you hardly know who’s going to be leaving you for half a year. The next time I see you, it’ll be close to Christmas.”
She crossed her arms and cleared her throat loudly. “Have you finished?”
“Finished what?”
“Your lecture.”
“Lindy, I’m serious. I—”
“You’re not saying anything I haven’t already thought about a hundred times. I love you, Rush, and I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. My feelings aren’t going to change in ten days or ten years.”
Tenderly he wrapped her in his arms then, and held her close. If there was anything more he wanted to tell her, he left it unsaid.
* * *
Hours later Rush lay on his back in bed with Lindy nestled, sleeping, in his arms. He hadn’t been able to sleep, dreading the thought of leaving her. Getting married the way they had was possibly the most irresponsible thing he’d done in his life. But he didn’t care. Given the same set of circumstances he’d marry Lindy again. Gladly.
She astonished him. She was so sure, so absolutely confident they’d done the right thing. Her unwavering trust had been contagious. God knew, he’d wanted her badly enough. Steve seemed to think he’d taken advantage of her, and perhaps he had, but that couldn’t be changed now. Lindy was his wife, and by all that he considered holy, he planned to be a good husband to her.
He closed his eyes and inhaled the fresh scent of jasmine and perfume that was Lindy’s alone, knowing full well that within a few hours he would be walking away from her.
Rush thought his heart would burst with the love he felt for his wife. He softly kissed the crown of her head, cradled in the crook between his neck and shoulder.
Lindy Callaghan was some kind of woman. They’d made love together, their bodies moving in perfect synchronization, as though they’d been married for years. All afternoon and evening, they’d teased and played lovers’ games, pretending they had forever. But it wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough. Rush wanted her again. Now. But he had the feeling making love to her a thousand times wouldn’t be enough to satisfy him.
* * *
Lindy woke from a sound sleep when Rush pushed the thin fabric of her nightgown aside, his fingers light and quick. She hardly felt his movements until his mouth closed greedily over her nipple. She sucked on her bottom lip to keep from whimpering as the hot stab of pleasure pierced her. Her head ground into the pillow with every moist stroke of his tongue. And when his teeth gently tugged at the raised peaks of her breasts, it felt as if he were pulling at a thread that was linked to the heart and heat of her womanhood. She moaned anew at a pleasure so intense it was akin to pain, and still Rush sucked at the pebbled hardness. Again and again, like a butterfly flitting from flower to flower, he sampled the sweetness of the nectar from her breasts until he was pleasurably sated.
When she was sure she was about to melt with liquifying, pulsating need, Rush lifted his head. He lay on his side and slid his hand down the smooth length of her stomach until his caressing fingers tangled in the nest of wispy hair. He paused.
Lindy stopped breathing as his fingers slowly delved deeper, charting fresh territory as they sought the opening to the moist warmth. With his probing finger inside her, Lindy lifted her bottom and rotated her hips, saying without words what she wanted. Rush’s mouth returned to her nipple and the hot cord of pleasure joining her breasts and the core of her womanhood was drawn even tighter as he connected the two ends.
When he had nearly driven her to the limits of sanity, Rush moved his body over hers. In one unbroken action, he entered her.
They both gasped at the strength of the undiluted pleasure.
Their eyes met and locked in the darkness. He was buried as deeply inside her as he could go, and still he didn’t move. Lindy felt his limbs tremble as he struggled to gain control of his raging desire. She moaned in protest and squirmed beneath him, grinding her hips against him until he cried out her name in an agonized plea.
“Honey…please…don’t do that.”
“I can’t help it.” Once more she raised her bottom enough to experience the intimate friction she craved so desperately.
“Lindy.” He hissed her name again through clenched teeth. “For pity’s sake, don’t…. Every time you do that…oh, Lindy….”
She gazed up at his tortured face and lifted her head to kiss him. He responded by thrusting his tongue in her mouth while all ten fingers tunneled through her hair.
He started to move then in a long, slow stroke that plunged him deep within her. She whimpered when he withdrew, but he quickly sank into her again and again and again, bringing them to a shared climax several moments later. Together they cried out, their hearts sailed and they soared into a new shining universe as their voices shouted in joyous celebration.
Still sheathed inside her, Rush whispered urgently, “You’re mine, Lindy. Mine.”
“Yours,” she whispered in return. “Only yours.”
* * *
Lindy had never seen so many people gathered in one place in her life. It seemed the entire navy had come to watch the tugboats tow the Mitchell out of Sinclair Inlet.
Susan Dwyer stood at Lindy’s side on the long pier, looking at the huge aircraft carrier as it sliced through the dark green waters. Helicopters from the local television stations hovered overhead and small planes zoomed past to get pictures of the carrier as it was tugged away from the Bremerton shipyard.
“How do you feel?” Susan asked, shouting above the noise of the cheering crowd.
“I don’t know.” Lindy shook her head, feeling a little numb. A lump rose in her throat. When she’d kissed Rush goodbye, she’d felt the reluctance and tension in him, but no shrinking. As much as he wanted to stay with her, as much as he longed for them to be together, he longed for the sea more. He was going to leave her because it was his duty, his destiny. He belonged to the navy, and she had only been granted second rights.
“I’m not going to cry.” That much Lindy knew.
“Good girl.” Susan was dry-eyed herself. “You’re going to do just fine. We both are. These six months will fly by. Just you wait and see, and before we know it they’ll both be back, randy as hell and—” She stopped abruptly and heaved in a deep breath. “Who am I trying to kid? It’s going to be the pits.” Her gaze clouded and she bit into her trembling bottom lip. “I think I’m pregnant again.”
Lindy didn’t know what to say. “Does Jeff know?”
“Nope. I went off the Pill last month when they left the first time. There didn’t seem to be any reason to keep taking them when Jeff was going away for all those months. I forgot to take the stupid things half the time anyway. Then Jeff was home and I didn’t even think about it until yesterday morning.”
“Why then?”
“I threw up.”
“Oh, Susan. Are you going to be all right?”
“If I said yes, would you believe me?”
“Probably.”
Her friend sighed. “Well, don’t. I have miserable pregnancies. And I don’t think Jeff’s going to be pleased, either. We’d agreed to wait at least another couple of years.”
Lindy found a tissue in her purse and handed it to her friend, who quickly wiped the moisture from her pale cheeks.
“Tears are another sure sign with me.”
“I’d better keep track of these symptoms,” Lindy muttered absently.
Susan paused, blew her nose and turned to face Lindy. “What do you mean?”
“Rush and I weren’t