The Heart Beneath Page 19
Callie hoped Dusty wouldn’t be too disappointed that in January, even in Southern California, the frogs were hibernating, and there would be none to be found among the cattails. Smiling, she clapped her hands and called him back. Dusty came promptly, sopping wet from being in the water, his eyes bright with happiness as he galloped up to where she was standing.
Leaning down, Callie grinned and petted his damp head. “Time to go in, Dust.” She reattached the leash to his leather collar. Walking back to the kennel, Callie could see that it was a beehive of activity. Her C.O., Susannah, was busy working out the final details on where to send the twenty-two rescue units now that they were nine days into the disaster. Few people would be found alive at this point, so the dogs and their handlers had a more gruesome task: finding and locating the dead and getting them out from beneath the debris and properly buried so that disease would not become rampant.
The lights were bright and made Callie squint as she walked into the rear of the huge kennel building. People were coming and going, every one of them in a hurry. Dogs were barking. Humvees would arrive and then speed off. After putting Dusty away, Callie went to her C.O.’s office.
Her brow furrowed, Susannah was bent over her green metal desk, writing furiously on a set of orders. A private was standing at attention nearby, and Callie waited until the marine was given the orders, did an about-face and left.
“Phew,” Susannah growled, “this is getting rugged. You got a minute?”
Callie nodded and closed the door. Outside, the sounds of barking, the people talking, made her edgy. It was probably because of her concussion. Ever since the injury, sounds bothered her a lot more than usual.
“What’s up?” Callie asked as she sat down on the red plastic chair in the corner of the room. Susannah’s office was small and spartan. Her desk was a disaster, with papers, files and computer CDs scattered across it. She looked drawn and tired. Who wasn’t?
“Logistics just called me. They’re gearing up for a major—and I mean major—effort to create teams consisting of marines in the engineering and other trades—plumbing, welding and such—with a dog handler and a medic, though there’s limited availability of all these types of personnel. Logistics is trying to get into a specific grid area of five square miles of the L.A. basin by helo or Humvee—whatever it takes—to help the civilian populace organize.” She rubbed her face tiredly. “Geez, Callie, I’ll tell you, this is an unraveling nightmare…Camp Reed has only so many people to help. All the roads leading into the basin are destroyed. It will take weeks and months to create even dirt roads where highways once ran, so we can bring trucks with food and water. This thing is going critical mass. There’s a million people out there without proper water and food supplies. The whole country is mobilizing to help us.” She became grim and gave Callie a hard look. “This is going to get ugly.”
“Logistics is trying to set up a chain of command so that civilians can work within those parameters, in the hope that it will stop mob rule activity?”
“Bingo. You hit the nail on the head.” Susannah rummaged around on her desk. “As much as I’d like you to stay here and help me, I’m going to need you out in the field. We need every available handler and dog out there right now. I know you’ve got a forty-eight-hour sick chit. By the way, how are you feeling?” she asked belatedly as she riffled through a set of orders on her desk.
“Better. No more dizziness. I’ll be fine by tomorrow morning. What have you got for me?”
“I want you back at the Hoyt Hotel grid. You’ve already established liaisons with the civilians there and they know you. I’m sending you in with that team. They leave at 0700 tomorrow morning in front of the B.O.Q. by Humvee. Engineering has bulldozed enough dirt roads into the outer areas of the basin, and Grid Alpha, just outside our gates. Ah…here it is. Damn, I need to get this desk cleaned up. It looks how I feel.” She grinned and walked around the desk and gave Callie her orders.
“I’ll be there with bells on,” Callie promised. “I’ll come over and get Dusty at 0600.”
Nodding, Susannah sighed and put her hands on her hips. “Damn, Callie…this is a horrible catastrophe. A lot more people are going to die before it’s over. I feel so helpless. I wish we could do more….”
Getting up, Callie put her hand on her C.O.’s slumped shoulder. “Listen, we’re all going to the max on this. The key right now is to get enough sleep every night so we can do our job to the best of our ability.”
Nodding, Susannah sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. I’ve had five hours in the last forty-eight.” She grimaced. “Listen, you get out of here. Get some shut-eye, okay? Your orders leave you on-site for four days, with the fifth day back here for twenty-four hours of R and R.”
“Right. See you later….”
January 8: 2300
Wes moved quietly from Callie’s bathroom, a towel draped around his narrow hips. The hot water had revived him after a brutal day that had demanded all his time, knowledge and experience. Light filtered in from the small window and outlined where Callie lay sleeping beneath the covers. Barefoot, his feet still damp, he pushed wet tendrils of hair off his brow and approached the edge of the bed where she slept so soundly.
In the light, he could see that her hair was softly mussed. Her hand was beneath her cheek, her lips parted, her breathing light and shallow. When he’d quietly entered her room less than an hour ago, he’d seen the note on the dresser she’d written: “Please come in and sleep with me. Love, Callie.”
