We lay there, trying to catch our breath.
“Sebastian?” she gasped, her voice shaky and astonished.
I pulled out carefully and looked down at her, my smile wide and relaxed. “Did you get what you wanted, baby?”
“Excuse me?” she huffed.
“You said you wanted some devil inside you. I aim to please.”
She scowled and slapped my arm, trying to squirm away from me, but my body was still pinning her down.
“Sebastian, you just fucked me while you were talking to your CO!” she hiccupped, sounding breathless and a little pissed.
“What, you think men can’t multitask?”
She stared at me in disbelief.
“I can’t believe you did that!”
I couldn’t help laughing at the outraged expression on her face. She didn’t fool me—she’d needed to come as badly as I had.
“Felt good! Don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy that because either it was you moaning, baby, or my CO had a stomach ache.”
“I … you … that … unbelievable!”
I rolled off of her and lay down, pulling her firmly into my chest.
“I haven’t even taken my boots off,” she muttered.
“Me neither,” I reminded her.
Reluctantly, I sat up and peeled off the condom, tossing it in the garbage. Then I stood and yanked up my pants, before heading to the bathroom for a much needed piss.
She was still lying on the bed when I came back, not even caring that she was naked from the waist down, her panties and jeans caught around her ankles. I picked up her foot and started to undo the laces, tossing the boot over my shoulder where it landed with a thud. When I tugged off her sock, I couldn’t help wanting to kiss and suck her perfect little toes.
“Sebastian,” she whimpered, “you’re supposed to do foreplay before sex.”
I smiled down at her but didn’t reply, just copying my movements with her right foot. Finally I was able to free her legs from her clothing.
“Very nice,” I said, planting a soft kiss on her belly button.
Then I lifted her limp body so I could take off her t-shirt and reached around to unhook her bra.
Just a quick taste.
“Mmm,” I said, taking a bite of each nipple.
She pushed me away.
“Don’t start what you can’t finish, Sebastian,” she snapped, obviously still a little annoyed with me although I wasn’t sure why.
“Who says I can’t finish? You were the one who said we should be creative. I’m just doing as I’m told, ma’am.”
I turned to unbuckle my motorcycle boots, kicked them into the corner, and dropped the rest of my clothes onto the floor in one quick movement.
Then I scooped her up and carried her into the shower, enjoying the feel of the hot water as I soaped her carefully and kissed every inch of soft, warm skin.
“You want some more, Caro,” I offered, as I massaged between her thighs.
“I’d love to say yes,” she said, yawning, “but really I just want to go and sleep. Rough sex during phone calls always does that to me.”
“Always?” I questioned.
“Always,” she stated with a subtle smile.
“Hmm.” I wasn’t sure I liked that answer. Who else had taken the idea of phone sex to a whole new level with her?
“By the way,” she asked, “why was your CO calling? What did he want at this time of night?”
Damn. I was hoping she wouldn’t ask about that until morning.
“He wanted to know where I was.”
“I gathered that. Because?”
“I’m sorry, Caro; I’m going to have to be back in Geneva in four days … and then back to Afghanistan.”
“Four days?” Her voice shook as she spoke.
“I’m so sorry, baby.”
“Well,” she said, trying to smile even as her lips quivered, “we’ll just have to make the most of the four days then.”
“I’ll make it up to you,” I said quietly. “I promise, Caro.”
“Sebastian, don’t worry,” she said, putting some grit in her voice—for my benefit, I guessed. “Every day with you is a bonus. And we’ve got the rest of our lives to see Italy.”
Hearing her words was the best fucking thing ever.
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
And there was no doubt in her voice as she said the words. Then she pulled me into her arms and we stood together, letting the hot water flow over us, trying to reassure each other that it would be okay.
When the water began to cool, she turned off the faucet.
“Come here, let me dry you, tesoro.”
God, this woman. It had been years since anyone had tried to take care of me. Even as a kid, I’d had to look after myself.
I held out my arms while she stroked the towel across my body: my back and shoulders, chest, stomach, arms and legs; slowly, carefully, methodically, soaking up each droplet of moisture.
“There you are—all done.”
A weird, achy feeling settled in my gut. I didn’t know what to call it, but it felt like caring; it felt like love.
Watching her closely, drinking in every feature of her face soft and pink from the shower, I handed her a fresh towel, then carefully rubbed her hair with a small hand towel.
“You shouldn’t sleep with damp hair,” I said.
I don’t know why I said that, because I did it all the time, but it felt like something a guy should say to the woman he loved. And for some reason my words made her smile.
“Sebastian, I’ve done a lot of foolish things—reckless, you might say—since I met you: sleeping with damp hair doesn’t figure particularly high on that list.”
I frowned. I didn’t like her describing being with me as ‘reckless’.
But then she dropped a soft kiss onto the tip of my nose.
“Race you to the bedroom!”
She ran from the bathroom and launched herself onto the bed.
“You’re so slow, Hunter,” she laughed at me. “You’re really out of shape. Maybe you should go for a run, like you told your CO.”
I gave her a wry grin as I walked naked from the bathroom.
“Tomorrow, Caro, I’m getting a fucking shit-load of condoms, and I’m going to make you regret every word you’ve just said.”
She lay there smiling up at me, looking like sin and sex all rolled into one fucking amazing package.
“Like I said, Sebastian, promises, promises. I keep hearing about these fuckathons, but nothing ever happens.”
Damn woman! I was going to make her regret challenging me like that. I just needed to find a fucking farmacia and then I’d buy me enough preservativi to wipe that smug look off of her face. Period.
But then she yawned loudly, and I couldn’t help smiling down at her as she snuggled under the sheet. I slid in beside her and pulled her against my body, breathing in the amazing scent of her damp skin.
With her in my arms, all the bullshit fell away. The years of wanting her and missing her and trying to hate her; surviving boot camp; the hell that was Iraq. Ten, long, lonely years of wanting what I couldn’t have, of seeing Ches fall in love, marry, have children—all the things I thought I’d have with her. And in four days I’d be gone again, knowing what I’d be missing, daring to hope that she’d wait for me this time.
“God, Caro. You make it all worthwhile. Thank God for you.”
“I love you, tesoro,” she whispered.
Waking up in the morning, the first thing I saw was Caro’s beautiful face. She was still sleeping, her breathing slow and steady.
I watched her for the longest time, scared by the depth of emotion I felt for her, that I’d always felt for her. I knew she thought that a 17 year-old boy couldn’t understand adult love, but she’d been wrong about that: nothing had changed for me. She was still the only woman who’d ever owned my heart.