him, trying to hide the slight quiver of my hands.
He folded me in to his strong embrace, crushing me against his chest. Seven months deployed had whittled his body down to only the essentials; rock hard muscles and lean animal strength. He squeezed me almost to the point of pain, crushing a little yelp out of my mouth, which he silenced with a bruising kiss.
I melted into him, my momentary hesitation washed away with the curve of his tongue against mine. He snaked his fingers into my hair, gripping tightly as he explored every inch of my mouth.
His kiss was different too, rougher, more dominant. His tongue tasted sweeter in my mouth, and his lips burned with an intense heat. I parted my lips wider, throwing my arms around his shoulders and pulling him closer. This right here was the reunion I had dreamed of, the thoughts that had kept me awake at night, touching myself gingerly as I imagined my husband's lips against mine. But in all of my fantasies, I had never known him capable of such passion.
He was making a low sound, ignoring all the people around us. It was like a growling coming deep from his belly, sustained vibration that rippled through me. I began to feel the slow thrum of desire course through my veins, and I pulled away with a gasp.
"Michael, there are people around," I protested.
"I don't give a shit," he rasped into my neck. He pressed himself full against me, and I could feel the evidence of his desire for me. My panties flooded in response, and I flushed beet red.
"Let's get out of here then," I murmured.
"Yes ma'am," he grinned.
All this time the three Marines had been standing behind him, almost at attention, like they were waiting for orders.
I waited for him to say his farewells, but instead he motioned for them to follow.
"Michael… they're coming with us?"
"Yes," he said shortly, in a tone that brokered no argument.
The crowd had broken up, and the hangar was almost deserted. Michael took me firmly by the arm. Even though he had no idea where we were parked, I still couldn't shake the feeling that he was the one leading me. The three Marines trooped silently behind us like an honor guard.
I should have been more discomfited by their presence, but I found it strangely endearing that they did not want to leave each other. I had done a lot of reading about battle trauma, and I knew how important unit cohesion was. So I took a deep breath, and tried to be sensitive to my Michael's desire not to let them go yet. I tried to tell myself that he didn't belong completely to me anymore.
As we stepped out of the hangar, into the lot where I had parked, the full force of my exhaustion hit me. It was the dead of night, on a lonely base. Thick clouds obscured the stars, reflecting back the sickly orange glow of the town that seemed still so far off.
"I'm over there," I pointed to our minivan.
"That's new," Michael remarked.
I smiled shyly. "Since you're home now, I thought maybe we might start trying for a baby."
Michael made a low sound. "We'll talk about that later," he barked.
I snapped my mouth shut, wondering what it was that had set him off. But just as I was about to ask what was wrong, the thick blanket of clouds disintegrated, allowing a single pale moonbeam to illuminate the darkened lot.
All four of them growled at once. "Get back, Jenny!" Michael cried, his voice thick and strangled.
With a frightened yelp, I backed away from the four grunting men. They all seem locked in a battle with themselves, writhing and twisting and tearing at their clothes. I blinked in horror as I watched their faces change; eyes glowing, noses lengthening, teeth bared in razor sharp points.
I screamed as Michael threw back his head and howled, the lonely sound echoing off the metal hanger so that it reverberated in my ears for what seemed like forever.
The clouds closed back in again, hiding the face of the