“Caro, are you okay, baby?”
“Yes, I suppose so. Just knowing that out there … you’ll be facing that soon.”
I held her in my arms, tight against my chest, willing to lay down my life for this woman, here and now.
“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!”
I buried my face in her hair, breathing in her scent, glad to hold her but wishing she was gone.
“Please, baby. I need to know you’re safe. If anything happened to you now…”
Her arms crept around my neck, pulling my head down for a kiss.
“I have a job to do, Sebastian, you know that,” she whispered as her lips brushed across my cheek. “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?”
I sighed. It wasn’t what I wanted to hear—I wanted her to tell me she was catching a flight back to the US. I knew that wasn’t going to happen.
“I promise, Caro,” I said, my voice resigned.
“Then come back to bed with me,” she said, tugging my hand.
The night was slipping away too fast.
I let her lead me to the bed, then rested on my back as she wrapped her body around me. I was aware of every ticking second, every beat of her heart. When I felt her fingers brushing over my chest and stomach, I knew she was trying to distract me from my morbid thoughts. It was working.
My dick hardened again. Always again with her; it was never enough. She glanced down and her lips turned upward in an amused smile.
“Sebastian, if that’s what I have to imagine every time you look at me, I’m not going to get any work done.”
I smiled and kissed her hand.
“Let’s go back to Signora Carello’s place for our honeymoon, Caro. We could fuck for days without getting out of bed.”
If she wanted to pretend that the morning would never come, I’d do my damndest to hold onto the night.
She smiled and raised her eyebrows.
“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,” I said firmly.
She laughed, and it sounded almost real.
“Feeling threatened? Me alone with all those horny Marines, I’m quoting, of course.”
“Not funny,” I 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?”
She laughed out loud, raising her eyebrows at me and shoving on my shoulder.
“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?”
Yep, she couldn’t argue with that.
I ran my hand between her breasts, toying with the chain that held her engagement ring.
“You have the most fantastic breasts, Caro. I can’t stand those fake ones, they just feel so…”
Ah, shit. Being in bed with one woman, and talking about others—not the smartest thing I’d ever said.
I wanted to bite off my damn tongue. But she just smirked at me.
“Hmm, I was thinking, 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.”
I nipped her shoulder then twisted around, pushing her into the mattress, letting her know exactly what I thought of that comment. And although she didn’t know it, she wasn’t the first woman to say something like that. I knew she didn’t mean it—but it stung all the same.
“Is that right?” I asked, keeping my voice light.
“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?”
She slapped my ass, hard. Hot.
“You couldn’t afford me,” she snarked back.
“You sure about that, baby? What’s your price?”
“What have you got to offer, Sebastian?”
I used my hips to pin her down, my chest hovering over her breasts. “An orgasm?” I suggested.
“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?”
I brushed my fingers against her clit and she gasped. “Maybe I’ll let you answer that question,” I said, as I slid down the bed, lowering my face between her thighs.
Over an hour later, we were collapsed on the bathroom floor, flushed and breathless.
“I’d forgotten you had a thing for bathrooms,” she gasped.
I kissed the back of her neck as I tugged her against my chest. “I like the mirrors.”
“You know, that’s a bit kinky, Sebastian.”
“You think? I’d like to get kinky with you, Caro,” I said, nipping her earlobe and running my fingers over her hipbone.
“What did you have in mind?” she asked curiously.
How long had we got?
I decided to start with the basics. “You could tie me up again: that was hot.”
She giggled.
“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.”
I swallowed several times, my mind very much enjoying the thought of fucking Caro while she was cuffed, of her riding my dick while I was cuffed. Fuck me!
I guess Caro was still waiting for my answer, because she nudged me in the ribs with her elbow.
“Yeah, if you like, Caro,” I said, my voice hoarse.
Her eyebrows shot up.
“If I like? What do you like?”
I hesitated, wondering if she’d go along with some of the scenes I imagined when I was jerking off. “There’s some stuff we could try,” I began.
“Such as?” she asked, her expression curious rather than appalled, which was a good start.
But then there was a soft tap at the door and I heard the Brit’s voice.
“Oh, hell,” Caro muttered, sounding disappointed and irritated. “You’d better get dressed, Sebastian, unless a three-way with Liz was one of your fantasies?”
I shuddered. “Fuck, Caro! I’m going to have that image in my head now.”
She grinned and tossed my uniform onto the bed. “Better get your pants on then, Marine.”
I dressed quickly, cursing the number of buttons involved wearing the Blues. I was still sitting on the bed tying my shoelaces when Caro opened the door.
“Lee, I … oh, is he still here?”
“He’s just leaving, Liz.”
The Ashton woman marched into the room, and I winced at the sight of her enormous tits moving independently of each other, reminding me of a camel’s ass.
“There’s a curfew on, Hunter,” she said, crossing her arms and staring at me hard.
“Thanks,” I said coolly.
I already knew about the curfew, but it had probably been brought forward a couple of hours because of the device going off earlier.
“You must have heard the car bomb,” she snapped. “Three dead, multiple injured. Bastards packed the bomb with nails.”
“So evil,” murmured Caro, shaking her head.
The Brit nodded silently, and for the first time I saw the same compassion that drove Caro to report from war zones. I wouldn’t say I liked the Ashton woman, but I could respect the job she did. Although it was pretty clear that it wasn’t mutual; I knew what she thought of me. A week ago it would have been true.