THE FALL

by Marie Force

  "I'm here if you need me. You know that, right?"

  Touched by her support, he said, "I sure do."

  "Send us a postcard from Australia."

  "You got it. Give everyone my love, and thanks again for a great time this weekend."

  "We love you, Smitty. You remember that."

  "I will," he whispered, surprised when his eyes filled. "Thank you."

  * * *

  Smitty left Kennedy on a six o'clock flight that got him into Los Angeles at eight forty-five p.m. Pacific time. At LAX, he killed almost three hours in The Qantas Club before boarding an eleven fifty flight to Sydney. Fourteen hours and thirty-five minutes of first-class luxury later, he landed in Sydney where it was Wednesday morning. Somewhere over the Pacific he had lost Tuesday, but he didn't care. Tuesday would have been a shitty day anyway.

  Chapter 22

  Ted chased Caroline in the fog. Screeching gulls, pounding surf, and powdery sand beneath his feet at the beach. The soft breeze had captured her long blond hair and the skirt of her flowing white dress. Two blond children ran in circles around her legs, making her laugh with delight. Ted tried to catch up to them, but no matter how hard he ran, he couldn't reach them. When they began to fade from sight, he called out to them.

  "Hey," Caroline whispered in his ear. "You're dreaming."

  Ted came awake slowly and was disoriented for a brief moment. "I couldn't get to you." His voice was hoarse from sleep. "And then you began to disappear."

  "I'm right here." She put her arm around him and rested her head on his chest. "I'm not going anywhere."

  "There were two kids." He twirled a lock of her long hair around his finger. "Two blond kids." He leaned in to kiss her. "If our children have anything other than blond hair, you and the postman are going to be in a lot of trouble."

  She smiled and looked up at him, her green eyes shimmering with emotion. "Our children," she sighed. "Did we have boys or girls?"

  "I couldn't tell." He yawned and stretched. "What time is it?"

  "Two thirty."

  He turned to see if she was serious. "Get out. Really?"

  She grinned and nodded.

  "We slept for nine and a half hours?"

  "You slept for nine and a half hours."

  He winced. "How long have you been awake?"

  "About two hours."

  "Sorry."

  "Why? I had the best time watching you sleep."

  Not sure whether to be touched or embarrassed, Ted sat up and ran a hand through his hair, realizing the cloud of fatigue that had hung over him for days had finally lifted. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had such a concentrated dose of sleep. "I'll be right back," he said, getting up to go to the bathroom. He returned a minute later and got back into bed with her. "So you really watched me sleep for two hours?"

  Propped up on one elbow, she looked down at him. "Uh huh."

  "You didn't have anything better to do?"

  She shook her head.

  He reached up to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. "Did I snore or drool or do anything else embarrassing?"

  "No, you were very cute. Your phone rang a couple of times. I wasn't sure if I should wake you up to get it, but I decided you needed the sleep."

  "Sleeping through a ringing phone goes against all my training, but whatever it is, I suppose it'll keep. I've got much better things to do now that I'm very well rested."

  Her smile reached inside him and wrapped itself around his heart.

  He wove his fingers into her hair and slid his lips over hers in a gentle, easy caress. Urging her down on top of him, he found the hem of her nightgown and pulled it up and over her head. Tossing it to the floor, he whispered, "I like it better down there."

  Her laugh faded into a moan as his hands investigated every inch of the warm, soft skin he had uncovered. With a surge of passion he hadn't known he was capable of, he reversed their positions and devoured her mouth. He trembled when her hands clutched his shoulders and then made a slow journey down his back.

  "I need to get a condom," he managed to say.

  "I'm on the pill."

  He pulled back to look at her and brushed the hair off her forehead. "We're tested twice a year at work. I'm safe."

  "I am, too. I always insist on condoms."

  "Not this time?" His heart pounded with anticipation and desire and love like he had never known.

