The Years Between (22 page)

He started towards their bedroom, but she started kissing him halfway there. He paused to respond, setting her back against the wall. She was light and easy to carry. He rarely did that because she normally did not like to be carried. Or manhandled. Or pressed up against a wall. Her skirt
made it easy for him to put his hands on her bottom. Her underwear was soft and silky to his fingertips. Her butt cheeks fit into each of his palms. His fingers were so close, he could feel her wet heat. He couldn’t resist. He scarcely moved his finger under her where her legs were spread around him. She jerked and gasped. He barely touched her and rubbed his finger along the material. No pressure. Her bottom sunk towards his. Seeking pressure. Seeking him. He was usually careful with her and they had sex on the bed in traditional positions, for obvious reasons. Not like this.

He pushed the side of her panties
away and she moaned. He touched her wet center. Still no pressure. Just a soft touch with one fingertip. Her head fell back into the wall as her eyes fluttered shut. “Will,” she gasped.

“This okay?” he whispered, as his palm fully slid over her and pressed gently. His lips hovered over her cheek.

“So okay.” She kept her eyes shut.

He chuckled and kissed her closed eyes as he shifted her weight and slowly slid two fingers into her, while pressing his palm upward. She moaned and her body began to relax over him. It was so rare to find her completely turned on and into it. And so fucking beautiful when she was.

She ground into his hand and her breathing hitched when he increased his pressure in touching her. In and out. First slow, then faster and harder. He slowly lowered her to the hallway floor, placing her under him so he could put his mouth on her nipple as his hand stayed inside her wet, sucking body. She grabbed his hair and pushed his face into hers. He almost chuckled at
her
nearly grabbing and manhandling
him
, but he’d never do that, since she never did what she was doing now with him before. She never clutched him so tightly as if she couldn’t stand another moment without touching or being close to him.

Her skirt was still around her waist and he lifted his head from hers. She moaned as she twisted her head from side-to-side. He pushed her skirt up higher until she was exposed for him. He rarely got to look at her either. There were some things she simply didn’t like. Usually, all this was part of it. He touched both of his hands to the tops of her thighs and pushed them gently apart as he lowered his mouth on her. She bucked under him at the gentle touch of his mouth on the seam of her panties. He lifted her and slowly slid the panties off her legs
, noting they were lacy and pink. She never wore lacy pink panties. She only did it for him. For tonight. To welcome him home. His heart swelled in his chest.
Damn
. Just when he thought he knew how he felt about her, she does something like that, unexpected. Sweet. Something that, for Jessie, was a huge concession. And his damn heart felt like a brick smashed into it. She squirmed and moaned, raising her hips as his fingers trailed down her smooth legs to drop the pretty panties away. He kissed her legs back up to her core and nearly trembled. His heart might have exploded in his chest. It was hot, like sweaty skin, and slick bodies kind of hot. But it was so much more, since it was Jessie getting hot and turned on and wanting him to touch his tongue on her.

He did and she writhed and moaned under him. Her knees parted more, and her hips pushed into him, lifting off the floor. Her torso twisted as her hands ruffled his hair. She was completely mindless. And completely his.

He finally used his fingers and tongue to make her come in an orgasm that had her toes curling and her fingers digging into the carpet. She rarely came quite like that. Long and hot, she was nearly screaming as her body ground into his mouth and hand.

He hoped she wasn’t finished as he crawled towards her head. The damn carpet was hard and itchy. He regretted not taking her to the bed. But she suddenly sat up and started undoing his
pants. He lifted his hips to oblige her as she attacked his pants. Gladly. Shocked. Grinning. She finally managed to get them down and he kicked them off. He flipped her so she was on top of him. He didn’t mind carpet burns, but knew she could not handle them, or being pinned under him.

She straddled him. He was so ready, he feared he would hurt her with his stiff cock, which rose up. She touched him, rubbing the end of it with her hand. He gritted his teeth to not come in her hand. Finally, she lifted her bottom and slowly impaled herself on him. Her eyes fluttered shut and her mouth made a delicate little O of pleasure. His heart skipped another beat.
Damn
. She was still enjoying it, and wanting more even.

“Best homecoming ever,” he mumbled as she lifted her hips up and down. She was so thorough and slow, he thought he might combust with need.

She smiled softly. “Better than the airport?”

He grinned, holding her gaze as she again lifted and lowered, taking him even deeper into her until he had to groan. “Better than
anything
,” he said softly.

She stilled for a moment and met his gaze, holding his stare. He was inside her, deep and full. “Better than
anything
,” she repeated softly.

He completely froze. She never felt that way about sex. He drew in a sharp breath. Her smile grew bigger at his stunned response and he finally grinned back. His heart was about to crack in half. God, he loved her so fucking much. He caught her hand and squeezed her fingers in his. As she smiled, she closed her eyes and started moving on him. She finally became as frantic on him as he was pushing into her. She kept pulling him farther and deeper into her until he was sure he would simply disintegrate in all her radiant heat.

