by Maree Green
I was going to have that. I would make sure of it.
Chapter 16
Daniel
I watched the light sprinkling of rain tap against the kitchen window, the tiny drops of water slowly trickling down the glass to pool on the sill. Mindlessly, I tracked each one on its path to the bottom, looking without actually seeing.
“You want to talk about it?”
I looked up to see Mom leaning on the other side of the kitchen island, her gaze deep and reassuring. I sighed and looked back out the window. “I was just thinking about time.”
She hummed a sound of agreement. “And what about time has you worried?”
I laughed, but it was a pitiful sound. “There’s not enough of it.”
Her gaze was thoughtful as she nodded. “Do you want to talk about the real problem, or are we just going to pretend we’re being philosophical?”
I grinned at her despite my heavy heart. “It’s just hard, you know? I just found her, and now I have to leave.”
“I know six months seems like a long time right now, sweetie, but I want you to trust me that it isn’t. Not in the long run. Even though it’ll most probably be a little painful for you both, I think you’ll find this time will be the best thing for your relationship.”
I groaned. “Please don’t tell me the old, ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’ crap, Mom.”
She smiled. “I guess that is one way to look at it, but I was thinking it’s more to do with reaffirming your feelings for one another. If at the end of it you both find that it was the most horrible thing you’ve had to endure, then you’ll both know it was worth it. If it comes to the end and one or both of you didn’t think it was so bad, then you know you’ve got a problem . . . ”
Worry instantly crept through me. What if that was Amy? What if, after a few weeks, she didn’t end up missing me as much as I knew I’d miss her? What if she decided it was too hard and thought it would be easier to just go back to her parents? What if she decided her life would be easier with Ryan?
“Daniel, don’t,” Mom said firmly.
I slumped a little. “I can’t help it. Her life’s gotten pretty damned hard since I’ve come into the picture. What if she finds it too much while I’m gone?”
“Firstly, she’s a lot stronger than you’re giving her credit for. And secondly, you have to trust her. If you don’t have trust, you’ve got nothing. If she says she’s going to wait for you, then you have to believe it. One hundred percent.”
“But what if she doesn’t?”
“Then you deal with it then.” She sighed. “Daniel, I know you’ve been taught to prepare for all outcomes, but the path love takes isn’t something you can, or should, prepare for. Love just . . . happens. Love is wild. It’s carefree and ever-changing. It’s something you have to feel, right there in that moment. It’s intangible. If you try to plan for it, you end up trying to control it, then it changes into something else entirely. It’s no longer love.”
I blinked, slowly turning over her words inside my head. I’d never thought about it like that before. I wondered if that was what happened with her and Dad.
Slowly, it all sank in. I had no idea how she did it. In the space of less than one minute, she’d managed to make the chaos that was choking me seem like it was just a smoke screen. It was all going to be okay. Whatever way it turned out.
Love was intangible. Like the air. I couldn’t physically feel the air, but I knew it was there. It was exactly how my love felt with Amy. I couldn’t touch it, and I couldn’t describe it.
It just was. And I had to trust that.
I heard Mom sigh and looked up to see her smiling reverently.
“What?” I asked, her grin contagious.
“You’ll make it work, sweetie. I know you, and I know your commitment. Amy needs this time to find herself, but I have faith in her. Spend these last two weeks just enjoying each other before life gets serious for a little while.”
I gave her a quick hug and a kiss. “Thanks, Ma. I’m sorry I haven’t spent that much time with you.”
She waved me away. “Don’t be silly. Just having you here and seeing you enjoy life is more than enough.”
I laughed. “It’s probably not, but thank you.”
Her tinkling laughter gave me a warm sense of comfort. “All right. You better get going, or you’re going to keep Amy waiting.”
Glancing at the clock, I realized she was right. I’d told Amy I’d be there at four, and it was already ten till.
Picking up my overnight bag, I said goodbye to Mom and made my way to Amber’s house. Amber’s parents were out of town for the next two days, so I was going to stay there with Amy. Amber would still be around, but she was a pretty cool chick and knew we didn’t have that much time left together.
Pulling into the drive, I was a little surprised to see a number of cars already parked there. I immediately recognized Noah’s black Impala and Corey’s green Fastback, and wondered what they were doing here. Amy hadn’t mentioned anything about the group getting together.
Trying to push down the disappointment, I grabbed up my bag and started toward the door. I hadn’t even made it as far as the first step before Amy burst out through the front door and launched herself into my arms, squealing with excitement.
My irritation immediately drained away. “Hey, beautiful.”
She pulled back, then kissed me, slow and deep, her hands coming to softly stroke the sides of my face. When she finally pulled away, her eyes remained closed and a soft smile touched her lips. She was honestly the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.