  "Not this time." She hooked her fingers inside the waistband of his boxer briefs to ease them down. Once they were gone, she stroked him until he was so painfully hard he thought he would explode.

  "Caroline," he sighed, grasping her hand to stop her before he reached the point of no return. "I love you."

  "And I love you. Make love to me, Ted."

  He reclaimed her lips, telling himself to slow down, to take his time, to savor this first time with her. But the desire was so overwhelming. He thought he'd known desire before, but nothing could compare to this burning need. Her soft skin, her scent, her silky hair, her soft sighs, her fingers on his back, urging him on… Until this moment, love had been a mystery to him. He hadn't understood or experienced the great power it had to change lives and alter destinies. Now he finally got what had taken him nearly thirty-eight years to understand—that faced with a choice, he'd gladly give his life for her.

  Her breasts filled his hands to overflowing. He dipped his head to taste her nipple, and she moaned. Encouraged, he sucked her deep into his mouth and dragged his tongue back and forth over the rosy peak.

  Caroline wrapped her legs around his hips, begging him for more.

  Ted gasped at the feel of her moist heat against his throbbing erection and shifted to deny her, at least for now. His lips coasted over her belly as he made his way down, using his shoulders to keep her legs apart.

  "Ted, please…"

  "What?" he asked softly. "What do you need?"

  "Come up here."

  "I'll be back in a minute." He dragged his tongue over her in a teasing, darting motion.

  "Oh…"

  Sliding his hands under her, he stroked her with his tongue for several long minutes before he focused on the place she wanted him most and sent her flying into an orgasm that shook them both. She was still in the throes of it when he entered her.

  For a moment neither of them moved as they gazed into each other's eyes. Stunned by the wonder of it, Ted began to move and the wonder was quickly replaced by fire. Reaching under her with one hand, he pulled her tighter to him and had to grit his teeth to hold on to his control when she cried out again.

  With an expression of utter amazement on her face, she looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

  Ted felt his own eyes burn when he buried his face in her hair and let himself go in an explosive climax that left him bewildered and breathless. Still trying to calm his racing heart, he dropped soft kisses along her jaw and then found her lips again. "God, Caroline," he said with a sigh. "I'm going to need to do that again—very soon and very often."

  She laughed and held him tight so he couldn't get away. Her phone rang, and she looked over at the caller ID. "It's Elise. I'd better get it."

  Ted moved so Caroline could reach for the bedside phone.

  "Caroline? Chip just told me you and Smitty broke up. I'm in shock. I'm going to come over. I'll be there as soon as I can."

  "You don't need to. I'm fine."

  Ted curled up to her back and put his arm around her. He could hear every word Elise was saying.

  "What happened? I can't believe this!"

  "Nothing really happened. We just talked about it last night and realized it was over. Plus he's going to Australia."

  "He's already gone. He's flying to L.A. in an hour."

  Caroline sat up. "He's already left?"

  "Uh huh. Chip said he sounded weird."

  "I didn't realize he was leaving so soon."

  Startled to hear Smitty was already gone, Ted got up to retrieve his cell phone in the living room. On his wa
y back to bed he scrolled through the list of missed calls: Parker twice, Chip, and his parents' Block Island number.

  "No, you don't have to come, Elise," Caroline was saying. "I'm really fine. I'll call you later in the week. Thanks for checking on me."

  Ted listened to the message from Parker.

  "Hey, I just talked to Smitty. He said he tried to get you a couple of times this morning and wanted me to tell you he's going to Sydney tonight for work. He'll be gone at least a month. In other news, he broke up with Caroline last night. Give me a call when you can."

  The next message was from Chip. "Something's up with Smitty. Call me."

  Ted's mother said, "Hi, darling. Talked to Smitty. Did you hear about him and Caroline? The poor guy. Give me a call."

  Ted exited out of his voicemail and checked the list of missed calls again. Smitty hadn't called. "He knows," Ted said.

  "What do you mean?"

