LikeTheresNoTomorrow (4 page)

Jim woke up to an empty bed and the smell of coffee calling
his name. Sporting morning wood and damn proud of it, he swung from bed and
stormed toward the kitchen, expecting to see Red sitting at the dining table.
She wasn’t. Her purse was gone too. A piece of paper with a smiley face was
leaning against an almost full coffeepot.

At first he was numb. After that he couldn’t keep up with
the emotions. One thought kept running through his head.
You pushed her too
far.
Followed by…
You really fucked up
.

How long had she been gone? Surely he would have felt her
leave the bed. But there was coffee, complete with a smiley face. Why make
coffee if she was getting the hell out of Dodge?

Jim cursed himself seven ways to Sunday. He never got a
number or an address for her. Any attempt to locate her would have to wait
until Monday, then he could comb through military records and at least get a
home of record address.

He scrubbed his hands over his whisker-roughened face.
Nothing
stalkerish about that. Great way to start a relationship.

He mentally smacked himself. They didn’t have a
relationship. They didn’t have anything but one very hot night of sex and a
hell of a lot in common…and his desperate, inexplicable need to never let her
go.

Jim stumbled toward the bathroom, racking his brain for what
to do next, then nearly broke his ankle twisting around when the front door
opened.

“You’re back.” A stupidly obvious comment.

Julia laughed and shut the door behind her. Plastic grocery
bags dangled from her arms. “Of course I’m back. Didn’t you see my note?”

He glanced toward the coffeepot. “I saw the smiley face.”

“The other side.”

Idiot
was somewhat implied. That’s what he felt like
when he walked over there, flipped the note and saw the words,
Ran to the
store
.
Be right back. XOXO

“Not at your best when you first wake up?” She set the bags
on the counter. “Although I like nude on you.”

More thoughts zinged around. He hadn’t helped her with the
groceries and damn if he wasn’t naked as the day he was born.

“I’ll bet you charged out here with a little present for me,
didn’t you?” She sidled up close and cupped his balls. His cock lifted on
command. “Ah, there it is. And there’s nothing little about this big guy.”

The stroke up his cock nearly brought Jim to his knees. He
needed to hold her, feel her, smell her. “You are about two seconds away from
getting the whisker burn of your life.”

“Two whole seconds?” She hooked one leg around his waist.
“Then I really have lost my touch.”

Jim cupped her ass. “Damn it, woman. I’m gonna fuck you like
a horny—”

“Beast man,” she finished in a whisper, then flashed her
tongue up his neck. “And be quick about it too. My panties are already soaked
at the thought of your big—”

Jim hauled her to his waist only to meet the barrier of her
panties and the dress wadded between them. He half walked, half stumbled toward
the dining table while Julia tortured him with nips along his jaw and earlobes.
He set her to her feet once he reached his goal, spun her around and urged her
facedown on the table.

Groaning, Julia spread out, hoisting her dress to her waist
and wiggling her panties down her legs. Jim stepped on the crotch when they
reached her ankles, shoving them aside as he pushed his legs between hers.
Agony was taking time to retrieve a condom. Finally, one stab seated him to
glory, her hard moan matched his and yanked his climax front and center. He
clenched his jaw, fighting release when all the while her pussy muscles rippled
around him, demanding more.

He flexed his fingers around her hips, counting nail holes
in the wall he’d have to spackle before he vacated the house one day. It calmed
him, but not much. Not when he had the hottest woman in the world commanding
his dick. He leaned in, grinding deep, fingers drifting around to her hot spot.
Her pussy tightened when he circled her clit. Groans before were nothing now.
She writhed into every touch, taking full control of the action. It worsened
his dilemma. Jim savored every second.

“God, I’m coming,” she cried out.

He could feel it too. Her pussy clenching him in a viselike
grip that said he wasn’t going anywhere until she was satisfied. He drew back
and plunged in. Growled when she cried out again and did it again. Each stroke
was harder, faster than the last. He was driven by her approaching orgasm,
desperate to come with her.

It seized them at the same time, freezing them momentarily
while the force burst out, then shook them like a dog with a tug toy. Jim
pulled her around into his arms, kissing, caressing, treasuring her. Crazy to
be so tied up in a woman so fast. He refused to analyze it, just enjoyed it.

