe and kissed him softly. He pressed her down to the ground where he’d already spread the blanket out. She laid flat on her back and he leaned down beside her, raised up on one arm and looking thoughtfully into her eyes. A cotton tuft drifted through the air to land on lightly on top of his head.

He looked at her with such love. It was time to tell him. He deserved to know. Everything. Her hands clenched with the need to make a list, but that wasn’t the solution. Facing her emotions and honesty was. If they were going to make this work, they had to have full honesty between them. That’s why she’d gone to the therapist, because she wanted that. That didn’t stop the panic zinging through her system at the prospect, though.

Chris still looked concerned as he studied her. “Are you okay?” he asked quietly.

“I am, but I need to tell you something.”

“Okay,” he said hesitantly. “Does this have something to do with the other date on your butterfly tattoo?”

Her eyes filled with tears, her heart pounding, as she nodded slowly.

He used his thumbs to swipe away the tears, but waited for her to continue patiently.

“I’ve been keeping a secret from you that you have a right to know.” She swallowed and sat back up. She couldn’t do this lying down. A hysterical bubble of laughter arose as she realized
she’d automatically begun listing different positions of sitting in her head. No lists. She needed to face him and this truth.

She drew in a deep breath. “A few weeks after you left on your deployment, I discovered I was pregnant.”

She’d been looking at her hands, but now she hazarded a quick glance at him. Pure shock and pain radiated from his eyes, his body tense. “No one knew about you, or about us, so I didn’t tell anyone about it, but I was happy.” Her lip trembled and she wrapped her hands around her stomach to try to hold some of the hurt in. “I didn’t realize it, but it was an ectopic pregnancy. I lost the baby a few weeks after I found out about her, on April 6th.”

“That’s the other date on your back.” His voice was full of pain and emotion, as it cracked.

She nodded. “When I miscarried, my fallopian tube burst. I called my brother, Owen, and he got me to the hospital, but it was too late for the baby. They rushed me into emergency surgery, but the damage had been done. I can’t have babies anymore, Chris. I’m sorry. I should have told you before now, but I didn’t know how. I understand if you don’t want to see me anymore.” Tears spilled down her cheeks and she watched them fall onto her jeans.