  "Smitty knows about us."

  Caroline gasped. "Why do you say that?"

  "If everything's normal, there's no way he leaves the country for a month without calling me. No way. He called my mother, for Christ's sake, and not me? He told Parker he tried to get me a couple of times this morning, but there's no call from him."

  "Maybe he called you at work."

  Ted shook his head. "He knows my cell is the only sure way to always reach me." He pulled on his underwear and began to pace the small room. "How could he have figured this out so fast? I just don't get it."

  After she had watched him stew and pace for several minutes, Caroline cleared her throat. "May I say something that might sound totally insensitive and maybe even a little inappropriate?"

  Ted stopped to look at her. "Of course."

  "I don't really care if he knows." Her eyes shone with emotion. "We just made love for the first time, and I don't want to talk about him. I want to talk about you. I want to talk about us. I want you to be with me. I know this is a hideous situation, and he's been your best friend for so many years—"

  "No, you're right." Ted turned off his phone and tossed it into his bag. "I'm sorry." He got back in bed and brought her into his arms.

  She rested her head on his chest. "Am I awful?"

  "No, honey." He tilted her chin up so he could kiss her. "You're absolutely right. This time is for us. We'll have to deal with everything else soon enough but not today or even tomorrow."

  "Thank you for understanding."

  "Will you always do that?"

  "Do what?"

  "Tell me what you need, straight out like you just did?"

  "You might not always want to hear it," she said with a laugh.

  "I'd prefer it to guessing games. I hate that more than anything."

  "What else do you hate?"

  "Olives."

  She cracked up. "That's it?"

  He gave it significant thought. "Yeah, that's about it."

  She shifted to lie on top of him. "In that case, you're going to be very easy to please."

  "Mmm," he said as she kissed her way to his belly. "If you keep that up, I'll be pleased in no time at all."

  * * *

  "I need a shower," Caroline said more than an hour later as she launched into one of her full body stretches.

  Ted was face down in bed listening to the blare of a car alarm and the clutter of voices drifting in from the city street. The sheer curtain billowed in the late afternoon breeze. "I watched you do that on Block Island."

  She turned to him. "What?"

  "Stretch from your toes to the ends of your fingertips. I committed that and a hundred other things about you to memory in case I didn't get to see you again."

  She ran her fingers through his hair. "You're so sweet."

  "I was so afraid we'd never have this."

  "I had a feeling we'd find a way. This was too big to ignore."

  "You were so beautiful in the moonlight that first night on the deck when I told you about Joey."

  "I just wish…" She bit her lip.

  "What, honey?"

  "That the thing we're not talking about wasn't a factor. I know you must be so sad about it."

  "When I talked to my grandmother about you she said something I didn't really understand until today when we were free to be together." He hooked a hand around the curve of her neck to bring her close enough to kiss. "She said if things went bad with my friends, you'd fill the empty spaces."

  Caroline's eyes went soft with emotion as she caressed his chest. "She's right. We'll have each other no matter what happens."

  He struggled against the lump that suddenly filled his throat. "I'm going to try very hard not to need anything else. If they turn their backs on me because of this, I'll do my best to live with it."

  "We'll live with it."

  Clutching her hand, he nodded.

  "How about a shower?" she asked with a playful smile. "I'll wash your back, and you'll forget all your worries."

  He brightened as he turned over to sit up. "I can't say no to that."

  The only color in the stark white bathroom was the small black tiles mixed in with the white ones on the floor. "I think I've gone color blind," he joked as she pulled out two thick white towels.

  "Don't you know white's the new black?" she asked with a saucy grin. "Of course no one told me it would be such a bear to keep clean."

  The claw-footed tub had a wraparound shower curtain. She leaned in to turn on the water.

  While they waited for the water to warm up, he put his arms around her and pulled her close. "You've completely corrupted me."

  She looked up at him. "How so?"

  "I don't even feel guilty about calling in sick to work. That's so not me."