“Now I
am
starving.” Julia gave him a final kiss
before she wiggled away. “You need to get dressed and quit distracting me with
your awesomeness. I’m going to fix breakfast.”

“Be there to help in a few.” Jim gave her backside a pat as
she walked away.

Julia glanced over her shoulder. “Be careful what you’re
starting there, big guy.”

It took a second or two for her meaning to creep in. Damn if
the thought of having her over his knee didn’t stir his penis back to life.

“I have a washer and dryer at my place. Gather your laundry.
You can do it there.”

A little bossy but it worked for Jim. In fact, he rather
liked it. “Thanks. It’ll save me a lot of time.” Time he could spend with her.
“I’ll pack a few things and we’ll stay at your place tonight.” He could do
bossy too.

Unfortunately, it might have backfired on him. Her
hesitation, the stiffness in her spine as she unpacked grocery bags, would have
gone unnoticed if he hadn’t been watching her. Julia kept working as if nothing
had happened. He recognized avoidance tactics when he saw them.

“I can’t stay there without the girls. Daytime, yes. Night,
when they are normally surrounding me…” She shook her head.

At least she was honest. More kudos to her. “Then let’s get
the girls and take them home.” The words were out before Jim could stop them.
He didn’t regret a one. He was in deep and hard and wanted to stay there.

Julia whipped around, carton of eggs clutched in her grip.
“What? Have you lost your mind?”

And his heart too.
Damn.
“There’s no sense not
spending as much time with them as you can, while you can.”

“I just said goodbye. I can’t… I don’t have a departure
date. I might not have time to get them settled.”

“I’ll see they get where they need to go when the time
comes.” He stepped into her space. “I promise.”

Deep-green eyes stared up at him. He knew she debated her
options. These were her babies.

“No one should be without the ones they love unless there’s
no other choice. I’m giving you a choice, Julia.”

Her eyes widened a little at his use of her name, then
narrowed a smidge. “Because that’s what Marines do for one another.”

“No. It’s what decent human beings do.” Jim slipped the eggs
from her hand. “Come on. We’ll have breakfast at your house.”

“I’ll get the girls and meet you there.” Julia started to
walk by, then stood on tiptoe and kissed him. “Thank you.” She blinked away a
rush of tears and left so fast she’d forgotten her panties on the floor by the
table.

He picked them up and rubbed the material between his
fingers. Soft and smooth, just like her skin. Jim praised his cleverness in
going for the gold with her…then cursed his stupidity. He still didn’t have her
phone number and address. He was halfway to the door when he realized he’d yet
to dress. Besides, she was long gone.

Jim hauled on cargo shorts and a t-shirt, then paced the
floor, racking his brain for what to do next. He had little choice but to hope
she’d call. He smacked his head.
If
he’d had the sense to give her his
number.

But she knew where he lived. She’d come back at the very
least if any of this meant anything, and if it didn’t weren’t they both better
off? The logic didn’t help. His gut refused to unknot.

“Damn it.” He couldn’t keep moping. He had to do something
to take his mind off this.

Like gather my laundry.

Grumbling every step of the way, Jim snagged the baskets
from his bedroom closet and started loading them up. He emptied the field pack
he’d dropped near the front door. The smell nearly knocked him out when he
opened it. He was glad to put some distance between himself and the contents
when he went to the bathroom hamper to gather the rest of his crap.

He was headfirst in the thing when his cell phone rang. Jim
came up so quick he whacked his head on the towel bar. His hand shook as he
fumbled for the device in his back pocket.

Julia!

His body was on high alert, heartbeat so loud it almost
drowned out everything around him.

“You have my number,” he said in rush of breath.

“I do indeed. Snagged it off your phone this morning while
you lay sleeping.”

Jim could see her smile, that glint of mischief in her eyes.
The images were imprinted on his brain. “I see you left me a little present.”

“Oh…really?” Feigned innocence. He loved it. “I’m going to
need those back.”

“Nope, finders keepers.”

“Oh dear. I lose more panties that way.”

“I’ll bet.” Jim cleared his throat. “It’s a little difficult
to meet you at your place without the address.”

“You had me so excited I couldn’t think straight. Pen and
paper ready?”

Jim scrambled to find some. Hell, he’d memorize it. “Go.”