And that would have been just fine with him, as long as he could see her looking so young, hot, eager, and relaxed while having multiple orgasms with him.

Jessie lay sprawled on Will for twenty minutes, at least. Their breathing finally slowed from the quick, shallow panting to normal; and their skin began to cool from the slick sheen of sweat that covered both of them. She was completely on top of him and he was still half inside her. He slowly blinked and opened his eyes.

“Did that really just happen?”

“What? On the floor? Or did I have an orgasm
during
sex?”

“Both. Neither is common.”

She stretched over him and tilted her head up, resting her chin in her hand to smile with a sappy grin. “It really happened.”

He flashed her a smile
that was just as sappy. “So I just have to go blow shit up and that does it for you?”

She shook her head. “Blow the right shit up, and yes, I guess that does it for me. Or actually, just getting you back home probably does it more than anything.” She eventually moved away from him and slid off to his side. “How about our bed now, soldier?”

He lay sprawled and inert. “Not sure I can move. I think you killed me.”

She actually giggled as she started to rise to her feet. He flipped over and grabbed one leg, impeding her. She fell over onto her butt. He pulled her closer and placed her under him to kiss her, raising his head to kiss her nose. “So what did you do while I was gone?”

She punched his shoulder and laughed. “What did I do? Are you kidding me?”

“Just being a concerned, interested husband. Don’t want all of it to be about what I did.”

She pushed gently on his chest until he reluctantly fell to the side of her. “Oh, we’re getting to the rest of what
you
did. Don’t think I’ve forgotten just because you tried to distract me.”

He finally sat up, grinning. “I did try pretty hard. You have to give me points for the effort.”

She groaned, but this time, not in ecstasy. “Come on, soldier. You have some things to explain.”

He sighed as he got on his feet and followed her into the bedroom, enjoying the sight of her wiggling ass. She didn’t often allow him unobstructed views of it. She was
sometimes self-conscious because she thought it was too big. She had hang-ups about being naked with Will for no reason. He didn’t get the hang-ups. He slept naked and didn’t feel the need for much modesty.

He caught her and wrapped his arms around her waist before leaning over and kissing her cheek. She relaxed in his embrace as he pulled her to the bed with his arms around her. He turned her towards him. This would not be easy for her to hear. He found a blanket and spread it over them before taking her hand in his.
She touched his face. “So tell me what happened.”

He began in a soft and tender voice, “I checked where they kept you first. No one was there.” Her body shuddered in response and he tightened his hand on her waist. “I
snuck inside in middle of the night. There were a few workers around. Some lame guards walking here and there, half asleep with guns hanging off straps on their backs. I subdued most of them before they knew I was there.”

She
shook her head. “How do you ‘subdue them without them knowing you were there?’ You know, it’s not a normal scenario you’re describing, right? It sounds crazy.”

“
I just kind of come up behind them quietly and jab them right here,” he said touching his finger to her temple. “It takes the brain by surprise and they black out instantly. Then I tied them up and gagged them.”

She shivered and muttered, “How did I fall for a man who knows that? And actually does it? I still hate your fucking job.”

He raised an eyebrow and she finally waved her hand, “Sorry. Continue.”

“Okay. I tied their hands behind their back. See? No unnecessary violence. I didn’t recognize any of them. Otherwise…”

“I understand.”

He cleared his throat. “So then, I went up to the spot.
The
fucking spot.”

“Yes, the spot,” her voice went low and she dropped her head.

“I waited awhile, and checked out the operation. I saw even more stuff in there than there was five years ago. But nothing else had changed. I saw the leader enter promptly in the morning for work. Weird. He just strolled in there to work each day. I mean, fuck! Who does that? I can’t get over shit like that goes on, and with such business-like regularity and operational setups.”

“He still works there?” her breath came out sounding choked. He pressed a kiss in her hair.

“Yes. He was still there. So I came down from my perch. I got into his office. I was in and on him before he even blinked or knew I was there.”

“I remember how fast, and lethal you were.”

“Yes, well, it comes in handy. So I had him and it was… hard,” he said as his voice dropped lower too.

This time, she smoothed his hair back. “Yes, I think you misjudged how hard this would be on both of us.”

“So, I had him. I messed him up a bit.”

“A bit? What exactly did you do?”

He kept his voice neutral. “I ruined his face. I broke some bones. Made him bleed. The fucker started to cry. He couldn’t take a few punches. I mean, fuck! He did that to you and couldn’t even stand just a few hits?”

“Somehow, I don’t imagine it was ‘just’ anything.”

