War Girls Complete Collection Chapter 319

Chapter 38: Tom

T

om uttered a muffled curse. He desperately wanted Ursula. Of course it was strictly forbidden to bring a German into the barracks, but he knew there were ways – others had done it before him.

Weighing guilt about breaking the rules against the throbbing need to make love to Ursula, he did exactly what she’d asked him to. He stopped being sensible, just for a little while.

“Come with me, but you can’t be seen,” he said and then led her back to the barracks. There was a small hole in the fence next to one of the barracks, a place that had been used countless times for nightly visits. It was already getting dark when he showed her the clandestine entrance and how to get to his barracks unseen. There, he would wait for her and let her inside through the window.

The excitement and nerves reddened her cheeks and for a short moment he wanted to cancel the whole thing. It was wrong. Sneaking her into his quarters like a harlot wasn’t how he wanted things to be. Ursula was the mother of his child, for Christ’s sake.

But when she pressed a kiss on his lips, those thoughts flew away. “I have to return through the main gate. Knock at my window in about twenty minutes.”

“I will.”

Tom fought against the urge to run to his quarters. Instead he kept up appearances and behaved the way he did every other day, including a short chat with the sentry.

Once in his quarters, he locked the door and switched on the light, counted to five and switched it off again. A minute later he heard a knock and opened the window, carefully scanning left and right. When the coast was clear, he held out a hand to help Ursula climb in through the window.

“So this is your place,” she said, inspecting the drab room while he closed the window, drew the curtains and switched on the small nightlight.

The awkwardness lasted only a couple of seconds, before his passion, heightened by the sense of danger, took over. He pressed her against the wall, tracing heated kisses down her neck. When she moaned, he put his hand over her mouth and whispered into her ear, “You can’t make a sound.”

Ursula nodded, her eyes wide with lust as she helped him divest themselves of their clothing.

“You’re so beautiful,” he said, sweeping her into his arms and carrying her over to his bed. There, he ravaged her body with the urgent need of weeks of separation and then continued to make sweet love to her for many hours. When they lay finally sated in each other’s arms they talked about their uncertain future.

“You can’t stay in Berlin. Have you thought about what happens when you get caught violating the restrictions on moving about?” He traced a finger down the silky skin on her shoulders.

“No, I haven’t. Anna said, her boss, Professor Scherer, might be able to pull some strings. I’ll meet with him tomorrow.”

He cast her a doubtful glance, but couldn’t go through with crashing her hopes, so he asked, “Who’s this Professor Scherer?”

“A famous medicine and human biology professor whom apparently the Americans hold in high esteem. They wooed him away from the Charité hospital to work for them. The Soviets were furious to say the least.”

“Seems like the kind of shenanigans the Yanks would pull.” Tom chuckled.

Ursula laughed and caught his hand moving down to her breast. “Not only the Yanks, as you call them, but your lot as well. According to Anna they outbid each other to get him to work for them. I have no idea how he does it… the Nazis, the Soviets, … everyone seems to love him.”

“I hate to break it to you.” Tom used the small distraction to free his hand and move it down her stomach. “But the rich and powerful always come out unscathed while the little people are the ones paying the price.”

“Don’t tell that to my sister, Lotte. She enrolled at the Berlin University for a law degree, driven by a need to avenge those who were harmed.”

His hand moved lower, but she caught it again. With a mischievous glint in her eyes, she said, “Squadron Leader Westlake, if you want more of this, you need to feed me first.” As if to emphasize her words, her stomach grumbled and a pang of guilt stabbed him.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. I was so hungry for you, I completely forgot that most humans don’t exist on air and love alone.” He got up and pulled some cookies and apples from a drawer. “Here. Do you want me to go to the mess and see if I can bring you more food?”

“No.” She shook her head, gobbling up the cookies. “But next time, you’d better be prepared.”

“Next time? There won’t be a next time.”

She batted her eyelashes at him, and bit heartily into the apple instead of giving an answer. Why did he have to fall for the most stubborn woman on earth? But it had been her spunk that had saved his life back then, so who was he to complain?

After Ursula finished eating they made love again, and again, and again until they fell asleep in each other’s arms. Tom woke with a start, something pressing heavily on him. It took him a moment to remember it was Ursula, but he was terrified all the same. Turning around he switched on the night lamp and checked his wristwatch lying on the nightstand – four a.m.

In an hour the base would come to life, and the risk of her being seen became greater by the minute. He roused her and whispered urgently, “You have to leave before morning breaks.”

Shame flushed her cheeks and he knew she hated the hiding, lying and secrecy as much as he did. But right now there was no time to dwell on embarrassment. He helped her find her clothes and then opened the window for her to jump out. But first he pressed a last kiss on her lips, with a whispered promise to meet the next day.

Tom returned to his bed, hoping to catch another hour of shuteye, when an insistent knock on the door woke him and he opened it. Two MPs burst into his room and demanded he get up and come with them.

“What’s this about?” he asked, but didn’t receive an answer.