She lived out a bit, her directions detailed and meticulous.
“And the girls would love to meet you.” Her voice dropped a few decibels,
setting off tremors inside him. “They’re very intrigued. I was thoroughly
sniffed by each of them when I picked them up.”

“I can’t wait to meet them. Should I bring steak or chicken
to win their approval? Toys?” She could take that any way she wanted.

“Suck up.”

“On my way.”

“All tails here are a-wag with anticipation over your
arrival.”

Jim laughed. “I look forward to that. I’m on my way, baby.”
If he could have crawled through the phone to reach her, he would have. “And
when I get there, boy am I going to sniff you all over.”

“And
I
look forward to
that
,” she replied in
the whiskey-rough voice that promised a little sniffing of her own.

Chapter Four

This
might be the biggest mistake of her life,
involving her girls, pretending her world wasn’t going to turn topsy-turvy. But
it sure as hell didn’t feel like it.

Jim offered normalcy, joy and life. The hot sex was the
icing on the cake. Julia realized that more than ever having retrieved her
girls from her brothers’ homes. Of course, each one of her pups greeted her with
unbridled enthusiasm, then sat at the door waiting to leave. The humans all
wore that poor-Julia look. Doom and gloom. Despair and anguish. She’d bet they
had her funeral planned. No wonder she hadn’t been able to shake off her fears.
Her “loved” ones kept feeding them. But Jim…

“Whew.” Julia didn’t know what she was getting into with
him, but she was going to enjoy every second of it.

She sat on her patio, watching the long road leading to her
place while the girls explored their domain within the fenced portion of the
property. A person could see a long way in the desert.
Thank God.
Traffic on this road had increased over the last two years. Julia’s heart raced
every time she spied a dust trail. Spirits deflated when it wasn’t Jim. Then
she saw the white Jeep make the turn from the main road a mile away.

Instinct pulled Julia to her feet. She pressed the remote to
open the gate and waited. Her smile grew with every second. Jim was here. When
he made the final turn into her driveway, she saw his smile was as big. He
lifted a wave Julia returned and drove through the gates.

The girls were on him in a heartbeat. Barking and jumping as
if he were a long-lost friend. They kept their distance until the Jeep stopped,
then rushed the door when it opened. Yips, some serious tail wagging, more
hopping about as he stepped out. He’d changed into cargo shorts, his legs now
targets for dog kisses. Jim laughed and indulged them.

“Well…they love you,” Julia said. “You carrying treats in
your shorts?”

He glanced up with a grin. “I am, but not for them.”

Julia heated from head to toe. “Come on, you guys. I’m
starving.”

Jim stood and clapped his hands. “You heard her. Let’s eat.”

The four were at the door like a shot, leaving Jim to trail
behind with the groceries. Julia enjoyed the view. She might question her own
judgment at the moment, all things considered, but she couldn’t refute the
girls’ instincts. They clearly adored him. Jim Roderick was a keeper. Either
the Universe was being cruel by having them meet now when there was so little
time, or blessing her with everything she’d ever wanted exactly when she needed
it most. She’d go for the latter and savor every second.

“Amazing.” He spread his overburdened arms wide.

Julia knew he meant the property, but she still couldn’t
help thinking,
Yes, he is
.

“It’s like a little oasis.”

“My great-grandparents worked hard to make it that way. For
a while this was the place to go for miners and settlers in this area. I was
honored that it came to me.”

No one else wanted the work involved in keeping the old
place up. Julia treasured the adobe outbuildings and the frame house was built
to last. Two seven-plus earthquakes proved that. It needed upkeep, love and
someone to save the orchard and garden. With her gone…

Julia refused to think about it. “Why don’t you and the
girls go explore a little while I get breakfast?” She slipped the grocery bags
from his arms.

His face lit up more, if that was possible. “Come on,
girls.”

The four debated their options, looking from the door to him
and back again, then took off running to catch up. Her heart filled to
bursting. Tears rushed her. Julia flicked them away and hurried inside to start
cooking.

The call of her cell phone shattered her bliss the second
she put the bags on the kitchen counter. Julia tried to tell herself it was her
parents or brothers. In her heart she knew. This was the call she’d been
waiting for, the one she’d been dreading. Reluctantly, she answered.

Despair weighed her down when she heard the news. Tomorrow
morning, zero six.

