Drowning in Her Eyes (42 page)

She had borrowed Sarah
's car and driven the fifty miles to Boston early in the mor
ning. She knew his flight wouldn
'
t land until the
afternoon, but she couldn
'
t wait to go. She had bundled Jacqui up in her warm coat and gloves, with a fur cap over
her pretty
dark hair, and se
t off directly after breakfast.

They were lucky
. The weather was clear; it hadn
'
t snowed for three days
, and t
he ploughed roads were free of ice. She had booked a suite in a downtown hotel. She checked in and wandered for a while in the overheated department stores. The Christmas rush was on
.
There were lights, and reindeers and Santa Clauses everywhere. Carols filled the air. It was a magical time
, and
J
acqui was mesmerised by it all.

Oh
, she thought,
how wonderful this Christmas is going to be
.

* *
*
*

Jack felt as if he was flying
in the slowest aircraft ever made. Nothing was fast enough to get him to Susan. He had flown the Pacific via Hawaii to Los Angles, taken the red eye flight to Chicago
, and then t
his morning he
'd boarded
a flight to Boston. He had left
Brisbane so anxious to be here.

Two weeks ago, Denni had given birth to another little girl. They had named her Grace Helen. They would be home for Christmas. It would be the first proper
Ballinrobe
Christmas for three years! He had been less nervous facing the Viet Cong.
What will she look like? Will she still want him? What will Jacqui be like? Will she accept h
im
?
Thousands of questions filled his head.
Oh God
, he thought,
how can I wait another moment?

At last, the plane began its long curving descent into Logan. He could see the city below, sun glittering on snow,
looking like a Christmas card.

Oh
, he thought,
how wonderful this Christmas is going to be
.

* *
*
*

She saw him as he came through the gate
—
lean, upright, dark
-
haired, wearing a Burberry trench coat. Her heart leapt, a lump rose in her throat, and then she was weeping for the three lost years.

He saw her almost immediately; then he was running
to
swe
ep
her up in his arms, a huge bear hug. She clung to him. Their lips met. Oh
,
God, she thought, the taste of him, the scent of him. Tears coursed down her face.
“Oh, Jack,
” she cried,
“My Jack, my love!
”

He looked down at the beautiful child beside her.
“Jacqui?
”
h
e said. She looked at him, frowning slightly, seeing his green eyes, his dark hair.
“Daddy,
” she said,
“Daddy?
”

Jack almost broke down as he looked into another pair of beautiful brown eyes. He sobbed, he gathered her up in his arms. She buried her head in his neck.
“Daddy,
” she said,
“Daddy.
” He lifted his daughter onto his shoulders and strode with his family to the airport doors.

* *
*
*

The Madison Hotel is in a central position near to
o
many of Boston
's attractions. Both Jack and Susan wanted nothing more than to be alone, but a little presence prevented that. They went shopping, they walked in the sunshine, bundled against the cold, they drank hot chocolate, they ate; and, all the while, they loved each other with their eyes.
Those wonderful eyes
, he thought,
how deep, how wide, how enchanting, how enticing. I fell in love with those eyes before I fell in love with the rest of
her
. Now I can drown in them for the rest of my life.

Late in the afternoon, they returned to their hotel. Jacqui was fight
ing
her sleepiness. It had been a long day for a little girl. She
didn
'
t fully underst
an
d the concept of
a
Daddy
; but she knew her Mommy loved this new man, and that was good enough for her.
I will tell Ollie about Daddy
, she thought
.
Ollie w
ill
like him too
. Ollie was her soft teddy bear, named for the present manager of
Ballinrobe
.
Ollie the Teddy was one of the many little things that Susan had used to forge links to Jack and his family.

Jacqui
hugged and kissed her Mommy and slipped into her bed with Ollie.
“Don
't you want to kiss Daddy?
” s
aid Susan.

“Yes,
” she said,
“but not until tomorrow.
”
She was sure
Ollie would tell her more about
d
addies tonight. In minutes, she was asleep.

