LikeTheresNoTomorrow by Caitlyn Willows Read Free Book Online Page B

it.”
    “Agreed.” This time she smacked his ass, then flashed him a
smirk as she darted away.
    * * * * *
    Jim meant every word he’d said. If hard pressed, he couldn’t
say where they’d come from. But it was true. All of it. They passed the day
with harvesting, capped off by an impromptu barbecue with her family. His only
regret? That his family couldn’t be here too. He felt as if he’d known these
people his whole life. The perfect day to lead in to what he hoped was a perfect
night. He’d be lying if he said his heart wasn’t breaking over her departure,
but Jim was going to do his best to make sure Julia didn’t see how much this
was killing him.
    He lay in bed waiting for her, the canine kidlets tucked in
their own little beds, though he doubted they’d stay there long once he and
Julia fell asleep. As long as they respected boundaries that was fine. Jim
liked a good puppy cuddle. Right now he wanted to deliver memorable lovemaking
that’d keep Julia warm on those lonely and often terrifying nights. He pulled
her pillow to his chest, closed his eyes, and inhaled her scent. If only he
could bottle it so he could wear it, bathe in it, stroke off to—
    “Oh you better not be asleep.” The mattress sagged with her
weight.
    Jim tossed the pillow to one side and hauled her under him.
“Not a chance, Red. Locked and loaded and ready to go.”
    She parted her thighs and draped her legs around his. His
erection was one thrust away from paradise. He couldn’t resist and eased
inside. They groaned at the sensation. She was hot as hell, pussy muscles
holding on tight. He never wanted her to let go. He fell into her kiss nice and
slow, just like he had her body. They rocked into an orgasm that rattled his
spine. Then did it all over again and again. Making each other come so many
times he swore they were both dehydrated, like they’d been their first night
together. A night that now felt like an eternity ago.
    All too soon it was oh-dark-thirty and they were standing at
the bus that would take Julia away from him for seven long months. Husbands and
wives, boyfriends and girlfriends, children cried at the separation. Jim cupped
her face and kissed her to hide his own tears. Julia’s trickled over his
fingers. He broke the kiss and butted his forehead to hers.
    “I’ll be here when you get back. I swear it, Red. I’ll be
here.”
    Sniffling, she nodded, gave him a quick kiss, hoisted her
pack to her shoulders and stepped away and onto the bus.
    It felt like a mortar crushed his chest. He couldn’t
breathe, couldn’t think anything but, Damn, I love that woman . One day
he’d tell her that face-to-face, body-to-body. He gulped for air and watched
the bus roll from the lot.
    * * * * *
    “I’ll be here when you get back. I swear it, Red. I’ll be
here.”
    Those words had kept Julia going through seven months of
hell. That and the constant contact with him. He’d even had the girls Skyping
her. And in that time Julia fell in love. Heart-clenching, full-body love. But
there was a tiny part of her that insisted this couldn’t be true, that it was
all too crazy and Jim was just a very nice—and hot—guy who was helping her out.
She’d tried to shut that nagging voice out, determined nothing was going to
break the spell of happy surrounding her. Real life would most likely do that
soon enough.
    Heart racing a mile a minute, she scanned the crowd of
family there to greet her. She found no white Jeep in the dozens of vehicles
parked there. It would have stood out among the sea of silver. There had to be
a hundred people gathered. Marines and civilians there to greet the homecoming.
She saw her family toward the back of the crowd, waving a huge Welcome Home,
Jules banner. No Jim. No girls.
    Julia started to hyperventilate. Tears blinded her. She
scrubbed them away with the heels of her hands.
    The bus screeched to a halt, spitting exhaust at the crowd
that rushed forward. She sat there, numb, while her fellow