I sighed. I wanted to just take her straight to her room and get lost in her for the rest of the night. I didn’t want to waste a single second of the time we had. “I didn’t know everyone was going to be here,” I said, trying to sound indifferent.
Worry crept into her gaze. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know Amber had invited everyone over, either. We don’t have to hang out with them, though. We can just go up to my room . . . ”
I watched her bite her lip. “It’s okay, Princess. We can do whatever you want to do.”
Something flashed through her eyes briefly. I tried to process what emotion it was, but it was gone before I could put my finger on it. “Would you mind if we just hung out with everyone for a little bit? It doesn’t have to be for long. Just enough so we don’t seem rude. Then we can go up to my room . . . ”
“Of course I don’t mind.” Pulling her against me, I pressed my lips against hers in a soft, lingering kiss before grabbing her hand and walking us out to where the others were sitting by the pool.
Amber, Jess, and Kaeli were in the pool, playing some sort of game that had to do with blow-up rafts and balancing. Jess squealed when she suddenly lost her balance and splashed clumsily into the water. She came up laughing and spluttering.
“Amy!” she shouted. “This was your idea! You need to get your ass in here and have your turn!”
She looked up at me, suddenly seeming torn. I gave her a devilish grin and squeezed her hand. “Yeah, Amy. You’re up. Go kick some ass.”
She giggled. “You know I’m going to fail, right?”
Dropping her hand, I gave her very fine ass a light smack. “Get rid of that attitude now, Princess. Toughen up and get in there and do it.”
Her eyes narrowed a little, then she smiled and dashed off to the edge of the pool and bombed in right beside the girls, spraying them all with water.
“Hey, man. How’re you doing?” Noah asked beside me.
Flopping down on the lounge chair next to him, I shucked off my shirt and nodded. “Yeah, good.”
“When are you heading off?”
I pushed down the ache that flared up inside my chest. “On the twenty-ninth.”
He made some noise that sounded a bit like sympathy. “Not long, then . . .”
Inhaling deeply, I glanced out at Amy, who was currently standing atop five inflatable pool toys, laughing hysterically. The ac
he flared up again.
“Are you okay with that?” Noah asked quietly.
Turning my attention back his way, I gave a non-committal shrug. “It’s a bit of a head fuck. I’ve been looking forward to this for years, still am. I’m pumped to get into it . . . ” My gaze automatically went back out to where Amy was still balancing precariously. “But I hate the thought of leaving her. Especially now, since all this shit happened with her parents.”
“Yeah, that was some fucked-up shit,” he said, his brows creasing into a pissed expression. “She’s a nice chick. She deserves better than that.”
My shoulders dropped a little more. “Yeah, she does. She deserves more than I can give her right now too.”
Noah’s sharp gaze pinned me from his seat. “Who told you that?”
“No one’s had to tell me. It just is. I’ll be in Australia for at least six months, then most likely back in San Diego after that, and unless she wants to move down there, I’ll hardly get to see her.”
He studied me carefully before looking back out to the girls in the pool. “I hear what you’re saying, but from what Kaeli’s been saying, Amy’s pretty committed to you. I really don’t think you have anything to worry about.”
Drawing in a slow breath, I watched Amy laugh with her friends. “For now, maybe. I just don’t want to be the next person in line to let her down. To not be here for her when she needs it.”
Noah leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He sighed. “I get what you mean, but you don’t have to be physically present to show someone you’re there for them, either.”
I nodded as I let his words roll around inside my head. That was all I could do, really.
A loud splash followed by a round of laughter had us both looking over to the pool again. Pool toys were in the process of scattering across the surface, and limbs seemed to be piled right in the middle.
I saw Amy’s head appear from beneath the surface, wet hair dripping in a tangled mess.
I laughed.
“Do you think they’d mind if I stole her for the rest of the night?” I asked without taking my eyes off her.
Noah chuckled. “Do you really care?”
My grin widened. No. I really didn’t.
Pushing myself to my feet, I snatched up a towel off the table and made my way over to the side of the pool, where Amy was now clinging.
She looked up at me through her water-logged eyelashes and smiled, making my chest ache a little more than it already had been.
“Come on, you. Enough play time with your friends. It’s my turn.”
Her eyes flashed with excitement, and she bit her lip. I growled. Reaching down to grab hold of the wrists she was offering me, I hoisted her out of the pool and into my arms, wrapping the towel around her quickly.
The feel of her cool, wet skin against mine sent me into a slight panic. I needed to have her. Now.
Grabbing her hand, I started towing her toward the inside of the house.
Chapter 17
Amy
As Daniel led me up the stairs, a seriousness I hadn’t felt before started creeping up on me. I’d tried so hard over the last couple of weeks not to think about his departure, but it was always there, lurking in the back of my mind like an ominous black cloud.
