Click on image to enlarge.

Category: Erotica/Erotic Romance/Romance
Description: On an unexpected Christmas leave from the jungles of Vietnam, Tom Stabler finds himself at home, but in a life he no longer fits. The farmhouse where he grew up seems too close, his parents and grandparents older and frail. Tom the man is uncomfortable in the skin of Tom the boy. So much so, he's beginning to think he should have stayed in Nam, where his memories were innocent. During a restless pre-dawn morning, the girl he's dreamed off for months arrives unexpectedly. Tom is afraid he'll feel disconnected to her, too. Then what dreams will he have to take back with him? Susan Swenson, the sweet, farm girl Tom loved in high school, has rushed home to be with him, not as a girl but as a woman. Touches lead to kisses; kisses lead to skin gliding against skin and a deep loving that produces a small miracle. As the sun crests the shore of a nearby lake, Tom fulfills Susan's dream of passion. With her own heat and desire, Susan helps to heal Tom's soul and shows him a way to come home.
eBook Publisher: Whispers Publishing, 2007
eBookwise Release Date: April 2007

18 Reader Ratings:

Great	Good	OK	Poor

Available eBook Formats: OEBFF Format (IMP) [47 KB]
Words: 9595
Reading time: 27-38 min.

"Hot and sexy, yet intensely emotional with a conclusion that gives complete and total satisfaction. With Coming Home, Dee Knight is masterful."--Jasmine Haynes, author of Rita Finalist Somebody's Lover and Holt Medallion nominee Open Invitation

"Dee Knight delivers steam and haunting passion in Coming Home, a sensual treat that left me wanting more. I loved it!"--Larissa Ione, Secrets, v 18 and forthcoming books from Bantam Dell and Warner Books

He'd thought about seeing Susan again all the way home. She was coming in from Omaha later in the day, but now, he almost dreaded their meeting. What if he felt as awkward with her as he did with his parents? Even his dreams would be ripped from him. How would he ever face the hellhole of Nam with nothing good to hold onto?

Tom stumbled to the window and opened it a crack. Frigid air rushed in, bringing the clean scent of winter and a hint of wood smoke. He shivered but didn't pull on his clothes. From a pack of Marlboros, he pulled out a smoke and tucked it into the corner of his mouth. The lighted match hovered half-way to the cigarette tip when a car swerved off the dark county road, its headlights bright in the clear night.

Leaving the cigarette unlit, he shook out the match and dropped his hand. The headlights dipped and rose as the vehicle came slowly along the graveled driveway. Seconds later, he made out a Volkswagen Beetle, dark in color with a convertible roof. The vehicle ran well, the engine silent in the sudden gusts of wind tearing the tree branches outside his bedroom.

The Bug stopped below his window. The lights went out, and the driver's door opened. Susan Swensen climbed out and raised her head, meeting his astonished gaze as though she knew exactly where he would be.

"I'll be damned," he murmured.

She smiled and held up her hand in greeting. Tom marveled at the stroke of luck that had wakened him at exactly the right moment and waved back.

God, she was beautiful. Her hair fell in golden rivulets over her shoulders. Her heavy coat couldn't disguise her curves--the same curves that haunted his dreams. White hosiery covered her calves below the coat, and white shoes encased her feet. She must have come right from the hospital where she was in training.

She beckoned, and he nodded his head in reply. Yanking the cigarette from his lips and tossing it on the bedside table, he realized for the first time, he'd stood at the window naked. The moonlight, weak though it was, still illuminated every interesting point of his body. Point being the operative word for one particular part, since his cock had risen as soon as Susan looked up at him with her own special glow.

Having dressed in record time--it felt strange jamming arms and legs into flannel and corduroy rather than camouflage, and without his rifle, he felt even more naked than if he'd waltzed outside with no clothes on. He took the stairs slowly and eased out the front door so as not to wake everyone else. The porch light cast a glow from the steps to the lawn. He scanned the area for Susan and found her at the cusp of the lamplight.

She was leaning against the big elm tree in the front yard, hands tucked in her coat pockets, her face toward the horizon where the North Star perched low in the sky. Straightening and turning to face him as he approached, she smiled again, so dazzlingly the heavens dimmed in comparison. Tom swore he wouldn't care if they didn't speak or touch or anything, if she would just keep smiling.

"Hi, Susan."

"Hey, Tom. Welcome home."

Had her voice always been this deep, this smooth? His insides melted just listening to her. At the same, God! Instant hard-on. He shifted his stance and hoped Susan couldn't tell. "Thanks."