“Yes sir. Got it.” Julia ended the call more quickly than
she’d answered. It was what it was. Nothing would change that. She was going to
enjoy every second she had until then.

She’d just put the finishing touches on their omelets when
Jim and the girls burst through the door. The pups slid to their bellies in
front of their water bowls. Jim dumped a load of zucchini and yellow squash
from his arms onto the counter. He looked like a kid in a candy store.

“I leave early tomorrow morning.”

It killed her to see the joy leave his face. He closed his
eyes for a second. When he opened them again they looked glassy, as if he’d
fought tears.

He folded his arms around her, or she’d done so to him.
Whatever. They were in one another’s arms and that was all that mattered.

“We’ll make the most of it,” she said. “Every second.”

“We’ll get your harvest in. Don’t worry.” Jim kissed her
temple, her cheek, her neck.

“With you…” She swallowed the emotion clogging her throat.
“I don’t worry about anything.” Julia cupped the back of his head and kissed
him deep, slow, hard until each breath they took shook through them.

One impatient bark pulled them apart with a laugh.

“Yes, Sasha, we know you’re hungry.” The little Lhasa
trotted to her place by the kitchen table and sat.

“Come on, Red.” Jim gave Julia a love pat. “Time’s wasting.”

“Again with the butt smack? What are you trying to tell me?”
she asked, laughing.

He snagged her waist and anchored her close. “So many things
I can’t process the words wanting to pour out of my mouth.”

Her heart raced in time with his. They stood there staring
into each other’s eyes, precious seconds ticking by.

“I’ll take care of it, Julia. All of it. Your girls, your
home and gardens. Everything will be just as you left it when you come home.
I’ll keep you tethered to this world while you’re gone.”

Why?
formed on her lips. Julia left it unsaid. The
answer was so simple, so complicated, so deliciously wonderful, so…crazy.
Why
not?
she asked herself.

“Then we do have a busy day ahead. You’re going to need to
meet my family.”

“Then let’s get to 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 Marines disembarked.

Be grateful he took care of things. Snap out of it, your
family’s waiting.

Yeah, Julia watched them surge forward through a veil of
tears. Again, she flicked them away.
Just do it. Get off the fucking bus
like a big girl. You’re alive.

“Red!”

She jerked around at the sound of Jim’s voice. Dressed in
cammies, he pushed his way through the exiting Marines to reach her. Julia shot
to the aisle and into his arms. The impact knocked them down.

“Red,” he gasped, clutching her tight right there on the
grubby floor. “You scared me half to death. I thought—”

“You came.” She brushed shaking fingers over his face and
down his chest until her palm rested over his thudding heart. “You’re here.”

“Damn straight, baby.”

“I didn’t see you. And don’t you even smart off that it was
because you were camouflaged.”

“Never.” He grinned and kissed her hard, thrusting his
tongue around hers until Julia was dizzy with lust. She writhed into his
erection.

Jim grunted and pulled her off. “You’re going to make come
stains on my trousers…again.”

“Can’t help it. That’s quite a wedge you’ve got going
there.”

“Yeah, it is.” He reached between them, fumbled in his pocket,
and drew out a black velvet box. “Marry me, Red. I love you something fierce.”

How could she say no? How could she say anything when
emotion muted her? She bobbed her head, then started giggling through her tears
when he opened the box. A band of diamonds winked back.

“I know this isn’t a traditional engagement ring.” Hands
shaking, Jim plucked the eternity ring from its nest and slipped it on her
finger. “But this is forever, starting…” He laughed a little. “Well, starting
seven months ago.”

“I love you, Jim,” she whispered. “I love you so much.”

“Come on, Red.” Jim hoisted himself to his feet, taking
Julia with him. “Your family’s waiting to hug the life out of you. The girls
are waiting for you in the van.”

Her
van. Lined up with all those other innocuous
silver vehicles. She tried not to laugh at herself.

Jim leaned close to her ear. “And they are waiting to sniff
you all over. And later…” He nuzzled that sweet spot at the curve of Julia’s
neck, setting off fireworks and skyrockets. “It’s my turn.”

“I look forward to that.” She snagged her pack and looped
her arm around his waist. “In fact, I’m all a-wag with…anticipation.” She
burrowed her face into his neck, drank him in.

Jim growled, gave her a love pat, and steered her toward the
exit.