He squirmed as he let out a deep breath. “Okay, I completely fucking lost it. I was all fine and cool until I got him in my hands. The whole entry, and getting through the guards with the least amount of damage, was done. But this pig… Well, all I could picture… I couldn’t control how much I wanted to hurt him for what he did to you. How you suffered and what you lost and almost died for…”

She gripped his shoulders, and he pulled her closer, wrapping her in his arms. She started to cry. For several long moments, her shoulders shook as she sobbed. He could picture her the day he found her, and after, and years after. All the tears and anguish she endured. And strangely, something started to tickle his throat. He never cried before. Not more than a tear here or there during the worst of Jessie’s moments. But he never had tears streaming down his face. He finally, after all the years, and all the memories of Jessie’s rape, guilt, hurt, blood and revenge, revealed his true feelings.

It started in his gut and climbed all the way up his throat until it burned. It made his body shake as a strange sobbing sound came from his lips. He thought he was over this shit. And what happened to her. As well as to him. But holy fucking God! Here he was
crying.

He buried his face in her hair and she clung tighter. The thing was, this time, he clung to her too. They lay like that for minutes, hours… forever. They just held each other as they cried together over things no couple should have ever had to suffer through.

His voice was hoarse and strange to his own ears when he finally spoke. “I almost killed him. I had a knife to his throat. His eyes were swollen shut and blood dripped off his face. I pushed it enough to prick his skin. Then, my hand trembled. All I wanted to do was slowly, gently, slide the knife into his throat and pull it in a perfect line. And there was no one who deserved it more. I was so close to doing it, Jess.”

“Why didn’t you?” she sounded as if she were holding her breath.

“Your voice. I promised you. Somehow, it was enough to draw me back from the brink. I pushed him away. I left him there, knowing if I stayed, I’d never stop. So I left. He got off too easy… but….”

“You kept your promise to me.”

“Yes,” he whispered as his lips touched her hair.

She slid up so her face was close to his and put her hands on his cheeks, wiping his tears. It should have bothered him. Humiliated him. He should have at least stopped. Or dried them. But all he did was cry more. A few weeks out of the Army and he’d apparently
lost every ounce of steel and resolve he had.

She was crying too. She cupped his face and touched her lips to his. “I used to doubt if you could really love me after what you witnessed. You restrain your emotions so well, I never knew it hurt you this much.”

“
It
killed me
. It would have been kinder to cut my heart out than to watch and witness what you suffered there, and afterwards. And once I fell in love with you, it hurt even
more.
”

She finally nodded. “I’m glad you did it. I’m glad you hurt him. I’m glad you blew up the whole fucking blight on this earth.”

He smiled finally, shutting his eyes to stem the flow of tears and whispered, “Me too.”

“How did you do it? You left here with some clothes and shoes and your deodorant.”

He finally brushed the tears away and sniffed. “I had contact with a guy about two hundred miles from there. He was SF years ago. Things went south for him after he got out, and he ended up pretty fucked in the head. He went down to Mexico, being strung out on drugs and sex, and amassed a big gun collection. He provided me with what I needed. He met me close to there the first day. I paid for it all with fuck-face’s funds. You see the irony.”

A small, miniscule smile touched her lips.
“Yes, I do. But why didn’t you tell me about all that?”

“I didn’t want to worry you. I planned on telling you everything once it was over.”

“So you went in there heavily armed?”

“Yes.
He provided me a primitive explosive, which detonated after I left. Just big enough that the entire place didn’t implode, but definitely caught fire. There would’ve been enough time for someone to get over there and get the shits out. I put them all near the offices, and furthest from the fire. With a bunch of evidence in their fireproof safe. I unlocked the fuck first.”

“
Wow. You were illegally dealing in arms.”

“Nah. Just borrowing stuff from a friend. He’s solid.”

She snorted. “
Okay.
Again I hate your job. Where did you set the device?”

He cleared his throat. She knew. He could tell by her hesitant gaze. “In the cell.”

“My cell?”

“Yes.”

She shut her eyes as a ripple of horror rattled her body. “You burned it up?”

He nodded slowly, holding her gaze. Her head finally bobbed with his, and she shut her eyes, as if in agony. “You really burned it up?”

She couldn’t seem to believe it was gone. “Yes. I planted my explosive there.”

“You burned it up?” she repeated it. Rolling it over her tongue. “You burned up my cell?”

“I did. It’s gone.”

“It’s all gone,” she said finally as she slowly traced his lips with her finger. “It’s really all gone, Will? Someone paid. Someone actually got punished for hurting me?” Her voice cracked.

He kissed her hand. “Yes.”

She stared into his eyes and said softly, “Thank you.”

He took in a deep, shuddering breath and let it out slowly. “You’re welcome.”

She smiled eventually through, red-rimmed, watery eyes. His heart jumped up into his throat as he took in a similar breath. And only then, did he smile back.