Love. The word resonated deeply within him as Wes reached down and tugged the towel from around his hips. How like her to be so painfully honest. Wes had resisted that word when it came to Callie, but the last couple of days had shown him what a fool he’d been. No longer. Lifting the towel, he wiped his hair and face once more. Callie looked beautiful in sleep, so small in the big bed. So small, and yet she had such a courageous and giving heart. How badly he wanted her. His heart thrummed with anticipation as he hung up the towel and made his way to the other side. Lifting the covers, he slipped beneath them. The sheets felt cool as Wes eased his body toward hers. To his surprise, she was wearing nothing!
A grin creased his face as he propped himself up on his elbow and drank in the sight and feel of her sleeping form. “You really are an angel, Callie,” he told her in a low, quiet voice. Lifting his hand, he ran his finger down the smooth line of her cheek. Her lashes were thick and long against her flesh. She was so feminine, and yet so strong. His heart expanded with warmth and awe. There was no question in his heart or mind that she was the woman of his dreams come to life. Somehow, Callie’s practical qualities had soothed the fear within him. Yes, she had a dangerous job. No, he wasn’t going to project what had happened to Allison onto Callie. That wasn’t fair.
Who would have thought that she’d be in the guise of a rescue dog handler on the very base where he worked? Shaking his head, Wes pursed his lips as he gently stroked her cheek and her silky hair.
Callie moaned softly. She felt a hand, the hand of someone who loved her, stroking her cheek and her hair. The warmth of a man’s body against her back penetrated her senses. And as she slowly twisted around onto her back, she raised her eyelids sleepily and looked up—into Wes’s dark face. Drowning in the heat and desire in his eyes, she lifted her hand and rubbed her forehead.
“…Hi, stranger…”
“Hi.” Wes smiled slightly as she blinked several times and then turned over so that she was facing him. Her knees met his, and he felt humbled as she snuggled up against him, her arm around his torso. Callie was bold in a way that made him want to love her even more fiercely. She always downplayed herself as a simple country girl, but he knew better. This was a woman with solid confidence in herself, in her world, and he wanted to share that world now…tonight.
Whispering her name against her ear as he drew her fully against him, her small breasts pressed against his hairy chest, Wes heard her sigh. It was a sigh of surrender and utter enjoyment.
As he slid his hand down her slim, strong back, he absorbed her soft, womanly curves and felt the surprising strength of her legs as they entwined with his. He shouldn’t be surprised, he told himself, as he felt Callie’s lips move like a burning brand along his collarbone and up the column of his neck. Her entire life was devoted to demanding and dangerous kinds of physical activity.
How much he loved her! The feeling was like a fierce river of lava that flowed through his heart, radiating outward. Easing back, Wes looked down into her sleepy, beautiful face. “You really are an angel come to earth to save the soul of this poor marine you’re holding now. Do you know that?”
Callie laughed quietly. She lifted her hand and slid her fingers up the side of his jaw. Wes had just showered and shaved, and she liked the way he felt beneath her hands. Meeting and holding his dark gaze, she whispered, “I’m in need of saving, too….” Then she watched with fascination and joy as, at her touch, his body hardened against hers. There was no doubt that Wes wanted her. “You’re such a hero in my eyes, my heart, Wes. You do so much good for so many….”
His ego soared at her whispered compliment. He liked being thought of as a hero, and he relished the look in Callie’s wide, dark-blue eyes as she studied him in the lulling silence. When she moved sinuously against him, he grinned wolfishly. “All I want right now is you…to love you, share with you, Callie. All day today you were in my heart. Every time I took even the briefest break from planning, you were there.” Tangling his fingers in her silky hair, he rasped, “I love you…. I want you to know how I feel.”
He searched her widening eyes, which flared at his emotional statement. “We’ve got the time…” he added. “I just want you to know that coming to your bed, holding you—loving you—isn’t a one-night stand for me. It’s a long-term commitment to you…to us. To where I hope this ends up down the road.” Easing his fingertips across her flushed cheek, Wes watched as her lashes fluttered shut at his caress. “Right now, we’re at ground zero of a hell on earth.” Grimly he looked up and stared across the quiet, darkened room. “We’ve got months of hard, unending work ahead of us, Callie. Dangerous work. But just know that, through it all, I’m here for you. I’ll make every effort to be with you when I can. I’ll steal every possible moment to be with you, Angel.”
As Callie opened her eyes, he saw tears beading her thick lashes at his quietly spoken words. Leaning down, he brushed her parted lips with his, and tasted the salt of her tears. Barely touching her lips, Wes whispered brokenly, “Callie, I love you. It’s that simple. It’s that scary. I’m scared for you out there in the basin. Already there’re gangs and insurrection starting to happen. There’s gunfire, and people are fighting for their lives over scraps of food and cups of water. And you’re going to be in the midst of it all…. I worry so much for you. I’ve just found you, and I don’t want to lose you, beloved….”
There, it was out—everything he felt, everything Wes had ever wanted to say to Callie, now lay naked before her. As he eased away, feeling the delicious warmth of her body against his, Wes searched her damp eyes. There was such love for him burning in their depths. How could he have been so blind to love? Because his fear kept him from seeing it in her eyes before this, that was why. Caressing her brow and the strands of hair that drifted across it, he smiled at her uncertainly.