  "Think of it as mental health time. You needed it."

  "I needed you." He lifted her against his erection.

  She giggled against his lips. "Don't get any big ideas, mister. We can't get my cast wet."

  "And how exactly does that work?"

  "Carefully."

  "Wouldn't it be easier to take a bath? You could hook it over the side."

  "Can I still wash your back?"

  "Absolutely."

  "Then you need to put me down so I can plug the drain."

  "Do I have to?" He kissed her so thoroughly that she was breathless by the time he inched her slowly back down.

  When the bath was ready, Ted got in first and held her steady while she balanced on one leg and propped her cast on the side of the tub. She leaned back against him and sighed with pleasure. "Now if this isn't good for your mental health, what is?"

  "I can't imagine anything better," he said as he worked shampoo into her hair.

  "Ted," she moaned when he massaged her scalp. "That feels sinfully good, but I'm supposed to be washing your back."

  "You'll get your chance. So tell me, what's your book really about?"

  "A single dad named Cameron Littlefield. He's tall, dark, and handsome, and he's lived in my head for at least three years now."

  "Do I need to be jealous of this Cameron Littlefield? I didn't know you preferred tall, dark, and handsome. I'm in big trouble here." He tried not to think about how well the description fit Smitty.

  She laughed and reached back to ruffle his blond hair. "You've got two out of three. I'm definitely infatuated with Cameron, but I'm completely in love with you. So you've got nothing to worry about."

  He nuzzled her neck. "I'm never, ever going to get tired of hearing you say that."

  She turned to him. "Any time you need to hear it, just let me know."

  He cupped her face with one hand and kissed her. "So what's Cameron Littlefield's problem?"

  "I don't think I care for your tone," she joked. "His ex-wife got busted selling crack cocaine out of their basement, and she's in jail for two years. The town is full of rumors that she was selling more than crack, if you know what I mean."

  "Ah, yes, the other crack."

  She elbowed him, and water sloshed over the top of the tub. "That'
s truly gross," she snickered. "So anyway, Cameron's little daughters, Stella and Avery, are being ridiculed at school, and he realizes he needs to get them out of town or the stigma will stick to them forever. Because he's in construction and can work anywhere, he allows the girls to pick the place they want to move to—anywhere in the United States."

  "Where do they decide to go?"

  "I'm not sure yet."

  "You don't know what's going to happen?" he asked with surprise.

  "I know enough to get me started. I'm hoping the rest will come to me as I go."

  "I always figured people who wrote books had lengthy outlines they followed and they know how it's going to end before it even begins."

  "From what I've read, everyone has a different process. I don't want to spend the time on an outline because then I'd feel like I had to follow it or all the time I'd spent on it would be wasted. What if I get halfway through it and want to go in a whole other direction?"

  "That's a good point."

  "Let's switch places."

  He got up and stepped over her as she scooted back against the edge of the tub.

  "How's the cast doing?"

  "It's dry but itchy. I hate it."

  "Does your ankle still hurt?"

  "Not really. I hear it hurts like hell when the cast comes off and you have to start moving it again. And then there's physical therapy. I'm not looking forward to that."

  "I'll hold your hand."

  "All the way from Boston?" she asked, massaging his back.

  He relaxed against her. "I've been thinking about that. Why don't you and Cameron Littlefield come home with me tomorrow?"

  Caroline's hands went still on his back. "Seriously?"

  "Why not?" When she didn't answer he turned over to face her, sending even more water to the floor. "I want you with me, Caroline. Pack up your laptop and your plants and come home with me."

  She smiled. "How did you know I was thinking about my plants?"

  "I have to go back to work on Wednesday. My patients need me, but I need you. We can come back to New York the week after next for the conference."

  "And then what?"

  He shrugged. "I don't have an outline written because if I did, I'd feel obligated to follow it." He kissed his way up her neck. "And I might miss out on something truly amazing along the way."