I hadn’t told Daniel, but I’d done a lot of research online in regards to what to expect over the coming months—both for him and for me. I’d read many stories of marines’ experiences during their service periods, and I’d read even more stories from a wife or a girlfriend’s perspective. So many couples didn’t seem to make it.
Each day, I found myself more and more desperate for him to believe that I would never leave him. Especially if he was deployed. I wanted him to know, without a doubt, that I would always be waiting for him.
Leading me into my room, he softly closed the door behind me before dropping his bag and pulling me into a long kiss.
My hands automatically searched out the taut contours of his abs, my thumbs following the lines around each definition, working their way upwards until they were stroking the hard muscles in his chest.
Over the two and a half months I’d known him, his body had only gotten stronger and hotter, a strong testament to his dedication to his career.
A slight groan rumbled in his throat, heating my body to boiling point. I pressed myself against him a little more, my tongue reaching out to taste his. His hands tightened on me, the one hand laced in my hair, clenching and pulling at my long strands, while the one on my lower back drew me harder against his arousal.
The heat within me flared even more, sending a rush straight between my legs. I whimpered.
His hands began to move, caressing me, stroking me, loving me. Even though my insides were on fire, my skin was still cool from the water, and the warmth of his hands almost felt electric on my sensitive skin. I moaned.
Daniel’s kiss deepened again, his tongue stroking erotically against mine, again and again. He pushed against me harder, forcing me backwards until I was pressed against the door.
I felt my bikini top loosen, then fall from me completely. Daniel’s whole body tightened before he tore his mouth free from mine and began kissing his way down my neck.
I arched into him, throwing my head back to give him better access, while I gasped for breath. The second his thumbs brushed over my nipples, I cried out with a pleasure overload. Gripping his hair tightly, I pressed him even harder against my neck, needing to feel the pull of him sucking on my skin.
With teeth scraping and tongue licking, he continued moving lower, lapping at my collarbone and licking a trail down my cleavage. I felt like I could hardly breathe. My chest was rising and falling quickly and heavily, but it was a pleasure that had me gripped and desperate for more.
His tongue flicked over my nipple, softly, slowly, but in such a way that almost had me screaming.
“Oh, God, Daniel . . .”
His hands, splayed out against my back, pressed harder, and he carefully drew my nipple into his mouth, curling his tongue around the hard peak and sucking.
Stars exploded behind my closed eyes, and a thrill like I’d never known burst between my legs, sending my clit throbbing.
Daniel suddenly dropped to his knees, his hands ripping my bikini bottom down in one swift move. My legs felt increasingly unstable, the sudden nakedness of my girlie bits making me so incredibly aroused I wasn’t sure I could see straight.
Bracing myself with flattened hands against the door beside my butt, I tried to gather some focus, but then Daniel lifted one of my legs and placed it over his shoulder, thrusting his tongue into my opening so quick I almost passed out.
If I thought the warmth of his hands on my cold skin was amazing, then the warmth of his mouth on my cold clit was a word so unbelievable it hadn’t been invented yet. I cried out so loud I was sure the neighbors at the other end of the block would’ve heard me.
The one leg left supporting me trembled, and the one hooked over his shoulder clenched, my heel digging into his back. Daniel thrust his tongue deep inside me before withdrawing and thrusting again, then again.
“Oh, God!”
His thrusting tongue quickened its pace, occasionally sneaking out to lap up to my clit, circling it quickly before thrusting back inside me. Every now and again he would moan as though it was the best delicacy he’d ever tasted, and my arousal would soar to another level.
My legs shook, and my breath was almost gone. Daniel’s hands moved to cup my butt, and he lifted me higher, taking all of my weight. Without thinking about it, I hooked my other leg over his shoulder and thrust myself against his mouth, rocking my hips with the growing ache that was gathering down there.
The door rattled against my flattened palms with my movements, but I didn’t care. I was desperate. The next time his tongue came out to circle my clit, I stiffened, pushing myself against his mouth as the pressure reached its height, and I found myself teetering on the edge of my climax.
Daniel paused his movements with me, maybe sensing my imbalance, then he slowly clenched my butt in his hands, pulling me a little firmer against him while gently circling my clit once more. I shattered.
I didn’t even know he’d moved us from the door until I felt the soft comfort of the bed underneath me. I was still breathing hard, and my heart was beating like it was in a race, but I was the calmest I’d been in a long time.
With my head a swirling mess, I felt him slowly kissing his way back up to me, his lips tender and loving, then, with my eyes still closed, he kissed my mouth. His movements were so gentle and slow, as though we had all the time in the world.