The strength and hardness of his male body against her own gave Callie the courage to speak. Her voice was low and husky, off-key with tears. “Where have you been all my life? In my dreams, Wes, I always hoped for a man like you. Only, you’re better than any man in my dreams. Your honest…” Callie choked. “Your honesty opens my heart, opens me in such a way that I feel healed and whole.” She reached up and grazed his mouth with her lips. Instantly, his arms tightened around her.
“And you gave words to what I was feeling in my heart,” she added. “I want the same things you do, darling…. Yes, I know it’s soon…but I think what we’ve discovered, what we have, is worth working on and waiting for. I know the months ahead are going to be brutal—and dangerous sometimes—but I have you now. Just knowing that will give me the courage I need to survive it.”
Callie brushed his mouth with another kiss and heard him groan. “I love you, Wes…and I want every possible minute with you when we can steal them together. I know it won’t be easy. We’re going to have more separations than time together….”
His heart swelled with such warmth Wes thought he might suffocate with happiness. Could a man die from too much joy? Having Callie in his arms, her body molding against his, her husky voice flowing over him like hot, molten lava, made him feel as if nothing in the world could harm either of them. He caught her mouth and parted her lips in a hungry, searching kiss. As Wes eased from her and looked down into her half-closed, sultry eyes, he growled. “Then we’ll make the most of the time we do have together….”
Her lips parted in a playful smile. “Oh, yes…” And Callie took his mouth in a hot, caressing kiss to let him know just how badly she needed him—all of him—in that moment.
Her world spun out of control, into a rainbow of light, heat and tactile sensations. Although Callie was not as experienced as Wes, it didn’t matter. He drew her to him and moved the covers aside to expose her fully in the dim light. As he broke their kiss and moved his hand down her back, then around to cup and caress her breast, her breath caught. And as his lips found and caressed the hardened peak of her breast, she thought she’d die of incredible heat and pleasure. Desire spun raggedly downward through her body, fanning the fire that erupted deep within her. Callie felt helpless, out of control, arching and moaning against him as he suckled her and ran his hand across her hip. Then he slid his fingers between her curved thighs.
The violence of heat erupting within her caught Callie completely off guard, for no man had ever evoked such a powerful and swift response in her. She felt her heart contract as he raised his head, his eyes narrowed and a knowing smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. Because she was so petite compared to him, he was able to shift her onto her back in one smooth motion.
Feeling the bulk and heat of Wes’s body move across hers reminded Callie of a huge warm blanket, protecting her. Lifting her arms, she slipped them around his shoulders as he eased over her. Wes slid his knee between hers. Her heart hammered in anticipation, her gaze clinging to his as he looked at her tenderly. The waiting was almost painful to Callie as she lifted her hips to receive him, all of him, into her waiting body, which was slick with anticipation.
She wasn’t disappointed. As he eased into her wet, hot confines, a soft gasp of pleasure tore from her lips, and she pressed her face against the damp column of his neck. Callie clung to him, the exquisite heat weaving and winding throughout her as he began the gentle rhythm.
The world spun in dazzling colors, the sounds of his groans mingling with her soft moans of response. Their bodies were damp with perspiration, their breathing ragged. Callie absorbed every sensation in a way she never had before. Wes was asking her to be a partner in their lovemaking. He wasn’t taking; no, he was sharing. And that empowered Callie as little else would have. She felt like a full-fledged partner as their bodies twined, moved, grew sleek and ultra sensuous against one another. As he leaned down and caught her mouth, taming her into rhythm with himself, an unexpected and startling sensation occurred deep within her body. She had never reached climax before, but now, as this heat and scalding intensity throbbed in waves of intense pleasure through her, she knew that was what was happening to her. And Wes was prolonging the sensation, straining to hold her and cherish her as he felt her body contracting wildly against his.
As Callie felt her climax rip throughout her singing body, she felt Wes tense. His growl deepened. His head lifted; his lips pulled away from his clenched teeth. His arms tightened like bands around Callie. Instinctively, she knew his life was flowing into her, and she prolonged it for him by moving her hips in a flowing, continuous motion against his hard, rigid male body.
Eventually, Wes rolled off Callie and gathered her into his arms. The satiation, the joy dancing in her slumberous eyes told him how much she’d enjoyed what they’d shared. That made his heart soar. “Come here,” he rasped, pulling up the covers and holding her close. Callie snuggled against him, her head resting against the juncture of his shoulder and neck.
Everything was perfect. Wes lay back, sighed and closed his eyes. The woman he loved was in his arms. The world around them might be hellish, but right in this moment, everything was exquisitely perfect in a way he had never felt before.
Within minutes, Wes felt exhaustion claim him. He wanted to talk, to share his feelings with Callie in the aftermath, but the long, demanding hours he’d worked due to the disaster had taken their toll. He closed his eyes, his arms around his woman, and spiraled into a deep, healing sleep.
January 9: 0530
“I’m going to let Dusty have a run down at the lake before we have to leave,” Callie confided, smiling up at Wes as they walked out of the noisy kennel area. The day was dawning, the sky a brackish gray with a seam of red along the horizon as they sauntered down the desert slope toward the lake below.