Jack looked down on her sweet face.
“Susan,
”
he said,
“she
'
s so beautiful. How I have longed to see her, to hold her. She will be our precious baby now for as long as we live. Thank you for Jacqui. I cannot imagine how hard it has been for you,
but we
'
re together now and always will be.
”

She leant over and kissed Jacqui on the cheek.
“Good night my little one,
” she whispered. She straightened and
turned to him.
How handsome he is
, she thought,
how beautiful
. He looked the same, but older now, the innocence gone, his face leaner, harder somehow.
Oh, my darling
, she thought,
what sadness, what horrors, what troubles you have seen
. She resolved to make the rest of his life a heaven on earth.

He stood watching his daughter sleep.
How wonderful
, he thought,
a precious life, brought into being by our love. Could there be anything sweeter?

“Come my love, be mine.
”

Susan took his hand and the old electricity surged through him. She is so beautiful, he thought, motherhood has made her even more so.
She is a mature woman now, more desirable than ever. How she has suffered on my account, what pain, what longing, what dreadful things she has seen in her own home
. He resolved to make the rest of her life a heaven on earth.

* *
*
*

It was like the first time over again. She led him into the bedroom. They stood in silence, drinking in the sight of each other, almost afraid to touch. It has been so long, she thought, all those long, lonely nights, will he still love me as he did before
?
Oh
,
God, he thought, it has been so long. How I have ached for her all those long, lonely nights, will she st
ill love me as she did before?

They touched. Both gasped at the energy there, at the realisation that even the slightest touch could do that to them. She moved to him, placing her arms around his neck, beginning to kiss him with such pent-
up passion. Their tongues sought out each other. Slowly they undressed each other, taking their time, gazing at each other
's bodies as the clothes fell away.

She touched his scars. The results of surgery in the field were never pretty. There was a long puckered line of stitches along his ribs, several smaller ones on his back. My darling, she thought, you could have been killed.

He moved behind her, his hands cupping her lovely breasts, nuzzling her neck, her ears, smelling her hair. She leant back into him, murmuring little sounds of pleasure. Soon they faced each other.
“Jack,
” she whispered,
“It has been so long. Love me as never before, make me yours forever.
”

They touched; they kissed, hungrily. Jack marveled at her beauty, at her taut
,
proud breasts, her smooth skin. He kissed her, drew his tongue down to her navel, to her soft triangle, found her sweet spot, that amazing pleasure centre. She moaned, forcing his head between her legs, writhing as he pleasured her, climaxing with cries of joy.
“Oh
… Oh
…Oh God
…Oh
,
Jack
,
love me
,
love me
,
love me, love me forever!
” He looked into those beautiful eyes. I
have
drowned, he thought, and what a lovely way to die. And he
had
died, the old Jack. Now they were truly one, together forever.

He lay alongside her. She looked down into his eyes, those green eyes that enchanted her so. She kissed him with a new fervour, following his lean, hard body with her tongue, gently kissing his scar, finding his erection, taking him in her mouth, gently working her lips and tongue until he almost screamed with pleasure. It was too much for him. He slipped between those silken legs and entered that sweet warm place he had missed for so long. They were joined again, truly joined again. They kissed as they began to move together, faster, frantically now. Then Jack
's orgasm burst like a sky rocket, Susan
's a moment later, as they both cried out words of love for each other.

They loved long into the night, until, sated, they fell into a dreamless sleep. Around seven, the thump of a tiny body on their bed woke them.
“Mommy, Mommy, I
'm hungry
… Mommy, where are your clothes
…Mommy, why is Daddy in your bed?
”

Susan held her and kissed her eyes.
“Good morning
,
Poppins,
” she said.
“Daddy will always be in my bed now. He is going to take us home to
Ballinrobe
, to our thinking place. It will be warm there for it never snows. Won
't that be lovely?
”